A/N: Here we are, once again! I bet you're all thinking 'Chapter VI? That came out last night!'. Well to tell the truth, I was reading through the reviews and I read Suanne's reviews, which always give me a great deal to think about. And after thinking about it for a little while, I decided to re-do Chapter VI. I was struggling with writing it for quite a while since I'd lost the spirit of it for a while, and then all of a sudden my best mate Cia said she'd help me write it. She only managed to write two paragraphs, but it was enough to kick start me back into gear again! So here I am once again, with the new chapter VI! I like this one better. More tension involved. And I used another one of your suggestions Suanne, and took out all the bold from the actual text of the story. You were right it really did draw you away from the actual story! So thanks for the advice, and I hope you all enjoy the rewritten Chapter VI!

I am now officially dedicating this fic to my mate Cia, who has helped me get back into the writing spirit once again. Chapter VII should be up tomorrow after we consult and finish writing it together. Or at least, me write it and her read over it and check its all good. Thanks a ton Cia: )

Also, one last thing. Just to clear things up, anything written in italics is about Shuichi in the dream world (which I hoped you've worked out is where he is). And, if Yuki is writing what is happening you'll know because it will be mentioned either before or after the text changes to italics.


Pure as the Snow

Chapter VI

(rewritten)

The morning of a new day was different. Yuki stared, and blearily opened his eyes. And there it was. That pang of loneliness that tore his heart in two. He didn't even need to go and check on Shuichi. He knew he hadn't come back.

Rubbing his temples, the novelist leaned back into the chair which he had fallen asleep in. Fingering the phone on his desk for the thousandth time, he wondered whether he should ring Touma. Maybe Shuichi would have come back by now, and was waiting for him at N-G or something like that. Yuki sighed, his heart overruling his head. He really had no other choice. Touma had much better chances at finding him anyway. And so, he picked up the phone and began dialling.


Humming a tune to himself, Ryuichi made his way to Touma's office in N-G. He wondered if Shuichi was okay. His cold had been keeping him off work for some time now and he was a little concerned about his little buddy. He shrugged off the thought. It didn't do him good to focus on such things. But as he neared Touma's office, he could hear Touma's voice from inside, sounding as if a certain block had hit him squarely on the face. The certain block known as reality.

"No Eiri, Shindou's not here. What? He's disappeared? Do you have any idea why? Did you have an argument or something? Yes, I do find it odd he'd suddenly leave like that. He didn't even take his phone? Yes, that most certainly is odd. Have you tried searching for him at all yet? Well, don't worry Eiri. We'll get Shindou back, I assure you. I'll call K and the others immediately and we'll brainstorm and think of any possible places Shindou might be, then we'll start searching. In the mean time, just stay calm Eiri and try to think of any possible reasons for his sudden disappearance. It could be vital information to help us find him. Yes. Goodbye Eiri,"

Ryuichi stared at his blond band mate from behind the door through the gap where the hinges of the door met the door frame. He watched Touma put his hand to his head, as if trying to ward off an oncoming headache. Then after a few moments, he picked up the phone once more.

"K, this is Touma. Listen, gather up Nakano and Fujisaki. Yes, it's urgent. Shindou's gone missing,"


Yuki sat in front of the laptop, staring at the open document. In the few hours Shuichi had been missing he had hardly been able to concentrate. His heart hurt. His head hurt. In fact, everything just seemed to hurt. Even breathing was beginning to hurt. It hurt because he was alone. It hurt because the one who mattered most to him wasn't there. But none of these emotions were shown through those cold, hard eyes of his. He suffered silently and alone.

Looking at his story thus far, he could see pictures flowing through his mind. He felt compelled to write more and set about work using the images in his head to sculpt his story.


Alone.

He had felt this for some time now, but the statement was much truer now than ever. He sat on the snow, hugging his knees tightly to his chest. Darkness overtook the world once again. This happened occasionally, he had noted in the time he'd been here, but each time it suddenly went dark, it scared him. The fright was real each time because he was so afraid.

The crying of the dream world continued. It was a pathetic cry and it was getting louder and clearer. He thought it might drive him to insanity. This world was filed with so much pain. It didn't surprise him that no one seemed to live here amongst the snow.

The overpowering stench of blood clung to the air all around. That sickening… horrifying smell of blood. Fresh blood. He'd thrown up on more than one occasion since coming here. It was even difficult to breathe here from the smell that lingered all around.

The voice hadn't spoken to him in hours. Perhaps, he thought, that was what made him feel even more lonely.

"Help me, somebody… help me…"


"Help me somebody… help me…"

Scrolling up the page, his gaze moved up to his vivid description of blood. He felt the reason he could write it so well was because of his own personal experience of blood. That experience that only one person had overlooked and helped him forget and focus on the better things in life.

Shuichi…

Even the name stung at his heart. He felt so empty… so alone. He wanted Shuichi to be beside him once more so he didn't have to feel so alone anymore. Those cold, golden eyes just proved how much he missed that brat as a single tear fell on the keyboard and he put his hand to his face, as if trying to shut himself off from the rest of the world.


The black snow fell heavily from the sky of Tokyo. Children who had been once happily playing out in the snow of July now feared it as never before. People were confined to their houses. They dare not go outside. It was almost as if the plague was out there, waiting for them. It was now officially day five since the snow began falling in Tokyo... since the darkness took over Tokyo…

… and the world was still wailing.


A/N: Well, that's it. I think this one's a bit better than the other version I wrote, so I hope you enjoyed reading it too. The figure will come into play in chapter VIII now, I think meaning this story will be slightly longer than I had anticipated. But that's fine 'cos now I've got a friend who's willing to help me out when I get stuck with writer's block. Anyway, first two paragraphs were written by my mate Cia. We're both fourteen, though she older by about a month so credit goes to her. Thank you for all your kind reviews, and see you next time for chapter VII!