A/N: Hello, i'm back, and i just want to clear some confusion thats going on!
1. Don't worry, as soon as you read it, you'll realise of course i didn't kill Yoshiki (he's my fave!)
2. It is a dream, i tried to use quite gauge description so it didn't feel real. It does have a purpose, she wakes up realising something, and it was in Ayumi's point of view.
3. I know you may of been confused with Yoshiki falling asleep, and then the dream suddenly happening, but i think i put 'dreamless' and also it kind of shows (someone pointed it out) how they are kind of connected.
So that's basically what i just wanted to say! Thanks and once again enjoy :)
"Ayumi, Ayumi?"
Ayumi woke up cold and sweaty. The sheets around her were tangled like a mesh all around her, and her hair was disheveled. She looked up at her worried sister, who had heard her previous distressed cries for help. She sat up, still recalling the awful nightmare she had just encountered. Did they really blame her? She was the one who had suggested the charm after all, but she never, ever intended their deaths, or even going to Heavenly Host!
"Ayumi, are you ok?" said her worried sister, generously handing her an icy glass of water.
Ayumi silently stared at the mellow ripples, mulling over her thoughts, as if all the weight of the world was on her shoulders.
"Thanks. I just need some space..." she replied, after awhile. Her sister nodded, and quietly left the room, closing the midnight blue door behind her.
It was then that she realized the true meaning of the nightmare.
"No...Kishi...Yoshiki doesn't..can't..."
"Is it just me, or does Shinozaki seem a lot different recently?" commented Naomi, fiddling with something in her locker.
"Does she?" replied Satoshi, who was standing next to her, waiting for her to find her maths book. "I never really noticed!" He turned to talk to a classmate, for a second, and missed Naomi's look of disapproval. Although she too liked Satoshi, she also knew about Ayumi's affections, however, also knew Satoshi clearly didn't have any interest in Ayumi. She felt sorry for the class rep, but annoyed with Satoshi, for not noticing either of their feelings towards him. Suddenly, the bell for class went, so Naomi silently followed her male friend to their class.
Yoshiki and Ayumi were already in the desks, as well as much of the others in the class. Naomi still couldn't get over how no one remembered their fallen classmates, and how suddenly a bunch of new people had supposedly 'taken' their places, and how all the others knew them. It was so confusing! She spotted a popular girl, Takara , handing out paper to the class. She had been in the drama club with Morshige and Mayu, and knew them quite well. Yet when they returned, or ever mention them, she would give them a confused look and smile. It was so sad. As she began solving her maths questions, she glanced over at Shinozaki. The last time she had seen them, was when they had all gone into the centre of town 2 or 3 days ago. She had walked between her and Kishinuma, and she looked so serene and happy, especially when she was around Yoshiki. But now, several days later something had happened. The usual bright light in her eyes had been replaced with a dull glow, she seemed a lot more quiet, and alot thinner. Ayumi was generally a very small and thin girl, lucky her, but she felt like there was still something to it. Maybe she was skipping meals! Why had she taken a sudden turn? Eventhough she had been through so much in the last month, Ayumi wasn't the type of person to give up on life... But neither was Seiko...Seiko...
Naomi shook her head violently. She did not want to think about that. She told herself to focus on the task. Who was closest to her? Yoshiki! Of course, she should talk to him.
"Ah, Kishinuma, wait a sec," called Naomi as she left the class room. She knew he had a free period now, since they'd often hang out at this time and Satoshi and Ayumi had a lesson. She wasn't particularly close to him, since he was a bit too sarcastic for her, but she appericated the friendship that they had.
"Huh? Nakashima, what is it?" he said, turning to face her. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ayumi and Satoshi walking to the next class together. Was it just him, or did he suddenly feel...cold.
"I need to talk to you about Shinozaki" she explained, glancing at him. He flinched but covered it up. What was this all about?
"Ok," he replied "Let's sit in the cafe shall we?"
"Yes i've noticed too..." said Yoshiki, deep in thought. "I called at her house as usual, but her sister said she had already left." He scratched his head, which was a typical habit of his when he felt perplexed. "I didn't know you were close." Naomi took a sip from her tea.
"We're not in particular," she began, putting the mug back town on the stained table "Its just ever since...Seiko...I've learnt to take more care of my friends." Yoshiki nodded, understanding. He had learnt that too. "We should make her happy...but how? Ghost stories are out of the question now." Naomi said "I can't think of anything else she likes..." Instantly, Yoshiki fell into his usual way, sticking up for Ayumi.
"She loves loads of things! She loves scented candles, video games, manga and going to the cinema to..." Yoshiki glanced at Naomi. She was laughing at him. Laughing?
"Hey Nakashima whats so funny?"
Naomi smiled at him warmly. She understood now. She didn't know in detail what had happened between them, but she knew that something had, enough to change Yoshiki's feelings towards Ayumi, and actually now thinking about it, he had always been particularly caring towards the petite girl.
"You love Ayumi don't you?" she teased. Instantly, Yoshiki blushed and tried to look away.
"No, i don't..." he replied, trying his best to put his careless mask on, but it didn't work.
"Haha, don't deny it!" grinned Naomi "Even Satoshi might of mentioned it!"
Yoshiki sighed.
"Bummer. I'll pay him back. I'll tell you that he likes YOU then." he said staring at his coffee. Suddenly, he just realized what he had just said. "Oops."
Naomi stared at him, eyes wide open, like he had just told her she had won the lottery.
"R-r-really?" she said, her hand over her mouth. "Are you serious?"
"Deadly," he replied, giving the mugs back to the staff. "All he talks about is you!"
"DING DONG!"
"Oh, there goes the bell. See you later Naomi." Yoshiki walked off, in search of Ayumi, who was walking down the left corridor, arms wrapped around a book. As he was about to greet her, she tripped, and dropped the contents of her bag onto the polished wooden floor.
"Ack!" she mumbled, stumbling to her knees. "So...Clumsy!"
Yoshiki got on his knees swiftly and helped pick up her scattered books. People started staring at them, especially at Ayumi, and laughed at whispered amongst eachother. Yoshiki clenched his fists.
"Hey, if you've got something to say about Shinozaki, say it!"
The two girls stared at him, and one started laughing.
"She's such a nerdy, fake idiot," she began, picking up one of her books. It was her favourite notebook, the one she wrote all to do with spirts in. The nasty faced girl ran her finger across the beige feathers that alligned the spine. Ayumi got up to her feet, her bag now packed.
"Please give that back!" she demanded, her voice coarser than usual "That notebook is very special to me. I worked on it with my sister for ages." The rude girl started flicking through the book, whilst the other one began insulting Ayumi.
"...and your such a suck up! Writing little ghosty stories with your big sissy! Haha, such a baby!"
And they didn't stop. They carried on making fun of Ayumi, and although she tried to fight back, it was hopeless. Suddenly the rude girl opened a page of the book, and pointed.
"Look at this Mikau!" she laughed "'I had an awful nightmare last night. The ghosts of our friends in 'heavenly host' were attacking me, i thought i was going to die! I thought Mochida...'Mikau, look at this, 'He tried to kill me but Kishinuma sa..."
Mikau cackled like a possesed witch and snatched the feathery notebook from her friend.
"Why on earth does she carry all this worthless crap around with her?" And with that, she started menacingly tearing up the pages, one by one, feeling satisfied with Ayumi's distressed cries and feeble atempts to get the book back. She was about to do more, but
that's all she got up to. Yoshiki had grabbed the insolent girls collar, and pushed her against the wall, hands around her neck.
"You ever...Go near Shinozaki again, and i won't be SO LENIENT! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TOUCH OR READ HER STUFF OR MAKE HER FEEL IRELEVENT! YOU WANNA HURT HER, YOU HURT ME FIRST, YOU GOT THAT?"
and with that, she pushed the shocked girl into her friend, grabbed Ayumi's hand and pulled her out of the corridor. The girls fled, close to tears, and they had definatly learnt their lesson. They'd never go near Ayumi again...if that stupid Kishinuma was near her.
"Kis-Kishinuma, why did you do that for me?" Ayumi wept, clutching the ripped pieces of her ripped notebook. Only the cover and spine were really left of her book.
"I need to protect you, Ayumi. Your weakening, and I know your struggling. Please tell me what's wrong with you i need to help!" Ayumi looked into Yoshiki's pleading eyes, and suddenly felt a bond of trust in it. She didn't see what point it was to go back to class.
"Fine," she whispered, leading him out of the school building.
"I'll tell you whats wrong."
I hope you understand now. I'll be trying to make the chapters a little longer, sorry if they do seem short! i live in Wales, and we have just broke up today for the summer, so hopefully i'll be able to add more to the chapters now that i have more time. Please leave any reviews or questions, it really helps!