Sachiko had never wanted to rip any beings apart more in her life than she did now. Her temper had flared and she was throwing a tantrum like any other 7 year old girl would. Yoshikazu remained still in the room, afraid to move and draw attention to himself. Sachiko screamed and threw the head of a young girls corpse towards the wall. She watched it plop to the ground. Throwing it didn't help. She was still angry. Sachiko sat down and put her face to her knees, she knew what they were planning. Sachiko couldn't decide if she was angry at them or herself...maybe part of her wanted to let them get to her, maybe they could save her... but the schools wrath quickly pushed those thoughts out of her head, her job was to torture souls and that's what she intended to do.
Ayumi picked up the small pink notebook Seiko had retrieved from Satoshi's body. Her heart had skipped a beat when she realised who it belonged to. The initial eagerness Ayumi felt when she first started reading began to die down, her face twisted as she skimmed through its contents. It did prove one thing: Escaping the clutches of Heavenly Host wasn't going to be as simple as re-doing the ritual. In the notebook Naho states herself that it will take appeasement. Sachiko's appeasement.
It got worse; Ayumi's bloodied hands trembled upon the pages as she read her favourite authors last certifiable entry.. "Naho...you...you did this." Ayumi merely muttered this to herself, no one else heard the poison that left her mouth. She slammed the notebook shut, and she kept her rage to herself.
Ayumi examined her meagre group. Kishinuma; pale and bloodied, Yuka; shaken and unresponsive, Seiko; tired and bruised. Herself; broken and...broken again. Now was the time to leave. Ayumi stood off the ground and peered around at her friends. With a sigh as her introduction she explained to them what was to happen next.
"Where do we find Sachiko?" Seiko asked when Ayumi finished speaking.
"The basement." Yoshiki answered before Ayumi could. "That's where her body is. She'll be there."
Ayumi nodded in agreement. "He's right." She looked at where they were: already underground. Ayumi knew they were close, she could feel it. "Alright...no time to waste. Let's find her now."
Seiko's heart churned. It was happening. Finally. What would they find when they came upon Sachiko? A way out? Death? Or a fate worse than death?
Sachiko may have been losing her grip on the school but she was still an omnipotent presence. She could see the pitiful group of 4 arduously making their way to her; to her body. Sachiko's head was pounding, the school was screaming at her and those screams seemed to echo and bounce around in her brain like a never ending nightmare. Who was the tortured soul now? "Mommy make it stop." The little girl squealed. Her tiny fingernails dug into her head as if to alleviate the noise. But still the building screamed. It wanted death. Sachiko could stop them, stop them all right now. They were weakened, one of them practically inches away from death. They were starved and thirsty and tired and frail and yet still going and still determined. Sachiko sneered but not entirely at them. She didn't care about them anymore all she wanted was for her fragile brain to stop hurting. Could they stop the hurting? The school screamed louder; It didn't like thoughts like that. But Sachiko had another thought that she couldn't push away; who was really hurting her? Was it the living beings that walked the halls or was it the school? Her place of death? The school which had once been the pride and joy of her very own murderer? The building screamed at her again and Sachiko even as naive as she was knew the answer. She watched the tiny cluster of students closen in on her and chose to do nothing, even when the screams drowned out everything else.
"It's through here." Ayumi muttered as they made their way to the dilapidated entrance-way.
Seiko stopped and wrapped her arms around herself to fight off the chill. "How do you know?"
"I can feel it."
Seiko didn't ask further questions.
There was one last mournful look shared between the group before they decided it was time to meet their fate.
A gasp filled the air as they made their way through. Yoshikazu Yanagihori; also known as the monster with the hammer's body swung absently from a noose between the two doorways.
Ayumi pulled her eyes away and went through.
The body of Sachiko Shinozaki lay wasted and decrepit in her cruel open grave. The blood red soul of the dead girl remained floating above it and although they had supposedly been freed Sachiko's own original victims Ryou and Tokiko stood at each side of the room accompanied by Kizami who Yuka fearfully shrunk away from.
"Get out! Leave! Don't look at me!" Sachiko bellowed out the commands one after the other with a firing intensity.
Ayumi whose eyes were unwillingly stuck onto the girls corpse forced herself into some semblance of composure. "Sachiko. We are here to help you!"
An unsettling vibration rippled through the ground. "I'll kill you! get out!"
The current form of Sachiko - they grey skinned girl with the red dress - appeared in front of them, blocking her own corpse from the onlooking eyes. Ayumi was aware of her bones beginning to tighten, she was paralyzed. Blood poured from her nose and ears as an immense pressure passed to her head. Ayumi was distantly mindful to the sound of Yuka's cries and pleas for her big brother.
Something was happening. Sachiko charged for Yuka with the intent to make her her next victim, but there was another Sachiko, a pure and fresh faced version wearing a white dress now standing in place at the front of her grave. Ayumi saw the opportunity.
With great strain the terrified girl reached for the tongue bag in her pocket and held it in front of her. "Sachiko." She choked out, "This is yours, It's a part of your body and I'm giving it back."
The white version of Sachiko flinched, an act that Ayumi took notice of. Yuka's screams echoed in her ears and Ayumi picked up the pace. She handed the bag to Sachiko, sparing no time before pulling out the small cat plushie Seiko had found.
A look glazed upon Sachiko's features as an old memory picked at her brain. Kizami angrily tried to get in the way. "No Sachiko! Don't let them trick you with their lies and fake pity!"
Sachiko wasn't paying attention, her suddenly innocent eyes were glued to the small remnant of her childhood: the one she never got to fully live.
"Sachiko!" Kizami yelled at her.
The little girl turned to him with a glower. And just like that Kizami was gone. No one questioned it and his presence was not missed.
A glint of hope shone in Ayumi's hollowed out eyes. They were getting through to her! She scrambled for her next move. But her pockets were empty, was it enough?
With no warning Sachiko let out a petrifying scream and before anyone realised it, disappeared. All that remained in the room was her corpse. A startling earthquake began to strike. Ayumi turned to the others. "We're doing this now! Take out your paper!"
"Sachiko hear our pleas!" Ayumi screeched. "We want to go home!" A noticeable shiver passed through her body. "All we want to do is set you free. You don't have to suffer anymore!"
The group nodded collectively.
"Sachiko we beg of you..."
"Sachiko we beg of you..."
"Sachiko we beg of you..."
"Sachiko we beg of you..."
"Sachiko we beg of you..."
Four small pieces of paper moved in on one another.
Sachiko was gone and the earth stood still.
The screaming finally stopped and the innocent little girl cried with relief. A purgative feeling washed over her. She was free.
The group shared curious glances with each other.
Seiko's gaze went from the empty grave to Ayumi. "Did we do it...?"
Ayumi was panting heavily. She looked around the room for signs of anything aloof. "I, I-"
"You did." A voice cut her off. The group turned to Yuki who now stood at the front of the room. "And you have to leave now. The veils between this world and yours is at its thinnest. The gate is open. You have to get outside of the building before it closes."
"What happens if we don't?" Yoshiki asked with his little strength.
Yuki faced down. "You'll have lost your chance to get out. You'll be trapped."
A chill ran down their spines. After everything they couldn't get stuck now.
"What about you?" Ayumi asked Yuki. "What will happen to all of you?"
Yuki's expression didn't shift. "We're part of this school now...we can't be saved."
Ayumi shook her head. "No..."
Yuki's tone shifted to fearful. "Please! Get out of the building while you still can!"
The building responded with tremendous vibrations. "She's right. Let's go!" Seiko pleaded.
No one had to say it twice. Ayumi gave one last grateful nod to Yuki and the group left.
It felt like the struggle was just beginning. Seiko was pretty sure she knew the way given all of her roaming around but Yoshiki didn't have much left in him and each toll of the bell was pulling them a step away from freedom.
"Shit. You should just go. I'm not going to make it." Yoshiki said through gritted teeth. Sweat ran down his face, he was practically being dragged to the exit.
Ayumi who was drenched with sweat too panted ferociously to get her breath back long enough to talk. "No! We're almost there! We'll all make it."
Yoshiki shook his head but kept going.
The first bell tolled
They were almost there, Seiko was sure of it.
The second bell tolled
Yoshiki fell to his knees but Seiko and Ayumi dragged him back up.
The third bell tolled
The entrance-way was in sight, but Yuka stopped running. Seiko stopped and turned to her, she reached out her hand. "Yuka what are you doing? We have to go!"
The small girl shook her head. "No, I can't, not without my big brother." Seiko pivoted her head back to Ayumi and Yoshiki. She jerked her head at them, "Go." Ayumi tried to interject but Seiko stopped her. "Go. It's okay." Ayumi and Seiko shared a brief moment of eye contact. Seiko nodded and Ayumi was forced to put her faith in her.
The fourth bell tolled
Seiko got down on her knees and took Yuka's hands into her own. "I know Yuka. I know how it feels."
Yuka shook her head and cried. "I can't leave him."
Seiko's voice was sharp but kind. "You're not leaving him you're escaping just like he wanted. All his efforts were for you Yuka. So you could get home. Do this for him. Run with me just a little further. It's what- it's all your big brother wanted."
The fifth bell tolled
Seiko didn't flinch at the sound, though she worried there wasn't much time left. She stared softly into Yuka's eyes. "Please do this for me. Do this for him."
Yuka wiped her red face. She nodded. Seiko stood up and took hold of her arm and they ran.
Ayumi and Yoshiki were waiting on the walkway anxiously for them when both girls burst through the entrance-way door . "Go!" Seiko shouted over the heavy rain.
The sixth bell tolled
"Past the barrier!" Ayumi announced to everyone.
Part of the barrier was shattered at one side. Each one of them ran to it and each one of them threw themselves down and off the premises of the school just as the world was consumed by blinding white light.
Ayumi opened her eyes. At first she sees the decayed ceilings and torn up walls, she smells the stench of rotting flesh and hears the cries of tortured souls, but she blinks them away. This is her school with it's walls and floors in pristine condition. Gleaming and untouched by death. She smiles. "We made it." She notices Seiko who sits up with look of disbelief on her face. Ayumi swivels her head and sees Yuka, who neither looks happy or shocked. The relief filled girl turned around to Yoshiki, he's not up yet. She goes to him and shakes his side. "Look Kishinuma we're here I told you we'd make it. I promised you didn't I." But he didn't move. Ayumi still had a trace of a smile on her face but her sorrowful eyes spoke the truth. She shook him again. "We're here come on." Ayumi didn't look back to Yuka and Seiko whose faces were downcast and unwilling to make eye contact with each other. Ayumi clenched her eyes shut. "I've said I'm sorry what more do you want!" She screamed the words. She heard a low groan and opened her eyes, Yoshiki stirred not fully awake but not dead yet. "We're here." Ayumi muttered once again before turning to the others in the room. "Call an ambulance..." They looked confused for a moment, they were yet to catch their bearings. "Now." Ayumi barked. Seiko recollected herself and stumbled for her phone which for the first time in a long while gathered a signal. Ayumi turned Yoshiki to face her, his eyes almost fully shut. "I promised didn't I? I did...I said...I promised..." Ayumi continued to ramble silently. She was not responsible for his death but what of the others? Their blood was soaked on her hands.
Yuka slowly unlocked her front door; a sight she had been dreaming of for so long now looked like a lie. The young girl walked through with a noticeable quiver still in her bones. She turned and closed the door behind her. It made a small clicking sound. The sound of her parents footsteps could be heard gaining on her rapidly as she slipped off her shoes as she always did. Yuka turned and her mother was standing there with her jaw dropped.
She took in the disheveled appearance of her young daughter. There was stains of all colours caking her body. "Yuka sweetie what happened? Where have you been? We've been so worried?" Her mother who took a step closer to her daughter sounded incredulous, but not angry.
Yuka swayed slightly. "I'm so sorry mommy big brother's gone forever."
Yuka's mothers eyebrows closed in on each other. "Yuka what are you saying?"
Yuka did not sob the words she merely spoke them, but the catch in her throat could not be missed. "He's dead I'm so sorry."
Her mother's eyes widened as she bent down closer and put a hand on Yuka's shoulder. "Who's dead Yuka!? Who?" The muted, distant sound of Yuka's father hurriedly making his was down stairs was barely registered by either of them.
Yuka started to cry now. "Big brother." She wailed.
Her mother's voice raised in a panic. "You don't have a big brother Yuka. Whose blood is this?!"
Yuka stopped instantly, she stifled her tears. "Yuka?" Her mother uttered fearfully.
Mother and daughter stared into each others eyes with only the surrounding silence. Yuka spoke only one more word. "...Liar."
A/N
So this is the final chapter. I never had a plan for how long this would be though I always had an ending in mind. Originally I was going to keep the same survivors of the original story but decided at some point that it should be different and kinda decided who was going to go along the way.
This story is finished but I'm probably going to go back and re-do a lot of things. Nothing major that actually affects the story but I want to at least fix all the things that have been bothering me. I've been experiment a lot with the way I was writing throughout. This story is the first thing I've ever wrote and most of it was guessing. I don't think it was until later that I started to properly break into things.
Apparently i started this around 7 months ago and did not realise it would take that long but tbf i did get lazy at times. I have a new idea for another CP story (which is different from this one) and I'm going to go ahead and write it since i liked writing this one so much. I can't say when that'll be up because it's just in drafts right now.
thank you if you took the time to read this. I hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to leave your thoughts if u made it this far.
Also, I didn't forget about Kai I just thought I would leave what happened to him up to the readers.
