Chapter 8: Episode 8

"Will I be able to make some friends?" Yuki murmured, reading the entries from her phone. One read about how Kosaka Ouji was being a prick to her, which was unsurprising. Note her disappointment knowing that she and Kosaka were going to be classmates again, even at this new school they were now attending. Another entry mentioned someone named Hinata—just Hinata. With a spark of hope, Yuki wondered if she really was going to make a friend for once.

"Yuki," Yuto said sternly, interrupting her thoughts, "not that I need to remind you, but it's better if you don't use your Future Diary at our new school. Actually, you better not use it anymore. Remember your blunder with the Third?"

"Y-yeah, your right," Yuki admitted, looking down. After an incident like that, there was no way she wanted to risk it happening again. She gently snapped her phone shut and tucked it away into her bag. "Okay, I won't use it at school…" She trailed off when she made eye contact with the person across the street.

It was a boy of her age, although the slight smirk on his face made her question if he was actually older. Other than that, there was something about him that drew her attention to him, making her notice his strange air of maturity despite the distance between them. Yuki found herself easily comparing him to Yuto: where Yuto was boyishly cute and cheerful, charming if he wanted to be, this boy was simply handsome.

Clear, dark eyes were hooded and twinkled in amusement while his lips stretched further across his face to mimic that of a grin. Yuki took a moment to realize that she was staring at him openly without even an effort for tact. Before she could duck her head, terribly abashed for her rudeness, Yuto's voice brought her back to earth. "What's the matter, Yuki?"

"I-it's nothing," she said, trying not to appear or sound as flustered as she was. "Let's go!"

Yuto, apparently, took her eagerness the wrong way. "Yeah! Let's go together!" he enthused, cheeks pink from glee. "And then let's go home together! I'll be waiting for you at the gates once school is over."

"A-ah, r-right…"

"Say, that Gasai sure is good-looking, Yukicchi."

Even though she spat out the disgusting green crap that she, along with everyone, tried for laughs, Yuki accidentally took a sharp inhale of the liquid residue and choked on the tangy bitterness that now slid down her throat. "E-excuse me?" she tried to say through wheezes and tears.

"I said," Hinata began, adopting a mischievous grin, "that Gasai is good-looking."

Yuki shifted her weight from one foot to the next. "Um, is that so…"

"Ah, come on! Don't be like that, Yukicchi!" the taller girl laughed, amiably slapping a hand onto her back. "I have no intention in stealing your boyfriend. I just want to comment on how lucky you are to snatch yourself someone so darn hot."

That did nothing to ameliorate the situation. "He—he's not—"

"By the way, why is he distancing himself when he decided to join us?" she continued, her eyes flickering back to where Yuto was, who was standing alone under a tree. "I know that he's here for you, but he shouldn't be excluded from the fun!" It sounded like Hinata was scolding her, like Yuki was being accused for being such a bad girlfriend by not dragging in Yuto—it was rather uncomfortable.

Yuki tried to laugh it off, but she came out sounding like how she felt—nervous and half-hearted. "Yeah, well… Yuto is…" What to say to remove this topic? "He doesn't do well around new people at first, so give him time to accommodate."

Her lie seemed to work well because Hinata grinned. "Oh, so he's shy? You two make a cute couple! Two timid people dating!"

Even though she wanted to clarify that there was no way that she would be romantically involved with a crazy stalker, Yuki couldn't help but giggle. Hinata's enthusiasm was infectious.

Sometime later, after have a moment of happily running around and being carefree, Yuki, Yuto, Hinata, Mao, and Kosaka eventually came upon a constructed platform on a hill. The view was lovely, showing an expanse of the residential areas and trees below that stretched even to the cities.

Yuki watched as Hinata walked over to the edge, saying, "I was so psyched about seeing the crime scenes, but I guess that's all there is." She turned around and smiled.

"Hinata?"

"What is it?"

Yuki blushed and lowered her eyes, a little embarrassed that she was about to ask what she was meaning to ask from the beginning—but she had to know. "Wh-why are you giving me so much attention?"

Hinata pursed her lips and closed her eyes. After a few seconds, she cheerfully answered, "Because we're friends."

Friends. Yuki's heart swelled with elation. She never had a friend before, not someone who she could talk to and share laughs with. All this time, she spent her days in isolation; she used to think that she was better off without anyone, but she realized that those days were far too dark and lonesome. Deus and Murmur were nice company, but she longed for human friendship. And now she had a friend and she never had been happier in her life.

Hinata's body was sprawled haphazardly on the grass. An arm—her arm—was a few feet away.

Yuki's eyes widened. She couldn't breathe.

Hinata was dead.

And all she could see was red.

"S-s-so much…" A shudder ran down her body. "Blood. So much blood…everywhere…"

"O-oi, what's wrong with her?" Kosaka's voice rang nervously. "Come on, we need to go! It's dangerous here!"

Something grasped her by the shoulders. "Yuki, get a hold of yourself. There isn't much blood spilled anywhere. You need to calm down."

A crushing weight on top of her. A hot hand climbing up from her stomach to her ribs. Then corpses—corpses everywhere. So much blood—red, red, red everywhere…

Red kimono soaked in a pool of blood.

"No, no, no," she whispered. "No, no, no!" she screamed. Yuki tore away from Yuto, her fingers buried into her hat and her palms cupped against her ears. Through watery and fearful eyes, she stared at the boy before her.

"Y-you killed Tsubaki-san, d-didn't you?" she rasped.

He grimaced. "I had to do it, Yuki, in order to save you."

"A-and I was…" She swallowed thickly. She couldn't say it.

"Nearly. You were nearly, but I saved you in time. You don't remember?"

She didn't. Up until now, she must have been subconsciously blocking the memory—and she knew why. The horror of that night shook her and made her feel cold all over. She looked away, not able to bear to see the person who was both her protector and monster. How long would she be safe until the time came? How long would it be until Yuto decided that she wasn't worth dying for? How long would it be until her blood would be spilled like Tsubaki's?

Her legs, too weak to support her anymore, collapsed under her. Her throat was constricted, closing off her screams and cries. Mao and Kosaka were shouting something, but Yuki didn't know what they said—her mind was too foggy to concentrate properly.

"Yuki," she heard Yuto say. "Yuki!"

She was scared—she was so scared. And cold. And lonely. And tired. And empty.

She wouldn't stop trembling.

"It's alright." A cool, lucid voice cut through. A warm hand—a comforting and nonintrusive hand—caressed her jaw and lifted her chin. A pair of red eyes stared back at her.

"I'm here to help. My name is Akise Aru."

A/N: Hinata first addresses Yuno as Yunocchi, but later drops the nickname after discovering her true nature. Hinata also addresses Yuki as Amano. It can be seen that Hinata refers males by their surnames whereas is more affectionate with females.