Konichiwa my kittens! On this brand new episode of Seiko-chan's great adventure, we're continuing Yoshiki and Ayumi's story! What'll happen?! Such mystery! Woah! Wow! HUUHHHH~~~!

Chapter 12: Life without the Class-rep isn't life at all.

"Are you ready?" Asked the Class-rep, mouth contorted into a strange, twisted little smile.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Responded the Delinquent, making last minute adjustments to his gas mask.

Together, they stepped into the locker room. The gas masks, unfortunately, were not enough to contain the vile stench that permeated the air around them. The locker room was absolutely filthy. Inches of muck coated every possible crevice, and there were various insects and bugs abound. Even worse, there were the decaying corpses of people who were unlucky enough to receive a faulty gas mask, or whatever various circumstances led them to death in this place.

Suddenly, one of the 'corpses' jerked awake, still holding on to his last strands of life. His gas mask lay broken on the ground before him. He let out a moan of suffering, scrambling towards the pair of high schoolers, grabbing Yoshiki by the collar.

"Please… You have to help me… Please... I don't want to-" and with these pitiable last words, the man fell to the ground dead. Very dramatic stuff.

"That was… Wicked. Did you see how the light of life left his eyes just before he died?" Said Ayumi, who found this whole situation rather enjoyable. In fact, there was no place she would rather be at the moment.

Yoshiki, on the other hand, had just been traumatized for the rest of his life. The cost of the door was nothing compared to the cost of the future therapy sessions.

"Do you think he resents us enough to come back as a vengeful spirit and terrorize us? Because that. Would. Be. AWESOME!"

"C-c-c-c-c-c-c-class Rep… Can we just get this over with?"

"Fine. Whatever. Friggin party pooper." Ayumi said under her breath.

Ayumi took the mop from the bucket of water beside her, and the both of them got to work. The two were slaving away for the remainder of the day, mopping up muck, crushing bugs, and cremating corpses. When they were almost halfway done, Ayumi was getting anxious.

Yoshiki was constantly discouraging her from looking up from her work, because he knew she would get distracted, but it was also building up a significant amount of pent up frustration. This, in her mind, was the greatest place to ever exist. It was a vertical slice of everything she loved, everything gruesome, everything taboo, it was all here, and she wasn't able to enjoy it. Her body was trembling, her palms sweaty, her arms heavy, mom's spaghetti. It was torture.

What if, perchance, she took her gas mask off, just for a moment? She wanted to experience, in a small dosage, what had ended the lives of her fellow humans. She wanted to know for herself what it took to kill a man. Purely for research purposes, of course. She was tempted. Oh, so tempted. Her shaking hand steadily rose towards her face. She caressed the mask for a few seconds, playing with the idea in her head. She was going to do it. She really was.

"Class-rep, what are you doing?"

Ayumi spun around. "N-Nothing! Nothing at all."

Yoshiki looked suspiciously at her. "Well then get back to work."

"Yeah, okay." Said Ayumi, continuing to mop the floor. The idea was still there, though. Twisting, turning, burrowing its way into Ayumi's thoughts, consuming them. Her body couldn't handle it any longer. In one fluid motion, she tore the gas mask from her face, taking in a huge breath of the rancid air. Her senses were overwhelmed in the moment just before she lost consciousness. For what it was worth, it was enlightening. Luckily, her fall was cushioned somewhat by the muck caking the ground.

Yoshiki turned and saw what had happened. He knew he had to act fast if he wanted to save the class-rep. He dropped his mop and grabbed under her arms to drag her to clean air. She was heavier than he assumed, however, and the muck was slowing him down as well. He had no idea how much time Ayumi had until she suffocated, and so he heaved her upon his shoulders, making his way towards the exit. He burst through the door into the gym, and gently laid Ayumi onto the ground.

Yoshiki took a sigh of relief. What had she been thinking? Why would she choose to take of her gas mask under such dangerous circumstances? He really didn't understand this girl. And yet, she was unique. Yoshiki smiled, just a little bit, for the first time in a long time. He glanced over at the unconscious class representative.

She wasn't breathing.

Yoshiki started to panic. He looked around. It was dark outside, and the gym was empty. He quickly checked her pulse. Good, she still had one. He needed to perform CPR. What had they taught him in health class? Chest compressions. Right. He did 30 chest compressions on her. What came next? Yoshiki gulped. Mouth-to-mouth.

He realized this was an emergency situation, but he still felt a bit reluctant. He had never kissed a girl before. He wanted to save his lip virginity to Seiko, and putting his mouth on another girl's felt a little too much like cheating. He looked around again. "Is anyone else in here?!" He yelled into the void. "Anyone? Please…"

He looked back at Ayumi. He knew what he needed to do. Yoshiki tore his gas mask off, tilted Ayumi's head back and pinched her nose, and then he put his mouth on her's, creating an air seal, and then gave her air. He brought his face up, took a deep breath, and did it again.

Ayumi jerked awake, coughing and sputtering. Yoshiki backed away, having succeeded in saving her life.

"Kishinuma? What's going on?"

"Ayumi… Never… Never do something like that again. You seriously could have died… And, if you died… I- I don't know what I would do.

Ayumi blushed. "Alright, Kishinuma. I won't."

They sat in silence together for what felt like hours, with only the sound of each other's breathing to accompany them. Finally, the light of sunrise seeped through the windows, and the pair stood up. As they approached the exit, the manager could be seen getting out of his car and heading towards the glass doors with a key. He looked surprised when he saw them. He opened the doors. "So, you two are still alive, huh? I'll admit, I'm surprised. Is the locker room clean?"

Yoshiki spoke up, "It's as clean as it's going to get. Ayumi almost died. I don't care if you don't give us Keichi's address, we're done here."

The manager scratched his scruffy beard. "To be honest, I didn't really expect you to even try and clean it. You did well enough. I'll give you his info."

"Wait, seriously? You will?"

"Sure. Why not. You almost succeeded in doing what I asked, so, what the heck, right?"

Ayumi jumped with joy and Yoshiki shook his hand vigorously. "Thank you, sir. Really, thank you."

And so, the pair of high schoolers walked away side by side having received the address of Seiko's cousin, Keichi. Yoshiki turned to see Ayumi, who was looking at the sidewalk with a blush on her face.

"What is it, Ayumi?"

"Oh, nothing. I just had a nice dream while I was unconscious. That's all. Kishinuma?"

"Yeah, Ayumi?

"When did you start calling me by my first name?"

Yoshiki put his hand in his pockets and started blushing, too. "F-Forget about it."

oooooooh~~~ Romance is in the air! I can't wait until the next chapter! See you next time, mai kittens! SEIKOXSACHIKO239 OVER AND OUT! (T_T)7