The Philosopher's Stone

by Jibun no Omoi

The Philosopher's Stone. The most desired item that alchemists have strived for centuries to reach. The reason why no one has obtained it...do you know why? Because the Philosopher's Stone isn't a Stone. It isn't even an item. It's a human. HitsugayaXOC

13. One Day, One Room

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING BUT THE FANCONCEPT OF THIS FANFICTION.

Chapter warning; This ark is psychological and horror orientated.

Okay, now this is the beginning of a tri-chapter ark - The Kanashimi no Moukou He Ark. It means 'On the other side of sorrow'.

The title was inspired by an already existing anime song, having the same title XD And because I have no idea how you write horror, I kinda looked at pacific anime shows XP So don't be surprised if you recognise some scenerios, but I made sure that none were exactly the same ... I think XDD

As I said on the top - the ark will be going into details of Miyuki's torture, that means gore. I hope you enjoy! I rewrote and edited this thing over and over again, so I hope that it doesn't turn out too bad!

-x-X-x-

悲しみの向こうへ: 第一

(Kanashimi no Moukou He: dai-ichi)

'One Day, One Room'

If I can make my way to the other side of sorrow,

Then I don't need warmth or tomorrow anymore.

-x-X-x-

''Hmm, hmm... Wow! This will be so fun, ZeroZero-chan! This is a test to see if you can regrow body parts!'' a doctor, the sickest one of the lot, said as he pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose. He spoke with a terrible accent, meaning that he was obviously a foreigner. His eyes flickered with madness as his grin emerged from behind the clip board in his hands. Miyuki was brought into another room, which reminded my of a torture chamber, similar to the one we Gotei 13 use to interrogate.

Miyuki was being held to the spot by the shoulders by one doctor, the other was getting something from the shelves. She was shaking, wrapping her arms around herself. I was clenching my fist so tightly that I was drawing blood from my palms - but I didn't care. Agony was obvious on my face, and I knew that Natsume was looking away, not being able to watch.

We were standing a few feet from them, but not because we wanted to; there was a barrier separating us from them.

''We'll be watching the events like a film. Standing and watching is all we need to do.'' I remembered Natsume's explanation from a few minutes ago. I scoffed bitterly. What she meant was it was all we could do.

My eyes flickered when I saw that the one who was rummaging through the shelves had just set a contraption on the table. I averted my gaze from Miyuki to see the obviously heavy object with wide eyes. It was longer than a fully grown elbow, one side was equipped with leather straps and the other with a leaver.

''Its a shame that we can't cut an arm or a leg off... but if you can't regrow a limb you will lessen your worth! But don't worry! If you pass this one, I might be able to get permission to chop something~!'' I glared lividly at that doctor. He seemed to be the boss of the three, since he was the one who did all the talking. Miyuki gulped as sweat rolled down her face when she looked up to the the lenses of his glaces, which reflected insanity. Wrinkles had gathered around her eyes because they were wide for such a long time. Shakily, she turned her head to look at the steel object on the table. Her arms around herself tightened.

''W-What... is this...?'' she asked with a terrified, meek voice. She flinched when she felt the doctor leaning over her shoulder.

''Its a device for tearing off fingernails.'' I winced, instantly realizing what was going to happen.

Miyuki started shaking, too scared to gasp.

''Do you know how to use it?'' he asked with a grin.

Miyuki snapped her head towards the doctor, her eyes reflected disbelief. ''O-Of course not! How would I?!''

The man smirked, and gestured another man to grip Miyuki by the shoulders again, and I could feel a shortness of my breath. She gulped and looked up at the men, her eyes glassy with unleashed tears.

''P-Please... No more...'' she begged, but shivered when their grins twisted in insane angles.

I hung my head, covering my face with my hand, not knowing what to do.

''You know we can't do that, ZeroZero-chan~''

I looked up to see that she shakily turned back to face the device with wide eyes. Her pupil was a mere dot - making the purple in her eyes more visible. But that was barely notable, as her irises were drastically contracted as well. Her sweat started to drip down the floor, and she didn't have the strength to fight back when they strapped her left arm into the contraption. They soon set one nail into the holder...

...I didn't know if I wanted to see what was about to happen.

As one fist raised up and was brought down again over the leaver, Miyuki screamed. Her eyes clenched shut. Expecting excruciating pain.

I flinched, but my eyes couldn't avert from the scene.

After the leaver was hit, I heard a sickening crack filling the air, which was followed by Miyuki's cringe. I could feel a stab in my chest, and had to hold my arms from trembling. Her eyes were still shut, her head was facing away slightly. But one eye cracked open, and with her body shaking in pain, she looked down to see a torn-off fingernail next to the device. Her eyes continued and laid sight on her small finger was stripped of it's nail. Pink flesh showing, with blooding starting to ooze from it. My hair from the nape of my neck stood up, and a shiver ran through my body when I looked at that.

I hated myself.

Even if all this already happened long ago...

...It didn't change that fact.

I didn't notice the blood dripping down the floor from my self-impaled hands had formed a little pool.

''Will... Will this... do...?'' she asked in an exhausted, agonized voice, a terrible frown creasing her eyebrows as she looked up at the doctor. ''Ano ne... ano ne...! This hurts! This really hurts...!'' she said, having to soon after that look down with shut eyes. Unable to do anything without clenching all her muscles. That was the extent of the pain she was in.

I furrowed my eyebrows and bit my tongue, but my eyes widened when I heard the doctor laughing.

''That was a funny joke, ZeroZero-chan!'' he said, clutching his sides. Miyuki looked up at him with confusion and horror clear on her face.

''We need all of your fingers done~!''

Miyuki's pupils shook. Her breath shaking. ''She didn't deserve this...'' I whispered through clenched teeth; she looked like someone ran her through with a knife.

''No... It can't be...'' she said, and tears started to gather in her eyes. ''Not again...!'' Her voice was pitiful. It only made the tightness around my heart worse.

''No!'' She started to struggle, ''NO!'' she cried, but the grip on her never loosened, only tightened. I couldn't hold in a gasp as one of them brought a cloth bag from behind the distressed child.

''Miyuki...!'' I called her name through gritted teeth, my brows horribly furrowed.

''Now, now... We can't have that! Going through life means sometimes doing this you don't want to do!'' he said in a lecturing tone, as if she was complaining about not wanting to do her homework instead of pleading for mercy. Miyuki wasn't really paying attention, because she was shaking her head violently from side to side. Panicking, trying to break free.

I had laid a hand on the surface of the barrier, fighting the urge to bash it with all my bottled-up anger.

''No, no, no, no! Please! I can't take any more!'' she said in a distressed voice, gasping and panting. ''It really hurts!'' She started to sob and whimper.

''Oh, Miyuki...'' I said as a shaky, nearly sobbing breath escape my throat.

But her pleas didn't matter to him, he just gestured the cloth to the man who was holding it. The green fabric was pulled over her head without her even expecting the restraint, and Miyuki's struggle only got stronger. But it wasn't strong enough against two grown men - the third just watched on with a grin as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

She could only cry from the top of her lungs as they set in her next finger. The doctor's talking was heavily muffled under Miyuki's screams.

I cringed when I saw the hand rising up to hit the leaver. My eyes clenched shut. ''I'm sorry...!'' was all I could say.

''Now, now, it won't be so bad!''

crack

''See? It wasn't so bad, was it?''

crack

''Its even fun!''

crack

''You're lucky, aren't you, ZeroZero-chan!''

crack

''Maybe I'll think of something else like this to organize for you!''

crack

''Having fun and getting a finishing work at the same time...''

crack

''...is quite an accomplishment, isn't it?''

crack

''Even more fun!''

crack

''I know you think so too, don't you, ZeroZero-chan?''

crack

''Come on, be honest!''

I forgot how to breath during that time.

The echoing of Miyuki's screams will haunt me for as long as I live.

That I knew without a doubt.

:-:-:-:-:-:

''Hm, didn't work after all.''

''Still no regrowth on the fingernails?''

''...Nothing.''

''In that case, write that down in the report. That concludes the physical tests... for now.''

''The interesting part starts here.''

:-:-:-:-:-:

''If my orientation is right,'' Natsume said, leaning her back against an invisible wall. I just simply stared at the barrier, which showed nothing but black. I twitched when I heard the girl speaking. ''This is when the first part of the psychological experiments starts.''

I frowned deeply, but kept my composure nevertheless. That was the first scene out of Miyuki's life that I just witnessed, and even after that, staying rational was hard.

''The first?'' I repeated before looking at the girl over my shoulders with an indifferent expression on my face. The night Miyuki told me about her past flashed through my mind. ''You mean when she was a part of a children's death-match?'' I asked, desperately hoping that she would say that it wasn't the case.

She sighed before nodding slowly. It was almost as if she was being understanding for my sake.

''Come on, ZeroZero-chan, right this way!''

Both our gazes instantly zoomed back to the barrier; it now showed Miyuki walking along a hall with that doctor from before. Her hands were completely covered in bandages and she held them close. I winced when I saw her pale hands in those white ribbons, shaking; just like her body in that man's presence. Her wide, purple eyes looked up at the doctor. She seemed like she wanted to say something, but no words came out. He blinked when he realized this and smiled.

''I bet you're anxious about what fun is next~'' he said, and I had to suppress a growl. ''You're going to meet some new friends today, doesn't that sound lovely?'' Miyuki frowned, great confusion obvious on her face, but as they came to a door in the hall and the doctor opened it.

Miyuki's eyes showed astonishment when she saw a group of three children in the room, a boy and two girls, all her age -around nine- chatting along happily. The pale girl blinked a few times at the sight before her. She flinched when she felt the doctor giving her a shove into the room, and I felt the urge to break his arm off rise.

''Now, now; don't be shy, say hello.'' Miyuki nodded nervously at him.

''Y-Yes, sir,'' she said meekly before slowly making her way to the children in the middle of the big, empty, white-walled room. One girl with red hair in a pony-tail smiled brightly when she saw Miyuki coming.

''Another one! Sugoi! This is so exciting!'' she said, squealing. Miyuki looked at the red-head as if she had grown a third eye.

''What brings you here?'' the other girl, a brunette, asked politely. Miyuki gulped, a little too dumbfounded to speak. Even I thought that this change of mood was odd.

''I... I've been in this place for a long time now...'' Miyuki answered, and I saw that the doctor was leering at her. She must've felt it. She looked back up at them, seemingly uneasy with their cheerful attitudes in such a place. ''What are you doing here?''

''We were invited to a test of courage!'' the boy said with a toothy grin. The ginger-red haired girl rolled her eyes.

''...And you forgot to mention that you're the only guy doing this. Wow, my hero,'' she said sarcastically. Miyuki's eyes were wide before she opened her mouth to retort, but I saw her flinching again. The doctor was directing that glare at her a second time. She was greatly intimidated by that doctor, and I didn't blame her.

''...Souka...'' Miyuki said quietly under her breath.

''Now that you've all seen all your team-members, allow me to explain the rules to this game,'' the doctor said, slowly approaching the children as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Miyuki was the only one to have a fearful expression on her face. ''You have to stay in this room, the one who can stay the longest, enduring all obstacles, wins.'' A smirk crossed his lips. ''Its every one for themselves. And only one winner.''

''Hai!'' the children yelled enthusiastically in an union. All except for Miyuki.

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

--

''Ne, ne, ne, ne, ne!'' the red-head chanted, making Miyuki's eyes twitch in annoyance. She snapped her head over to the annoying girl.

''For the twenty-fifth time; WHAT IS IT?!'' Miyuki asked, frustration obvious in her voice. The girl giggled. I gave a typical smirk; Miyuki hasn't changed one bit.

''What's your name?'' The pale girl blinked at the red-head as if she was an idiot. It has been a few hours now since the doctor left the room, and the group was simply... occupying themselves while they were sitting until an 'obstical' came. Time moved much faster for Natsume and I, as if we always skipped out parts.

''...You've been ranting on me for an hour just to ask me that?'' Miyuki asked. ''And its common etiquette to introduce yourself before asking for someone else's name.'' She raised her eyebrows at Miyuki's cold voice. But soon a broad smile crossed her face, making Miyuki frown in confusion.

''You're really smart, aren't you?'' she asked, giggling slightly. ''I'm Ito Akiko!'' she said cheerily. Miyuki blinked when she realized that the link of introduction continued.

''My name's Arakaki Kiku, pleased to meet you,'' the brunette said, smiling shyly. The boy also looked over to the black-haired girl.

''The name's Kobayashi Yori!'' he introduced proudly. Miyuki did a round-glance at them before she opened her mouth to speak.

''...I assume that you all know each other?'' she asked, and Ito nodded eagerly.

''Oh course~!'' Ito sang, and Miyuki scoffed. I couldn't help but let the corner of my lips twitch to a small curve upwards for a second. Miyuki was already getting annoyed by that girl.

''I'm Higurashi Miyuki,'' she said, then eyeing Ito with twitching eyebrows. ''Nice to meet you, now get the hell outta my face.''

--

''When's something gonna happen?!'' Kobayashi's frustration was obvious in his voice as he threw his hands up in the air. ''Its been...'' his loud voice trailed off and his face held a distracted expression.

''-Two hours.'' Arakaki hinted. His face retrieved it's annoyed glint, and I resisted the temptation to shake my head at his blunt stupidity.

''That's right! Its been two hours since the beginning! COME ON!'' The girls looked up at the ranting male, since they where sitting down.

''...Not the sharpest knife in the drawer, is he?'' Miyuki asked. Arakaki shook her head.

''He does have his charms, though,'' she said, blushing as she looked at the rampaging boy. Miyuki blinked before letting a smirk cross her lips.

''Do you like Kobayashi-san, Arakaki-san?'' Arakaki looked mildly surprised before answering Miyuki's tease with a warm smile.

''I love him very much.''

I scoffed when I saw Miyuki's expression; she was flabbergasted, and her mouth was agape. Though I must admit that I was surprised of her confession. Miyuki blinked at the humble girl with testing eyes before sighing.

''They're usually a lot more stubborn in the movies,'' Miyuki said, and Arakaki chuckled. But when her cobalt eyes landed on Miyuki's bandaged hands, they blinked.

''Higurashi-san, what happened to your hands?'' Arakaki asked, starting to focus her gaze on them. Miyuki pulled them close to her, grinning nervously as she waved her off.

''Ah... its a hobby! Yes, a hobby!'' I winced slightly at that. The brunette furrowed her brows in confusion, but they both tilted their heads to the direction where they heard a strange sound. Ito was fiddling with some technological object of some description with screwdrivers and pliers. Miyuki seemed mildly surprised.

''Wow, its amazing that you can do something like this at this age!'' Miyuki exclaimed as she crawled over to the red-head. The other two joined to look at Ito's work over her shoulder. ''What is it?'' she asked, and Ito grabbed something from a red box with all her tools in.

''Its my new invention,'' she said flatly, ''You'll see what it can do when I'm finished.''

''Oh...'' was Miyuki's intelligent reply. I had to suppress a scoff, so her moodiness has existed since then.

''Okay, Yori, hand me the wheresit,'' Ito said, her eyes never leaving the sight of her work. Kobayashi looked at the toolbox with arched eyebrows and scratched his head.

''Where is it?'' he asked.

''Yup, the wheresit.''

''That's... what I said; 'Where is it'?''

''Yori, please,'' Ito said, growing impatient as I grew confused. She even held a hand own, which gestured that she wanted it within the next ten seconds. ''Wheresit, STAT.''

Kobayashi narrowed his eyes as he crossed his arms. ''I'm asking you, Akiko, WHERE IS IT?''

''The wheresit is a tool, Yori. Next to the thinamagig?'' she said as if he was an idiot. Of course, being a shinigami I had no idea what they were talking about- but judging from Miyuki's expression she seemed a bit skeptical of Ito's words.

''Oh, of course, how dumb of me,'' he said sarcastically and smacked a hand over his eyes, his arm reaching into the box and pulling something out on random. ''Next to the thingamabob,'' he quoted wrongly. He uncovered his eyes and looked at the tool in his hand with an unreadable expression before handing it to Ito. She held it and inspected it.

''No, not the thingamabob!'' She promptly threw the tool over her shoulder, making Kobayashi dodge. ''The thinamagig!'' she said and took another tool out from her box and showed it to him. She returned her intense focus to her work. ''The thingamabob is for adding wahts to the dohicky!''

Kobayoshi looked like someone just asked him to fight against Yamamoto. And I wasn't far behind.

''Wha?''

''Wahts,'' she corrected.

''What?!''

''That's right, wahts.''

''Say what?!''

She looked up at him with a grin. ''Exactly.''

Kobayashi looked like he would rip his hair put as he growled in what seems annoyance and frustration. He grabbed another tool from the box, and I blinked at his temper.

''Akiko! If you're not gonna start makin' sense here, I'll smash all of yer whatchamacallits with this whosistwhatsits!'' he said, and furrowed his brows when he saw Ito trying to hold in a laugh. ''What's so funny?''

He didn't seem to notice the unsightly... slime dribbling down the item down to his shoulder as he held it high. I scowled in disgust.

''Yori, that's not a whositswhatsits. That's the new industrialized strengthen plumper I invented to unclog the headmaster's toilet,'' she said. His face quite literally turned green. After dropping the tool he covered his mouth with his hand as he jumped from one leg to another.

''Nasty, NASTY!''

The two girls laughed at him, and Miyuki chuckled. I unconsciously allowed a small smile on my lips when I heard her laughter. It was the first time after a while since it last rang through my ears.

I saw Natsume walking up next to me with crossed arms from the corner of my eye. '' 'Why isn't Miyuki warning them if she suspects that something will happen?'... Is what you're thinking, right?'' Natsume said. I side-glanced her momentarily before looking ahead at the young Miyuki again.

''Perhaps.''

''She got that kind of treatment when she obeyed everything they said... can you imagine what they would do if she didn't?'' she asked, ''And besides, she could've never even dream of what had happened at the time.''

I frowned when I looked into Miyuki's somewhat smiling face.

Because I knew that her smile was going to be taken from her.

Both our attentions returned back to the scene unfolding before us.

''Are you sure its okay for you guys to be here? Do your parents know where you are?'' Miyuki asked, and Ito shrugged. The two of them were talking while Arakaki and Kobayashi were a few feet away from them, both laughing and blushing merrily.

''We're all orphans from the local orphanage. No one would notice if a few went missing,'' the ginger-haired girl said before sighing. Miyuki nodded wearily, seemingly worried. I frowned; this explained why they were the ones picked out for this experiment.

''Souka...'' Miyuki blinked when she saw Ito looking over to Kobayashi and Arakaki, who seemed to be enjoying each other's company. ''...Do you like Kobayashi-san, Ito-san?'' Miyuki asked with a surpised voice. Arakaki blushed and looked away. I noticed that this was quite a different reaction from Arakaki's.

''Don't be stupid! An IDIOT like him? No thanks!'' she said, Miyuki smiled wearily, but it dropped when she heard a shriek.

''AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!''

I twitched in surprise and turned to look at the one who screamed; Arakaki Kiku. Miyuki and Ito scrambled to their feet and ran over to the other two, and whatever the brunette was screaming at was shielded from their view by Arakaki. ''Kiku-san, what's the-'' Ito instantly cut herself off and there was a brief silence after gasps left the other two girl's mouths.

Ito screamed with terror in her voice. And Miyuki's knees gave in, making her fall with her legs folded underneath her. I cringed at her reaction; seeing her with this utterly broken perplexion on her face was even worse than her screaming.

All their attentions were directed at a brutally stabbed corpse of a male child their age, which was lying limb ontop of a panicking Kobayashi who eventually got the corpse off him. The corpse's skin was drained of blood, making it ghastly white. The boy's limbs were mangled because of all the stab wounds, and his middle was completely minced. His eyes and mouth were wide.

All four had shocked expressions on their faces; but only Miyuki had a truley horrified one.

''W-W-W-W-Wha...t's... this...?'' Kobayashi asked with a trembling voice as he pointed a finger at the corpse that was thrown in over him at some point - but because Miyuki didn't witness it neither did we. Arakaki crawled back before having to throw up, Ito looked like she was about to follow the suit. I could see Miyuki's eyes flickering as her eyes trailed down the corpse. Her mouth was parted, shaking, she herself was trembling. I could see the face of that dead boy; tears were streaming down his face, saliva from one corner of his mouth, and his eyes were bulding out. I narrowed my eyes, disgusted. Just how sick were these people?

Everyone jerked their heads up when the intercom went on.

''Oops! I forgot to mention that the only way to win over your enemies is to kill them, silly me! So in other words; only the winner gets out alive! Such thrills are fun, aren't they? Hohoho~ The only weapons allowed are knives and things like that! There're more than enough over at the collection box, help yourselves!''

Kobayashi ran over to the door and grabbed the handle before thrashing with all his might. But the door never budged.

''Now, now! No cheating! And remember; you only have 24 hours! If not only one stands as the winner by then, you'll end up like that boy over there- doesn't his expression tell you just how much fun he had? Ah, just makes me all warm and fuzzy inside just thinking about it!''

Tears were gathering in Miyuki's eyes as she stared into the ones of the corpse. She shakily reached both her hands to her head, and held each side of it before clenching her eyes shut. She screamed. In despair.

I furrowed my brows as I winced. My hand was back on the surface of the barrier. I wanted to comfort her, I wanted to wake her up, I wanted to save her, I wanted this to end.

I wanted so much of the unachievable.

''Miyuki,'' I whispered silently to myself as I frowned deeply.

So... this is what started the real nightmare for her.

But the Miyuki from then... doesn't know yet.

She doesn't know just how that 'nightmare' will be...

...when she can't even wake up from it.

''C-Calm down! I'm sure that it was all just some stupid prank, don't let it get to you!'' Arakaki said, but behind her smile, it was quite obvious that she wasn't convinced herself. Ito glared at her.

''Prank? Prank?!'' she asked, pointing a finger at the corpse behind her. ''LOOK AT THAT AND TELL ME AGAIN THAT ITS JUST A 'PRANK'!'' Ito flinched at her sudden outburst. Kobayashi was slumped against the door, and the girls had moved themselves away from the rotting corpse.

''Calm down, Akiko-san! We aren't going to get out of this if we don't stay calm!'' Arakaki said, gripping Ito's shoulders tightly, staring into her eye.

''We won't all be getting out of here.'' I turned to look at Miyuki, who was sitting with her head tilted down. I blinked at her dark, low voice. ''When that man says something will happen, it will. Either one stands alive at the end or we will all die,'' Miyuki said before looking up a clock with hollow eyes.

''It's late now. We can plan what to do in the morning; that's well within 24 hours.'' Her amethyst eyes zoomed to the glass-cased trunk with knives of all styles laid. Arakaki smiled, completely obvious to her fate.

''That's right! I'm sure we can do something about this! If we all combine our strength, it'll definitely work!''

Miyuki didn't say anything, and just by looking at her expression, I knew what was going through her mind.

That they were so hopeful was because the didn't understand the seriousness of the situation.

Kobayashi stood, their attention was taken by something else slumping onto the ground; right next to Miyuki, who had her eyes reflecting horror as she jerked her head up.

''Don't mind us dumping the dead bodies of the losers here,'' the doctor said over the intercom, and my eyes were wide with disbelief.

Shakily, Miyuki turned her head to look at the thing to her; it was only the head of a girl this time. Miyuki's hand jumped to her mouth before she turned to other side, and threw up. I frowned, cursing myself again. She coughed as she wiped her mouth, crawling away from the cut-off head. I couldn't care about the other children's reactions, my attention was completely focused onto Miyuki.

''See them as a form of motivation!''

I was definitely going to kill this man if he'd ever come across my path.

:-:-:-:-:

The room was still lighted, despite the fact that it was night time. The children were sleeping on the floor nevertheless, all exhausted. Kobayashi Yori sat upright, his eyes insecure and wary. Leaving the three girls in their slumber, his feet brought him up. He slowly made his way to the trunk where all the blades were kept before opening it and his hesitating hand reached into the trunk. It brought a dagger up before staring at it. He turned to look at the sleeping girls, then the corpses on the other side of the room. He returned his gaze to the breathing children, a frown crossing his face as he slowly walked over to the girl closest to where he was standing; Ito Akiko. The other two were huddling close together, a few meters away from the red-haired girl. He stood over her, hovering. He tightened his grip on his blade.

''Forgive me, Akiko. For Kiku's sake... I'm sorry,'' he whispered before he readied his blade. His body flinched when brown eyes snapped open, glaring up at him.

'' 'For Kiku's sake'... was it?'' she asked, her voice hollow. He widen his eyes in horror when he saw that she held one of her tool razor in her hand.

''Akiko-'' she cut in.

''You choose her over me again?'' she asked. The boy shivered; this was the first time in his life where he experienced his childhood friend being so cold. ''You wanted to kill me, didn't you? So that Kiku-san can live on. Is that how much you hold her above me?'' she asked, he blinked in shock before gulping. His eyes were wide when he saw her slashing his leg with her razor. He stepped back, cringing in pain when he felt the sting in his leg. The girl stood, and shot her razor towards his middle.

He gasped as he felt the blade impale him through his stomach, memories flashing through his head.

The red-head had an arm wrapped around his neck, giving him a frustrated look as she bored her fist into his head. He tried to get out of her death-hold but with no avail.

She pulled the blade back and he crouched over, clutching his middle, his breaths ragged. Tears were streaming down his face as he fell over and he tried to crawl away, but the girl hovered over him.

''How could you?!'' she asked, bringing the blade down to jab him in the back.

She smiled at him when he gave her the cone of her favorite ice-cream.

With great curiosity, he looked over her shoulder to see what she was making.

Yori turned over for the chance of being able to breath, and she sat ontop of him, pinning him to the spot. Saliva was trailing down the side of his mouth, his tears flowing and his eyes were bulging out. He choked on his saliva as he tried to gasp when the girl stabbed him again.

''You only thought about Kiku-san! You only care for Kiku-san! You never gave a damn about me!'' Another stab, making his body jerk, his eyes un-blinking. ''WHY?! WHY DO YOU LOVE HER AND NOT ME?!''

When the blade impaled him, he choked again before his eyes started to roll back.

She was sitting on a table next to him, explaining the homework because he never paid attention in class.

He took his time to teach her how to play football.

They were on the beach, splashing each other with water. Both grinning from ear to ear.

She pierced again, both hands clutching the handle of her weapon, everything soaking with his blood, like her cheek, the matching colour of her hair. But she didn't notice - she just continued.

He stood up for her sake, challenging anyone who upsetted her.

She blinked at him when he gave her a small, pink box; her birthday present. He looked away, embarrassed.

They hugged each other, mourning over their parents who abandoned them.

After another stab, he reached a hand out, clutching her shirt. ''Akiko-...'' he choked.

She gasped as she widen her eyes.

He stood in front of the door to her room, blushing.

She sat on a bench next to him.

They danced together during the school festival.

As they walked down the park, their hands found each other to hold.

She looked up ahead, in a state of shock, then looked down at his hand holding onto her bloody shirt.

But after a moment, it fell limb, making a splash when it made contact with his pool of blood on the floor. His bloody hand had left it's crimson streaks on her shirt.

He was dead.

She stared into his face; trails of tears were visible, like the saliva from the corner of his slightly parted mouth. Wrinkles had gathered around his eyes, and even though his eyes had softened, they were still budging. His pupils dilated, and staring up at her with death clear in his gaze.

She killed him.

Her mouth opened shakily, finally realizing what she had just done. Her eyes showed horror as her eyes locked with his. Those dead, grey eyes haunting her as they gazed up to her brown ones. Her breath was shaking, and her irises shrank to a mere dot.

:-:-:-:-:

Miyuki stirred, and I could see that a frown creased her face - there was a constant noise in the background which disturbed her from her slumber. After stirring, she fluttered her eyes open to see that Arakaki was also rubbing her eyes as they both sat up. They looked at each other, both having puzzled expressions. They turned their heads over to where the noise come from, and Miyuki looked like she was about to say something insulting so that silence would return. But what they were looking at made them forget that they were able to speak.

Even I widen my eyes in disbelief. Ito Akiko was covered in blood, holding a bloody rayor, sitting ontop of Kobayashi, who was stabbed to death. His blood created a big pool beneath his corpse as he lay limb on the floor.

Miyuki was at lost for words, but Arakaki soon recovered from her shock, her expression reduced to a merely surprised one.

''Akiko-san, what...'' the brunette stood, her voice calm and composed. ''...have you done?''

Ito flinched before slowly turning her head around to look at them with the same expression as Miyuki's. Arakaki narrowed her eyes when she didn't get her answer.

''Allow me to repeat myself,'' she took a step closer, ''What have you done to Yori-kun?''

-Owari-

A/N: What should I say to make you people look forward to the next chapter?

Sigh... This is the only time during the whole day where I can update, and right after I have extraciricular courses to visit... Asian mothers really are too much some times...

So, that's why I most likely won't be able to give out the review-credits until I start with the next ark. I'm really sorry! I feel so guilty... TT_TT

THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE REVIEWED! I ONLY WRITE FOR YOU!

This chapter hasn't been edited; it's a busy time now! XD

~Hate it? Love it? Something in between? Can't decide?
Review, review, REVIEW!!!

.Jibun no Omoi
Ones Memories.