Brightest of Shadows Chapter 7: Regrets

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Hey! So if you're wondering where I've been, my computer broke, so I'm sort of just publishing new chapters whenever I can find a computer my friend will let me use! So without further ado, on with the new chapter!

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At first what Yami heard and felt was almost ethereal. It felt as if his body was floating around the vacuum of space, complete with even the stars floating around him. Surprisingly, even to Yami, what he felt was pure unadulterated bliss, completely ignorant of the physical trauma being inflicted on his body. It was quickly followed by a searing pain shooting throughout his entire body a few moments later however.

When he attempted to scream, Yami was terrified upon hearing his voice, or the lack there of; it was no more than a struggled whisper. Again and again, the young boy tried to project his voice past his lips, but this only served to further tire him. Eventually Yami could resist no more, instead opting to cry silently as he travelled throughout the void with seemingly no hope of getting out.

"This is my fault..." Yami's eyes shot open when he heard none other than Sachiko's voice drifting throughout the ethereal realm, which brought no small amount of relief to the boy. "If I had just run quicker, or even just flown... I don't know I just... I would've been able to reach him in time..."

"Sachiko-san, you did what you could for him... Don't worry alright? He's going to live through this; the doctor said so more than once..." It was Yoshiki's voice that pierced through the void of darkness this time. It sounded much more calm than Yoshiki usually sounded, which was surprising in of itself; but it was equally surprising that the two were having a civil conversation, since everyone had been wary of Sachiko when they had left Heavenly Host. Unfortunately the fear was not without warrant, as much as Yami wished it wasnt the case.

"It makes me wonder... How many others felt this way in my school before I-... I-... Oh God; what've I done... I'm a monst-..." Sachiko's voice was suddenly cut off by Yoshiki's, even though the latter's voice was considerably more on the lower end.

"You're not a monster Sachiko-san... Whatever you've done before meeting us is meaningless to us. You saved us, and thats what counts now..." Yoshiki's voice drifted through. "I can guess by the fact that you were able to do what you did to Yami-san's father that you've probably done some pretty fucked up things, but we don't need, or want, to know about it... You're a different person now..."

"I've done so much... Yami-chan's father was the only one who even remotely deserved it as far as I know... I didn't exactly get to know anyone in Heavenly Host before I ended them..." Sachiko admitted, or at least that's what Yami could guess she was doing. It certainly didn't sound like bragging in any way. "How can I possibly be a changed person when I can do something like that to Yami-chan's father?..."

The statement however also gave Yami pause for thought. His father? What did his father do? He searched through his mind as much as he could, yet there seemed to be some sort of mental barrier blocking his way. Instead all he could see was a smiling woman with black hair tied up in a bun. He had never seen this woman before in his life, yet somehow he was still able to picture her clearly.

"Listen... It's been a week, and he's alive... You didn't kill him, alright?" Yoshiki's voiced seemed comforting, despite the morbid message they were hiding. "And besides, he won't be able to do anything else to Yami-san for a long time; even if he wanted to... He won't get feeling back in his limbs for months after what you've done to him, and by that time his mother will have pressed charges... You're lucky the doctors bought our story about the wild dog... In a way your brutality probably convinced them it was a wild animal..."

"What if Yami-chan hates me for what I've done though?..." Sachiko's worried voice drifted through the void of wherever Yami was floating around in. As much as he tried, he was not able to answer Sachiko however. He wanted to tell her that he wasn't mad, that she did what she thought was right; whatever it actually was. Thankfully Yoshiki did it for him.

"Yami-san adores you... I only saw you two interacting for a few minutes in your school and our high school, but I could tell that he knows something about you that we don't, other than the killings of course, and even so he still really likes you. That has to count for something, right?" Yoshiki was absolutely right; Yuki had informed him of the supposed monster hiding in the guise of a little girl, but even so Yami still wanted to give Sachiko a second chance. After all, if he didn't, then who would? Not that he minded helping her in the slightest.

After a few moments, Yoshiki began to speak again in a rather calm and cautious manner, obviously trying to carefully ease into the question. "So Sachiko-san... I have a proposition for you... You remember how I said I will be able to take care of you?"

This piqued Sachiko's interest almost immediately. When she had originally heard Yoshiki mention the idea, she had just assumed that he was doing no more than forcing a positive facade out of his mouth in order to impress the other Shinozaki that he so obviously adored, although the other Shinozaki seemed completely oblivious to it. "Yes? Why do you bring it up?"

"I've made all the arrangements needed for you to pop up into the world again... Yui-sensei called in a favor from one of her old school peers and got you registered into the international database; so you basically exist again." Yoshiki's voice explained, the voice calm and collected. "I only have two conditions to all of this..."

"Ok... What are they?" Sachiko's voice dominated the space for only a few moments before Yoshiki's voice was apparent once more.

"The first condition is that you attend school, preferably the one Yami-san attends... Is that okay?" A short bout of silence followed by the positivity in Yoshiki's voice led Yami to the conclusion that Sachiko had accepted. "The second is that you attend therapy... I know you may not like the idea, but after all that you've done, we need to make sure that you won't end up doing it again..."

"Fine... I guess I can't complain... I accept..." Sachiko muttered.

"Good... And don't worry, Ayumi-chan told me that she'll go with you, so you won't need to speak to any strangers alone..." Yoshiki's voice called out, which brought a large sense of relief to Yami.

It was then that he heard Sachiko's voice once again.

"Hey... Hey! Yoshiki-san, what's this mean?!" Sachiko called out in Yami's head assumed to the young man that she had addressed in the statement. "Look, all the little lines are rising and falling really fast now... What's going on?!"

"It's his heart rate monitor! He's waking up! I have to go and get a doctor quick!" Yami heard, before his vision began to fade once more, although this time, instead of the eternal blackness that crossed his vision before was a small bright light. Without even giving it a second thought, Yami headed for the bright light, his vision eventually overtaken by it.

However, as he slowly regained consciousness a soft female voice, barely audible even in the silence that dominated, broke through his thoughts. "Sachi is my pride and joy... She'd do anything for me-... And you... Take care of her... Love-... With all-... Heart-..."

He could hear no more, as the light enveloped him completely...

.

The light of the room was blinding to Yami at first. When he had opened his eyes originally had was forced to clamp his eyes shut once again, since the light felt as if it were burning out his corneas.

"Yami-chan?..." A small voice, Sachiko's, echoed throughout the room, forcing Yami to at the very least open his ears to hear what his friend had to say although opted to keep his eyes peacefully shut for now. He wanted to know what Sachiko was saying. "Are you awake?... Yoshiki-san said that you were waking up... He went to go and get a doctor..."

When Yami heard the word doctor come out of Sachiko's mouth, he nearly got up right then and there, but was able to restrain himself by the skin of his teeth, if only to hear Sachiko's voice; although he had no idea why he wanted to hear it. It would be exactly the same even if he were awake and speaking to her. Perhaps it was the concern in her words? No one besides his mother evercspoke to Yami in such a way, and this was coming from someone his age.

"You're asleep right?..." Sachiko paused for a good few seconds before she began to speak again, her voice much quieter than it usually was. "...I haven't ever really told anyone this, and I doubt you can even hear me; but I-... I know that your friends, and maybe even you will never believe me... But I regret what I've done you know... In Heaveny Host I mean..."

Staying still was becoming increasingly difficult for Yami with each word that slipped out of Sachiko's mouth. He wanted to jump and tell her that he wasn't mad at her, that he couldn't be mad at her, but something in his head, some desire to hear everything, was keeping him rooted in place; forcing himself to listen to Sachiko confessing to no less than regret for murder.

"When I was killing them I... I don't know, I guess I just felt like I was giving someone else my pain, even if it was just for a little while... But the pain always came back eventually; sometimes even worse than ever before..." As Sachiko spoke, her hands eventually found their way over to one of Yami's, holding onto his limp digits like a lifeline. "When I started killing at first, I was just doing it to please my mother but... Eventually... It just became fun... Fun to live without the pain of my murder hanging over my head like an axe... I never wanted to kill for its own sake believe it or not, but it gave me something besides that principle to think about..."

As Sachiko continued to speak, Yami began to wonder exactly what Sachiko had gone through in order to become the way she had. However before Yami could delve further into his contemplation he was forced to refocus on paying attention to Sachiko, as her voice began to quaver with sadness. She had begun to cry in the time that Yami had been lost in his thoughts.

"That principle... He murdered my mother in front of me by pushing her down a flight of stairs and then he strangled me... I hated him for what he did so much, I even twisted his son's mind but-... I really didn't want to, I just wanted someone to understand me... Even if it was my killer's son..." Yami then realized it, why Sachiko had such a large red mark around her neck; it was the aftermath of the murderer's attack. A few moments later, Sachiko began to speak once again.

"I wasn't happy with it though, I just couldn't speak honestly to him... I'm even afraid to tell you these things, at least without crying like a fool... You're the only person I could ever tell... I... I don't want to lose anyone else... I don't want to lose you..." The grip on Yami's hand increased drastically as Sachiko stood on her feet and began to beg in a way Yami never thought he would hear; with fear in her words. "I'm sorry... Yami-chan... I'm so sorry I hurt everyone... Please wake up... I'm so sorry for what I've done!..."

Suddenly, Sachiko froze and glanced down at her and Yami's hands. A small but desperate smile crawled across her face when she realized what she was feeling. As she slowly pressed on Yami's hand, she nearly began to laugh in relief as she felt Yami's hand squeeze her pale hands back.

Without an ounce of hesitation in her mind, Sachiko immediately pounced on Yami's bed, rubbing the top of her head against his cheek like an affectionate cat, all while Yami laughed softly, wincing slightly at the pain radiating throughout his lungs from lack of serious use for however long he was out for.

As his lungs continually adjusted to the increased air intake, Yami finally began to consider just how long that he had been out, and with a serious amount of effort, Yami was finally able to lift his head up to address his friend. "S-... Sachiko-chan?... How long has it been?... How long have I been asleep?..."

"Around a week my boy!" A loud voice called out, forcing Yami to look towards the source of the disturbance. What came into his vision was a rather elderly looking man, presumably the doctor, standing in the doorway, surrounded on either side by Ayumi and Yoshiki, while Seiko trailed slightly behind, obviously distracted out of her wits for whatever reason.

"A week?... What happened to me?..." Yami was able to just barely struggle out his question before he was forced to relieve the muscles in his neck, as they burned with an overwhelming pain due to the lack of use over the last 7 days.

"Careful my boy!" The doctor chastised Yami as he ran over to adjust the boys pillows, shooing Sachiko off of the bed, much to her displeasure. Once Sachiko was off of Yami and once again sitting in her chair next to Yami's bed, the doctor began to speak again. "You only just woke up, and your neck was rather badly injured when you were brought in. In fact, you were strangled by your father."

"Hey! Don't lay it on him so suddenly!" Ayumi spoke up, walking up to grasp one of Yami's hands in a comforting gesture; he missed Sachiko's glare of jealously however, as her attention was completely focused on the doctor. "He almost lost both of his parents in one night! Couldn't you be a little more subtle with your approach at the very least?..."

"Oh! My apologies! Sometimes I tend to let things just slip right out of my mouth... Ah, I must learn to filter such things!" The doctor confessed, before shuffling over to one of the closets, pulling out a small bottle of painkillers. Shuffling back over to the bed, the doctor pulled a pill out of the bottle, split it in half, and handed the smaller half to Yami. "Take this; it'll help with the pain for now. You'll be discharged before dinner, so you'll be able to go back with your friends; okay?"

"What about my mother?..." Yami asked, before taking the pill without complaints.

"She-... Your mother is quite badly injured... She'll be with us for a few days, possibly weeks, unfortunately... Your friends the Mochida's have already said that they will take care of you for the next few weeks." The doctor explained slowly, being sure to let Yami absorb the information at his leisure, and strangely enough Yami didn't seem all that bothered by the concept.

"I understand... You're talking about Satoshi-senpai and Yuka-san right?" Yami asked, more to confirm that the Mochida family that the doctor spoke of was one and the same that his two friends belonged to.

"Correct. Along with their parents of course!" The doctor explained while he began to scribble down information on a discharge sheet. "I must say my boy, you have some rather generous friends! They didn't even think twice about it before they accepted the responsibility of taking care of you for the next few weeks, a trait that is becoming as rare as Atlantis sadly..."

"Well anyway... Hey Sachiko-chan, how about we go down to the café and get us all some dinner?" Ayumi suggested with a smile while she clasped her hands together in such a way that she appeared to be as social as she possibly could to the other Shinozaki.

"Okay!... Wait..." Sachiko's smile disappeared as she hesitated, before turning to Yami with concern inlayed in her eyes. "Are you going to be okay?..."

"I'll be fine. Yoshiki-senpai, Seiko-senpai, and the doctor are all here... Go get dinner... You must really want a real meal after so long..." Yami chuckled, with only Sachiko and the Kisaragi High Students were able to pick up on, leaving the doctor none the wiser; not that the elderly gentleman was paying much attention at all anyway, his eyes focused on the form in front of him.

"Alright. We'll be back soon, we'll bring you all something!" Ayumi declared before ushering Sachiko out of the room towards the café...