How about this for quick updates! I've noticed the chapters have been getting a little shorter so I hope it's okay. The story is beginning to wind down with only three chapters ahead. I'm so excited! I'll begin working on the next chapter tonight. Hope to have it done soon. Until then, read, review, and enjoy.

Chapter 14

Tomo sat in tears. She placed a hand to her forehead and holding the letter in the other, she cried. Sakaki wanted to comfort her but didn't know how. I should've been there. Tomo shouldn't have had to suffer alone. Sakaki glanced over to Chiyo who watched Tomo in silence. She didn't move, she didn't blink, she just watched. Tomo only allowed herself to cry for so long as she somehow forced back the tears and dried her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice shaky, "I don't usually get like this. It's just that . . . when I think of Yomi . . ."

Sakaki nodded. "I understand. You want her back."

Tomo shook her head. "Not just that. After I'd finished reading the note, I went in and talked with the doctor Yomi'd had. He said she suffered from bulimia. And he described all the symptoms that he'd noticed when she was there." Tomo threw up her hands, exasperated. "The irritated knuckles, the bad teeth, even when she got sick the night before. All were signs that I ignored. And as far as the food goes, at the time I had always been happy that she was eating. I never thought . . ."

"Tomo there's no way you could've known," Sakaki tried. It was hard to see Tomo like this, especially with so much time passing since it all happened. Had she been holding this in for that long?

But Tomo continued. She had to get it out. "But all the times I could've cornered her and asked. Could've done something about it. The day she died. I was too busy running around that God Damn police station to even care about Yomi. It was my fault. I was right there and . . ."

"Tomo, please."

"I'm sorry," Tomo said defeated. "It just makes me so mad."

Then, out of the blue, Chiyo rested a hand on Tomo's shoulder which caught her by as much surprise as Sakaki. She met Tomo's eyes and never looked away. "You did what you could for Yomi. And that's all that matters. Osaka . . . she needs help."

"But that's not all," Tomo whispered. Her voice had almost completely left her, so Sakaki had to lean in just to hear. "There's still something I haven't told you." And Sakaki knew exactly what she would say. "After Yomi died, I took things pretty hard. Chief had been nice enough to give me time off to recuperate. But that didn't help. Nothing helped. I became so focused on finding Osaka, determined to make her pay. If it hadn't been for her, Yomi wouldn't have died; and Kagura might still be here. She showed them those things. Everything was her fault."

When Sakaki glanced over to Chiyo, she found Chiyo biting her lip. She wanted to say something, but must've decided against it.

"Within a few years, Chief had fired me for conducting unauthorized investigations, misusing police resources, and the like. Things got bad and I almost lost my apartment. But I was able to find another job." Giving a heavy sigh, Tomo continued, "It wasn't till about ten years or so after Yomi's death that she visited me. I'd just gotten home from work . . ."

Friday. Finally Friday. I'd put in for the weekend off long ago and never thought it would get here. Walking into my apartment felt so refreshing, so . . . imprisoning. Three days trapped in here. I dropped my bags down by the door and flipped on the lights; greeted once again by several bulletin boards overstuffed with all sorts of junk, and piles among piles of newspapers, magazines, and books. Carrying the stack of papers and tabloids over the piles and to my desk, I dropped them down. A framed picture toppled over. Picking it up, I found Yomi staring back at me. I held it for minute, entranced by her image. "I will make her pay. I promise." Setting the picture back in its place, I dropped down into my chair and flicked on a lamp light.

I could only manage to get weekends off once a month; if I was lucky. So I made sure to use every second pursuing her. I'd start with the newspapers. I only cared about certain articles. If the words "weeping girl" were used with the word "sighting" in an article name, I'd have a clue. While I hadn't had any direct encounters with Osaka in years, I'd learned that strange articles would appear in the paper shortly after one of her incidents. And so two hours passed, and then three more hours passed as I scanned paper after paper for anything that could've been her. "Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Damn, where is she?" I closed the final paper and threw it down to the floor.

Opening the drawer in my desk, I pulled out the small handgun that I'd been storing for years. My heart beat faster holding the gun. It had remained a secret in that drawer. But I wondered now, as I often did, can I really do it? If I see her, how hard will it be? Then turning the gun, I gazed down the barrel. Hard to believe, that a round black hole not much bigger in diameter than my index finger, could cause so much damage. Yet my heart raced faster. "What will it feel like . . ." My thoughts drifted off as I gripped the gun, finger itching slowing over the trigger. The gun pointing at me, I squeezed the trigger. CLICK. My heart pounded in my chest.

Then dropping the gun, I scratched my head. Shooting someone was an idea, far from new to me. But with everything that's happened, that little boy hardly mattered right now. "God this weekend's gonna be such a waste," I finally admitted. Dropping the gun, I snatched the bottle of sake resting on the edge of my desk. Only half full, I knew I'd need some more. Plucking off the cap, I chugged a third of the bottle. The immediate buzz sent a shiver through my body. I studied the gun for a second and then reached into the drawer. Pulling out a clip, I loaded the gun.

"Tomo." A voice from behind called to me.

I knew the voice and whirled around. Ripping the gun from my forehead, I aimed it at Osaka. She stood there, oblivious to the firearm in my grip. "You," I muttered.

"Hello Tomo," she said in that same voice.

"You. You're pretty stupid coming in here," I grimaced and stood from my seat, rage brimming inside. "After what you did to Kagura, after what you did to Yomi!"

"Tomo . . ."

But I wasn't finished. "It's all your fault! How could you do that to your friends," I shouted at her. She just stood there taking it. Looking back at me with that expressionless stare of hers, she'd yet to even mention the gun.

"Tomo, if you really think it'll help, then do it."

I felt something irritating my eye. Maybe it was just the sake, or maybe it was fatigue, but I suddenly couldn't keep my eyes focused on her. Wiping my eyes, I approached Osaka. I stuck the gun up against her chest. She didn't react at all. "I'm sorry Osaka. But . . ." Nothing. There was nothing to say.

Osaka just lowered her head, accepting the consequence. I hesitated, my finger curled around the trigger, refusing to move. I grabbed onto Osaka for support. Being much taller than her, it felt awkward. Still, I couldn't do it. Suddenly, Osaka wrapped a hand around mine and pressed a finger against my finger. BAM! The explosive shot jerked Osaka's body towards me and the surprise caused me to pull that trigger two, three more times. Each time, Osaka's body lurched at me, her tiny figure convulsing. Her body leaned into me, motionless. As I stared past her, I could see the bullet holes in the walls. At close range, they must've gone right through her.

"Better?"

I froze. The body that should've just slumped to the floor when I jumped back, instead stood as if nothing had ever happened. I looked at Osaka's chest, where I'd unloaded four rounds. Nothing. No blood, not even a tear in her uniform; it's like I never shot her. "H-How?" I heard the gun hit the floor.

Her eyes were lost. Osaka couldn't look directly at me. And watching her fidget, I became overwhelmed with emotion. I'd hung out with this girl! And maybe it was because she looked exactly as both Yomi and Kagura described her, or that I knew what she did, but I dropped down in my seat unable to stand. "How could you? Kagura . . . Yomi . . . what," my voice trailed off.

Osaka's saddened gaze continued drifting and she said, "You really want to know?" I nodded. Then, Osaka did something I wasn't expecting. She walked up to me and cupped a hand around my cheek. She rubbed my face and I saw her eyes focused on me. Tears fell.

"Why? Why aren't you . . ."

"Because," Osaka interrupted, already knowing my question, "You're special. When I was alive Tomo, you were the closest to me. I trust you." The way she spoke sent shivers down my spine. It almost sounded like a ghost in the wind.

"T-Then show me," I said hesitantly.

I stood up, and Osaka led me from my desk to the door of my apartment. Despite it only being a short walk, she felt the need to look back and check on me; as if I might get lost along the way. When we reached the door, Osaka stopped and turned to me. Her uncertain look made me wonder if she really thought this would be a good idea. Apparently ignoring it, she said, "Tomo, you're not going to like what you see." I nodded, indicating I was ready.

Osaka swung the door open and we stepped out into what should've been the apartment hallway. But nothing. We stepped out into blackness and when the door closed behind us, it disappeared. For a moment, blackness surrounded us. Thick like fog, you couldn't see your own hand against your face. However, the blackness allowed my other senses to go wild. The place felt damp, and cold; like a basement. Strange smells crept through my nose. The only one I had a name for was sulfur. I could hear noises. Clanking, banging, ripping, chewing, screaming, and a host of sickly noises that I couldn't quite identify. It almost gave the air of a prison.

When the room did finally burst into light, I discovered that my idea hadn't been too far off. Osaka and I stood at one end of a narrow walkway that went straight ahead into forever. Left and right, cell upon cell upon cell, stacked as high as the eye could see, made up the walls. Each cell contained only one inmate. No bed, no toilet, no nothing. The person was the only occupant of the cell. And no door, just cold, iron bars. And as for the walls and the floor of the cell and of the narrow hallway, molding greenish concrete enveloped everything.

I glanced behind me, expecting to see a wall or a door. But no, the walkway just continued in that direction as well. Osaka motioned for me to follow and so I followed behind her, sneaking glances into each cell. Many people had skin so dirty, it was difficult to tell what was skin and what was dirt. Some wore the bare minimum of rags while others wore nothing. Every person acted differently, though none acknowledged the other inmates or us. It was then that I first realized that much of the smell came from the overpowering body odor of these people. The smell crashed into me like freight train and I gagged several times before my body adjusted.

When I said that the inmates acted differently, I meant it. Some cried, others laughed. One man in particular vomited continuously into his cell. The bile had carpeted the floor bloodish brown and seeped past the bars. He clutched his chest, begging it to stop but something always made it out. I looked into another cell, finding a woman with long, greasy brown, snarly hair. Large bugs crawled through it, and every so often she ripped out handfuls of her hair and would stuff them into her mouth. I watched in disgust as she forced it down and you could see clumps catch in the back of her throat. "What is this place," I asked, "Some kind of hell?"

"You could call it that."

With no other answer, I continued to follow Osaka. I glanced in a few more cells with much regret. One man had spread fecal matter all over the walls and he had covered himself in it as well. Another lay screaming, his arm spread out on the floor at some weird angle while rats chewed away. I felt my stomach lurch again.

"Don't look at them," Osaka suddenly said. "They deserve this. It's why they're here."

Eventually, after passing by several more cells, including two which required me to navigate some growing puddles of which I'd rather not know the origin, Osaka stopped. She pointed at a cell on her left. For a while, I feared what would be sitting inside. I wouldn't look. Then, Osaka glanced at me and nodded. This was okay to see. I walked right up to the bars and gazed in. For there in the far corner sat a girl. Her back pressed against the wall, she held her knees, crying. She was terrified, her skin ivory white. Her naked body trembled against the cold cement wall. And then I realized that I recognized her, though her face was hidden by brown hair. It was Osaka. But there was something else in the cell as well. An hourglass. Though old and rusted, black sand continued to travel through its chambers. The "Osaka" in the cell watched every grain fall, horrified.

"H-How," I asked the Osaka standing next to me.

Kneeling down beside me, Osaka gazed longingly into the cell and reached a hand in, as if to touch the other Osaka. But she couldn't possibly reach the girl and her arm simply fell to its side. "I'm cursed Tomo. That's why I'm here. And if I can't find someone to take my place in time, then I'll be like the rest." Osaka then nodded to the other end of the iron bars caging the Ayumu inside. A door. Of all the cells we'd walked by, this one alone had a door. It reminded me of one of those old fashioned jails from the Clint Eastwood movies I'd seen. A small keyhole and fancy hinges. But the more I stared at it, the more wrong it looked. As if some kind of acid was eating away at it, the door melted in tune with the sand in the hourglass.

"But why? Why would ask Kagura and Yomi, your friends . . . Why would you do that to us? Why not someone else?" I felt my voice rising, though I couldn't stop looking at the girl inside the cell.

Osaka's faint voice responded, "Because Tomo, you don't know what its like. I can't eat anything. I can't drink anything. It won't let me sleep." Osaka's voice faltered as she continued, "And everything burns. Always burning and never stopping . . . it hurts so much," she squeaked. Then standing back up to face me, Osaka finished in a firm voice, "Besides, who says I haven't asked anyone else?"

At a loss, I said, "Osaka, how did you end up like this? Where'd this curse come from?"

"That story is for someone else."

And with those words, everything swirled to black. Once again, we were consumed in darkness, but only for a second. The darkness faded and then we were back in my apartment, as if we'd never left. I stood mesmerized, looking around the whole room. The bullet holes were still there. Everything at my desk was just how I had left it. And Osaka, still straight out of high school was still here. And when she spoke, her tone had turned a little desperate. "Tomo, with the curse I was also given a gift. For taking my place, you get anything you want. Please, I can give you anything. I can even bring back Yomi."

"Y-Yomi?"

She nodded and her voice reverted back to the monotone. "She'll be her old self. Won't even know who Yuuko is."

I pondered the thought. Yomi. I'd spent over ten years without her. Just the very thought of seeing her again sent shivers run through my back. Yes, it was tempting. Even after what Osaka had shown me, I still could've accepted. And when Osaka directed my attention to the kitchen, I was ready to accept. For standing in the doorway, was Yomi. She stood there with a small, welcoming smile, as if to say everything was okay. Her eyes comforted, her arms folded, she stood with that confident air about her. I could've cried; I wanted to.

Even knowing better, I still said to her, "Yomi I . . . I'm so sorry." She simply nodded her understanding. I walked over to her, afraid to touch her. But she said not a word. When I reached out to feel her face, she exploded into a puff of smoke. Gone.

"Well," Osaka said, "What do you think? I could offer to bring back the boy you shot, or even bring back Kagura; but that's not what you want. That's not what you care about. You want Yomi."

Anger boiled up inside me. How could she do this to her friends? To me? I turned on her and stormed up to Osaka. I thought about the gun again but decided against wasting the shots. Instead, I slapped her across the face as hard as I could. Osaka stumbled backwards. I couldn't kill her, but I'd make her pay for what she did. Not giving her a chance to recover, I grabbed her by the shirt collar and slugged her in the nose. I wanted so badly to pick her up and do it again. Instead, I restrained myself and watched Osaka stumble back to her feet, blood oozing from the nose. She looked dizzy, but still managed to meet my eye. "Get out of here," I spat. "Don't even think about calling me your friend! I'm not helping you. I don't even know you!"

And with that, Osaka vanished, right before my eyes. She just slipped into the wall, and was gone. It was then that I heard people outside my door, screaming something about gunshots.

"And that's all there is to it," Tomo finished. She looked more peaceful with everything out like that. She seemed more relaxed. "Since then, I've been trying to find others who Osaka visited and hear their stories."

"And . . ." Sakaki prodded.

"And there's been quite a few," Tomo answered, nodding to Sakaki. "I don't know for sure, but more than you think."

"Anyone else we know," Chiyo hesitantly asked her eyes boring into Tomo.

At first, Sakaki didn't think Tomo would answer, for she looked a little disturbed by the thought. But then finally, she said, "Yes. But there's not much to tell for either one of them. Yukari-sensei apparently had a drink-drive session that ended in the death of a couple of her students. But I couldn't get anything out of her when I saw her. And the other," And Tomo turned to Sakaki. "The other was Kaorin. I never did find her, but Chihiro told me that it had something to do with you."

Sakaki gulped. "Me?"

Tomo nodded. "Any idea what that could mean?"

Sakaki shook her head. "No. I don't think I talked to either of them after high school."

Tomo shrugged. "Anyways, then I heard Chiyo was in the hospital and decided to visit her. And that's it. That's the end." Silence encased the room.