Chapter 9: The Trip Begins

2 weeks later

"What did you say mom?" Mayu gasped in shock. "Your father, who obviously loves his work more than us, decided to get a new job in a new town and it's faraway."

Mayu was terrified of this. All her friends, all her dreams crushed with her mind simultaneously ripping her fears out right from under her. This can't be happening! The

cultural festival was tomorrow and Mayu had so many plans made with her friends. What would happen to Shig?! She knew how dependent on her Morishige could be

and she feared what would happen to him if she had left. Ken'ichi had calmly called Ms. Yui earlier to inform her that Mayu would no longer be attending her class. Ms.

Yui herself even cried a little when she found out. Mayu was definitely one of her best students and she had been blessed with the ability to liven everyone up around

her whenever they were sad or angry and had an overflowing abundance of intelligence and confidence as well. She couldn't bear to see that just leave. Mayu ran up

to her room and cried for as long as she could. She didn't care if she flooded the whole room with her tears. She didn't care if her father wanted to get a new job. She

just wanted to see her friends and never leave them. She felt like she was losing all control of her life. First her baby died and now this? Was there anything left for her

to retain any level of control over? "My life's ruined!" Mayu cried to herself. Mayu had never felt so depressed in her life. She thought her parents fighting was bad,

which it was, but this...this was just unbearable. "Should I even go on living? If I can't have my friends with me and if I can't still be with Shig then what would I have?"

Mayu held the ticket she still had that Shig had gotten her for Valentine's Day when they were 10. It was the same day she realized that she had fallen for him. Mayu

had never expected these thoughts...these feelings to enter her distressed mind and just rattle her like this. "Should I tell Shig I'm going away? I can't. He'll be

devastated but I can't just outright abandon him. Maybe I should get him to die with me like I had hoped would happen when we were married and lived a long life

together." Suzume hugged that ticket like it was a sacred writing. She needed to stay strong and not think about taking her own life, but Mayu couldn't handle this

pressure or this grief. Mayu heard a gentle vibrating sound and assumed it to be her phone. She saw that Morishige had texted her asking if she was stoked for the

festival at school tomorrow. Her mind and flooded eyes were glued to the bright blue screen for awhile and she finally made her decision. Mayu hesitantly dialed his

number and told him everything. "Are you serious, Mayu! You can't leave! I won't let you leave! Just run away with me! Anything please! Just don't leave me here

alone. You're all I have in this world." "I have an idea, Shig. I was hoping you'd come join me so we could end it all together." Morishige gasped and covered his mouth

to avoid anyone hearing him screaming and crying. "This can't be real! I can't handle this!" he cried to himself while rocking back and forth. "Mayu...Don't do this! I

couldn't live with myself if you died. Please don't do this to us." "We have to if we want to be together forever. Isn't that what you want? Don't leave me!" Mayu

protested. "Just think about it Mayu. This isn't like you. Please don't have yourself do this. What about your mom and dad? Do you want them to live with that guilt that

they felt like they drove their daughter to suicide?" "Mayu? Are you alright? Please talk to me." her mother demanded, trying to hide back any trace of unconfidence in

her voice. "No! I won't leave! You can't make me!" Mayu objected. "Mayu! Let me in this instant!" "Mayu, please listen to her." her boyfriend begged. "I can't. I love..."

Yukie interrupted the conversation. "What's going on?" Mayu's mother cried out. "I can't leave him, mom! I love him and we promised to live together forever! If I can't

be with him then I don't want to live anymore! I'll die with him no matter what!" she screeched. "Mayu! I love you! Please talk to me!" Yukie commanded. Mayu ran up

to her mom and practically tackled her to the ground. "I don't want to leave, mommy! I can't leave Shig and my friends! I won't have anything left!" "You'll have me."

Mayu thought hard about those words. "Hang up the phone and stop stressing your boyfriend out. Let's have a quiet heart to heart." Morishige was completely alright

by letting Mayu go talk with her mom. "I don't want to do this!" "I know sweetie, but we have to. I don't like it either, but try not to be sad. You can say goodbye and

still have fun with your friends tomorrow." At Shig's house, he was banging his head against his walls and slipping back into psychosis. "I want to die! I want to die!

Die! Die! Die! Die! Dying die!" "Kill yourself! You're a failure as a boyfriend and as a person!" Naotaro mocked. The skull under the bed flapped his jaw to mock the

distressed boy. It didn't help he was already slightly declining before Mayu had called him and now his illness was full blown. This pressure was unlike anything he had

ever felt in his life. He literally threw himself down the stairs and he lay on the living room floor in shock and fear. "O my God! Sakutaro, what happened?" Shoichirio

bolted off the couch and rushed to the aid of his son. "Mayu...Mayu...Mayu..." the boy muttered. "What happened to you?" Morishige kept muttering her name over and

over again. "Mayu...Mayu...Leaving...Leave...Mayu's leaving in leaving..." The father hoisted Morishige in his arms and brought him back upstairs. "Did you take your

medication before school?" "Leaving...Leaving...Leaving..." was the boy's only response. "I guess not." Shoichirio looked in the medicine cabinet and found the pills he

was looking for. "Take them." he offered. The boy was lying down on his bed in a catatonic state and had to be force fed his medication. When he came out of his

psychosis, Morishige was interrogated by his father. "Why were you lying at the foot of the stairs?" The thoughts began attempting to regain control of his mind and

he mourned harder. "I don't want to talk about it." Shoichirio was very disappointed in him. "I'll only ask once more. Why were you lying at the foot of the stairs?"

Morishige really wasn't up for answering that. How could he tell dad he tried to take his own life? "Mayu's leaving." he replied. Shoichirio perked his head as his son

finally opened up. "Is that why you were lying on the floor?" "Yeah. I had a bad moment and I tried to kill myself." The man embraced the boy so hard, he thought he

couldn't breathe. "Don't you ever do that again! This world would be horrible without you, Sakutaro. You're my son and my life wouldn't be mine without you." Mr.

Morishige asserted Shig. "Mayu loves you. Would she be able to go on if something had happened to you?" Morishige shook his head as if he were protesting

something but his dad knew that's how he always shook his head. Mayu cried even more as she and her mother were talking about moving and leaving everyone

behind. "I know I shouldn't be obsessed like this over a boy, but Shig's my boyfriend and I want to marry him and give birth to his children and watch them grow up

happy and healthy." "There's plenty of other boys out there, Mayu. You can't waste your life thinking about one boy." Mayu was angered. She felt like her mother didn't

know her at all. She had said that she wanted Mayu and Morishige to be happy together, but now she seemed to dismiss it, as if Mayu would get over it. "NO! I don't

want anyone else! I want Shig and Shig only! I love him and he loves me! If he can't be with me, then nobody can!" she yelled. "Mayu! What's gotten into you? What

happened to my baby?" Yukie tearfully whined. Mayu saw that look her mom gave her and felt immense amounts of guilt. "I'm sorry, mom. I won't hurt you or dad. I'm

being really moody and selfish." Yukie saw that look her daughter gave and felt the same immensity of guilt Mayu had. "I'm glad you've come to terms with this. I know

it's hard, but I want you to have as much fun tomorrow as you can. Can you do that for me?" Mayu still felt distraught, but she did promise her mom to be positive. She

would have a tough time sleeping tonight, but she had to prevail no matter what life threw at her. The next morning, Mayu slowly got up despite her body being

drained of physical and emotional energy. She had to talk to Shig and make sure he had come to terms with her absence. "What the?" Shig saw his phone jitter all

over the place. He sighed with slight fear and anger as he saw her number from the other line. "Mayu, is that you?" Her chirpy laugh escaped her mouth when he

talked first. "Guess you found me out." He knew Mayu was always silly like this; he figured she must've come to terms with the move. "Are you stoked about the

cultural festival today?" he gently asked her. "Shig, bro, of course I am! I can't wait!" she smiled through the phone. "Are you still mad at your dad about leaving

Kisaragi?" Mayu felt her breath hitch at those words. "I wasn't mad at my dad. I was just annoyed with him, that's all. Are you all set with this thing?" "Yeah. I'm ready,

Mayu. Don't worry. I'll come to visit you and keep in contact and will still be your boyfriend if you want." Suzume would've held onto him if he was there with her.

"Thanks, Shig! I feel a little bit better now. I'll still be your girlfriend too! One day we'll get married. Promise?" "Promise." he reassured her. So many big plans and

Sakutaro somehow doubted his ability to keep his promise, but he kept his chin up. "Did you tell anyone else in class that you're leaving school?" "No. I wanted to tell

you because I was afraid of how devastated you'd be but I figured everyone else would be able to deal with it. I'm sorry." she frowned. Sakutaro smiled and let out a

sigh. "Don't be sorry. You didn't do anything wrong." He looked at his phone and saw he had to get ready for school, and so didn't Mayu. The ride to school felt longer

and more sullen than it ever had before. When Shig and Mayu met in the lobby, they both hugged each other tightly while smothering one another with affection. He

leaned Mayu against the wall, and forced his tongue into her mouth while rubbing up against her. He knew they were pretty much the only kids at school right at the

moment, so he didn't care if anyone saw him. Mayu arched into him and twirled one of his hairs with her finger. "How was that?" he questioned her. Mayu's face was

cherry rushed with excitement and pride, and she kissed him again. "I'm ready for whatever happens today, but that doesn't mean I'll leave you. You'll always be

mine." Mayu giggled. A few more kids came in as the sun rose a bit more and the bell rang soon thereafter which meant this day of reckoning has just begun. Kisaragi

had been brightly decorated for the cultural festival. So many pink, green, blue, and yellow ribbons were all over the place while displays for different cultures in the

area, a couple from the country, and even a few from all over the world complimented the touch. Mayu should've known; she helped Ayumi and Seiko put a good chunk

of the decorations up. She remembered how much fun they had in the halls while everyone else slowly dragged their feet to their classes during the day. She loved

how the three of them basically got the day off for helping set up the school for such a big day and how they would each tease each other and how mischievous

Seiko was being to the kids and even faculty that would walk by them. It was one of those days were you don't think about the future but have fun living in the

moment and Suzume loved every waking minute of it. As the school day had ended and the rest of the kids had left, the kids of class 2-9 stayed behind to have some

after school fun. The sky had opened up and Mayu was admiring the sounds of the rain, even if it was pouring out. Her mind was all over the place and Ayumi invited

her to join the story circle. When she sat down, Mayu saw Ms. Yui coming into the room as kind and as blissful as ever. "What's going on Ms. Yui? Did you come to listen

to some scary stories?" Mayu puzzled. "Maybe." she laughed. The woman had the same cheer and personality as Mayu and everyone swore Mayu and her were

sisters. While in the middle of the story, Shinozaki pulled out a paper figurine that must've been part of the story. "And so her spirit still haunts these grounds for all

eternity until some brave soul is able to purify her." Satoshi could've sworn he was shitting himself and Naomi and Yoshiki teased him heavily but he didn't take it in

stride. "Mayu, how's your last day been so far? I never had the chance today to ask you." Shishindo tried asking her student before all the kids looked more afraid

then when Ayumi told her super scary story. "Suzume, is it true? Are you really leaving?" they asked her. "Yeah...My dad..." Mayu wept roughly enough to get all the

girls going. "Don't cry, Suzume. I have something that will make us friends forever no matter where you are. I found it on the internet and now that you mentioned

moving I figured it would be the perfect time to preform the Sachiko Ever After Charm." "What's that?" "This paper doll I made is just for this. We all have to hold onto

a piece and after saying Sachiko's name once for everyone in the room and once more again for me, we all pull and get our own piece." Ayumi smirked. "Are you sure

this is a good idea?" Satoshi whimpered. "Calm your ass Mochida. Will you st..." Seiko protested before Satoshi's little sister Yuka came in. "Yuka! What are you doing

here?" he asked her. "I came to see my favorite big brother!" she ran up to him and tightened her grip around him. "I'm your only brother." he sighed. "I know, silly."

The kids and Yui excitedly grabbed onto Ayumi's creation and played along with this whole story thing. "Sachiko, we beg of you!" they shouted and their hands each

had piece of scrap from the doll. "See Mochida? That wasn't so scary now was it?" Seiko teased him again while sticking her tongue playfully out at him. Suddenly, a

tremor shook the building. "Big brother! I'm scared!" "It's ok Yuka. Hold onto me, are we clear?" The teen who looked like a young little girl fearfully hugged onto her

brother's ankles. A gaping black hole leading to God knows where manifested in the middle of the floor and swallowed the kids whole while the earthquake assited by

roughing the building and its foundation up and tossing the students in like they were toys. When Mayu started to fall in, Morishige grabbed her arm and struggled to

pull her to the surface with him but he too soon fell in. The couple instinctively held each others hands and squeezed their eyes shut in hopes this was all some bad

dream and not the beginning of a horrific experience.