Chapter 15: In Love and In Death Pt. 2
clubbingwithpikachu, where the hell have you been? Well, I've been facing depression and writer's block which are bad enough on their own. I'm really sorry I've kept
everyone waiting so long but here's the newest chapter. I was going to make it longer, but then I decided to make In Love and In Death a trilogy of sorts. Don't worry,
your answers will certainly be answered in the next chapter which is the third to last chapter. Anyways, I hope this will at least satisfy you enough to want to read
more of the story if you haven't or read some of my other work. Leave a comment, and favorite/follow me or the story for updates and so it may be easier to get in
touch with me. Shout out to Kobayashi Aiko for helping me with ideas and motivating me to get writing.
Sachiko's little feet plopped around the stairs. She was being followed and guarded by the hammer man she told Mayu about. Yoshikazu followed her every command
and every motion. After all, his mind had collapsed to that of a young child during the last few years of his life. She payed note to Mayu and Morishige's corpses.
"Awww... It's too bad I couldn't get to them first. And after scaring her with that baby...This must be her boyfriend..." She touched his face and discovered he had bled
to death. "I see Kizami-kun did all the work for me then." she chuckled as she turned around to Yoshikazu, who was dragging Yuuya's disfigured corpse in one of his
bear paw sized hands. "Let's go, dipshit! We've got a lot more work to do!" *mumble* "Aghkk...yyyhhkkk..." Even though Yoshikazu had intense amounts of strength,
he feared her immensely. Her intentions were nothing but cruel and sadistic and her abilities were immense. When the two walked off, Yoshiki and Ayumi came out of
hiding. "That was close! I was sure we'd be goners!" Yoshiki whispered. Ayumi trembled and cried while she continued to eye Morishige's and Mayu's bodies. "Hey,
Ayumi. What's wrong?" "I just want to go home! I don't want to die like them!" "Well then...Let's get out of here and find everyone else." He grabbed her hand and
slowly and quietly led her down the stairs. He was determined now more than ever to keep her safe and sound. Ayumi tried to keep herself uplifted by remembering
the day she first met Mayu and Morishige.
Ayumi Shinozaki was very nervous about today. It was her first day at Kisaragi Academy and she didn't recognize anyone's face. She had just moved into town and is
usually a huge social butterfly, but whenever she was faced with anything that felt unpredictable, she felt withdrawn and apprehensive. She was just about to close
her locker when a cordial brunette girl approached her with her guy friend following behind her. "Hi, there! My name is Mayu and this is my best buddy Shig!"
"Yea...ummmmm...I'm Ayumi...Shinozaki and I'm new..." "Oh of course! You must be the new girl everyone's been talking about, especially Kishinuma!" "Kishinuma?"
"See that lone guy with the blonde hair? That's him." "Well...He's kinda cute..." "That's great because he likes you too! A lot! And he barely knows you and he already
wants to get close to you! That's so romantic!" Ayumi felt even more nervous now. "Don't worry! Shig and I'll help you around. Won't we?" "Why are you dragging me
into this?" "Because Ayumi's a nice girl and she just needs a little guidance, that's all." Shig couldn't resist Mayu when she got like that, so he followed along with her
plan. Mayu felt really excited showing Ayumi around because she loved having people become friends on their first day of school and helping others was her specialty.
She felt really happy for her when science class came around because she was excited about Ayumi getting partnered with her admirer. "Today we will be working with
dissection materials, so everyone will be partnered up." The teacher told her students. Shig and Mayu got together while Naomi and Seiko got together. "And...Ayumi
you'll be paired with Satoshi." Shinozaki felt a little disappointed when she couldn't be closer to Yoshiki but her partner made up for it. "Hi...Ayumi..." Her breath
skipped a few times and her eyes were glued to his face. This Satoshi guy was really cute! "Hhh...hhh...Hi, Satoshi. I'm not...too fond of... this..." "Don't worry. I'll
take care of the dissecting part and help you copy down the notes. Most girls don't like this and I can't say I blame them." She sighed with relief and carefully handed
over the tools to him. She's done these a few times before but it still grossed her out. She knew the animals were dead but a part of her felt it was degrading to them
since she would rather have them be buried then cut open and thrown away. But Satoshi being by made the assignment that much easier...
"Ayumi, this is no time to be daydreaming!" "Sorry..." "It's no problem...I shouldn't have yelled at you." Meanwhile, Satoshi, Naomi and Yuka were looking for some
clues near the janitor's closet when Naomi spotted a black and white plush kitten with a tiny note attached. "Happy Birthday, Sachiko! I can't believe you're six
already! I'm sure your father would be very proud of you. I got you a black and white kitty plush toy as a present. I hope you like her! Love always, mommy." "I
wonder if that Sachiko girl is here. I bet she'd want this back. She must be all lonely without her friend." Naomi thought. "She must be. I saw a girl in a red dress that
said so." Yuka told them. "What else did you notice about her?" Satoshi wondered. "She helped me escape from Kizami yet she had this...air around her that reeked of
hatred and malice. She's got to be the Sachiko Ayumi mentioned in her story." It was only a few more hallways before the gang caught up together. "Hey Satoshi! How
are you guys?" Yoshiki yelled even though he was practically in his ear. "We're good. Naomi's been very helpful and Yuka has been offering all her support." "Where's
Shinohara?" Naomi was about to answer but stopped before she could utter a word. "She...She died..." "Not another one! I can't take anymore of this!" Ayumi
cried into Yoshiki's chest. "Another one? What do you mean, Ayumi? What's wrong?" "Suzume...and Morishige...They're dead too!" she sniffled barely able to form
sentences amid her despair. Yuka felt a sudden guilt in her heart. She saw Shig taking pictures of Mitsuki's corpse yet she still wanted to use him for support. He kept
acting weird and saying, "Why are you running?" over and over while getting way too close for comfort. She felt she had no other choice but to run away. He would call
out for her the way Kizami did when he chased her. Her brother interrupted her train of thought when he discussed what he believed to be an escape plan. It seemed
far fetched as the escape plan wasn't his own but rather it was from a video he and Naomi stumbled upon by Kou Kabiki and his cameraman Shougo Taguchi. There did
seem to be some missing details, but Satoshi was confident in his ability to clue together the rest. They all got really close together for safety and looked for the
basement where the children died. It took forever, but they managed to find it, yet it didn't look like a regular basement. It looked more like an underground bunker.
"What kind of a basement is this? Who would build something like this?" Yuka whined. "Some sick motherfucker, that's who." Yoshiki told her. They followed the
stagnant stench of gore and guts before being startled by an older man in a beanie. He didn't even look back or say a word; he just ran and ran until he disappeared
out of sight. "Let's go follow him, guys! He probably knows the way out! C'mon!" Naomi remembered the video instructions and led the group by pulling Satoshi by his
hand. Everything moved so fast that the passage of time seemed to be nothing. Naomi kept herself on high alert and quickly skimmed and scanned every square inch
to make sure she was going in the right direction towards the very pits of the basement. The scent of decay, hatred, blood, organs, and rust filled the whole place as
they ventured further down. A room with implements of torture and remains on the floor was where they were led to. "Let's get out of this room! It's scary, big
brother!" Yuka whimpered. "Alright. We'll jus..." Satoshi was interrupted by the sound of a heavy person carrying something just as large grew louder and louder. "It's
him! He'll kill us! What do we do now?" Ayumi feared. "We'll hide under the table! That's the best place! C'mon, Ayumi. You go first and I'll be right behind you. Trust
me." Yoshiki would do anything to make sure she was protected and if Yoshikazu laid a hand on her he would readily fight for her life even if it meant the end of his
own. Hell, he'd do it for anybody. He felt he didn't have anything else left to lose so he might as well be as strong and bold as he possibly could. He pulled the other
students under the table with him, not even giving them a chance to react. Yuka curled into a fetal position into her brother while he held tightly onto her. Yoshikazu
came in dragging a girl's corpse while mindlessly mumbling to himself. He hoisted the body onto the table but before he could secure it, he heard a rustling noise
coming from a closet in the corner. The body dropped but he ignored it and went to find out who would disturb him. Naomi noticed the body was Seiko's. Her body
became rigid and when Yoshikazu found Taguchi and tenderized him with the sledgehammer she was going to scream but Ayumi, Yuka, Satoshi, and Yoshiki covered
her mouth so the same wouldn't happen to them.
"Mayu? Are you alright?" Shig asked her. "I want to go home. That's all I want right now. To go home." "We can't. We're stuck here forever." he frowned. He wished he
could reassure her, but he had to face the fact that he and Mayu's spirit's are stuck there. Unless... "Well, at least we can help others who come here. And you're with
me. Yeah, we may be feel our pain but we'll do our best to help others despite that truth." Mayu, even in death, was still happy and cordial which is something many
could not even dream of doing. And even though she knew they couldn't leave Heavenly Host, she still had a thread of hope that somehow they'll be saved.