Chapter 6: Nightmares

I Don't Own Corpse Party

A/N: In the upcoming chapters, Seiko's spirit will explain everything she knows about Naomi's former problems. Look forward to that. Also, Naomi's P.O.V. at the beginning will be very short, probably one paragraph. Another thing, the P.O.V.s may be short in general when switched. Uh, Yoshiki's P.O.V. will be the only longer point of view in this chapter.

Naomi

Naomi looked at her best friend's spirit, shocked. She didn't even know if she was hallucinating, or if she was really seeing this. She had completely forgotten that she was here with her friends as she walked up to Seiko's floating spirit. She locked eyes with the spirit. Why am I calling her a 'spirit'? She's more than that, s-s-she is Seiko! She timidly raised her hand towards the blue light of Seiko's spirit. She noticed a slight darkening around Seiko's neck. "Seiko..." she said, tearing up. "That's where I-" She choked up the rest of the words beyond recognition. Seiko had a sad look on her face, but it quickly changed to that of a cheery look. "Hi, Naomi." Seiko said, as clear as daylight. Naomi all of a sudden felt light-headed. Her hand dropped away from Seiko's neck, as she felt her eyes roll back in her head as she succumbed to darkness.

Satoshi

As Naomi began to fall, Satoshi took immediate action and ran over, catching her before she hit the floor. "Did I do something wrong?" Seiko asked, worriedly. Satoshi looked up at her, as he slowly laid Naomi down on the wooden floor. "No," he said. "you didn't do anything wrong. Well, maybe you picked the wrong time to show up." Seiko looked at him. "Why is that?" she asked. Ayumi stepped in to answer. "Well, first of all," she said. "She's missed you a lot. And also, she wasn't quite herself since the first 'visit' here." She floated over, so everyone could see her clearly. "Um, Seiko?" he asked. Seiko turned to face him.

"I don't mean to be nosy, and I'm not trying to uh-" She interrupted him. "Satoshi, the dead don't really care about feelings anymore." she sighed, waving her hand a little. "Just say what you're gonna say." Satoshi sighed. "What is it like to be dead?" Yoshiki spoke up before Seiko could answer his question. "Great idea, pal!" he said. "Ask her how it feels to be dead! Way to piss a ghost-spirit thing off!" Seiko began to speak. "No, Yoshiki. It's ok, he has every right-" Ayumi interrupted her, talking to Yoshiki. "Don't say that, Yosh." she said. "Hey, can you just please stop talking to me?" he asked. "Quit stressing me out. Please."

"How do I stress you out?" she asked him. "Look, you aren't specifically the one thing stressing me out." he said. "I barely get any sleep anymore, I-" Ayumi interrupted him. "Why do you not get any sleep anymore?" she asked, a hint of curiousity in her voice. "Uh, I really shouldn't talk about that." he said. Satoshi turned around, and looked at him confused. Ayumi looked at Satoshi. "You two talk," she said. "Yoshiki and I are going out into the hall to talk." Yoshiki groaned. "Can we not do this?" he asked, as Ayumi grabbed his hand, dragging him out of the classroom. "Please?"

Yoshiki

"Ok," Ayumi told him. "I want you to tell me what's wrong. Why you haven't been sleeping well. We'll stay out here as long as it takes." Yoshiki sighed, realizing that Ayumi was hell bent on uncovering the truth behind why he wouldn't talk to and possibly why he had been avoiding her lately. "It's just dreams." he said. "Dreams?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "More commonly known by me as 'nightmares'. But yes, dreams." She looked at him. "Nightmares?" she asked. He nodded. "About what?" Yoshiki started to get a little angry. "Hey!" he said, a little loud. "Why are you out here talking with me?! You just said that I'm a slacker!"

"Yes," she said. "I did. But, it doesn't mean I hate you." Yoshiki rolled his eyes. "I never said you hated me." he said. "I just find it weird that you are wasting your time with me." She laughed a little bit. "I may not be a good therapist or a therapist at all," she said. "but I'll still listen to one's problems. So talk. What is it about these nightmares that makes you not be able sleep?" Yoshiki shook his head. "You don't want to know." he said. "I don't need another person being horrified and worried everyday of their lives." Ayumi sighed. "Just tell me." she said. "I'm not going away." Ayumi stood there, waiting for him to talk.

"The first time I had the nightmares," he said. "Was when Mochida and I slept over at your place." She looked at him. "You mean that Friday? A week ago?" she asked. He nodded. "I don't know if you remember," he said. "but that night, you used my shoulder as a pillow of sorts." She looked confused. "I think I remember that." she replied, nodding for him to go on. "The dream took place in Heavenly Host," Yoshiki replied. "Remember when we were out on the pool deck?" She nodded. "I think." she said. "I doubt you remember this part, but I remember I was walking, and then I noticed you weren't there," he said. "Instead, you were at the bottom of the pool." She raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"The original scenario, I overcame my lack of being able to swim," he said. "And I jumped in, dragging you back up." She smiled a little. "How sweet of you." she said sarcastically. "I wasn't gonna leave you to drown," he said. "it's what friends do in a time of need." She laughed. "That's true." she said, giggling. "Stop laughing, Shinozaki-San," he hissed. "This isn't funny." She sighed. "Ok, sorry. Go on." she said. "In the dream, I did something different." he said. "Instead, I went to the pump room, and started the drain sequence." She looked at him. "How is that bad?" she asked. "you just drained the pool!"

"Just shut up!" he said. "Look, I got back to the pool. And-" he struggled to spit out the next part. "Just tell me, Kishinuma!" she said. He looked at her. "Ok, I didn't want to, but here goes," he said. "I was looking at the bottom of the pool, and there was so much blood everywhere. And there you were. Half of you, sticking out from the drain." After he was done speaking, he collapsed onto the ground, begining to sob. She sat down next to him, but he couldn't tell what her facial expression was. "Kishinuma," she said, in a soothing voice. "It's just nightmares. That's all it was."

"You're wrong." he said, bringing his head up to look at her. "There were more dreams. One of them, you killed me in cold blood! Another, we both die! They aren't just dreams! They are warnings, about the consqeunces of coming back here, and we have!" Ayumi sighed. "Kishinuma," she said. "If you are going to act like this, I can't help you. I think you should find a therapist. In the meantime, let's get back to the others." He finally nodded, and followed her back into the classroom. In the room, Naomi had come to, and the two were speaking with Seiko's spirit. Satoshi were the first to notice they had entered, and the first to notice that he was still slightly crying.

"Hey," he said. "What's with you?" Yoshiki looked at him, with mild anger in his eyes. "Shut up, Mochida." he said. "Hey, I asked you a question. What's-" he was interrupted. "I said, shut up!" he screamed, running over to Satoshi and punching him in the jaw. "I said leave me alone," he screamed, ready to punch him again. "Did I not?" He tried to lower his fist, but something held him back. "Stop it, now!" Ayumi said, as she held his fist back. "Satoshi, leave him alone." He pulled away from Ayumi's hold, and was about to punch Satoshi again. "Dude," he said. "What are you doing? This isn't like you." He's right, the more logical side of Kishinuma's brain told him. What are you doing? Let go of your anger. Just let it go.

Yoshiki loosened up his fist, and punched the ground, avoiding Satoshi's face. He sighed, and walked away to sit in the shadows. He sat there, with his head in his hands. "Just leave him alone," he heard Ayumi say. "He just told me about the nightmares he's been having." He looked up to see Satoshi getting up. "And," he said. "What are they about?" I swear if you tell them, he thought, but there was no need. "It's not for me to say." she said. "I made him a mental promise to keep it to myself." Seiko spoke up. "I can respect that." she said. "So can I." Naomi and Satoshi said at the same time, earning a blush out of each other. He sighed, and laid his head against the wall. "What is death like?" Ayumi asked, with curiousity. "Oh, well, you know," Seiko said. "it's pretty much feeling your killing blow for eternity. But you get used to it."

"So," Ayumi said. "You feel the rope around your neck still?" Seiko sighed. "Yes," she said. "But it doesn't hurt as bad as it a while ago." Yoshiki held his head, as the nightmares flashed through his head. He started to tear up again. "Damn it!" he cursed silently. "Why do I keep having these nightmares? It's so annoying!" He heard Satoshi speak. "You ok over there, Kishinuma?" he asked. "Don't do that." Ayumi said. Yoshiki sighed in frusteration. "I'm fine." he replied. "Just leave me be." Ayumi yawned. "Do you miss, you know," Naomi asked Seiko. "being alive?" Yoshiki decided to get up and listen to the conversation. He got up, and leaned against the wall. "The thing I miss," Seiko said. "the most is hanging out with you, Naomi."

"Hey!" Yoshiki called. "Anyone else tired?" They all looked at him. "Well," Naomi said. "I guess I am." Satoshi chimed in. "If you two are tired, we could find the Infirmary." Naomi's eyes widened. "No!" she shouted. "What's wrong with her?" Yoshiki asked. "She had a run in with a spirit that almost killed her," Seiko explained. "she really doesn't like it there." Ayumi cleared her throat. "We could take turns keeping watch." she suggested. "That's fine with me," Naomi sighed. "I suppose." Ayumi's eyes suddenly lit up, as if she had gotten an idea. "Shinohara-San," she said. "if you miss being alive, we could resurrect you!" Yoshiki was weirded out now, walking over to them. "No we can't!" he said. "What are you talking about?!"

"No, you don't understand, Kishinuma!" she said. "We can! I know a person... She'll just be hard as hell to find..." Who is she talking about? Yoshiki thought. "I do want to come back to life," Seiko said. "But it would be a near impossible task." Ayumi smiled. "I think we could pull it off." she said. "I just have to find her though." Yoshiki shook his head. "Whatever." he said. "Can we head out of here?" Ayumi sighed. "Is that ok with you, Nakashima?" she asked. "I guess so." she said. "But what about Seiko?" Seiko hovered over. "Spirits can fade in and out as they please," she explained. "I'll just follow you guys, and once you are asleep I'll fade out for a while." Naomi sighed, but nodded. "Ok," she said. "lets go."

They all left the classroom they had arrived in, and looked around for the Infirmary. Yoshiki fell in at the back, and just walked by himself as Seiko followed inbetween him and Naomi. All of a sudden, Ayumi walked back a little bit, and started walking with Yoshiki. Ugh. What does she want now? "Are you ok?" she whispered. He nodded. "I'm trying to come to a difficult conclusion." he said. "And what's that?" she asked. "I don't want to talk about it just yet," he said. "but I promise, when I find out I'll tell you as soon as I can." She raised an eyebrow. "Ok..." After about ten minutes of walking, they found the Infirmary. And thankfully, it wasn't locked.

They walked in, and tried to decide who would take watch. "Kishinuma and I will take first watch!" Ayumi volunteered. He looked at her. Everyone else seemed okay with that, so Naomi and Satoshi took the only two cots available. After they had fallen asleep, Seiko hovered over to them. "I'm going to fade out," she said. "But I'll still be in the room. If they wake up, or you two just need something, say my name. I'll fade back in before you know it." Yoshiki nodded, as she faded from sight. After a few minutes of just sitting there, Ayumi looked at him. "If you want to go to sleep, that's fine." she said. "I need the time to think anyway." He nodded, taking off his jacket and folding it to use it as a pillow. He laid down, and closed his eyes. Before he knew it, the nightmare began.

...

They were walking in the halls of. He and Ayumi. "Shinozaki?" he asked, as she ignored him. "Shinozaki? Ayumi? Shinozaki?! Damn it, answer me!" All of a sudden, she just ran away from him, and down the hall. "Hey!" he called. "What the hell?!" Yoshiki ran down to room 4-A, and pulled the lever that was in there. He remembered that it would connect two halves of the main floor together. He ran back down to the hallway that was now connected, and found a horrifying sight. I've been here before, he thought. I've had this dream before. He looked at Ayumi's lifeless corpse on the ground, which was sliced from the torso. He let out a scream of terror. "Why is this happening?!" he screamed. As he stared at the corpse, he saw a flash of white, which looked like it was at his feet. Just as he was about to question it, he felt blood coming from his lips. He felt for it, but before he could even look at it he fell over, since he had been cut in half.

...

He jerked upwards, breathing fast. He could feel his heart hammering inside his chest. He realized that his face was sweating horribly. He sat up against the wall, and took slow breaths. "Did you dream?" Ayumi asked. Hell, he thought. I almost forgot she was there. He shook his head. "Nightmare." he said. She moved over to him, so their shoulders touched. "Tell me." she whispered. You might as well, he thought. You couldn't get her to leave you alone the first time. "We were walking in the halls of this purgatory," he said. "when you just ran off away from me. I went to one of the classrooms, and pulled the pulley lever to connect two halves of the school together. When I found you, you were nothing but a body, severed from the torso. And the dream ended with something, a sharp wire maybe, cutting me in half as well."

"Why do you think you have the nightmares?" she asked. "There has to be a reason." Are you going to do it? A demonic voice gurgled in his head. It would be so easy. No one would ever know she had died if you just hide the body! He shook his head, and the weird thoughts away. "I don't know," he sighed. "I have no idea if the dreams are supposed to make me do something. Well, they have accomplished one thing. I'll give them that." Ayumi looked at him confused. "And what has it accomplished?" she asked. "This isn't meant to be romantic in any way," he said. "But they have made me extremely worried about you and your well being." Ayumi nodded. "I don't see why that would be romantic," she said. "it may not have seemed like it, but when we were trapped here the first time, I constantly worried about you."

"I think everyone was worried," a voice said, making both of them jump. They looked up, and relieved seeing that it was just Seiko's spirit, appearing "sitting" in front of them. "Probably Satoshi and Morishige were worried about you the most. They are you're two best friends. Well, one of them was." Ayumi let out a really long yawn. "Go to sleep, Shinozaki," he said, turning his head to look at her. "I think it's my turn to take watch anyway." Ayumi looked up at him. "Are you sure?" she asked. "You don't want the extra company?" He shook his head. "Well, yes I do," he said, rethinking his decision. "but I know you are tired, and you should get some rest. Besides, Seiko can keep me company. If she's ok with that, I mean."

"This is my home now, after all," she said. "Sure why not, I'll stay here and talk to you." Yoshiki shook his head. "This won't be your home much longer, Shinohara-San." he said. "What do you mean?" she asked, a hint of excitement in her voice. "Well," he said. "if Ayumi really thinks that we can find a way to resurrect you, you have my vote. She is usually always right." Ayumi didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Wow," she said. "That's actually cool of you to think." Yoshiki grapped his folded up jacket, and put it back on. "Well, I guess I'll try to rest." she said, leaning her head slightly on his shoulder. After he was sure she was asleep, Seiko floated over to him. "So," she whispered. "are you willing to tell me about the nightmares?"

He shrugged, trying not to disturb Shinozaki. "I guess not. The nightmares are just so god awful," he whispered back. "They were always in Heavenly Host, and they always seemed to focus on Ayumi." She looked confused. "What about her?" she asked. "They focused on her dying, she ends up killing me, or we both die." She looked at him with a look of sympathy on her face. "That's terrible, Kishinuma!" she whispered. He nodded. "I know." he replied silently. "So, why do you agree with her?" she asked him. He looked at Seiko. "Promise not to tell her?" he whispered as silently as he could. She nodded, with a 'I promise' look on her face. He gulped and let out a sigh, before looking at Seiko once more. "I think I'm in love with her." he whispered.

A/N: So, for all of you Yoshumi (Ayumi and Yoshiki, does that 'name' make sense?) fans, he does have a crush on her, and they will be a couple well before the end of the story. I think Naomi and Satoshi will be a couple later on as well. Also, as Ayumi stated, there could be a reason for Yoshiki's nightmares. And there is a reason. You may be asking: Then what is it? Well, that's for me to know and for you to find out. You can guess all you want, but I won't confirm it till the time comes. So, until the next chapter!