Author's Note: Sorry for being so late with this update but I had to figure out how this chapter was going to work, which was really complicated as I had to go through it many times in my head with many revisions. Plus, I also had to find a muse for it to work, so getting it out today when it's raining while listening to some Pillows, SiM, and One Ok Rock kind of helped. I wasn't entirely sure how this chapter was going to work, but I'll always be proud of the final product, no matter what. Oh yeah, please leave any helpful tips for my writing whenever you review if possible, I like feedback on how good I'm doing and what I need to work on. Without further ado, the eighth chapter to Fallen Blue Sky.

Black Rock Shooter and co. belongs to Huke.

"Crap, I'm gonna be late!"

Mato bolted out of her house and ran as fast as she could so she could meet up with her friends. Sleeping has become a problem in its own right as she's ofter talking with B RS, causing her to wake up later than usual. The only good thing about that right now is that it's the weekend, so oversleeping isn't a problem but the fact that she's suppose to meet up with her friends around ten and it's three minutes till then is. Mato was starting to hate this little habit of hers right now, more so when it was her talking the majority of the time while B RS was telling her she was going to oversleep if she doesn't stop. The connection between her and B RS was a good thing at first, but now that Mato thinks about it, it was probably best that she just tries to sleep without talking to her other self as it was proving to become an issue.

"Ugh, if it wasn't for that new, deep connection, I wouldn't be running towards the bus stop," Mato groaned in frustration, "Though, I don't exactly have the best sleeping record..."

Meanwhile, Yomi, Kagari, and Yuu were at the bus stop, wondering what's taking Mato so long to get here. It was suppose to be a basic, girls hangout day but right now, it's like any school day whenever Mato is running since she oversleeps. Kagari looks at both ends of the street and sighs in irritation while Yomi was listening to music on her phone and Yuu was twiddling her hair with her fingers. It was already ten and the bus was bound to arrive soon, leaving Kagari to wonder if they should leave Mato behind. It would be a fitting punishment for her, but then again, doing it could possibly make Yomi angry; how the aloof girl become more in tune with things and become a bit more serious is a mystery that Kagari will never figure out.

Kagari rested her head on her hand, her elbow on her knee, "She's late..."

"Eh, Mato was probably too busy talking to B RS," Yuu stated.

"Yeah, damn it... they're getting too close towards each other," Kagari mumbled before she looked at Yomi, "What do you think Yomi?"

"Hmm?" Yomi blinked before she removed her earbuds, "What did you say?"

"Scratch that, she's still aloof to a degree..." Kagari noted, "What do you think about Mato being late?"

"Oh, I think it's great that she's developing a bond with B RS," Yomi said, looking up at the blue sky, "It's just like us having a bond with our other selves"

"Okay, I get that but don't you think it contributes to her oversleeping?" Kagari asked, rephrasing her question.

Yomi let out a strained laugh, "Yeah, no doubt about it..."

"Figures..." Kagari mumbled as she noticed a certain person running towards the bus stop, "You're late..!"

Mato stopped and bent down as she tried to catch her breath, "I know... overslept... talking... B RS..."

"Ugh, we get it, in fact, we figured that would be the reason why you overslept since you were rushing to get here," Kagari scolded, "Geez, if this is going to be a problem, use an alarm clock like normal people do!"

Mato was sure that she managed to hit the bar on Kagari's temper, and she was aware that if that happens, the best thing to do is to not do anything stupid. Kagari was a person who would be nice and like any other girl but if someone pressed the right buttons, she was bound to be pissed and her anger among all of Mato's friends is one to be universally feared, at least in real world standards. Mato sputtered and started apologizing while Yomi and Yuu were laughing at their friends antics since this was as close as it could get to a comedy show. It didn't take long for the bus to arrive and the four entered, paying for their ride and sitting down as the bus headed off towards the city. For today, the issues surrounding the Otherworld is behind them as it was a day that they just hang out and do the one thing they intend to do: shopping.

Saya yawned and got up, rubbing her eyes as she looked around, "Hmm, what a weird dream..."

Saya was about to shrug it off and lay back down when she stopped herself and looked around again, taking in the change in the scenery. Instead of being home, sleeping to her heart's content, she was in the Otherworld, or more specifically, Gold Saw's home. There was no possible way to describe what she was feeling right now since she was still caught off guard by just being here. Saya got up and started walking, wondering if Gold Saw brought her here for a reason and if one of those reason was about what's going on in the Otherworld right now. The sound of slicing something caught the woman's attention as she looked up, noticing Gold Saw sitting six feet above her, sharpening her King Saw with a sharpening stone.

"There you are," Saya shouted, "Why haven't you been talking to me lately?"

Gold Saw continued to sharpen her King Saw, "Too many things been happening here, and I figured the same thing was happening in the real world"

"You're right, especially since this Geshumaru girl been affecting both worlds," Saya stated.

"Geshumaru?" Gold Saw asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She's an other self, or was, and she's been causing problems in both worlds since she can travel between them," Saya explained, "Apparently, she's the reason B RS died..."

"I've never heard of her or of an other self that's capable of going between both worlds," Gold Saw stated, "Whoever this Geshumaru is, she might be fearsome but..."

"But?" Saya repeated.

"I didn't bring you here to talk about B RS," Gold Saw told her, "I brought you here to talk about the state of the Otherworld"

Saya walked up, trying to get a better view of Gold Saw, "What about it, it seems fine?"

"You are aware that the Otherworld isn't placed in layers anymore, but more of an actual world?" Gold Saw inquired.

When Saya nodded, Gold Saw continued, "I fought against an other self known as Underworld Icicle, and it appears she came from the core of the Otherworld, the same place that was destroyed when Yuu fought against that unnatural version of B RS"

Saya's eyes widened, "Eh, but there's no way that's possible, no other self should originate from there"

"I thought so too, until I thought about it more and realize that there's things about the Otherworld that even I don't know," Gold Saw explained, "One of them being a missing segment of the Otherworld that might have belonged to someone"

"A missing segment... maybe it was destroyed?" Saya mused.

"That's a possible theory if it was the case," Gold saw stated, "This segment was ripped right out of the ground by magic and all that's left is an abyss, one that no one can enter or escape..."

"So no one can go through and if they do, they can't escape?" Saya summarized.

Gold Saw nodded, "Judging by the formation to the area and how active the magic is there, I estimated that area has been gone for about a year, at least a few months before B RS was hunted down"

So this was what Gold Saw wanted to talk to her about; nothing relating to B RS nor Geshumaru, just the state of an area disappearing from the Otherworld. Actually, when Saya started thinking on it, it was possible that it might tie into it all but there's no concrete clues as to how their connected. Either way, this was a new mystery along with that Icicle originating from the core of the Otherworld, something that was impossible even by the Otherworld standards. Despite all that, Saya was somewhat glad that Gold Saw finally talked to her after such a long time, even though they both have problems of their own that they have to handle. Saya locked her eyes with Gold Saw's, a brief message transmitted between them before Saya smiled, fading back into the real world.

"It seems there's something bigger happening, the only thing that I can't figure out is what it is..." Gold Saw thought to herself.

"Sweet!" Mato exclaimed as she eyed the new One Ok Rock DVD.

Right now, the girls were inside HMV, looking through the store, picking out CDs made by their favorite artists or bands. It was a bit of a long ride, but they made it and once they arrive, the first thing they agreed on doing was eating, especially since Mato's stomach grumbled because she forgot to eat breakfast. After that, stopping was their primary objective and they went through various stores, buying what they needed. HMV was the store they were currently in right now and Mato was sure she was in heaven. She's been saving up her allowance in order to buy the DVD and now she finally gotten her chance, especially since the worry of the DVD going out of stock frightened her.

"Whoever is shining divine fortune upon me, thank you..." Mato thought to herself.

Yuu looked towards Mato and sighed, "She's got that dopey look on her face, I wonder if she's thinking about something perverted..."

"Hun?" Yomi said, surprised by what Yuu just said, "I don't think Mato is a pervert, at least, I don't think she is..."

"Oh, trust me on this, STR told me that Mato is a grade A- ugh!" Yuu said before she crouched down, clutching her stomach.

Yomi placed her hand on Yuu's back, "What's wrong?"

"I should have heeded Kagari's warning on the food..." Yuu thought as she got up and started running, trying to find the ladies room, "Toilet, I need a toilet..!"

As Yomi was left dumbstruck by Yuu's actions, Kagari sighed, "I warned her, those chips are horrible, especially when they're past due date..."

Meanwhile, in one of the stalls in the ladies room, a portal opened and Geshumaru fell out of it, landing on the floor. The moment she planted both feet on the floor, she gripped her head since she still couldn't stand traveling into the real world as physics affects her completely. In the Otherworld, her body can withstand traveling through different areas, but in the real world, her body has to adjust itself to accommodate for the different laws of physics that's applied in the real world. Opening the stall door, she noticed there was only one person in the ladies room, and she was looking at her through the mirror, meaning she also witnessed the portal. Before the woman could even make a move to get out of there, Geshumaru was upon her, slamming her back against the wall as she placed a hand on the woman's head, her blue eyes glowing.

"Forget what you saw in the past several minutes and sleep!" Geshumaru commanded, to which the woman had no choice but to comply.

When Geshumaru let go of her, the woman fell to the floor, unconscious as Geshumaru's power started taking affect on her, erasing what she saw in the past several minutes. She figured she can take the woman, placed her in the stall, and then leave but when she heard someone heading towards the ladies room, she had to change her plans. She took the woman and dragged her into the stall, closing the door and locking it as Yuu entered the restroom. Geshumaru silently cursed herself before she stopped and tried to think of a way on how to get out of here without Yuu finding out as it would be quite problematic. Geshumaru looked at the unconscious woman, the only other person that was sharing her company until an idea popped into her head.

Yuu let out a sigh of relief as she exited the stall, glad that her stomach isn't in pain anymore as she headed towards the sinks to wash her hands. Next to her, a woman was fixing her hair, her striking blue eyes reflecting many mysteries within them. Yuu wasn't sure what it was about the woman that captured her attention, but she was sure that in some way, she met her before. She shook her head and started washing her hands, ignoring the thoughts that was circling around in her head right now since she didn't want them to become perverted unlike Mato thoughts whenever she thinks too much about Yomi. They weren't into girls, that much Yuu can confirm, but the fact that even girls can sometime think about stuff like that proves to be troublesome in many ways.

The woman moved away from the sink and headed towards the door, whispering into Yuu's ear, "If you liked my blue eyes, you could have told me before..."

Yuu's eyes widened and she tried to look at the woman, but she already left the restroom, leaving that unknown message for Yuu to decipher. Meanwhile, the "woman" walked through the store, looking at the various CDs until she saw Mato talking to Yomi about something relating to a band known as Coldrain. She wasn't paying attention, but it really didn't matter as she didn't come here to deal with Mato at all, but she could probably have someone else do it for her. Geshumaru looked around until she found Kagari listening to some tracks from her favorite bands, unaware of what the anomaly was planning to do. Kagari was too in tune with the music to realize Geshumaru walking up to her, nor the glowing eyes that was slightly reflected off the CD cases.

Kagari felt the right side of the headphones being pulled from her ear, causing her to turn around, "Hey, what giv-"

Geshumaru made eye contact with Kagari, causing the young teenage girl to freeze in place as the anomaly told her something. Kagari's eyes glazed over as the command drilled into her head, her mind now influenced by Geshumaru's single order. She wasn't able to remember what she heard, but it didn't matter, the damage was done and nothing could fix it. Geshum,aru replaced the right side of the headphone on Kagari's ear and walked away, leaving the store while feeling a bit proud of her accomplishment. All that remains is for the command to take affect, but seeing that Mato isn't alone and the sun is still up, it may take some time until Mato is alone for the command to take a hold of Kagari.

B RS walked through the area, her hood drawn to protect her head from the snow that was falling from the sky. She wasn't sure how that even made any sense since she was sure it was just around summer in the real world and the Otherworld doesn't have weather like this, making the entire snow just unbelievable. She was also a bit captivated by the snow as she felt a bit of a connection between it and her, but it was probably due to the color more than anything. As she walked through the snow, she sensed something that wasn't far from her, something that was big and powerful than anything she ever faced against. For some reason, it caused her to grip her ax tightly, despite not feeling any animosity from the being that was making its way towards her.

"Even when you're not in danger, you still keep your guard up..." The figure said.

B RS looked up and noticed it was a robot that was at least two and a half feet taller than her. Geshumaru's robot decided that it was best to analyze the Otherworld from a more personal viewpoint, leaving the castle and entering the area through a portal. It was slightly caught off guard by the snow, but it didn't matter as it got a chance to meet B RS personally and from what it could figure, she was definitely different from her past self in various ways, the majority of the differences being mental and emotional. B RS, on the other hand, felt a bit uneasy being next to the machine, not due to its size or aura, but from the hint of familiarity she felt. It's what caused her to grip her ax tighter, but even so, there was no hostility coming from the machine, so she stood her ground, not attacking but still being wary of the being that's right next to her.

"The snow is nice, isn't it?" The machine questioned, "Soft, cold, yet it is able to turn into a warm liquid after making contact with someone or something"

B RS nodded slowly, "Yeah, I guess you're right"

"Don't worry, I assure you, I'm not here to pick a fight," Geshumaru's familiar told her, "I'm only here to talk with a complete stranger who seems lost..."

"I'm not lost, just wandering," B RS stated.

"Even so, the Otherworld is vast and your next destination might be father than you believe or if you choose the wrong direction, you might move away from the place you're heading towards," The machine stated as well.

B RS nodded, "I see... what's your name?"

"I have no specific name, instead, I share a name with my partner," The machine explained, "I was created without one, but my partner decided that since we are similar that our name should be the same, a sort of balance between us, so you may call me Geshumaru"

"Geshumaru... sounds familiar," B RS mumbled.

"Well, it isn't a well known name," The machine stated as it looked up to the sky, "Weather was something that existed long ago, during the first generation of other selves, but as time went on, the weather disappeared but now it has returned to cry its sorrow and hope"

B RS arched an eyebrow, "You're quite a believer, aren't you?"

"In a way, but I believe things happen for a reason, and I hope that the weather carries the hope of a better future," The machine said, "When I see the sky rain, I believe it's in pain but when it snows or shows the brilliant sun, there's the hope that I believe it's showing..."

"I don't see it," B RS said as she looked up at the gray sky.

"It isn't something you see, it's something that you feel," Geshumaru's familiar explained, "Sight is only one of the five senses, use the other four to experience what I believe"

B RS was unsure of what it said but she closed her eyes and focuses her other senses, being captured by a different feeling than usual. She wasn't sure why, but she could feel what Geshumaru's robot could feel, or believe for a technical term. The machine looked up to the sky and sighed, a tiny blue flame coming out of its mouthpiece as it reached out its hand towards the sky and let the snow drop upon it's open palm. The robot heard B RS sigh and dropped its arm as she opened her eyes, staring at the machine with understanding reflecting in her eyes. She gets why weather was so scarce in the Otherworld and when it appears, all thanks to a strange machine that just appeared out of nowhere.

"You're right..." B RS told it, her voice showing how surprised she is.

"Never give up, never look back," The machine said, "No regrets, no mercy..."

"Thanks, but I have to go..." B RS said, wondering what the machine meant by those quotes.

"The next area is northeast of here, it's quite close," The machine said as it turned around, "And know this, the tip about the senses also apply to fights and always be aware of your surroundings"

B RS nodded and headed off, dashing through the snow with the tips the machine gave her circling around her head.

The sun was setting as the girls were heading home, beat from their shopping spree as they carried their own bags. Relaxation was the key point in all this and they had it for the majority of the day, despite going off and buying what they wanted. The bus came to a stop and the doors open, allowing the girls to exit the vehicle with their bags. Mato sighed in relief, glad that they were able to get out of the bus since she had the short stick throughout the entire ride back from downtown. It didn't help her that she had to deal with being squished by a fat guy and an elderly woman, the elderly she can get but the fat guy was a bit too much.

"Well, whenever a good thing happens, there always has to be something bad..." Mato sighed again.

Yomi smiled, "Well, that was a fun day"

"Yeah," Yuu agreed before she grimaced, "Except for me when I had to use the bathroom..."

Kagari crossed her arms, "I warned you that those chips were bad, I tried them once and the same thing happened..."

"Maybe it's because those aren't suppose to be eaten like a regular snack?" Yomi said, unsure about the entire "weird chips" discussion.

"Well, it doesn't matter," Mato butted in, "We all had a great day and we managed to buy a lot of cool stuff, so overall, today wasn't bad at all!"

Kagari cleaned her right ear before she bonked Mato on the head, "I'm right next to you, you damn idiot!"

Yomi giggled at Mato and Kagari's antics since it's humorous how much their friendship has developed, especially since Kagari is more open now than before. Normally, the both of them would get along with each other just fine but whenever Mato got excited or does something a bit stupid, Kagari would reprimand her, whether it's physically or verbally. It's like pairing someone who's a joker along with someone who is a no-nonsense kind of person, but they somehow found a way to make it funny enough for Yomi and Yuu to laugh at them. Speaking of Yuu, her stomach groaned a bit, caused her to clutch it as she looked a bit ill.

"Oh man, looks like I have to hurry back home if I don't want to blow up," Yuu said turning around, "See ya on Monday!"

As Yuu ran off towards home Yomi looked at Mato and Kagari, "Well, I have to get going too, come on Kagari, you're house isn't that far from mine..."

"Eh, actually Yomi, I was thinking I would show Kagari that... you know..." Mato told her, making hand gestures as to what she wanted to show Kagari.

"Hun, what are you talk-" Yomi started before she realized what Mato was talking about, "Oh, good luck"

Mato looked at Kagari before dashing off, "Come on, follow me!"

"Hey, slow down you speed demon!" Kagari shouted as she trailed behind Mato.

As the two headed off, Yomi couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy, as if something was going to happen but she ignored it, figuring that it wasn't anything major. Meanwhile, Mato led Kagari to an area with two benches along with two light posts that has a wide view of the entire town. Mato showed this place to Yomi a couple of months ago after Mato was heading towards her house, but her brother pestering her managed to give Mato a headache for a bit. The scene was quite beautiful and Kagari had to admit, she didn't expect a place like this to even exist, but count on Mato to find something that none of her friends have seen yet. Mato placed her bags on the ground and walked up to the railing, leaning on it as she stared at the town below.

"You know, I like to come here and enjoy the scene," Mato told Kagari, "Just staring at the town, either alone or with my friends; it's a whole lot of fun!"

Kagari nodded before she felt a jolt run through her head, like a message going through her before it became the only thing that she was thinking about. She looked at Mato again, tightening her grip on her bags before dropping them to the ground. Mato was still staring at the town below her taking in the lights that were turning on as the sun dipped in the background, the sky becoming darker. Mato heard footsteps behind her and turned around to see Kagari walking up towards her. For a brief moment, Mato though Kagari wanted to see the same thing from the railing as well, but that changed when she got a good glimpse of Kagari's eyes and realized that something was wrong.

Very wrong...

B RS took off her hood as she entered the new area, noticing the unusual structures that surrounded the place. From what she could make out, some of the structures looked like toys, such as the horse or doll like structures. The yellow and pink tint to the area was a bit weird, but fitting for a place like this since it's suppose to be based on a toy land of sorts. She looked around, feeling a bit of nostalgia as she started remembering certain parts of the place. B RS stopped walking when she remember a certain scene and started running, trying to find the location of where it took place since she was sure it was somewhere close in the area. She stopped running as she reached her destination, remembering Dead Master being bound to chains and using them to whack her around to help someone, but who?

"Damn it, I got to stay focus and not get caught up in nostalgia," B RS grumbled to herself.

As she started to walk away, she felt a pair of eyes stare at her from behind, causing her to turn around to find who it was that was doing that. Not finding what she was trying to find, B RS noticed a strange doll head hidden behind some rubble. Arching an eyebrow, B RS walked up to it, questioning why it was there since it wasn't before. Leaning in, B RS placed her hand on it and rubbed it side to side, feeling a slight tremor coming from it through her glove. B RS closed her eyes and focused the rest of her senses before they snapped open figuring out where the tremors were coming from.

B RS jumped to her side, avoiding the twisted spider-like machine that was ripping right through the ground behind her to crush her completely. Getting another good look at the machine, B RS remember the thing that was a pain to deal with since it was ripping her apart like crazy. The only thing though is that in those memories of the spider-like robot, there was someone riding in it but the image of who was a bit blurred. The robot ripped itself out of the rubble and charged towards B RS, ready to kill her through various means. B RS dashed forwards and jumped onto its head before jumping off it, intent on covering enough distance between her and the robot.

Before she could even descend from the air, B RS was slammed into the ground fiercely, a small crater forming on the ground. She groaned and was about to get up when she felt someone slam their knees into her gut, forcing the air out of her lungs. Claw-like glove clasped around her neck and tighten their grip, causing B RS to grab onto the wrists of whoever was strangling her to death. Squeezing her eyes shut and opening them up to see who it was, she was able to piece together who it was that was riding the machine. She saw her, no, fought her before and she didn't have to figure out the name as it came back just as fast as the slightly blurred image in her memories clearing.

"Cha... ri... ot..!" B RS choked out.

Mato was struggling to remove Kagari's hands from her neck as she was starting to suffocate from lack of air. When Kagari was walking up to her, she noticed the hollowness in her eyes and how she was walking. It was like she was a puppet and someone was controlling her with wires, not allowing her to control herself. Her amber eyes has a hint of blue circling within them, but Mato was ignoring that fact in favor of trying to get Kagari away from her. Kagari tightened her grip when she noticed Mato struggling to break free, the command that Geshumaru embedded in her head being the only thought inside her.

"Once alone with Mato, attack her..." Kagari repeated the command in her head, the hypnosis that Geshumaru placed her under enveloping not just herself, but her other self as well.

Author's Note: Well, it stopped raining here and I'm still sorry for not updating for a long time. So, since I'm updating during my two week break, expect a possible 13 more chapters from me. Also, since my original plan for Life is down the gutter since it might be a while until this story is finished, I'll start updating Life in the fall, but I'm not giving a concrete date on its return. Also, I think I sort of improved on the suspense and mystery (but only a little bit on the mystery). Oh yeah, as music recomdiation, I suggest listening to Beautiful Morning With You by The Pillows (no connection, just listen to it as it's a really awesome song).

Please review and I'll see you all tomorrow (I really have to stop being lazy).