Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Crazy:B had just entered their dressing room on set after a successful variety program. It had been several months since the MDM and their debut, and their hard efforts at changing their public image, with the help of Ibara, were hopefully going to pay off. Soon, they all hoped, as the L$ they had made before the MDM would only keep them afloat for so long. The last thing any of the idols needed, or wanted, was to go bankrupt and disband after narrowly escaping that fate this past summer.

Rinne grabbed his phone from his bag, choosing to lean against the wall as he checked for any messages instead of taking his seat at the dressing table. His thumb slid over the screen, checking the notifications, not entirely sure if any message from this person would even be a good sign or not.

Nothing.

The unit leader’s mouth formed a thin line, taking the chance to glance at the rest of the unit. While it wasn’t unnormal to not see each of them look at their phones after whatever job they all had together, the fact that everyone had been silent once they were in the room and looked at their phones with the same mix of relief and unease made his own anxiety grow like ice in his veins. The look of being both not present and laser-focused at the same time was eerie. Not like he could voice exactly what was making him anxious in the first place.

He promised not to say anything, after all.

The distressed and haunted look on the kid’s face was guaranteed to sear itself into his mind.

He saw Niki glance around, too, shivering despite the room being warm, with the same anxious air that he felt. The grey-haired idol chewed on his lips before speaking, looking torn between being unsure if he should and mulling over his exact words, “It’s…kind of odd that we’re all so quiet.”

The pastel-haired duo both looked up at the chef, Kohaku shortly darting his eyes away with a clear-as-day look of conflict while HiMERU held on a few seconds longer before lowering his gaze. The older of the two spoke, though it was evident he wasn’t that confident in what he was saying, “Perhaps there is not much to say.”

Several seconds of silence pass between them, phones still held out in front of them. The air, despite being in a well-ventilated and warm room, felt stale and chilly. Rinne now understood the feeling that came with the expression “the elephant in the room.” It was like the worst oppressive feeling he had ever felt, made worse by the fact that everyone, despite feeling it too, refused to acknowledge it.

Niki hesitated, fingers playing with his sleeve for a moment before slowly wading into the unease, “Has…has everyone talked to someone from Alkaloid…last night?”

The three idols widened their eyes, sharply looking at the chef. Niki’s own blue eyes widened, too, showing a mix of shock and fear at the confirmation. A fear of what, Rinne couldn’t exactly say. Everyone looked at each other, seeing the same trepidation and shock in all, as if the situation was silently understood without needing to explain.

Rinne looked back at his phone to check for messages again. How could he forget what happened last night?

~*~

They were supposed to head back to Niki’s apartment together but said man forgot a few items in his dorm he needed to get before the scheduled shooting tomorrow, leaving him by the cafeteria to wait for his return. He chanced a glance up from the slot machine game on his phone when he saw Eichi and Rei leading, practically carrying, Aira to sit at one of the tables, each holding an arm of the younger idol. While he normally would let sleeping dogs lie, especially if it didn’t concern him in the slightest, he felt this nagging feeling he should check in on them, lest the alarm bells in his mind wouldn’t cease.

He walked over to them, putting on his signature flippant persona, “Ai-chan, what seems to be the problem? Got too exhausted ranting about my lil’ bro?”

Rei and Eichi glared at the redhead, causing him to inwardly recoil. While he didn’t interact much with Eichi, he knew this man was just as dangerous and as much of a schemer as Ibara, despite his soft-spoken voice and angelic bearing. Rei…he had heard of how UNDEAD had treated HiMERU and Kohaku at the MDM. While the leader of said unit claimed they held no ill will, or at least, didn’t have time to hold a grudge, he could still feel a sense of distaste anytime any of Crazy:B were nearby. Not like most of the idol units didn’t already give them a wide berth, even after the MDM and Alkaloid’s efforts. They were still just as isolated and othered as before.

It was Aira who broke the tension with an almost whispered, raspy question, “Rinne-senpai… did you and Hiro-kun’s village take dreams seriously?”

~*~

The four bees remained silent initially after the confirmation. Niki broke the silence again, delving further, the image of a hyperventilating Hiiro as vivid as it was last night, “Did…they mention anything about…a weird dream? Something that made them…on edge?”

~*~

His signature smirk shortened to a barely perceptible smile at the question. “Odd thing to ask, but yeah. Had a whole deity that would send premonitions and warnings through dreams and visions. Though, I don’t necessarily believe in all that.”

The smaller blond stayed quiet, eyes seeming to be both lost in thought and distant, as if he wasn’t mentally there at all. Eichi laid a hand delicately on top of his junior’s, gently suggesting, “Perhaps, it would be best to tell us what happened. After all, Rinne Amagi-kun and Sakuma-kun know a bit about dreams.”

Rei turned his blood-red eyes to his youngest dormmate, noticeably softening, “Dreams don’t need to mean something all the time, Shiratori-kun. However, sharing one’s troubles can alleviate the weight they have on their shoulders.”

“But it was…horrible,” Aira’s voice sounded sore from overuse with the last word having a noticeably wet crack to it.

Rinne felt what remained of his smirk evaporate completely. He gently put a hand on the kid’s shoulder and provided an option, knowing how close he was to some of the idols, “Hey, maybe you would feel more comfortable telling Hiiro and Kohaku-chan?”

“NO!” Aira shouted, making the three elder men jump. He quieted down, sounding far more scared, “No. I-I don’t want to see them.”

The distressed and haunted look on the kid’s face was guaranteed to sear itself into his mind for the next few days, of that Rinne was sure. He turned the chair and sat down backwards in it across from the terrified kid, Rei to his left and Eichi to his right, resting his chin on the back. He spoke softly, choosing to use his proper name, “Aira.”

Green eyes betrayed slight shock at no nickname being used. Rinne continued softly, “Clearly, this is troubling you greatly if you don’t even want to see them. What happened?”

“…Only if you don’t tell anyone else.”

~*~

The unease and oppressive atmosphere felt denser the more the silence conveyed their answers. This time, HiMERU spoke up, still eyeing the last sent message from Tatsumi, “Like a disembodied voice demanding them to play a game? Or…something to that extent?”

~*~

Aira took a breath, attempting something deeper than what he had managed, before quietly starting, “I-It was dark… and something called out.”

“Something?” Rinne gently prodded, “Did you see what it was?”

Aira shook his head, “No…I don’t even know if it was human. I just…it felt evil.”

Rei rubbed his shoulder as a comforting gesture, “What did it say?”

“It…” Aira quieted a moment, “It said ‘It’s time to play a game.’”

Rinne felt the hairs on the back of his neck begin to prickle. Whatever it was in Aira’s dream, it didn’t toy with him. This sounded like it was commanding, like there wasn’t a choice. Like he was a marionette.

~*~

“And weird…demented, visions followed? Some…not connected at all? Or that some didn’t involve them?” Kohaku had duly let the phone slip from his hand to land with a small thud on the table in front of him. The screen, which showed the last message from Mayoi about thanking him for comforting him on the dormitory rooftop last night, went black.

~*~

“Then…it felt like I was seeing…visions, or something.”

“…Visions of what?” Rinne whispered back.

“Nothing good.”

A pause passed by before Eichi gently tightened his hold on the other’s hand, “Shiratori-kun? What…exactly did these ‘visions’ entail?”

“…Some of them…seemed connected. Others…I don’t know how they connect…or even how they could be possible.”

The three waited for Aira to steel himself before continuing, “At first, I was in some sort of school, but dark and creepy. I saw myself hear voices in what I think was the infirmary and enter. It…was like I was some sort of spectator.”

Aira briefly eyed Rinne before looking down at the table, a mix of fear and sadness in his eyes. Rinne, despite feeling his own dread at the expression, prodded, “What happened after?”

“When I blinked, I was in another part of the school…at least I think. It was…some sort of outdoor walkway. Shiina-senpai, Hidaka-senpai, Isara-buchou, Hiro-kun…and you were there.”

Rinne straightened in his seat on reflex, with similar tension being present in the other two at hearing other people were involved. Aira sighed slowly crying as he explained, “Hi-Hiro-kun was saying ‘let’s go home together’ but…he…he was dying in your arms.”

Rinne’s jaw slackened and he felt the hair on his arms raise and his skin prickle. His mouth felt dry at that moment. An instinct to check on his little brother was trying to hijack his body. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Niki was Hiiro’s roommate and he just went up there. His little brother would be fine, for now. Right now, there was a bigger problem sitting before him.

Rei was the first to speak, though even he was unnerved, “Was…there anything else?”

“That’s…where I’m confused. The next thing…Hiro-kun and I were walking on a pedestrian bridge together…like that school didn’t exist.”

Eichi whispered, “So…Hiiro-kun was dying before…but then he was fine?”

“I don’t get it either.”

Rinne nodded to Aira, prompting him to continue, “We were laughing and talking…then…Kohakuchi…”

“What was he doing?” Eichi gently shook Aira’s hand, attempting to keep the kid grounded in reality.

“He…” Aira shook at the effort, “He looked so…dead in the eyes. Like he was broken, or something. And he…he held a hand saw to my neck. He told me to die before he…”

Rinne’s eyes widened in disbelief. Despite only knowing the kid for a few months, he got the impression that he would never do something like that to Aira. He cared for his friend. Hell, Rinne believed Kohaku even harbored a crush on the blond but was too scared or conflicted to do anything about it.

“You don’t need to explain…what he did,” Rei softly patted Aira’s head, “Was there…?”

“I don’t understand, but…next thing I knew, he, Hiro-kun, and I were strapped to chairs around a table with saws above us. Some voice…”

“The same one that talked to you in the beginning?” Eichi questioned.

“No…this sounded more human, but I don’t know who it was. It…said one of us had to die, and that Hiro-kun had to choose. There was a gun on the table and…Hiro…Hiro-kun shot himself.”

~*~

Rinne sighed, “Did some of those visions have to do with things going on at ES itself?”

~*~

“There were some…really weird ones, too. About here, at ES.”

At that Eichi perked up, a fine blond eyebrow raising and eyes glimmering in extreme worry, “How so?”

“Well, there was one about Narukami-senpai and Hakaze-senpai hiding in the library from these…shadowy creatures. And then, Kagehira-senpai was running through one of the costume storage rooms looking for something while another one of those creatures was chasing him. Then…”

Aira eyed both Rei and Eichi with much trepidation, both feeling the unease even if they hadn’t been staring at him the entire time. Their looks urged him on, “I think it was all the leaders of each idol unit were in a room. That voice from the beginning…It said that to avoid sending punishment to someone else…Someone in that room had to be stabbed by someone who had great hatred towards them.”

~*~

The walls felt constricting like they were closing in on each and every one of the idols in that dressing room. The foreboding atmosphere darkened and thickened to the point of making breathing difficult. The ice in Rinne’s veins had expanded so far and so quickly that even his bones felt frozen to their cores.

He pushed his dry throat to ask one more, raspy question, “Was there then a second voice? Like it was warning them to ‘stay away’ and to not ‘go in there’?”

Kohaku’s nearly imperceptible nod of affirmation and the wide-eyed silence from the other two confirmed what he was fearing.

~*~

“That other voice…it didn’t feel evil like the first, but still didn’t quite sound human, either. It was saying ‘stay away’ and ‘don’t go in there.’ It…sounded scared. Concerned. Like it’s genuinely trying to warn me that all of this is preventable…that it doesn’t want all of that to come true.”

~*~

Niki broke the repetitive questioning followed by silence. “Ototo-san was thinking, if these were genuine warnings, that it had to do with the job Alkaloid is helping Switch with today.”

Rinne raised an eyebrow at the comment, “Didn’t hear anything about that.”

“He said it’s not common knowledge because it’s still in the developmental stage. Something to do with that VR thing Switch did last year.”

“Shinsekai? What are they doin’ this time?” Kohaku grumbled, still remembering what Crazy:B endured during their time participating in the SS when they tried out the VR system.

“I guess Switch might be trying to expand the system to be about more than just mimicking what it’s like to be an idol for the public. Though this might be something more for just ES.”

“Expanding to include what, exactly?” HiMERU questioned.

“I don’t know! He used big words like ‘liminal spaces’ and ‘alternate universes’! I’m not exactly the best person to ask for answers here!” Niki grew flustered, crossing his arms over his chest in annoyance.

“Either way, neither of those sound good.” Rinne could feel the alarm bells stirring once again, but he couldn’t place as to why or what was making them go off.

“I get where Hiiro-han is comin’ from, though.” Kohaku was pensive, “Alternate universes would explain ta’ weird variety of locations of those visions an’ how they could ultimately be connected.”

“…Did they tell any of you what exactly they saw?” Niki ventured.

A tense moment of silence passed between them, flashes in their eyes revealing how their thoughts were drawn back to those conversations. HiMERU swallowed uncomfortably, “A lot of violence and death, mostly. Shocking enough that Tatsumi was still in hysterics after waking up until Oogami and HiMERU calmed him down.”

“Mayoi-han was pretty despondent ‘bout it.”

Rinne walked to his seat and finally sat down, “Kinda odd that you talked with Mayoi-chan out of the four.”

Kohaku shrugged, “T’was mostly happenstance. I was on ta’ roof of ta’ dorms needin’ to think and he was already ‘ere.”

“Ototo-san…” Niki trailed off initially, “I walked into our room and Hinata-kun was trying to calm him down. He was hyperventilating so bad he could barely breathe.”

Rinne glared at the phone with mixed feelings not intending for his thought to be voiced, “I woulda thought he’d call me about it.”

“Rinne-kun…” Niki stared at the floor, internally debating with what he was about to say, “He didn’t want to say anything to you.”

The dread crept up inside himself; he could practically feel it clawing its way through his lungs and throat and around his brain. He had a feeling he knew exactly why Hiiro wouldn’t tell him if it was indeed the same reason why Aira refused to see Kohaku and Hiiro. “Did…he envision something about me?”

The other two members of Crazy:B looked between Niki and Rinne, nervously waiting with bated breath. Niki’s lips quivered even as they were tightly pressed together, as if the thought alone was making him want to cry, “He saw you hold a gun to your head in front of HiMERU-kun and Kohaku-chan saying you didn’t want to live anymore.”

He felt the air get forcibly ripped from his lungs as he screwed his eyes shut, running a hand through his messy red hair. He took a shaky breath, “Fuck, that’s just as bad as what Ai-chan said he saw.”

“What did Love-han see?” Kohaku’s tone was deathly serious and stern.

“Well, it was enough for him to freak out when I mentioned he could talk to ya and Hiiro about it.” Rinne dodged the question. He really didn’t want to see the hurt on the kid’s face if he said his closest friend was terrified of him thanks to the visions.

“Ototo-san also didn’t want to see Aira-san or Kohaku-chan…” Niki eyed Rinne. The couple shared a look that made Rinne believe he knew exactly what set of visions from Aira and, possibly, Hiiro could have led to this outcome.

“…Why were they afraid o’ me? What did I do in those visions?” Kohaku barely whispered out, eyes downcast and full of hurt. Rinne sighed, knowing his little brother and Kohaku had grown close thanks to their shared friend in Aira. As much as the thought stirred up a lot of mixed feelings, he theorized the reason why Kohaku didn’t confront his feelings about Aira was that he probably had similar feelings towards Hiiro.

“Kid, you’re not gonna like the answer. Are ya sure you really want to know?” Something in his soul told him it was better in the long run for the teen to know.

Kohaku took a deep, shaky breath before leveling his eyes with his unit leader and nodded in determination. Rinne softened as he debated on the gentlest way to put it. In the end, there wasn’t a gentle way, so he had to be blunt, “You killed Ai-chan with a handsaw.”

He couldn’t bear to look at the kid’s look of shock and horror. Niki mumbled, forgoing his usual addressing of his unit leader and boyfriend’s little brother, “Hiiro said he saw that, too.”

“Well, yeah, Ai-chan said they were walking together when that happened.”

“What do you mean?”

At that, Rinne brought his gaze to rest on Niki, who was pointedly confused, “Hiiro wasn’t there. Well, for sure in one of them.”

“Okay, now what do you mean by that? Ai-chan said he and Hiiro were walking together on some sort of pedestrian bridge when Kohaku-chan…did that, and that was the only one that involved the two of them in that particular way.” Rinne crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow accusingly.

“That is not what Hiiro said happened.” Niki put his hands on his hips, challenging Rinne.

“HiMERU thinks he might know what is going on,” said idol leaned forward slightly, “Shiina, what did Younger Amagi say happened? In both.”

“Well, first of all, the first was on a school rooftop at night. Kohaku-chan and Aira-san were talking and Hiiro wasn’t there. Well…more like Kohaku gestured to a duffel bag when he said something about ‘ask Hiiro for yourself’ and Aira-san saw…Hiiro’s severed head in it. Then they attacked each other, Kohaku-chan with a bloodied handsaw and Aira-san with a bloodied knife, but Kohaku-chan killed him. The second one, Hiiro and Kohaku-chan were on a train platform when Aira-san pushed Kohaku-chan into the oncoming train, grinning like a maniac.” Niki grimaced at both Rinne and Kohaku’s horror at the revelation.

“I…I-I would never do tha’ to either of ‘em…” Kohaku sounded distant, purple irises visibly shaking as his brain processed what he heard.

Rinne collected himself, “I know ya wouldn’t. Niki, Merumeru, and ya are the people I would trust the most to look after my lil’ bro if anything were to happen to me. You practically adore the both of ‘em, and they care for you, too.”

While he didn’t usually express himself that openly, he valued reassuring their youngest over his pride, especially in the face of something so nauseatingly horrifying. It seemed to work, as it brought the teen back, a look of disbelief at hearing something that personal coming from his leader thrown his way.

Rinne looked towards the blue-haired teammate, “What exactly are ya thinking, Merumeru?”

The typically collected idol tapped his fingers on the dressing table in thought, “If these dreams do have something to do with that alternate universe thing with Switch, what if these are just potential outcomes as a result of actions done prior?”

“Could you explain in simple terms?” Niki stood up from his chair to instead lean against the table near Rinne, discreetly rubbing small circles into the older man’s shoulders.

“I…think I get it,” Kohaku muttered, “Jun-han plays games tha’ ‘ave multiple endin’s, and what ya do durin’ ta’ game will affect the endin’ ya get. Is it like tha’?”

HiMERU nodded, “Precisely, Oukawa. He believes all three of those visions, if these are visions and are related to the alternate universe idea, are all part of the same alternate universe, and are simply potential endings based on what the three of you do prior to them. It does not mean they will come to pass.”

“What gives ya the idea they are connected to the same universe?” Rinne narrowed his eyes in thought, digesting what the other idol was dishing out.

“He believes it is the underlying current beneath the actions that makes them all related. Specifically, the relationship between the three of you.”

He leaned forward upon the confused look from the pink-haired idol, “Oukawa. You do not hide your romantic inclinations towards those two very well.”

At that, Kohaku’s faced burned bright red, burying his face into his folded arms on the table. Rinne’s mouth fell open, his usual teasing tendencies gone at the realization, “I knew it.”

Rather than be indignant about being called out, the teen sounded dejected, “Not like it matters. Those two like each other anyways.”

HiMERU gave a light pat on the youngest’s head, finally making the latter raise his head to glare at the offender. “This thought process and the relationship between the three of you is the exact equation that, if solved incorrectly, will result in each of those bad endings. Solving it the right way, not only avoids the wrong endings, but gives the best possible ending.”

After checking the time on his phone, Niki stomped his foot in a show of true aggravation, something he normally would only show when Rinne was pushing his luck too far with him, “While this is very sweet that we are giving Kohaku-chan a pep talk, those visions are more than just representations of emotions or issues we are dealing with in reality! All of Alkaloid had the same dream on the same night about some really catastrophic events, for themselves, us, and all of ES, with the same disembodied voices; one clearly malevolent and the instigator and the other clearly warning them that the job with Switch is going to cause all of this! Oh, which, by the way, if Alkaloid followed through with it, would mean that they would have tried out the VR system an hour ago! Which means the ball has already been dropped on preventing this disaster! Your theory, while probably works for that situation, HiMERU-kun, does absolutely jack shit for the bigger fucking problem!”

Kohaku jerked up, back rigid, eyes calculating, “…What did ya just say, Niki-han?”

“Did you seriously ignore me?!”

“Niki-han, ta’ last thing ya said! What did ya say!?”

Taken aback by the sudden urgency in his fellow unit mate, Niki stuttered, “T-that HiMERU-kun’s theory does jack shit for the bigger problem?”

The teen stared at the tabletop in confusion, muttering to himself, “We should a’ been havin’ this conversation in ta’ car. Why now-unless?”

“Oi, earth to Kohaku-chan? What’s going on?” Rinne waved his hand in front of the other.

“N-Niki-han! I think HiMERU-han’s theory ‘bout these visions an’ possible outcomes is right! One of ta’ visions Mayoi-han said he saw was of us arguing, and ta’ first thing he heard anyone of us say was the endin’ bit of ‘HiMERU-kun does absolutely jack shit fer ta’ bigger problem’! Except we were havin’ this conversation in ta’ company car on ta’ way back ta ES!” Kohaku kept jamming his pointer finger into the table with every point he was making.

Four pairs of eyes uneasily shifted between each other in a suffocating silence. “Oukawa, what happened after that?”

“Hold Hands goes down. Not fer maintenance. Some unknown error. Ta’ message pops up, words get all pixelated fer a moment, then look normal. Ta’ only way Ibara-han gets a hold of us is ‘cause HiMERU-han has a phone none of us knew ‘bout, not connected to Hold Hands. He can’t explain ta’ situation ta us on ta’ phone, so all of us ‘re ordered ta meet him in Room 6-66 at ES immediately.”

The foreboding unease hung in the air like a live wire, just waiting to ignite. Rinne heaved a heavy breath as he gestured for the others to come closer as he pulled his phone out. Everyone gathered tightly, gazes intent on the phone in their leader’s hand. Rinne taps on Hold Hands to pull up the last message Hiiro sent him.

The error message appears, the characters partially becoming pixelated and appearing as if they were not fully loading in before the message snaps and shakes, appearing as normal after.

Rinne, Niki, and Kohaku slowly turn to HiMERU who dashed over to his bag, retrieving and holding out a second phone. A minute passes, then two.

A knock on the door startles the four idols.

HiMERU answers, keeping his signature poker face, before shutting the door. It was one of the tech assistants asking if they had wrapped up. They got ready tersely, the idols attempting to recompose themselves. That elephant remained in the room, though it was different from the one before.

When they loaded into the company van, telling the driver to just bring them back to ES, they sat in silence, HiMERU holding the second phone out all the while. At least, if the call did come during the ride, they were in their own separate compartment from the driver.

A robotic chime came through the phone. Saegusa Ibara’s name fills the screen.

All four shared bated breaths before HiMERU answered. “HiMERU speaking…The shoot went fine…Yes, he saw Hold Hands appears to be having a problem…Where?...When?...He will tell them. Goodbye.”

The normally stoic, impassive idol’s unreadable mask fell apart then, revealing a mixture of agony, frustration, fear, and dread. In a hushed tone, he spat out what they were all thinking. “Room 6-66.”

Rinne tossed his head into the back of his seat, eyes narrow as he stared at the van’s ceiling, “Goddamn it, what the fuck is happening?”

Chapter Text

Silence.

Rinne couldn’t stand it. After now seeing one of those “visions” of Alkalaoid’s come true right before their eyes and truly beginning to understand the nightmare that is about to unfold, this silence…this damning silence was more infuriating than their inability to have seen any of this coming. If there was even a chance to turn the tables now, Rinne was damn certain he would use every single dirty trick in the book to end this soon-to-be disaster before it got any worse.

He kicked his leg out in frustration, barely missing Niki’s shin and making the other reflexively pull his legs up, “Well, don’t just sit there mopin’! Was there any vision anyone from Alkaloid saw that might inform us of what we are about to walk into?”

Everyone concentrated as they tried to remember anything specific. HiMERU finally spoke, “Tatsumi may have, he believes.”

“Well, spit it out, would ya? We don’t exactly have all the time in the world here!” Rinne’s patience, he could feel, wore thin by the second. If it weren’t for the impending life-or-death situations that could unfold soon, he would feel some monogram of guilt at being so aggressive towards his unit at the moment.

“He was getting there, Amagi,” HiMERU narrowed his eyes in annoyance, “Tatsumi may have foreseen what may occur once we step foot into that room. There were a bunch of other people in there besides us four. He couldn’t quite make out a lot of what was being said, but he managed to overhear this…thing essentially threatening Oukawa if he didn’t cooperate. As well as you yelling at it to leave Younger Amagi alone.”

“Let me guess, this thing was that first disembodied voice they heard before the visions and that the other people in that room were the leaders of each unit?” Rinne thought back to Aira’s own vision, feeling a shiver wrack his spine.

“Yes…HiMERU presumes Shiratori saw something similar?”

Rinne scratched his head, probably too roughly considering Niki reached over to lay a hand on his to stop him, “Sorta. His sounded like it takes place sometime after this meetin’.”

“Any specifics?” Kohaku leaned slightly over.

“More of like that voice told them that to avoid sending punishment to someone else they had to stab someone in that room.”

The look HiMERU gave him indicated the former felt he was hiding more than what he was letting on. He rolled his eyes, “Before ya say anything, Merumeru, that was exactly what Ai-chan said to me. He didn’t know who this other party was.”

The accusatory look faded to one of impassive pensiveness, “All the more reason to not trust this thing in any capacity.”

“What exactly was it threatenin’ me with?” Kohaku nodded his head towards HiMERU, keen eyes glued to the other.

“Something about Knights, specifically Suou.”

Kohaku’s eyes widened while his pupils shrunk considerably, his mouth hanging slightly open for a moment and sounding dazed, “Tsukasa-han…?”

“Probably because you two are close with them. He recalls, Oukawa, you and he are family, yes?”

“It finds it fun, I bet. Ta torment people with harmin’ those they care ‘bout.” Something about Kohaku’s tone felt dark, a complete tonal shift from his dazed shock seconds before.

The older idol kept a level gaze with the youngest, his expression unreadable, “Judging by what Amagi shared from Shiratori, this thing seems to prefer psychological methods to get what it wants, possibly even preferring psychological harm over physical, though it won’t shy away from the latter.”

“Did it threaten you, HiMERU-kun?” Niki kindly glanced in his direction, now holding Rinne’s hand with both of his.

HiMERU shook his head, “Tatsumi didn’t hear or see anything in regards to HiMERU.”

“I think Mayoi-han did.”

All eyes turned to Kohaku. “He saw ya standin’ in ta’ halls answerin’ a phone call. He didn’t hear exactly what ya said, but he said ya looked shocked an’ then very angry. Ya stormed inta’ one of ta’ meetin’ rooms after that.”

Kohaku made eye contact with the one in question, “How much do ya bet t’was outside Room 6-66 an’ that thin’ was threatenin’ ya, too?”

“But the other threats were in front of other people. Why isolate him?” Niki tilted his head, eyes glaring at nothing in particular, or perhaps at something outside the walls of the van.

Rinne darted his eyes around the van floor in thought. Forcing the unit leaders to choose who to stab or pass along some other punishment to someone else, probably to someone none of them wish to harm. Forcing Kohaku and himself to comply with the thing’s demands at the risk of those closest to them being subjected to the thing’s ire. Now, it seemed it was even willing to sow mistrust and suspicion among each other by attempting to single out the one person who goes by a pseudonym and is easily one of the more mysterious people in ES.

He shook his head, still unable to make sense as to why this was happening. “While this is helping somewhat with figuring out how this thing operates, it doesn’t answer why this is happening in the first place. What its end goal is, or what it’s trying to compel us to do.”

“Rinne-kun’s right,” Niki sighed, “Really the only thing knowing we will be threatened ahead of time will do is just make us agree to the thing’s wishes sooner. We don’t even know what it wants, and I much rather not agree to something I don’t know anything about.”

“We’re also forgetting there will be more people involved,” Rinne continued, “Just because we have foresight means nothing when we are outnumbered with people who don’t know what kind of trap we will all be walking into…except…maybe not quite significantly outnumbered.”

HiMERU raised a thin eyebrow, “What are you thinking, Amagi?”

Rinne thought back to last night…while they aren’t on the best of terms, those two would likely be invaluable simply because they share the same knowledge. “Ai-chan didn’t just tell me about the dream. Only reason I got involved was because he was almost dragged to the cafeteria by Eichi-kun and Sakuma-kun, his roommates.”

“Tenshouin-senpai and Sakuma-senpai know?” HiMERU looked equal parts shocked and intrigued.

“If those two know, they would make powerful allies. Maybe help tip ta’ scales in our favor.” Kohaku appeared hopeful.

“Maybe if we can convince Vice President about all this, he could help, too!” Niki shared the youth’s hope.

“Except Vice President is not the leader of Eden.” HiMERU became the wet blanket, “HiMERU thinks this thing might be the reason this meeting has all the leaders gathered together or purposefully wanted the leaders specifically and won’t take kindly to any extras other than us.”

Rinne held his head in his hands, “Fucking goddamn it, the one time I wish Viper-kun could slither his way into this.”

The van slowed to a stop, the driver tapping on the soundproof divider. When they unloaded, Ibara just exited the elevator, a look mixed with so many emotions it was hard to discern exactly what they were. The one thing anyone could easily pinpoint was the air of distaste and uncertainty following the Deputy Director like a dark cloud.

“Good afternoon!” The viper tried to mask with his normal faux-politeness, “I take it the variety program did well?”

“Easy, peazy, Vice Prez!” Rinne gave his signature grin. He hoped his act was bought.

“It went well. HiMERU believes we will see the results soon.”

“Very good! Now, forgive my haste, but I must escort you to that meeting promptly!” Ibara practically turned on his heel with such speed he probably could have done a full 360.

They loaded into the elevator, Ibara pressing the corresponding floor. The silence, under normal circumstances, may have been broken by Rinne’s ramblings or teases directed at the Deputy Director, but the weight of apprehension made the small elevator room feel like they were prisoners being escorted to their cells.

Ibara barely glanced over his shoulder, the only indication that he was becoming unnerved by the silence. “While I can’t say it’s unwelcome, you four are oddly quiet today.”

Rinne paused a moment to gather his thoughts, deciding they might as well try and get Ibara in on the situation, “…Weren’t ya supposed to be waiting for us in Room 6-66?”

With his back still facing him, Ibara merely nodded, “There was a slight change in plans. His Excellency messaged me saying it was imperative that I get you four to the meeting room and that he and His Eminence would handle the rest. Though why he couldn’t come get you himself I’m unsure.”

Rinne looked at HiMERU, who mirrored his own expression of suspicion, “I thought Hold Hands was down, so how did he message ya?”

“It happened just before that. Apparently, His Eminence tried messaging him earlier that I should take his place at the meeting, but he didn’t receive it in time,” Ibara sighed, pushing his glasses back in place, “Honestly, the first hiccup in Hold Hands and it had to be this detrimental to communication. Now, apparently, I’m not even allowed to participate.”

Rinne’s eyes widened, the pit in his heart growing deeper, “Eichi-kun…”

While those two were business rivals, Ibara and Eichi respected each other to a degree. The fact that Eichi tried to get Ibara in the same room must have meant he wanted Ibara’s support.

The fact that he, too, failed to ultimately change the premonition Aira saw echoed just how helpless they all were.

Ibara finally turned around to notice Rinne’s pale expression, “My, Mr. Amagi, you look like you’ve seen a ghost. Everything alright?”

Blue eyes darted between the digital display of the level they were on and the control panel. From what he could gather, it seemed this thing was keen on having very few people know what was going on inside that room. If they were to have a chance to have help on the outside, they had to do it now.

 He pushed Ibara out of the way and jammed his finger into the emergency stop button. Ignoring Ibara’s stuttering exclaims demanding an explanation, he whirled around to face him. He had to do everything he could to make him believe them. “Ibara.”

The Deputy Director took a step back, mouth parted briefly. Rinne continued, “What I’m about to say is going to sound weird, but I’m begging you to listen and believe me.”

“W-what is the meaning of this?” He turned to face the other members of Crazy:B for an explanation only to be met with a brief moment of shared shock followed by unease.

“That meeting we are about to walk into is going to set off a chain of really bad events. Whatever caused Hold Hands to crash is the same thing that has called all the leaders of each unit together and requested us to be there, too.”

The magenta-haired man’s eyebrows furrowed, “I was not aware all the leaders were supposed to be there. His Excellency informed me of just himself and His Eminence.”

Sensing the opening, Rinne took his shot, “It’s the same thing that gave Alkaloid nightmares the night before they were supposed to work with Switch on Shinsekai, too.”

The confused and worried lines smoothed, instead being replaced with a stern calculation in his eyes as he leaned against the elevator doors, “How much do you all know about that project?”

Kohaku accused, “So ya do know ‘bout it.”

“Not as much as you think I do, Mr. Oukawa. Now explain yourselves in detail.”

Niki spoke in apprehension, “Ototo-san told me a little bit. Something about expanding Shinsekai’s capabilities, liminal spaces, and alternate universes. He said it was still in development and, I assumed, he was under an NDA and couldn’t say more.”

The Vice President of COS PRO took a deep, slow exhale, eyes fluttering closed for a brief moment, “While I’m also under an NDA, something tells me this situation is far more important than a business agreement. I was the one to give Switch the job under orders from the higher-ups. Supposedly, this is a government contract that expressed a desire to develop some sort of hyper-realistic virtual system to help train soldiers for a variety of different situations using the parallel universe theory. I figured they had lost their minds or it was a scam, but my sources cleared it and they were offering too much money to turn it down. Especially since NEW DI could use those funds and it would help ES in the long run.”

“A government contract, huh?” HIMERU leaned on the far side of the elevator, keeping level eye contact.

“Yes. I wasn’t expecting it, either. When I consulted Natsume-kun about it, he was quite hesitant. Something about ‘tearing the fabric that separates universes is both difficult and unwise’. Said you never know what might invite itself into our world once we unlock that door. Still, he didn’t turn it down since his unit and company could use the money and he could reuse assets from Shinsekai to make development go quicker. Natsume-kun and I kept in touch as things progressed over the past month until he asked me to look into a few things regarding the paranormal.”

Rinne couldn’t stop the rolling of his eyes, “Look, even if ghosts do exist, how exactly does the paranormal fit in with a virtual reality tech?”

“Well, when Switch began developing gear to access these alternate universes through the subconscious, he said their experiments opened a physical link to a liminal space. In the end, that liminal space would make it easier as a midway point between our world and an alternate universe, but, since it is so closely connected to our universe, that space could harbor anything, including supernatural entities. Natsume-kun said he felt two presences, one extremely weak while another unbearably strong, and both escaped into our world before he shut the direct link. This happened about a week ago.”

Rinne noticed the shift in the idol’s demeanor as if the other was just barely puzzling out what Natsume told him. Ibara stared at the floor in contemplation, “He simply said that one of the presences that he was most concerned about felt…evil.”

All the blood cells in Rinne’s body froze while his heart quickened its beating. “That’s exactly what Ai-chan said…”

“Hmm? Mr. Shiratori?” He seemed perplexed for a moment, “…That’s right. You said Alkaloid had nightmares. What does that have to do with this project?”

“First”, Rinne held his finger towards the director, “Explain how Alkaloid got roped into Switch’s job.”

Ibara crossed his arms over his chest, leveling a glare at the unit leader, “Considering how vague Natsume-kun’s questions regarding the paranormal aspect were, I couldn’t find any information, not even utilizing Mr. Mikejima netted anything.”

Kohaku felt his skin crawl and his insides hollow out hearing even Madara wasn’t able to be of use.

“As such, he decided to go ahead with testing out sending something into the liminal space. They initially had some sort of RC rover, but when it tried to go through the direct link Natsume-kun reopened, it was thrown back out. Yet, when a butterfly so happened to fly through, it remained unharmed and passed through unhindered. He theorized it would only accept organic beings and made some alterations to the gear they were developing to accommodate this. He was originally going to go in himself using the gear they developed as a safety net to keep his body safe and provide an extraction method, but your little brother and his unit partially overheard and volunteered. Natsume-kun saw some benefit to this as he could stay behind and help Aoba-san analyze the data and video footage they would collect, so we kept it professional and filed paperwork to make it look like a unit job.”

HiMERU rubbed his temple, “So let’s get this straight. This started as a government contract to train soldiers using alternate universes and hyper-realism. You gave this job to Switch due to experience with Shinsekai, and this new system is originally derived from Shinsekai’s assets. During the initial experiments a week ago, Switch opened a liminal space, possibly under the theory that using the liminal space as a middleman would be easier and safer than trying to directly jump to another universe. In that space, there were two, possibly paranormal, presences that both escaped, one of which Sakasaki admitted felt especially evil. After that, they fully developed the gear used for this new system that sends the subconscious of the person into alternate universes by way of the liminal space to circumvent going there directly in physical form. Sakasaki was supposed to test this himself, but Alkaloid so happened to overhear and volunteered to help collect data and footage of inside the liminal space and how the gear functioned. And, this was going to happen today.”

Ibara nodded at the end, “That’s the gist of what I know. But what is this about nightmares?”

“That evil presence Natsume-kun mentioned was involved in those nightmares Alkaloid had. They had visions of shit that was going to happen to them, to us, and all of ES. Hell, I’m pretty certain that the second presence that escaped was the second voice they heard.” Rinne explained.

“Tha’…seems likely.” If he wasn’t in a cramped space and so close to them, Kohaku would have barely been heard.

“Just because people have nightmares of bad things doesn’t mean they are ‘visions’ or are deemed to come true.” Ibara moved to restart the elevator.

Rinne caught his wrist, “One of those visions came true today.”

Ibara blinked slowly, yanking his wrist back. HiMERU spoke slowly, “Remember the call you made to HiMERU earlier?”

“T’was supposed ta happen earlier. We had our argument tha’ should a’ occurred on ta’ ride over ‘ere just before ya called 10 ‘r so minutes ago ‘bout goin’ ta Room 6-66.” Kohaku leaned against the hand railing, his knuckles turning white with the force of his grip.

Instead of a scoff and dismal, Ibara’s eyes narrowed in thought, “…I was supposed to call you all earlier, but the delay in communication between His Eminence, His Excellency, and myself had me so riled up I vented to His Highness and Jun for longer than I thought.”

Rinne spotted his chance. If his first shot dented the armor, this one would be the killing blow. “And that only occurred because Eichi-kun and Sakuma-kun were with me when Ai-chan talked about his nightmare last night.”

“Why would that matter?” The tone the Deputy Director used suggested he was starting to waver.

“’Cause one of the visions Ai-chan had was of the people in this meeting being forced to stab someone in that room. My bet? Eichi-kun noticed the signs and tried to get ya involved instead of Nagi ‘cause your brains and strategy could have helped turn the tables, but that thing started to fuck with Hold Hands before ya got the message and it seems like it doesn’t want anyone outside of that room to know about what is going on. Hence why Nagi had to message ya about getting us.”

The look of defeat was not something Rinne ever thought he would see on the Viper’s face. The angle of his face and the lights above created a harsh, impenetrable glare on his glasses. “…And now I’m out here…”

Rinne felt himself lean backward against the cold, steel wall of the elevator. Niki briefly put a hand on his shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze before addressing Ibara. “We hoped that having someone being at least aware of what is going on outside of that room might give us all an upper hand against whatever this thing is.”

Ibara’s head jerked up, the glare from his glasses evaporating and revealing his determination. “I’m out here!”

“Uh… are ya okay, Vice President-han?” Kohaku tilted his head in concern.

The Viper of ES promptly stood at attention and spun on his heel to face the elevator doors. “Mr. Amagi. Restart the elevator. We are making a detour to my office along the way. I have a plan.”

Chapter Text

Opening Theme: Face Down (Japanese Cover) – Sunrise Skater Kids

Original by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlL5hhNiyrw

Ibara led them to the meeting room while talking in hushed whispers. “Under the assumption that this thing could have access to a lot more than just Hold Hands, it is best to take as many precautions as possible to make sure we have an open line of communication that it can’t access or overhear. As such, I need you to take these and discreetly get them to His Eminence, His Excellency, Mr. Hasumi, and Natsume-kun.”

Ibara handed Rinne a varying assortment of pens and paper and one pair of glasses inside a case discreetly. Rinne looked inside his pocket by hooking his thumb casually into it to analyze the pens and glasses, becoming skeptical, “How exactly is a pen supposed to help?”

“Remember how you could spy on Alkaloid in their practice room a while back?” Ibara glanced over at HiMERU from the corner of his eye.

He made a non-comital hum, feigning disinterest, while his citrine eyes sparked in understanding, “Today’s technology is quite surprising. Being able to do so much despite becoming smaller over time.”

Rinne smirked, catching his hint, “Yeah, but certain things like cameras still need a bit more space, don’t ya think?”

Ibara ever so slightly slowed his pace to be closer to Rinne, returning to a hushed whisper, “Yes, the pens can only capture audio. That’s why those glasses are needed. They have a camera and it sends the visual capture to my private computer, same with the audio. I know Mr. Hasumi was having a new pair ordered soon, so pretend it came early. I took the liberty of writing a small note inside the case explaining exactly what they are and that I’m trying to get help. Same with those paper sheets and the sticky notes on them; just slip them to each participant without that thing knowing.”

“Why does it feel like this may not be enough?” Niki mumbled.

The Deputy Director looked into the chef’s eyes in understanding, “Yes, I’m afraid with how small they are they will have limited storage and transmission time. It would be far more beneficial to have a direct link from a computer or camera inside that room, but it may mean still being on the same network and we don’t know how far of a reach this thing has.”

“Doesn’t yer computer also run on ta’ same network?” Kohaku leaned in slightly as he fiddled with his sleeve.

“I thought about using a hotspot, but that may draw more suspicion if it can see something like that. Right now, I’m using a VPN until we know more.” Ibara made to cross his hands behind himself, giving a little thumbs up to Kohaku behind him before throwing a small nod to him over his shoulder.

Rinne narrowed his eyes and lowered his head towards the other idol, jaw set tightly, “Why are ya thinking this thing can see almost anything happening in ES?”

Ibara’s eyes darted around the halls they walked, “There are cameras almost everywhere in ES, save for the inside of dorms, bathrooms, and changing rooms. If that thing has access to the network, it will have access to those cameras. As long as we speak in low enough voices, we can probably have a full conversation without it hearing us. However, it will mean it has eyes nearly everywhere and make it much more difficult to do anything behind its back.”

As they approached the destined Room 6-66, his demeanor changed back to a bright businessman, “Here we are! Please don’t keep them waiting! I’m certain they are eager to get started!”

Just as they bowed in thanks, Ibara carefully whispered near Rinne’s ear, “Keep a level head. We will get through this.”

~*~

Rinne opened the door, outwardly as lackadaisical as ever while he warred with his own determination and desperation in his mind. “Yo! Ya called?”

He feigned ignorance at seeing everyone other than Eichi and Nagisa. “Hm? Didn’t know there would be a party? What’s the occasion?”

Tomoya waved hesitantly, trying desperately not to shake like a leaf. Tsukasa had his arms crossed, gaze immediately setting on Kohaku with worry and lips in a tight line. Tetora’s usual smile felt pasted on. Hinata couldn’t meet his eyes, opting to stare somewhere in the middle of the large table before him. Madara glared at Rinne, any trace of his generally kind attitude seemingly nonexistent. Hokuto looked as serious as ever, though he kept rubbing at his watch and pulling on the leather strap, betraying his nervousness. Keito, Natsume, and Shu all looked generally annoyed, though all three had a distinct tenseness like a bow-string drawn taunt. Nagisa appeared as impassive as ever, but the look he gave Rinne mirrored his own internal war with desperation, though he was notably more despairing. Eichi and Rei shared a look mixed of both pleading and apologetic that, had they no shared knowledge of Aira’s dream, Rinne wouldn’t have been able to place.

“Why all the long faces? Did someone die?” Rinne cackled. The rest of the bees filed in, noticeably more stern out of nerves.

When the door clicked shut, Rinne felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as that voice rang out from seemingly nowhere in that room.

“That may happen, Amagi Rinne of Crazy:B.”

It was probably a good thing, in the loosest of terms, that the shock on his face was genuine for the sake of keeping up his ignorant act. He understood why Aira simply called that voice evil. It felt…wrong. In so many ways. It sounded like it chilled his marrow while searing his skin. It made his blood both boil and freeze at the same time. It felt alarmingly familiar in the worst sense like just the voice alone could invoke such a primal fear and immediately make you know it couldn’t be trusted, yet you couldn’t place why you may have heard it before.

Rinne glanced around, thankful that his act wasn’t a complete façade at the moment as he tried to pinpoint where it was coming from, “Uh, who was that?”

“You will find out soon. Take a seat, Crazy:B. Discussions are best done when all participants are comfortable.”

Oh, the irony of that. At least he saw one of the three monitors in front of the table, the right-hand one specifically, crackle to staticky life in time with the voice.

“Okay…Ah, before that though. Keito-chan! Your new glasses came early I wanted to make sure ya got them! Can’t have ya running around ES blind!” He gave Kohaku his section of papers discreetly as he passed by and gently pushed him towards the series of empty chairs nearest Tsukasa, hoping the rest of his unit caught the hint to pass all the papers along to him. He walked over and handed the glasses case to the leader of AKATSUKI, giving a very subtle nod and eye dart between the two.

Keito very minutely raised an eyebrow before accepting the case, “Thank you, Amagi-senpai.”

He opened the case and, to his credit, kept a perfect poker face even as he noticed the sticky note inside. “I’ve been using an old prescription until these came in.” Keito swapped his glasses out for the ones in the case, switching the camera on under the table beforehand.

Rinne returned to the other side of the table to his seat, thankful that the rest of his unit not only caught his hint but also began passing the papers and pens under the lip of the table to Tsukasa, Kohaku barely mouthing instructions to his cousin. He took his seat, propping his head on the palm of one hand while the other splayed out on the wooden tabletop. “Sorry about the delay there Mr…what should I call you?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

Rinne felt the corner of his mouth twitch against his palm as he saw the occasional flicker of emotions from the other participants as, he assumed, they read their sticky notes going around. He could already tell this thing was going to play hardball.

"Thank you all for coming at your earliest convenience. I’d assume you all know how WiErd Hold Hands is being, hm? ” Rinne’s ears perked at the distortion and tone change to something akin to the Viper plotting behind faux politeness.

“Does that have to do with you?” Rinne eyed the leader of Valkyrie, hoping his short temper would stay in check.

“Temper, Itsuki Shu. Temper, temper. But quite perceptive.”

It looked like Shu was about to say something else before Rei put a hand on his shoulder in warning. Rei continued in his stead, attempting to sound more cordial, “Forgive his insolence, sir, if I may call you that. We presume you have a reason for doing such a thing as to disrupt all of ES.”

The low cackle of laughter from the voice made Rinne’s skin crawl. “Sakuma Rei. Self-proclaimed vampire. One of the Five Eccentrics. Childhood friend of Tenshouin Eichi and Hasumi Keito. There are a lot of similarities between you and I.”

Rei’s eyes darkened with disgust and suspicion and his lips momentarily frowned before returning to his polite smile. “You seem to know a lot about me.”

“Oh-ho, that is just the tip of the iceberg of knowledge I possess. I know much about everyone in this building. Even things you wouldn’t want leaked.”

The subtle threat didn’t go unnoticed by everyone in that room. Eichi faked a serene, unperturbed expression, “That is an awful lot to glean from Hold Hands, hm? Clearly, you are getting your information from more than just there.”

Rinne hid his smirk in his palm. Way to go Eichi! We need to know just how far of a reach this thing has.

“I’ll admit, Hold Hands, while useful to an extent, has its limits. Even ES’s servers and network can only provide so much that I crave to know. Your memories, however, are like my favorite books.”

At that, Rinne felt a pit widen in his stomach. Glancing to his left and right, even his unit mates and the other participants looked warry. Rei narrowed his eyes, the polite smile not fading once, “Our memories? Now, how is that possible for you to know that?”

The voice peaked into a higher pitch as it laughed at them, “I exist neither here nor there! I am everywhere and nowhere! I exist in your world and in my own! My purpose, my whole existence, relies on me knowing everything about someone in order to fulfill my duty in this rotten world! My peers may say my methods are barbaric, chaotic, and insane! Cruel, even! Yet, then why was I created but to provide the counterbalance to their supposed righteousness? As much as I may be detested, I am a fact of life! Nothing is sacred nor secret with me! However, if or when I reveal said secrets is an entirely different matter…”

“Why are you here? What about us is making you so curious as to infiltrate ES’s network and make idle threats toward us?” Tsukasa stood up in irritation despite Kohaku trying to pull him back down by his wrist under the table.

“SilENcE!!” The voice boomed with such ferocity and distortion that it made even Rei and Shu shrink back in their seats. Tsukasa quickly sat back down, eyes wide.

There was a distinct, uneasy pause before the voice spoke in a much lower, more dangerous tone, “I can sense you are all impatient, so I will get to the point. ES has something I want. To ensure your cooperation…well…Sakasaki Natsume must know what is going on, considering how he opened a doorway from my home to yours.”

Rinne immediately saw the aim of the voice, glancing over at the other participants who looked at Natsume with a mix of suspicion and disbelief. Shu was the first to speak, sounding far more terrified than his stern words let on, “Boy, what did you do?”

Natsume’s shoulders hunched over his chest, refusing to meet anyone’s eyes as Rinne saw, clear as day, the brief flash of recognition be replaced by disturbed shock, “THe eXPERimeNT…”

“That’s right, that job you willingly took. The experiment with your new gear, with Shinsekai, with liminal spaces and alternate dimensions. You released me a WEEK ago. YOU gave ME access to everything…even that new gear…and the people currently hooked up to it. Doing a job that YOU were going to do before YOU passed it to THEM. YOU sent THEM to my home.”

Natsume’s eyes widened as he shot his head up to stare at the static on the monitor, lower lip slightly quivering before revealing gritted teeth, “Don’t you dare touch them.”

“Your friend, Aoba Tsumugi, is watching over them currently, correct? Why don’t we check in on them? I will even let you use your radio to talk with him finally.”

The left-hand monitor came to life to show live footage of some workshop, with Tsumugi overlooking several monitors and talking on his headset with Alkaloid. Their subconsciouses were in the liminal space, walking around completely unhindered in a white and grey polygon-like world, but their bodies were lying down on separate beds just to the left of the idol supervisor as if completely asleep, metal nodes attached all over their bodies. The center monitor turned on, revealing a view into that liminal space and Alkaloid itself. Rinne held his breath as he could hear the conversation between them.

“Umu…something feels off about this place.” Hiiro looked left and right, shuffling his weight between his feet.

“Aoba-senpai, are you sure we should go any further? I agree with Hiro-kun.” Aira held himself as he shivered.

“I agree. While this place feels mostly empty, there’s something still here. Something…wrong.” Tatsumi placed what looked like a beacon of sorts to scan their surroundings, a light occasionally flashing near the top.

“I keep h-hearing…s-something trying to…warn us. It’s…f-faded but…” Mayoi kept looking behind their group.

“Oh? So he still lives…that stubborn bastard is quite persistent.”

Rinne and HiMERU shared a look. That second entity has to be the second voice from the visions.

All 5 of the idols on screen snapped their heads at attention. Hiiro put a hand to his ear, presumably over a headset, “Aoba-senpai, what was that?”

“I-I don’t know!” Tsumugi looked panicked as he checked all the monitors.

“Sakasaki Natsume, why don’t you explain to your friends here exactly what’s going on?”

Natsume’s hand shook as he pulled the hand-held radio from below the table. He hesitated before pressing a button, “…That THING that escAPED last week from the LIMinal spACE…it’s HERE.”

“Natsume-kun, what do you mean?” Tsumugi held his own radio close as he spoke, gripping the desktop with the other.

“Tsumugi-san, what is going on? What is Natsume-san saying?” Tatsumi shouted in concern.

“It took over Hold HANDS. It causED the CRash. It’s in the SERver and netwoRK. It’s in the GEAR. It is holdING many HOStage… even ME.” With that, Natsume’s grip shook so badly he couldn’t hold the radio anymore, the object making a dull clattering as the operator shook uncontrollably. Shu reached out and gripped one of the younger’s hands in his own, the shakes so powerful they were making his own hands shake.

Tsumugi paused on screen for a second before he snapped a hand over to the computer mouse, only being stopped by the disembodied voice, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Perhaps you should check the program files again. You may find they look a bit…difERenT than you remember.”

The programmer’s fingers shook minutely as he pulled up the program files for the new system. He pulled back in his chair suddenly, voice tremoring, “W-what’s going on? Th-this isn’t what we programmed!?”

“You like my changes? Had to make sure you couldn’t just take away my four new toys so easily.”

Eichi, with great speed, lunged for the radio, “Tsumugi, what changed!?”

The voice sounded completely unphased by the sudden outburst, “You’re quite quick for a terminally ill man. Aoba Tsumugi…explain what you are seeing. You don’t have to use the radio, they can hear you just fine right now, though, make sure Alkaloid can hear you.”

Tsumugi shakily pulled his hand away from the mouse to hold it close to his person, his other switching his mic back on, “The Recall function. The system is meant to partially separate the subconscious from the body in order to access this liminal space and the various alternate universes. I-It’s meant to be a safe way to rejoin the body and mind without causing undue damage to either, b-but… the coding changed. If the Recall function is activated, it’s going to fully separate their subconscious from their bodies! Even if the system wasn’t operating right now, the administration settings are different, too. I can’t change any of these!”

“Bingo.” The voice sounded far too pleased, “You try to take away my playthings without my say-so, you become their executioners.”

Rinne’s throat tightened as he saw the four members of Alkaloid begin to panic, hands curling into fists on the table. The room’s occupants were silenced in horror.

“Now, before we get to my proposal, there are two more things that need to be addressed. One of which is quite obvious. How do you humans say? – The elephant in the room,” The left screen changed from watching Tsumugi to a web-cam view of Ibara, his expression changing from laser-focused to stunned shock, “Isn’t that right, Saegusa Ibara?”

Crazy:B looked like the blood had drained from their bodies as despair gripped the leaders. The voice mocked them, “It was quite amusing hearing how you and Crazy:B tried to pull the wool over my eyes. Thought you were so clever, sneaking bugged pens and glasses with a camera into here. Thinking that my plan was to have only those in Room 6-66 involved, that I wanted no one else to know. Thought you five would play the heroes and that this story would end so soon. Yet…you didn’t realize that nothing you did mattered. That I could still listen in, even without a camera…”

A door clicking open was heard from Ibara’s computer. He looked up in shock at whoever came into the room, “Ibara-kun~, I hope this sudden meeting is super important that it warrants taking up one of my few days off to hang out with Jun-kun~.”

“Ohii-san, could you be serious! Ibara isn’t looking that good. Everything okay?”

Ibara’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, “What are you two doing here?”

“Uh, Ibara-kun? You messaged us to come meet you here.”

“…I didn’t. Hold Hands is down…” His pupils shrunk and a finger twitched.

“Perfect timing. Holds Hands isn’t down, more like under new management. I control what can get sent and received by whoever I choose. I can hear everything thanks to the bugged phones you all carry. Now, Tomoe Hiyori and Sazanami Jun, why don’t you two get comfortable in front of Saegusa Ibara’s computer while I get the rest of the surprise ready~.”

The screen with Ibara changed to a group call being made, hosted by those in Room 6-66. Several cameras turned on in the call, revealing several of the other idols in their units, many with concerned expressions.

Arashi Narukami spoke in her seat next to Ritsu, “Finally, Tsukasa-chan!~ I was wondering what was taking so long! Leo-kun and Izumi-chan should be here soon. Izumi-chan seemed pretty mad that you messaged us all so suddenly and forced them to come back from Florence early.”

Tsukasa quickly grabbed his phone from his bag to check his messages. He dropped the phone from his hands on the table seeing the messages “he” sent to his unit mates. Arashi’s purple eyes shined with worry seeing how fearful he was, “Tsukasa-chan? Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

Another camera turned on, revealing the remaining three-fourths of Trickstar, Mika, Sora, and Yuta. “Hokke~! What’s the surprise? Oh! Everyone is here?”

Hokuto and Hinata were shell-shocked, tears threatening to spill from the corners of their eyes. Shu and Natsume went from absolute horror to anger, staring intently at the staticky screen.

Several more cameras join. Fine. Eden. AKATSUKI. Ra*bits. RYUSETAI. UNDEAD.

Then, Tsukasa’s phone pulls up a FaceTime request for Izumi. Without him touching it.

Tsukasa stares in horror as the call goes through, showing Izumi’s annoyed face and Leo’s amused one inside what appeared to be an elevator. “Kasa-kun, you shitty brat. Leo-kun and I are almost there. Is what you have to say that important that it can’t wait?”

The voice darkly laughed making everyone fall silent, “Welcome, everyone.”

Rinne gripped the table so hard his knuckles were turning white, sweat dripping from his temple like bullets. After everything, after considering all the possibilities to the best of their knowledge…It didn’t matter. They walked right into a trap.

“It’s. Time. To. Play. A. Game.”

Ending Theme: Rasen – jon-YAKITORI ft. Ado

English Lyrics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVld7njUsOc

Chapter Text

Opening Theme: Face Down (Japanese Cover) – Sunrise Skater Kids

Original by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlL5hhNiyrw

“Now, I’m certain you’re all wondering what is happening. Why are your leaders looking so distressed if they invited you all here?” The voice cackled mockingly, the distortion from the static grating to the ears.

“Plain and simple, really. They didn’t. I did. I kindly request all of your participation moving forward, lest you end up with blood on your hands and conscience. As I’ve made clear to your leaders, your dear friends in Switch created a doorway from my world to yours. I have taken over Hold Hands, infiltrated your network, and hold your fellow idols in Alkaloid hostage. ES is in possession of six artifacts that I’m looking for. Find those six for me and send them to my world, and I’ll leave your system just as I originally found it, as well as release Alkaloid.”

“Of course, I understand if that makes you all apprehensive. After all, it DOES sound quite sketchy to give a disembodied voice six artifacts when you have little knowledge about either. Could even cause a great cATaclYsmiC event!” The heavy distortion and eerie, hysterical laughter made Rinne’s eardrums feel like they were at the edge of bleeding.

“So…I propose a second option. Seven of you, six of whom I will choose, will join Alkaloid in my realm, and don’t say there aren’t enough sets of the gear to do that; I know you have more as backups for experiments. When you do, the ultimate goal will be to survive THREE CONSECUTIVE alternate universes intact. That means all eleven of you must survive. After all eleven live three consecutive universes, I will release all of you from my realm.”

“The beauty of this? Both options can be done! While eleven of you are in my realm undergoing my trial, the rest of you will be scavenging for those six artifacts. Whoever completes their task first does not matter.”

“W-wouldn’t it though?” Everyone turned their attention to Tomoya, “T-that second option sounds like you would s-still be in ES’s network.”

There was a brief pause before a low, dark chuckle emanated from that screen, “You are quite perceptive, little rabbit. That would be the case.”

Rinne ground his teeth as he thought. So much for a choice.

Eichi narrowed his eyes, words light but filled with venom. “In that case, you would just keep coming back. It would be wiser on our end to get you those artifacts instead of splitting our attention to do two things.”

“That would also be the case. I do love it when humans know the reality they are facing.” One could hear the shit-eating smirk the entity was making as it spoke.

Rei, in a brief flash of anger before returning to a carefully crafted neutral state, whirled on the leader of Fine. “Are you saying we are to leave Alkaloid alone in there?”

“Absolutely not,” Eichi returned the careful neutral sentiment, words with more bite than usual, “I care for all idols and do not wish them harm. If there is a way to resolve this without anyone getting hurt, I will take it.”

“That would be a hard thing to do, then.”

Eichi slowly turned his attention back to the screen, “Could you explain what you mean by that?”

“While you don’t have to send anyone else…I still have four playthings in my realm.”

Rinne glared harshly at the offending screen, Niki having to reach for his hand to ground him before he could do something that would make the situation worse. That is if things could get worse.

“If you decide to do that, these four will just go through however many alternate universes it takes for you all to find those artifacts. People are going to get hurt, regardless. Aoba Tsumugi, there’s one other precaution that was created in anticipation of…too much mental strain, correct? Pull up that file.”

With shaky hands, the operator pulled up the file in question, finding it, oddly, untouched. It took a moment for the implication to set in, hands covering his mouth in horror. Alkaloid spoke out to him, trying to figure out what was going on out there.

“Speak. Tell them exactly what that function is.”

“I-it’s in case anyone undergoes t-too much mental stress. If they get too close to a full mental breakdown, i-it’s supposed to automatically activate the Recall function.”

“So, with the changes I’ve made to that Recall function…How long do you think these four’s sAnItY will last on their own? With no one else to communicate with or support them? After all, once I send them into the first alternate universe, what is StOpPinG me from shutting off the little bit of communication they have with your operator here? Or keep them from hearing me? Like so?”

The center monitor showing Alkaloid flickered briefly before resuming, though the unit was noticeably panicking a bit more as they attempted to get more answers from Tsumugi.

“Although…stress they endure from multiple universes isn’t the only danger. I have my pets, too, both of my own and borrowed.”

The staticky monitor faded to black as the voice boomed through the middle monitor. HiMERU and Rinne shared a look that began communicating a theory, before turning back in horror as the voice summoned a shadowy, wolf-like creature near the captive idols. All four legs were double the length of its body, with the front two ending in near human-like hands. It was hard to tell what looked like fur and what were shadowy tendrils moving on their own accord. The eyes glowed an unholy yellow, with large fangs protruding in a similar color.

The four idols backed up several steps. The voice came back to the right monitor, static resuming. “Now, my pets are quite obedient in my realm. They’ll listen to my instructions. After all, I can’t lose one of my bargaining chips due to reckless actions. As for when they are in your world, however…let’s say the distance between us is a bit farther than in my realm…and they may be more prone to do more than I say.”

“What the hell do ya mean by ‘when’ they are in our world!?” Rinne harshly stood up, not caring for the clattering of the chair that fell behind him.

“…That’ll be easier to show you,” Something in the tone shifted, causing all of Rinne’s hair to stand on end. The middle screen changed from showing the liminal space to Tsukasa’s FaceTime with the two Knights in the elevator. “Sena Izumi and Tsukinaga Leo, on the ceiling of your elevator there is a two-way latch meant for maintenance. Open your side of the latch.”

Izumi and Leo shared a confused look before the former set the phone down on the floor. The voice crackled, “Make sure the camera is facing the latch.”

Izumi paused a moment before rotating the phone so the camera faced the ceiling latch. Izumi crouched slightly and cupped his hands, ready to give Leo a boost to reach the latch. Balancing one foot in Izumi’s hand, Leo slowly unlatched it and pushed it aside to reveal a second, glass door on the other side, with another of those shadowy creatures creepily smiling at them.

Leo screeched and toppled out of Izumi’s grasp, falling hard on the elevator floor. Izumi looked up and fell backward himself, scuttling on his hands and feet into one of the corners. The creature, eerily human-like if not for the exposed, dagger-like teeth in a large grin and soulless yellow eyes, held a hand up to the two through the glass, slowly moving four of its fingers up and down in a stiff, unpracticed wave.

“At least my more humanoid pets are more obedient in your world. Though they do get hungry…”

“You so much as dare to harm them I’ll-” Tsukasa stood up as well.

“You’ll do what, Suou Tsukasa? What can you do trapped in that room?”

“What do you mean trapped!?” Tsukasa’s voice cracked ever so slightly.

“Ah, I forgot to mention that catch! While everyone else is looking for those artifacts, I had to make sure they would cooperate and not do any funny business! As such, your leaders are held hostage here, too! They can’t leave their meeting room. There needs to be someone to host our little watch party if you decide to send more people in! Be thankful I chose a room that had an attached bathroom and kitchen, otherwise that would surely get messy! “

The room was oppressively silent, as were the others on the call. The voice rambled on, “As you can probably guess, I can have my pets come and go wherever and whenever I want and report back to me. It wouldn’t take much for me to send one of my particularly hungry ones into that room if anyone falls out of line.”

“One last rule for those in your world. Your rooms where you are in the call will be safe havens from my pets. I will allow Sena Izumi and Tsukinaga Leo to go to those rooms before we begin. However, once we start, only one person per room can leave at any one time. They can look around for as long as they like, but no one else from their room will be able to leave. That means there will be eight of you at a time out and about. Coordinate however you wish with each other. Disobey, and you will be the executioners of your dear leaders. Perhaps I’ll be lenient enough to allow multiple infractions and take one leader out for each infraction. That all depends on my mood.”

“Now, do decide if you are going to send more people in with Alkaloid, leaders. We don’t have all the time in the world to ask everyone’s opinions on the matter.”

Eyes widened and some tremored in their seats. Madara was the one to speak up first, teal eyes hard as steel. “Do we get to know who the six mandatory people are?”

The voice lowly chuckled and Rinne could feel it was staring at him. “Tell you what. I’ll reveal four of the six now and the other two after you decide. The seventh will be a volunteer…though if no one volunteers I’ll just pick another…and there will be punishments if any of the mandatory six try to resist.”

All of the bees looked at each other through the corners of their eyes. The voice’s pitch heightened in amusement, “Though, it seems those four are already well aware. Right, Crazy:B?”

Everyone’s heads snapped to them. Rinne’s fists were at his side as he snarled at the monitor. The voice continued mocking, “Did you think I didn’t know about those visions Alkaloid had? Or that you four knew? I’ve been inside your system for over a week and you all kept your phones on you. It would be hard not to overhear. Since you four already know SO MUCH, it’s only logical for you four to join them. Though, if your leaders decide to not send anyone else, there’s no need for you four.”

It mocked them in fake astonishment and disbelief, “Guess that means you would be abandoning them. And after everything Alkaloid did to save your unit during the MDM? After you just started to make up with your little brother, you would abandon him AGAIN?”

“To hell with ya, ya fucking cruel asshole!” Rinne would have lunged at the thing if he could.

“Cruel?... I was merely stating the facts and asking questions! You want to see what cruel really is?...I’ll show you.”

The static left the right monitor and the center returned to the liminal space. Shadowy tendrils shot up from the white and grey ground and wrapped around Mayoi, Aira, and Tatsumi, binding them to their spots. The voice ordered, “Can’t have you three interrupting. My pet, feel free to roughhouse the redhead. Though don’t horribly maim or kill the kid. Just enough to show I mean business.”

The wolf-creature let out a guttural screech before beginning to stalk toward Hiiro. He attempted to keep his distance, but the long legs easily caught up to him, grabbing him by an ankle and dragging him back. It gripped him by the waist and hoisted him up in both hands, peering down at him as it drew the teen closer to its face and teeth. Rinne was about to shout that it made its point before he became stunned as Hiiro jabbed his thumb into one of the creature’s eyes. It dropped him as a pained scream shook out of the shadow creature, giving him time to run away.

The voice was hysterical in its laughter “KYaheheyheha! Looks like we got a fighter! Go ahead and show him the error of his ways! Just keep the bloodshed to a minimum! Red is SO HARD To gET OuT of WhITe ANd GrEY!”

The creature roared, lunging after Hiiro. It grabbed him by the leg and yanked him under itself. It held him down with one of its hands on his waist while the other slowly began applying pressure to his neck. Hiiro choked as he kicked and scratched in vain to break the hold, his friends helpless to stop it as they fought their restraints.

“Do you understand now, Amagi Rinne?” The voice came back.

“Okay, I fucking get it! Just stop!” Rinne felt tears burning the corners of his eyes. Several of the other leaders were in horror at what was transpiring.

The voice went back and made a sound akin to the snapping of fingers, making the creature cease, though it still shoved the teenager across the floor like a hockey puck. Hiiro remained on the ground coughing and hacking as he tried to refill his lungs with air. The others, now released from their confinements, one by one rushed over to their unit leader, with Mayoi and Tatsumi keeping themselves between the younger two and the wolf-creature still staring at them.

“Now then, what is your answer? Will you send more into my realm?”

“Fine. I’ll go in,” Rinne beat everyone to it speaking in a low, dark tone, “But just so ya know, ya’ve fucked with the wrong people. I don’t care how long it takes or if I have to destroy multiple forms of ya. I will tear ya limb from fucking limb and grind your remains into dust, just so that ya won’t be able to come back and harm anyone again. Even if it costs me my final breath, I’ll make sure to be taking ya down with me.”

It seemed the voice grew quiet at the outburst, though its words sounded like it was grinning, “I do love that fire of yours…It’ll be all the more fun to snuff it out.”

All the other leaders gave Rinne looks of shock as if they couldn’t believe he was more than willing to put himself on the line in a rigged game. The voice turned its attention to the pink-haired teen, “Now you, Oukawa Kohaku…”

Said teen stood from his seat, eyes steeled in determination, “Ya don’t have ta threaten me. Y’already pissed me off.”

“Good. Because if you tried to refuse…granted, most of your precious ones are already with me…except your cousin there.”

Kohaku instinctively pulled Tsukasa behind him. The static crackled in time with the voice’s laughter, “Oh, don’t worry. I won’t harm any of the leaders before we begin. Though the two in the elevator…he’s quite close with, no? It would’ve been such a tragedy if my pet were to, say, cut the cable and caused the elevator to plummet, or to open the latch and enjoy an early snack.”

It did not escape Rinne’s notice when the two teens held each other’s hands in solidarity, or perhaps to keep the other from lashing out.

The voice hummed for a minute before sounding uninterested, “I can tell there’s no need to threaten the other two. You already look like you had made up your mind a while ago, HiMERU. As for Shiina Niki… why bother wasting words threatening when peer pressure will do it for me?”

HiMERU’s eyes narrowed and he bit the inside of his lip before crossing his arms, glaring intently at the monitor as he stood. Niki stood from his seat, too, a look of determined anger set in stone, “I’m going to enjoy helping Rinne-kun carve you up, asshole.”

It lowly huffed a laugh, “Well, this should make your decision easier with how driven these four are. What do you all say?”

The room was quiet, eyes shifting around to each other and nowhere in particular. The lingering issue of who the other three would be persisted. When Rei and Eichi finally decided to look at Rinne, the serious, determined expression in his blue eyes made them look at each other and nod in agreement. Seeing this, Keito nodded as well with a solemn but serious air about him. This led to a domino effect of the others gathering their courage and nod along, hoping that they weren’t just sending more of their friends and fellow idols to their dooms.

“Hehe, it’s quite nice seeing just how driven and unified humanity can become. But it’s nicer, still, to see it fall apart.”

Everyone glared at the voice, all now sufficiently done with the toying and games it was playing. Hokuto spoke up, irritation evident, “Who are the other three?”

“Hmm, the extra two I’m choosing…Let’s take a look at everyone, shall we?” The center screen switched to a desktop background of some unknown computer, pulling up various profiles of the idols of ES. Rinne had an inkling as to who exactly was going to be chosen, going by what he remembered from Aira. It hummed to itself as it shuffled through various idols before stopping on one.

Isara Mao.

“This one will do nicely as my first pick.” Hokuto’s eyes widened in disbelief while Mao started shaking so badly he had to sit on one of the couches in the dorm room where they took the call.

Rinne inhaled, knowing who was going to come up next.

The voice stalled on another picture, cackling, “Something about this one tickles my fancy! I’ll pick you, too.”

It stopped on Akehoshi Subaru.

Rinne felt his mouth part slightly. He wasn’t in any of the visions that I know of! Unless-

“Then I volunteer.” Hokuto stood from his seat, blue eyes glaring harshly at the static, “There was nothing stating a leader couldn’t be a volunteer to go into your realm.”

The voice didn’t answer for several seconds. It began crackling, “Indeed there wasn’t. Quite clever of you to find that loophole. Very well, I’ll honor your wish, Hidaka Hokuto.”

“Now then, since we have our little crew picked out, time’s a-wasting! Go ahead and meet Aoba Tsumugi in their little workshop in the basement and get ready. Once everyone is ready and you lot have entered my realm, I’ll be sure to greet you before we get started in earnest!”

With that, the voice ceased to speak further. Rinne’s legs shook, the adrenaline leaving his system as quickly as it entered. No one moved for several heartbeats…

Until Subaru started pulling Mao along with him, a rare look of strong determination filling his being. That was enough of a push to make Crazy:B begin to file out of the room, followed by Hokuto. The door clicking shut was unnaturally loud in the quiet hall.

“Hi-” Before Rinne could speak, Hokuto raised a hand to stop him.

“Do not feel that my involvement was forced because of you in whatever way you are thinking,” His warning tone indicated he knew Rinne was going to try and put the blame on himself.

“This entity is threatening people we all care about. It probably knew to some extent that I would get involved when it picked Akehoshi and Isara. Like you, I will not stand idly by while it threatens and harms those I care about. While I don’t understand what is going on with these ‘visions’ or what that second entity it referred to is aiming at, I do know I will be of more use in there than out here.” Hokuto nearly walked by the rest of them before HiMERU put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

“So, you’re thinking the same thing that HiMERU is?”

Rinne began gently urging the group to start heading towards the basement by way of the elevators, despite inwardly wanting to take the stairs after seeing that creature in FaceTime. He spoke in a hushed tone by HiMERU and Hokuto, “What is it?”

“It’s clear the entity is not specifically stating what it is nor what these artifacts look like for a reason. It’s possibly because its identity is linked to these artifacts, or that knowing its identity would lead us to naturally deduce the true intentions with said artifacts and outright refuse to retrieve them. However, it may be possible to discern its identity while we are doing its trial.” HiMERU conjectured.

“Okay, but how would we get that info to the people out here? It can cut us off from communicating once we enter.” Rinne gently pulled Kohaku’s sleeve towards him, giving the kid a better angle to hear from. His other hand held onto Niki’s, rubbing small circles over the chef’s knuckles.

“HiMERU believes that isn’t quite the case. While we can’t directly talk to them, they will still hear us.”

Hokuto leaned in, “It did say the leaders were going to be watching the trial or something along those lines, right?”

“So we somehow relay ta’ info we learn indirectly?” Kohaku mumbled.

“Okay, but they’re stuck in that room, aren’t they? How do we get that info to those who can go out and about?” Niki intertwined his and Rinne’s fingers, his own thumb soothing over little scars.

“I think ta’ call is still goin’. So ‘ey probably are watchin’ and listenin’ too.” Kohaku gestured to Niki with his chin.

“HiMERU also believes the entity can’t be in two places at once, considering it had to go to the liminal space to summon that creature to harass Alkaloid, and that static stopped when it did. We might be able to use that to our advantage by splitting its attention between us in there and the people out here.”

The raven-haired teen paused a moment, lost in thought, “I’m more worried about everyone else with those creatures around.”

The four bees grimaced at the memory of those teeth and how creepily one of them smiled. Kohaku tried reasoning, though he was unsure, “At least Hiiro-han showed ‘ey can be fought by normal means…”

By the time they reached the elevator, the doors let out a ding before opening. Leo and Izumi darted out, freezing only when they saw the group. A tense silence stretched on before the two attempted to recompose themselves before going to leave.

Izumi leaned a bit closer to Hokuto, “I’ll see if Yuu-kun can figure something out.”

Hokuto blinked a few times before his eyes narrowed slightly, giving a curt nod. Leo whispered a hushed “good luck” before rushing off with Izumi, more than likely going to stay with the rest of Knights.

Rinne paused at the odd interaction before eyeing the elevator. The doors didn’t close, as if the entity was keeping them open just for them. Why on Earth they would want to go on an elevator they clearly know a creature resides above was more of a rhetorical question he asked himself. Not like they were given much room for actual choices thus far.

He was the first to enter, promptly closing the latch and trying to not let the creepy creature’s smile and the sound of nails tapping the glass get to him. Everyone else filed in, the ride down being silent until Rinne casually remarked, “Odd exchange there, Kita-san.”

At the nickname, Hokuto merely flickered a glance over to the redhead. “There’s…history, let’s just say.”

When the elevator doors opened on their floor, four of the five trudged out, steps heavy with dread. Before HiMERU could leave, the doors slammed shut, trapping him in there alone. He slammed his fists on the door before the voice spoke in his head.

I will only need to borrow you a moment. Please be patient.

The others outside whirled around, about ready to try and pry open the doors themselves, when the voice spoke, causing a sharp, ringing sensation to bounce around Rinne’s head.

I will only borrow him for just a moment. He will come out soon.

Rinne held his head in his hand as he recovered. Looking around, the others were in a similar state.

~*~

Inside the elevator, HiMERU’s COS PRO phone buzzed. He glanced at the caller ID, but it was nothing but scrambled blocks and pixels. He gripped his hair as another ringing sensation filled his mind with the entity’s voice.

Sorry. Had to get a bit more creative on how to talk to you one-on-one since you lot became more on edge before the meeting. Just a little bit of knowledge, just for you. I want you to answer that call, and I’ll talk to you through there.

HiMERU tsked but nevertheless did as he was told.

“What is it?”

“My, my, temper there. There’s something I need you to hear. It’s a conversation I had with this kid not all that long ago.”

There was a brief pause filled with nothing but phone static before the entity began speaking to someone else. “You seem to hold him in high regard? Don’t you?”

HiMERU felt his blood freeze upon hearing the familiar, adolescent voice in near-perfect cadence to his own, “Mm! Onii-chan is so cool! He helped create my idol persona! Even if he sometimes acts too business-like, but he’s my brother, so I deem him perfect!”

The voice came back to the present. “He’s here in my realm, you know. Safe and sound. If it wasn’t for my intervention back then, he would have perished instead of going into a coma.”

For the first time, HiMERU stuttered in shock, “H-how? You were only released a week ago!?”

“Hehe…my nature makes it impossible for me to be completely sealed off from humanity. I’ll let you in on a little secret. The only reason he hasn’t woken up yet is because I won’t let him. You can get him back, though.”

His mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. The entity’s sickening smile could be felt over the phone, “Have I caught your interest?”

He grit his teeth, “Nothing so far has made ‘me’ think once that you are capable of being so magnanimous. What are you suggesting?”

“Nothing as cliché as becoming a mole or something like that for me, if that is what you were thinking. He can return to the living in the same way you all will leave if you complete my trial. You just have to make sure he is with you those three times. Instead of eleven, it would have to be all 12 of you to survive. Of course, if your group makes it through those three universes without him, you will all leave, except for him. Then again…that would be quite difficult to explain why there are two of you, right, HiMERU?”

He wanted to say something as bold as Rinne did earlier, something that would convince even himself that he would do anything to save him. Nothing came to mind, knowing exactly what the entity was suggesting.

“How would your friends take it if they found out you aren’t who you say you are? Especially that Kazehaya Tatsumi…I understand that those two were quite close at Reimei. He talks about him practically as much as he does about you and that Sazanami Jun. That revelation and truth could be shocking enough that it could send him spiraling to an early game over. Or…maybe it would make him snap? Turn on you, perhaps? And how would he, and everyone else, react to that revelation coming from ME and not YOU?”

He managed a growl, “Goddamn it! You…”

“Put it this way. You can save him by going in. Just understand there are complications to doing so…and there’s a time limit. Take too long in either completing my trial or admitting your secret yourself, and I’ll take the liberty of doing it for you. Good luck.”

With that, all he could hear was the empty, hollow-sounding dial tone. The doors reopened, revealing the concerned party. When the rest of his idol unit noticed the phone still in his hands, an eerie understanding came over them. HiMERU darkly muttered, ignoring the confused look on Hokuto’s face at the tension, “Seems we only delayed that vision.”

Ending Theme: Rasen – jon-YAKITORI ft. Ado

English Lyrics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVld7njUsOc

Chapter Text

Opening Theme: Face Down (Japanese Cover) – Sunrise Skater Kids

Original by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlL5hhNiyrw

A School Of Corpses Arc: Part 1

“Were you all receiving visions, too?” Hokuto crossed his arms and lowered his head to study the group.

Rinne rubbed the back of his head, “Nah, Alkaloid just told us about the visions. Some of them pertained to us and that was one of the ones we remembered.”

“…Were there any involving me or Trickstar?” Hokuto lowered his gaze from the group to the floor and bit his lip.

Rinne and Niki shared a look before the former tried to gently explain, “I know of one but…ya guys weren’t directly involved.”

“Tell me.” Hokuto stepped closer to the redhead, hands curling into fists at his sides, “If there is anything I can do to avoid disaster, then it’s critical I know.”

Rinne felt his eye twitch, “I’m telling ya, it didn’t concern ya or your friends.”

“Amagi-senpai!” Hokuto grabbed the older’s bicep harshly, “We need to all know so we can work together! What if there is something one of us can do that could change things?”

“Fine!” Rinne yanked his arm away, “Ya wanna know? Isara-san and ya were with me and Niki as my lil’ bro was dying right in front of us! Does that satisfy ya?”

The raven-haired teen’s hand wavered in the air a moment before shakily pressing it over his mouth, muttering an “Amagi…” as he thought about the kid he was paired with during their Senior-Junior event.

The elder bee felt guilt gnaw at his heart, sighing, “That was a bit harsh, even for me.”

Hokuto raised his head, blinking in surprise before a similar look of guilt clouded his sight, “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pressed. Especially about something that distressing.”

Niki spoke up, causing the two to look at him in surprise, “Actually, you made a point, Hidaka-kun. With what we are up against, I think it would be best if everyone knew about the visions. If any one of us is capable of changing what could happen, even if just a little, we need to know ahead of time so we can keep an eye out for the signs.”

“Not only that,” HiMERU lamented, “But we are well aware that this entity is more than willing to manipulate us to do things that it wants. Any ill will or strong emotions between us or actions any of us take could be and probably would be capitalized on; just look at how it spoke about Sakasaki and Switch. We all have to work together if all of us are going to get out of there relatively unscathed.”

“Strong emotions, huh…” Kohaku muttered to himself as he focused his attention on the worn tile beneath his feet.

“That’s all well and good, ya two, but I don’t think we’ll have enough time to fill in everyone here plus Isara-san and Akehoshi-paisen on every single vision Alkaloid had. That entity seemed real keen on getting us in there as soon as possible, and I doubt it’s taken those two Knights that long to find their unit’s room.” Rinne began walking again, slowing his usual pace down.

“Then let’s discuss it when we get in there,” Hokuto suggested.

“And if we all start in different locations?” Rinne raised an eyebrow.

“Hidaka-han,” Kohaku sped up a little to walk side-by-side with the other, “Mayoi-han saw something with yer unit.”

Hokuto snapped his head in his direction, only giving a stern, but pleading look for him to continue. “He saw ya and Akehoshi-han arguin’ quite fiercely ‘bout somethin’ in a school hallway. Then, he saw Akehoshi-han talkin’ ta some masked man an’ followin’ him.”

The older teen paused in deep thought, barely muttering, “Could the entity be that masked man?”

“HiMERU doubts it.” The blue-haired idol spoke abruptly, “Considering we will be going through multiple universes, that masked man could easily be something from a specific universe.”

Hokuto gave a curt nod in thanks to the younger teen regardless before continuing to mull over what he was told in silence. Niki poked Rinne in the ribs, “It might be a minute for Isara-kun and Akehoshi-kun to arrive since they were at the dorms in that call. Maybe we should at least discuss some of the visions while we can with Hidaka-kun?”

Rinne chewed on his lower lip, taking a moment to dart his eyes around the hall before whispering to the idol in question, “Hidaka-san, we’ll try and fill ya in as quickly as we can, but ya might have to relay that info to the others once inside.”

He gave him the rundown of what Aira had seen, wincing slightly at the side-eye the other gave Kohaku briefly, including the ones that seemed to occur in ES while they will, presumably, be dealing with universe hopping. Hokuto looked at the group and spoke in a hushed tone, “Does anyone outside of this group know about the visions involving ES?”

Silence.

“Well, Eichi-kun and Sakuma-kun were there with me at that time. So they know.”

“But they’re stuck in that room. How will they relay that information to the others?” Hokuto looked exasperated finding out they massively overlooked a critical issue.

“Can’t they still communicate in that call?” Niki supplied helpfully.

“Tha’ thing can hear them. If we are ta stay a step ahead of it, shouldn’t we ‘ave people find a way ta communicate tha’ kind o’ information under it’s radar?” Kohaku tilted his head in thought as he whispered.

“What about Aoba?” HiMERU leaned forward as he whispered, “He recalls he and Sakasaki communicated with a radio. Maybe he might have another one or several to hand out discreetly?”

Rinne’s eyes lit up as he grinned at the idea, “Good call, Merumeru. That entity is connected to the network and Hold Hands, but it can’t access a radio.”

“But wouldn’t Sakasaki’s radio pick up what is being said?” Hokuto grimaced.

Rinne tapped him on the nose, smirking slightly at the bewildered look, “Not if they are on different frequencies. Or if they aren’t part of the same set.”

“Let’s make sure Aoba-kun knows, then.” Niki gave a gentle smile.

As they turned a corner, just before the fated door, a clanging was heard above them in the vents. Now that Mayoi wasn’t in the building, Rinne dreaded what was going on up there. A shadowy substance began leaking through one of the vents in the ceiling, reforming on the ground as that creature from the elevator shaft. It turned to the group and simply crouched down in the middle of the hall, waving both of its hands at them. A grey-blue tongue licked at its razor-sharp teeth, lacking any lips to cover them.

Rinne suppressed a shiver as he knocked on the door. Tsumugi quickly answered, simply waving a finger at them to invite them in. Rinne leaned down to the smaller man’s ear as he stepped to the side, “See if ya can get a radio on a different frequency to the other out there. We need to stay one step ahead of this thing, and some visions pertained to shit happening here in ES.”

Tsumugi merely nodded in understanding. Just as the last of the group filed in, a familiar feminine voice called out, “Tsumugi-kun!”

Rinne looked out of the corner of his eye and felt his heart drop seeing Anzu standing there. The two chatted quickly, the producer’s arms filled with some packages, before Tsumugi got an idea. “Oh, since you’re going to the dorms and need to drop some things off for Saegusa-kun, do you mind if you deliver these to Sora-kun and Saegusa-kun for me? I’m sorry for the extra trouble.”

He quickly picked up a box, Rinne just barely catching “radios” in fine print on the label. Tsumugi handed the small-ish box to Anzu before taking a quick moment to write two small notes, “Sora-kun needs one and the rest can go to Saegusa-kun. I would deliver it myself, but I’m afraid my work here is going to keep me for a while and this is a time-sensitive delivery.”

“Ah, no problem! Is there anything else?”

Tsumugi whispered something to her, possibly about which frequency to tune into when they got the radios. She hummed in acknowledgment before saying her goodbyes. He waved her away until a look of shock suddenly appeared.

He turned back to the room, closing the door softly.

The voice boomed again through the computer, “We will wait for the other two to arrive. They should be here shortly. Please be ready.”

“Right, I’ll just begin the syncing process, then.” Tsumugi gestured to the five of them to take a seat on the extra cots he pulled out. Two more makeshift beds were set up on the floor with some blankets and boxes.

They each took a seat, Hokuto and Rinne choosing to take the floor beds on their own claiming that it was a style they were used to growing up. Kohaku attempted to retort but promptly stayed quiet when Rinne gave him a look that meant this wasn’t up for discussion.

Tsumugi started with Rinne under the guise of showing them what the process was and what it entailed. He wiped down each node with a cloth before sticking them to various parts of Rinne’s body before whispering, “That box had eight radios plus some backups just in case. I told her to tell them the frequency to tune it into and Sora-kun will have the master radio. I’m sorry, but since I’m being monitored by this entity by proxy, I can’t risk being the one in charge.”

Rinne merely nodded and hummed in thanks. His attention turned serious as his face stayed relaxed, “What got ya that spooked earlier?”

Tsumugi stalled for half a second before resuming putting more nodes across Rinne’s face, “One of those monsters was in the hall in front of Anzu-chan.”

Rinne’s eyebrows briefly shot up in surprise before returning, “Oh? I didn’t hear a reaction…”

“That’s the thing,” Tsumugi very subtly turned his head towards Hokuto and HiMERU nearby who each gave a barely noticeable nod, “Sagami-sensei and Kunugi-sensei waved her over from behind it and she walked right through the creature.”

Rinne’s lips parted as a restrained look of bewilderment contorted his facial expression, “They don’t see it?”

“I don’t think so. I don’t get why though. Everyone else can.”

Rinne paused a moment, lifting his other arm for more of the nodes to be added, “You’re part of the Mystery Researchers Circle, right? This thing has got to be paranormal or something along those lines, so what’s the likelihood of this thing being that all-powerful and navigate systems it shouldn’t know how to operate right out the gate?”

“…What are you suggesting?” Tsumugi finished with Rinne’s setup before shuffling slightly over to Hokuto, the others leaning in with faux curiosity.

Rinne watched the nodes getting placed on the other idol, “What if that doorway ya opened was closed a lot sooner than this thing is letting on? And that it’s not fully in our world, power and all? What if it only acts like it's in full control but can only show itself to a limited number of people?”

Tsumugi’s eyes lit up behind his glasses as he worked, “That would explain why three members of the P-Association can’t see the creatures it summoned. They can see the after-effects of the creatures and the entity with the issue with Hold Hands, but not the physical and audio presence. Perhaps only the idols can perceive it. It might also explain why the second voice is in there but not out here with nearly as much presence.”

“Which is why it would need those artifacts, right, Amagi-senpai?” Hokuto darted his eyes over to the redhead as he mumbled.

“That’s my theory. Those artifacts probably can help it reopen the doorway directly and release itself.”

“Still doesn’t give us an idea on how to put that thing back where it came from,” HiMERU muttered as Tsumugi moved over to start on his node network.

“From my experience, something paranormal typically needs to be exorcised only after we learn critical information about it. We may need to find out the identity of this entity before we can come up with a solution.” Tsumugi answered the other idol, making quick work of this nodal network.

Before he could begin working on Niki, a knock sounded on the door. Tsumugi stood up to answer it, quietly allowing Subaru and Mao to enter and gesturing to a cot each. Rinne huffed his exhale, “Ya two made it here quick.”

The two younger teens gave slightly annoyed looks towards the eldest man and chose their cots. Rinne leaned in so that their new soon-to-be-fellow-comrades could hear as Tsumugi finished his work, “Listen, whatever happens, try and stick together. Akehoshi-paisen and Isara-san, Hidaka-san will fill ya both in on some of the visions and other things we discussed when we get in there. Do not let anyone, especially Alkaloid, out of your sight. Anything, and I mean anything happens or comes up, we have to let each other know immediately.”

The idols in the room nodded. Subaru, with a kind expression, turned towards Hokuto, “Hokke~, don’t make such a sour expression. We’ll get through this, together.”

Mao gave his own kind smile to his unit leader, “He’s right. I don’t doubt it will be rough, but we’ve been through rough before. We can do this.”

The dour expression he had faded, being replaced by a small smile as Hokuto whispered, “Thank you, both of you.”

The entity crackled to life on one of the monitors on the far side of the wall, “Now then, I believe we’ve been waiting long enough.”

“Ah, I just need to start the syncing application before I can send them in. It will just be a few more minutes while the nodes gather their biometric data.”

“Very well. Once finished, do not hesitate to start. I’ll be waiting.”

The monitor screen turned black.

~*~

Ibara sat at his desktop, glaring at the floor in contemplation. Hiyori leaned back on Ibara’s office couch with his arms crossed, a mix of worry and thoughtfulness in his eyes. Jun was pacing back and forth in the office, jaw set tight with brows furrowed.

A knock on the door startled the three out of their thoughts. Ibara pushed his glasses back in place, taking a moment to eye the camera, “Jun, could you please get that? I can’t exactly leave at the moment.”

Jun opened the door to be greeted by Anzu, who looked slightly out of breath, “Ah, Anzu-san? What brings you here?”

Ibara and Hiyori perked up at the mention of ES’s favorite producer. Anzu deeply inhaled then exhaled before speaking, “Tsumugi-kun needed me to get this package to Ibara-kun, along with this note, he said it was time-sensitive.”

She passed the note to Jun whose eyes lit up upon reading it. “Ah, thank you. Ibara is a bit busy right now, but I can give him these for you.”

Anzu nodded before she remembered, “Oh! He said Sora-kun needed one of what’s in the box, so may I have it opened so I can do that for him?”

“A-ah, sure!” Jun placed the box in the office and began cutting open the box’s tape. Each item was individually boxed itself, making twelve in total. He handed one to Anzu, who nodded her thanks and farewell before leaving.

Hiyori came over to peak at the contents but pouted at not being able to identify them. He was about to say something when Jun pushed a finger to his lips, then another one to his own, before showing him the note:

Please, get these out to as many people as you can discreetly! That thing can’t access radio waves and we need to start getting ahead of this thing if we want to beat it! Sora-kun will have the master radio and you all will communicate on 463 MHz and mustn’t have the volume louder than 12 so it can’t be picked up by the cameras. Rinne Amagi mentioned that some of the visions had to do with ES, so if anyone else knows about what Alkaloid saw, contact them first! DO NOT LET THAT THING KNOW WE HAVE THESE!

Jun cleared his throat to catch Ibara’s attention. Once he got it, he made a show of darting his eyes around the room before landing on him and gesturing to the box and note. Ibara blinked before posing a question to the voice via the call, “Does one person need to stay on camera all the time or can we all be around our respective rooms?”

The voice spoke through the static, “I’ll request one person stay in front of the camera to partially confirm that no more than one person has left and to ensure one of each of you is watching the trial. I’ll be able to see elsewhere if there is more than one missing from each room.”

“Thank you for the clarification. Your Highness? Could you take my place? I need to stretch my legs for a second.” Ibara gestured for Hiyori.

Hiyori made a show of harassing Ibara before taking his spot, giving an encouraging smile to those on the other end. The bespectacled idol approached Jun with a raised eyebrow. Jun showed him the note and very quietly opened one of the smaller packages to reveal a handheld radio. The Deputy Director wore a proud smile and grasped Jun’s shoulder in encouragement.

“Before we start, may I have everyone present?”

Jun carefully laid the radio back in the box before he and Ibara returned to the desktop to stand behind Hiyori. The other idols began filling the screen, the remaining three of Eden lowering their shoulders in relief at seeing Izumi and Leo with the other Knights.

“Now then, I’m going to add one more rule. Well, more like an obstacle, really. Your leaders will be able to communicate with you all only through this call, but you won’t be able to respond to them. Can’t make it too easy!” The voice changed the setting in the call to isolate Room 6-66.

Ibara was glad that the camera cut off just below his nose in the video feed as he darted his eyes to share a knowing look with Jun. Ibara leaned down so his face was fully in the camera’s vision, “Are we allowed to start sending people out now? Or do you wish for us to wait?”

The voice’s cackle was like a rusty door that was in deep need of an oiling for the hinges, “Kehehehe! Eager, aren’t we? Though time is of the essence, I suppose, if you want to ensure your friends will come back sooner.”

Sora didn’t hide his expression whatsoever, making a curious face, “Ooohh~ Since we are over in the dorms, will we get penalized if we leave the property? Or will we be allowed to go to the ES building and vice versa?”

The voice didn’t respond for a second, “I will allow movement between buildings owned by ES. Anywhere else is strictly prohibited.”

“Okay!~” Sora beamed.

“In that case,” Ibara cut in, “may we start with organizing the first crew?”

The voice was dismissive, “Yes, yes. Go ahead.”

“Very well, I will volunteer first for my room, and I suggest the rest of the crew meet up in ES’s lobby, barring those in the dorms, to begin organizing our search there! The one at the dorms can start by looking room by room on their floor first!” Ibara saluted.

Everyone in Knights turned in shock at hearing Ritsu, “I’ll go, too~. Someone needs to have some supernatural experience~.”

Ibara kept his pleasure from surfacing. He was hoping someone, whether from the Mystery Researchers Circle or anyone with paranormal experience, would come along to provide some insight.

“Sora will go!” The blond happily raised his hand high, “Sora will make double sure to leave no stone unturned over here!”

He was hoping Sora would stay put to get the radio from Anzu, but he couldn’t voice that without letting on about their secret weapon. He noticed Natsume and Tsumugi also seemed quite against Sora leaving, but neither was able to voice their discouragement, either.

“Count me in,” Koga stood up harshly from his seat in what appeared to be a practice room. Kaoru looked like he was about to tell him no before Adonis stood between the two and sided with Koga. Rei could be heard giving a low chuckle.

“As the eldest of RYUSETAI, I will go to represent them!” Chiaki stood proudly. It was the first time Tetora looked like his usual self today.

Keito nervously looked between his unit mates on screen. Kuro and Souma stared at each other before Kuro stood first, “I shall go.”

Yuzuru stood gracefully, patting Tori’s hand away as his Young Master tried to pull him back down, “I shall also offer my services for this first search.” Eichi’s smile was warm but his eyes held the unmistakable look of worry.

Nazuna stood up giving each of his two available Ra*bits members a hug, “I’ll go, too. Don’t worry you two, Nii-chan will be back before you know it.” The former leader of the idol unit gave a thumbs up to the camera and a fist pump, no doubt to encourage Tomoya from afar.

Ibara counted: himself, Yuzuru, Nazuna, Kuro, Chiaki, Ritsu, Koga, and Sora over at the dorms. While he wasn’t thrilled to have Yuzuru per se, he didn’t doubt that the other’s expertise could come in handy when it came to analyzing and deducing. Ritsu had experience and knowledge of the paranormal and supernatural, so he was indispensable, as was Nazuna for his involvement in the Mystery Researchers Circle. He couldn’t say much about Kuro, Koga, and Chiaki, but every man counted at the moment.

Tsumugi’s voice softly spoke, “The synchronization process is done. I’m sending them in now.” He proceeded to instruct the seven individuals to close their eyes and count backward from ten when he said to.

“About time. Now, the rest of you, do be careful wandering around the complexes. As I said, my humanoid pets are quite obedient, but the others not so much. You could try and fight back if caught, but your Amagi Hiiro has shown it is quite difficult. Take care not to end up on their menu while you search about. It would be quite upsetting for everyone to see you die so horribly in front of them.”

Ibara sneered before stiffly standing up and walking towards the box of radios offscreen. He gave a salute to the two before quietly exiting the room with the box.

~*~

10…

Rinne closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

9…

8…

7…

It would all be okay. They would get Hiiro and the others out.

6…

5…

Stay strong. Think carefully.

4…

He felt a tingling sensation begin to overcome his limbs. He allowed himself to let the sensation wash over him, as instructed.

3…

2…

There was a lightness in his body. It was as if he was beginning to float.

1…

Then he felt himself fall.

…That wasn’t part of what to expect.

Rinne opened his eyes as he fell two feet and nearly slammed his face into the ground had he not caught himself on his forearms. He groaned in pain, taking a moment to rub his forearms and knees, “Ooowww! I thought ya said we would be teleported into the liminal space not fall into it!”

His wireless earpiece crackled with Tsumugi’s voice, “Th-that shouldn’t have happened! I used the same coordinates as I did with Alkaloid and they were fine!”

Hokuto and HiMERU joined shortly beside him, both not nearly as lucky to catch themselves as Rinne had. Had he not stood up shortly after, Rinne could have sworn Hokuto must have sprained or broken his ankle with the way he harshly fell on it. HiMERU fell backward and must have hit his head judging by how gingerly he rubbed the back of it.

Kohaku and Niki managed to stay upright when they teleported in. Rinne remembered the kid did have a pretty good sense of balance most days, and Niki balanced dishes as a waiter nearly every day, so perhaps they were more accustomed. Isara crumpled like a sandcastle in a tidepool when he hit the floor, landing on his side and holding his shoulder lightly as he hissed out his pain. Subaru, with all the flair and luck that he somehow possessed, actually made a decently cool entrance as he rolled right as he touched the ground, leaving himself mostly just disorientated.

“It is its own world! Of course it won’t be exactly as it was last time! The space moves on its own!” The voice sounded exasperated like it was dealing with children who weren’t grasping a basic concept for the hundredth time.

Rinne huffed a growl, “Yeah, yeah, we’re not here for a geography lesson or whatever.”

Taking a moment, it looked similar to what he saw from Alkaloid on the monitor. The whole world looked like it was made up of polygons, all white and grey. Some shapes towered over them while the ground itself would occasionally rise and fall as if they were hills. Sometimes there was a crevice, too. Rinne thought a moment: Huh, kind of looks like a forest, in the most abstract of ways. Seems easy to get lost in, too.

“Where’s Alkaloid?” Kohaku darted his head around the area, finding no other signs of life other than themselves.

“Like I just said, the space moves. Alkaloid is elsewhere. Not like it matters since you all will be seeing them shortly.”

A distant roar echoed across the polygon landscape. All the idols stood at attention.

The voice merely chuckled, “Sounds like my pet with Alkaloid is getting impatient. I’ll make this announcement brief, then. I will issue a challenge with each universe. You complete it? Nothing remarkable will occur. Fail it? Suffer a punishment. For this universe, if you complete it with 7 or more of your group alive, you succeed. If you complete it with less than 7 alive, those who lived will face a harsher universe next while those who died will be spending that time hanging out in this liminal space, potentially facing my pets, talking to me, or just walking around aimlessly. These punishments will not count towards your required 3 consecutive universes, as all 11 of you need to be part of the same universe.”

Hokuto harshly spat, “Anymore you gonna add on last minute!?”

“Just remember, everyone is watching. I may throw in some obstacles or choices periodically as you navigate your way through the universes, so do be careful, think wisely, and be quick on your feet!”

With that, Rinne saw the floor dissolve away, causing him to fall. He didn’t see anyone else go with him. It was all a blur before he blinked and his eyes refocused.

He was in a college lecture room, or at least what he thought it was. He sat in the fifth row, near the window. It seemed the sun was beginning to set on the horizon, bathing the room in an orange and yellow glow.

Huh. Smoother transition than I expected.

He peered down at the desk only to immediately start patting himself down as he realized he changed clothes. He was no longer in his usual Crazy:B uniform. Just a simple, long-sleeved, white button-up with grey-plaid pants. He felt his hair and eased as he felt his usual black hairband. At least that didn’t change.

He felt his phone buzz in his pocket.

Weird. Didn’t know my phone came with me.

Pulling it out, it looked like his phone at ES. Opening it up, it appeared normal too, with the marked exception of no Hold Hands app. Actually, several of the apps related to his idol activities were gone. He swiped away the notification about the weather and pulled up his Messages. The last one sent was to a group chat.

His eyes widened as he took note of the names in the group. Tatsumi. Mayoi. HiMERU. The chat seemed to be about meeting up after lectures for some sort of get-together on the last day of finals. Something to do with having one last outing as a group before they graduated and went to college and to meet in Class 3-2.

Ah, so this is a high school…Huh, never went to one before. Good thing I’m already in the classroom.

…

Wait a minute, how do I know that?!

You’re a student at this school, Amagi Rinne. You are fulfilling a role. Of course you will know information or have memories pertinent to this universe.

Rinne grounded out, “Again with this talking in my head shit!? Do ya ever fucking quit!?”

Hehehe…Very well. I’ll speak to you again later. If you believe in a god…pray to it that you won’t hear me again until after this universe is finished. Good luck.

Rinne mocked it after his headache subsided, “Good luck, my ass…” He noticed he had his grey blazer tied around his waist and a card holder clipped to his breast pocket. Taking the card out, he read the words emblazoned in gold on the navy background: Seisoukan Senior Academy.

Hmm, seems like some details from our world leaked over. That’s definitely the idol apartments at ES.

Just then, one of the sliding doors to the room opened, revealing a pale HiMERU also in a similar uniform, though he wore his blazer properly with it buttoned up halfway and a black tie. His usually half-lidded citrine eyes widened considerably for a moment upon seeing Rinne before returning to their normal state. “Well, that was certainly different.”

“Tell me about it.” Rinne heaved a sigh as he sprawled out in his chair, half talking to himself as the back of the chair jabbed his shoulder blade, “Damn, ya think such a ritzy school, having an amphitheater for a high school classroom and all, would have splurged a little on comfier chairs.”

“Not all that important, Amagi.” HiMERU scolded.

“I know, I know!” Rinne raised his hands in mock surrender before sighing and resting his chin in a hand, “Did that entity talk to ya, too? Or at least have a weird experience so far?”

A fine, blue eyebrow rose, “How so?”

“Like,” Rinne waved his other hand in the other as he attempted to find the right words, “Like knowing shit about this universe that ya really shouldn’t know? Or that entity mocking and threatening as per usual?”

HiMERU held his chin with two fingers in thought, “Well, he did find it disconcerting that he automatically knew how to find this room despite not having been in this building before. However, the entity did not speak to HiMERU.”

Rinne snapped his fingers before making a finger gun at the other, “Exactly. That thing said that we are basically ‘fulfilling a role’ in this universe so we’ll automatically know certain things or have specific memories because the situation calls for it, or something.”

HiMERU leaned against the first curved row with his arms crossed, “How convenient.”

Rinne flopped his finger gun down on the desk, beginning to tap out a rhythm from his and Niki’s duo songs from way back. “Have you seen or heard from-”

Speak of the devil and he shall be summoned. Tatsumi opened the door to the room with Mayoi by his side. Rinne practically jumped from his chair and over the desk, “Holy shit!”

“Tatsumi! Ayase!” HiMERU stood quickly.

“HiMERU-san!” Tatsumi was almost about to run into the room when he quickly grabbed hold of Mayoi who seemed to have been leaning on him quite heavily as to nearly fall over from the movement.

Damn, Mayoi-chan already looks like he’s been through hell.

Rinne cautiously approached as Tatsumi settled Mayoi on the nearest chair. Both wore the same uniform, though Tatsumi had a lighter grey sweater and black tie under his half-buttoned blazer while Mayoi wore his blazer open with an untucked button-up and tie. The latter held his head in his hands, shaking quite noticeably and his bangs hid his eyes.

HiMERU gently laid a hand on Mayoi’s shoulder, “Are you alright, Ayase?”

“Alright…?” Mayoi whispered before lashing out, “ALRIGHT!? You know damn well I’m not alright! That damn thing took us hostage and broadcasted us getting attacked by some wolf-creature! After that thing attacked Hiiro-san it kept stalking and coming after us! It nearly dragged Aira-san away from me if it weren’t for Tatsumi-san stomping on its damn hand!”

Rinne rushed and yanked HiMERU back before Mayoi lunged for the other as Tatsumi tried to hold him back by an arm. After he pulled his unit mate a safe distance away, Rinne rounded on the duo, “Woah! What do ya mean it kept coming after all ya!? That fucker said it called the thing off!”

Were they being harassed the whole time we were discussing what the fuck to do!? And we were too busy talking to notice it if it was still on screen!

Tatsumi managed to nearly slam Mayoi back in the chair, gripping both of the other’s shoulders in a silent apology. He spoke sternly and far too softly to make out exactly what he said, but it seemed to deflate what rage Mayoi had. The purple-haired teen shakily whispered, “I-I’m s-s-sorry, HiMERU-san.”

The idol gently pulled away from Rinne and very carefully walked back over to the distressed teen. He kneeled to be at eye-level with the other, “It’s alright, Ayase. He’s sorry he asked such an insensitive question, especially after everything so far.”

He looked at his hand for a moment before holding it out to the other, “He cannot say he understands what you went through, and he’s sorry you had to go through it at all. But he hopes that we can all work together to stop this thing from hurting anyone else anymore.”

Mayoi barely managed to whisper an “okay” before accepting the hand with his own. HiMERU gently squeezed it to comfort the other while attempting to ignore the hot sparks rushing through his system at the contact.

Tatsumi sighed tiredly as he leaned against the wall, “Will someone please explain what was going on out there?”

Rinne crossed his arms and leaned against the podium, “How much did ya hear?”

“Other than the few times Tsumugi-san spoke to us and the bits of that…” Tatsumi spun his hand in the air looking for an appropriate word, “That thing when it spoke before it cut us off, not much. It was like listening to half of a conversation.”

“More like a third…” Mayoi mumbled with his head still hanging low.

“You may wanna sit for this, Tatsumi-chan. It’s a lot.”

Rinne and HiMERU explained what had happened thus far to the duo, barring the secret radios until they could tell them about it in a bit more secrecy. They were being watched, after all.

Tatsumi slowly ran a hand through his hair as stared at something off in the distance. Mayoi shook his head, “Just when I thought the nightmare was over…”

Still looking like he was mentally somewhere else, Tatsumi questioned, “What have we done to anger God to deserve this?”

“We didn’t.” The way HiMERU said it sounded more like a warning.

“That’s why we need to fight back. Send this fucking asshole of an entity back to where it came from and make it regret ever fucking with ES.” Rinne hardened his gaze.

Mayoi shot up straight, nearly dragging HiMERU off his feet since he didn’t let go of the other. He quickly muttered an apology to the other and hoisted him back up before asking, “Where are the others?”

Rinne snapped his phone open in hopes of finding an answer, but his mouth ran quicker, “Hiiro and Niki go to a different school. We’re the only four at this one.”

He gripped his head as a sharp sting like someone was cracking his skull open with an icepick wracked his brain. “Oooowww! Why the hell is remembering or knowing shit in this universe so painful now!?”

“What do you mean?” Tatsumi looked on concerned.

Rinne waved his other hand as if he was dismissing someone, “That entity said something about how we’ll have knowledge and memories about this universe ‘cause we’re filling some sort of role. Fucker said nothing about it being painful, though.”

“Maybe it has to do with everyone in this trial?” Mayoi guessed.

HiMERU looked thoughtful for a moment, “Amagi, you said Shiina and your little brother were at another school and that we are the only ones here.”

“Yeah,” Rinne pulled up the last message he sent to Niki before finding a picture that nearly made him drop it in shock, “Holy shit, Kohaku-chan and Ai-chan are at that school, too.”

The four gathered around to look. Niki had sent something about how they were going to be a bit late to meet up with them due to some sort of school festival activity and wanting to do “that thing” Mayoi told them about before Aira would transfer schools the next day. In the picture, Niki was just barely seen throwing a peace sign with his tongue sticking out. Hiiro was next, throwing his own peace sign while holding a mop. Kohaku and Aira were side by side further back taking down decorations, not aware they were getting their picture taken.

“‘That thing?’” Tatsumi glanced at Mayoi.

“Before we get to that,” Mayoi shushed the priest, “You said members of Trickstar joined you. Where are they?”

Rinne checked his contacts but came up empty. A realization dawned on HiMERU addressing Tatsumi as he spoke, “Ah, aren’t those three supposed to enroll here next year?”

Tatsumi hummed in confirmation, “Mm-hm, I remember the rest of the student council was organizing a First-Year Day tomorrow for all the students who are enrolling next year. I believe those three had a lot of questions so we gave them our numbers.”

The two paused after that exchange. Mayoi seemed despondent, “Well that blew that theory out of the water.”

“Why the hell am I the only one getting headaches!?” Rinne groaned.

“Maybe the universe just hates you in particular, Amagi.”

“At any rate!” Rinne chose to ignore HiMERU’s jab, “At least we know ya two are on the student council together. Which one of ya is the Prez?”

Tatsumi pointed at HiMERU while the latter pointed one at himself. The two’s eyes widened as they stared at their own fingers. Rinne eyed the two, “Whose Vice Prez?

This time, the two fingers pointed to Tatsumi, but their expressions remained the same. Rinne gaped his mouth like a fish for a second before asking, “On a scale of 1-10, how bad of an out-of-body experience are ya both having? With the whole…innate knowledge and hands moving on their own deal?”

Both Tatsumi and HiMERU deadpanned, “20.”

Rinne blinked a few times before slowly turning his attention to Mayoi, “So, setting aside the creepiness of that, what was that ‘thing’ you apparently showed Niki?”

Mayoi was startled, “A-ah! That! I was hoping we could also do it! It’s called Sachiko’s Ever After Charm.”

Mayoi blinked a few times in silence. Rinne tilted his head, “Did ya get a headache?”

“…N-not quite? It was…a fuzzy, stuffy feeling.”

“Okay…? What’s the deal with this charm?”

The purple-haired introvert sat cross-legged in the chair as he fiddled with his braid, “So, basically it’s a charm to ensure the people who do this ritual-type thing stay friends forever. I saw it on the Internet along with something about Heavenly Host Elementary School.”

“Guess that’s why Niki wanted to do it with them,” Rinne hummed before he glanced at the other two, “Are ya okay? You’re both really pale.”

HiMERU glanced at Tatsumi who seemed to be lost in a flashback of sorts. The former called out slowly, “Tatsumi?”

Lavender eyes blinked in rapid succession as the man was startled out of whatever trance he was in. He drew a shaky breath, “I think…I know which visions pertain to this universe.”

“The newspaper…?” HiMERU supplied.

“…And that collapsing floor one.” If Tatsumi wasn’t already sitting he would have fallen to the floor with how shaky he was.

“W-what happened…?” Mayoi hesitated before reaching out for Tatsumi's shoulder.

Rinne looked at the introvert and the priest perplexed, “…Did ya guys not tell each other about the dreams?”

Tatsumi shook his head, staring intently at the floor. “No, it was news to all of us that we all had a similar dream when that entity said so. I’d imagine we were all too shaken up that we didn’t have enough time to collect ourselves properly before we had the job with Switch.”

HiMERU prodded the sullen man, “Tatsumi. We decided it would be best to share what we know about those visions, in case any one of us ends up in a position to change the outcomes. If we are to make it out of this sooner rather than later, we should pool our knowledge together.”

It appeared he hadn’t heard the other until he minutely nodded before speaking hoarsely, “The floor one…HiMERU-san, Kohaku-san, and I were there, in some sort of large room. HiMERU-san had just left that room to investigate something further before Kohaku-san turned around. He…he said something about how they had finally found me…before an earthquake hit and caused the floor below us to collapse.”

Rinne, guiltily he would admit, first thought about how two of his unit mates were going to be in danger and he was going to be nowhere when it happened. Not about how Tatsumi must be feeling now or when that will happen. He was concerned for just his own, and that thought started to sicken him. He came here to save everyone.

Sensing his leader was traversing dark waters, HiMERU asked, “And the newspaper? Remind HiMERU what you told him?”

Tatsumi shook his head before dismissively waving a hand, “It wasn’t much. Just a flash of looking at some sort of old newspaper. It mentioned something about Heavenly Host Elementary finally being torn down.”

Rinne snapped out of his thoughts hearing that. He slowly turned to Mayoi, sternly asking, “Do ya know anything about that school from the Internet?”

Mayoi shifted uncomfortably, “I-I guess it was the sight of the murder of three young schoolchildren, and a teacher fell down the stairs and died…and the principal jumped off the school’s roof when it was decided to close the school.”

Rinne turned back to Tatsumi, “That room with the collapsing floor. Did it look really rundown? Like falling apart rundown?”

Tatsumi wordlessly nodded. Rinne muttered, “Just like how Ai-chan described his. With that damn infirmary and…”

He darkly chuckled and shook his head. When he was done, he called out nonchalantly, “Oi, Merumeru, try opening the door.”

The idol slowly blinked, furrowing his eyebrows before standing up to slide the door. It wouldn’t budge, no matter how hard he pulled on it.

He turned back, finding all eyes on him. “I-it’s like it’s painted on.”

Rinne laughed like he had both lost his sanity and was only being polite towards the telling of a bad joke, “Oh, so this is where it’s gonna go, huh?”

“Let me guess, there’s a right way and wrong way to do that charm, yeah?” Rinne grinned, voice sounding strained.

“W-well it didn’t say what would happen if it failed…” Mayoi slowly withdrew himself.

Rinne clapped his hands like he was ending the discussion, sounding almost whimsical, “How much do ya bet that, once we do that magic charm we’re gonna get whisked away to some purgatory with that damn school as its setting and there will be a bunch of angry, vengeful ghosts trying to kill us?”

He was met with silence. A godawful, uneasy silence.

Rinne’s grin fell as his tone grew low and serious, “Here’s the plan. Niki and crew are gonna end up doing that charm and get sent into that hellscape. Somehow, Trickstar is probably going to end up there, too. Some of them may have an inkling about what might happen. Right now? As far I’m concerned, we’re the only ones who have a pretty damn good clue as to what will go down and what kind of danger to expect. We’re gonna go in there and help them get out.”

He gestured to Tatsumi, piercing blue eyes even with his lavender, “Your Lord knows those guys are not going to stand a chance.”

HiMERU interjected, “Oukawa-”

Rinne abruptly cut him off, voice getting louder, “Kohaku-chan does not deal well with horror situations! Ya remember how he was with that haunted house! He acts all big and tough but I can guarantee that he will be one of the first people to crack, with Ai-chan and Isara-san probably not too far behind! Akehoshi-paisen might be okay so long as he is with someone and Hidaka-san at least is level-headed enough to probably keep his wits about him! And as much as I love Niki, he is very much a wild card in this situation where he will either be running around with his tail between his legs or somehow be one of the only people keeping his head on straight when the going gets tough! If ya ask me, that is far too many people who are going to become easy fucking prey in there!”

“What about Hiiro-san?” Mayoi calmly asked, not showing an ounce of fear, “Your little brother knows martial arts, and even you know he is very smart.”

Rinne exhaled softly before lowering his voice, not meeting the other’s eyes that bore into him, “Yeah, yeah, you’re right. If this situation involved more physical dangers, I wouldn’t be as worried. However, I’m fairly certain that, hm, let’s say a good 90% of the dangers in this situation are spiritual in nature. His physical prowess is going to mean jackshit most of the time. The only thing that might keep his head on his shoulders longer is his smarts, but I’m not willing to take that chance.”

Rinne finally raised his eyes, filled with sadness, anger, and determination, to meet Mayoi’s teal ones, “No offense to ya, Mayoi-chan, but you’re not the only one who watched one of their loved ones get choked slammed and tossed around like a goddamn ragdoll while they couldn’t do shit to stop it…”

His voice began to crack, “Ya didn’t have to sit there and try to comfort a close friend of your brother’s as he tells ya that he saw your little brother die in your arms in that godforsaken school.”

He ignored the horrifically shocked looks of Tatsumi and Mayoi. He slapped away HiMERU’s hand that reached out for him before continuing in a low tone, “I’m going to tell ya both this since ya didn’t hear it. I vowed, even with my dying breath, that I would take this asshole down so that no one else would have to endure both what we and those back at ES are going through. I was willing to put myself on the line to save Niki, Kohaku-chan, and HiMERU. I’m willing to do it again. Not like we have a choice about going or not since we can’t leave.”

He wasn’t sure which silence he hated more. The tense one, or this stunned one currently suffocating him. Mayoi bent down into his school bag that he hadn’t noticed he had brought in and pulled out a box cutter and a sheet of paper with a simple doll outline on it. “Give me a moment to cut this out and we can do the ritual.”

It was quiet for over a minute, save for Mayoi deftly and delicately carving out the paper doll. Rinne looked out the window as he finally spoke again, “I shouldn’t have raised my voice like that.”

HiMERU knew that was the closest the other would get without directly apologizing. Tatsumi spoke what was on HiMERU’s mind, “It was warranted, though.”

A brief pause followed before Tatsumi clarified, “That brutal honesty. Since that thing seems to like to manipulate any little thing it can, it’s best that we are honest and don’t hide anything from each other. The less the entity can manipulate the better.”

HiMERU scrolled through his phone before pausing, a look of awed confusion making his eyes squint, “Look through your photos. Go back far enough and the pictures you took on your phones in our universe are there.”

Rinne pulled his out and kept scrolling through his albums. Sure enough, he spotted several pictures he remembered taking before the variety program earlier that day. “So are these our actual phones?”

“Maybe.”

Tatsumi airily laughed, earning a questioning glance from everyone, including Mayoi who briefly looked up from his careful carving. Tatsumi noticed the stares and waved his hands in the air in defense, “A-Ah! I was just musing about how odd it is to have our real photos with us while we’re traveling.”

Rinne gave a gentle smile at a thought, “Wanna take a picture of us four? Treat it like a time capsule or somethin’ like that?”

“Oh,” Mayoi muttered as he continued working, though a fond smile was present, “So that we can look back on it and be like ‘look at the shitstorm we survived, nothing could be worse than that’?”

HiMERU lightly chuckled, “He thinks it wouldn’t be that bad in that context.”

Rinne jumped from his seat near the window, “Alright! Mayoi-chan, once you’re done, get over here for a group bondin’ picture!”

“Eh!?”

Despite his surprise, Mayoi came over shortly after finishing the ritual doll. The four gathered close so that they could fit in the frame with Rinne on the far left, HiMERU and Mayoi in the center, and Tatsumi on the far right. After a few attempted pics, they finally got a decent shot thanks to Rinne’s shaky camera skills.

“Aannndd sent!” He sent a copy of the photo to each of their phones, “Let’s see if this photo stays after this universe! Kyahaha!”

“Ah, I didn’t quite think about that.” Tatsumi held his chin with two fingers.

“…I-I hate to be the wet blanket, b-but…” Mayoi placed a few fingers on the paper doll still on the desk, “Shiina-san’s group must have already done this by now…right?”

Dread slowly crept back into everyone, though determination flooded out the otherwise despairing situation. Rinne stepped forward first, “Alright, how do we do this ritual?”

“S-so each of us has to grab hold of the paper doll, then we each chant ‘Sachiko, we beg of you’ once per person in the group. Once we do, we rip a piece off the paper doll, like so…” Mayoi used the scrap paper to show what he meant.

“That’s it..?” Rinne blinked in surprise.

“Slightly morbid symbolism, but he supposes that is going to be par for the course for this universe.” HiMERU sighed.

“I have a feeling this will be the most normal thing in this universe.” Tatsumi heaved a similar sigh.

“B-before we start…” Mayoi trailed off, chewing on his lower lip.

HiMERU nodded, “Yes?”

Mayoi sighed as he bluntly stated, “Rinne-san, whatever happens, don’t lose your scrap of paper. Same with everyone else here.”

Rinne studied the other, “Did ya see something having to do with me losing it?”

Silence proceeded before Mayoi gently nodded, “You and Hiiro-san were walking together and then you began to panic because you lost your scrap. Hiiro-san said something about checking the outdoor walkway you both just came from…but when he left the door sealed shut in your face and separated you two.”

Rinne stared hard at the paper doll, “…That’s the exact place where Ai-chan said Hiiro was gonna die.”

Mayoi shakily put a hand on the older man’s shoulder, “I-I…I think that’s what will lead to Hiiro-san’s…incident. And…”

“And…?” Tatsumi prodded.

Mayoi shook his head, a grimace of a frown briefly forming, “I-I don’t know if m-my theory would be correct, b-but it would be poetic irony that the very paper scraps that s-send us to that hell school m-might also be our ticket out.”

Rinne was solemn, “Would explain why I was panickin’ so much about it in your vision.”

“P-please! Everyone!” Mayoi sounded desperate, “Don’t lose these once we are done! Promise me that!”

“We all will, Ayase.” HiMERU was the first to grab hold of the paper doll, by the head.

Mayoi grabbed a leg. Tatsumi held onto an arm. Rinne grabbed the other leg. The priest asked, “Do we say the chant aloud or to ourselves?”

“Either or. To make sure we do this right, let’s say it aloud. Remember it’s ‘Sachiko, we beg of you’ once per person.” Mayoi advised one last time.

“One last thing,” Rinne interjected, “Whatever happens, do not separate under any circumstances. Don’t leave each other’s eyesight if ya can help it…And Tatsumi-chan…”

He waited for the priest to meet his eyes, “I get that you’re a holy man, but don’t think you’re invincible in that school. Those rules still apply.”

“Understood.”

“Merumeru, I get you’re not a spiritual man but-”

“He will heed any and all advice concerning the supernatural. HiMERU is aiming to survive just as much as he is going to help get everyone out.”

“Good. Did ya two have any other visions pertaining to that school?” Rinne asked one more time.

Tatsumi spoke out, “I’ve been pondering this since you mentioned what Kohaku-san relayed from Mayoi-san. The vision I saw was of Hokuto-san calling after Subaru-san in some sort of underground area before running off, with you and Shiina-san calling after Hokuto-san.”

“…Like a basement?” HiMERU glanced next to him.

“It looked more like one of those bomb shelters from the war.”

Rinne blinked in confusion, “Fucking bomb shelter in a school?”

Mayoi supplied, “The original Heavenly Host Elementary was built in 1952 before it was torn down in 1975. It could be possible if the bomb shelter was from the Cold War era.”

Rinne thought for a moment, piecing together the various visions, “Ai-chan’s vision of Hiiro’s…incident only had me, Niki, Hidaka-san, and Isara-san present…Mayoi-chan saw Hidaka-san and Akehoshi-paisen arguin’ in a school hallway…then Tatsumi-chan saw Hidaka-san call out for and chase after Akehoshi-paisen…”

HiMERU thought a moment before hesitating, “HiMERU thinks something bad might happen to Akehoshi…”

Rinne nodded in agreement, “Okay, game plan, when we are in there, find and group up with as many of the others as possible, but especially focus on Akehoshi-paisen, Hiiro, and Ai-chan. Ai-chan mentioned he saw himself enter what looked to be an infirmary by himself, so that’s going to be the best place to start looking. Once we group up, that’s when we figure out a way to get the hell out of there. Do not separate under any circumstances, and don’t do anything stupid.”

They all nodded in agreement, Mayoi asking, “Ready, then?”

“Sachiko, we beg of you.”

“Sachiko, we beg of you.”

“Sachiko, we beg of you.”

“Sachiko, we beg of you!”

Rip.

The room was silent.

Rinne looked around in bewilderment. “That’s it? Did we actually do it right? What? No ghost girl coming to whisk us away? Did we not piss her off enough?”

A violent earthquake struck causing the four idols to grab onto the desks for stability. HiMERU shouted, “He thinks you pissed her off now, Amagi!”

“Well, there’s more where that came from! Bring it!”

The ground collapsed below them, sending the four shocked idols plummeting into darkness.

Ending Theme: Rasen – jon-YAKITORI ft. Ado

English Lyrics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVld7njUsOc

Chapter Text

Opening Theme: Face Down (Japanese Cover) – Sunrise Skater Kids

Original by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlL5hhNiyrw

Rinne groaned as he blinked several times to clear the darkness from his vision. Except the darkness barely faded at all.

When his eyes fully adjusted he sat up from his position on the floor. He grumbled rubbing his lower back and the back of his head, “This universe should take tips from that liminal space entity on smooth transitions.”

He was met with a chilled, deathly silence, the only sound coming from the rain hitting the windows. Rinne glanced at the windows, seeing how dark, near pitch black, the outside was. Streaks of water ran down the glass panes. It wasn’t raining at their school, nor was it supposed to be the middle of the night. The sun was supposed to be still setting, last he knew.

Looking around, it appeared he was in some sort of old classroom. An old-fashioned chalkboard hung at the front, nearly spanning the whole wall. There were a few broken-down desks that looked like they could fit an elementary school student. Some of the floorboards, dark in color, were broken or missing completely, revealing a dark, empty void below. The drywall had holes in various places or had peeling, stained, or outright torn wallpaper. The few places that had none of these were immensely dirty, appearing to look grey from the dirt and dust. No lights were on, making the whole room darker and more shadowy, and the place looked like it wasn’t going to have working electricity regardless.

Most importantly, he was alone.

“Tatsumi-chan? Merumeru? Mayoi-chan?” He called out. Silence answered.

Great, just as I feared. We’re all gonna be in different places.

He was about to stand up when he noticed he was still hanging on to his ritual paper scrap. A look of unsure panic took form as he padded himself down as he thought about a secure place to keep it. He looked at the cardholder, still snuggly attached to his shirt. It was a sealed container with a push-button clasp. He opened it up and took out the card, noticing, belatedly, that it was a school ID card, his smug face looking back at him. He folded the generous-sized paper scrap to fit with the ID card and resealed the cardholder, making extra sure that it wasn’t going to unclasp easily from his shirt.

Finally standing up, he dusted himself off before feeling his phone in his back pocket. Surprised to see objects on their persons came with them, he pulled it out. There was no signal available, but he figured as much from a supernatural purgatory. His battery was at 95%.

This universe-me at least keeps his phone charged way more than I do.

He turned the device’s flashlight on briefly to scan his surroundings before switching it off. He knew conserving battery life was going to be of the utmost importance if he was to keep his only reliable source of light available. The occasional flash of lightning from the storm will have to suffice otherwise.

Looking down, he picked up a broken, metal table leg that probably came from one of the desks, one end coming to a jagged point. Even if a good portion of the dangers in this purgatory were going to be supernatural, if there were any physical dangers, he wanted to have something just in case.

There were no papers or anything written in his room to start giving clues so he turned towards the door, the old-style paper sliding doors he was familiar with from his hometown, to leave. The door slid open surprisingly well, even if the sound of its opening felt jarringly loud in the silence. Stepping out, the halls were in as much of a rundown, dilapidated state as the classroom. The walls were half paneling, half drywall in much of a similar state. Holes in the floor dotted the place. No light. Same eerie silence.

He used his flashlight to take a quick look at his surroundings before shutting it off again. Looking at the sign above him, he started in Classroom 1-A. A noise to his right caught his attention. It was faint like someone shuffling around much farther away. He mentally battled with himself over following the noise or going left away from it. It could be someone, someone from his group. Could also be a ghost or whatever other danger this place held trying to lure him. In the end, his grip tightened on the table leg and he slowly made his way down the hall to his right.

Going further, he noticed a few rooms with their doors open appeared to look like offices of some sort, possibly administration or something similar. He stepped on a particularly creaky floorboard, which caused a loud, scuttling sound to come from the next room to his right. Rinne paused, shifting his grip on the table leg to a better position, before switching on the phone’s flashlight, keeping it on this time.

He slowly turned the corner to that room, noticing it to be an entryway where students would put their outdoor shoes with several rows of tall, wooden shelves lining one half of the area that blocked clear sight of the whole room. A few kids' shoes were scattered around. Rinne took a cautious step into the room. He shined the light over the room, not hearing a peep of noise nor the sound of rain outside, despite being so close to the front doors. Waiting for a second, he checked behind him down each hall before taking another step into the entryway, raising his table leg to hip height in preparation.

He was close to the first wooden shelf and stopped before he would come across the first blind spot. He called out, “Anyone there?”

Hasty shuffling was heard behind the third wooden shelf before someone darted out in front of him, startling him as he nearly dropped his phone and began raising his table leg out of instinct. However, he relaxed with a great relieved sigh, both out of realizing he wasn’t in danger and seeing the one person he was most worried about in this universe.

“Ototo-kun, don’t scare the shit out of me like that.” He breathed out softly.

Hiiro rushed over and embraced his brother harshly, almost squeezing the breath out of Rinne’s lungs at the force. Rinne took a moment to shut off the phone’s light and pocket it before returning the hug, albeit with just a touch less force. He felt Hiiro’s tears soak into his shirt before he heard the muffled whimpers. He ran his fingers gently through his little brother’s fluffy hair, shushing him soothingly.

“Shh, it’s okay, Hiiro…Ototo-kun, shh, don’t worry, your big bro is here.” Rinne whispered softly, tightening his hold on the younger.

It took a few moments for the whimpers to cease, the occasional sniffle being heard. The older brother was about to slacken his grip when an earthquake rocked the building. He instinctively wrapped his arms around his little brother’s head and pulled him closer, using his own body as a shield. The shaking subsided and some of the fluorescent light tubes flickered to life, the wires probably shifting from the earthquake.

He only released his hold on the other after the stillness lasted several more seconds, shifting his hands to rest on Hiiro’s shoulders. “It’s over…Look at me for a second.”

Hiiro dutifully did as he was told, albeit shakily and slowly. He was wearing black dress pants with a navy blue blazer fully buttoned over a creamy-beige sweater, black tie, and white button-up. Other than being dusty, he seemed okay. Rinne’s eyes landed on the other’s neck, spotting a small, dark bruise in the shape of a finger. He kept his anger in check as he began wiping away the tears still on his little brother’s face.

“I wanna go home…” Hiiro barely, but wetly muttered.

“We will…I have a few ideas on how we will do that, but we need more info. I need to explain a few things and ya need to tell me about your visions, okay? The more we know, the likelier we can stop more bad things from happening and get out of here sooner.” Rinne kept eye contact, giving a reassuring smile.

Hiiro nodded weakly. Rinne gave him a pat on both shoulders, “Let’s go back to the room I woke up in. We can sit there and talk.”

As he went to remove his hands, Hiiro grasped one of them in his own, lacing his fingers tightly and nearly gripping Rinne’s arm with his other. Rinne paused only briefly before lacing his fingers with Hiiro’s, too, grip tight but firm. He ruffled the younger’s hair before leading him back down the hall now partially lit by some working lights.

Normally, he would be trying to dissuade Hiiro from being so clingy with him. Right now, he wouldn’t even dare let go of the other. He wouldn’t admit to himself that he needed Hiiro’s presence just as much at that moment.

~*~

“…ru…n!” HiMERU could barely start to hear again.

“Hi…san!” He felt himself being shaken. That voice sounded oddly familiar.

“HiMERU-san! Wake up!” He forced himself to open his eyes, barely making out a greatly concerned Tatsumi in his vision.

“He’s awake, stop shaking him…” The blue-nette put a palm to his temple as he felt the beginnings of a migraine form.

The mint-haired idol gingerly helped the other sit up. Despite the relieved upturn of his lips, his tone betrayed his worry, “You were out for several minutes. I was worried you had a concussion.”

HiMERU scanned his surroundings to the best of his ability as his sight adjusted to the lack of light. They were in a very decrepit classroom. Half the floor on one side of the room had completely caved in while some holes in the wall were so deep they revealed the studs and old lath and plaster. He could hear the distinct sound of rain hitting the window panes. He felt his nose wrinkle at the smell of the place. Stale and cold. Mildewy, too.

“Damn Amagi being right,” HiMERU huffed, earning a gentle chuckle from the priest-idol.

He stopped rubbing his temple and blinked several times, “Where is Amagi? Or Ayase for that matter?”

What little serenity Tatsumi had faded immediately as he chewed his lower lip before answering, “I don’t know. I haven’t checked outside yet, so maybe there?”

“How have you not checked yet?” As much as he hated to admit it, he had to have Tatsumi help him stand back up, still feeling disorientated. Maybe he did hit his head.

Once the other was firmly standing, Tatsumi removed his hands to place on his hips, giving the other man a stern look, “Did you already forget that we aren’t supposed to separate for any reason?”

As much as he wanted to roll his eyes at how literal Tatsumi was taking the rule, there was a small bit of his mind that was relieved that the other didn’t just completely ignore the suggestions and wander off. Another portion was preoccupied with the inkling that Rinne had been right about potentially getting sent to different locations, especially if half of their group wasn’t in the same room.

“Anyways,” Tatsumi handed him a scrap of paper. HiMERU started at seeing it, looking at both of his hands before hesitatingly taking the scrap.

“How did he drop this already?”

“My guess is it was shortly after we landed here. I had just woken up and noticed you still passed out before I saw the paper nearly go off the edge,” Tatsumi gestured to the edge where the floor met the void a few feet away.

HiMERU dragged his eyes away from the edge to stare at the paper scrap, barely whispering out, “Thank you.”

“Certainly would’ve been a bad start otherwise,” Tatsumi gently smiled before pulling his blazer aside to reveal where his student ID card was tucked away in the pocket of his shirt, “I’d recommend putting it in the ID case and tucking it inside your clothes somewhere secure. Should keep it from falling out.”

“…Good call.” HiMERU took the other's advice and folded the scrap to slot inside the cardholder before unclipping it from his blazer and tucking it into his own shirt pocket, buttoning the pocket closed as extra security.

He was about to suggest they start looking when another, harsher throb of pain hit his temple. He nearly collapsed again if it weren’t for Tatsumi grabbing his arm and holding him upright. “Maybe HiMERU did hit his head…”

“We’ll have to find something to help with that. Since Aira-san foresaw himself near the infirmary, we should try going there. We can find some medication there and catch him, hopefully.” Tatsumi suggested.

“Not like we have anything else to do.” HiMERU began slowly making his way to the door before he stopped suddenly at hearing a hiss of pain.

He turned to see Tatsumi holding his knee. The other glanced up and waved away the apparent concern on his face, “I think I just landed on it wrong. It should be fine.”

“Tatsumi…” HiMERU felt the warning leave his lips before he could comprehend even thinking about it.

“It’s fine, HiMERU-san. I’ll walk it off.”

“Kazehaya. Tatsumi.” He spat out the harsher warning.

Lavender eyes turned downcast, not meeting citrine. HiMERU sighed to recompose himself, “Is it your bad leg?”

“…Yes.”

“…How long has the pain been going on?”

Tatsumi checked the watch the other didn’t realize he was wearing, on account of it being hidden under his sleeve. “…About ten minutes.”

He felt a sickening feeling gnaw at his mind, “How long was HiMERU out?”

“…About five minutes.”

HiMERU casted his eyes down to the floor. Leave it to Tatsumi to hide his pain. He muttered, “Why didn’t you-”

“I was worried about you, more. You hadn’t woken up at all and since I was awake the whole way here I-” Tatusmi stopped upon realizing his slipup.

“…You were awake the whole time? Because of your leg?” HiMERU shook his head in frustration. He took a few steps back.

“Hi-”

“Walk.” He waved a finger slowly towards himself as he commanded.

Tatsumi sighed before attempting to take a step. He attempted to hide the grimace and faltering of his steps as he put weight on the leg. He almost made it to HiMERU before the pain became too much, the other idol saving him from collapsing completely on the floor. HiMERU tsked, “You know, for someone not wanting to be a martyr, you have a real knack for becoming selfless to the detriment of your health.”

He didn’t expect the series of light laughter coming from the priest. In exasperation, he rolled his eyes, “What’s so funny?”

Tatsumi quieted his laughter some, “Sorry. Just got a flash of déjà vu. Reminded me of when you scolded me for discharging myself from the hospital so quickly after I collapsed from overworking myself. You said the same thing back then. I remember you were so mad you wouldn’t stop ranting at me for almost ten minutes straight. Though, I appreciate you being far more calmer this time around.”

HiMERU grew quiet, not meeting the other’s eyes as he remembered what that entity said on the phone. He whispered, “Some things never change.”

After one more chuckle, Tatsumi stood as best as he could, “Let’s get moving. The infirmary will probably have something I can use to make a splint to help out. What do you say? I’ll be your head and you’ll be my leg in the meantime?”

“Fair enough.”

HiMERU repositioned himself to have Tatsumi’s arm over his shoulders to support his bad leg. Once they made their way to the door and slid it open, both men gagged as they were met with a grisly sight.

Blood and gore painted the wall and floor directly in front of their room. The source was the upper half of a girl’s body, the lower half nowhere to be seen, at its base. It was partially decomposed as maggots had long since taken place where her eyes should have been.

HiMERU turned himself around to block Tatsumi’s view of the corpse, mouth instantly covered with one of his hands as he muffled, “Don’t look.”

Tatsumi squeezed his eyes shut before immediately darting his eyes to some other corner. HiMERU took a moment to look down each side of the hallway, being careful to not catch another glimpse of the scene behind him. He muttered as he tried not to gag at the smell, “There’s a gap in the floor that way. We might be able to jump it…”

He paused remembering Tatsumi’s condition, opting to point down the left side, “Forget it. We’ll start looking this way.”

He glanced up to see they had just left Class 2-A before helping Tatsumi down the hall, carefully avoiding the holes in the floor as they went. It wasn’t until they made it a few feet away that HiMERU realized they had no clue as to where the infirmary was located. Judging by some of the trees he could just make out from the windows in their starting room, he could tell they must have been at least on the second floor. Whose to say the infirmary was on their floor to begin with?

Tatsumi’s sudden stop pulled him from his thoughts. The priest held a finger to his lips before he pointed just a few feet away. There in the shadows, making its way towards them on the floor was a slightly transparent girl…but only her upper half. She looked like the corpse they saw just moments earlier. She seemed to be muttering something as her lips were moving, but they couldn’t make out exactly what.

Tatsumi reached into the pocket of his pants, partially pulling out something with beads as far as HiMERU could see from his position. He was about to ask what the other was doing before he finally could make out what the girl was saying.

“…My…legs…”

He hadn’t realized he took his eyes off her to stare at Tatsumi at that point. The blue-haired idol turned back to look at the ghost girl, as surely that was what she must have been. She spoke faster, “My legs…legs…legslegs…legslegslegsmylegsmylegs- GIVE THEM BACK!”

The ghost lunged for HiMERU with just the use of her arms, a crazed, bloodthirsty look in her eyes as she screeched for the return of her legs. Tatsumi yanked HiMERU back before presenting the beaded object, his rosary, in front of them, shouting “Vade retro, Satana!”

The ghost girl collapsed on the ground two feet away, screeching now in pain. Deftly, Tatsumi revealed a small bottle of clear liquid from his fist that held the rosary, uncapping it and flicking a few drops toward the ghost. They landed on her, and a sizzling noise was heard before she faded away completely, echoing screech fading to nothing.

Tatsumi breathed heavily before recapping the bottle and putting it and the rosary back in his pocket. HiMERU stared at him like he grew a second head, “What…was that?”

“Seemed the girl’s spirit was unable to move on, given how she died.”

“Not that! What you did!”

Tatsumi blinked in confusion momentarily, “Ah…right. I forgot I never told you the extent of what I was taught. I know some basic Latin and can repel more minor spirits…”

“…So you can exorcise spirits? Certainly a useful skill to have in this universe.” HiMERU vaguely remembered him talking about how religious Tatsumi was, but he supposed that even he didn’t know the full extent.

“Sort of. It’s more like keeping them at bay. An exorcism is a far more lengthy, complicated, and dangerous process, not to mention extremely tiring for both the host and the priest. So long as I have a holy artifact or some holy water, I can manage lesser spirits, though I doubt its effectiveness on anything stronger.”

“…So that ghost could come back?” HiMERU eyeballed between where the ghost vanished and towards the other end of the hall where her corpse was found.

“Given that this must be some sort of spiritual purgatory, I’d imagine so…” Tatsumi had a strange, far-off look again.

HiMERU thought for a moment before tentatively prodding, “Something’s on your mind.”

“…She was so young…Her uniform…she must have been just a little younger than Aira-san…still in middle school…” Tatsumi’s eyes turned misty as he pressed a knuckle lightly to his lips.

The other idol could understand why the thought bothered him. Such a young kid, finding what seemed to be a harmless friendship charm and innocently wanting to do it with her friends that she cherished enough to wish to do something like that with…only to end up here, dying in such a brutal, horrible way alone. They only knew this would happen due to their circumstances. Her? She had no clue this would happen. For a spiritual man like Tatsumi, HiMERU could only imagine the sympathy he must be feeling and the sadness of seeing such a young girl become so malicious as a spirit.

“…While HiMERU does not wish to sound cold or callous-”

“I know,” Tatsumi beat the other to it, “We have our own to worry about…Besides…this is just another dimension, another universe…To us, ultimately, none of this is real…”

HiMERU didn’t quite know how to answer that. Was all of this truly not real, in the end? Granted, this is only possible with their subconsciouses having been partially separated, and their bodies are just fine in their universe. But…wouldn’t what they experience, see, feel, and do all real? Surely, their minds will remember all this, even if there is no evidence of it physically. Were they all supposed to pretend that this was all just one bad dream? Then again, while becoming too emotionally invested in an alternate universe would be foolish, becoming too callous and indifferent, surely, was just as foolish, if only for a different reason.

Tatsumi snapped his fingers in front of the other’s face, “HiMERU-san.~ You spaced out on me. I hope my words didn’t just make you have an existential crisis.”

Citrine eyes blinked in surprise before becoming slightly annoyed, a hand shooing the other’s out of his face, “Then if he did, he can blame it on you.”

Tatsumi breathily chuckled before getting abruptly cut off by the school shaking. An earthquake, it appears, hit, making the two men stumble, but otherwise stay on their feet. There was a loud clang from somewhere down the hall followed by a shout. When everything settled and stilled, they could hear a faint groan and complaint of “Damn it…”

HiMERU perked up at the voice, “That sounded like Oukawa…”

The two approached the door to Class 2-B. Upon opening it, they were met with a frightened, but still angry-sounding voice, “Wh-who’s there!?”

“Kohaku-san? Is that you?” Tatsumi called out before entering, eyes lighting up upon seeing the pink-haired teenager.

“Tatsumi-han? Thank fuck!”

HiMERU stepped in, “Oukawa, watch the language.”

“HiMERU-han, too!?” Kohaku called out from the front of the class, his leg stuck in some floorboards.

“Are you alright?” Tatsumi broke away from HiMERU to try and reach Kohaku sooner, but that proved to be a mistake as HiMERU had to catch him again before the troubled leg gave out a few steps away.

“I’d ask ya two ta’ same thin’. What happened?” Kohaku glanced between the two, “An’ why is part o’ yer hair purple, HiMERU-han?”

“…Purple?” HiMERU questioned as they finally approached the teen. His leg was stuck halfway up his shin in the floor, presumably when he backed up away from a fallen desk during the earthquake.

Kohaku gestured to the side of his face. Tatsumi turned and let out an underwhelming surprised sound, “Ah, it appears so. Both HiMERU-san and I had a harsh landing.”

Tatsumi went to brush the hair aside and choked back a gasp at the large gash hidden by HiMERU’s hair, still bleeding albeit it was showing signs of clotting. “That would explain your headaches, HiMERU-san.”

“…How bad?” HiMERU glanced between the two idols.

“Pretty bad, even from here.” Kohaku leaned back from his seat on the floor, “How do ya not feel that?”

Tatsumi had the other sit down, his own leg now feeling good enough to not need constant support. He knelt down to investigate Kohaku’s situation, grimacing at his findings, “The wood isn’t budging that easily. If we had a crowbar we might be able to dig you out by breaking the boards more.”

“Can’t ta’ both of ya do somethin’?” Kohaku raised an eyebrow.

“…Maybe?” Tatsumi looked at the older idol with a questioning look.

HiMERU scooted over to try and help Tatsumi pry a board away far enough for Kohaku to slip his leg out. However, when he tried to apply more force, his wound caused a severe throbbing, forcing him to stop and hiss in pain. Tatsumi shook his head, “That’s not going to happen.”

Kohaku tried pulling his leg again only to be met with a strangled grunt. HiMERU put a hand on the other’s knee to stop him, “Oukawa, the wood is digging into your shin. If you pull anymore, it’s going to cause an injury.”

“An’ if I don’t, I’m stuck here!” The youngest spat though he quickly lowered his head in apology upon the stern look his unit mate gave him.

“Let me check the room. See if there’s something like a crowbar we can use.” Tatsumi stood back up, wincing as he added more weight to his leg than he meant to. Kohaku gave HiMERU a raised eyebrow in question towards Tatsumi, only earning a small sigh and a shake of the head in answer.

Tatsumi came back after checking the cabinet behind them and a few of the desks to see if they could maybe get a metal leg to use. Unfortunately, his search yielded nothing. HiMERU sighed, “The only thing HiMERU can think of is to find some pain killers at the infirmary, wherever it may be. If not those, at least getting to Shiratori first will ensure there is another person to help free Oukawa.”

Kohaku glared at his leg before a thought came to him. “There’s a medical kit in 2-C. Looks new…”

Tatsumi tilted his head, “This school was torn down in the 70s, I doubt any meds from either the infirmary or a medical kit won’t be at least expired. It won’t be as effective, but it would be better than nothing.”

“Nah, t’was fer sure new…t’was on a…fresh body…” Kohaku stared at the floor away from the two men in front of him.

The two men grimaced at the thought. After another pause, HiMERU cautiously stood up, “Might as well go and get it. Once HiMERU has some pain meds and bandages, we’ll just need to wait a few minutes for it to kick in to try and free you.”

Tatsumi grabbed his wrist, “You realize we can’t leave him alone.”

“Neither can just one of us go and get the medical kit.”

“At least let me go get it. I can protect myself just fine despite my leg. You can barely stand upright without help.” Tatsumi glared disapprovingly.

“And if you run into a stronger spirit? Besides, you go, and Oukawa and HiMERU don’t have any protection in case a spirit comes to us.” HiMERU crossed his arms, returning the same glare.

Before they could bicker, Kohaku cut in, “It really isn’t tha’ far. Just next door. Ta’ med kit is just inside ta’ room. Should take no more than five minutes ta get it an’ come back.”

Tatsumi sighed as he pulled out his rosary and holy water, making HiMERU take the items in his hand, “Hang on to these. If a spirit does come, just repeat what I said earlier, ‘vade retro, satana’, then sprinkle a few drops of water onto it to repel.”

“So you’re going to leave with nothing!?” HiMERU didn’t mean to raise his voice.

“Not nothing,” Tatsumi pulled back the other side of his blazer to reveal a silver cross pinned to the clothing, “I still have this. It will protect me while I’m briefly gone.”

HiMERU pulled Tatsumi aside and spoke in a hushed whisper, “Are you serious right now?”

“You’re in no condition to fend for yourself if you are caught unaware or unprepared out there. At least with me-” Tatsumi returned the hushed whisper before getting cut off.

“Tatsumi, that rosary. This belonged to your father, correct?” HiMERU immediately remembered him telling him about how Tatsumi always carried his family’s rosary everywhere and never let it out of his sight. He could feel the alternating beads of turquoise and carved, polished wood weighing heavily in his hand, “Why are you parting with this so easily?”

Tatsumi bit his lip, his eyes refusing to meet HiMERU’s. The other idol glared at the priest, “There’s something you’re holding back, isn’t there?”

He remained silent before barely whispering out, “I wasn’t fully honest about those visions…”

HiMERU narrowed his eyes at the other, “What did you not tell him that night?”

“…There were two sets of visions with the collapsing floor. One where Kohaku-san fell with me and another…was you in his place. But they both played out similarly…with me and either you or him falling to our deaths, as well as me being injured by the time I entered that room.”

HiMERU stayed quiet until an accusation left his lips, “So you’re running away because you think you will cause one of our deaths?”

“No...no. There was another set of visions; one of me getting my arm broken by a spirit in 2-C and the other leaving that room unharmed. With both of those visions sets in mind…I’m thinking that the best way for all three of us to survive that encounter is for me to play my cards right in 2-C and not end up injured.”

“Or to not go in there at all.” HiMERU hissed.

“Trust me, HiMERU-san. I’ve been thinking about this ever since I talked with you and Koga-san that night. It doesn’t matter, I’m going to end up alone in that room one way or another at some point, and I refuse to let you get hurt because I’m too scared…” Tatsumi trailed off, biting his lip to recompose himself, “…I may not want to be a martyr, but given the situation we are forced into I’m willing to become that if it means the ones I care about survive, even if I’m deathly afraid of dying, albeit temporarily.”

HiMERU wanted to curse out the priest for being so damn selfless, for being a damn hypocrite as he sensed Tatsumi still was not telling him everything. Where was this kind of attitude during the situation at Reimei? Yet, something deep within himself knew that the other was right. As much as he or anyone else would like to help prevent these tragedies, perhaps there were some where there was no way other than the involved individual could change the outcome. Didn’t mean he trusted the priest whatsoever to not get himself into trouble.

Despite that, he realized he had to trust Tatsumi. He had to trust that the other was capable of navigating this on his own. He had to trust that Tatsumi would be alright.

With a long, slow exhale, HiMERU waved a finger silently at the other, “…Five minutes. No more.”

“I won’t need longer,” Tatsumi whispered back, giving the other a reassuring squeeze of the hand before leaving the room.

HiMERU sat back down with Kohaku, the latter giving him a curious glance before asking, “What was tha’ all ‘bout?”

The elder of the two sighed after a moment, “It’s a long story.”

~*~

Tatsumi managed to get to the door of 2-C within a minute, the pain in his leg having subsided greatly, though whether that was due to the adrenaline starting to work its magic or it was getting better he didn’t pause to think about. Sliding the door open, he spotted the body straight ahead with the med kit just a few feet away. The room only had one door at the front of the classroom with several cabinets lining the wall. Tatsumi eyed the cabinet closest to the door wearily.

He took a deep, steadying breath before speeding as quickly as he could into the room and grabbed the med kit. On his way back to the door, he heard the groaning of a ghost, as he expected. He whirled around and, without hesitation, presented his cross, cutting off the monologue the ghost would have begun in his vision. The cross alone seemed to be strong enough to repel the ghost on its own as it began to shake violently before pausing mid-fade as if it were frozen.

…That didn’t occur in any of my visions.

“Do you like the change?”

Tatsumi spun his head around the room upon hearing the entity’s voice, gritting his teeth, “So, what do you have planned this time? Or do you want to antagonize or threaten me like the others?”

“Hehehe…as I’ve told others, you have a role to play. Can’t have him give you all the ways to break the narrative.”

“Who? The second voice Amagi-san talked about? The one that tried to warn Mayoi-san when we were in the liminal space at first?” Tatsumi grew angry.

“Yes, yes, and the same one that warned you in your dreams about entering the liminal space to begin with. Not like it matters now since he is powerless to assist you otherwise.”

Tatsumi wryly grinned, “Oh? So giving us warnings about what’s to come is powerless? That must be quite something to see him in his full glory.”

“It’s the absolute most he can do at the moment, even then, those visions were merely fragments and not the full picture. Though, it is quite interesting to see how you managed to have a fuller picture of events in this world compared to others.”

“Ah, so you heard my conversation with HiMERU-san, then? And here I thought you would be leaving us to our own devices once we entered.”

“While it’s true I can’t be here watching you and out there watching ES at the same time, I do have my ways around that. I have someone I’d like you to meet.”

A figure stepped out from the shadows behind the frozen ghost, heavy leather boots making loud clunking noises on the wood. Tatsumi did a double take at the figure, having not seen it at all when he first entered. It certainly looked human. It was covered head to toe in black, the leather straps nearly everywhere glared in the dim light as did the several daggers in their holsters. It was hooded and the face was covered in a white mask. The eye holes were so black Tatsumi couldn’t tell if there were eyes behind them at all. Black lines trailed down from the eye holes like black tears all the way down to the bottom edge. The mouth area had only four black, vertical slots. It didn’t make a sound as it bore holes into Tatsumi’s soul, crossing its arms and leaning back as if it were bored. Otherwise, no emotions could be perceived or felt by it.

“I’d like you to meet my assistant. They will be keeping an eye on all of you whenever I can’t. As well ensure things run according to plan when needed.”

Tatsumi glared at the Assistant, not taking his eyes off them as he asked, “Why show your hand like this? Wouldn’t it have been more beneficial to not reveal you had an extra pair of eyes so soon?”

The voice darkly laughed, “Who said you would be getting that information to your friends anytime soon?”

The classroom shook slightly as a faint boom of an earthquake struck the dimension again. Tatsumi kept his gaze on the figure as he slowly started to step back towards the door.

“Don’t think you’re going to leave anytime soon. My assistant needs a practice dummy for a lesson I need to teach them. And you so happen to be in the right place at the right time.”

Tatsumi gritted his teeth into a snarl as he darted his eyes around. He froze when he realized he was beside the one cabinet he was weary of before entering the room. Gathering his courage, he took the last few steps back and tried to move the door, not letting the figure, who was still leaning on the far wall, out of his sight.

The door refused to open. Tatsumi felt his body become doused in a cold sweat.

“Now then, my assistant, it’s time to teach you how to channel my power. First, let’s start with getting your target back into position. Raise your hand in the air, palm towards you, and channel the darkness all around you. Even in the light, there will always be a shadow somewhere.”

The Assistant did as they were told. Tendril-like shadows streamed around their raised hand like a smokey mist.

“Ah, you are quite good at that! Now, let’s move your target back in front of that cabinet and keep him there. Direct your hand towards him and make a motion to grab him, then pull him to where he needs to be. Don’t let your hand go.”

The Assistant slowly directed their hand, palm facing outwards, towards Tatsumi. The shadowy tendrils extended beyond their hand, stopping mere centimeters from Tatsumi’s body. As much as he wanted to run, he found his feet were rooted to the ground in fear. There was a split second before they closed their hand, causing the tendrils to grab hold of Tatsumi. The Assistant roughly moved their hand to where they were aiming, causing the shadowy tendrils to yank the priest onto and across the floor harshly, knocking the wind out of him.

“Very good! Such a natural talent you have! Now, use your other hand to channel more darkness and direct it towards the cabinet. Make it slam on top of the man and hold it there. Only then can you let him go.”

Tatsumi’s eyes widened in terror. He struggled against the shadowy tendrils, thrashing as he poured every last bit of his strength into removing them. They refused to release him. When the Assistant was done channeling, they quickly slammed the cabinet down onto Tatsumi, releasing their hold on him only after he was securely under the furniture.

Tatsumi hacked up some blood as he felt his ribcage get compressed, for sure breaking a few of his ribs. One of his arms was pinned while the other was outstretched in front of him, sparing it from a crushing fate.

This is worse than what happened in those visions! If I have broken ribs, too, then…

“Precisely, young man. Your fate is sealed. Now, will you go down on your own, or will you want to have company when your time is up?”

Tatsumi hissed as he felt the cabinet get pushed down even more by the Assistant. He barked out, “I will not hurt my friends! If I die, then I will make sure God will protect them from any more harm by those in this school or by some entity who wishes to play God!”

“Which god? Yours? He has no power in this universe, much less in my realm. Observe. Assistant! Break his arm!”

The Assistant increased the force on the cabinet, making Tatsumi’s pinned arm break with a sickening crack. Tatsumi cried out in pain before hacking up more blood. Still, he growled out, “Go ahead! Break me all you like! I will still defy you no matter how many universes we go through!”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that. I’ll let you in on a little secret. This whole exchange? No one knows it’s happening. Those in ES are only seeing that you left your friends and disappeared before going to check on others. The only ones who know about this are you, me, and my assistant. And I’m going to make sure you can’t let your friends in on this juicy little bit of knowledge until I allow it. When you reunite with those two, you’ll find you are unable to control what you are saying. After you die here, I’ll make sure you either are alone or you die so quickly and early you won’t even get a chance to share what you know with others. You are going to be me and my assistant’s little practice dummy until we are ready. Understood?”

Tatsumi let the blood build up in his mouth before he tried his hardest to spit it at the Assistant, for lack of being able to go after the disembodied voice. He managed to spray a line of red across the Assistant’s mask, though the Assistant didn’t budge nor showed any physical indication of emotion.

“Now, that wasn’t nice. I was going to have my assistant release you and be on your merry way, but after that little display, I’ll let them decide what to do with you. If you die now, then you’ll surely be able to save your friends from that fate you so badly want to avoid! Though, I can’t guarantee it won’t be a pretty or clean way to go.”

The Assistant slowly and methodically approached the trapped idol, boots sounding heavy as they approached. It crouched down and pulled Tatsumi’s face to look up to theirs by his chin. It stared for several seconds before a nearly imperceivable tilt of its head was noticed by Tatsumi. After another few seconds, the Assistant dropped their hold on the other, completely lacking any care, and lifted the cabinet off of him.

Had Tatsumi been in better shape, he would have attacked the masked…thing. As much as his mind wanted to say it was most definitely a person, after seeing and being through what he had so far, he couldn’t bring himself to believe that entirely. He hacked up some more blood before attempting to lift himself with his one good arm shakily. He hissed and groaned in pain as the movement made his broken arm and ribs scream in agony.

“Hmm, letting him go that easily?”

The Assistant didn’t say anything but went back to lean against the far wall.

The voice still responded, “True. This universe will see to his demise shortly. Besides, we will have all the time we wish to spend with him after. We’ve kept you long enough. Do try to make this entertaining.”

With that, the voice ceased and the Assistant vanished into the shadows, time now resuming as the ghost finished fading away. Tatsumi weakly managed to get on his knees before placing a firm hold on his broken upper arm in an attempt to restrain extra movement from causing more pain. He wheezed heavily, blood still dripping from the corner of his mouth. His next words took all of his strength to form, “I’m…sorry…HiMERU-san. Looks like…I won’t…be with…you all…at the end…I’ll still…try my hardest…to save you both…that promise…I will keep.”

~*~

“Well, talk about a fucked up situation.” Niki shined his phone’s light over some cabinets, finding nothing but materials. The whole room was like that, so perhaps it was a storage unit of some sort. Some dust settled onto him, causing him to pause in his search to brush it off.

“I’ll say. I’ll admit, didn’t expect the first universe to involve the occult right off, but should have guessed it would happen at some point. Man, I wish Makoto was here; he’s better at this sort of stuff.” Mao flashed his own phone light through a cabinet, finding a pair of scissors, an ax, and a screwdriver that all had rusty-red splotches covering them. He shuddered at the thought of what those splotches were originally. He wore a desaturated red blazer, unbuttoned, over a magenta hoodie, white button-up, and black tie. His white dress pants were covered in grime already, and they barely had a chance to wander around.

Niki woke up to find he and Mao, who logically shouldn’t be there considering they went to different schools in this universe, were in some sort of art room. They had barely gathered their wits and tried to leave when they were met with three skeletal remains outside of the art room, all of which looked like they had been stabbed to death with various sculpting tools. One even had a chisel sticking right out of its skull, causing Mao to start having a panic attack, which led to Niki leading him away from there and into this storage room both as an excuse to look for anything useful and to calm down the other teen.

Well, the latter of that was successful. Niki sighed in defeat, “I got nothing.”

Mao shook his head before squatting after spotting a paper on the ground, “Same here…Ah, wait a second.”

“Hmm?” Niki moved to be beside the other teen to peek at what the other found, “A newspaper?”

“Well, a scrap of one, anyway. Something from ‘Heavenly Post’? A good portion of the article is here, but not the whole thing.” Mao shined his light on the paper to read the faded print.

'Breaking News: Serial Kidnapping Ends In Murder'

The good name of Heavenly Host Elementary School has been stained in blood today as horrific details on the recent wave of disappearances are revealed. Over the past month, numerous children have gone missing within the town, and authorities quickly turned to kidnapping as the most likely explanation. Now investigators have located the whereabouts of these children, and their findings are far worse than anyone could've anticipated. The bodies of the absconded youths were discovered within the Heavenly Host Elementary School building on September 18th, 1973 at around 7:00 PM. Authorities further revealed that a male instructor from the school was found with them, alive but near-catatonic, holding a pair of bloodied scissors. Each of the corpses appeared to have had its tongue sev__ed and remove_________________ique mutilations far too grot___________________g to describe.

“How horrible,” Niki started, “But…wait a minute, I know that school. It was torn down almost 50 years ago, according to Mayo-chan. My current school is on that property now.”

Niki winced as a brief, but sharp pain rattled his head. “Ow…”

“Are you okay, Shiina-senpai?”

“Yeah, just a weird headache.”

Mao was quiet a moment, “Does that happen when you’re remembering details or things about the others dealing with this universe?”

Niki blinked in surprise, “Uh, yeah, come to think of it. Ototo-san, Aira-san, and Kohaku-chan were getting them, too.”

“Same with Subaru and Hokuto.” Mao stood back up.

“Maybe a side effect of jumping into an alternate universe?” Niki shrugged.

“Maybe…” Mao pondered a moment, “Aside from that, considering everything so far, it’s probably a safe bet to assume that this is Heavenly Host Elementary in some sort of capacity. Doing that ritual seems to actually drag people to this school, or at least a rendition of it.”

“Like an alternate universe within an alternate universe? I already feel another headache coming on.” Niki rubbed his temples.

“From our perspective, yes. Taking into account that the occult is involved, it can be deduced that this reality of the school has a supernatural origin, possibly due to these murders,” Mao tapped the newspaper article.

“So…vengeful kid ghosts?”

Mao’s eyes darted to the door before reaching a hand to gingerly touch his neck, “…Considering the…skeletons…yes.”

“Okay…but the charm we did was called ‘Sachiko Ever After’, so whose ‘Sachiko’? Was she one of the murdered kids? Wouldn’t all three of them be involved in the charm if their ghosts were what made this alternate version of the school they died in?”

Mao pursed his lips, “I’m not sure. We don’t know anything specific other than what the article told us.”

Niki heaved a great sigh, “Sounds like a classic horror scenario. Find out more about the haunted place, appease the ghost or multiple ghosts who have a sad, tragic backstory, and then escape. Hopefully, we make it out with our whole group and not like in classic horror where only one or a small handful survive.”

“God…I don’t do well with horror.” Mao sighed exasperatedly.

“Maybe that’s why the thing picked you. Figured it’d be easy pickings.” Niki poked the younger teen in the shoulder.

“Wh-Hey! Don’t poke me! You’re probably in the same boat as me!” Mao poked Niki back.

“Nyahaha! Nah, that’s totally Kohaku-chan! I at least know when to get outta dodge! Hahaha….ha…I hope he’s okay…” Niki, once boastful, grew sullen, cheeky grin fading to a saddened frown.

“…As much as I’d like to think Hokuto and Subaru will be fine, I worry, too. Especially if those two are by themselves together, without anyone to mediate when they bicker too much.” Mao shuffled his feet.

“So! Guess we need to keep looking around! We gotta find people and keep looking for clues!” Niki held an open palm in the air for the other to high-five.

“Hehe, yeah!” Mao returned the gesture now in far better spirits.

Finding nothing of use in the storage room, Niki slowly slid open the door, checking left and right before fully stepping out and gesturing for Mao to follow him. Going down the hall, they passed a girl’s bathroom. Deciding to check it out in case there were any newspapers about the school or one of their friends were in there, Niki cautiously lit the room up with his phone’s light before even thinking about taking a step into there. From his position and the light, he could see there were definitely no newspapers nor their friends…but each stall had a body hanging from a noose.

Suppressing a shiver, Niki shook his head and motioned for Mao to follow him, away from that sight. As much as he appreciated the other was trying to keep a level head, he wanted to spare him from seeing that. Further along, they came across a set of stairs leading down a level. On the landing just before getting to the next floor, there was another body, fresher than the skeletons, of what appeared to be a male student. His ID card had extra writing on the back of it, detailing how the tendons in his ankles had been cut and he slowly bled to death as he tried to crawl away.

“That’s sick…who would write such a thing?” Mao covered his mouth, gagging slightly at the smell of rotting flesh.

Niki delicately took Mao by the wrist the rest of the way, occasionally looking over his shoulder to check on the younger as they made their way down the hall. Upon getting past the boy’s bathroom, which held nothing significant, they came across a spacious entryway that led outside. Peering out the stained window on the upper part of the door revealed an outdoor walkway that led to another part of the school.

“Hey, what’s this?” Mao leaned down near one of the corners beside a few tables, some of which had fallen on their sides.

Niki came over to examine Mao’s find. It was a notebook, very girly and frilly. “A student notebook?”

Flipping the pages revealed that it belonged to some girl named Naho Saenoki, a teenager at Paulownia Academy High School and a paranormalist. Most of the writings pertained to future posts for her blog, though the later entries were of peculiar interest, as they involved Heavenly Host. It seemed to be talking about the “Sachiko Ever After Charm” and her investigation of the “Shinozaki Estate.” It also mentioned some author she was fond of and how she wanted to help his career.

“Is it referring to the ‘Sachiko Ever After Charm’?” Niki tapped the portion about a “method of ingress”.

“Maybe? If so, then the ‘method of egress’ would mean she knew potentially how to leave.” Mao thumbed past the page, only to find the remaining pages had been torn out.

“Damn, if she did, it’s gone now.” Niki sighed.

Mao remained quiet, a pondering look in his eyes as he flipped back to the other page. He traced a finger over the name “Shinozaki” before muttering, “Just what does this name have to do with Heavenly Host?”

Niki paused, thinking before he spoke, “…Maybe one of the children who died had the name of Shinozaki?”

Mao pursed his lips in thought, “…Maybe one of the children was named Sachiko…Shinozaki…?”

Tapping his chin, Niki spoke, “It would make sense why a charm with her name would bring people to this school if she was a victim.”

Mao stood, pocketing the notebook into his shirt pocket. “How much do you bet the pages were torn after she came here?”

“So…a scavenger hunt? Do we really need to chase those papers down?”

“If they hold instructions on how to escape from here, then yes. Judging by her writing style, she seems to be the type of person to keep detailed records, so she must have written it down at some point.” Mao turned towards Niki, giving the most positive smile the older had seen on him since…well since before the entity decided to play games with them.

The grey-haired idol was about to suggest exploring the rest of this floor before checking out the rest of the school via the walkway when they heard screams and moaning from down the hall. Thudding from something big followed the screams, and it was heading in their direction. Thinking quickly, Niki pushed Mao towards the tables.

“Quick, move this table in front of this one! We’ll make a hidden cubby for ourselves!” He hurriedly whispered to the other.

The two silently moved the table and hid behind it and under another. It was a tight fit, but it kept them hidden so long as they were quiet. The opening was facing the wall nearest the door and wouldn’t reveal them to the hallway. A small crack allowed a view of the entryway and hallway at eye level.

A group of three students, two girls and a boy, ran past them, screaming and crying. A fourth student, a male, lagged behind the group and was quickly smashed down to the floor by a large sledgehammer in the leg with a sickening crack. The wielder of said sledgehammer was a grey-skinned, bloody-eyed, tall man of a large figure. He groaned as he raised his weapon above his head, readying another strike at the unfortunate victim. Mao had shut his eyes tight after the student was first hit, but Niki quickly placed his hands over the younger teen’s ears before the sledgehammer came back down, smashing the student’s pelvis. He tried to mentally block out the teenager’s screams and the sickening sounds of bones and viscera getting smashed. Two more strikes and the beast of a man walked away down the hall, presumably going after the other three students.

Niki waited a few more seconds before removing his hands and tapping Mao on the shoulders. Mao slowly blinked a few times, tears beginning to prick the corners of his eyes. Niki gestured to the door leading outside and to the other part of the school, the younger not arguing against the silent suggestion.

~*~

Hokuto held Subaru’s hand as they walked down the halls, having left Classroom 2-A and seeing no one for the past 10 minutes, even checking all the other rooms available to them. They already received a rude awakening in the form of a ghost hovering over its dead body that told them the nature of this school. A nexus of multiple alternate dimensions on top of each other composed this school, and it seemed to be impossible to jump to another alternate dimension or leave at all. People could be in the same area but may not ever see each other due to the different dimensions. Occasionally, they might hear someone, but it could never be certain if the voice is from the past, present, or future dimensions. Anyone who dies inside these walls is forever trapped here in the afterlife, feeling all the pain they endured before they died for all eternity.

And they were the only two living souls in this version of the school, or as the ghost seemed to suggest. Still, the duo refused to believe they were completely alone with no way to find the others.

Shortly after, the ghost faded quickly as it was spooked by another ghost, a young girl in a red dress, that gave off a dangerous air, causing them to run out of the room. They later came across Classroom 2-C, choosing to enter since there was a large gap in the floor that prevented them from going further unless they cut through that room and went out the second door on the other side. When they entered, several chairs and desks were piled haphazardly to one side. A body, partially skeletonized, was spread out on the floor, a newspaper and words carved into the floorboards with their fingernails near the body.

“‘Don’t read the newspaper’?” Hokuto read the warning aloud.

“Huh? This one?” Subaru held up the newspaper in question.

“S-stupid Akehoshi! Don’t touch that!” Hokuto tried snatching the paper away from the ginger.

“C’mon, aren’t ya a little curious?” Subaru teased.

“There is something not right about this room and someone clearly died in here and tried to warn us and other people about not reading that! What if it somehow led to their death?!” The raven-haired teen nearly tackled the other.

“C’mon, just one little peek?” Subaru gave his best puppy dog eyes, “Besides, we’ve nearly checked every room on this floor and haven’t found anything yet. What if it gives us at least a clue?”

Hokuto huffed and crossed his arms, “Fine. But only a little bit.”

Subaru read the brief bit of the one article available, the rest of the paper having faded to a harsh yellow and the ink long gone due to age. It detailed the news of serial kidnappings ending in murder at the school, with three of the four children involved having died at the hands of the male instructor, Yoshikazu Yanagihori, found with them. The fourth lived and became a witness in the trial against the man. They noticed four names scribbled on the side, presumably by another victim.

Ryou Yoshizawa.

Tokiko Tsuji.

Yuki Kanno.

Sachiko Shinozaki.

“Hmm? Wasn’t the charm we did called ‘Sachiko Ever After’?” Subaru tilted his head at the names.

“…Maybe she was the one who survived?” Hokuto narrowed his eyes at the pictures of the kids on the side. Three were legible, while the fourth was cut off just above where her hair began.

A loud thunk resounded from behind the duo. Turning around, they spotted that both doors to the classroom had slammed shut. Hokuto dashed over to one of the doors and pulled with all his might. It refused to budge as if it was merely a decoration and not actually usable in any capacity.

Subaru yelped, causing the leader of Trickstar to quickly turn back. The idol had dropped the newspaper they had initially read, the article now having been written over in red reading “You will never leave this room.”

“Wh-wha-I-I didn’t do that!” Subaru trembled.

“Akehoshi! Try the other door!”

Spurring to action, the initially frozen Subaru ran to the other door, only to be met with the same immovable problem. The two began searching around the room for anything to help them escape, whether it was a physical item or potentially another article or paper. The only thing Hokuto found was the dead person’s ID card, detailing how they starved to death on the back of it. He refused to show Subaru.

After nearly turning the whole room upside down after five minutes, Hokuto rounded on the other, “Ugh! There’s no way out! This is all your fault, Akehoshi!”

Subaru turned, startled by the outburst, “Wha-How? What did I do?”

“You insisted on reading that newspaper even though there was clearly a warning about it! After reading it, the doors are now locked or whatever and we can’t leave! I told you not to read the damn thing!”

“I asked! You said we could! Besides, how does reading a newspaper somehow lock the doors!?” Subaru shouted back.

“Just, never mind! Forget it!” Hokuto growled. He let his frustration out by throwing a chair at one of the windows, thinking it would break. It bounced off it, and the small crack that was in the glass repaired itself.

There was a rattling noise on the other side of both doors. The two teens stayed still staring at both doors as if something was going to come in. When nothing did, Hokuto hesitatingly neared one of them, now able to open it with ease.

Subaru weakly whispered, “I would say ‘I told you so’, but I’m freaked out at how convenient that all was…”

Hokuto grimaced, staying still. Subaru came to stand beside him, returning to hold the other’s hand, though whether he was slow about it because he was frightened or due to their brief spat, the other wasn’t sure. He laced his fingers tightly with the other, throwing an apologetic look Subaru’s way, who smiled gently in return.

Creeping out into the hall, they were met with a choice: go up the stairs to their left, or continue down the hall to their right. Subaru gently pulled the other towards the stairs, eyeing the hallway with a certain unease. Hokuto caught the stare, “Is there something wrong?”

“I don’t know…for some reason I’m getting bad vibes from over that way. Can we check the stairs first before trying…whatever could be down there?” Subaru became more insistent on his tugging.

“O-okay…?” Hokuto moved along with the other.

Upstairs hardly held much to note, consisting of just a small hall that led to a girl's and boy's bathroom. There was another skeleton, appearing to be a younger girl, and a note detailing her last thoughts. Her tendons in her ankles had been cut and she was waiting for her sister to come back with help so they could escape. She had been pain the whole time, and wrote how she at least wouldn’t keep feeling this pain once she died. The two teens winced and felt their hearts drop at that sentence, knowing that death would not mean an end to a person’s suffering in this dimension.

Upon going back downstairs, Hokuto’s foot stepped on a particularly rotten floorboard. It gave way, causing him to stumble and fall forward. Had it happened sooner or had he been going faster, he likely would have fallen down the last portion of the stairs. He let out a sharp hiss of pain as he felt a tense throbbing in his ankle.

“Hokke! Are you okay?” Subaru reached down to pick the other up.

“I think so,” Hokuto tried putting weight on his throbbing ankle before another wave of pain coursed through his leg, nearly buckling if it weren’t for Subaru’s quick catch, “Nope! Never mind.”

Subaru forced Hokuto to sit on the steps while he took a look at his ankle. “That’s a pretty bad sprain…I think I saw a sign that said the infirmary was nearby. Probably down that hall…”

“I doubt there’s anything not expired there as far as pain medication goes, Akehoshi.” Hokuto tried standing up, though, without Subaru’s help, it was proving to be a near-impossible challenge.

“W-what about something to make a splint? I could probably make something to at least help keep the weight off it for a bit!” Subaru gripped the other’s shoulders when he tried to stand, concern lacing his face.

Hokuto sighed, “Better than nothing, I suppose.”

Subaru helped the other stand, keeping an arm wrapped around his middle while having one of Hokuto’s arms over his shoulder. They made their way back to the crossways and began going down the unknown hall, a sign on the wall confirming what Subaru saw as directions to the infirmary. They passed a science room, though they were too focused on getting to the infirmary to check if it was unlocked or not.

They rounded a narrow corner before they heard a squish noise coming from below their feet. Hokuto looked down before recoiling in disgust and terror at seeing he had stepped on what looked to be part of an organ, a strangled scream leaving his lips. Subaru yanked him over to the untouched flooring ahead of them, but it gave them the unfortunate front-row seat to stare in horror at the bloody, viscera-covered wall and floor in front of them. Subaru let out his own screech followed shortly by a muffled gag. The most unnerving part of this is that there was no sign of bugs or even a smell of rotting flesh or decay; this was fresh.

“Wh-what the hell…?” Subaru asked from around his hand as he stared in horror.

“Akehoshi…” Hokuto leaned further into the other, a hand also over his mouth, “Let’s keep moving…I don’t want to keep staring…”

“R-right…Let’s go find that infirmary.” While they were now facing and walking away from the carnage, its image had already seared into their minds.

Further down, they finally found the door to the infirmary. Subaru led the way in, keeping his hold on his friend tight as he scanned for a place for him to sit. This room was surprisingly in far better condition than the rest of the school…well, at least there were only a few small holes in the floor and the walls looked cleaner. A few cabinets with medical supplies were on either side of a desk with a lamp and some paper. Just to their left from the door lay two beds, which Subaru took no time in bringing Hokuto over and gently getting him to sit on one of them.

Hokuto attempted to keep his hands still, even when they started to reach out to Subaru as he turned away. He would be fine. He’s just going a few steps away to check for supplies that could help. He can still see him. It’s not like he was missing the comfort of his warming touch or closeness. He refused to recognize that.

Subaru rummaged around before finding an old-looking ankle splint. “Guess I won’t need to create one if this will work.”

The ginger idol came back and tenderly prepared Hokuto’s ankle, tightening the straps to secure it before putting his shoe back on, “I’m afraid there isn’t any ice, but maybe we could see about painkillers if there are any still useable.”

The other sighed, “Considering this school was supposed to have been from the 70s, I doubt anything would be effective. Regular medication tends to only still be good 3 years after their expiration date.”

“Well, then at least rest. Here, let’s elevate it.” Subaru took an extra pillow from the other bed and made the other lay back on the bed before placing it under the sprained ankle.

Hokuto stared at the ceiling, a similar colored wood as the floor, a concentrated look in his eyes. “We don’t really have the luxury to rest. We have to find the others and get out of here.”

“And we will, but not with your ankle like that. What if we run into trouble and you can’t run away?” Subaru pushed the other bed over so that the two were connected before laying down with Hokuto.

Hokuto couldn’t help the rise in heat he felt in his cheeks as Subaru lay down with him, crawling over on his side to rest just a bit close for what would be normal for friends. Then again, this was Subaru Akehoshi who liked physical contact. Also then again, all he had to do was drape an arm over Hokuto and he might as well be cuddling the other. The leader of Trickstar had a brief thought in his head that he wouldn’t mind it if Subaru did do that before he stubbornly shooed it away.

Instead, he turned his attention to the fact that the other was resting without a pillow of his own, “Aren’t you uncomfortable without a pillow?”

“Nah, I don’t need it. Besides, your ankle needs to be elevated. You need it more.” He gave his cheeky grin shortly after, “If I didn’t just give it to you, you would have been too stubborn to request it anyway.”

Hokuto glared at Subaru and flicked him on the forehead before lifting his own head, “If you are going without, so will I. Besides, the ankle should be elevated above the heart for this to work properly.”

Subaru relaxed his smile and took the other pillow out from under Hokuto, sitting up to gingerly place it under the ankle before laying back down. After a brief pause, the older of the two began giggling, making Hokuto quirk an eyebrow in amusement, “What’s so funny?”

“This just reminds me of the times when we would have our sleepovers with Ukki and Sari.” Subaru continued to giggle, “Sometimes, it’s hard to believe I made such good friends with you all.”

Hokuto merely huffed a laugh and shook his head good-naturedly. Only Subaru could be in a horror situation and still find a way to laugh and smile.

The two teens paused in their laughter when they heard a familiar, albeit faint voice calling out from somewhere in the school, “Nii-san! Someone! Help me!”

Subaru hastily sat up, placing a hand on Hokuto’s chest to keep him from attempting to sit up, a look of stern concentration on his face. Hokuto mumbled, “That sounded like-”

“Hiiro,” the other finished.

There was a brief pause, both teens waiting to see if the other teen would call out again. When the silence stretched for too long, Subaru crawled off the bed, “I’m going to find him.”

“A-Akehoshi! Didn’t I tell you we aren’t supposed to separate under any circumstances? You can’t go by yourself!” Hokuto sat up.

Subaru gave him a stern glare, “I know! But I can’t ignore that Hiiro is clearly in distress and you need to rest! I saw a set of stairs past the infirmary heading down. I won’t go far. Just to the bottom of those stairs and I’ll call out to him. I’ll come right back after that. I promise.”

Hokuto gripped the white sheets in his fists, clenching his teeth before breaking his gaze with his unit mate, “You better, Subaru.”

“I will. I’m going to close the door, okay? No more than five minutes, I promise.” Subaru did just that, softly closing the door with a gentle click, his footsteps fading into the school.

Hokuto laid back down, staring at the ceiling in contemplation as anxiety began to slowly pick away at him. He agreed with Rinne about not separating. It was sound advice, especially given this universe. So, why didn’t he fight harder against letting Subaru go alone? Sure, if Hiiro was in danger, it would be best to go find him, especially if they could hear him, but was separating really the smartest choice? Yeah, he had trouble walking on his own, but he and Subaru could have gone together even if only to check for a few minutes. Then again, the other did make a point about if trouble did occur he would only slow the both of them down if they needed to run.

Trouble…

Hokuto broke out of his thoughts at the sudden remembrance. That ghost mentioned how it is entirely possible to hear other people in their dimension even if they weren’t in the same one. Sure, they hadn’t checked the floor below, but considering the ghost also mentioned how they were supposedly the only two living souls in this dimension at the moment…

Could that have not been Hiiro?

Could Subaru be walking into a trap?

…Or was it to get Hokuto alone? Like now?

The room grew dark instantly, the only source of light now coming from the desk lamp turning on. A floating pen began scribbling on the paper at the desk, a mumbled woman’s groaning voice paired with it. Hokuto sat up straight before darting from the bed to put distance between him and the desk, despite the brief bit of pain in his ankle. He inhaled sharply in fear as a dark, shadowy form of a person formed. It felt dangerous.

The shadowy figure spoke in that same woman’s voice, “Sachi-chan is…my pride and joy…”

It took a step closer to Hokuto. He took a step back.

It spoke again, “I won’t forgive…”

Hokuto tried running for the door. The shadowy figure grabbed him from behind, beginning to choke him as it spoke again, “I’ll kill you…”

Hokuto let out a strangled cry as he managed to break free from its grasp, coughing and hacking as he rushed to the door. However, he froze upon seeing long, black strands of hair wrapped around the door, preventing it from opening. The shadowy figure groaned as it slowly began to approach him.

He shouted at the door as he slammed his fist repeatedly into it, “Somebody! Akehoshi! Help me!”

Sensing the figure behind him, he dashed away. Now the figure was between him and the door. He was trapped. The figure kept following him as he ran around the room, looking for something, anything, to help him leave. He spotted rubbing alcohol and matches inside one of the cabinets. Maybe he could burn away the hair?

He dashed to the far side of the room, the pain in his ankle barely registering as adrenaline pumped through his veins. When he tried opening the cabinet, it was locked. Looking to see how far away the figure was, he proceeded to smash the glass with his covered elbow and reach in for the items. He almost fell as he tried to run again, as the shadowy creature reached out to grab his other ankle only to trip him instead. Hokuto recovered and ran back to the door, hurriedly dousing the hair with the rubbing alcohol before attempting to get a match lit.

“C’mon! Light!” Hokuto managed to get a match lit and held it up to the hair. It burned away rapidly, now leaving the door usable.

He dashed out, this time for sure falling on the floor in front of the infirmary. The figure didn’t leave the room, as if it was bound to that room specifically and couldn’t follow. Instead, it slammed the door shut.

Hokuto hurriedly crawled away towards the corner as he hyperventilated. Under so much stress, he threw up on the floor, spraying blood from the contents onto the floor and wall in front of him. In his addled state, he didn’t hear Subaru running up to him from behind.

“Hokke! I heard shouting! Are you okay? What happened?” Subaru knelt and reached out to grab the other’s shoulders.

At that point, Hokuto had had enough and lashed out, “What the hell took you so long!? You said you would be right back! I was almost killed just now! This is exactly why I said we needed to stay together! But no! You just had to go play the damn hero even when a fucking ghost told us we were the only living ones in this godforsaken hell hole! This isn’t some fucking game where we can redo shit over and over again! We fuck up in this universe that’s it until that damn thing decides to send us into some other hellscape to toy with us! Yet, you keep smiling and laughing like this is all one big joke and no lives are at stake! Sometimes I wonder if anything is getting through that thick skull of yours, Akehoshi!”

When he finished, Hokuto hung his head limply. While there was some semblance of rage or anger still in his veins, there was an overwhelming tiredness from the outburst. Yet, rather than feeling a weird sense of relief at finally letting it all out, the weight on his shoulders felt like it was merely in suspense, neither lifted nor weighing down on him but could change in an instant. It took a moment for his brain to catch up with all that his mouth said.

Did I seriously just say all that to him!? I didn’t mean -.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here to help you…” Subaru stood up, his face contorting in a mix of frustration and anger while tears pricked the corners of his eyes. Hokuto didn’t lift his head to face him as he continued bordering between speaking softly and spitefully, “But last I checked…you volunteered. I didn’t. Even if you hadn’t, you would have been stuck in a room with a few others and still not have to run around all of ES with creatures hunting you down. So forgive me for having accepted my fate and still wish to support others even when it looks like we have no way out. Forgive me for trying to encourage Sari when we were both practically reaped because I knew he was terrified. Forgive me for trying to always smile and encourage you since we first stepped into Blue Senpai’s workshop because it pained me to see you despair at seeing the two of us getting chosen and it compelled you to join us, even if it meant leaving Ukki behind and you would be subjected to this horror show, too. Forgive me for trying to prioritize both finding others and your well-being when I knew you were stretching yourself thin and on the edge of a mental breakdown from the stress of everything so far.”

Subaru turned around, using his sleeve to wipe away the stubborn tears threatening to spill before darkly muttering, “I’m going to re-investigate where we’ve been so far. You just sit there, look pretty, and rest your ankle. I need to be alone for a bit. At least none of the rooms so far haven’t been deadly, aside from that damn newspaper. Who knows? If you chase after me while I’m still…like this, I might just go and reread it, just so I can ensure I’ll have a moment to sort myself out.”

Hokuto felt his throat constrict making him unable to make a sound and unable to move a muscle as Subaru’s figure disappeared down the dark hallway.

I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean that! Please, don’t go!

~*~

When Subaru was far enough out of earshot, he finally released a quiet sob. “Damn it…Hokke…why did you have to say all that? You know I’m just as serious about this as you….you stupid jerk….Fuck…I didn’t mean what I said about that newspaper…or about you sitting pretty…I was worried sick when I heard you scream…you stupid, pretty jerk…”

It was then he felt a sudden pull and a voice calling out from the upper floor.

“Hokke?” Subaru called out as he began to walk towards the stairwell and voice.

Wait!? Hokke is behind me at the infirmary! There’s no way he had gotten ahead of me! Wait-why am I moving!? Why can’t I stop myself!?

As I told Amagi Rinne, you are all fulfilling a role in this universe. So…why don’t you sit back and accept your fate, Akehoshi Subaru?

Hokke…Hokuto help me!!

Ending Theme: Rasen – jon-YAKITORI ft. Ado

English Lyrics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVld7njUsOc

Chapter Text

Opening Theme: Face Down (Japanese Cover) – Sunrise Skater Kids

Original by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlL5hhNiyrw

Previously…

“Ototo-kun, don’t scare the shit out of me like that.”

“…Five minutes. No more.”

“I won’t need longer.”

“I have someone I’d like you to meet.”

“…As much as I’d like to think Hokuto and Subaru will be fine, I worry, too. Especially if those two are by themselves together, without anyone to mediate when they bicker too much.”

“Sometimes I wonder if anything is getting through that thick skull of yours, Akehoshi!”

“You just sit there, look pretty, and rest your ankle. I need to be alone for a bit.”

Hokke…Hokuto help me!!

At Ensemble Square

The lobby was oddly quiet with a lack of other people around. The receptionist was on break and her replacement had yet to show up. Ibara would have to bring that up with Eichi once this whole thing blows over. He stood in the one corner that he knew was the blind spot with the cameras, the box neatly behind him as he waited for the others. His eyes kept shifting to the left and right as he kept an eye out for any of those shadowy creatures.

Yuzuru was the first to show up, his steps light and guard raised, his training in the military starting to shine. They nodded in greeting before Ibara sternly gestured with a tilt of his head for the other to approach. When he knew Yuzuru was fully in the blind spot, he quietly knelt down and unboxed a radio, handing it to Yuzuru with a few spare batteries he picked up along the way.

“Do not let that thing know we have these. Keep the volume below 12 and the frequency stays on 463 MHz. I want everyone from each room to have one or two, just in case.” Ibara whispered.

Yuzuru looked down at the radio, whispering back, “Quite ingenious, I have to admit.”

“Aoba-san had Anzu delivered them to me, plus one more to Mr. Harukawa at the dorms.” Ibara minutely nodded before spotting Nazuna and Ritsu coming towards them. He put a finger to his lips and used his finger to direct them through the camera field to them.

When the two approached he gave each of them a radio and instructed them on how to use it. Nazuna smirked, “Tsumugi-chin has really outdone himself here.”

“So…where should we start?” Ritsu yawned quietly.

“Let’s wait for the others first. We need to discuss a few things. Hopefully, Mr. Harukawa has gotten his radio by now.” Ibara whispered, trying the radio.

“Mr. Harukawa, can you hear me?”

Silence came on the radio’s end, though there was a slight echo from the other radios repeating Ibara’s question. He furrowed his eyebrows.

Yuzuru noticed the last three coming to them and tapped Ibara on the shoulder to bring his attention back. Once the three were safely guided to their corner, he handed each a radio and gave instructions.

He tried to contact Sora one last time on the radio. This time, he got an answer through the static.

“Sora reporting for duty! Anzu just gave one to Sora a minute ago while I was in the common room. So far nothing seems to be giving a weird color…”

“Thank you, Mr. Harukawa. Please keep your voice down when communicating through the radio. We can’t let that thing know we have these if we are to get ahead of it and put it down. I’ll hold the button on my end down so that you can hear our conversation.”

Ibara motioned for everyone else to silence their radios to minimize the echo before continuing, “Right now, the current group is you, myself, Yuzuru, Mr. Nito, Mr. Kiryu, Mr. Oogami, Mr. Ritsu, and Mr. Morisawa.”

“Got it,” Sora whispered.

Ibara turned to the others, holding the button on the radio to keep Sora in the loop, “On the note Aoba-san gave me was a notice from Mr. Amagi. He said some of the visions Alkaloid saw had to do with things happening here. If anyone else knows about the visions, we need to find out what those are first. Otherwise, we need to start finding clues as to what these artifacts may be.”

Koga immediately perked up, “Kazehaya-senpai told me a bit.”

Ibara blinked a moment in shock, “That’s right, you are his roommate. What had he told you?”

Koga motioned for Ibara to stop holding the button so that he could communicate on his own, “Bright Boy, do you think you can get to my dorm?”

“Mm-hm! Sora’s not too far away, but why?”

“’Cause shortly after HiMERU and I managed to calm him down and have him explain his dream, I had him write down everything he saw in as much detail as he could remember as a way to sort his head out. I know it’s a large stack of lined paper that he keeps inside a green binder. Find that and make sure it gets back to the safe dorm immediately. With that, we’ll have a good idea from at least one of Alkaloid of what to expect. Once you get it back there, try and stay in the bathroom so you can communicate with us without that thing hearing, and relay the visions Kazehaya-senpai saw relating to ES.” Koga carefully explained to the young boy.

“Got it…but, wouldn’t your dorm room be locked? Sora doesn’t think you or he will be able to meet each other or swap places to unlock the door.”

Koga cursed under his breath.

Kuro spoke up on his radio, “Harukawa, Hasumi mentioned that, as the dorm supervisor, there are two master keys; one on him and the other in the main lobby’s office at the dorms. See if you can go there, get the master key, and get to Runt’s room.”

Koga lowly growled at the name but nodded at the plan.

“Okay, Sora’ll – gasp!”

Sora’s voice cut off. The remaining seven idols glanced worriedly at each other before Sora came back online.

“Sorry…One of those…icky black creatures walked by. Sora had to hide and let it pass.”

“One of those creatures is at the dorms?!” Chiaki hissed.

“Yeah, it’s smaller than the others we saw on the TVs…but it’s still taller than Sora. It reminds him of one of those scary guard dogs with the pointy ears in crime shows…”

“A Doberman?” Koga supplied.

“Yeah…It kept moving its head around like it was scanning or monitoring or something…Its eyes were glowing orange before going back to yellow when it moved along.”

Ibara and Yuzuru looked at each other, the same thought crossing both of their minds. Yuzuru spoke up, “Harukawa-sama, we’re going out on a limb, but don’t let those creatures see we have radios, same with everyone else here.”

Ritsu cocked his head to the side, urging Yuzuru to further explain. “If that thing…that entity is able to summon these creatures, wouldn’t it also be logical to assume it might be able to spy on us through their eyes?”

A shiver ran up each of their spines.

“That would explain the eye color change…Sora doesn’t like these things. They feel really black and make Sora’s head dizzy.”

Nazuna spoke softly, “Sora-chin. We all understand. Stay strong.”

Sora made a noise of affirmation in response.

“Okay, Mr. Harukawa, you know what you have to do. Find the master key, get to Mr. Oogami’s dorm and find that binder, then get back to the safe dorm and radio to us your findings without the entity knowing.” Ibara ordered quietly.

“On it!”

Ibara turned back to the others, still allowing Sora to be in the loop. “Now then, we need to organize where each of us will begin looking.”

Nazuna cut in, “It’s going to be harder looking for artifacts if we don’t know what they look like or how they are associated with the entity…I suggest we try to figure out what the entity is first.”

“No offense, but that’s going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Do ya have any idea how many supernatural entities there are? That could take ages!” Koga quietly snapped. Nazuna simply narrowed his eyes at the attitude.

“I think we can narrow it down already.” Ritsu yawned as he inspected his nails.

Yuzuru prodded, “Sakuma-sama, what are you thinking?”

Ritsu stopped inspecting his nails to stare at the group, “This thing has been in ES’s servers and network for over a week before it showed itself, correct? That means it had to have taken time to learn about what it had gotten itself into on top of learning about us. That alone is telling me this thing is not familiar with this technology and must be an older supernatural entity.”

Kuro frowned, “True, but considering how quickly technology progresses, that still leaves a plethora of options. Even smartphones haven’t been around that long in the grand scheme of things.”

“Its word choice does shorten the options, however,” Ritsu spoke lazily, “It is using words like ‘artifacts’, ‘trial’, ‘infractions’, and ‘realm’. It is extremely specific on certain rules while being noncommittal or dismissive at other times, even enjoying challenges despite wanting full obedience and sounding like we should be grateful anytime it shows a monogram of kindness. The way it always uses our full names whenever it is addressing anyone. I believe this thing may be far older, possibly from something tribal or part of a pantheon.”

“Now that you mention it,” Ibara paused in thought, “It seemed to hold a grudge or have a rivalry of sorts with that second entity in that liminal space. Maybe they’re related in some capacity…”

“Second entity?” The group asked in unison.

“Ah, that’s right. Forgive me. I forgot that none of you were there for that portion. Switch was fiddling with this newly developed gear and accidentally opened that liminal space, letting the two entities out before they closed it over a week ago. Mr. Amagi mentioned that there was a second voice in Alkaloid’s visions while Mr. Ayase mentioned he heard something warning him when they were in the liminal space before the entity sprung its trap. It seemed surprised to learn that the second entity was still alive as it tried to warn Alkaloid one last time, along with calling it a ‘bastard’.”

Ritsu’s smile showed off a sharp fang as he lightly chuckled, “Huhu, now that’s a good clue. The second entity is probably strong enough to take the first head-to-head. It is like the one, critical weakness this entity has, like Superman and Kryptonite. I’d wager the second entity may be like a counterpoint to this one. It may be ‘yang’ to this entity’s ‘yin’ in terms of representing the dark and light aspects.”

“So, the way to beat it would be to find the second entity?” Chiaki asked hopefully.

“That sounds all well and good,” Koga spoke up, “but isn’t it located inside the liminal space?”

“It did escape with the first one, so it should also be out here or capable of going back and forth like that thing is.” Kuro crossed his arms, his forehead creasing in concentration.

“Natsume-kun mentioned how he felt both presences and that the second one seemed particularly weak.” Ibara looked to Ritsu and Nazuna for some sort of an idea.

Nazuna hummed in thought, “Tsumugi-chin mentioned how the paranormal and supernatural world runs parallel to ours but can operate independently. It sounds like, if that second entity is supposed to be the counterweight to this entity, then there was something going on long before Switch opened that liminal space to make the second one weak.”

Ritsu nodded sagely, “While that is something to keep in mind, can we circle back to Saegusa-san’s earlier thought? The one about how it seemed to hold a grudge or something against the second voice?”

Ibara hummed, “From what I gathered before I was discovered, it seemed particularly insistent that this second entity either needs to be dead or at least be drastically hindered and immobilized.”

Ritsu remained quiet, tapping his chin in thought before asking, “Did it say anything in particular about its nature?”

Ibara hesitated before pulling out a small recorder. “I had a backup of the vocal recordings before I was discovered. The way it talked on and on…Let me fast forward to that part.”

Ibara fiddled with the recording device before he rewound it a touch, “Here.”

“I exist neither here nor there! I am everywhere and nowhere! I exist in your world and in my own! My purpose, my whole existence, relies on me knowing everything about someone in order to fulfill my duty in this rotten world! My peers may say my methods are barbaric, chaotic, and insane! Cruel, even! Yet, then why was I created but to provide the counterbalance to their supposed righteousness? As much as I may be detested, I am a fact of life! Nothing is sacred nor secret with me!”

Sora finally spoke again, sounding more distressed through the static, “Sora REALLY doesn’t like that thing…he can’t even tell its color. It’s like it sucks away every color and gives off this feeling of…just evil.”

Ibara ended the recording and put it back in his pocket, “Does that provide any more clues?”

“Hey…Ritsu-kun, you don’t look too good.” Chiaki put a hand on the younger’s shoulder.

Ritsu looked far paler than he normally did, his mouth parted slightly and eyes unfocused. When he spoke, it was incredibly soft, “I think I know what this thing is…and it’s not good.”

Everyone gave him a questioning stare filled with apprehension. Ritsu muttered, “Whatever we do, that thing can’t have those artifacts…”

Yuzuru prodded, “What is this thing, Sakuma-sama?”

Ritsu was so quiet they almost didn’t hear him, though the realization made their skin freeze and crawl all at once, “I think this thing is a god.”

~*~

“Now, how about we start checking in on them, hm? They should be waking up after doing that ritual right about now.”

The center monitor flickered to show Rinne looking around a rundown hallway, occasionally flashing a light around.

The occupants of Room 6-66 were silent, various emotions mixing into one foggy, salient stew, trepidation being the most notable. Tetora had scooted his chair closer to Tomoya, the two taking comfort together. Natsume refused to get close to anyone, though Shu and Rei managed to be within an arm’s reach each. Eichi, Nagisa, and Keito were side by side, staring intently at the screen as they analyzed every single movement and background. Madara chose to move to be beside Tsukasa, holding the younger’s hand. Tsukasa was downcast, purple eyes showing his worry like a window.

The left monitor was split between the other participants in the call and Tsumugi’s workshop. Various faces shared the same worried concern.

On-screen, Rinne was startled by a sound coming from the entryway and began approaching it. Several of the idols sucked in a loud breath while others shook their heads negatively as if they were trying to warn him to not follow the noise. A shadow down the hall behind Rinne caught Keito’s attention. When Rinne briefly shined his light behind him, the shadow had receded inside a room, just out of sight, before reappearing when the light was moved.

When the noise was revealed to be Hiiro, the idols sighed in relief. Except Keito, who narrowed his eyes as he watched the shadowing figure in the background.

The voice was mockingly sweet, “Aw…what a touching reunion!...It would be a shame if one of my pets interrupted…”

“You mean that figure in the back!?” Keito stood suddenly then, pointing a finger at the humanoid-shadow monster in the background.

“Ah, you have good eyes for someone who needs a corrective prescription!”

After the earthquake struck and some of the lights came on, the shadow was revealed to look just like the one from the elevator in ES. Keito shouted, “How is that thing in there when it was just out here?!”

“They aren’t unique, Hasumi Keito. They are still like animals, with multiple of the same type. I could easily just summon a whole army of one kind if I truly wished.”

The revelation that there could easily be far more of these creatures both in there and out and around ES than previously thought was chilling. The shadow receded back into the dark room as Rinne led Hiiro back to the classroom he had woken up in. Once their backs were turned, it slowly began to follow them at a good distance. Clearly, light wasn’t a weakness as it stood under the fluorescent bulbs completely unhindered. It was far bulkier and larger than the one skulking around ES, yet it walked silently and merely monitored the brothers.

“Now, while they play catch up, how about we check in on a few others?”

The entity changed the center monitor to now focus on HiMERU and Tatsumi, the latter of which clutched his leg in pain while the former was still passed out. Eichi’s posture stiffened at seeing Tatsumi struggle to stand, much less use his leg at all.

“Seems like these two had a particularly rough landing.”

Tatsumi glanced around the room before snapping towards a paper scrap precariously on the edge of a black void on the floor. He padded his pocket and found his scrap, immediately realizing whose the other belonged to. A draft must have blown in as the paper fluttered upwards before beginning its descent down, now completely over the abyss. Tatsumi lunged forward to grab the paper, collapsing just on the ledge as he strangled out a scream of pain as if he were attempting to hold it back, his leg writhing in pain and hand clenched around the scrap.

Jun was the loudest in his reaction, “Kazehaya-senpai!”

Hiyori, holding Jun’s hand below the camera, looked a mix of worried, frightened, and empathetic, “Tatsumi-kun…!”

“Ooh, did he land on his bad leg? Did he perhaps reinjure it?”

Eichi slammed his fist onto the table, startling everyone in the room, as he growled out, “Do you really feel the need to commentate, antagonize, and mock every little thing that is happening to our friends, you parasite!?”

“Ooh! I haven’t been called that yet! I have to applaud you on your creativity!” The voice ignored the question, though perhaps the tone in which it commented was a sufficient enough answer.

Tatsumi painstakingly crawled himself over to HiMERU with just his arms, struggling to contain his pained cries. He managed to sit up, resting on his good leg, before beginning to shake HiMERU awake. The first attempted shake caused him to stop and hiss in pain as he unintentionally moved his bad leg. The next two attempts were far calmer, with the third finally awakening the other idol. However, HiMERU clutched the side of his head as he gingerly rubbed the area and needed Tatsumi’s help to stand, teetering before finding his footing.

The leaders held their breath as Tatsumi tried standing with him, only managing it because he was partially holding HiMERU to take the weight off the bad leg. When he withdrew his hold on the other, they found themselves dreading how Tatsumi would handle standing on his own. The priest had kept his bad leg slightly behind him and out of HiMERU’s view, clearly putting as little weight on it as possible as they talked. Tetora grimaced as HiMERU nearly fell over as he gripped his head again, forcing Tatsumi to catch him. How the two of them were able to stand despite their injuries was honestly a miracle in and of itself.

The voice chuckled as HiMERU learned the extent of Tatsumi’s injury, “That’s right. It was more than just a broken bone or two in that leg, wasn’t it? After all, he wouldn’t have had to stay almost a whole year in the hospital if it were just that! I’d imagine quite a few muscles were torn up as well. Right, Tenshouin?”

Eichi glared at the monitor. The voice simply continued, “You felt pity for the man, a man whose career was just beginning only for it to nearly come crashing down on him due to that incident. After that, his career with COS PRO was surely dead in the water, and you swooped in like an angel to take him under STAR PRO’s wings. You love all idols. You couldn’t bear to see someone as talented as him be cast aside…Is it because he reminded you of yourself?”

Shu and Natsume casted a sideways glance over to the leader of Fine. Several of the others nervously glanced over. Rei and Keito were the only ones whose faces hardened, knowing exactly what button this entity was trying to press.

“Being stuck in a hospital for extended periods of time, not knowing what your future holds, after losing everything dear…it’s quite troubling. Especially for you. You know you don’t have long to live. You know your illness will take you whether you’re ready or not.”

Keito made to move a hand over Eichi’s before the voice continued escalating, shocking even Rei with the direction it was taking, “That’s why you loved idols. They gave you a reason to smile even when you were at your lowest. They were the brilliant stars that banished the darkness surrounding you. That’s why you did what you did at Yumenosaki about – hmm, what was it? – 2 going on 3 years ago?”

Eichi hissed, “Shut up.”

The voice ignored him, tone getting colder and colder, “You wanted to preserve that brilliance. So you made five of those idols become the representations of everything you wanted gone. Everything YOU deemed was WRONG…you were willing to sacrifice innocent teenagers for your vision…Even your own friends.”

Eichi hissed louder, gripping the table so hard his knuckles turned white, “Shut. Up.”

“YOU picked and chose WHO would be wronged for YOUR vision! YOU, Hasumi Keito, and Aoba Tsumugi all did! YOU formed Fine with good friends purely for YOUR own ambition! Nagisa Ran! Hiyori Tomoe! They considered you a friend before YOU pushed THEM and everyone else away! YOU were even willing to sacrifice Sakuma Rei, YOUR childhood friend, to turn HIM into a MARTYR for YOUR cause! YOU were willing to send a FIRST YEAR to the chopping block when HE barely knew what was going on!”

“I SAID SHUT UP!” Eichi shouted with a rage so fierce his blue eyes practically burned with it. Even Nagisa looked to be on the edge of an outburst.

“That’s enough.” Natsume sharply stood from his seat, silencing everyone. The redhead calmly walked around the table towards the distressed blond. When he neared, he pulled the blonde’s chair away from the table, with Eichi still sitting in it, before placing himself between Eichi and the monitors.

“You will stop this right now.” His intense stare never left the staticky monitor.

“Well, well…isn’t this ironic?”

“ShUT uP. I knoW you’re GaME.” Natsume spat. Eichi blinked in shock, frozen in place.

The voice paused before darkly laughing, low and dangerous, “Hehehe…Go ahead. Tell me what game this is.”

“YoU wanT us to biCKer. YoU wanT us to turn on eaCHoTHer. BeCaUSe you FEED on it. YoU get sTRongER with every TRansgREsion we all make AGainST eachOTher. When you didn’T get what YoU wanteD by goiNG after mE, you tURned to otherS. I wagER that’s the REAL reasoN you wanted THem to do your TRIAL. YoU get fed Both here and thERE.”

The voice started darkly chuckling before raising pitch into an ear-piercing screech with distortion, “OH, and IT is GLORIOUS! The FEAR, the DecEPtiON, thE TreaCHERy, tHe ANGUISH, the HOPLESSNESS! It’s aLl DELICIOUS!”

While the leaders recoiled in horror, Natsume stood steadfast, expression unwavering, “AnD what would HaPPen if we in ES Don’T give you your FiLL?”

The voice stopped cackling to mock, “Boy…and here I thought someone finally had the brains to put it together, yet here you are missing a critical piece.”

Natsume was unbothered, “AnD whAt is thaT?”

“…I can get exactly what I need to feed from just your friends in the trial. The rest of ES serves as a simple distraction while in between the main acts, an appetizer to the main course.”

The voice redirected their attention back to Tatsumi and HiMERU, who were holding each other up as they made their way down the hall. The legless ghost girl came then, readying her attack on the two before Tatsumi repelled the spirit.

The voice was silent before sounding begrudgingly surprised, “Well, he’s quite prepared…”

Natsume snapped, “We are not done talking!”

“I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR INSOLENCE, BOY!”

Natsume was attacked by a shadowy tendril as it wrapped around his head and covered his eyes. The pain of the tendril entering his subconscious had him recoiling with a strangled cry. The only leaders who weren’t frozen in fear were Rei, Shu, and Eichi, as the three rushed over to hang on to Natsume as they attempted to remove the shadowy tendril, the youngest thrashing in pain. Screeches of terror filled the room as they witnessed Natsume getting attacked. It was then a vision of the entity overtook his sight: a mass of jet black with colors swirling all around with the same unholy yellow eyes boring into his mind.

The voice no longer sounded like it did on the TV. It was deep. Growly. Demonic.

“YOU DARE ORDER ME!? WHAT POWER DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE YOU MEASLEY, WEAK, INSIGNIFICANT HUMAN!? YOU MAY THINK YOU’RE THE GOD OF SHINSEKAI, BUT YOU ARE JUST A MORTAL WHO KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE ONE! YOU WANT TO PLAY GOD SO BADLY?! I’LL GIVE YOU AND ALL THE LEADERS THE POWER TO PLAY GOD! AND YOU WILL ALL COME TO REGRET IT!”

As suddenly as it attacked, the tendril released Natsume and vanished into thin air. The redhead collapsed on the ground only being held up by Rei and Shu who tried desperately to calm the other down. Natsume hyperventilated so badly that he began coughing and hacking on air as he desperately tried to fill his lungs while calling out for the both of them.

“That should teach you all a lesson.” Natsume could barely comprehend that the voice on the TV was just barely that same demonic-sounding entity.

“Sit. All of you. We shall return to watching.”

The leaders did so in silence, with Rei and Shu helping Natsume back to his seat. The screen flickered over to Kohaku who was investigating a classroom before an earthquake shook, causing his leg to fall through the floor as he tried to avoid a desk toppling over near him. Tsukasa wanted to speak out, voice his displeasure and worry, but dared not to for fear of earning the entity’s ire.

When the two older idols found him and were unsuccessful in freeing him, they were talking about sending one person to go get the med kit next door. It was then the voice grew curious as the two older men took themselves aside and began whispering, “Oh? What are you two whispering about?”

It seemed their whispering was partially successful in concealing their discussion, as only a few bits and pieces were able to be heard.

“…leave with nothing?”

“…I still have…”

“…you’re holding back…”

“…two sets…visions…collapsing…Kohaku…you…me…injured…another set…broken…2-C…unharmed…play…cards right.”

“Five minutes. No more.”

“I won’t need longer.”

The voice ruefully chuckled, “Oh-ho, you certainly are prepared! And you’re more aware of events to come than the others, you sneaky, sneaky, little DEVIL of a priest…You are going to be quite the thorn in my side…”

The center monitor switched to following Hokuto and Subaru, who had just woken up in another classroom. The voice spoke dismissively, “You lot can sit and watch for a minute. I need to blow off some steam…I haven’t checked the rest of ES yet…Maybe I’ll pay them a visit.”

With that, the static monitor faded to black, signaling the absence of the entity.

Everyone in that room relaxed their postures heavily as soon as they were in the clear. Natsume was still wheezing as he inhaled, gripping his red locks with both hands almost by their roots. Shu and Rei each had to pry a hand away so he wouldn’t rip his hair out. Eichi slumped in his seat, staring not at the table but somewhere below it with a faraway look. Tsukasa looked close to tears. Madara left to grab some tissues, discretely handing them to Tsukasa who took them, a brief grateful look passing before returning to his somber mood.

Tomoya wavered, “Uh…guys? I-I know this is probably not the best time to ask, but…”

Everyone turned to him, some with harsher glares while others were merely mildly curious. Tomoya inhaled deeply before calling out to those in the call, “Guys, see if you can ask that thing a question o-or get its attention!”

It was silent until Hajime’s mouth started moving. In Room 6-66, they couldn’t hear them, but they knew the others could hear their room. All the other idols blinked in surprise before Leo’s mouth moved, too. Hopeful lights started to fill each of their eyes.

“Tomo-kun,” Hinata finally spoke since this first began, “What are you getting at?”

“B-because I think that thing lied about where it was going! The center monitor rippled like it did when it sent that creature after Alkaloid a while back…I think it went into the other universe.”

“I know this is going to sound like a dumb question, but why would it lie about where it was going?” Tetora eyed the monitors.

“It doesn’t want us to see something, clearly.” Shu darkly uttered.

There was a commotion over in Eden’s camera with Hiyori looking perplexed as Jun seemed to be shouting something on their end. Hiyori went from perplexed to ecstatic before scrambling for something on the desk. He lifted a notebook and wrote with a black marker to show the call:

We have a radio!

Jun held up a handheld walkie-talkie. Hiyori followed up with another note:

Tsumugi-kun and Rinne-senpai managed to have Anzu-chan bring Ibara and Sora-kun a box of radios so we can communicate without that thing knowing! He left with the rest to hand out to the others out searching!

The enthusiasm infected each and every unit leader and idol seeing that. Tomoya excitedly asked, “Can you get a hold of Saegusa-senpai? We should exchange info!”

Hiyori and Jun looked at each other before Jun operated the radio. Ibara must have answered because the members of Eve were practically elated. They could see Jun mouthing something excitedly before nudging Hiyori not so gently to start writing. While the leader of Eve looked quite annoyed at getting ordered around, he quickly jotted down:

Ibara and Servant-kun are looking through the basement at the moment. Nazuna-kun and Ritsu-kun are currently looking through the library before they grab food to hand out to the other rooms. Chiaki-kun, Kuro-kun, and Wolf Boy are checking the Sky Garden for anything off. Sora-kun is getting a binder filled with descriptions of the visions Tatsumi-kun had from Wolf Boy and Tatsumi-kun’s dorm.

“That’s right, there were visions regarding ES…” Eichi tilted his head back in his seat.

“…Wait, you fucking knew!? Tenshouin you bastard!” Shu rounded on the other.

“He and I were both there when Shiratori-kun woke from his nightmare,” Rei stood up for the blond, “Shiratori-kun confided with us and Amagi-kun about his visions the night before.”

“So you two only know what Aira-kun knows.” Nagisa deduced. The two men nodded.

Tetora pointed the group back to Eden’s camera upon seeing the next note:

Ritsu-kun thinks this entity might be a god from some sort of polytheistic religion.

“ThAT would eXPlain a loT.” Natsume slumped.

Ibara must have overheard the call as Jun quickly motioned for Hiyori to write what they heard:

Ibara wants to know what you mean by that.

Natsume recounted his attack and what he saw during it, as well as his whole confrontation prior. Rei and Shu were borderline horrified while they all felt trepidation at what the entity meant by giving them the power to ‘play god’.

Hiyori looked at the radio wearily before writing:

Ritsu-kun says this is absolutely a god for certain now. Though it throws doubt on their theory for the artifacts.

“What was iT?” Natsume demanded.

Something about how that second entity must be related to it somehow. He thinks the second entity is weak because the two fought and it lost to the first one. The artifacts were possibly supposed to be used to empower either or, which is why the first wants them so badly. If the second one gets them, it may strengthen it enough to fight back and win.

“They can’t EMpowER it. It feeds on SeVERE neGaTIVe emoTIONs.” Natsume supplied, “I thinK it’s beCAuse they can ensnaRE or force it baCK.”

“But it wants us to send them to it when we find them, so why does it want them that badly to force us to play this game that will only truly end when they are delivered?” Eichi tapped the table as he thought.

Rei’s red eyes lit up as an idea struck him, “You have to undo both locks, the main and the deadbolt, to open the door.”

Hinata looked at him in disbelief, “Even I didn’t catch what you meant.”

Rei looked to Keito, Nagisa, and Eichi, “Think. What if both theories are right to some extent? That we have the pieces we’re looking for but don’t have the right view?”

Keito pursed his lips before turning to the call, “Tomoe, ask Sakuma’s little brother exactly how he thinks the second entity is related.”

The room was silent as they watched the muted idols discuss with Ritsu over the radio. Hiyori finally writes down:

Like kryptonite to Superman.

“So…if the second entity is capable of defeating this one…” Tetora thought out loud.

Eichi snapped his fingers, light laughter leaving his lips, “Sakuma-kun, while your poetic mysteries are usually fun to figure out, perhaps the situation calls for a more direct approach next time.”

Shu sighed in aggravation, “Just get to the point!”

Eichi smiled, “The artifacts must be like a double-edged sword. They can do both.”

“We’re thinking of them wrong,” Keito said shocked, “They’re like vessels!”

“Vessels for what?” Tomoya tilted his head.

“Power.” Natsume looked at both Keito and Eichi.

“Exactly,” Eichi continued, “Power is simply that, power. It is how you use it that makes it good or evil.”

Nagisa followed that line of thought, “Give it to this entity, and it will for sure use it to either gain more power or to other nefarious ends. Give them to the second entity…”

“It would strengthen it!” Tetora proclaimed.

“I don’t think so.” Rei broke in, “Going back to what my little Ritsu said about the potential of the second being weak because of something that happened before our involvement, and including how we have seen the thing speak about the second, what if the second was put under lock and key somewhere in the liminal space, which is why it has a limited presence both in our world and there?”

“Then the artifacts are the keys to free it!” Hinata exclaimed.

Shu heaved a heavy sigh, earning Rei’s attention, “Itsuki? Something wrong?”

Shu rubbed his temple with a finger, “Two things. First, are we really putting the cart before the horse? It seems we are banking on this second entity having our best interests in mind without knowing its true nature. Like in the stories of Greek and Roman mythology, just because a god didn’t start the tragedy or drama doesn’t mean it is any better. Secondly, even if this thing is ‘good’, how exactly are we to relay any of this information to the people who would need to use these artifacts, much less find this metaphorical cage the second entity is housed in? We don’t have a way to talk to them when they are inside, and the thing can cut communication in the liminal space with Aoba or listen in.”

“…I agree with Itsuki-senpai. Doesn’t this entity want us to send the artifacts to the liminal space? What if it gets them before they do?” Tomoya questioned.

“Better yet, if they are sent one at a time and, under some miracle, they know what to do with the artifacts, wouldn’t inserting one key ring alarm bells to the entity on what is going on? What we saw it do to Natsume might as well be us having seen it just get irritated compared to what fury it will bring down at being double-crossed.” Shu’s gaze softened upon landing on Natsume.

“Yeah, it really seems to hate when its authority is questioned or things don’t go to plan…” Tetora muttered.

Madara’s jaw went slack in horror, “Kazehaya-san…”

Everyone turned to him. Eichi nodded his head toward him in encouragement, “What about Kazehaya-kun, Mikejima-kun?”

“That thing seemed displeased that Kazehaya-san was deterring a lot of the dangers and knew more with his visions than the others…What if because of his spirituality, he was able to glean more out of the visions despite the second entity being weak?”

Tsukasa added, “If that’s the case…then aside from us out here, Kazehaya-senpai might be the only one in that group who has a better idea of what might be going on.”

Madara grimly nodded, “And he’s putting things together possibly far sooner than the entity anticipated or wants at the moment.”

“That would mean…” Hinata covered his mouth in horror.

“Tatsumi-kun is going to be paid a visit.” Nagisa bluntly stated.

“I thinK it’s more than THAT.” Natsume glared at the center monitor, “It’s probabLY attacKing him like it did ME.”

“B-but I thought it had limited authority o-or ability to manipulate other dimensions?” Tomoya shook.

“Something tells me that was another lie.” Nagisa turned his glare to the monitors, “It may also use the mechanisms of that universe to do its bidding, too.”

Tetora’s teeth chattered as he stared in terror at the center monitor, “I think we’re about to find out what it's capable of!”

They witnessed Hokuto’s attack in the infirmary. Eichi grimaced as he saw Makoto in the call begin to panic seeing his dear friend in peril, Mika and Yuta doing everything they could to keep him together. Tomoya and Wataru looked especially distraught as the shadow tried to choke Hokuto. Keito reeled back slightly when he saw the door being sealed tight with long black hair, giving Madara a frightened look of understanding. While Eichi did feel tense at seeing Hokuto struggle to survive, he inwardly was quite impressed with how far Hokuto was willing to go as he broke open a cabinet and burned away the hair, escaping within an inch of his life.

It was then the voice returned, “Ah! I feel much better now! Hmm? Ah, I see you saw the infirmary ghost. Quite impressive that Hidaka Hokuto managed to escape.”

All the leaders glared at the static in silence. The entity took note of the heated stares, “My, my! What’s with those looks?”

“Liar.” Natsume spat.

Before the voice could begin its triad, Madara cut it off, “You lied about where you were going. There was a ripple on the monitor showing the alternate universe right after you left, and considering how you sounded seeing Kazehaya-san so well-prepared-”

The voice lowly chuckled, “You caught me. Though, do remember, I’m not the only force at play here. Just look at these two.”

Subaru reappeared from offscreen in a hurry. Makoto paled during the whole heated exchange between the two unit mates. Even a few of the leaders pulled back in silent shock at the outbursts.

“You see? They can be as much a danger to each other as those that dwell in the school and myself.”

The monitor followed Subaru. Shu narrowed his eyes as Subaru, who had initially paused to cry, started stiffly going up the staircase to the third floor, though he was focusing more on the shadows off to the ginger’s side. He was the only one in the room paying attention to that monitor.

Keito grit his teeth, “Don’t sidetrack the conversation. What did you do to Kazehaya?”

“…I merely made sure we had an…understanding between us. Nothing more.”

“Bullshit.” Natsume spat.

“You want to see what my powers can truly do? Observe.”

The center monitor flickered over to in front of the infirmary. Aira was walking towards it from the stairway leading from the first floor. Giggles were heard in the infirmary, causing Aira to stiffen before turning towards it. The blond immediately began walking away from the infirmary before standing still quite suddenly. He mechanically turned around and awkwardly began walking back to go inside the infirmary. While everyone was confused at what they were seeing, Shu narrowed his eyes further, spotting something similar in the shadows from what he saw with Subaru.

“You see? I can control the darkness inside everyone, all it takes is just a little push in the right direction to make people do as I want.”

Shu tapped his fingers on the table before standing calmly, “May I entreat you for a civil discussion?”

The voice sounded taken aback by such a request, “Well, this is certainly different! Since you asked so kindly, I’ll indulge. Speak.”

Shu spoke with a calmness that unnerved even Rei and Eichi, “You say that you control the darkness inside each of us to make us do what you want. I don’t doubt that, we’ve seen it here in this room already with you merely suggesting certain topics and targeting personal feelings. However, I believe that is not what is happening here.”

The voice paused in curiosity, “…What do you think is happening, then?”

Shu let a small smirk form, catching it right where he wanted it, “Shiratori’s movements were stiff and jerky as if he were being controlled like a marionette by an inexperienced puppeteer. Just like Akehoshi’s earlier.”

The others in the room looked at him with confused disbelief. Shu continued, “In reality, this appears to be more like your power is being used to manipulate their bodies rather than their minds. And, it is not you directly doing it…You have someone helping you, don’t you?”

Silence engulfed the room before Shu spoke again, “I have very good vision, as you should know if you have been in our system for as long as you have. Though, maybe you only pay attention to details that you want to capitalize on. I can see the outline of someone in the shadows both with Shiratori and Akehoshi directing them to go where it wants them to go with those same shadows that you used to attack Natsume. So, I’m going to ask you one question…What did you two do to Kazehaya?”

It didn’t speak for a long moment. Finally, it responded slowly and in a low tone, “…We just made sure Kazehaya followed the narrative.”

Shu minutely shook his head grimly, “So that’s what’s really going on. First the puppeteering and now this ‘following the narrative’…this was all rigged from the beginning, wasn’t it? You’re not letting them choose freely whether they all make it or not.”

Everyone glared at the monitor at the accusation. The voice merely chuckled darkly, “They will come across three consecutive universes where they can all survive if they play their cards right on their own. It’s just a matter of when they will find them.”

“But you’re still rigging everything in your favor. If they were truly free, they would be able to heed those visions properly, wouldn’t they?...Or is it that you are irritated that they got visions at all? That you didn’t seal away the second entity as thoroughly as you thought?” Shu leaned forward, voice dripping calmly with venom.

“While it wasn’t planned, it certainly makes the game more interesting…and provides you all with more incentive to find those artifacts, hm? I’m sure you all probably started piecing this picture together while I was away…How about we focus back on those two from Trickstar for a moment? What you’re all about to see is a reminder that time is of the essence.”

The screen flickered to the third-floor landing, Hokuto rushing up it calling out for Subaru desperately. “Akehoshi! Akehoshi where are you!? C’mon, don’t leave me by myself in here!”

A heavy-sounding thud brought the raven-haired teen’s attention toward the boy’s bathroom.

“What the hell are you insinuating!?” Shu slammed his hand against the table.

“Just watch.”

Hokuto called out for what he thought was the other singer. He slowly made his way inside the bathroom and came to a stall where the thud was heard again. The door slowly swung open…

…revealing Subaru hanging by a noose.

Hokuto stepped back in horror, a startled gasp leaving him before he screamed, “AKEHOSHI! NOOOO!!”

Everyone cried out in astonishment and horror, each feeling a pit form in their stomachs at the realization that they could do nothing but watch the tragedy unfold.

“Why? WHY!? No! NO!!”

A gurgle came from Subaru, life just barely hanging on, “Ho…ku…to.”

A brief flash of panicked hope coursed through Hokuto hearing the other, “Akehoshi! You’re alive? I’ll get you down, hold on!”

“Oh? He still has some life? No matter.”

He reached up to try and untie the knot, but the height of it and his pulling on the noose did nothing but strangle the other more. He recoiled realizing he was doing more harm. He muttered hurriedly to himself, his mind addled and panic-stricken, “S-sorry! B-bucket! Bucket! I need a stool to stand on!”

Hokuto ran out of the bathroom as he remembered the bucket sitting outside. He recoiled slightly in horror as he also remembered that it was filled with rotten flesh and maggots. Eichi covered his mouth in disgust at the scene, but his eyes pleaded for Hokuto to do something.

Hokuto, in his desperation to save his friend, took the bucket and chucked the contents out against the far wall before running back inside. “Akehoshi! I’m right here! I’m coming!”

Silence overwhelmed the bathroom before there was a sound of the bucket falling from the teen’s hands. The other stared dumbly at the scene before him, his mind slow to process what was occurring. One by one, everyone in the room realized with abject terror and horror…

…Subaru Akehoshi was hanging completely lifeless. Hokuto was too late.

“That’s one of the fated four down.”

Hokuto stepped back until he fell to his knees, gripping his hair as a series of ear-piercing, anguished screams left his throat before sobbing. Everyone, those in Room 6-66 and those in the call, were frozen in place. Some were in tears, especially Makoto who was almost sobbing in Yuta’s arms.

“Why? Why would you hang yourself!? You were smiling and laughing this whole time…You promised you would only be gone a little bit to cool off…Was this what you meant!?” Hokuto cried out to the lifeless body, beginning to cry again when there was no answer.

“Say something, Akehoshi! Don’t leave me alone here, damn it!”

Eichi choked back his own cry, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. After everything they had gone through together…he would never wish this upon anyone. Neither of those two deserved to go through this. It made him despise the entity even more so.

“I want to apologize to you…for what I said…” Hokuto began before he felt his sanity slip away, “This can’t be real…I can’t…I refuse to accept this…!”

The voice stated matter-of-factly, “In this universe’s narrative, four are destined to die. You just saw Akehoshi Subaru’s demise. You can also assume from our exchange that Kazehaya Tatsumi and Shiratori Aira are also fated. Due to the amount of people in this group, there are a few extras who don’t have a specific role, but everyone else, under the right conditions, should survive. That is, other than the fated four, everyone else does have free will and has the potential to live or die by their choices. I gave them a challenge before we began this universe: seven of them must survive in order to avoid a punishment round.”

Madara shouted, losing his composure, “But you rigged this! You gave them the assumption that everyone was free in this to choose their own fate and that it was possible for none of them to die! If four of them are fated to die by this supposed ‘narrative’ then-”

“They only have one chance to avoid punishment. Lose any one of the 7 left after the fated four, and they will face the consequences.”

Ending Theme: Rasen – jon-YAKITORI ft. Ado

English Lyrics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVld7njUsOc

Chapter Text

Opening Theme: Face Down (Japanese Cover) – Sunrise Skater Kids

Original by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlL5hhNiyrw

HiMERU tapped his foot impatiently as he checked his phone’s clock. He stood up abruptly, teetering dangerously as his head throbbed from the sudden movement, “He’s late.”

Purple eyes looked guiltily at his stuck leg unable to speak. The other idol was about to storm out the door and drag Tatsumi back until he realized that would mean leaving Kohaku defenseless. He took a deep, steadying breath. Tatsumi at least had a cross to keep himself safe for a time. Kohaku might as well be a sitting duck. The kid needed him more. He had to trust Tatsumi, despite the other’s propensity to attract trouble like a magnet.

There was a dim sound, almost like a metallic, faint sparkle, from behind him. Kohaku turned himself around, confirming to the older one that he wasn’t just imagining things. What he wasn’t expecting was for the younger to sound warily confused, “…Tha’ wasn’t there before….”

Sitting on the cabinet’s lowest shelf Tatsumi had already looked over earlier was a crowbar.

HiMERU stared at it in angry disbelief. Was this universe seriously toying with them that much? Or was the entity having a damn laugh at the irony right about now?

He slowly approached it and laid a hand on it. It was cool to the touch. Looked brand new, too. Grasping it confirmed to him that the object was most definitely real. He tsked, “HiMERU is going to rip Tatsumi a new one when he finds him.”

While the pink-haired teen would have snorted at the comment under normal circumstances, currently he was unnerved. “But…Tatsumi-han looked over tha’…tha’ wasn’t ‘ere even when I first entered…”

HiMERU shook his head briskly before making his way over to the other, kneeling as he put one end of the crowbar under the floorboard, “Let’s get you out of here. Then find Tatsumi.”

Kohaku blinked several times in bewilderment, “Are ya not gonna question how this appeared?”

The blue-haired idol pushed down on the other end of the crowbar, beginning to ply away one board, “At the moment, we’ve got bigger problems. Who knows if it is the universe messing with us.”

The building shook slightly as yet another earthquake rocked it, causing HiMERU to pause in his work to not hurt the younger teen. He tilted his head to look at the boards, a thoughtful expression forming as he noticed the boards shifted slightly. It was a slight change, but it was just enough to make his job that much easier, as it made it so that all he would have to do was pry back this one board just enough for Kohaku to pull his leg free.

“Oukawa, when he lifts this board, pull your leg out as quickly as possible. You should be free after this.”

The first attempt was aborted when the pain in his head halted HiMERU from putting his full force on the end of the crowbar. On the second attempt, he had the idea of just using his weight instead to push down on the tool. The board lifted with difficulty, but the space was just enough for Kohaku to wiggle his leg out before it snapped back in place.

Kohaku practically bounced as he stood up, “Goddamn, it feels good ta be free!”

HiMERU huffed in amusement at the younger’s antics, “Be lucky Tatsumi didn’t hear you say that.”

“Given ta’ circumstances, I think he would a’ been given a pass.” Kohaku crossed his arms and furrowed his eyebrows.

HiMERU raised a finely shaped eyebrow at the other. Kohaku sighed as he relented, “Yeah, yeah, probably wishful thinkin’.”

The younger helped HiMERU stand back up, the latter choosing to hang on to the crowbar. He may have a head wound, and Kohaku may be stronger than he looks, but he could probably still swing it harder in case they ran into something they needed to break. Or if something more physical in nature came for them.

“Let’s go find Tatsumi-han. It’s just down ta’ hall.” Kohaku gestured for the other to follow. HiMERU grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back to a closer distance in silent disapproval. The younger huffed and rolled his eyes, but chose not to say anything as they left the moderately lit classroom and were back in the dark halls.

HiMERU kept one hand in his pocket, feeling the weight of both the Holy Water and the rosary heavily, despite their small sizes. Kohaku froze as he saw what was definitely not there previously, “Ta’ room wasn’t like tha’ before…”

HiMERU glanced over. The panels in between both doors to the classroom were caved in near the top with splinters of wood going every which way. The room beyond it was pitch black. The pink-haired teen struggled to pull one of the doors open. It refused to budge like it was a decoration.

The older took a step back before his foot stepped on something that made a papery crunch noise. Upon looking down, it was a sheet of paper that had yellowed partially with age. Just behind it was the skeletal remains of a high school boy, the lower jaw missing. He choked on a gasp as he removed his foot, muttering an apology to the corpse.

Kohaku turned back from the door and paled at seeing the bones, “Tha’ wasn’t ‘ere, either…What is goin’ on?”

“Are you sure this was the right room?”

“Positive! I don’t understand! I was just in there a few minutes ago.” Kohaku brushed his hair back as he rapidly tapped his foot in thought.

It was then that HiMERU felt a cold presence behind him. He whirled around, hand at the ready with the rosary before he paused, both in fright and because…this one felt different from the legless ghost.

It was a male ghost, presumably of the dead teen. Despite his grizzly appearance, lacking a lower jaw, the air felt more…peaceful? HiMERU couldn’t quite place it, but he got the suspicion that this ghost meant no harm. In fact, it had its eyes closed as if it was trying to show it was attempting to smile, before pointing down to the paper at the blue-nette’s feet.

HiMERU slowly reached down to pick up the paper, the ghost nodding happily as he gestured to the paper, then back at the duo. Kohaku was shaking as he glanced between HiMERU and the ghost, “D-Does it want us ta read it?”

The ghost nodded approvingly, giving them two thumbs up.

HiMERU handed the paper to the younger teen who read it for them. It was written by this student, the ghost in front of them. He was part of his school’s occult club and did the charm as part of a group activity. He had lost his student ID shortly after entering the school but insisted on taking notes and making observations of the area and its ghosts.

He detailed how he learned that this school is merely one portion of a large nexus of interlayered, alternate dimensions that periodically appear to merge and split from each other regularly. These are often felt as tremors as the school shifts, with larger changes occurring alongside greater tremors. He wrote how a ghost told him that any who dies in this school will feel their pain for all eternity, with no afterlife; just eternal pain and suffering within the school.

From the various newspapers he had found during his living tenure, he pieced together that this school must be held together by the four children who were involved with the 1973 murders. He theorized that of those four, the one who lived must have had more of a connection with the school than the papers told, as it wouldn’t make sense for her ghost to be wandering these dimensions if she never died in the school. He warned that, whoever ends up reading this, to watch out for the girl in the red dress, the fourth child and the sole survivor of the 1973 murders, Sachiko. He stressed how much evil energy radiated from her. He further detailed his findings on the three children who did die that fateful day and how to identify who was who. His last theory was that, if there is a way to escape, they should appease the ghost children before attempting so, as it might lead to dangerous and unforeseen consequences.

His last words were that, if he were to die, then he would keep smiling and help any survivors that he came across in hopes that they find a way out. No matter how painful his death could be, he insisted on smiling through the pain.

Kohaku and HiMERU both looked up to the ghost boy, who still had his eyes closed. He clasped his hands together in bowed to them before vanishing with a faint whisper of “good luck”. HiMERU muttered, “Thank you…”

Kohaku blinked several times before holding his chin in thought, “…This at least gives us some clues on how ta escape.”

“How so?”

The pink-teen sighed as he held his arms, his eyes twitching in slight pain, “Have ya had any headaches regardin’ knowin’ details tha’ ya shouldn’t know?”

HiMERU huffed as he shook his head lightly, “While it has been disconcerting, HiMERU hasn’t gotten those headaches. Though Amagi and Ayase were plagued by them a lot before we came here.”

“…Ya haven’t had them?”

“He has stated facts and ‘remembered’ memories that he has never had before this universe, but he hasn’t gotten any headaches associated with them. Your point?”

Kohaku blinked before continuing, “Right…Well, it seems tha’ me in this universe was very into ta’ occult an’ all tha’. So, it appears I ‘ave more knowledge regardin’ tha’ topic.”

HiMERU pondered a moment, “…What do you make of this?”

The younger pursed his lips, “Well, puttin’ together what I know due ta this universe an’ some of ta’ gamin’ logic I learned from Jun-han…Maybe appeasin’ ta’ ghosts is ta’ best solution. If his theory is right, then tha’ means ta’ three child ghosts tha’ died then are like three support structures. Appeasin’ each one might be like takin’ power away and makin’ ta’ place unstable. Then, ta’ fourth and final one is ta’ main one bindin’ this all together tha’ would only become appeasable after ta’ other three. After tha’, we might be able ta’ leave.”

“Appease each of the four ghosts to unlock a way out. Sounds easier said than done. Exactly how would we go about appeasing them?” The older leaned against a wall with his arms crossed as he slowly became light-headed.

“…Well, three o’ them were murdered…maybe an apology or repentance?”

“…We don’t know a lot of details surrounding the murder case, nor would that way work for the fourth who lived. He doesn’t see how these are connected…unless…?”

The younger’s tone was full of apprehension and curiosity, “Unless…?”

He pointed at Kohaku, “You said something about appeasing these three ghost children might make the place unstable, or take away power. But the paper also said something about shifting dimensions, yes? What if appeasing each of those three causes dimensions to shift in the right direction to allow us to find out more about the fourth?”

“Thus find a way ta appease her!” Kohaku beamed.

HiMERU paused before waving his hand in front of the two, “HiMERU thinks we have a plan.”

“Yeah!” The excitement left as soon as it came, making the younger repeat himself with much less enthusiasm, “…Yeah.”

HiMERU removed himself from the wall and placed a hand on the younger’s shoulder in a silent question. Kohaku muttered, “When we felt tha’ tremor freein’ ma leg…Would tha’ mean Tatsumi-han did make it ta 2-C, but he was shifted ta another dimension…which is why we can’t find ‘im?”

He shifted his gaze down to the rotten floorboards. If that was the case…then him not returning wasn’t his fault. Yet…where did Tatsumi end up? If they managed to follow through with the appeasements, would it mean all the dimensions converge or just the ones they are in? Would that mean Tatsumi would be left behind if they went too far?

He exhaled harshly. He could not jump the gun in this situation. There were far too many unknowns to assume anything. There were several far more pressing concerns at hand, some of which may even try to kill them. Even then, he couldn’t afford to be too realistic when the younger boy was in distress already. The older idol chose to tighten his grip on Kohaku’s shoulder reassuringly, “He thinks we will find him. And when we do, no more separating. Understood?”

It earned a small chuckle, which HiMERU was more than glad to take as he ruffled the boy’s hair affectionately. Kohaku shook his head afterward with a look of only mild annoyance despite his small smile.

The elder began walking down the hall a few paces before looking back and extending a hand out to the younger. Kohaku rolled his eyes before a lightning strike and a loud clap of thunder spooked him, launching himself to grab hold of HiMERU’s offered arm with a yelp. HiMERU did his best to withhold his amusement while Kohaku quickly released his hold and recomposed himself, crossing his arms and huffing with a child-like indignant look.

“Where do ya think yer goin’?”

HiMERU gave the other an amused look as he felt particularly inclined to be sassy, “Well, not like we will find any answers just standing around. There’s a lot of information we need to find out. We can double-check the rooms behind us in a minute.”

“Why not now?”

HiMERU shrugged, “We didn’t notice anything different until we got to 2-C. HiMERU guesses that the rooms behind us didn’t change all that much. Besides, it was just one classroom. There’s bound to be more helpful information elsewhere.”

Kohaku sighed, “Fine. But let’s try an’ find ya somethin’ ta cover up yer wound. Last thin’ we need is ya fallin’ over all ta’ time. I think t’was an infirmary down tha’ way.”

HiMERU slyly remarked, “And yet, you were more than willing to take his arm and let him lead earlier.”

Purple eyes glared at citrine, “Don’t ya dare say anythin’ ta Rinne-han ‘bout tha’. Understand?”

This time he didn’t hold back a low chuckle, “Sure. Loud and clear. Just one question.”

Kohaku hummed at him to continue. “Do you still have your paper scrap from that damn ritual?”

Kohaku nodded, taking it out of his pants pocket. HiMERU frowned at that, “Put it inside your student ID case and tuck it inside your blazer. Don’t lose that scrap, no matter what.”

If this alternate universe has multiple dimensions that are shifting around, ‘I’ will have a hard time finding him. That’s assuming the entity has him in this universe at all. It could be toying with ‘me’ and only throwing him in selectively. Judging by what ‘I’ve’ seen, he might be at a completely different school from all three of our groups. ‘I’ might not be able to help him if what Ayase said about the paper scraps ends up being true. Regardless, ‘I’ still have someone that ‘I’ need to look after. As much as ‘I’ hate to agree with Amagi, Oukawa doesn’t appear to be doing too well on his own. ‘I’ can’t leave him by himself. That much, ‘I’ do know.

~*~

Rinne sat with Hiiro on the raised stage at the front of Class 1-A patting the younger’s back comfortingly, “Can ya tell me what ya saw? Niki told me a few already…”

Hiiro’s blue eyes briefly held his before darting to the floor, hesitation and pain making them dimmer, “…What ones?”

Rinne didn’t quite know how to word it delicately. He couldn’t exactly bluntly state he heard about two of his closest friends murdering him and each other plus about himself becoming suicidal. Then again, he didn’t want to make Hiiro relive them. Rinne didn’t know if those were the most horrific, but they must have been up there if those alone put him into a hyperventilative panic attack when Niki found him.

In the end, he decided, “Not to make ya relive them…but mostly the ones with Kohaku-chan, Ai-chan, and ya…and the one that made ya not want to talk to me ‘bout it.”

The younger Amagi began curling in on himself, his voice becoming harder to hear even in the stillness of the room, “…I’m sorry.”

“Hey, don’t apologize. I’d probably do the same thing ya did.” Rinne ran his fingers over the top of his little brother’s head and through his hair.

“How ‘bout this? Just tell me of any ya think might be connected to this universe. Did ya have any?” Rinne gave a half smile as he wrapped his arm around Hiiro’s shoulders.

Hiiro never met his eyes and was far too quiet, even as he spoke, “Mayoi-senpai…”

Rinne couldn’t help a slight frown remembering the timid man. “What happened?”

The younger shrugged, “I don’t know…it was…just a close-up of a phone and…the recording…”

“…What was on it?”

“Just audio…but…he was screaming…followed by loud thuds.”

Rinne unconsciously tightened his grip around the other.

Ai-chan saw Hiiro die…Tatsumi-chan may have seen his and Kohaku-chan’s…Now Mayoi-chan?

He forced himself to loosen his grip as he rubbed soothing little circles with his fingers to keep the other grounded. “Okay, was there anything else?”

Silence enveloped the two. Hesitatingly, Hiiro scooched over so that their sides were pressed together. He turned his head towards his brother, pressing his face more into the other’s shoulder as he managed, “…Myself…”

If this was the normal world, he probably would have pushed Hiiro a touch away just because it would have felt suffocating. At the moment, he could feel his inner-big brother protectiveness leap at the opportunity to remind him that Hiiro was still here, by his side, and, most importantly, safe. Rinne raised his other hand to run his fingers through Hiiro’s hair. “Ya saw something ‘bout yourself?”

“…Isara-senpai…Shiina-san…”

Part of him wanted to shake the kid and tell him to spit it out, but that would only make the younger clam up more. When Hiiro would get like this he was like a skittish fawn. He had to be slow and gentle. “Were they with ya?”

Hiiro nodded into his shirt, prompting him to ask, “What were all of ya doing?”

“…was weird…like watching…myself.”

Rinne’s blood ran cold.

Just like Ai-chan…

“I…Isara-senpai was…carrying me and…Shiina-san had…a bat…We ran to…this door…I could hear rain.”

It was as if a void opened up and swallowed his heart.

Hiiro saw part of how he would die…Niki…Niki had a weapon! Did he-NO! He HAD to have been protecting them!

“Nii-san…I was missing an eye…Did I…Was I dying?”

At first, there was a portion of himself that felt relieved to hear about the wounds, if only to remove Niki from the equation. However, that brief bit of relief was overwhelmed with a sickening feeling. How the hell was he supposed to tell him?

He took a deep, steady breath. “Before I tell ya-”

“I want to live.” It was the loudest the other had been since he found him.

“…Hiiro-”

Hiiro stood up sharply then, hands curled into fists at his side. He turned to gaze at his brother, a cold, steeled determination setting blue orbs ablaze. “I want to fight. I won’t let this thing win.”

Rinne stood up slowly, maintaining eye contact as he did. His lips twitched into a smirk as his eyes lit up in pride. “Glad to have ya back, Ototo-kun.”

The soldier faintly smiled before hardening again. “Nii-san. There has to be a way.”

Rinne returned the stern stare. “I think I have an idea of how the whole thing is supposed to go down. I got a few bits from Mayoi-chan and Ai-chan, so let’s see if we can set up a timeline, then see what we can do.”

Before they could, a loud thud came from outside the room, from the direction of the entryway. Rinne quickly pulled Hiiro behind him and glared at the farthest door in the room. The brothers remained silent, ears straining for any minute sound.

Silence. Eerie Silence.

Hiiro breathily whispered, “What was that?”

Rinne returned the whisper, keeping his hold on the other’s wrist, “I don’t know. But something tells me it’s not a good idea to stay in one place for too long.”

He eyed the other door closer to them before checking back on the little brother quietly, “C’mon. We’re going. Just like we practiced at home.”

The brothers moved silently toward the door, the eldest taking a moment to peer through some of the holes to check the hallway as best he could. It looked clear. Very quietly, he pushed the door open. He wordlessly nodded to Hiiro as they both left the room and went deeper into the first floor, away from the entrance. Rinne never let go of Hiiro’s wrist who, in turn, clung to his.

When they reached the end of the hall, Rinne flashed his light around, spotting straight ahead another staircase going up and another hall to their right. He was just about to turn it off and ask Hiiro which way they should go when the younger practically shoved himself into him. “Oof! Geez, ya don’t haveta follow that closely.”

He stiffened when he felt Hiiro tremble against him, his eyes never leaving the hall they just came down. Rinne flashed his light back the way they came, but nothing was out of the ordinary. “It’s okay, Ototo-kun. Nothing’s there.”

Hiiro ceased trembling, though he still seemed wary. “Maybe this place is already playing tricks on me.”

Rinne commented, “Couldn’t stand silence back in our home universe. Now, it feels like a fucking blessing. If there’s one thing I’ve already learned from being here not even a half hour is that the silence is a good thing. So far, any sound has always been made by something or someone.”

He noticed how Hiiro seemed to try and hide behind the phone. “Where’s your phone?”

Hiiro hesitated a split second before pulling out his phone. It had a good-sized hole in the center like it had been stabbed. “Kind of had a run-in with a child ghost missing an eye. She tried coming after me with scissors…which was why I was hiding.”

Rinne sighed, “Barely here half an hour, and this place has already tried to kill ya.”

“I think that happened…mm, about five minutes after I woke up.” The way Hiiro started getting a little too casual about his brush with death was both disconcerting and a relief. It meant Hiiro was starting to act like he would back at ES, but also he had become far too accustomed to getting assaulted already.

“Well, let’s-”

A loud, girlish scream came from the hallway to their right, followed by a child-like giggle. Rinne turned to Hiiro, “I’m guessing it was the giggling one?”

“Sounds like her.”

They didn’t see either, but they could hear the girl begin to scream in pain as the child-like laughter started getting maniacal. Rinne and Hiiro shared a sideways glance before Rinne pulled his little brother towards the stairs silently, shutting off his flashlight.

~*~

Mao and Niki took a moment once they made it to the other side of the outdoor walkway to breathe. The latter had resolutely made sure the younger of the two didn’t see the remains of what happened to that student.

Mao heaved a deep exhale, hands on his knees. “What the hell was that?”

When Niki didn’t answer, he looked up and noticed the elder was looking back at where they came from with a far-off look. He waved his hand in front of Niki’s face, “Shiina-senpai? Shiina-senpai??”

Niki was startled briefly. “Wah! O-Oh, sorry. Spaced for a second.”

“You seem off, everything okay? Er, I guess that’s a dumb question…” Mao rubbed the back of his neck.

The grey-haired idol sighed softly, looking back out to the walkway. “Guess I’m just thinking about those visions.”

Mao followed his stare and leaned against the wall beside the other. “Hokuto told Subaru and I a bit about them.”

“Hm? How much?” Niki sounded distant and noncommittal.

“Mm, it was hard to follow him. I’ve never seen him talk so quickly or looked so frantic before, and that’s saying something considering everything we went through last year.”

Niki tilted his head in curiosity, “Oh?”

Mao raised an eyebrow, “What? Didn’t expect him to take it so seriously?”

“Nah, I knew he would. Just figured he was gonna focus more on the visions involving you three, considering that was one of the first questions he asked once we went down to the basement. He was quite insistent.”

Mao turned his gaze to the stone pathway under his feet. “Well, he did mention Subaru needed to watch out for a masked man and that we needed to stick together no matter what. The only other thing I could discern from him was something about Amagi and something like ‘saving him’. Other than that, he was speaking way too fast.”

He glanced up and stopped seeing Niki looking at him thoughtfully before the latter turned away, lightly laughing. “Hehe…Despite such a cold exterior, he really does care about others, huh?”

Mao fondly smiled, “Yeah, he does have a funny way of showing it some days.”

The silence stretched a little too long for both of their likings, it seemed, as Mao added, “I think Amagi reminds Hokuto of Subaru a little.”

“How so?”

“Well, they’re like the golden retrievers of each unit. Happy-go-lucky typically, energetic, hyper – well, maybe Amagi is a touch less hyper than Subaru.”

Niki choked on a chuckle, “Only a touch?”

The two shared a good laugh at that. Mao continued a bit more sullenly, “…I guess…One day Shiratori came to me looking for advice. After finally getting him to fess up it was about Amagi having snapped at him when they were changing for practice, he just seemed so…lost.”

Niki was wide-eyed, “Ototo-san snapped? At Aira-san?”

“That’s what I said! He never struck me as the type of kid to ever lash out unless he was defending someone. Shiratori told me he had questioned how this weird-looking scar on his back happened and Amagi got super evasive and uncomfortable. He tried apologizing and then Amagi snapped at him, telling him to ‘drop it’ before he left looking guilty.”

Niki was deep in thought as Mao continued, “I told him he probably was uncomfortable that he was staring at it, but he completely denied it saying that they had changed in front of each other multiple times before. He said he knew that Amagi’s hometown’s customs typically looked down upon showing too much skin to people who aren’t family, but Amagi had had him help put on stage outfits before and he was fine with that.”

Niki muttered, “Rinne-kun is similar whenever I try asking about his hometown. He’s always super evasive and any answer I do get is vague. Sometimes he would get angry when I pushed too much.”

Mao hummed in agreement, “I noticed that. He was pretty vague about his hometown, and anytime anyone got too specific in their questions he would shut them down or avoid answering them.”

“Shiratori was concerned because of how unusual he was acting. It vaguely reminded him of…well, he told me what happened with Amagi just before the MDM after his….‘confrontation’ with Amagi-senpai.”

“Ah, that,” Niki sighed deeply, “Rinne-kun was in a sorry state that day, too. I think that whole ordeal was harder on him than he lets on. When it was just him and I, he was so quiet and…vulnerable. Like it pained him to his core to have had to treat his precious little brother that way. He cares and loves that kid far more than he would ever let anyone know, even if he does show it in an…unconventional way most times.”

Mao nodded, “That’s about what Shiratori told me of Amagi…The point I’m trying to make is that he and Subaru are quite similar. They’ve been through a lot, sometimes even refusing to share what they’ve been through, yet they still smile and try their best to make everyone else smile, too. I think Hokuto recognizes that, and wants to do what he couldn’t do for Subaru in the beginning.”

The older idol stayed quiet for a long moment. “…Wisdom doesn’t come with age, but with experience.”

It was then Mao was hit with a splitting, extremely painful headache that made him fall to his knees as he cried in agony. Niki exclaimed as he tried to catch the other, “What’s wrong!? Isara-kun!”

Mao’s vision blanked before reforming somewhere else in the school. He saw himself get pushed out of a classroom by Niki, leaving the other trapped as the door slammed shut. It then flashed to another scene, far murkier than the previous one. He could barely make anything out, save for the bright, minty-green color and a shiny, silvery object coming towards himself. It was then he heard a voice. Unlike the entity that sent them here, it was softer, higher-pitched, but no less frantic as it sounded choppy.

“Cat…ch…it!...Sa…ve…H…im!”

With that, his headache ceased, though it left him gasping for breath and digging his nails into the stone pavers for purchase. His skin felt clammy, yet deep within, there was an odd warmth. He couldn’t quite tell if it was comforting or not, but it slowly faded, as did the clamminess. Niki was practically shaking him, “Isara-kun! Are you okay!?”

His mind was raddled until an idea came to mind suddenly. He clutched one of Niki’s hands and looked directly into the other’s eyes, “Shiina-senpai! How did Amagi react after getting his visions?”

“H-huh!? He was panicking! Like hyperventilating and all that! W-why does that matter?”

“Did he mention anything about feeling like a cold sweat on the outside but warm on the inside?” Mao knew he sounded strange as he asked.

“U-uh! Um, yes!? And a splitting headache, too! But it faded after he woke up!”

“…woke up?” Mao whispered.

“Y-yeah, his visions were in a dream, just like Alkaloid…” Niki paused before his eyes widened, “…Did you…have a vision? Was there another voice?”

Mao muttered more to himself as he stared somewhere beyond the pavers below his hands. “But if they got it in dreams…I’m not even dreaming…unless…wait we are dreaming!”

“Uh, Isara-kun?” Niki tilted his head in great concern.

“Shiina-senpai! Alkaloid had them while dreaming, but they weren’t a one-time thing! Technically, what we are experiencing right now is within our subconscious, our bodies are more or less sleeping or comatose in the real world!”

“Isara-kun, what are you getting at? Did you have a vision or not?” Niki sternly reproached the other.

Mao was undeterred, “I did! That’s my point! It’s not that Alkaloid was special in some capacity to have received those visions before! And yes! There was a second voice! It was trying to warn me of what was to come! And it sounded just as weak if not more so as what people have described to me so far!”

“I-If you received a vision-” Niki started.

“This second entity Hokuto mentioned from Alkaloid’s visions is still capable of sending more! It’s trying to help us! But it might be dying or fading quickly! We have to help it!”

Ending Theme: Rasen – jon-YAKITORI ft. Ado

English Lyrics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVld7njUsOc

Chapter Text

Opening Theme: Face Down (Japanese Cover) – Sunrise Skater Kids

Original by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlL5hhNiyrw

Rinne and Hiiro had started piecing together the events that unfolded in this school several decades ago, from the serial kidnappings and murders to the school's eventual closing. One particular child’s picture made Hiiro pause, forcing Rinne to stop searching the classroom to check.

“Ya’ve been awfully quiet, Ototo-kun. Something wrong?”

Hiiro was still staring at the paper in his hands. “This girl…”

Rinne came back over to look, “Do ya recognize one of them?”

Hiiro tapped his finger on the picture of one of the victims, Yuki Kanno, “She…was the one attacking me earlier.”

Rinne paused. He hadn’t realized he must have been glaring until Hiiro prodded him. The elder brother took hold of the paper to reread the article, his mind filling in the blanks near the end. “Tongues were…severed and removed…mutilations far too…grotesque to describe…What kind of fucked up person would do such things to little kids?”

Hiiro gazed back at the picture with sadness. “Nii-san…she was missing an eye.”

The implication of what the poor girl went through was wearing down on Rinne, forcing him to look away from the newspaper. Hiiro’s next comment forced him to confront his mixed feelings, “I…kind of feel sorry for her. Sure, she tried to kill me, but…I can understand why her soul would be stuck here.”

Rinne thought back to Hiiro’s phone. She tried to stab him with scissors. The same weapon that took her life. As much as he understood the pain and agony and generally pissed-off energy, she still tried to kill his little brother. That alone nearly negated any sympathy he would have otherwise felt. If it weren’t for Hiiro mentioning how he was missing an eye in one of his visions that seemed to take place before his death, he would have just listed her as just another hazard of this universe. Rinne strongly suspected she would have something to do with his death if he didn’t protect Hiiro.

“C’mon, let’s keep moving. As much as we need to learn about our environment and its history, we need to find the others, too.” Rinne gently grabbed hold of Hiiro’s wrist and led him out of the room.

The second floor was much less eerie than the first floor…still creepy as all hell, according to Rinne, but certainly felt less dangerous. Maybe it was the lack of bodies so far. He honestly thought there would be more. Other than a few scraps of paper from news articles or notes from previous victims, there wasn’t much to glean from. He still felt a tingle run down his spine at the memory of finding that one note from a past victim of how the dead will never know peace and will feel their pain for eternity in these halls.

They made it to another branching hall before pausing to check with Rinne’s light. The stairs to the left that would have gone up another floor looked like the ceiling caved in on it, rendering it impassable. Scanning right, Rinne caught the tail end of a flash of light, followed by the clicking sound of a camera shutter. He pulled Hiiro closer, gesturing for the younger to hand over the table leg and to hang on to the phone before slowly approaching.

Hiiro shined the light as best as he could ahead of them while he was forced behind his brother. Rinne kept his grip on the table leg tight. However, when the phone’s flashlight caught sight of a familiar, purple-braided teen, Rinne sighed in relief as he called out, “Yo! Mayoi-chan! You’re okay!”

“Mayoi-senpai!” Hiiro brightened considerably.

Rinne rushed forward in his haste, letting his guard down. When he turned to see what Mayoi was staring at, he backpedaled into the wall behind him in shock, a loud cry escaping.

“Nii-san? What’s-?” Hiiro approached too, noticing the horrendous sight. He screamed louder and bolted back around the corner, falling to his knees as he quaked in disgusted fright.

Mayoi was staring at a wall absolutely covered in bloody viscera. Judging by the amount of blood and gore, it was clear that the whole wall was covered by what was once a person who had been thrown against it with such tremendous force that there was next to nothing recognizable to discern who it might have once been. Rinne dragged his eyes away from the nauseating sight over to Mayoi, who was still staring at it with a phone in his hand. He realized to his abject horror that the idol had taken a picture of it.

Mayoi spoke mechanically, unfeelingly, as if he were being clinical about his observations, “Disturbing, isn’t it? It was definitely a person once, a young boy at that, judging by the remains of cloth here and there.”

Rinne covered his mouth as he nearly gagged, “M-Mayoi-chan…”

Mayoi turned to look at the older man, his normally bright turquoise eyes were dull and dark. “Have you seen anyone? I worry for the younger ones. Especially Aira-san. I can only imagine how he must be feeling right now.”

“N-no…Mayoi-chan…why were ya taking a picture of…that?”

Mayoi’s eyes slowly started to become brighter as a look of confusion formed, voice returning to its usual cadence. “I…I don’t know.”

As suddenly as it had occurred, his eyes returned to that dull, dark, dead look. He spoke dismissively, “We should keep looking. I’ll check the first floor. You should go check the other section, I saw a walkway leading to another part of the school I haven’t checked yet. More likely to run into others if we split up anyways.”

Rinne couldn’t speak as Mayoi turned to leave, his figure disappearing into the shadows of the halls. He felt his mouth open and close as words began to form only to die before they could be voiced.

This isn’t like ya!? What the hell are ya doing!? I get ya were already going through a lot by this point and that ya had dark thoughts from time to time, but this!? Ya even agreed to stay together before we even did the ritual!

…Are ya being possessed? Is that what that little bit of the real ya I saw earlier was?

Whimpering followed by a startled gasp snapped him out of his thoughts. Hiiro had shuffled backwards into his leg, hands shaky on the phone as he kept staring down the hall they had come from. Rinne knelt and took the light from him to shine steadily at where they had just come from. Nothing was there.

Rinne sighed before turning off the light to conserve battery, helping lift the younger back on his feet. “It's okay, Ototo-kun. Nothing’s there.”

“Yes, there was! I’m sure of it now!” Hiiro desperately clung to his older brother.

Sensing his little brother was slowly reverting back to his fawn-like state, he slowly rubbed the other’s back comfortingly. Taking a glance down the hall, even in the darkness, nothing was there. He wondered if this universe was purposefully messing with them, making whatever could be behind them only visible to Hiiro.

“Would ya be able to tell me what it looked like at all?”

Hiiro finally took his gaze from the hallway, resting somewhere at his feet. “It was just like that wolf-creature that attacked me earlier…but more human-looking.”

Well, he was right about something fucking with them.

“Lemme guess? Lots of sharp teeth and glowing yellow eyes?”

Hiiro looked up at his brother in puzzlement, “Yes?”

Rinne grit his teeth. “That bastard of an entity set one of those loose in ES before we got here. Fucking threatened to use it to harm two of the members of Knights. Seems the fucker has sent his pets in here, too.”

Rinne pulled his little brother along down the hall, not even bothering to pause to look at either of the two doors they passed by. “Hiiro, stay with me no matter what. It’s not getting closer each time, right?”

The younger shook his head. Rinne nodded, “Good. We stay together, and that thing won’t come after either of us.”

Belatedly, he asked, “Do ya still have that paper scrap?”

Hiiro nodded and pulled it from his jacket pocket. Rinne frowned at that and pointed to Hiiro’s ID case. “Tuck it in there. That’s a lot more secure than just a pocket.”

Hiiro nodded and dutifully hid his inside the case. He tilted his head in question, “Umu…What about you?”

Rinne flicked his ID case still attached to his shirt by its clip. “Safe and sound.”

~*~

In Room 6-66

“So you say, Amagi Rinne. But there might be a nasty surprise waiting for you.”

All the leaders glared at the static as it turned its attention back to them. “Recall what I told your obstinate friend about giving you all the power to play god? It’s time to explain what I meant.”

“On occasion, I will provide one of you with a choice to be made that will affect what will happen here at ES. Each decision has its consequences, both for here and for their group in there. It’s up to you, the singled-out individual, to choose, preferably sooner rather than later.”

“Lemme guess? The choices and consequences will differ depending on the situation. And by sooner you mean on the spot or within an allotted amount of time?” Madara darkly surmised.

“Indeed. Now, since I told the demanding one about this power first, how about we start with him.”

All eyes turned to Natsume who raised his gaze from the table, a dark, daring look set firmly in place.

The voice chuckled mockingly, “Hehe, that brooding look suits you, oh God of Shinsekai. Just as much as despair will soon enough.”

The center monitor flickered to a camera’s view of the Seisoukan Dorms Main Office. Sora had just walked in, shutting the door quietly as he kept low. Crouch walking to the far end of the room, he only stood up when he reached a bulletin board, grabbing a key with the label “Master Key” from one of the hooks.

“Seems like your dear friend and fellow Switch member is being awfully careful for a reason, hm?”

A sound from outside the glass front wall spooked Sora into hiding behind a desk. The Doberman-Shadow stalked by, slowly rotating its head around the lobby.

Natsume gripped the table harshly as he snarled. “Don’t you dare…!”

“My! Perceptive, aren’t you? You know exactly where this is heading.”

Sora made his way back up front and exited the room, the creature now at one end of the lobby.

“Watch this.”

A ripple formed on the center monitor as the creature shuddered a moment. The monitor now flickered to what the creature was seeing. Confused shock turned to abject terror as the “camera” turned around to glare at Sora who was now frozen in place staring back.

“…Sick ‘em.”

With that, the monitor switched back to the building’s cameras. The creature demonically snarled and barked as it lunged at Sora. The young boy dodged the attack and ran around the various furniture in an attempt to confuse it. The Doberman-Shadow dutifully chased after him, snapping and barking the whole time.

Natsume stood sharply, his heart feeling like it was falling at a near-close call when Sora rounded a corner and the creature’s jaws missed grabbing his brown jacket by mere inches. The blond boy sprinted down a hall, occasionally looking back, as the shadow creature was in hot pursuit. Tsumugi gasped from his setup as Sora ran into a utility closet and slammed the door before the creature reached him.

Unfortunately, the doorknob was a handle, allowing the creature, after a few attempts, to open it slightly and begin to push it open.

The monitor snapped to the inside of the utility closet, showing Sora pushing a rack in front of the door just as the creature tried to enter. The Doberman-Shadow lunged at the door to forcefully push the door and the object, causing Sora to push with his back against the rack as its teeth and paws tried to force their way in through the small gap.

The static returned, “Now, given enough time, my pet will get through. After all, there is only so much a little boy like him will be able to do to hold it back. Though he could still attempt to save himself by crawling through that vent in there. That is if my pet doesn’t get him first.”

“You fucking bastard! I’ll kill you!” Natsume growled fiercely.

Several of the leaders glared harshly at the static monitor, several of them having bonded with the sweet, bubbly kid from Switch. Shu and Tsukasa, in particular, appeared especially wrathful.

“Non! If there is a single hair harmed on that boy’s head-”

“Call off that creature right now!”

“SILENCE!! HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN THAT ONLY ONE OF YOU CAN MAKE THIS CHOICE?!”

After the voice boomed, silencing everyone, it spoke again, much lower this time, “This is your choice, Sakasaki Natsume. This will be the one time you can order me and I’ll obey. You can choose to have me intervene, and I’ll call off my pet and have it return to my realm until Harukawa Sora returns to the safe haven. However, if you do, I will force Amagi Rinne to make a very difficult decision involving that precious little brother of his. If you don’t choose to intervene, nothing will happen to Amagi Rinne and Amagi Hiiro. However, it means your fellow member of Switch will not receive any aid in his predicament.”

The defiant attitude vanished almost instantly after hearing that. “Y-YoU can’T make me CHooSE betweeN saving my frieND and poTENiallY KILLing either of those TWO!”

“Oh, but I am. Well, you are assuming that the choices Amagi Rinne will need to make will result in death. His choice may be part of a butterfly effect that leads to one of their demises or not. However, his potential decision does not concern you here.”

“YeS it DOES!” Natsume’s voice cracked slightly in distress, “YoU can’T do thiS!”

“Being a god means every action you take in your realm will have consequences for all! Does a god not realize that providing a boon to one mortal may cause misfortune upon another? Of course, they do, oh self-proclaimed God of Shinsekai! You can’t demand a dealer to redo his deal just because you don’t like the hand you were given! The cards have been dealt, Sakasaki Natsume, will you PASS or PLAY?”

~*~

Sora was panicking. He could have sworn that creature wasn’t aware that he left the Main Office, wasn’t even looking in his direction! Yet it just turned around like it just knew! Now he was pressed up against a rack in a utility closet desperately trying to keep the death hound from getting in.

The monster pawed and snarled as it kept pushing against the door. Sora could feel its hot breath near his ear as it barked and growled.

He hurriedly looked around the room. He had to get to Koga’s dorm and get that binder. People were counting on him! He spotted a vent on the other side of the room, just large enough that he could easily fit in it. If Mayoi could do it, so could he!

He was bracing himself to bolt for it when, all of a sudden, the snarling stopped. The creature wasn’t pressing against the door. Wasn’t trying to open it anymore. Wasn’t making any noises.

Sora breathed heavily as he waited several more seconds before removing himself from the rack. Several more seconds passed before he began moving the rack away from the door a little bit at a time, pausing every so often to listen. There had been no other sounds by the time he fully removed the rack, not even after pressing his ear to the door to check.

He slowly pulled the handle down and creaked the door open. Peeking out into the hall from the crack, there was nothing there. He slowly pulled it further open and, before he even realized it, was now standing in the middle of an empty hallway.

“Wha…Where did it go?”

~*~

Rinne and Hiiro descended the stairs quietly down to the first floor. The elder had given the table leg back to the younger while he began to pull out his phone to shine a light around.

He hadn’t expected a sledgehammer to nearly miss him by a hair.

“Woah!” Rinne nearly fell backwards onto the steps.

A hulking figure of a man stood in front of them, eyes bleeding red and grey-skinned. It groaned at the duo, lifting his sledgehammer out of the splintered floorboards.

“Hiiro! Run!”

The two dashed in different directions. The hulking man swung his hammer through the air horizontally at Rinne who just managed to get out of reach of it. As he stumbled backwards, one of his feet stepped on a rotten board and fell through. He fell completely backwards as the boards dug into his skin, hissing in pain. Rinne looked up just in time to roll himself away from another hammer strike, though his ankle kept him in place otherwise.

“Nii-san!” Hiiro turned just in time to see Rinne doge the hammer strike.

He was about to come to his aid when Rinne called out, “Hiiro, get out of here! Just go!”

Hiiro gritted his teeth and ignored his pleas, instead bolting over to strike the attacker with the metal table leg. With great speed, the huge man whirled an arm around to grab the object before it struck him. He ripped it out from the younger Amagi’s grasp and tossed it aside. The attacker rushed forward and grabbed Hiiro by the throat picking him up with incredible ease. He threw him down the hall, the teenager skidding to a stop several feet away after hitting the floor hard.

“Damn it! I said go!” Rinne shouted at him.

The huge man turned back to him and knelt over him, wrapping his huge hands around Rinne’s neck and squeezing harshly. Rinne lashed out with his three available limbs to try and push the man away, but it was like the attacker was built like a brick wall. Even trying to grab the sledgehammer right next to him proved to not be viable as the thing was too heavy even for him. His lungs burned for air as his vision began to spot.

“LET HIM GO!”

Hiiro ran back with one of the several chairs from a classroom and slammed it over the attacker’s head, the force shattering the wooden chair to pieces. The hulking man groaned in pain and stood back up, as if getting a chair demolished over its head didn’t faze him. He turned to the younger teen and gurgled angrily.

“Yeah! That’s right! Come after me! You psychopathic neanderthal!” Hiiro taunted the attacker as he ran into one of the classrooms. The man chased after him with far more speed than his size and general movement indicated he would be capable of.

“Shit! Hiiro!” Rinne coughed as he sat up and tried to yank his leg out from the hole. When it dug further, he began prying the boards and chipping away at them with his bare hands.

Hiiro ran to the other side of the classroom and turned to wait with a determined look. The man stomped in, his groan coming out more of a mix of a shout and growl. He shouted at him, “I’m over here you hulking ape!”

The monster of a man started approaching, navigating its way around the various holes in the floor and desks in the way. Hiiro kept moving around, agitating it further as it was forced to turn around or double back. He eventually maneuvered himself to have his back to a particularly large hole in the floor. Catching the light just right, Hiiro realized who the attacker was, having seen his picture in the newspaper. “You know, for someone trying to murder even as a spirit, you’re quite considerate of public property, Yoshikazu Yanagihori!”

At the mention of his name, Yoshikazu screeched and charged at him, stomping and destroying desks and chairs in his way. Hiiro grinned as he flung himself right to dodge the incoming attack. Yoshikazu tripped on a previous hole and landed with a loud thud on the ground, sliding just to the edge of the hole. Hiiro took his moment and bolted out of the classroom.

Rinne had just managed to free his foot when Hiiro came sprinting back yelling, “Get up! Go! GO!”

Hiiro sprinted further ahead and pulled, with great difficulty, a heavy door open, revealing an outdoor walkway, before bolting out. Rinne sprinted after him, hearing a sickening series of thuds and groans behind him come closer rapidly. He felt the hammerhead catch his ankle, causing him to fall forward and skid out on the stone pavers. Luckily, the hammer strike only tripped him as he was able to scramble back up and keep running to Hiiro on the other side who was holding the door open.

They attempted to close the equally heavy door with great effort. It stopped an inch or two away from fully shutting, the door track having warped preventing it from completely closing. Rinne spotted the hulking man growl out before slamming the doors on the other end shut.

“It’s not following!” Rinne panted as he and Hiiro collapsed on the floor by the door out of breath.

Rinne coughed and hacked a few times as his vision blurred a touch, still not having recovered from being choked. Hiiro slowly panted out, “At least…we made it…in one piece.”

Rinne felt anger bubble up, “Why didn’t ya run!?”

Hiiro looked up in shock, “And leave you to die!?”

Rinne glared at him, “What ya did was fucking stupid! That fucker already threw ya down a fucking hallway and your first instinct was to antagonize the shit out of him?! What if ya didn’t manage to outrun him!?”

What if I was unable to protect ya?

Hiiro gritted his teeth, a similar angry fire now burning in his similarly blue eyes, “First of all, I actually outsmarted him! Second, you wanted me to leave!?”

The younger stood up harshly to glare down at the other, “You wanted me to run away when I could do something to stop it!?”

“And what if ya couldn’t?!”

“Nii-san, I’m not completely defenseless! I know both karate and our hometown’s boxing arts! And even if I came up against something I couldn’t physically fight against I would have outsmarted them like I just did! So forgive me for trying everything I could so that I wouldn’t have to watch or leave you to die!”

Rinne stood up, his rage blinding him to the dull pain in his ankle, “I get the village taught ya to be my fucking shield-”

“THIS ISN’T ABOUT THE VILLAGE!” Hiiro practically screamed at him, “This is about me! After getting dragged into this death game, getting choked out by a shadow creature in front of my friends who could do nothing to help me, and then nearly getting killed by a ghost girl with scissors, the one person I wanted to see again the most was one of the ones who decided to come and rescue us and was the one who found me! The one person who swore that as long as we stayed together, we would be fine and was patient with me when I was on the edge of a mental breakdown! So sorry that I didn’t want the only brother I had to die and feel the pain of being choked out for all eternity or until whenever this entity decides to pull us out!”

Hiiro wiped furiously at his eyes as angry tears formed and fell. Rinne was silent, the anger deflating slowly and being replaced with a saddened sort of sympathy. Not wanting to escalate this any further, he softly spoke, “Hiiro…I’m sorry. I do understand just…next time please just listen to me.”

Hiiro muttered something he couldn’t quite hear. He asked softly, “What did ya say?”

“I said you’re a FUCKING HYPOCRITE!” Hiiro screeched, “You keep telling me to stop doing and believing things from the village and to stop taking orders from you, yet here you are doing exactly that!”

“Hiiro! The circumstances are different!”

“Oh, so the rules apply once it benefits or is convenient for you!?”

“That is not what I’m saying!” Rinne grabbed the other’s hand after he realized Hiiro had formed a fist so tightly that his nails started cutting into his palm and making it bleed, “Please listen!”

“DON’T TOUCH ME!” Hiiro raised his palm and struck Rinne across the cheek, causing the other to misstep off the wooden platform raised above the entrance area and fall harshly onto the stone floor.

Rinne sat up, groaning at the pain of falling and his ankle throbbing more incessantly, not even registering the sting in his cheek. He missed the look of absolute shock on Hiiro’s face before he quickly turned around to glare out the crack in the door, unseen tears shedding. Rinne looked up to see Hiiro’s back to him with his arms crossed, minutely once in a while shaking.

Shaking his head in disappointment, towards himself mostly, he finally took the time to investigate his ankle. The wooden boards had cut into the skin in various places, causing some minor bleeding. There was some bruising both on the front and back of the ankle, more than likely from falling backwards after getting his foot stuck and from getting tripped. Other than that, it seemed he may have just rolled his ankle minorly and would probably be fine with a few minutes of rest.

“How bad is it?” Despite sounding soft, Rinne didn’t miss the wetness of his younger brother’s words.

“…Not bad. Just some bruising and small cuts from…all that,” Rinne looked towards his little brother and paused a moment before adding, “…Don’t take this as me ordering ya. Ya didn’t do anything wrong. Don’t blame yourself.”

Hiiro wiped at his face before turning sheepishly to look at Rinne. Whatever depressive mood he had evaporated instantly as he stared wide-eyed at his brother. “Nii-san…where’s your ID card?”

Rinne patted his shirt pocket before glancing in horror when he felt nothing there. “Shit, shit, shit, shit! Where did it go?!”

Hiiro began mentally retracing their steps when an idea struck him. Looking out onto the walkway, he spotted the ID card. “Nii-san! It’s out there! It must have broken off when you fell!”

Rinne’s heart thudded heavily as he realized just where this was all going. Hiiro put a hand on the door, “I’ll go get it.”

Rinne launched himself from where he was on the floor, but the pain in his ankle caused him to only be able to grab hold of Hiiro’s hand. “Wait!”

Hiiro turned back wide-eyed at seeing his brother splayed out on the floor, “Nii-san, you can’t walk!”

The younger helped the other sit up properly, kneeling to be at eye level. “I know we aren’t supposed to separate for any reason, but it’s not that far and I’m still within eyesight. It will only take me a minute or two to go out there and return. Please…”

The older redhead was about to object when he felt the room slow to a crawl. Even the sound of rain slowly ceased as rain droplets hung suspended in midair. Rinne couldn’t move.

What the absolute fuck is happening!?

~*~

Natsume curled in on himself in his chair, refusing to raise his head from his knees as Shu patted his back. The others glared at the screen as the entity talked to Rinne, hearing his inner thoughts.

Hello again, Amagi Rinne.

Oh, not ya again! What do ya want now!?

Situations in ES have resulted in me returning to you with a decision that you must make.

What the hell does that even mean?!

I gave Sakasaki Natsume a choice to make. Each decision came with its own rewards and consequences. The consequence of his choice means you now have to make a decision.

Natsume pulled his head up at Rinne’s next thought echoing around the room.

So you’re toying with the leaders!? Even when they are helpless to do anything!?

Hence why I decided to periodically give them choices to make. He just so happened to have been quite irritating since you lot began my trial, so he was the first.

What did ya make him do?

Simple really. His choice revolved around situations and other people here in ES.

Rinne could feel coldness seep into his soul once he remembered the other visions.

Regardless, you now have to make a decision here. I won’t unfreeze time until you do.

…What are the choices? And what are the catches?

Hehe, I do love when mortals realize something is amiss. Your two choices are thus: Let your little brother go alone to retrieve your ID card or insist he can’t go alone and that you go with him.

Ya want me to risk his safety even after knowing all those visions!?

His blood boiled and curdled in an instant.

You are very insistent on protecting your little brother. Willing to do anything to ensure his safety…but would you? Even at the cost of sacrificing someone else’s little brother? Let me show you what is happening right now.

The screen split between the alternate universe and one of the cafeterias in ES. Nazuna and Ritsu were gathering some nonperishable foods to hand out to the other rooms, surmising that this would be a long, long-lasting situation. Ritsu had just entered one of the back freezers to grab something.

The freezer door slammed shut and locked by an unknown force. The temperature control for the freezer started to dial lower and lower.

Ritsu banged his fist on the door. Nazuna tried to open it with no luck, desperation evident in his movements.

Rei felt his blood boil in rage and half of his mind was urging him to run out the door and get to his little brother. It appeared Rinne felt the same rage.

You would kill a little kid!? Have you no shame or heart!?

A foolish question to ask a being such as myself. If you go with your little brother, you will guarantee his safety, but I won’t release Sakuma Ritsu from his icy tomb. You let Amagi Hiiro go alone, the vampire boy will be spared.

Are you fucking serious!?

Very. It’s quite interesting, really, how similar you and that Sakuma Rei are. Parallels of each other, really, just like each of your little brothers. One older brother loves his little brother so much he wants to practically smother him with attention, while the little brother avoids him at all costs and holds a grudge. Then there is you and Amagi Hiiro…a little brother so adoring of his big brother that he can’t help but cling to, while you kept pushing him away and avoiding him…even abandoning him, just for your own benefit.

Don’t you dare bring that into this!

Ah, but if it weren’t for the visions and my intervention, would you and your brother be as close as you two are so far? Would you have sought after Amagi Hiiro as desperately as you have if not for my push?

I did all of that for his own good!

Of course, you would think that. Just like how you “attacked” UNDEAD this past summer, right? For their own good? For the good of idols that you love so much? Even after the MDM, I know you still doubt whether UNDEAD, especially Sakuma Rei, really forgave you and Crazy:B for everything you did to them…Would you permanently subject yourself to Sakuma Rei’s hatred to save Amagi Hiiro, by letting his little brother die in his place?

Rei gripped his hair and snarled at the screen before sitting down in defeat. Yes, Ritsu was in danger…but was he going to blame Rinne for trying to protect his little brother? Even he knew this was a nearly impossible decision…

…so when Rinne’s thoughts echoed again, he raised his head rapidly in shock.

Fine. I’ll let Hiiro go. I…I trust he will take care of himself.

…Can’t bring yourself to sacrifice anyone, hm? Ironic, given how you were more than willing to serve as the scapegoat to save the others of Crazy:B. How heroic…very well. When I unfreeze time and see Amagi Hiiro go out there on his own, I will release Sakuma Ritsu. Until next time.

The voice returned to the meeting room, a low chuckle emanating as it took in the despair on Rei’s face. “Now, was it that difficult?”

~*~

Rinne spoke quietly as he let go of Hiiro’s hand, refusing to look at anything but the floor. “Fine…fine.”

A brief flash of some unknown emotion crossed Hiiro’s face before he resolutely looked away, standing up with determination. “I’ll be back. I promise.”

He pushed the door open all the way before looking back, “I’ll leave the door open so you can see me.”

Rinne pried his eyes away from the floor to see Hiiro one last time. Had he any less control of his emotions, he would have started crying seeing that sweet little smile.

Hiiro jogged outside to the far end of the walkway. He bent down and picked up the ID card and waved it at Rinne with a triumphant smile. Rinne felt a chill on the back of his neck as a breathy sound echoed around him. He tried standing up to get a touch closer to the door when he was thrown back by some unknown force, landing on the far end of the entry way.

The door slammed shut completely.

Rinne stood up and hobbled to the door. He tried desperately to pry it back open, shouting Hiiro’s name in hopes the other would hear him. It was as if the door was merely a decoration. The school shook with a low rumble.

Then suddenly, it opened, and he was pushed through it by the same invisible force. Except he didn’t land on the walk way. He was back on the first floor of the first wing.

He landed on his hands and knees and whirled around. The door he had just come through was nowhere to be seen. Just a blank wall.

“No, no, no, NO!” Rinne hissed as he stood up and banged his fists in vain against the wall.

“HIIRO!”

After several seconds, he slumped to the floor, forehead pressed against the dirty wall. It was one of the only times he willingly let himself cry and break down.

~*~

Hiiro ran towards the door after seeing Rinne get pulled back by something in the dark and the door slammed shut. His heart raced, his thoughts chastising him for foolishly leaving his injured brother alone in a school that clearly wanted them dead. He was about halfway when he froze in place after hearing a noise.

A giggle.

He looked over his shoulder before slowly turning around fully. There was the ghost girl with the missing eye, Yuki Kanno. And she had her scissors.

She slowly began stepping towards him, sniping the scissors with each step as she kept laughing at him.

Hiiro rushed to other end and tried desperately to open the door. He repeatedly slammed his hand against the door, calling for Rinne. He could barely hear the school rumbling over his racing heart.

Just when the girl was almost upon him, the door opened and he was pushed inside.

The door slammed shut behind him as he stumbled onto the stone floor. Hiiro whirled around, first at the door and then around him to find his brother.

The room was empty.

“Nii-san?” There was no response.

“Nii-san!? Nii-san, where are you!?” Silence.

He was alone.

Panting, he looked down at his hand still gripping his brother’s ID card like a lifeline. After a moment, he tucked it into one of his shirt pockets inside the blazer, as well as his own. He was not going to risk losing them. Not again.

“Don’t panic, don’t panic,” He talked to himself, “He’s got to be here somewhere. Just get back to him and hand him his ID card, then apologize and don’t leave again. I just have to find him.”

He had just left the entry and was standing in the hall when he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He looked down one end of the hall and froze at seeing the shadowy creature that had been stalking him and Rinne since they reunited. It stood there at the far end, yellow eyes piercing into his very being as it licked its teeth with a grey-blue tongue.

Hiiro let out a small, startled noise as it spoke, something akin to a raspy, hiss-like whisper as if it had just learned to speak. “He…ll…o...pr…ey.”

The teenager spared a quick glance behind him to check the other hall before sprinting away into the darkness. The Humanoid-Shadow whispered once more before slowly walking its way after Hiiro, “Ru…n…bu…t…no…hid…e.”

Ending Theme: Rasen – jon-YAKITORI ft. Ado

English Lyrics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVld7njUsOc

Chapter Text

Opening Theme: Face Down (Japanese Cover) – Sunrise Skater Kids

Original by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlL5hhNiyrw

HiMERU and Kohaku glanced up a staircase and down a hall. Whatever directional signs that used to exist were deteriorated beyond recognition. HiMERU peered as best as he could in the darkness, “Which way is the infirmary, Oukawa?”

When he received no answer, he turned around, only to find Kohaku had begun walking slowly towards the stairs, as if in a trance. He took the few steps over and roughly grabbed Kohaku’s shoulder, startling the teenager who glared perplexed, “What?”

“Where do you think you’re going?” HiMERU sternly reproached.

The pink-haired boy opened his mouth to speak but closed it and formed a confused expression as he looked around. “I…I don’t know…I felt this…pull…I think we need ta go upstairs first.”

HiMERU closed his eyes and counted to 10 in his head, “Is this a good pull?”

“…I think so…?”

“Not inspiring a lot of confidence.”

“P-please! Let’s just check!” Kohaku’s eyes were wide as he kept glancing at the stairs.

The older one sighed, “…Fine. But stay close.”

Ascending to the third floor yielded nothing but two bathrooms, one for boys and one for girls. Looking around the main hall turned up nothing. The girl’s bathroom yielded similar results. HiMERU stopped to look at one of the mirrors and was unnerved seeing Kohaku stare down at the floor in the mirror with a wide, unsettling smile.

“HiMERU-han, ya good?”

HiMERU blinked and Kohaku’s reflection was normal, save for the concerned raise of an eyebrow. “He’s fine…just finds this school extremely unsettling. He can’t wait to get out of here.”

“Same.”

When they were just inside the boy’s bathroom, Kohaku pulled on the other’s sleeve and pointed to a dark spot near one of the stalls. The two approached the weird dark stain.

“Peculiar. The floors are stained with…something.”  HiMERU glanced around the area.

He was startled when Kohaku started gasping for breath. The younger grabbed hold of his sleeve as he tried to warn, “Some…someone died here…I…I can hear-”

Before he could finish he screamed, gripping his head as he fell to his knees. HiMERU grabbed hold of the other, “Oukawa! What’s wrong!?”

The younger thrashed for a few seconds before screaming again, bolting out of HiMERU’s grasp and out of the room. The stall door creaked, grabbing his attention briefly as he recoiled at seeing another dark stain inside the stall. Choosing to ignore the strangeness, he rushed out after the teenager. “Damn it! Oukawa!”

The teen hadn’t run far but was staring at the wall. HiMERU turned the teen to face him, “Oukawa, are you okay? What’s going on?”

The teen muttered nonsense, the unsettling grin from the mirror now real, “I don’t care if yer innocent! Yer listed as “buried alive,” aren’t ya?! Cleanup is a real pain in ta’ ass, too, ya know. Have some pity!!”

The elder teen gritted his teeth as he shook the other, “Oukawa! What are you saying!? You’re not making any sense right now!?”

The teenager simply cackled, purple eyes glazed over in psychotic glee. HiMERU had a thought of what was happening before he tried reasoning with the other again, “Damn it, Oukawa! If you’re possessed right now you need to fight it!”

Pink hair dangled over the kid’s eyes as he groaned in pain, before screeching again and smacking HiMERU in the face. The blue-nette, shocked by the sudden smack and spike of pain from his head wound, knelt on one knee as he held his smarting cheek, “Ow! That hurt, damn it!”

Kohaku just kept uttering nonsense while staring at the wall, that damn creepy smile refusing to leave. HiMERU growled in annoyance as he began storming away, “This is not funny, Oukawa!”

I don’t have time for this nonsense!

Just as he was about to get to the stairs a sudden, gentle force blocked him from going any further. He vaguely heard a familiar voice. “You realize we can’t leave him alone.”

“…Tatsumi?”

He shook his head aggressively. There was absolutely no way he heard the priest. It was just an echo in his mind of the last conversation he had with him.

Even still…he paused to look back at Kohaku, helplessly still staring at the wall with an unfixed gaze. He couldn’t help but think back to a call he made to him several years ago. He still remembers fondly smiling when the other called him in the middle of a power outage caused by a strong storm, acting as if he wasn’t scared at all but would squeak in fright at every little sound in the darkness. He blinked back to reality, staring at Kohaku’s small frame surrounded by shadows.

He sighed softly, “You’re right, Tatsumi. HiMERU can’t leave him alone…There has to be something he can do.”

He turned back and began walking towards the distressed teen, “There has to be something ‘I’ can do.”

Kohaku turned his glazed-over eyes to him, sounding angry, “Why ta’ hell are ya doin’ this? Answer me!”

Think…think! What would ‘you’ do if this were ‘him’?

Despite knowing Kohaku’s eyes were purple, he couldn’t help but see yellow as he pulled the other into a tight hug, running a hand through the younger’s hair. “Oukawa…Oukawa, please. Come back. We’ll go find everyone and escape this awful place, and take the fight back to the entity that placed us in this mess. But HiMERU needs you to come back. We can’t do this if you don’t.”

Kohaku’s body shuddered as a hand weakly tried to push him away before he fell limp. In a heartbeat, HiMERU heard the other’s muffled, normal voice. “HiMERU-han…why are ya huggin’ me?”

HiMERU exhaled softly in relief, “Thank goodness…you’re back.”

“…Um…HiMERU-han? What do ya mean by tha’?” His voice was muffled as it was pressed into the older’s chest.

He didn’t say anything as he tried to will himself not to let the tears he could feel try to surface, petting pink hair all the while. Kohaku hesitantly and lightly pushed at the other’s arms, “Uh, HiMERU-han? Could ya let go of me an’ explain?”

~*~

Mao and Niki entered the first floor of the main building, having taken a few extra moments to have the former calm down from his excited triad earlier and explain what he saw. Niki groaned, “Why is it always so dark in here? Don’t the lights work at least partially?”

The fluorescent lights flickered on above them with some lighting up every couple of feet down the hall. Niki darted his eyes around before wearily calling out, “Um, thank you whoever did that! Benevolent or otherwise!”

Mao sighed in exasperation, “If only it were as easy as that to escape.”

“Gib…it…”

The hushed whisper caught Mao’s attention, turning around to see what made the noise. He paled at seeing the ghostly apparition of a very young boy, blood dripping from the corners of his mouth and sweater soaked in blood. Mao tapped Niki on the shoulder to grab his attention, not letting the ghost out of his sight as he did so. Niki turned around and let out an aborted noise of fright.

“H-hello…little boy? ...Are you lost?” Mao could hear Niki’s teeth chattering.

He whispered to the older teen, “Shiina-senpai…I think that might be one of the children murdered back in 1973…”

“…If that’s the case…maybe we shouldn’t stick around…” Niki slowly reached for Mao’s hand to grasp it, readying to bolt.

“Gib…it…GIB…IT…GIBITGIBITGIBIT…GIB IT BACK!”

The ghost boy began speed walking towards them, mouth hung open as it screeched.

The two teens bolted down the hall, occasionally jumping over the stray hole or body that appeared as they frantically searched for either a way to escape or to block it off. Niki pulled the other towards a classroom, “Shit! In here!”

The door was long since broken and hanging off its hinges, but the ghost boy didn’t follow them. Instead, it went further down the hall before choosing a wall to sit against and hug his knees to his chest. Niki and Mao panted heavily as they caught their breaths.

“H-How did you…know it wouldn’t follow us…in here?” Mao asked between breaths.

“…I didn’t…thought we would haveta…give it the run around.” Niki placed his hands on his knees as he steadied his breathing.

Mao finally glanced up, only to recoil in horror with a startled cry at the horror before them. A high school student, long since deceased by the state of decay, was nailed to the wall at the front of the classroom with various items, from screwdrivers to scissors to knives. Next to it was another student who showed signs of melting and burns, like someone spilled battery acid or hot oil on them. It was slumped in a chair. Niki gagged and felt bile rise to his throat at the sight and rotten smell.

They heard a sweet, child-like giggle. A child ghost appeared before the bodies. She looked to be a young girl, maybe no more than 7…at least, judging by her clothes, as her head had been removed from her jawline upwards with only a faint apparition of what her head used to be to replace the missing portion. She pulled a knife out of the body on the wall and kept staring at them, giggling all the while.

“Lemme guess, another ghost from that murder? At this rate, we’re gonna run into the whole set.” Niki glared at the ghost.

Mao made an aborted noise of fright as he saw the broken door become repaired. Niki eyed it, the ghost girl, and Mao who was closest to the door. He asked, “How fast can you run, Isara-kun?”

It was as if everything went in slow motion in Mao’s eyes as he tried to look at the other teen before he was pushed out of the classroom, the door shutting with a loud bang. A dark seal overlays the door.

“Sh-Shiina-senpai!” Mao got up but stalled remembering the other child ghost.

Before he ran off, he called out, “I’ll get help! Just hold on!”

~*~

Little did he know, Niki had heard him and, with a small smile on his face, drew his attention back to the little girl a few feet away. “You heard him. All I have to do is wait this out.”

He readied his fists into a fighting stance, despite knowing it would do nothing against a spirit. “Bring it, little girl.”

~*~

Mao ran, frantically searching as the ghost boy gave a slow chase.

Okay, okay! There-there was a large hole! That’s gotta be it! Why would the voice say ‘catch it’ otherwise? Just have to find that! Urg! Of course, this just had to happen in an area we don’t know!

The dark halls did not help to expedite his search as he blindly ran, tripping over the occasional hole, body, or broken pieces of wood. On his next turn, he finally found it. A large gap separated the rest of this side of the school from a portion that, from what he could see, held a Staff Room and another door that must have led back to the second wing. He ran towards it, just barely stopping at the edge as he searched the other side frantically.

Okay, okay! Um, there, there was a mint color…damn it! This isn’t helping! What the hell would be that kind of color in this school?!

“Isara-san?”

A familiar voice called out from across the gap. Mao peered across as a familiar mint-haired man slowly approached out of the shadows.

Mint…mint colored hair…mint hair!

“Kazehaya-senpai!”

His excitement turned to shock at seeing the state of the diamond soldier. He was holding his arm with one hand as it dangled limply at his side, had cuts all along his uniform with some spotting blood, and more blood dripping from a corner of his mouth.

“W-What happened!?”

He didn’t understand the peculiar glance the other threw towards the shadows on his side, but he could understand that it seemed agitated, angry even. When the senior idol turned back, his expression returned to its usual serene, neutral stance, “Let’s just say…a really bad experience happened. Are you okay?”

Snapping back to the reality of his dilemma, Mao cried out, “Sh-Shiina-senpai’s in trouble! He’s stuck with this ghost girl and I can’t get to him!”

“Gib…it…!”

Mao turned back around after hearing that distinct noise, “A-and maybe I also have another ghost kid coming after me!”

Tatsumi narrowed his eyes in thought for a moment before his lavender eyes glinted with determination. “I have an idea.”

With great pain and struggle, he used his one useable arm to undo the cross pinned to the inside of his blazer. He held it to his lips and murmured something he couldn’t hear, possibly a prayer. The silver cross started to glow bright. Tatsumi smirked, “Seems the Lord’s power can still reach here.”

“Isara-san! Catch!” Tatsumi flicked the cross across the gap like a skipping stone, hissing in pain as the movement jostled his broken arm.

Mao leaned forward to catch the cross, nearly fumbling it before securing it against his chest on the other side. He looked down at the little cross as it glowed a bright white, seemingly both powerful and oddly comforting, though maybe the latter was mostly due to having experienced nothing but horror for the past who knows how long.

“Isara-san! Behind you! Show the cross!”

Mao snapped back and whirled around, showing the cross while keeping it close. The ghost boy was nearly on top of him but recoiled as the cross flashed a bright white, making it stumble back and hold its head in pain.

Tatsumi shouted across the gap, “It looks like the Lord has given it some uses for you! I think it might have enough to be used two more times before the power is used up! Go! Hurry and get Shiina-san! That should repel even the stronger ghosts!”

Mao looked back at the injured man, “What about you?!”

There was a grimace before Tatsumi replied, “I still have my rosary and Holy Water! I’ll be fine! I’ll meet up with you two later!”

Mao nodded before he sprinted back the way he came, hoping he remembered the way.

~*~

As the ghost boy recovered and chased Mao who had a lengthy lead, Tatsumi lowered his eyes to the floor. “Lord forgive me for lying. Please, protect Shiina-san and Isara-san.”

A whispery wind sounded from behind him as it went left. Tatsumi glared in its direction at the Assistant leaning back in a chair in a rather dark, gruesome scene. It crossed one ankle over the other knee as it used a dead teen’s body to prop an elbow on just so it could rest the side of its masked face against its knuckles, stance showing it was either bored or intrigued. He bet it was the former.

Tatsumi snarled quietly, “Do you have to dog my steps every second?”

The Assistant did not move even an inch, still staring at the idol. Instead, it moved the hand it wasn’t using to rest on to gesture down the hall before turning it back to look at its wrist as if it was impatient with how long Tatsumi was taking. Tatsumi let out a humorless laugh, “Maybe you should have thought about that before injuring me like you did.”

Gripping his broken arm in place again, he slowly walked his way down the hall, each step labored and pained. When he got close to the Assistant, it stood up. He shot a glare at it, “Come any closer to me and I will add another red mark to that pretty little mask of yours.”

All it earned him was the Assistant raising its hands unenthusiastically in the air in mock surrender. Before continuing, he narrowed his eyes at the masked one, lavender eyes ablaze with hatred, and shook his head slowly at it. The Assistant followed the injured idol once he got a little bit away and faded into the shadows.

Tatsumi knew it never really left, even if he couldn’t see it.

~*~

Mao desperately turned corners and ran like the wind as he tried to find the sealed door.

Two charges left…Unseal the door, then use the last one to save Shiina-senpai!

Finally, he found the door, faintly hearing the ghost boy somewhere down the halls he came from. Mao rushed to the door and presented the cross pin. The seal shattered and he yanked the door open.

“Shiina-” Before he could finish, Niki dashed out the door and pulled him along, the ghost girl just missing stabbing both of them by a hair.

The two teens booked it down the halls as they desperately tried to find somewhere safe. Niki glanced around and saw a set of stairs, “C’mon this way!”

On the second floor, Niki yanked Mao into another classroom and slammed the door. A large quake shook the school before everything went silent. The two were finally able to catch their breaths and be at peace.

Panting, Niki thanked the other. “Thanks…for coming back.”

Mao looked at him incredulously as he recovered, “Why…why would you think I’d leave you?”

Niki shook his head, “Didn’t mean…that way. Meant…that you came back…in time.”

Mao fondly smiled, taking a moment to pin the cross inside his blazer before he chanced a glance at the object in Niki’s other hand. A hunting knife already stained with blood.

Feeling himself quake at the sight of it, he pulled his eyes away. “Sh-Shiina-senpai…where did you get that knife?”

Niki looked down at it and dully dropped it on the floor, refusing to meet Mao’s eyes. “I…there was…a lot more of them…and…I had to defend myself…I’m not proud of it.”

Mao took the hint at what must have transpired in that room. Glancing at Niki, he couldn’t help the pang of sympathy at the despondent look making his blue eyes look gloomily dark. How many times has Niki put on a bright face despite everything just for his sake? How many times has Niki protected him from the nastiness of this school? How many times has Niki tried to comfort him, or had to be the strong one? How many situations has Niki forced himself to hold it together and push himself to do things he otherwise never would do?

Looking over to the windows, Mao saw the tattered remains of a curtain. Resolutely, albeit with slight apprehension, Mao walked over and tore part of the curtain down. He came back and laid the fabric over the knife to prepare himself before he began to clean the weapon. He could feel his skin crawl and every cell in his body screaming at him to drop the damn thing and run, but he refused to listen. When it was done, he removed the cloth and mustered all the strength he could to not focus on how the knife was so sharp it was catching on the fabric nor on how clear he could see his reflection.

He held the knife out to Niki, holding it by the flat of the blade with two fingers, keeping his gaze locked on Niki’s shocked blue orbs. “I know none of us asked for this, and that we are being forced to do things we wouldn’t ever do under normal circumstances. We are forced to stay strong and bite our tongues despite what we have seen so far and probably will see later, thinking that we are isolated and given such a cruel fate…But we’re not alone. We are all in the same fight. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and I…I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make sure all of us make it home! So…what do you say? Let’s get out of this school and show that thing who’s boss!”

Niki paused a moment before a relieved, genuine smile formed, taking the knife from the younger, “Thank you…Isara-kun.”

He secured the knife in a belt loop before giving the younger a fond grin, “You know, you don’t have to refer to me as ‘Shiina’. Niki is just fine.”

Taken aback by the sudden comment, Mao rubbed the back of his neck, “A-are you sure?”

Niki hummed in agreement before he cheekily replied, “Considering what we’ve gone through already and, as you said, ‘will go through’, I think we should be on a first-name basis by this point, Mao-kun~”

Mao stuttered but rolled his eyes, trying out the new name, “Okay, I get it…N-Niki-senapi.”

Niki laughed, the most honest laugh he had let out since this all began back in the dressing room of the variety show, “Nyahahaha~ Close enough!”

Niki flicked the area where the cross lay behind, “That’s some powerful little trinket. Figure out that other half of the vision?”

Mao’s smile faded to a small frown, “That mint color was Kazehaya-senpai. He...threw it over a gap after having his God bless it.”

“…What are you not telling me?” Niki was far more perceptive than he originally thought.

He felt himself begin to choke up, “He…He was injured…badly…He could barely move without being in pain yet…he still tried to help.”

“Do you know where he went?”

“He-He was still on the first floor, but I couldn’t cross the gap at all. It looked like it connected back to the second wing somehow.”

Niki affectionately tousled his hair, “Looks like we know where to go from here.”

Mao paused as his bangs drooped in front of his eyes, “W-What the?”

Niki parted the messy bangs and held out his hair clip, “You must have run pretty hard that it was almost completely undone anyway. Figured you might as well fix it properly.”

Mao swiped his hair clip back with an amused smirk as he readjusted his bangs back into place. In the meantime, Niki had spotted a baseball bat propped up in a corner, “Huh. Not even in a gym space and this is here.”

Mao eyeballed it, “Maybe a previous victim brought it?”

Niki picked it up and walked back over, holding it out for Mao, “Since you don’t like sharp things, this would make a better weapon just in case we run into anything…well, something that will be phased by it at least.”

Before Mao could take it, they heard a very, distinct, familiar scream that sounded in great distress and pain. “Nii-san! Somebody! Help me!”

Niki froze, “That was Ototo-san!”

Mao ran to one of the doors, “C’mon, he sounded close!”

“W-Wait up!”

~*~

Rinne gingerly stood up, forehead still leaning against the wall. He couldn’t sit and mope any longer. He had to keep moving. He hummed a small, amused laugh fondly at the thought of Hiiro encouraging him to keep looking. There were still so many unaccounted for.

Glancing around, it looked like he was right where the attack from that hulking man occurred. Except…there was no sign that the attack ever occurred. No broken floorboards from the hammer, nor the hole his foot made.

“Huh…odd.”

A ghost appeared near the stairs, their form was too hazy to describe what they must have been like alive. Rinne took a chance, not like he really had much to go on anyway, “Uh…can I help ya?”

“You don’t realize what has occurred, do you?”

“Uh, other than getting’ separated from my lil’ bro and the door disappearing, what are ya referring to?”

“Those shakes…this place is more than one…several layers make up this purgatory.”

“…Care to explain in simple terms?”

“There are multiple alternate dimensions that make up this school. Every once in a while they switch up and may teleport the living around. Some places are inaccessible in different dimensions.”

“…Okay…So whatcha sayin’ is that I got put in a different alternate dimension from Hiiro…gotcha…so, is there a way to, like, force the dimension change so I can get back?”

“Force? We mortals and spirits cannot force this realm. Only she can.”

“…Who?”

“Sachiko. The girl in a red dress. She is the master. That brute is her right hand. The three younger souls were some of the first to die by her hands.”

Rinne paused at the mention of the three child spirits. “Ya mean the ones from 1973? But the papers said that a teacher did it…”

“So they say. Look here.”

The ghost gestured to a bag hidden beneath a floorboard. Rinne cautiously knelt to pull it out, hearing plastic clattering. In the bag were a series of rectangular plastic pieces with two holes each. They were all labeled with the same name.

Kou Kibiki.

“Those tapes will provide answers that you will need. It was too late for me and my friends…but it may save you and yours.”

With that, the hazy ghost vanished. Rinne blinked rapidly as he tried to process everything. “Uh, thanks, weird obligatory ghost who somehow had answers?”

Rinne clutched the bag as he felt a weird tug direct him to the stairs going up. He sighed in resignation as he started climbing. “…I should know better than to heed random ass tugging in a school out of hell.”

As he followed the invisible pull, he thought about what the ghost had said. The mention of the brute could only mean the hulking man who attacked him and Hiiro. It was then he remembered that the newspaper had a picture of the teacher, the son of the principal, Yoshikazu Yanagihori. Now that he thought about it, the hulking man and Yoshikazu shared a lot of similarities…apart from the red eyes and zombie-like appearance. Didn’t the newspaper say he was considered a timid guy?

He paused when the tugging was pulling him past the infirmary, spotting a familiar blood-stained wall ahead. Rinne swallowed as he kept his head down, refusing to look at it as he followed the tug. When he reached the end of the hall, the tugging was leading him to the stairs.

“Okay…I see what that ghost meant ‘bout access and shit changing between dimensions. Could have sworn those were caved in when Hiiro and I went through.”

He stopped on the landing in between the two sets when his phone’s light caught a glimmer of something on the ground. Kneeling, he picked up a cell phone. “Odd. What’s this doing here?”

Turning it over, he spotted a distinct phone case pattern. Shining his light on it, it was revealed to be a black and blue plaid case with little white stars covering it here and there along with a goldish logo he was all too familiar with. “Trickstar!?”

He stood abruptly and called out, knowing only one of the blue Trickstar members could be here, “Hidaka-san? Where are ya?”

Silence.

“Damn it! He’s gotta be close!”

The tugging was incessant now. He kept calling out for Hokuto as he climbed further to the third floor. When he stepped out onto the hall at the top, his light caught another glimmer. It was another cell phone he picked up. This one was red and black plaid and covered in an obnoxious amount of glitter. He knew only one red member of Trickstar who absolutely loved shiny things. “Akehoshi-paisen is here, too.”

A loud thud was heard to his right. He shined his light down the little hallway and spotted nothing. He should have known better than to call out like a dumb horror movie character, “Hidaka-san? Akehoshi-paisen?”

The pull felt like it was pulsating a mile a minute towards the boy’s bathroom. He slowly made his way there as a loud series of bangs were heard against one of the stall doors. Rinne was about to grab the door when it was broken open…

…revealing Hokuto dangling and kicking in the air with a noose around his neck, struggling to breathe.

“OH FUCK! Hidaka-san! Hang on!” Rinne knelt down and wrapped Hokuto’s flailing legs over his shoulders before he stood, relieving the strain of the noose from around the other’s neck.

Hokuto gasped and coughed as he finally was able to fill his lungs with oxygen, legs stilling. Rinne groaned under the weight, “Okay, hold on. I’m gonna getcha down.”

He reached up and behind himself to untie the noose, using the wall behind them to help support Hokuto’s weight. He fumbled for a few moments but managed to loosen the rope just enough to slide the raven-haired teen out of its clutches. Rinne almost lost his grasp on the other as he managed to lower him slightly so that he could turn around and hold on to the lighter teen, settling him on the floor of the stall.

“It’s okay! It’s okay! Breathe, Hidaka-san, breathe! Nice and slow!”

Hokuto coughed and wheezed as his breathing became steadier. After a few moments, he was finally able to talk. “A…Amagi…senpai?”

“Yeah, it’s me! Are ya okay?”

He did not expect the younger to start crying, slumping his forehead forward to rest on his shoulder. “D…Damn it! Get here sooner next time!”

Loud sobs echoed in the stall as Rinne slowly patted Hokuto’s back. “Shh, there, there.”

As suddenly as it occurred, Hokuto snapped to attention, a look of complete confusion and shock on his face. “Huh? Wh-Where…?”

Rinne tilted his head, “Hidaka-san? Ya good? …How’s your neck feeling?”

“My…neck?” Hokuto glanced around in great confusion, “Why…am I here?”

“…Do ya not…remember?”

“I…last I knew, I was sitting on the stairs…and then…I woke up here.”

Rinne narrowed his eyes in thought. He winced when the teen asked, “Why am I here? What was I doing?”

“How to word this delicately…” Rinne hesitated.

Hokuto looked up, spotting the noose. “…Was I…?”

“Yeah…I barely got here in time.”

Hokuto glared at the floor in deep thought, “…I don’t remember doing this…”

Rinne sighed, muttering the first part more to himself, “As if shit in this school wasn’t already disturbing and weird enough. Where’s Akehoshi-paisen? He came here with ya, I’m assuming? I found both of your phones.”

In an instant, Hokuto’s eyes grew watery, his voice barely able to form words. “Akehoshi…Akehoshi’s…”

He settled with weakly tapping a knuckle on the next stall over. Rinne’s eyes widened both in horror and disbelief. He stood abruptly and left the stall to check the next one over, gasping at seeing Subaru’s lifeless corpse hanging by another noose, his shoes left neatly at his feet. It looked like a suicide.

“No…no…!”

This can’t be happening!

Hokuto’s choked sob brought him back. He couldn’t give in to despair.

“…C’mon. Let’s get him down. I don’t think either of us or him would wanna leave him like this.”

Rinne, after loosening the noose, carried Subaru’s body out into the hall by a corner, laying him down gently. He took a steadying breath before closing the ginger idol’s eyes and laying his arms across his chest as if he were sleeping. Hokuto knelt beside him and recounted the events that led up to this.

“We had such a bad argument before we parted…I said so many horrible things…even when I knew some of those visions, I still couldn’t do anything…none of them indicated it would result in this…” Hokuto choked down a cry, voice sounding utterly broken, “I wasn’t able to apologize…I pushed him to do this…!”

“No, ya didn’t, Kita-san.” Rinne grasped one of his hands tightly, “Look at me…Ya do realize, fully, that ya tried to hang yourself, too?”

Hokuto gazed at the wall ahead, his other hand gently touching the burn mark around his neck. “I…still don’t think it’s possible…but this stinging pain and that noose…I really did try…didn’t I?”

“…So ya don’t remember.”

The leader of Trickstar stared wide-eyed at the other. Rinne took the hand he was already holding and wrapped his other around it, staring intently at them. “I think…it was the same for Akehoshi-paisen. I’m sure he didn’t know what he was doing either. No matter what had happened, he never quit, right? Even when the whole world hated him before his father’s name was cleared…He never stopped wanting to become an idol. No matter how hard everything became, he would always keep moving forward.”

That little bit of hope and a reminder of old memories gave the courage Hokuto needed at that moment. “Th-that’s right! Akehoshi would never kill himself! He was the most determined to reunite with everyone!”

Hokuto’s gaze hardened as he stared at the wall, “That sort of reminds me…shortly after,” he gestured to Akehoshi numbly, “…there was a ghost that came to me. It said that there was a curse in this school, and anyone who becomes cursed has their minds taken over…and go crazy.”

Rinne slowly raised his gaze towards Hokuto, his question filled with apprehension. “What do ya mean by ‘taken over’? Like…go insane?”

The other slowly nodded, the dread being felt by both. “Mm, I think so…Like, they do and say things and don’t realize what they’re doing. It said some can snap out of it on occasion, but they would have no memory of it occurring nor what happened after going insane. Usually, it’s because of strong, negative emotions, or if one obsesses strongly over something. It also said evil spirits can take control over the affected person much easier than those who aren’t…Honestly, it sounds like what happened to Akehoshi and myself.”

“Mayoi-chan…”

Hokuto snapped to attention, “Eh? Ayase? Did you see him?”

“Yeah, but…” Rinne thought back to how the other teen acted, “…What ya just described…it sounded an awful lot like what was happening to Mayoi-chan.”

Rinne took a moment to recount what he had been through thus far, detailing exactly what was going on with Mayoi and how he and Hiiro got separated, regret filling him at realizing he never got to explain to Hiiro all those visions that may have changed their outcome.

“There was another ghost that said these were all closed spaces and that Akehoshi and I were the only ones here…but if you were able to travel between them…” Hokuto stood suddenly, a look of pure determination setting in, “We have to get out of here. If we stay too long, then we all run the risk of going insane, whether we are alone or not. If you were able to travel between dimensions, then there has to be a way out of here.”

Rinne smirked at seeing the usual seriousness of the other. The smirk faded to one of solemness as he whispered, looking back at Akehoshi’s body. “I’m sorry we can’t bring ya with us…I guess that won’t be possible for this universe anymore. I will make sure Hidaka-san and Isara-san both get out of here safe and sound. Please, forgive me.”

When he stood back up he asked, “Have ya seen anything that might be able to play something?”

“Play what exactly?” Hokuto tilted his head.

Retracing his steps, Rinne recollected the bag of tapes from the boy’s bathroom and showed them to Hokuto. “Don’t really know what these are. A ghost pointed them out to me and said they were tapes.”

Hokuto’s eyes lit up, “Ah, I haven’t seen these in a long time. My grandmother always had these. These look to be the tapes used in all handheld camcorders before videos could be taken on phones.”

“Do ya know where something could play these?”

Hokuto thought for a moment. “Akehoshi and I didn’t get a chance to explore the first floor. I was resting my ankle in the infirmary while Akehoshi investigated what he thought was Amagi calling out. There could be something down there…maybe. Compared to this school, a handheld camcorder is a more recent technology, so perhaps someone brought one with them.”

“Ya guys heard Hiiro?” Rinne sounded far too hopeful.

“Well, I don’t know if it was him. One of the ghosts here mentioned how we can sometimes hear the voices of others but it isn’t guaranteed that they are in our dimension, much less if their voices could be from the past, present, or future.”

Rinne tsked. “‘Course this place just loves to fuck with us.”

Hokuto began leading the way. “C’mon. Let’s investigate the first floor properly. There was nothing like a camcorder on the second floor.”

~*~

HiMERU and Kohaku sat on the floor in the hall as the elder recounted what had transpired. Kohaku glared at the floor with uncertainty, “From what I could remember, all ta’ bodies we saw so far we didn’t know…but tha’ stain…”

Recalling what Kohaku had mentioned earlier before the possession, HiMERU deduced, “HiMERU assumes that whoever died there…we must have known, correct?”

The pink teen nodded slowly, “I could feel all ta’ pain they were in and all ta’ emotions, too. They were so scared an’ in so much pain…ma whole body felt cold but ma throat felt like t’was on fire. No matter how hard I tried ta call out, I couldn’t…couldn’t even move…”

HiMERU looked kindly at the teen, resting a hand on the other’s knee comfortingly, “That wasn’t you, Oukawa. You’re still here.”

“…I know…I just hope tha’ ma intuition ‘bout ta’ stain bein’ from someone we know is wrong…”

“He hopes so, too.” HiMERU softly muttered.

“…I’m sorry for bringin’ ya up here fer nothin’. We should get to ta’ infirmary an’ patch ya up before we keep lookin’.”

That dim, metallic-like sparkling sound occurred again, this time louder, from right in front of the duo. They both looked up in time to see a bottle and some gauze materialize in the air before falling to the floor, along with a note. Both teens stared dumbfounded at the items across the way, not moving an inch.

“…HiMERU understands this place can mess with you and make you see things…but please tell him you just saw that, too.”

“Yeah…” Kohaku stood and hesitatingly approached the items.

His eyes lit up in recognition, “Tis hydrogen peroxide an’ some gauze…We could use these fer yer head.”

A blue eyebrow rose in skepticism. “HiMERU doesn’t trust any of those items. Besides, even if a ghost was truly friendly to us and wanted to help, he doubts that bottle is still good.”

Kohaku examined the expiration date before making a perplexed expression. “HiMERU-han? What’s ta’ date in this universe?”

HiMERU padded his pockets and found his phone. Checking the calendar, he was slightly startled. “2008. HiMERU knows that isn’t the year we are from.”

The pink-haired idol came back with the three items and presented the date of the hydrogen peroxide. “This is from our timeline.”

“…How…?”

Kohaku analyzed the bottle before looking at the note. “Whoever wrote ta’ note has either atrocious handwritin’ or doesn’t know Japanese well.”

The elder idol gestured to hand over the note before using the light from his phone to make out what he could. “It appears to say something along the lines of…‘save’…‘strength’…followed by something akin to ‘good luck’ and possibly ‘see you soon’. But that is just HiMERU’s guess, the writing is truly awful, almost worse than chicken scratch.”

“HiMERU-han,” Kohaku’s voice was low in a whisper, “What if ta’ second entity did this?”

Before the other could object, Kohaku continued, still in a hushed tone, “Think ‘bout it. We heard ta’ same noise with ta’ crowbar. Now we got gauze an’ hydrogen peroxide with a note. Ibara-han mentioned how Switch noticed one of ta’ entities felt particularly weak. If what ya could make out is correct, wouldn’t it mean tha’ ta’ second entity used more strength ta help us?”

A moment passed before HiMERU hushed, “If that is true, then we may not expect more help from the second entity anytime soon. He’d imagine sending visions is one thing, but materializing items into another universe is something completely different and would take far more effort to achieve. If that is the case, we can expect this thing is going to rest and be unable to provide any more aid without straining itself, possibly not even visions.”

“Which means…we’re on our own again,” Despite the somber realization, he glared determinedly at the other idol, “At least let’s fix yer head. Then we can start figurin’ out a way ta start appeasin’ these ghost children.”

“We’ll still have to stop by the infirmary. Remember one of the visions Shiratori had? Hopefully, we stop by in time before he goes in there.” HiMERU allowed the younger to start treating his wound, wincing at the sting of the peroxide.

“Mmm…” Kohaku was too focused on his task to converse much, carefully applying the peroxide before wrapping the gauze around the other’s head and tucking away the rest of the bottle just in case, “Tha’ should hold fer now…But Love-han is smarter than tha’. If he saw something like tha’ an’ mentioned how he felt disconnected from it, maybe t’was enough ta scare him away from there.”

“If so, that will make it much harder to find him.” HiMERU stood up and pocketed the note, the bandage and disinfectant already doing wonders for his headaches. “Let’s go. The sooner we investigate, the faster we can get out of here.”

The duo traveled back down to the previous floor before going down the one hall they hadn’t investigated yet. The first door was locked and seemed too well reinforced to break down, so they passed on. Rounding the narrow corner in the hall, they could hear hushed giggles coming from the next door, the sign above it reading “Infirmary”.

“…HiMERU already doesn’t like the sound of this…”

“…Tis a stupid idea…but we should check.” Kohaku rubbed his head as he realized they were forced to commit some of the more stupider tropes of horror. Checking out a creepy room with quiet giggling in a haunted school? Sounds like a surefire way to ask to be murdered.

Another voice in the infirmary made both of them freeze and chill to their bones. “Mm-hm! I love singing on stage with my friends. Being around other idols is love~ly.”

Shiratori…why would you still enter this place if you were supposedly so frightened of it!?

When the two peeked in, they couldn’t believe their eyes. There was Aira, sitting on a stool talking to two of the ghost children, Yuki Kanno and Tokiko Tsuji judging by their looks and injuries, seemingly blissfully unaware of the danger he is facing. They rush into the room, Kohaku crying out, “Love-han!”

Aira turned to face them, surprise evident, “Kohakuchi? HiMERU-senpai?”

“Shiratori, you need to step away from those ghosts, it’s dangerous.” HiMERU reasoned slowly. He paused seeing the blonde’s eyes. Usually bright green was now dulled and partially shadowed over.

“Hm? But they aren’t bad kids…just been through…a lot of bad things. Look.” Aira handed them a newspaper that discussed the murders.

Heavenly Post

“Four Children Abducted – Follow-Up Report”

The brutal, shocking deaths of the recent kidnapped grade-schoolers have now been traced back to the hands of the instructor found in the room with them. The scissors he held are confirmed to have been used to cut out the victims' tongues, ultimately leading to death through excessive bleeding or choking. One of the victims even had the majority of her head slowly and methodically removed. This cranial mass was found on the floor next to her body. The Heavenly Host Elementary students pictured here are the four who were found in that basement room.

HiMERU covered his mouth with a knuckle as he read the more gruesome portions. Kohaku was almost speechless. “…Love-han…”

“So you see, I can’t leave them. I want to stay.” HiMERU looked back from the paper to stare intently at the blond idol. The way he said that sounded far too mechanical as if a robot was practicing the lines. Periodically, he could see the shadows lift from the other’s eyes and his mouth move silently in a plea.

“Help. Me.”

It was clear to HiMERU that Aira was most certainly not in control. He was right to think the blond wouldn’t have walked in here on his own volition after that vision.

“Shiratori, while it is understandable, you really need to come with us.”

“Yes, Love-han, we have to find the others.” Kohaku reached out and touched Aira’s hand.

Those words and Kohaku reaching out for his friend appeared to anger the spirits. The duo were shoved away by an unseen force, skidding across the floor. The ghosts stood and grabbed Aira’s legs, hovering him upside down in the air before rushing out of the infirmary, Aira’s screams following them.

There was a sickening thud and splat.

Kohaku recovered far quicker and ran out of the room, calling after his friend. HiMERU raised himself up with a forearm slower to process what had just happened. That is…until he recalled those noises. With dread filling his being, he scrambled to his feet and rushed out of the room.

“Oukawa! Wait!”

He rushed down the hall and froze in abject horror, gagging partially at the sight. The wall was covered in blood and gore. Aira’s ID card was among the bloody bits on the wall, his picture barely recognizable. Kohaku was staring wide-eyed and shaking at the scene.

Until he let out a despairing scream. HiMERU rushed over and stood between the teen and the scene, holding him close, “Oukawa! Don’t look! Let’s go someplace else, okay?”

“I CAN’T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!” The younger teen broke free from HiMERU’s hold and rushed down the dark halls they had just come from.

“Oukawa!”

Before he could give chase, there was a series of loud thuds behind him, followed by a low groan. He didn’t have time to turn around before he was struck in the head and went unconscious.

Yoshikazu Yanagihori dragged the unconscious idol away, down the other hall.

Ending Theme: Rasen – jon-YAKITORI ft. Ado

English Lyrics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVld7njUsOc

Chapter Text

Opening Theme: Face Down (Japanese Cover) – Sunrise Skater Kids

Original by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlL5hhNiyrw

HiMERU felt the pounding of his head, fiercer this time. He groaned as he started to come to, finding himself in a small, musty-smelling room, the kind of smell one would akin to an old basement. “Where…is this?”

The sound of children’s laughter fills the air and chills him. From his vantage point, still lying almost face first on the ground, he could make out the ghostly visages of the three murdered ghost children standing around him, mockingly laughing at him. He demanded from them, “Where did you take ‘me’? Where’s Oukawa?”

As suddenly as they appeared, they vanished, laughter trailing behind in faint echoes before silence enveloped the room once again. He attempted to lift himself up but found he couldn’t, his legs refusing to cooperate.

A low gurgling came from the one door in the room. Yoshikazu came through, holding his hammer at the ready. HiMERU struggled harder.

Goddamn it! ‘I’ can’t move!

~*~

Elsewhere in the school, Kohaku was staring out into the dark forest from the banister of an outdoor walkway, sniffling and wiping at his eyes. “Damn it…why? Why is this happening ta us? Love-han didn’t deserve tha’…”

Unlike me…With everythin’ I’ve done…

The teenager shook his head and heaved a heavy, shaky exhale.

No…Don’t think like tha’…We…We just have ta keep tryin’…

We…

Kohaku turned to stare solemnly at the door he came dashing out of. Some part of him hoped that HiMERU would have chased after him. He hated to admit it, but he had come to rely on the other’s presence. This school felt far more sinister when he was alone.

“…So stupid…I shouldn’t ta ran off…startin’ ta get cold, too.”

He winced as he glanced at the other side of the walkway, feeling a heavy, dark air about the other side of the school. The teen slowly backed away from it and returned inside.

A high-pitched ringing bounced around his head as a child’s laughter echoed in the halls. He held his head tightly, wishing for this all to stop. For this all to be one bad dream.

“We were killed by an educator…”

Kohaku snapped his eyes open at hearing a faint, child-like voice. Upon looking up, his legs quivered in fear at seeing a girl in a red dress. Sachiko, the fourth survivor, simply stared at him before turning around and leaving, making him perplexed as to why.

Didn’t tha’ ghost say she felt extremely evil…? I didn’t get tha’ at all…well sorta…she felt more lonely than anythin’…why?

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he resolutely looked around the immediate area.

I haveta find HiMERU-han.

Swallowing thickly, he began walking back through the halls, trying his hardest to not look at the various corpses scattered about. At some point, he must have not watched where he was stepping, as he tripped and fell forwards, catching himself with his hands on top of a pile of shattered glass from a lightbulb overhead. He winced as he very carefully removed his hands from the glass and checked them over. Somehow, he managed to avoid getting cut.

Tha’s some relief…

Gingerly, he stood back up and walked a touch slower to avoid making the same mistake, making his way to the infirmary through the back way. He knew he wouldn’t be able to go past…that scene…but it was where he and HiMERU both were last.

The school was far too silent as the only sound being heard was from his own steps on the creaky floorboards. He made it to the infirmary and cautiously stepped inside. “HiMERU-han…?”

Besides the occasional howling of the wind, the room was dark and quiet.

Tis it just me…or is this whole school gettin’ darker…?

He glanced around for anything that would give him a hint as to the other idol’s whereabouts. He spotted something oddly peculiar sitting on the desk. An antique doll and half of a newspaper article. Picking up the newspaper, it read:

[Tenjin Public Relations]

The Light and the Dark Sides of Heavenly Host Elementary’s Principal Takamine Yanagihori.

Ground was broken for Tenjin’s municipal “Heavenly Host” elementary school building in 1952. It quickly became a source of pride for the town, as no elementary school had stood within Tenjin’s borders at all prior to its construction. Primary schoolers had previously been commuting to neighboring towns for class, so for them in particular, Heavenly Host was a godsend.

The coveted position of principal for this new learning institution was awarded to a man named Takamine Yanagihori. Yanagihori quickly became popular amongst the townsfolk for his charismatic personality, his work ethic and his firm but fair school policies. Registration and attendance soared well beyond the school’s capacity, necessitating frequent desk and chair reorders and even general building expansion. Essentially, due to Yangaihori’s unwavering dedication, Heavenly Host became a cornerstone of life within the humble town of Tenjin.

But all that began to change on the dawn of one fateful day, with an incident that would set the stage for Heavenly Host’s rapid fall from grace…

Looking around, Kohaku spotted another newspaper article detailing the shocking news of the murders. Two particular details caught his attention. “A…secret basement in ta’ school? An’…ta’ murderer was…Yoshikazu…Yanagihori?!”

Reading further, he learned that Yoshikazu was Takamine’s son and he hung himself in the school’s basement after escaping the mental institution he was placed in as a result of the trial. “Ta’ murderer was ta’ principal’s son?”

The doll spoke in a squeaky, off-putting voice, startling the teenager.

“From red door, six steps horse, thirteen paces rooster.”

“Ta’ fuck?” Kohaku looked between the doll and the newspaper, realizing the resemblance of the doll hanging from Yoshikazu’s person in his photograph. “His doll? Fuckin’ creepy…”

Still, his intuition was telling him there was far more to this mystery than the newspapers were letting on. He looked at the doll as it repeated its earlier phrase.

Can’t believe I’m gonna do this…

He pockets the doll, its voice muffled by the fabric. Next to the doll is a book, “Circumnavigating the Ancient World”, already flipped to a specific entry:

Beginning with the Rat affixed at due north, the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac shall be labeled clockwise around this timepiece compass. Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig, then back to Rat.

For ease of remembrance, it’s best to equate each direction with both its zodiac sign and its hour on the clock. North, then, is both the Rat and 12:00. East is the Rabbit, and east by southeast is the Dragon. This is the basis of circumnavigation within the ancient world.

Kohaku furrowed his eyebrows upon reading the entry. Didn’t the doll mention something about a horse and a rooster? Would it mean this book was translating what the doll was saying? If so, the doll had to be detailing the location of something. Considering the last random instinct he followed caused him to get possibly possessed if he is thinking about it correctly, maybe he shouldn’t follow the weird, creepy doll somehow capable of speaking. Then again, what other choice did he have at the moment? After finding HiMERU…what then?

With a sigh, he placed both of the articles inside the book to mark the entry’s placement and tucked the book under his arm. He also pocketed a few bandage rolls, knowing he would probably need them as he traversed this school from hell. Glancing up, there was a very disgusting, horrifying note:

Cut the tongue with a pair of big scissors. It’s so thick and warm! But how will you know whose tongue it is later, when you have a bunch more? Simple: Label it with a name tag! The tongue is very tender and squishy, so stick the safety pin in deep, to keep the label from slipping away.

Kohaku gagged, “What kinda fucked up note is tha’?!”

He stiffened when he felt a presence nearby on the beds. Turning, he saw the ghost of a small boy, simply sitting on the bed, not moving. He noticed immediately that it was Ryou Yoshizawa, one of the children murdered in 1973. Backing away slowly, he exited the infirmary without any incident.

Refusing to go the rest of the way through the second floor, he turned back to reinvestigate the first floor. He knew for certain there was no red door on the second floor, and he was far too focused on getting back to the infirmary when he first walked through to have paid much attention to anything else.

Nervously, he wandered around aimlessly, keeping an eye out for any red doors or his friend. He didn’t count on finding both of them at once, the idol leaning against the wall on the floor holding his head with one hand while his other held a paper he was clearly reading.

“H-HiMERU-han!” The younger teen rushed over to his friend and leaned down to check on him.

HiMERU removed the hand from his head as he turned to blink in shock at the other. Kohaku recoiled slightly as he saw more, fresh blood had dripped down from the blue-haired idol’s head. “Wh-What happened ta ya? W-Where have ya been?”

A wave of pain had overcome the older teen as he grimaced, “He would ask you the same question. HiMERU was going to go after you before someone struck him in the back of the head. He woke up in some small room with those ghost children and that brute of a man who, he assumes, knocked him out in the first place. After passing out again, he woke up here next to this note.”

He handed the note to Kohaku who read it. It seemed to be from a girl, judging by the handwriting, and she seemed to know this “Kibiki” guy who came to Heavenly Host willingly for research purposes, along with his assistant, Taguchi. She seemed angry, or at the least irritated, by this and dragged her friend into doing, presumably, the “Sachiko Ever After Charm” to follow after him. What caught Kohaku’s attention was that she apparently knew of a way for them to leave this place.

“This is…interestin’…”

“She seemed to know quite a bit.” HiMERU tried smirking before he hissed at another wave of pain, “Just when his headaches had just stopped, he just had to receive another head injury.”

“…Well, good news! I still have ta’ peroxide an’ found more bandages…hehe.” Kohaku nervously laughed.

There was a brief stint of silence before HiMERU lowly chuckled humorously. It was probably the most genuine-sounding laugh he had ever heard from the mysterious idol. “How convenient. Do you mind becoming HiMERU’s nurse one more time?”

Kohaku playfully rolled his eyes, “Tsk. I guess. But ya better not get injured again. I can’t be yer nurse all ta’ time.”

He replaced the old bandages and reapplied both the peroxide and fresh bandages, carefully checking through the other’s hair to find the wound. “What were ya struck with?”

“Seemed that brute was fond of carrying a big hammer around, so he imagines it was with the handle of that. He must have been aiming for HiMERU’s head but missed partially. Had the hammerhead hit him…well, he wouldn’t be here talking.”

When he finished, HiMERU must have picked up on the muffled sound of the doll in his pocket. “Oukawa, what was that?”

Kohaku chewed the inside of his cheek and glanced away. “Okay, so…tis goin’ ta sound very weird an’ all, but please listen ta what I have ta say fully before ya judge.”

A beat of silence followed before HiMERU sighed, “Not inspiring a lot of confidence, once again, Oukawa. Proceed.”

As he explained everything he had discovered thus far, HiMERU’s expression began changing from indifference to intrigued before finally resting on a deeply pondering state. “…Honestly, it’s the best lead we’ve gotten so far…though he does have a theory potentially.”

“What theory?”

HiMERU tapped at various details in the newspaper articles Kohaku brought with him as he spoke. “Each of the children had their tongues removed, yes? It appears they are like a trophy that the killer takes to remember each of his kills. If repentance from the killer is not possible as a form of appeasement, would returning missing body parts work? The papers don’t explicitly state whether the tongues were found or not, just that they were removed. He also surmises that the teacher, the same one who knocked HiMERU unconscious judging by the picture here, must have felt remorse for what he did anyways because he did hang himself where the murders took place.”

“Okay,” Kohaku scrunched his face in concentration, “But if tha’ were ta’ case, how are we supposed ta find their tongues here? Even by this universe’s timeline, this happened almost 40 years ago. Ta’ only one who would know is ta’ murderer. Plus he coulda hung himself ‘cause it dishonored his family or somethin’, since his father was ta’ principal.”

HiMERU shook his head like a teacher marginally disappointed with his pupil not understanding a concept. He held his gaze, “Two things. First, even you said your intuition was telling you there is more to this mystery than what the papers are telling us. HiMERU believes the same, considering there is still the issue of how that fourth child is haunting here if she never died in that event.”

He tapped a section of the other newspaper article, “Look at this section again. It says Yoshikazu was once a very cheerful and kind man, but over time, prior to the murders, it seemed his mental faculties were slipping, causing him to revert more often to a child-like state, including his speech. Now, how would a man like that, despite his size and the fact that he was still a teacher by some means, possibly because of his father, manage to kidnap four children and murder them the way they were? Remember, one of the kids had the top half of her head removed after the tongue was severed. He imagines each of these kids had a multitude of other wounds the newspapers omitted, plus knowing the other girl, Yuki, was missing an eye. How would a man whose mind might as well have been that of a child’s been able to do all of that?”

Kohaku’s mind went through each of the facts, his purple eyes alighting as he started putting pieces together. “He had a helper?”

“On the right track,” was all HiMERU responded with.

Kohaku puzzled a moment longer before he realized. “He musta been ta’ helper.”

HiMERU made a finger gun at the younger teen. “Precisely what HiMERU was thinking. He must have taken the fall while the real perpetrator got away.”

Kohaku then crossed his arms, a hardened look presenting. “Are ya sayin’ ta’ fourth child did it?”

The older idol scoffed. “Unlikely. These were methodical, more than likely practiced, though the mental state of the killer must have been severely compromised judging solely by how the girl, Tokiko, died. More than likely the real killer was interrupted or needed to tie off loose ends, so they purposefully left her alive so that she could blame his assistant.”

“But ta’ papers said she pointed him out directly…”

HiMERU nodded, “How much do you bet the real killer stayed silent during the killings and she was unaware that there was a second person in there?”

“…So…would her spirit be here ‘cause she feels regret or guilt fer not gettin’ ta’ right person?”

“Possibly…” HiMERU pointed to Kohaku’s pocket after the doll repeated its muffled instructions again, “The second thing HiMERU was going to say is that this doll may be connected to or will help us find those tongues since it is directly related to one of the perpetrators of this crime.”

“So, time ta follow ta’ talkin’ doll?”

HiMERU chuckled, “Like we’ve both concluded, don’t have other options. Though trying to discern what it means by ‘horse’ and ‘rooster’ is going to be difficult.”

“Ah, I think I might know already…” Kohaku showed the entry in the book to the other. HiMERU nodded in understanding and gingerly stood to place his back to the red door.

“So from here…it’s how many paces ‘horse’?”

“Six. Then thirteen rooster…so it’s six paces south and thirteen paces west.”

Following the directions, the duo found themselves close to a wall just down the hall from the door. The area itself held nothing remarkable, other than broken floors and destroyed bits of wood. Across from them was a large four-paned window covered in rivulets of water from the rain.

“There’s nothin’ here…”

HiMERU glanced down and furrowed his eyebrows before kneeling to inspect the floor at his feet. “There appears to be a board that is slightly raised compared to the others. If only he still had the crowbar…”

He violently shook. “No…he will not go back there.”

“Well…I’m not either…” Kohaku glared at a corner.

“He would never ask you to.” The kindness and understanding seeped with every word, making the younger relax.

Kohaku picked up a wooden stick, possibly from one of the various bits of destroyed wall or furniture. “Try this.”

Prying it open revealed a bloody hemp bag with a tag. Class 3-5 Ryou Yoshizawa.

The duo glanced at each other with knowing looks.

“How much do you bet there is a tongue inside?”

Kohaku narrowed his eyes, “Okay, Rinne-han, quit makin’ bets tha’ ya know ya will win.”

They were startled when they heard the doll speak again.

“re…turn…it…”

Kohaku sighed as a knowing smirk pulled the older idol’s lips, “Fine. Yer theory was correct. Let’s go to ta’ infirmary. Tha’s ta’ last place I saw ta’ ghost boy.”

Making their way back to the infirmary, and making very sure that they didn’t look too far down the hall and spot the gory scene, they found the ghost of Ryou was still there sitting on the bed. Carefully, they approach the ghost. He snapped his gaze to stare directly into HiMERU’s, causing the living man to freeze in place and begin to panic.

As the ghost boy began to groan, Kohaku, in a sudden surge of bravery, put himself in between the ghost and his friend, “Ryou Yoshizawa!”

The ghost looked perplexed at the young teenager.

“Yeah, I know yer name! We have somethin’ tha’ belongs ta ya. Even if I can’t sympathize with what ya have done, even after knowin’ ta’ horrible thin’s tha’ ya been through, this is yer tongue. So…we’re givin’ it back ta ya.” Kohaku handed the bag over to the ghost.

The ghost looked shocked before accepting the bag. A look of relief flashed over it as it began to glow white. “Thank you…Sir…”

The ghost vanished and the school quaked considerably. Kohaku began hyperventilating at the sudden, drastic change and the spiritual energy shifting around, causing him to collapse in HiMERU’s arms which reached to catch him.

~*~

Hiiro bolted down the halls, not stopping once as the Humanoid-Shadow stalked and gained on him. He stumbled multiple times as he stepped on bodies or uneven flooring. Everything was a blur as the only thought running through his head was purely focusing on survival.

At some point he started looping around on the second floor of the second wing before a large quake shook the building, causing him to fall over. At the overwhelming silence, he looked up and around. The creature was nowhere to be seen. He didn’t trust that for a second and continued sprinting, glad that his idol training ensured he had high stamina.

Bolting down a hall and turning down another, he was met with a surprisingly familiar hallway. “This is where the infirmary is…Did I somehow loop back?”

Looking behind him again and still finding nothing, he continued running down the hall. He slowed down around the bloody wall to not step on anything before he picked up speed again.

Something grabbed his ankle.

He fell face-first on the floor. Turning around, he paled at what grabbed him.

It was the Humanoid-Shadow. “Fo…und…you…NO…RUN…ING…IN…TH…E…HA…LLS!”

~*~

When Kohaku came to, it was to a greatly concerned HiMERU shaking him. “Fer fuck’s sake, HiMERU-han! Quit shakin’ me!”

“He wouldn’t have to if you didn’t faint on him!” Despite his initially angry tone, he softened his next words, “Thank you for…well, you were quite brave, taking the lead with appeasing that ghost.”

He helped the younger sit back up from the bed, the older having laid him down once the quaking subsided. Kohaku blearily looked around. “It worked?”

“He believes so. One down, two more to go.”

Kohaku lightly punched the other’s shoulder, “Ya mean three more? Coutin’ ta’ Sachiko girl.”

HiMERU airily laughed, “Fine. Three. You feel well enough to continue?”

Gathering their wits again, they returned to the first floor, reasoning that they still hadn’t investigated it fully, so likely the doll would speak up again when they got relatively close. When they reached the front entrance of the school, their theory was proven right when it spoke up.

“Go to where the floor collapsed but then got better. One step rooster, ten paces rat.”

“…What does it mean by ta’ first part?”

“Hmm…odd indeed.” HiMERU paused before he remembered from when he first woke up. “HiMERU might have an idea. Follow him.”

They began going up the western staircase, a greatly confused Kohaku following in toe. “HiMERU-han? Where are we goin’?”

“He remembers when Tatsumi and him first woke up we couldn’t go right down the second-floor hall because of a gap in the floor.”

“…But we don’t know if tis ta’ same dimension as tha’…”

“We have to try.” HiMERU reached back and held onto the younger teen’s hand. For once, Kohaku didn’t have a snappy comeback nor complain about it.

Upon reaching the second floor, HiMERU never thought in all his life he would be happy to see the bloody remains of a familiar legless girl. “It is the same dimension…and the floor!”

The floor was repaired.

Before he could encourage Kohaku to remember the instructions, there was a familiar ghostly groan.

“My…legs….give…them…”

HiMERU was irritated as he glared at the ghost girl crawling on the floor farther ahead. He pulled Kohaku behind him as he readied the rosary and Holy Water. When she lunged he shouted the Latin phrase Tatsumi taught him, presenting the holy rosary as it deterred her. He placed his thumb over the opening of the bottle and managed to replicate the flicking motion to only sprinkle a few drops of the water on the ghost, fully repelling her back to the void once again.

“Wow…” Kohaku stood wide-eyed with wonder.

Even HiMERU had to give an impressed smirk as he inspected the bottle and rosary. “Indeed. You don’t have to be spiritual for these to still work. That Tatsumi certainly had a lot of aces up his sleeve when it came to this universe.”

“At least he still has his cross…” The younger couldn’t hide his worried tone.

He paused for a moment in thought. “…If the cross is good against lesser spirits, and assuming the only stronger spirits are those of the children and the teacher…HiMERU thinks Tatsumi is probably okay.”

Kohaku barked a laugh, “How much do ya bet he’s been wanderin’ around chasin’ after us?”

HiMERU playfully ruffled the other’s hair. “Okay, Amagi.”

Kohaku couldn’t help sticking his tongue out childishly, earning a humored rumble of laughter from the older one. “Alright, alright, enough joking around. What were the directions again?”

Kohaku looked down to reach for the doll when he stopped. “Uh…I don’t think we need ta’ instructions…”

He pointed to a slightly raised floorboard near their feet. HiMERU leaned down and pried open the floor, pulling out a wind-up key. “That’s…not what he was expecting…”

“Where do we use tha’?”

“Not a clue…” HiMERU pocketed the little object before standing up.

Kohaku stared ahead. “Didya two look over ta’ room ya woke up in?”

HiMERU was about to retort when he paused. “…No…we didn’t. We were too occupied with each other’s injuries and finding everyone that we never looked over the room.”

Kohaku put his hands on his hips. “I thought ya said t’wasn’t anythin’ worthwhile in there when I asked before ta’ whole bathroom situation?”

“Well, to be frank, HiMERU wasn’t exactly thinking clearly then since we had just discovered the whole shifting dimension issue plus we were concerned about Tatsumi’s whereabouts at that moment. HiMERU didn’t think about that the room would have changed or shifted.”

“Well, let’s take a look before we check elsewhere.” Kohaku began leading the way, forcing the older idol to catch up.

Class 2-A was truly as unremarkable as HiMERU originally thought it was. He turned to Kohaku to suggest leaving when he noticed the teenager staring triumphantly smug at him. Seemed the smaller teenager had pushed aside a cupboard to reveal a sliding paper door. HiMERU rolled his eyes and shook his head with a fond smile before they both entered. It was a small back room, nothing much being back there except for a weird lever. There was a small keyhole that looked like the wind-up key could fit, but otherwise, the lever didn’t budge.

HiMERU used the key and managed to budge the lever a notch. There was a loud thud from somewhere below them, causing the two teenagers to stare at each other in dumbfounded confusion. Considering how quiet the school seemed to be at the moment, it couldn’t hurt to go check it out…hopefully.

~*~

The Humanoid-Shadow creature growled before beginning to pull Hiiro by the ankle into the room it jumped him from. Hiiro grabbed hold of the door frame for dear life as he was being pulled. A different hand came up around his hands and pried off his fingers from the door, Hiiro emanating a loud scream as he was fully pulled in.

He was slammed on top of a counter in the room. He thrashed at the Humanoid-Shadow before his arms were pinned above his head by one of its hands, the other holding his mid-section.

“LET ME GO!” Hiiro’s legs kicked in vain.

“He…ll…o…ag…ain…”

Hiiro froze as he raised his chin to look as best as he could at where this voice came from. It wasn’t from the one holding him down.

It was the Wolf-Shadow. The one that was missing an eye thanks to him. And it was staring him down from the other end of the counter.

~*~

Proceeding down to the first floor, Kohaku and HiMERU paused at a seemingly innocuous hallway.

They darted their eyes at each other before Kohaku muttered, “I know we haven’t explored ta’ first level much, but even I remember this wasn’t here before.”

“Perhaps the lever? Though even HiMERU thinks that is rather ridiculous.”

“Agreed. This school went from some demented psychological hellscape ta an RPG labyrinth with puzzles.”

“…What?”

“HiMERU-han, yer only 2 years older than me. How do ya not know about RPGs?” Kohaku leveled him with a disappointed look.

“HiMERU doesn’t have time to play games, Oukawa. He is far too focused on his career for that kind of thing.”

“Remind me when this is all over ta introduce ya ta some RPGs.”

“He will not guarantee he will remember.”

The two hesitated a moment longer before going down the newly appeared hall. What they didn’t expect was to find a very large locker room with several showers along one wall and several rows of locker cubbies. Of course, it was quite run down and deteriorated, much like the rest of this forsaken school. Several tiles were cracked or missing. One of the locker rows had fallen on its side and was hardly anything more than rusted metal. None of the showers had running water while one was completely rusted shut.

It was then Kohaku collapsed onto his knees and clutched his head, whimpering in pain. HiMERU, like a concerned parent, rushed over to check on the younger. “Oukawa, are you okay?”

“Uh-uh…” Kohaku shook his head as HiMERU noticed the other began to have a bloody nose, some of the blood dripping onto the tile.

“Oukawa, here, use these.” HiMERU had patted his pockets before he realized, far too late even by this crazy situation’s standards, that he had some pocket tissues. He handed them to the kid to stuff his nose, hoping it would stop the bleeding.

They tried to leave out the second door of the locker room before Kohaku whimpered in pain again, shivering drastically. HiMERU stared impassively at the teen before checking out the door, seeing the next area was a pool, and back to the rattled teen. He sighed before placing a hand on his shoulder, “Oukawa, it is clear you are not feeling well. There is not much ahead so let HiMERU handle investigating it. Stay here and rest.”

It was clear by the other’s expression that he was going to argue. To circumvent that, he held out Tatsumi’s rosary to him, “HiMERU will hang on to the Holy Water and leave this with you for protection, just in case. If a spirit comes at you, just repeat ‘vade retro, satana’ while you present it and it will stun or even repel the spirit. HiMERU promises to come back as soon as he is done. If anything does happen, he will call for you, okay?”

“…Just don’t do anythin’ stupid.” Kohaku muttered before turning back to sit on one of the still-standing benches.

“He promises!” HiMERU called out, giving the other a warm smile before exiting the locker room.

That warm smile faded almost instantly as he peered through the heavy rain around the pool area. It was so thick that he couldn’t see the other end of the pool. It was filled with murky grey-brown water with broken pieces of metal jutting out here and there. It smelled unpleasant.

As he began scanning the edge of the pool and walking around, lamenting only for a second how he wished he had an umbrella to keep himself dry, he thought back to Kohaku.

He has already been through too much in this universe. Especially after Shiratori…he needs time to properly grieve and process what is happening. Even if this is only temporary and Shiratori comes back in the next one, this is still traumatizing…even for ‘me’. ‘I’ have been through some dark things…did dark things…but this is a whole other level of messed up…But ‘I’ have to be strong for Oukawa now. He can’t take the full burden of this process alone, not anymore.

He makes it around to the other side and finds a small building labeled the “Pump Room”. The door was locked when he tried to jiggle the handle. Frowning, he turned back around, believing he had investigated everything to the best of his ability, barring going into the pool itself. He paused upon noticing a glimmer on the floor on the longer side of the pool. Kneeling, he dug out a key that had the Pump Room’s label on it.

Oddly convenient…though it wasn’t here before…

“I’ve had enough…”

HiMERU’s eyes widened hearing a familiar voice before sharply looking up upon hearing a splash in the water. Ripples echoed from a place near one end.

“Was that…Oukawa?” HiMERU quickly stood up and checked the vicinity, “No, he should still be in the locker room…”

Despite his certainty, there was a nagging dread building in his being as a sense of urgency rushed through his brain. He had to check on him.

“Oukawa?” He called out into the locker room but got no response. A quick glance proved the young teenager was nowhere in the room.

Fear encapsulated his mind as he realized with horror that, perhaps, Kohaku had been what disturbed the pool. That he had jumped in. With a sickening beat, he realized that Kohaku never surfaced.

Is he going to drown!? Shit!

He rushed out of the locker room and back to the pool staring intently at the water.

‘I’ shouldn’t have left him alone! Damn it! Where were those ripples?

Not wasting any time, he jumped into the pool and dove around, desperately trying to find the other teenager. The water got into his mouth and it tasted almost rancid, but he couldn’t care less at that moment. All that mattered was saving the kid.

He felt around in the murky depths until he felt a hand that had a distinct, beaded item wrapped firmly around it. Tightening his grip, he hauled Kohaku onto his back and pulled them both above the surface. He rolled him onto the edge of the pool before hauling himself up. HiMERU desperately felt for a pulse.

Thank Tatsumi’s God!

He proceeded to perform CPR, desperately trying to get the teenager to breathe. “C’mon, breathe, Oukawa! Stay with him!”

After a few more presses, Kohaku coughed and sputtered, the bracken water coming out with every cough. The teen rolled onto his side as the coughing intensified with every breath he drew in. HiMERU leaned back and sighed in relief, “Don’t scare HiMERU like that! What were you thinking?!”

Kohaku slowly sat up, wheezing on occasion as he recovered. However, he grew short with the older idol, “What do ya mean!? Ya called fer me, didn’t ya!? I came runnin’ out an’…next thin’ I remember was ma mouth bein’ filled with water.”

The fire quickly left the younger as the realization that it happened again struck him. He whispered defeatedly, “…I’m so stupid…”

“No…he shouldn’t have left you alone like that.” HiMERU softly rubbed the top of the younger idol’s head.

He didn’t expect the younger to start crying. “I hate this…everythin’ tastes horrible and smells putrid…everythin’ ‘bout this place is horrible…what did anyone do ta deserve all this…?”

HiMERU was beside himself, unable to provide any soft words or marginal comfort. He could tell the other was reaching his breaking point. All he could do was work him through one thing at a time. “…How about we use the rainwater to get rid of that taste and smell? At least a little?”

Several minutes go by as they used the rain to wash away the grime and rinse their mouths. It seemed the distraction worked to some degree to alleviate Kohaku’s mental state. HiMERU paused to give the other a questioning look, the unspoken question obvious to them both.

Kohaku nodded, “A bit better, now…”

“That’s good…” HiMERU pulled out the key to show the younger, “There’s a Pump Room down the way HiMERU hasn’t explored yet.”

The unasked question proved unnecessary to voice, as the younger one stuck closely to him. When they made their way to the Pump Room door, HiMERU belatedly realized the younger still held on to the rosary in a vice-like grip. He tapped that hand and Kohaku quickly returned the item, reasoning that since they were sticking together it would be more reasonable to keep both the rosary and Holy Water on one person in case an evil spirit came after them again. It already proved that holding the rosary did nothing to prevent possession.

The key broke due to how brittle it was, but it did its job and unlocked the door. The room was dark, but the light from the open door sufficed to guide them around. Not much was there except one valve labeled “Drainage”, which HiMERU promptly turned, surmising correctly that it would drain the pool. There had to be a reason the doll led them to this area in the first place.

HiMERU jumped into the now drained pool and helped the other down, as they were in the deeper end. Several corpses dotted the bottom of the pool, one being particularly tiny, which HiMERU and Kohaku resolutely refused to investigate any further for the sake of their sanities. A glint of something metallic caught his attention inside a grate. The grate itself was rusty and practically fell apart with minimal effort on his part to pry it off, reaching in to find another, albeit rusty, valve.

“…Was there another valve spot in ta’ pump room?”

“Only logical place for it.”

Returning to the pump room, there was an empty socket for the valve labeled “Water Pump”. Kohaku shook his head, “First we drain ta’ pool, now we refill it?”

HiMERU blinked slowly. “…No…there has to be some sort of end goal here. The doll led us to one tongue…”

He slotted the valve and turned with all his might as the rusty wheel slowly gave way. It refused to budge afterward, leaving the two to go back out and check the pool again. This time, HiMERU spotted a little, bloody bag resting below the water pump, more than likely having fallen from inside the faucet. Picking it up revealed the tag to have the name “Tokiko Tsuji” on it.

“There we go. Now we just need to find the right ghost girl.” HiMERU climbed back out of the pool.

“Not like we can dry ourselves off, anyhow…” Kohaku removed his shoes as the feeling of wet socks inside equally wet shoes grew far too uncomfortable.

They returned inside the locker room and HiMERU spotted some towels and what looked to be an old clothesline in the corner. He gestured to it. “While we may not have too much time. Getting ourselves dry is a worthy side distraction.”

~*~

Rinne and Hokuto were about to descend the stairs to the first floor when a large quake shook the school, causing both to fall over at the force.

“Fuck! This one is huge!” Rinne shouted before his vision turned black.

When they both came to, they were most certainly not in the main building. In fact, the place they ended up looked way too familiar to Rinne. “Wait a minute…this is that entryway…”

~*~

While their clothes were not completely dry, it would have to suffice for now. Time was of the essence.

They left the locker room and reentered the school proper, only to be met with the two remaining child ghosts walking the hall. Kohaku shouted, “T-Tokiko Tsuji!”

The headless girl turned in their direction, blood coming from the wound on her lower jaw. Kohaku steeled himself, presenting the bag, “We believe this is yours! We wish ta return it!”

Tokiko accepted the bag with a gurgle before fading away, a small hand waving at them for lack of being able to speak her thanks. Kohaku breathed a sigh of relief. “At least tha’ is done.”

“Uh, Oukawa, we need to move!” HiMERU spotted the other ghost, Yuki Kanno, approaching them, and she was not happy.

The two bolted away before running into the girl with the red dress, Sachiko. She motioned for them to follow her into a stairwell, which, considering their track record, really shouldn’t follow her. But they did, considering they had a murderous, scissor-wielding child spirit behind them.

They stopped dead when the doll started crying. HiMERU huffed in annoyance, “Where are we going this time?”

The voice of the doll made their blood freeze.

“Where your friend was splattered…the floorboards beneath that wall…right under his globby entrails…GET IN THERE GOOD AND DIG IT OUT!!!”

Kohaku screamed and threw the doll away, collapsing on the floor in anguish. Even HiMERU was tempted to stomp on the damn thing as it began to laugh maniacally at their despair. He gave into the temptation and stomped its head in, breaking it to bits. They already got the information they needed from it.

“…Damn it!” HiMERU growled, “How does it expect us to just…go there and do all that!?”

“Hm? Is someone there?” A familiar voice called out from above them, though something about it sounded off.

Coming from the shadows up the next set of stairs was Mayoi. HiMERU never felt so elated. “Ayase!”

“You’re…o…kay…” HiMERU faltered as he got a good look at the clover soldier. His eyes were hardly the usual light turquoise, except for a slim ring around his pupil. The rest was a cloudy, misty grey.

Even his voice sounded eerie and robotic, much like Aira’s. “Hmm? Something the matter?”

“Er…It’s…” HiMERU had no idea how to word what he was thinking.

“Mayoi-han…” Kohaku shook from behind HiMERU, still on the floor as he stared wide-eyed at Mayoi’s hands. “What is tha’ in yer hands?”

HiMERU glanced down and paled at seeing just how caked in blood the other’s hands were. And they were holding a little pouch with a tag.

Mayoi looked disinterested. “Ah, that. Found it under some floorboards just up the way. It might be a charm or something. Do you need it?”

He tossed it carelessly at the duo, landing just in front of Kohaku. “I have no need for charms, anyway. I need to focus on finding Aira-san and Tatsumi-san.”

He was about to start walking away when Kohaku called out, “What ‘bout Hiiro-han? Aren’t ya worried fer him, too?”

Mayoi turned back around and tilted his head, dead eyes not showing any emotion. “Last I saw him, he was with Rinne-san. I’m sure he’s fine.”

“Y-Ya saw them both!?” Kohaku perked up ever so slightly, though he recoiled when he looked too long at the purple-haired idol.

“Ayase, wait!” HiMERU grabbed the other’s wrist before he had the chance to begin walking away again. He resolutely ignored the strong, hot sparks he felt at the contact. “We need to stick together! Don’t you remember? This place drives people insane the longer we are in it, we have to get out soon! Stay with us!”

He couldn’t tell exactly why, he just knew that if he didn’t convince the other to stay they wouldn’t see each other again for a long time. Wouldn’t be able to speak as themselves for a long time.

It seemed something started to crack in the grey mist clouding Mayoi’s eyes, as turquoise briefly pulsated larger and pushed away the clouds. During that brief bit, Mayoi reached into his pocket and stuffed a large series of papers into the other’s blazer pocket, before the grey mist took back over. Mayoi’s hand started to feel cold in his own.

“We will run into more people if we cover a larger area.” Mayoi pulled his hand out of HiMERU’s.

“A-Ayase-!”

“Don’t worry,” Mayoi dug through his pockets and pulled out the box cutter he had used to carve out the paper doll in what felt like a distant time ago, “I’m not completely defenseless. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

With that Mayoi disappeared down the stairs before a violent shaking took hold. HiMERU nearly fell over. “Damn it! What a belated time to finally collapse those alternate dimensions, Tokiko!”

HiMERU dashed back down the stairs, calling out for his club member. Kohaku shouted out, “HiMERU-han!” before scrambling to grab the bag and run after him.

“Ayase!” HiMERU called out into the empty halls, searching every which way to see if he could catch a glimpse of the other teen.

“HiMERU-han, wait!” Kohaku grabbed his arm and pulled harshly, “Ta’ dimensions shifted again! I don’t think Mayoi-han is in ta’ same one as us anymore!”

He harshly spat, “Damn it!”

It took several moments for him to regain his composure. That was certainly not like him. HiMERU wouldn’t have lost himself that easily. Yet, he couldn’t stop the feeling of absolute dread and loss filling his heart at letting the other slip away like that.

“…What did Mayoi-han give ya?”

Kohaku brought him back to the present. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the folded-up papers. Some of them looked to be notes from that same girl, as the name “Kibiki” came up time and again. What caught both of their attention was the one that detailed the exact way to return home. Kohaku grabbed the paper from him and reread it. “This is it! This is how we can return home!”

The second note from the girl was far more tattered and hard to read, but it confirmed that appeasing the ghosts had to be done first before they could do the ritual again to return home, so long as everyone still had their paper scraps and they had at least two people from the original group still alive to perform it.

The last paper dashed the hopeful atmosphere. It was a handwritten note from Mayoi when his mind was far clearer.

I’m sorry. If you are seeing this…it’s too late for me. I should have said something earlier, but I saw how I would die in this universe. I knew my fate rested in whether Aira-san would live or not, but I figured since we were all going to try and regroup together and Aira-san was already a priority it would have been redundant on my end to mention…tell Kohaku-san I’m sorry that I didn’t tell him everything I saw that night…some of them were just…too painful to repeat.

I tried to stall as much as I could before coming across…that scene, to buy you all time…but…this thing – whatever it was kept approaching me with knives drawn. I kept running from it but it seemed to be pursuing me –corralling me – in the direction of that scene. Before I realized it, I came across it, and I could feel the shadows begin to seep into me. From what I could gather from the…corpses that the shadows compelled me to inspect…this overtaking of the mind is referred to as the Darkening. I couldn’t even say what I wanted to when Rinne-san managed to snap me out of it briefly. It felt like I was being secluded inside my mind and forced to watch my body continue without me. That’s why I wrote this.

Please, I know this is hard, I don’t want to die either, but you have to move on without me, at least for this universe. By the time you read this, I’m probably too far gone or already dead. I managed to find notes that proved my theory about the paper scraps was right. Please, use this knowledge to get everyone out.

I’ll see you all in the next one.

HiMERU hadn’t realized he had started shedding tears, not even when they began staining the note.

~*~

Mayoi paused in the hallway, realizing only minutely that the dimension had shifted again.

At least he managed to get those notes to them, to anyone, in time. At least he knew he could do the final step now that he was alone.

He watched, relinquishing all control and putting up no more resistance, as his body started rifling through all the pictures of decayed corpses on his phone, disgusted that the Darkening forced him to do such things. He didn’t even bother listening to his rambling self as he mentally counted down once his body paused on that picture for Aira’s voice to be heard. He waited the painful few seconds, closed off in his own mind, as the darkness finally took over at the realization that Aira was gone. That he took a picture of his remains. That he dug through them.

The screams coming from his own body were barely registered.

Yet, despite it all, somehow, that small portion of his mind, that one, small corner his true self was relegated to, still remained. He saw in horror that his body was now covered in a black mist, completely unidentifiable now, as it began walking down the halls with loud thuds.

His phone was left behind on the floor, with the final audio recording documenting his fate.

~*~

Hiiro began kicking and thrashing harder. The Humanoid-Shadow simply stabbed his side with a claw.

A strangled cry escaped him as pain coursed through his veins.

This is it…! This is how I’ll die!

He attempted to kick again when the Humanoid-Shadow removed its claw from his side to stab his thigh, stilling that leg as his body vibrated harshly in pain. The school shook violently again.

“Nii-san!” Hiiro shouted as the creature slashed his other side.

“Somebody! Help me!”

The creature was about to stab him again when the Wolf-Shadow growled lowly, stopping it. Hiiro weakly looked up to see the Wolf-Shadow was now peering over him, hovering an eerily-human-but-not-quite-human hand over his face. Three of its fingers tipped with claws were extended, twitching slightly as if it were mimicking a claw machine.

“E…ye…fo…r…an…eye…!” It growled deeply as it began to slowly lower its hand towards his face.

Hiiro tried to move his head away, but the Humanoid-Shadow used its other hand not holding him down to keep his head still. He couldn’t help the squeak of fear as he braced for the pain.

“HANDS OFF HIM!!” He didn’t expect to hear Niki, but he was ecstatic nonetheless, even as he could feel his strength begin to slip away.

Niki barged in and smacked the Humanoid-Shadow in the face with the bat, shattering several of its teeth as it recoiled in pain, releasing its hold on the redhead. The Wolf-Shadow barely had time to look up and growl before Niki swung around and stabbed it in its other eye with the hunting knife, sending it flying backward into the other shadow creature as it covered its injured eye in pain.

“NOW!” Niki shouted to Mao, who Hiiro didn’t realize had entered the room with him.

Mao extended his whole arm to present a silvery, bright cross to the creatures. The bright flash of white light burned the creatures away who yowled fiercely in pain, leaving nothing of them behind.

Mao refastened the pin to his blazer before rushing over to Hiiro, “Amagi!”

“Ototo-san!” Niki rushed over, placing his hands on the other’s cheeks to look him in the eye, “Hold on! Stay with us!”

There was a low, whispery groan from one of the doors. The two older teens looked up to spot a shadowy mass staring at them. It looked like a person…or what once was a person. There was a dangerous air about it as it began approaching.

Niki picked up the abandoned baseball bat and readied the knife in his belt loop. “Mao-kun, get Ototo-san out of here.”

“But-!”

“NOW!” Niki lunged at the shadow with the bat and began fighting it off. The shadow appeared far stronger than the slow movements suggested.

Mao hurriedly pulled Hiiro into a sitting position on the edge of the counter, grimacing at the pained gasp the other made.

C’mon Mao. It’s just like when you have to carry Ritchan!

He began carrying Hiiro on his back, arms looped around the other’s legs while Hiiro’s arms were draped over his shoulders. Hiiro was definitely heavier than Ritsu, but he tried his best to leave with speed. When he exited the science lab, the northern part of the hallway was blocked off by the ghost girl, Yuki, who giggled as she watched them. He turned south and hurriedly went to the first floor, aiming for the outdoor walkway.

~*~

Niki battled the shadow, his bat splintering as it was forcefully pressed into his throat despite still holding on to it. He took his chance and reached for the knife in his belt loop. He slashed it up and into the shadow plunging somewhere into the vicinity of where a throat might have once been, blood spattering all over his uniform. How it managed to harm the shadow at all, much less make it bleed, was far from Niki’s mind as it finally rolled off him. Niki pulled the knife out and ran after Mao and Hiiro, not bothering to double-check to make sure it was dead.

~*~

Rinne wasted no time attempting to pry open the entryway’s door. When he recovered, Hokuto looked at him with slight worry. “What do you mean by ‘that entryway’?”

“That vision.” Rinne strained as the door budged a little, “Hiiro. Dying.”

That was all it took for Hokuto to spring into action and help move the door. Once opened, they both bolted out onto the walkway before pausing.

They were alone.

Both boys stared at each other in apprehension before a loud shout was heard on the other end.

The door opened, revealing Niki, Mao, and a bloody Hiiro on the younger’s back.

“Hiiro!” Rinne rushed forward, mind fully focused on his little brother.

Niki and Mao snapped their attentions to the duo rushing over to them. Mao cried out, “Guys!”

Rinne helped Hiiro off of Mao’s back and held him in his arms, kneeling on the pavers. He was partially surprised to see that Hiiro wasn’t missing an eye.

Did we manage to change something!?

Checking over his little brother, it was clear that, despite his eyes remaining intact, his other wounds were far too severe to treat without a trip to the hospital. He already was losing too much blood.

Mao and Hokuto barely shared a brief hug at their reunion before their attentions were brought back. Mao quickly pulled off his blazer and attempted to apply pressure on some of Hiiro’s worst wounds to stem the blood flow. “I-I…”

“I know,” Rinne sounded far too quiet, “I trust ya both tried yer best…”

The four remained silent, dread pulsating from each as they realized there was nothing they could do. Hiiro’s fate was sealed.

Hiiro coughed up some blood and blearily opened his unfocused eyes, “N-Nii…san?”

“Yeah, it’s me…I’m right here.” Rinne’s voice wetly cracked.

Hiiro weakly felt inside his blazer and pulled out Rinne’s ID card, “I…I got…it…”

“That ya did…that ya did…thank ya…” Rinne took the ID card numbly and stuffed it inside his shirt pocket, his gaze not leaving Hiiro’s face.

Hiiro wheezed slowly, “That…shadow…trickier…than I…thought…”

Rinne could feel the bile of despise rise in his throat before he forced it down if only to be there for Hiiro. “I’m sorry…I couldn’t…”

“Don’t cry…” Hiiro sounded stronger saying this, “I’m glad…to see…you all…again…Don’t…let this…thing…win…okay? We’ll…go home…all of us…Nii-san?”

“Y-yeah?” Rinne tried to hold back his tears. They stubbornly shed down his cheeks regardless.

“What…were you…going to…do to it?”

Rinne chuckled wetly, “Rip it limb from limb and grind it to dust…”

Hiiro smiled, “Save me…a limb…please?”

“I will.”

Hiiro looked out somewhere in between the group of people surrounding him. “…Aira…Mayoi…senpai…Subaru…senpai…are here…too?”

That caused the other three teens to look around in shock. There was no one else there. Mao turned to look at Hokuto and was shocked to see the other crying, staring numbly out into the rain and dark forest beyond.

Hiiro looked back to Rinne and gave one last smile. “I…love you…”

“I love you, too…” Rinne choked on a sob.

The death rattle shook all four of the young men to their cores. The silence that followed was occasionally broken by low weeping from the elder brother.

“…too far…”

Niki turned to look at Rinne, hearing only faintly what the other was saying. “Rinne-kun?”

Rinne laid Hiiro down gently on the ground before untying his grey blazer from around his waist to drape over Hiiro’s face. He stood, fists clenched tightly and teeth gritted. “This bastard has gone too far…!”

Ending Theme: Rasen – jon-YAKITORI ft. Ado

English Lyrics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVld7njUsOc

Chapter Text

Opening Theme: Face Down (Japanese Cover) – Sunrise Skater Kids

Original by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlL5hhNiyrw

At Ensemble Square

The expedition crew had just returned from a somewhat fruitful, if albeit traumatizing venture into searching ES. With Ritsu’s guidance, he and Nazuna were able to procure a few books from the depths of the library of tribal and ancient deities before another shadow creature, this one being dubbed the Tiger-Shadow, stalked its way into the room, urging the duo to leave before they could thoroughly investigate. However, the further issue of the freezer incident required them to return to their respective rooms after dropping off food supplies far quicker than anticipated.

Yuzuru and Ibara also had a run-in with another shadow creature, this one being called the Raptor-Shadow, and were constantly chased around the basement as they attempted to search for any objects that seemed odd in hopes that they were the referenced artifacts. They came back empty-handed, more so due to the Raptor-Shadow having been far too persistent and nearly catching Yuzuru. Luckily, it only caught his pant leg as he climbed into a vent with the help of Ibara as they were escaping.

Kuro, Chiaki, and Koga had little luck in the Sky Garden, despite a fairly valid assumption on their part with information provided by Ritsu that, perhaps, the artifacts might be more nature-like in origin if this entity was a deity from some sort of tribal or long since ancient society. The smaller Humanoid-Shadow from the elevator watched the whole time, not once making a move against them. Kuro theorized out loud that the real reason it didn’t do anything to them wasn’t because it was obeying the entity’s orders, but rather that the three of them were far stronger than Izumi and Leo were, even as individuals. It probably saw it would lose if it tried anything, so it didn’t.

Sora had managed to return, the first out of the expedition group, to the safe dorm with the binder from Koga’s and Tatsumi’s dorm room, keeping it tucked out of the way and excusing himself to the bathroom. He would have to wait for the next expedition crew to go out before he could radio his findings regarding the visions Tatsumi saw of ES. At least, it gave him time to process what had happened to him.

Each of them returned to sullen, quiet rooms, no one able to tell them what had transpired while they were away.

“You missed quite a lot. Now that is hard to explain. Where to start?”

“Quit toying with us,” Adonis muttered under his breath.

“I heard that.”

“What happened, you invisible freak?” Koga spat harshly.

It chuckled lowly, “Well, four of your friends are down for the count in this universe they’re in. Care for me to tell you how they died? Hehehe…then again there is so much more! How about a little refresher?”

~*~

HiMERU and Kohaku shortly found Yuki’s ghost wandering the halls a bit further in. Neither were inclined to further discuss what happened to Mayoi. There wasn’t much either could say, much less will themselves to voice. They had to finish this universe quickly. The longer they all stayed, the more likely more of them would die. The threat of punishment from the entity started to weigh heavily. They could account for two confirmed deaths, possibly even a third if the dark stain intuition was correct. They had little time left.

Kohaku paused at a belated realization. She was missing a tongue and an eye. Was just giving her tongue going to work? Did they destroy the doll far too hastily? He found his words caught in his throat, unable to speak as the ghost girl came nearer, moaning angrily as she held a pair of sewing scissors.

HiMERU grabbed the bag from Kohaku’s hand and shoved himself in front of the younger teen. “Yuki Kanno!”

Yuki’s ghost whirled on him, anger evident in her eyes. HiMERU pressed on. “We believe this is yours! We wish to return it!”

All at once, the anger vanished and was replaced by confusion, even as she was given the bag directly by HiMERU. The scissors dully clattered onto the floor. Her confusion was shortly replaced with tears as she began to cry her thanks to the duo. Her pale blue apparition faded slowly.

HiMERU sighed with relief. “That just leaves one more. Are you okay, Oukawa?”

“Oukawa?”

Kohaku remained silent, simply leaning his head against the other’s arm. HiMERU patted his head lightly. “It’s almost over. We will be out of here soon.”

The school began to shake the hardest it had thus far, forcing the duo to their knees as they lost their balance. Kohaku didn’t realize that he had lost consciousness until he felt HiMERU shake him awake as he called out excitedly, “Oukawa! Wake up! Do you recognize this place?”

Kohaku blinked blearily as he finally took in his surroundings. It was a far more modern-looking classroom. Nothing was falling apart. Everything was clean. The sky had grown quite dark as it neared 8:00 at night, or 20:00 by military time.

He sat up quickly, eyes blinking in startled confusion, even as he glanced around the room hurriedly. He deadpanned, “This is ma classroom…”

“Th-the classroom in your school!?” HiMERU was in disbelief.

“Yes-Yes! This is it!” Kohaku launched himself from his position on the floor and hurriedly investigated the room, finding his desk and for sure confirming this was the school he originally came from in this universe.

“How did HiMERU get here then? We went to different schools…” HiMERU gingerly touched his head but found he wasn’t wearing the bandages nor felt any cuts or wounds.

“I only had enough power to get you to one place…But I’m glad that I was able to get at least you two to safety.”

The duo whirled around, seeing the bloody ghost of Yuki Kanno. They both fell backwards in fright. Kohaku stuttered, “W-Wh-Why are ya here!? Didn’t we appease ya!?”

“…No…you didn’t.” Yuki’s ghost appeared remorseful.

“B-but we got yer tongues back! Was that not enough!? Didya still need repentance?”

Yuki stared blankly at him for a moment before looking away apologetically. “Appeasing us isn’t about forgiveness. It doesn’t matter if we forgive or not. Repentance is between the criminal and the victim. It’s the sole act capable of moving us. And we exist as fragments of the sacred ground upon which Heavenly Host is sealed. I believe moving us…is your best course of action. But…even with our tongues returned by the aid of him…his repentance isn’t enough…”

“So what, then?” HiMERU spoke lowly, much to Kohaku’s shock, “Why do you feel compelled to trap innocent people in that godforsaken school? To kill them and drive them insane?”

“That’s…not true.” Yuki kept staring at the ground sadly.

Before HiMERU could fully start his anger-fueled lecture, Kohaku stopped him. “Wait, HiMERU-han.”

The older idol turned to him, citrine eyes piercing with rage. “After everything we went through! After what she did to-”

“Don’t. Ya. Dare. Say. It.” Kohaku darkly warned the other, making HiMERU fall silent. He turned back to Yuki, “I’ll hear ya out. We saw a paper theorizin’ tha’ yer just like a cog in this infernal machine.”

He winced as a headache was induced by his next words. “I remember readin’ ‘bout how souls whose lives were cut short so violently…all ta’ emotions an’ regrets cause it ta turn violent an’ act out without any control. I understand…so, please…if there is a way ta bring ta’ others back, could ya please do it?”

“I…don’t think that’s possible anymore…” Yuki was reluctant, “That place has eaten far too many souls. There’s no more room. The agony and pain have nowhere else to go. So it feeds on the minds and souls that are bound there…like me…it won’t be long until I go back to being a vengeful spirit like before. Like I said, I’m grateful I had enough to save even just you two…”

Their sorrowful expressions perked up at her next words, “There might still be a way…but you would have to go back…appease all four of us and that place won’t have any of the cogs holding it together. You might be able to have your friends escape as it collapses.”

“Hold on a minute,” HiMERU pinched the bridge of his nose in agitation, “So you want us to go back there, and appease all four of you, even you three that we already did, again?”

“I don’t think tha’s what she meant.” Kohaku muttered softly, holding eye contact with the ghost girl, “Ya seemed hesitant on tellin’ us exactly why our efforts weren’t enough…is there a reason why?”

“…something I don’t want to remember…” Yuki muttered before becoming staunch, “But…if you want to know…no, if it will help you save your friends, then I’ll share it.”

She turned to HiMERU. “Could you please catch him?”

Before either had a chance to process, Yuki touched Kohaku’s hand, a flash occurring between them. Kohaku fainted. His vision faded to black.

~*~

After paying their respects, the four left the walkway and back into the eerily quiet halls, not a word passing between each other. That is until Mao asked the dreaded question, “…I know this is a bit…weird to ask now, but have you guys seen anyone else since we were placed in this universe?”

Rinne sighed, “Well, Merumeru, Tatsumi-chan, Mayoi-chan, and I were at one school and did that damn charm together to come after all of ya. But after we got here, the only one I saw was Mayoi-chan…and he seemed…off.”

“…How exactly?” Niki gently laced his pinky finger around Rinne’s.

Rinne returned the gesture by lacing their hands fully. “Honestly, don’t know how to explain it. He wasn’t really actin’ himself. Far too distant and cold. It was like he was possessed or somethin’. And if he was, whatever was possessin’ him was making him take pictures of corpses.”

Niki and Mao shuddered at the thought. Mao looked on confused, “That certainly isn’t like Ayase. He seemed far too meek and nice to do such things.”

Niki mumbled, “I haven’t seen anyone from my group, well, other than…”

Rinne looked away from him, flexing his fingers still laced together. “So…no signs of Ai-chan or Kohaku-chan?”

Niki shook his head glumly. Mao hesitated, “We…well, I saw Kazehaya-senpai…”

Rinne glanced up, raising his eyebrow as a silent question. Mao paused, unsure of how to proceed, before Niki beat him to it, “It’s best if we find a place to sit down and discuss all this.”

Hokuto finally spoke, “Amagi-senpai and I were trying to find some sort of camcorder to play these tapes he found. A ghost said it contained important information on it to help us get out of here. Have you two seen anything like that?”

“Nah. Mao-kun and I barely had time to explore this section at all between getting chased and attacked by ghost children, avoiding Mr. Big Murderer with a Hammer, and…well…”

Rinne sighed. “Do me all a favor everyone and stop treatin’ me like a ticking time bomb or that you have to walk on eggshells around me. Hiiro’s dead. At least for this universe. We will find him again. But right now, we need to focus on finding a camcorder so we can hopefully get the hell outta here.”

The three winced at the harshness but remained quiet. Until a severely strong quake rattled the school, making them all fall over at the violent shaking. Floorboards from above caved in and crumbled around them. Dirt shifted, and drywall bits fell from the ceiling. Once everything settled, the four young men slowly recovered.

Mao noticed something red and shiny had fallen onto Niki’s hair. “Stay still just a moment, Niki-senpai.”

He plucked what ended up being a red key from the chef’s head. Hokuto simply raised a dark eyebrow at him. “Since when did you two start referring to each other on a first-name basis?”

Niki rubbed his sore shoulder from landing on it. “Well, after all that has happened so far and him saving my ass from a headless ghost girl, I’d say we might as well just use each other’s first names.”

Hokuto looked curious. “Oh? Isara, what did you do?”

Mao rubbed the back of his head, the other hand still holding the temporarily forgotten about key. “W-Well, it kind of goes into the discussion about Kazehaya-senpai…”

Rinne noticed the key. “What’s that?”

“Uh…a key?” Mao inspected it.

“Well, duh, ‘course it’s a key. But a key to what exactly?” Rinne rolled his eyes. Niki elbowed him in the ribs.

“D-don’t take my tone too seriously.”

Mao kept his attention on the key. “Given everything that has happened, no offense taken. Though it’s very odd for a key to be so brightly red…”

Hokuto had long since stood back up and began tapping his foot to gain their attention. “Seems the dimensions shifted again.”

“Dimensions?” Both Niki and Mao looked at him like he grew a second head.

“Yeah, we had ghosts explain to us that this whole damn school is a series of alternate dimensions that change up all willy-nilly whenever they want.” Rinne casually remarked beginning to stand up and offering a hand to Niki.

Niki sighed, taking the offered hand. “So this place is basically several smaller alternate universes within an alternate universe, that is within yet another alternate universe? And I thought I was getting a headache earlier.”

Hokuto helped Mao stand back up while the other sighed. “I had a theory this school was an alternate universe already, but I didn’t expect it to go this far.”

“Yeah, a real brain teaser.” Rinne huffed in mock laughter.

“Anyways,” Hokuto pointed down the hall towards a red door, “How much do you bet the red key would go to a red door?”

“Or the school could really fuck with us and the red key is used to unlock something that leads to a green key that then would open the red door.” Niki elbowed Rinne again for the comment.

“Before Amagi-senpai gets too carried away with his sarcastic jokes,” Mao made his way to the door. The key turned the lock effortlessly. He put his hands on his hips triumphantly.

“Fine. Or the school can be plain and simple for once.” Rinne groaned, taking Niki by the hand and following Mao and Hokuto into the room.

It appeared to be a custodian closet that held an old camcorder and TV set. Rinne commented, “Ya know, despite feeling happy to finally find somethin’ useful, it feels kinda weird to have such seemingly important stuff in the one room that has the only red door in the whole school.”

“Agreed,” Hokuto walked over to the camcorder and inspected it, “Tsk. Batteries are dead.”

The redhead spotted a piece of paper that flittered down from the camcorder. “Hang on. That paper fell out of that camcorder.”

Hokuto picked it up, but it was plucked from his hands by a grave-looking Niki. “Can we have a moment to talk about Tatsumi-chan?”

Rinne sat on the little tatami mat in front of the TV, the rest of the group forming a little mini-circle around it. There was a too-lengthy pause before Rinne exhaled slowly. “…He’s dead, isn’t he?”

“N-no! Not when I saw him!” Mao urged, “Injured, sure! But very much alive last I knew!”

“Isara,” Hokuto rested a hand on the other’s trembling shoulders, “how?”

“He…he had a broken arm…maybe a broken rib or two, too, judging by how hard it was for him to move around and from the blood coming from his mouth. He helped me save Niki-senpai when he was trapped by the headless ghost girl,” Mao showed them the now normal-looking cross, “I think he prayed to his God and blessed this before throwing it to me. It saved me from getting attacked by the little boy ghost before I unsealed the door and Niki-senpai and I bolted. I…used the last charge to try and save Amagi…those shadow creatures are gone now, but I guess we were too late.”

Rinne’s solemn look turned strangely neutral, but his tone held an uneasy tension. “There was…more than one?”

Mao nodded, “Yeah, there was the one that looked similar to the one at ES that threatened Sena-senpai and Tsukinaga-senpai. The other looked like that wolf one the entity harassed Alkaloid with earlier.”

“It didn’t just look like that one. It was that one,” Niki deadpanned before leveling a serious look to Rinne, “It was already missing an eye when we charged in. It looked like it was going to pluck Ototo-san’s eye out.”

Rinne’s lips were pressed into a hard line before he slowly exhaled, the tension leaving him a tired man. “Thank ya…both of ya…for trying your best to save him.”

They were silent before Rinne shook his head, commenting more to himself, “I told Tatsumi-chan to not be the goddamn hero…”

Mao seemed to catch on to what he meant, hurriedly explaining. “K-Kazehaya-senpai said he still had a rosary and Holy Water, so he should be fine…well, at least not getting accosted by ghosts.”

“Still, Kazehaya-senpai is in distress. We should look for him.” Hokuto made to stand before Mao pulled him back down.

Rinne shook his head, agreeing with Mao’s silent pleas. “As much as I admire your pluck, with the dimensions shifting like that, there’s no way we will know if he is in the same one as us. As it is, we can’t guarantee it won’t shift again when we leave to look for him, nor that this camcorder will be here still.”

Mao still clung to Hokuto’s arm, voice sounding both far too loud and too quiet. “…Have you seen Subaru?”

The raven-haired and redhead visibly deflated at the question, expressions turning sorrowful. It didn’t take much for Mao and Niki to piece together what had befallen the ginger-haired idol. Mao’s voice cracked, “…Can you please…tell me what happened?”

The two shared a look before Rinne took the reins. “We’re…not exactly sure how…but he…hung himself.”

It took several seconds for Mao to process what he just heard. Even then, his voice was barely above a whisper. “…You’re lying…”

“…I couldn’t believe it either…” Rinne whispered sadly.

Mao began shedding silent tears, the occasional quiet whimper escaping. “He…he wouldn’t do that…”

“…Have any of you been told about the curse of this school…?” Hokuto dully rang out.

Mao and Niki both looked at him with confusion. Hokuto continued, “We…don’t know if Akehoshi actually knew what he was doing because of it.”

When Rinne realized Hokuto wasn’t going to be able to continue the explanation, he took up the mantel. “Basically anyone who stays here long enough has their minds slowly go insane, and any strong negative emotions or obsessions speed up the process. When that happens, they don’t know what they are doing and have no memory of that time when they come to. We think this curse forced Akehoshi-paisen to…do that, and he wasn’t aware that he was doing it.”

“But…” Mao started wetly, “Like Hokuto said, Subaru was determined to help and reunite with everyone…”

The leader of Trickstar looked torn for several moments. “…Akehoshi and I had a really bad argument before we parted ways…the next time I saw him…he was already gone…”

Mao stared at him distraught. “Hokuto…don’t blame yourself! You two had plenty of bad fights before!”

“…Not like this one…”

“Still! Subaru cared about you! He cared about everyone! Even if you two had a nasty argument, he wouldn’t have done that!”

“That stupid curse tried to get me, too!” Hokuto lashed out, “After I found him I barely remember anything else before I woke up to Amagi-senpai having saved me from hanging myself! That curse doesn’t give a damn how determined someone is! If there is a weakness, it will exploit it, just like the damn entity who put us in this situation in the first place!”

“Mao-kun,” Niki quietly interjected, “This universe has proven it will force people to do things we would normally not do, remember?”

Mao’s head and shoulders slumped, whatever fight he had left him in that moment. “…I know…I’m sorry, Hokuto…” The youngest of Trickstar held Mao’s hand apologetically unable to trust his voice.

Rinne massaged Niki’s shoulder with a hand, looking at him expectantly. Niki couldn’t hold his gaze, instead opting to lean into Rinne’s side. “When I was trapped with that ghost girl…I had to defend myself…and I had to grab a knife from out of a dead body…”

“This school sucks.” Mao spat weakly.

“…It’s not just the school doing all this.”

Everyone turned to Rinne. “That bastard is playing games with the people in ES. He forced Natsume-kun to do something that resulted in it forcing me to make a choice. It caused me and Hiiro to separate if I didn’t want someone else getting hurt in ES.”

“Huh? Who?” Mao leaned forward.

Hokuto gave Rinne a warning look. Rinne treaded carefully. “It said…that Hiiro and I had to separate if…I didn’t want someone from Knights…to get killed.”

Mao’s face hardened from surprise to one of eerie seriousness filled with tension. “Was it Ritsu?”

The silence served as enough of an answer for him. He exhaled very, very slowly, eyes closing briefly before reopening to reveal a hard-as-steel stare. “Amagi-senpai, I know you already have to save a limb for Amagi…but save one for me, too.”

Rinne smirked playfully, “Will do. Didn’t know ya were that protective of your little girlfriend.”

Mao’s face turned almost the same shade of red as his hair, waving his hands in front of him. “W-we’re not dating!”

“Uh-huh, sure you’re not.” Hokuto couldn’t hide his smirk.

“Hey! You’re not allowed to comment when you can’t even get your own love life sorted!” Mao playfully shoved his leader.

“What love life?” Hokuto sounded far too serious.

Mao groaned his sigh, “I swear, for the number of times you scold Subaru for some of his stupidity you are just as dense!”

The questioning glance thrown by Hokuto served as a welcome source of entertainment for the two older idols who quietly snickered. Niki sighed before waving the folded paper in his fingers. “I hate to be the wet blanket once again, but we should try and refocus back to getting out of here.”

“Hey, you’re the one who started this tangent.” Rinne cackled lightly. He purposefully fell back on the floor at Niki’s half-hearted shove, whining at how rough Niki was being to him.

Niki ignored the attempted lightening of the mood and unfolded the paper, which turned out to be a series of papers. “It’s from some publication. ‘Strange But True: Stories of the Occult’. Looks to be about Heavenly Host itself by someone named Kou Kibiki.”

Rinne’s eyes lit up in recognition. “Oh! That’s the name on these tapes!”

Niki read its contents aloud. It detailed the collapse of Yoshikazu Yanagihori’s mental state and Rinne pointed out to the others that the man with the hammer that he and Hiiro were attacked by was the same person. The paper continued noting that Yoshikazu’s mental state had deteriorated due to unknown causes to a child-like state, and began carrying around an antique doll his late mother gave him. Several months prior to the kidnappings and murders, he was no longer able to speak unless intensely focused on forming simple words, but could still understand others. With all the evidence against him, he was charged with the murders, kidnappings, and desecrating the dead, despite being unable to defend himself due to being unable to speak. Thus, the whole trial rested on the testimony of the surviving 7-year-old girl, Sachiko Shinozaki.

There were a few paragraphs dedicated to the moral and ethical issues of tracking down the survivor, even ten years after the fact as the author had done, and asking questions about such horrific and traumatic events.

~*~

Kohaku woke to darkness.

Huh? Wasn’t I…? Did I pass out again?

He attempted to move, but his legs and arms refused to budge. His whole body was refusing his mind’s commands. Or rather…it felt like they couldn’t comply.

Why…can’t I move?

His vision finally cleared. He was lying down on a dirt floor in what smelled like a musty basement, lined up with three other children, all tied up and blindfolded.

Huh!? Those are ta’ other kids! An’ they're alive! Why am I…? Am I seein’ what Yuki saw?

It was only then that he realized he was tied up, too.

A large man came over to him. It was Yoshikazu Yanagihori, at least, when he was alive. He had a blindfold in one hand, groaning something about eyes. He tied it around Kohaku’s eyes, now leaving him in the dark.

“W-wait! Untie me right now!” He called out, but his voice didn’t sound like his own. It sounded more like Yuki.

The children cried softly next to him. He could distinctly hear Yoshikazu walk away before muttering, “In…or…der…o…kay?”

Huh? In order?

~*~

Niki furrowed his eyebrows as he read the next part to himself. “Odd…”

“What?” Rinne prodded.

“Kibiki states that after Sachiko’s family fled the area after all that happened, they just vanished. Granted, with all the focus now on the school and the events after knowing that the survivor was safe, it was only natural for the newspapers to not focus on her anymore. But he tried tracking them down, and it was as if they never existed in the first place, including Sachiko. The only time they ever appeared anywhere was with the murders in 1973.”

~*~

It was then Kohaku was met with a primal, terrified, pained scream from the boy just a little ways away.

Is-Is he gettin’ killed right now!?

He could hear each plunge of the scissors and the screams of the boy as it went on for over half an hour.

Tatsumi’s God! Why won’t this end!? Is ta’ boy feelin’ all of this!? Did he not go unconscious at all durin’ all of it!? No one deserves this kind o’ fate!

Finally, the screams stopped. Only to be replaced without a moment’s pause by the screams of the young girl next to him. Followed closely by more scissor stabs and gurgling.

Just make this stop! Get this over with!

Kohaku stopped as he realized what he thought. Except, they weren’t his thoughts anymore. They sounded like Yuki. Even she sounded horrified by what she had been thinking then.

There was the sound of a heavy object falling close by. Then the room grew quiet.

~*~

Niki covered his mouth, aghast at the next few paragraphs. Mao asked, “Niki-senpai? Do you want someone else to continue?”

Rinne gently took the paper from him. Niki didn’t resist, his gaze unfocused. Rinne continued for them, fully understanding Niki’s horrified expression once he got through it.

Kibiki had detailed exactly how each of the children was murdered, with information gleaned from official police reports and the testimony of Sachiko herself. Yoshikazu had the murder weapon, a large pair of sewing scissors, in his hand upon police intervention when they were discovered in the unused, long-since sealed-off basement of the school.

The contents were horrifying and gory. There was more done to each kid other than their officially listed death as “loss of blood following the removal of the tongue.” One, they already knew, had her head removed from the jawline up, though it detailed the exact way it was actually done. The boy…was toyed with for over half an hour as he was repeatedly stabbed in the abdomen. Rinne couldn’t bring himself to read the next part of exactly what happened to him.

The last girl had her eye stabbed multiple times and was then left to die a slow, agonizing death. Weirdly noted, the tongues weren’t removed until after all of these mutilations had been done.

~*~

Kohaku felt someone grab him by his hair and drag him into an upright position. Prickling pain was felt as he could feel strands getting ripped from the force.

…It’s ma turn…isn’t it?

He felt the killer taking off his blindfold.

…Did…Did Yuki see her killer!?

He was not prepared for the sight that befell him when he was unblinded.

The real murderer wasn’t Yoshikazu. He was in the corner, cowering in fear with his hands over his ears.

It was Sachiko, and she held a pair of bloody scissors near his eye, giggling and cackling all the while covered in the blood of the previous children.

~*~

Rinne pushed on.

Kibiki noted how it would be a no-brainer for information about the survivor and her family to be withheld after something like that. What was truly strange, however, is that there wasn’t a trace of any of this information left. After all, it was like she and her family simply vanished from existence.

Therefore, due to the bizarre circumstances, he began conjecturing that Yoshikazu may not have been the actual murderer. He noted how Yoshikazu, in his final days, had suffered mentally to the point where he reverted to being a child. Despite this, he was always a friendly and outgoing man who many thought would be incapable of doing such atrocious crimes. Even police had noted that his full strength hadn’t been used to inflict the damage done. He also had no motive, nothing to gain from doing this. Or, another option, is that he could have lost his mind like his father.

“Huh?” Rinne paused at that moment. Everyone else raised an eyebrow at the sentence as well.

“What does that have to do with this?” Hokuto cocked his head to the side.

“…It says his father was the principal…” Rinne narrowed his eyes in thought, “Mayoi-chan mentioned how the school had a lot of horror stories. I think one of them was the principal committing suicide by jumping off the school’s roof…there was also the one about a teacher falling down the stairs to her death. Could they all be related?”

Niki hummed, “It sounds like the classic horror setup. Perhaps the principal did something that essentially caused the teacher to die which then led to the murders in 1973.”

“If so, how?” Mao tapped his chin in thought.

“…Ghostly shenanigans?” Rinne shrugged before humming as he continued skimming the next few paragraphs, “Seemed like this Kibiki guy was theorizing that something that happened about 20 years before those murders is what led to this supposed curse inflicting both the school and the principal’s bloodline, in that sealed room of the basement. He also started talking nonsense and scribbled all over the walls of his office, even cowering in fear in corners. Sounds an awful lot like his son in his final days.”

“How is he supposed to prove that?” Hokuto chewed his lower lip.

“Yeah, according to this universe’s logic, the school I’m going to was built on top of where Heavenly Host was, so there’s no way to…” Niki trailed off, “Unless someone told him about the ‘Sachiko Ever After Charm’.”

Mao’s eyebrows shot up as he dug out the pink notebook and skimmed over to the last page entry. “You mean this Naho Saenoki?”

Rinne and Hokuto nearly fell forward as they read the entry. Rinne exclaimed, “She knew of a way to get out!?”

“We think so,” Niki nodded, “But we need the other pages to find out.”

“Damn it!” Rinne practically fell backwards in exasperation. “Nothing of importance is ever fucking easy in this universe!”

It was then another, drastically large quake shook the school. The four of them blacked out in quick succession before they could even process what had happened.

~*~

HiMERU tried hanging on to Kohaku as he began thrashing madly on the floor, screaming nonsense. “Oukawa! Wake up! Snap out of it!”

Purple eyes shot wide open as he began gasping for breath. He clutched onto HiMERU’s blazer tightly, slowly transitioning from coughing and wheezing to crying and whimpering.

HiMERU turned to the ghost of Yuki Kanno, a hand protectively holding the younger teen’s head. “What did you do to him!?”

“It’s…not her fault…HiMERU-han.” Kohaku sniffled, “I wanted ta know…”

“That’s what happened to me…” Yuki mournfully gazed at her feet.

“…You had him experience how you died?” HiMERU sounded dark.

“HiMERU-han!” Kohaku brought the older idol’s attention back to him, drastically pulling away from the older teen, “She saw her real killer! Yer theory was right! He was just an accomplice! Sachiko did it!”

HiMERU blinked in confusion. “How could a kid do something that violent…?”

“I don’t know – or why! But there’s gotta be more ta this whole thing like we thought! We haveta go back and let everyone know!”

He sighed in resignation, “Okay, we’ll go back.”

Kohaku looked at him perplexed. “Yer takin’ this awfully more calmly than I woulda thought.”

“As much as HiMERU would like to stay here and guarantee saving his own skin, he doesn’t feel right leaving everyone else on their own.”

It would feel like ‘I’ am condemning them to save ‘myself’…and ‘I’ can’t let Oukawa go on his own.

A playful giggle bubbled from the pink-teen. “So ya do care ‘bout us~.”

HiMERU side-eyed the younger teen before lightly pinching his cheek.

“If I do send you back…” Yuki interrupted, “Even if I keep this level of mental clarity…I won’t be able to bring you back. You’ll have to commit to making Sachiko repent.”

“Tha’s fine.” Kohaku stood before her. “With what ya showed me, I think we will be one step closer ta solvin’ this an’ puttin’ y’all ta rest.”

“Very well. Just know that, in order to make Sachiko feel remorse, you must appeal to her humanity. Purify her soul. Once we’re there, my mind will begin to be under attack…so the next time you see me…run away…”

With that, the next time they blinked, they were back in the dilapidated Heavenly Host.

~*~

Rinne groaned as he rubbed his head. “Damn, does the school think we’re a fucking snow globe or something?”

Luckily, all four of them were still in the custodian closet. Other than a few pieces of plaster and some wood scattered around, the room more or less stayed intact.

Hokuto was staring intently at the section of the tatami mat in between the four of them. “I’m with Amagi-senpai. This school loves to mess with us.”

There, in between the four of them, was a set of batteries. Niki deadpanned, “How convenient.”

Hokuto loaded the batteries into the camcorder, which surprisingly still worked and the TV now turned on. Mao organized the tapes and handed the first in the series to his friend to load in.

It showed Kibiki in the flesh, at least on camera, talking with his cameraman, Taguchi, about how unbelievable it was that they managed to get here for real. It seemed to be the beginning of a research report until Taguchi started panicking and screaming about seeing a dead body. All four teens perked up upon hearing that the duo knew of a way out before slumping, as it hadn’t been revealed to them due to Taguchi screaming about hearing children giggling before running away.

“Well, at least it’s giving us more clues.” Rinne handed the second tape over.

The second tape was far more disconcerting. Kibiki appeared frantic, realizing the horror he had just unknowingly stepped into, all thoughts of fame now far from his mind. They perked up as soon as they heard him practically shout the way out.

“You need to perform the Sachiko ritual correctly! Say the line one time for each person, plus one more for Sachiko herself, then put all your paper scraps together!”

The video cut out as he began screaming for mercy from some unknown assailant. It seemed the camcorder decided to give out as well, overheating and causing part of it to explode. Pieces were scattered as the four individuals covered their heads from the plastic shrapnel.

Niki raised his head once the pieces ceased flying, “Well, let’s hope there wasn’t any more important information, cause I doubt we’ll find another camcorder.”

“Just this last one…” Rinne looked at the final tape and grimaced, “Though, since it has what looks like blood spatters, maybe it’s best to not see what is on it.”

“Well, now what?” Mao sighed.

“Gotta go find the others. We know the way out, so we should go back to finding people.” Rinne stood up, “Though I strongly advise we all stick together, lest the school decides to shake things up again.”

Niki and Mao brushed themselves off and headed out of the custodian’s closet. Rinne was about to follow before Hokuto grabbed his arm. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

Sensing the seriousness, he lagged behind, giving the other a quizzical look. Hokuto stared at the ground, “This is going to sound embarrassing...but did you ever find my phone? I kind of…threw it when I was trying to call someone from outside of this school. Obviously, it didn’t work…but there were a few pictures of Akehoshi and I on there…”

Rinne smirked and pulled the phone out of his pocket. “Yeah, here. It’s how I figured out I was in the dimension with ya and Akehoshi-paisen.”

“Also…here. Only feels right.” Rinne handed the other phone over, “I think it was Akehoshi-paisen’s. Found it in the hall just before the bathrooms.”

Hokuto hesitated before taking the device, gazing sadly at it. “Thank you…”

On reflex, Hokuto unlocked Subaru’s phone, earning an eyebrow waggle. “Do ya unlock his phone all the time?”

The other unit leader didn’t seem at all phased. “I just did it out of reflex. Didn’t expect him to have the same passcode as in our world.”

“…Ya missed my point, Kita-san.”

“What do you mean? He knows my passcode, too.”

“…So ya two have access to each other’s phones? All the time?”

“Yes? It’s not like we hide anything from each other.”

“…Man, Isara-san was right. You’re really dense when it comes to the romantic stuff.” Rinne leaned back casually against the wall.

“…Akehoshi and I aren’t like that.” Hokuto glowered at the older man.

“Right. Sure you’re not.”

Hokuto rolled his eyes before staring intently at the phone’s screen. He blinked very slowly, tears beginning to form in the corners. Rinne grew worried. “Everything alright? Kita-san?”

“…Akehoshi tried sending me a text message…” Hokuto showed the unsent message to the other.

Yahoo~ Hokke!~

Hey, sorry about what I said earlier!

I know you’re just under a lot of stress and pressure!

I shouldn’t have left you like that. You were right, I wasn’t taking this nearly as seriously as I should have. I just thought that making you smile and stay positive was the best I could do at the moment. I didn’t want to show you how scared I actually was. But then you hurt your ankle and we heard Hiiro – I knew I had to do something!

So, I’m coming back to check on you! Okay? I wanna kiss and make up!~ N-Not in that way! I know how literally you take things :P

Don’t know if this will send, but I’m gonna try! I’ll see you soon! We’ll get out of this whole mess together!

“…He…really didn’t hang himself…because of me…” Hokuto was extremely quiet.

Rinne barely caught what he said, responding softly. “I told ya that ya couldn’t blame yourself. His death was not a suicide. This school made him.”

“…Can I…hang on to this?” Hokuto clutched Subaru’s phone close.

Rinne smiled. “I already said I was giving it to ya.”

There was a small smile on his face, even as he carefully tucked the phone away inside his shirt pocket, tucking his phone into the other. Rinne delicately asked. “Are ya sure there isn’t anything going on between ya two? Or are ya just in denial?”

This time, the raven teen didn’t brush the question aside so easily. Blue orbs trembled slightly as the teen pondered a moment. “…I don’t know…this whole situation is hardly the proper time to ask such questions.”

Rinne shrugged. “This situation might bring that topic up time and again. Who knows? Maybe this whole thing is the push ya needed to confront such feelings.”

When the younger boy stayed silent, Rinne rested a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s…try and focus on getting out of here. Then ya can find Akehoshi-paisen and start to figure this out at some point. Seems even Isara-san has an inkling something is going on between ya two.”

He didn’t know as he left, but Hokuto knelt to pick up the bloodied tape and tucked it into his blazer pocket.

When Hokuto joined them outside, he also became extremely confused as to the new layout. The whole atmosphere felt…different, more sinister, more…dangerous. The lighting had completely changed. The world outside took on a more sunset-like appearance, making the interior of the school glow varying shades of red.

Rinne voiced what everyone was thinking, “Something’s definitely not right here…”

~*~

HiMERU and Kohaku hurriedly began looking around the school for their friends. Kohaku theorized as they went. “I have a feelin’ all these alternate dimensions are startin’ ta funnel inta one. If I’m right, then ta’ others have got ta be here somewhere.”

“Let’s hope so. Otherwise, this is going to be a very long process.” HiMERU scanned a classroom from the doorway, leaving once he saw no living person in there.

“Let’s keep an eye out fer any info on Sachiko herself, too.” Kohaku glanced down a hall and paused when he heard, then saw, someone familiar on the far side of a large gap.

~*~

The group stayed close as they navigated the halls. There seemed to be very few bodies to be found at all, and what ones they did find were so old some of the bones began to disintegrate. The layout didn’t make sense, it was as if this form of the school became more maze-like, more whimsical than what the exterior of the building would realistically allow.

They stopped at a large gap in the floor that looked to separate a whole other section of the school. Niki hummed in thought. “Maybe we can get across elsewhere?”

“I doubt this version will be that simple.” Mao sighed in resignation. “Considering how oppressive the atmosphere here is, we might be getting close to the heart of this mystery. If so, it might as well be like in one of Makoto’s games where the final area has several puzzles and is much more difficult than the previous areas.”

Rinne groaned in response. “Probably a good thing I didn’t plan on playing pachinko today. God, what lousy luck today has had!”

“Rinne-han!?”

The four whirled around to face the voice that echoed from across the gap. Rinne wouldn’t admit it, but his heart swelled in happiness upon seeing the familiar pink hair and hearing that accent. “Kohaku-chan!”

“Oukawa! What has HiMERU said about running off!?” A familiar blue-haired teen came running out of the dark, only to pause when he saw the other group. “Oh, finally, we found you!”

Rinne couldn’t help but tease. “Having fun babysitting, Merumeru?”

HiMERU’s expression lacked any sort of amusement. “You have no idea what we have been through.”

“Yeah, well shit ain’t been a picnic over here, either!” Rinne huffed. “Kept getting attacked nearly every other corner!”

“Guys!” Kohaku sounded desperate, “Focus!”

The youngest turned to Rinne. “We’ve been working on a way ta get outta here, but we need ta finish appeasin’ an’ makin’ ta’ murderer repent before we can!”

“What? We just found a way to get out of here without having to do all that nonsense!?” Rinne exclaimed, now turning to HiMERU, “Mayoi-chan was right about those paper scraps! We just need to get ya two over here or at least get all of us together so we can do the ritual properly and leave this hell hole!”

“We already know that…” HiMERU’s usual bite was nowhere near as strong as usual, his tone taking a more somber tone.

Sensing the disturbance in the younger bees, Rinne paused. “…How?”

HiMERU rifled through one of his pockets and pulled out several papers. “Ayase found us and handed us these notes. It states exactly how to do the ritual properly. Whoever wrote them also realized this place is far more dangerous and imposing than they realized because of the ghost spirits. So, if we do the ritual before appeasing the ghosts, it won’t work.”

“Did those notes so happen to mention a Kibiki?” Mao piped up.

Kohaku and HiMERU gave the teen a disturbed look. “Yes?”

Mao pulled out the girly notebook. “Those have to be the missing pages from Naho’s notebook. She knew Kibiki and told him both how to enter here and how to leave.”

“If that’s the case,” Hokuto sighed, “We really have no choice but to do the appeasement and make the murderer apologize.”

“Damn it!” Rinne growled fiercely.

Niki looked on at the two teens somberly. “You both said you found Mayo-chan…where is he?”

The two were silent, refusing to look at Niki. Rinne understood. “…So he’s gone, too.”

HiMERU raised his head to stare at his leader. “What do you mean by ‘too’?”

Rinne hesitated as he gestured to the four on his side. “What ya see is all that made it so far.”

Kohaku’s purple eyes widened as he began to quiver. “What about…Hiiro-han? Mayoi-han said he was with ya last he saw…”

Rinne put his hands in his pants’ pockets as he refused to meet their eyes. “…That bastard sent his pets in…we couldn’t rescue him in time.”

He didn’t expect the whimper of a cry from Kohaku, and it broke his heart to see HiMERU holding on to the kid like a lifeline for the younger one. Niki prodded. “Have either of you seen Aira-san?”

HiMERU put a hand over Kohaku’s ear, the other was already pressed into his chest, before looking at the two with a mournful look. His mouth opened to speak, but he settled with slowly shaking his head, a pleading look resting on his face. Rinne took the hint. “So he’s gone, too.”

Both groups were silent for a long while, mourning the temporary loss of their friends in this universe. Rinne sighed, “So that makes Akehoshi-paisen, Ai-chan, Mayoi-chan, and Hiiro…”

“Akehoshi?” HiMERU was almost breathless as he realized his dark prediction from before the ritual had been right.

The horrifying realization dawned on the leader of Crazy:B. “Guys, if we don’t make sure all of us and Tatsumi-chan make it out alive…”

The looming threat of punishment clouded their minds. HiMERU turned to the other group. “Have any of you seen Tatsumi? He was originally with HiMERU when we woke up but…the dimensions shifting around separated us.”

“…I did,” Mao spoke up quietly, “He helped me save Niki-senpai when he was trapped by one of the ghost children.”

Kohaku quirked an eyebrow at that. “Tha’ musta been before we appeased them…”

“…Appeased? What were y’all doing over there?” Rinne had his hands on his hips.

“One big, demented scavenger hunt for missing body parts and returning them one by one…on top of dealing with ghostly possessions and nearly dying a few times here and there.” HiMERU dryly retorted.

“Yeesh…” Rinne backed-off.

“Look,” Kohaku butted in, “Part of ta’ appeasin’ process is ta make ta’ killer repent. So we need ta find info on Sachiko-”

“Woah, woah! Back up a second! You’re saying the little kid survivor actually did all that murdering?” Rinne motioned his hand for the young teen to slam on the brakes.

“Yeah, ya know, after appeasin’ ta’ ghost kids one o’ them let me see what they saw tha’ night as if I were ta’ kidnapped an’ murdered kid. So yeah, I’m sayin’ tha’ little girl ain’t so innocent.” Kohaku harshly spat, filing away the shocked and horrified look on Rinne’s face hearing what he had to go through for later, “I know tis hard ta believe, but ta’ best course o’ action right now is ta find info on her and figure out how ta make her apologize.”

Hokuto glanced at Niki hurriedly. “Shiina-senpai. What if that guess of yours earlier is more accurate than we think?”

The chef blinked several times before he recalled what the other was referring to. HiMERU looked towards his unit mate. “What was this guess?”

“Well, we figured out from this publication that the principal had a mental break after the murders similar to what occurred to his son prior. The author theorized that events from 20 years prior to the murders were the reason why they, the breakdowns and the murders, occurred in the first place. I just kind of threw out there the idea that the principal must have had something to do with the death of the teacher Mayo-chan mentioned occurred at some point, which somehow led to the murders in 1973.”

“…A fair theory, however, didn’t Ayase mention the teacher fell down the stairs? That doesn’t exactly sound like anything nefarious. Plus, we are only assuming it has to be related.” HiMERU crossed his arms, encouraging his tone to be more civil.

“…Unless Sachiko witnessed it first-hand…” Kohaku mumbled.

“Oukawa, firstly, we’re only theorizing the event the author was referring to is the death of the teacher. Second, how would a little girl from 1953 remain the same in 1973? She should have been an adult by that point if she were from 1953.”

“…Unless even I was right on my guesswork, too,” Rinne muttered.

“Speak up, Amagi.”

“Geez, even in a life-or-death situation and going through traumatic shit, you’re still as pushy as ever. I’m saying that, if Niki’s theory is right, then my guess of the reason why it would be right would explain it. Mainly ghostly shenanigans.”

“Not exactly specific.” HiMERU pinched the bridge of his nose.

Mao beat Kohaku to the punch, “Guys, as much as debating might help organize theories, we still need proof. I doubt the murderous ghost girl is going to be moved to remorse by mere conjectures. Let’s focus on each of our groups finding any info we can on her and what may have happened back in 1953.”

Hokuto added, “We should also keep an eye out for Kazehaya-senpai. We need to make sure he makes it out with us and, from what Isara mentioned, he’s in critical condition.”

“What do you mean ‘critical condition’?!” HiMERU’s usually hooded citrine eyes were now wide in fright.

“H-He had a broken arm and…I think a few broken ribs. We couldn’t reach each other when I found him thanks to a large gap in the floor, so he tossed his cross over to me to save Niki-senpai-” Mao began.

“He what!?” Kohaku and HiMERU stared at each other in horror.

“H-He said he still had his rosary and Holy Water! He should still be fine as long as no particularly strong ghosts come across him!”

“No he doesn’t!” HiMERU and Kohaku shouted in unison. HiMERU showed the other group the rosary and little bottle.

“…So the holy man lied…” Rinne was tense before he threw a punch into the drywall beside him, causing it to cave in, “Damn it all! I told him not to be the goddamn hero!”

“He withheld a lot more about the visions than he let on,” HiMERU added as Rinne turned to him in disbelief, “He seemed to have an inkling that his death in this universe revolved around a broken arm or not…”

Rinne shook his hand out as the sting from punching the wall started to get more intense. “Change of plans. Focus on finding Tatsumi-chan. If anyone finds info on the girl, fine, but we can’t have him die! Both because we don’t want to go through whatever sort of punishment the bastard has planned and because we can’t have any more of us die in this hell hole! That’s gonna be a shit ton of pain his spirit will be feeling forever if he dies here.”

The redhead turned to the blue-nette. “That Kibiki guy mentioned something about how the basement was originally sealed off before the murders in 1973. Do you think we need to find the basement to begin our search for that Sachiko girl?”

“There might be information around the school currently we could use, but he believes the basement is probably going to be our final destination, especially since Tatsumi saw a vision that supposedly will take place somewhere akin to a basement or bomb shelter,” HiMERU deduced, “Oukawa and HiMERU will look on our side while you all look on yours. If we find the entrance to the basement that is where we will all meet. If neither group is there after 10 minutes, slowly progress without the others until we catch up.”

“Wait, you mean there’s no way for us to fully reunite at all right now?” Hokuto glanced at the giant hole before looking further down their side of the hall.

“We just came from down south, an’ there’s been no way across ta yer end so far.” Kohaku sighed in resignation.

“Alright,” Rinne turned sternly to the duo, “We’ll go with my plan. Let’s all try to find Tatsumi-chan before he gets himself killed, find info on the girl, and meet up in the basement.”

His gaze softened on the pink and blue teens. “Please stay safe everyone.”

~*~

Room 6-66 was silent as the group convened on-screen. The voice laughed mockingly, “Ah, what a sweet reunion! Too bad that Kazehaya Tatsumi is as good as dead. Looks like I need to prepare the punishment round. Oh, but I won’t leave you at ES completely free to do as you please! I’ll leave far more of my pets to watch over you all.”

With that, the static screen turned black. Not even the center monitor showed any ripples that would indicate the entity went to harass the group. The silence was deafening.

Those in the meeting room remained silent, reeling at the horrors they had to bear witness to. Of the deaths and screams of their fellow idols. Tetora was still crying from watching Hiiro, refusing any comfort, even from Tomoya, as was Hinata who chose to push his chair more towards a corner to be alone. Rei and Eichi were beside themselves thinking about Aira and Subaru. Shu kept glancing at the call to see the others, everyone in varying states of grief.

Tsukasa was extremely reserved due to the distress of seeing his cousin break down, get possessed, and witness so much death far too many times in the span of a few hours, as well as how Mayoi, even when the Darkening was taking him, tried so hard to be of help to others. However, he, along with everyone else, was wondering if Niki even knew what he did. He probably didn’t, and that is what Tsukasa was worried the most about. That entity was willing to hold practically anything against anyone. Who's to say it won’t use that against Niki somehow?

Madara was the one to break the silence. “Has there been any information from the expedition that might be useful? Any lead, no matter how miniscule or unlikely, is worth it at this point.”

The camera with Knights showed Leo quickly writing down and showing the call a note on a whiteboard about how they were helping Ritsu look over the books he had brought with him. Hajime and Mitsuru nodded along, mouthing “us too” as they helped Nazuna bring out a new section of books.

Sora excitedly waved the green binder at the call. Ibara must have said something as Sora opened it and began skimming through. Jun quickly wrote a note to show the meeting room that explained the binder’s purpose.

Rei blinked several times in response. “That’s right, we only know of the ones Shiratori-kun mentioned.”

“Correction,” Shu turned his attention back to the room, “You and Tenshouin do.” The unasked question was obvious.

Rei and Eichi shared a look before Rei sighed and relented. “Shiratori-kun mentioned seeing Arashi-k…Ara-chan and Kaoru-kun in the library hiding from those shadow creatures, along with Kagehira-kun running through one of the costume storage rooms while being chased by one of those creatures.”

Arashi briefly smiled, grateful for Rei’s willingness to change to a new nickname, before frowning at hearing the vision. She tapped Leo’s shoulder and had him hand over the whiteboard and markers, writing a note asking how they would be in the library if Ritsu and Nazuna had just been there. Even Kaoru gave the camera a perplexed look in agreeance.

Hinata supplied quietly, “Maybe we will find some sort of clue either in the stack of books we have or from watching the trial that will make us go back?”

Kaoru appeared hesitant at the idea. Arashi looked at Ritsu before returning a similar apprehension. Shu sighed, “I would say we could circumvent that whole vision by just sending Sakuma and Nito back out, but even I know that would be a bad idea after what they just went through.”

“It would make sense since they would have better knowledge of what to look for, but I agree. Plus, it wouldn’t be fair to resend the same people out all the time.” Hinata lamented.

“Not only that, but unwise. We need to treat this as each person is only capable of doing so much before resting. You push too much too far and slipups are bound to happen. While during a Live there may be ways to work around it, right now a slipup could mean the difference between life and death.” Madara wagered.

Adonis began writing in a notebook at the behest of Kaoru, taking a little extra time to write out the kanji: He says it does make sense for the two of them to be there anyway since Hakaze-senpai is part of BIBLION and is currently one of two members of that Circle who is more or less free to move around. Plus, Narukami at least will know from Ritsu what to look for and is quite capable on her own.

Tsumugi was still until he suddenly lunged for the radio, his voice crackling over Natsume’s. “Natsume-kun and everyone, please just let me say what I need to. You don’t have to answer me back, just in case that thing is watching of has bugged your radio somehow. Amagi-kun mentioned how that human-looking shadow followed them but Anzu-chan, Sagami-sensei, and Kunugi-sensei were right there and didn’t see it. Anzu-chan even walked through it without a moment of hesitation! We think only us idols can perceive and hear the creatures and the entity in the moment, but they can see the after-effects like the issue with Hold Hands. I don’t know if that information helps, but I guess any little bit counts.”

Natsume stared at the radio still in his bag, the voice echoing in the room loud and clear. Keito muttered, “Now that is curious…”

The radio crackled again. “Amagi-kun thinks maybe this thing doesn’t have nearly enough power or has as much control as it is telling us it does due to shutting the doorway to that liminal space far sooner than it wants us to know. We were thinking it needed those artifacts to reopen the doorway on its end, but after the vessel idea and what it did to Natsume-kun and Sora-kun…I’m not entirely sure anymore.”

Keito sighed, “As much as this is all intriguing, and thank you for telling us this, I don’t think we can do much with this information until we know what this entity is for certain.”

Ritsu dropped a book from his hands, his red eyes wide as the wheels turned in his head at an idea. Izumi had turned around to ask what was wrong before, with great speed unseen by the young vampire-boy, Ritsu pushed him out of the way and rushed to the whiteboard, taking the red marker from Arashi and writing with haste:

What if we are making this more difficult for ourselves?

“Care to explain, Ritsu?” Rei asked, far too serious to even try and be endearing.

Ritsu quickly writes: We know more about the second entity than the first.

“…Ah, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Shu thought out loud as if a light switch had been turned on. Most of the other idols were greatly confused, as they were not present when the discussion of the second entity had occurred.

Eichi appeared to brighten as well, taking a brief moment to catch the others up. “We know for a fact that the second entity is capable of sending visions of the future, like with Alkaloid, and we can deduce the relationship between the first and the second from what we have seen of the reactions of the first. Theoretically speaking, that alone is far more sound than going off of guesswork and intuition of the first. Other than it having confirmed that we were on the right track of it being a god and what the artifacts may be used for.”

“So…” Tomoya hesitated, “We actually should focus on the second entity to find all the answers?”

Ritsu simply wrote on the board: Precisely.

“Okay,” Nagisa asked, “How do we do that? It’s clear this thing is going to make the journey for these answers difficult even if it does eventually want us to know them, not only that, but I think it may only be showing us what it wants us to see. It isn’t able to or doesn’t want to show us everything that is going on with them in that world, since it swaps perspectives all the time.”

Tsumugi’s voice crackled over the radio. “I may have figured out a workaround for that.”

Natsume shared an equally confused look with everyone else before calling out into the room. “Care to EXplaiN?”

“Just a little encryption software and some other hardware I’ve been tinkering with~.”

The left-hand monitor, still showing partly what was going on in Tsumugi’s workshop, showed Tsumugi very carefully and subtly pulling out two laptops from below the monitor desk. “If Yuuki-kun can get here on the next expedition outing and grab one of these, we might be able to trick the system and the entity so that we can have a backdoor to the earpieces each of them has in there!”

“Okay, so we will be able to communicate with them freely?” Rei tilted his head.

“Well, technically yes, but the entity can still hear that…This is mainly because the earpieces also act as little cameras that feed into a separate hardware system here…which just so happens to be on this specific laptop~.” Tsumugi tapped one of the laptops mentioned.

“So if they are still active while they are going through the universes, then we can always see what any of them are seeing?” Shu pondered.

“Precisely. Well, almost. The laptops still run off of ES’s servers, so it will be noticed, which is why the second laptop is here. The second one has the hardware to help disguise the first for brief bits of time. We can use these periodically to check for any clues so long as we time things properly on both Yuuki-kun’s and my end with the included chat log. It also has access to the data devices I had Alkaloid set up before we got wrapped up in all of this, so we should be able to glean some information about the liminal space itself.”

“So if Makoto-kun gets the laptop to watch over them whenever possible, along with feeding you and anyone else information about the liminal space when the entity isn’t looking, you can run interference with the other to provide us brief moments to have a backdoor to the liminal space and our friends in there?” Eichi raised a fine eyebrow.

“Exactly, but we need to be very careful. I could hear Saegusa-kun and Fushimi-kun getting chased by some sort of shadow thing out there. As we saw with what it did to Sora-kun, we can assume it can view through each of their eyes like cameras at will. This is probably even more important to keep secret than the radios.”

At the mention of the Raptor-Shadow, Yuzuru went wide-eyed and nodded stiffly, still quite terrified of it from his encounter a mere hour ago. This made Eichi worry. “What was this one?”

Yuzuru quickly wrote the name he and Ibara gave it to show the others. This piqued Nagisa’s interest. “As in like a dinosaur? If so, was it like a real-sized raptor or Jurassic Park-sized?”

Yuzuru’s expression went blank before he first showed how much of his pant leg was torn off in his escape, going all the way up to his knee. He then walked from one end of the lounge the members of fine were in to the end of the couch the three were sitting on, gesturing to the distance to tell the size. The distance alone was approximately 5.5 meters or 18 ft in length. Nagisa whistled his impression. “That’s more like a Utahraptor.”

Hinata came back to the table, “Wait a minute. Why wait for the next expedition to get it? The entity didn’t say we all had to make crews or send someone out at the same time as everyone else, right? So why not just have Yuuki-senpai go now?”

Makoto wrote in big letters. YOU WANT ME TO GO OUT THERE ALONE?!

“I’d also agree with Makoto-kun,” Eichi gently interjected, “Since the entity said there will be far more of its pets around, it might be foolhardy to send only one person, much less do so at the moment.”

Rei sighed. “However, when would we have a more opportune moment to sneak something this important under its radar?”

“…UnlesS…” Natsume slowly drawled, “He takeS the ventS…after all, the PHANTOM useS them all the tiME.”

Chiaki quickly used a small whiteboard Kanata had found. Most of the shadows seem to be quite large, so maybe they can’t get into the vents?

Koga wrote back what he spoke to the other, more so to keep the meeting room people in the loop. What about that human-looking creep? How else would it get around that quickly? It already got into and out of the elevator shaft.

“It would be safer than going on foot, however.” Keito lamented.

“Guys…” Tetora finally spoke, though his voice was quite raspy, “What if…the vision Shiratori-kun saw with Narukami-senpai and Hakaze-senpai was actually dealing with this dilemma right now?”

Everyone turned to him questioningly. Tetora continued with trepidation, “I-If Yuuki-senpai goes alone with even more of those things out there, he has a higher risk of getting caught…b-but if others create commotion to lead some of them away from the path…”

“Are you suggesting the next expedition is essentially going to be used as bait?” Shu looked at the younger teen in horror.

“More like…a distraction. Isn’t the farthest area near there that we would need to be concerned with the library?”

Everyone grew silent as the idea began to set in. Sora quickly motioned for someone to hand over the notebook so he could write. Sora found something that supports that idea.

Ibara motioned for the other to continue. The blond boy glanced to his side nervously. Kazehaya-senpai saw something that might be linked to Ai-chan’s vision. He saw Dazzling-oniisan yell at Arashi-oneesan and Hakaze-san about making sure Yuuki-sensei gets back safe. He was stuck in one of the backrooms of the library with that Tiger-Shadow…and he was really hurt! Like holding his side as he was bleeding hurt!

Hiyori numbly sat on the couch, not listening to Jun’s frantic questioning.

Ending Theme: Rasen – jon-YAKITORI ft. Ado

English Lyrics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVld7njUsOc

Chapter Text

Opening Theme: Face Down (Japanese Cover) – Sunrise Skater Kids

Original by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlL5hhNiyrw

HiMERU and Kohaku began walking down the hall northwards, occasionally shining HiMERU’s phone light around in the darker corners. As much as he would like to leave Tatsumi be and not let the priest occupy his mind, the looming threat of punishment and his conscience refused to let that be a possibility. While he would say Tatsumi deserves the pain and to suffer a little for what he had done, deep down even he thought this was too brutal. This universe was too brutal. Not to mention, he was feeling a great sense of dread when he found out Tatsumi had broken his arm. The priest did say his fate possibly rested on whether the arm was broken or not.

He glanced toward the younger teen, noticing how quiet the other had been since the brief reunion. Kohaku was fiddling with a little bracelet, particularly two little charms: one of a feather and the other a circular, metal plate with an etching of a fox. He vaguely recalled Aira and Hiiro had gifted it to him as part of some sort of “friendship” bracelet each of them had, with each having their own unique charms that reminded them of each other.

…Ah. Right. Kohaku had just found out his other loved one was dead.

HiMERU sighed quietly before turning to the other. “Do you need a moment?”

“…Thank you…fer…back there…” He had never heard the pink-haired teen get so quiet.

“Oukawa…” HiMERU paused before wrapping his arms around the teenager loosely, “If you need to cry, HiMERU…‘I’ won’t tell anyone you did.”

He could feel Kohaku raise his head slightly, no doubt in wonder at hearing him speak in the first person, before succumbing to quiet sniffles.

~*~

Rinne shined a light around a particularly darker hall as the four of them made their way down south. “Damn, even with the light from outside, this place is still extremely dark.”

Niki sighed as they turned down another long hall. “Can’t wait to be done with this place.”

Mao turned to Hokuto, the latter having been extremely quiet since they parted ways from the other two. “Hokuto…is something wrong?”

“Hm?” The raven-teen lifted his head slightly, “Well…just thinking.”

“Whatcha thinking ‘bout?” Rinne looked over his shoulder at the two.

“Just…the way those two both reacted to Amagi’s…” Hokuto seemed to trail off more so because he couldn’t bring himself to say it rather than triggering Rinne, “And the way they answered about Shiratori…did they…perhaps see him die?”

Rinne stopped at that, letting a moment of remorse wash over him before he refocused. “Kohaku-chan…he’s very close to those two…can’t say much ‘bout Merumeru, but he seems to be Kohaku-chan’s rock at the moment.”

“Judging by his reaction, I’d say even if he wasn’t particularly close to Shiratori, whatever happened was traumatic enough to make him unable to talk about it,” Hokuto remarked.

“Can we not talk about that…please…?” Mao held himself. He was close to Aira, too, since they were both in the Basketball Club. He didn’t want to think about what fate befell the sweet kid.

Hokuto looked taken aback for a moment before softening considerably and becoming remorseful, almost guilty, at both being incredibly insensitive and for making Mao upset. Rinne exhaled softly, not entirely sure how to break the awkward tension.

Seemed the school was willing to help with that. Niki collapsed to the floor and held his head in pain, making Rinne stop and kneel quickly in front of him. “Niki! What’s wrong?”

“Is it a vision?” Mao knelt in front of the chef, too.

“Whaddaya mean a vision?” Rinne looked at the younger teen in great confusion.

“Sometime after arriving here, I received a vision from the second entity. That’s why I was able to save him earlier and met Kazehaya-senpai.” Mao tried to pry the grey-haired idol’s hands out of his hair. With how strongly he was gripping it, he was bound to rip strands out.

Rinne stared at him completely dumbfounded. “How…I thought…”

“That it was a one-time thing? That’s what I thought, too, until Niki-senpai mentioned how Amagi felt after receiving them. Then I just put two and two together.”

“Can we focus on Shiina-senpai right now!?” Hokuto was not having it at the moment as he knelt down to try and calm the chef, “What’s wrong?”

“Ugh, definitely not a vision!” Niki groaned in pain again, “Feels like I just hit a wall.”

“Here, let’s get you to sit down.” Rinne tried pulling the other up to bring him forward once more.

Niki yanked back after another step forward. “Ow! Nope! Getting worse going forward!”

“Is it something at the end of the hall?” Mao turned to look down the way, “I just see the infirmary.”

“Huh?” Hokuto blinked several times at Mao before taking a moment to glance down the hall and back to the other, “How is that possible? This place doesn’t look anything like that area of the second floor.”

He took several steps further to get a better look at the sign above the door before he, too, collapsed onto his knees with a massive headache. “Ugh…”

“Hokuto!” Mao rushed over to the other.

“Kita-san!” Rinne stood but quickly knelt back down as he also was overcome with a killer headache. “Ow! What the fuck!?”

Mao stood up, completely unaffected. Hokuto whimpered, “That place…I was attacked by some shadowy figure in there when Akehoshi went to check for Amagi…Whatever is there now is far different than whatever it was before.”

Mao looked at all three before seeing them all get nosebleeds. “S-Stay back you three! I’ll check it out!”

Rinne glared at him. “No separating, Isara-san!”

“And what if we need something from there!? I’m clearly the only one who is unaffected!” Mao stood firm.

Hokuto was not having it. “And what if that thing attacks you!?”

Mao showed the pinned cross on his shirt, the blazer having been long left behind on account of blood soaking through it. “I still have this. I may not be religious, but it seems to help.”

“…Let’s hope that little thing is still good against something stronger…” Niki relented, much to the other two’s shock. “Just get back here soon, got it?”

“I will.” With that, Mao resolutely turned to the door and walked.

Rinne looked about to shout at the teen before Niki whispered to him, “I trusted him with my life before. He’s more than capable.”

Once Mao reached the door, however, he paused starting to feel a very small headache form. Groaning quietly to himself, he went to raise a hand to his head before he could feel his nose begin to run. Wiping at it revealed he was also beginning to get a bloody nose.

I have to do this. There has to be something to help us in there! Makoto would say the greatest tools to help progress in a game are often in dangerous areas, especially if they are for boss fights…I have to be quick!

He noticed a little note near the handle of the door. It was addressed to Sachiko, telling her that she was going to be cleaning in the reference room and that she would be back, so she needed to stay put. It was signed by her mother.

This confirms it! There has to be something here!

Upon entering the infirmary, it was oddly quiet. Until he heard a woman’s voice.

“What do you say? Shall we go on the field trip together over summer vacation?”

“…Er…” Mao took a few steps forward before the ghost of a woman appeared near him, making him freeze in place.

Shit! I can’t move!

She stared directly into his eyes. She had black hair and wore a tattered white blouse and black skirt. Her neck was broken, making her head hang awkwardly to the side, almost touching her shoulder.

“My dear Sachi…is my pride and joy…”

She took a step towards him.

“She’d do anything for me…”

She took another step. Mao felt the dread seep in like someone opened the floodgates.

As she stood in front of him, she turned her gaze away, allowing him the freedom to move. He nearly collapsed onto the floor if it weren’t for catching himself on the edge of a desk. Mao blinked his eyes open and spotted an old diary sitting open. Its pages were yellow and the edges of them were frayed, but the ink neatly written was still completely legible, as if it had just been written mere moments ago.

Is this…hers?...HUH!?

Mao spotted the date written in the diary. It was for July 19^th, 1953. It read: I seem to be dead.

Niki-senpai was right! She’s an adult, so she must be the teacher who died, and it did happen 20 years before the murders!

The woman spoke again, her words sounding like a dark chant. “I can’t forgive you. I won’t forgive you. I’m going to kill you. How dare you harm Sachiko…How dare you harm me…”

Quickly, Mao snatched the diary and bolted from the infirmary, not realizing she wasn’t giving chase. Bolting to the trio who had since returned to the part of the hall that seemed to let up on the headaches, he nearly rushed past them in his haste. “Guys! Move! Get out of the hall!”

The other three quickly ran after Mao before he finally came to a stop near where they saw HiMERU and Kohaku, panting heavily. Rinne stumbled as he paused to rest his hands on his knees and catch his breath. “Damn, Isara-san! What the hell was that ‘bout?!”

Mao stated between pants. “Definitely…something…useful…but also…really damn terrifying.”

“Dare I ask?” Niki sighed as he sat on the floor, leaning against a wall.

Mao sat beside him, encouraging the others to follow suit. “Ghost woman…I think she may have been the nurse. Thought she was going to kill me, but I found her diary.”

Rinne sighed as he slumped to the floor beside Niki. “Are we really peeping at a woman’s private thoughts?”

“Amagi-senpai,” Mao pleaded before showing the dates, “These entries are from 1953, many of which were after she died.”

Rinne gently grabbed the diary before thumbing through a few pages. “Well, I’ll be damned…”

“Okay? So it’s from a woman from that time and she is writing in it after she died. What does this have to do with the school?” Hokuto huffed before taking a moment to look at the book.

“Hokuto, she had a broken neck…”

That made all three of them stare at the student council president of Yumenosaki. Mao continued, “There was also a note addressed to Sachiko on the door. It was from her mother.”

Rinne blinked several times before thumbing the book back to the original entry and handing it back to the younger teen. “Okay, seems like Niki and I were both right. What ghostly shenanigans occurred due to 1953?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t get that far before she started saying creepy, murderous things. I bolted with it before anything could happen.” Mao returned to the pages, dutifully skimming them for anything of importance, “But if that woman is Sachiko’s mother, and she was possibly a nurse…then all three of those events from Heavenly Host were all connected. It’s just a matter of how.”

Niki taped the back of the book, noticing a name. “Considering her name is on the back and she shares the same last name as Sachiko, I’d bet so.”

The full name was Yoshie Shinozaki.

Mao determinedly went back to the date it was previously opened to. His eyes widened at the contents. “D-do…you want me to read this all aloud?”

“If you can summarize, that would be better.” Hokuto tilted his head in question, “Though, it seems there’s a lot, judging by your face.”

Mao dumbly nodded before reading aloud the contents from that week.

On July 19^th, 1953, Yoshie wrote how determined she was to raise Sachiko by herself with just as much love and affection as two parents would shower their children as they came to pick them up from school. That day so happened to be Sachiko’s seventh birthday, and the two of them planned to go out to dinner after school, along with getting her a stuffed black cat as a present.

When she went to sort some documents in the reference room, the principal stopped by. Despite being sympathetic and otherwise friendly with her, it seemed he was a greedy, horrible man. Judging by the actions that she said occurred, he was attempting to…have his way with her. She managed to get away from him and was running down the stairs when he pushed her from behind, causing her to fall and break her neck upon impact.

As she lay bleeding on the ground, slowly dying, she vaguely heard Sachiko’s voice. Sachiko had witnessed the whole thing when she came to look for her mom. The principal grabbed her as she tried to run away and strangled the child to death. He covered up all evidence that would suggest the attempted sexual assault and took Sachiko’s body to the basement and buried her.

He claimed her death was an accident and reported Sachiko missing the following day.

The day after, a new nurse was hired. No one seemed to like her. Not even Yoshie.

By the end of the week, her mind had completely darkened and her spirit began losing its sanity. As she put it, a dark will that wasn’t her own was invading her body and mind.

She wanted it to stop.

Mao looked up at the other people. “We were right…”

“That is so fucked up…” Rinne whispered.

Several of the next pages documented many of her thoughts and laments in the afterlife, now completely bound to Heavenly Host due to the tragedy and injustice, specifically how she missed Sachiko. Suddenly, the dates changed to 1973.

“Huh?”

Starting on July 12^th, 1973, Yoshie noted how much she loved Sachiko, and how Sachiko was willing to do anything to keep her mom happy, even killing lots of children to send their souls to her so she wouldn’t be lonely.

Three days later, she wrote how she wanted Sachiko to stop. This wasn’t going to make her happy. She even begged Sachiko in her writing to stop doing this.

The next day, as if they were seeing the switches in her personality due to the dark energy, she cursed the principal’s family line.

The day after that, she was lamenting how Sachiko had a new body once more and was still killing more children to send to her. She didn’t want this at all. All she wanted was for Sachiko to come to her and talk with her again.

Three days later, it is noted Sachiko killed six more, with the help of “that man” who kidnaps them for her, as she wrote. It also marked the beginning of the “spiriting away”, the complete removal of the children’s existences from history. She was still begging her to stop.

Several more days later, and Yoshie realized Sachiko was no longer killing for her sake, but because she started to like it. For several weeks and months later, she was beginning to lose herself to the darkness of her mind and hate.

Until August 18^th, 1973, when she mentioned Sachiko bringing 3 more children, the same date that the infamous murders occurred. She wrote how Sachiko probably doesn’t recognize her anymore. She still loved her more than anything.

On September 18^th, 1975, the principal jumped off the roof and the school was closed. She said it served him right after everything that happened. Several days later she wrote how she and Sachiko were desperate for more people as their ghosts wandered the empty halls.

Mao closed the book promptly, as there was no more left after that. “Looks like we were right.”

Rinne chewed on the inside of his cheek. “So the kid was doing all of this just to make her mom happy and not lonely, only to go insane from doing all of it…Still doesn’t sit well with me.”

“Agreed. As much as I feel for the both of them, there is no need, no reason, to ever justify killing innocent kids.” Hokuto lamented.

“Still...” Mao kept hold of the diary, “This may help with getting Sachiko to repent. She did start all of this for her mother’s sake, after all.”

“Okay, so one major piece of the puzzle down, how many more to go?” Rinne scratched his head in thought, “Wouldn’t this be enough?”

“I doubt it.” Mao sighed as he stood. “Something tells me there’s even more to this, we should see if we can find the principal’s office since he was the one who started this mess.”

“Okay…but where would that be? The main building seems to be consistently nothing but classrooms.” Hokuto pondered a moment.

“Did you guys ever explore the other wing?” Niki tilted his head.

“No…when we ended up over there, I was more concerned ‘bout that vision with Hiiro…”

“Niki-senpai and I woke up over there. It’s mostly a lot of rooms other than classrooms. My guess is that the principal’s office is over there somewhere.” Mao helped Hokuto to his feet, “Besides, we haven’t found an entrance to the basement. How much do you bet this school is sick enough to have us find an entryway through that despicable man’s office?”

~*~

The duo were quiet after the exchange, neither willing to say much other than focus on finding Tatsumi and any clues as to how all of these events were connected. On their side, they came across a reference room. Upon entering, Kohaku squeaked and hid behind HiMERU, making the other nearly stumble forward, “Wha-What’s wrong, Oukawa?”

Kohaku peaked back around only to relax some. “I…saw a man standin’ in here…”

HiMERU looked around the empty room, not seeing this supposed man. He sighed, “Must be another ghost.”

“…But this one felt different…” Kohaku mumbled unsurely.

“Hm? What’s this?” HiMERU stepped over to one of the small tables in the room and picked up a book.

Opening it up revealed it to be some sort of scrapbook. A really, weird one focused on the murders, filled with newspaper clippings and pictures of the victims. HiMERU narrowed his eyes at the red ink marking up the fourth child’s picture, the name “Sachiko Shinozaki” written under it.

Kohaku turned the page and paused at seeing an eerie sight. “This…Tis dated ta July 20^th, 1953…”

This page was focused on a newspaper article detailing the tragic death of Heavenly Host’s nurse, Yoshie Shinozaki, who fell down the stairs and broke her neck. Next to the article was another one about the only daughter of Yoshie Shinozaki was reported missing. The girl’s picture was identical to the one from 1973.

“Seems Amagi and Shiina were both right.” HiMERU also noted the resemblance of the two photos.

“Seems maybe ma guess holds potential merit, too…” Kohaku tapped his chin in thought.

“Well, unless she or whatever force decides to show us what actually happened, we still need more to go on. Come, we still need to keep looking for Tatsumi.” HiMERU gingerly took the other by the hand, taking a moment to hold the scrapbook in the other, before leading him out.

They were just about down the first flight of stairs when HiMERU stopped dead in his tracks. He spotted the ghost of Sachiko coming towards them. “Shit! We have to hide!”

He pulled Kohaku back with him up the stairs to the first landing before the pink teen stopped. HiMERU whirled around only to have whatever angry or agitated retort die on his lips as he looked around. Well, as best as he could from where he was frozen in place.

The school looked…clean. Bright. Airy. As if it were still a functioning school. It was sunset. HiMERU mumbled, “How did we…”

Kohaku sharply inhaled as his purple eyes widened upon seeing a familiar-looking girl walk up the stairs towards them, humming a cute kid’s tune. She looked like Sachiko but with a white dress and well-kept hair.

They then heard a man’s voice running towards them from the landing above. “Wait! Stop!”

Followed by a woman’s voice that was much closer. “No! Get away from me!”

The woman came into view. She had similar black hair and grey eyes to Sachiko. The top few buttons of her blouse were undone. The man then came, a tall, heavy-set man in a brown suit and glasses. He yelled again, “I said STOP!”

They witnessed, along with Sachiko, the man push the woman down the stairs. She broke her neck and died instantly. The man began to panic, supposedly claiming he didn’t “mean to push her.”

It was then that Sachiko let out a small, “Mommy?”

The man turned back around as if the mere existence of her was purely forgotten in his focus on what happened to the woman. A dark air soon enveloped the stairway. The man approached the little girl, “Ah, hello…Sachiko…you saw, didn’t you?”

Sensing the danger, Sachiko cried out and attempted to run away. He caught her after a few steps, his adult legs carrying him farther than a 7-year-old girl’s. To the horror of the two idols, he began strangling her until there was an audible snap, leaving the little girl limp in his hands.

He then turned to them. “You saw everything, didn’t you?”

He began approaching Kohaku. The younger’s eyes grew wide as panic coursed through his veins, groaning as he tried to will his body to move. HiMERU growled. “DON’T YOU TOUCH HIM!”

The blue idol managed to pull himself free from whatever force was keeping him frozen in place before grabbing Kohaku and pulling him free, sprinting away from the man until they were on the farthest end of that particular floor. Kohaku managed to get the other to stop running when he told him that they weren’t being followed.

After a few moments to catch their breaths, HiMERU complained, “You know, ghost school, you didn’t have to listen to HiMERU when he said something would have to show us what happened!”

Kohaku panted, “Just…what is he doin’…with her body?”

“Hiding it, obviously.” HiMERU stood upright, flipping to the newspaper articles about the death of the nurse and the disappearance of Sachiko, “Seems he must have reported her death as an accident and Sachiko as missing to cover his tracks.”

“Fuckin’ despicable asshole.” Kohaku spat.

“Indeed.” HiMERU muttered, “Now where would he manage to hide the body?”

Kohaku looked up. “What ‘bout tha’ basement Rinne-han mentioned?”

HiMERU stared at him for a long time before letting his gaze fall to the floor. “It would make sense…it would also mean HiMERU has been there before…back when we got separated and he was attacked.”

“So…find ta’ basement now?” Kohaku suggested.

“It appears so…”

“…HiMERU-han?” Kohaku hesitated a moment before giving a quick hug to the older teen, “…Thank ya…fer…all that.”

HiMERU smiled fondly and ruffled the other’s hair, much to the younger’s annoyance. “He’d hate to see you not make it after everything you’ve gone through.”

“Says ta’ one who got hit twice in ta’ head an’ had ta deal with ma ghostly possessions near non-stop, along with savin’ me twice now.” The smile on the younger teen’s face, though teasing, was a relief to see.

With that, HiMERU looked around perplexed. “Now where would a basement entrance hide…”

The pink-haired teen gestured to a hall down the way. “We haven’t explored down there, yet.”

Before he could follow the younger, he paused and looked behind them. He could have sworn he saw something moving around in the shadows. Deciding to heed caution, he moved along with Kohaku.

Further down, they came across another long hall, this one causing Kohaku to pause as he stared to the other end. “What’s wrong, Oukawa?”

“…There’s somethin’ here…be very careful.” Kohaku muttered lowly, shifting on his feet.

“…Something bad, he takes it?”

“…I don’t know…somethin’ at ta’ end…”

The duo cautiously made their way down this long seemingly unimportant hall. It felt like it extended forever until one doorway appeared on their left, just before a large gap in the floor. It appeared there was another doorway on the other side, followed by some sort of metal door. HiMERU tilted his head in fascination, “That looks like a large, commercial incinerator…what’s something like that doing in a school? That looks more like something from a crematorium.”

Kohaku tilted his head in confusion at the other. “How do ya know what an incinerator looks like?”

The older of the two paused in thought, trying to cover his tracks as convincingly as possible. “Reimei had an old one decommissioned a while back.”

Can’t have him know how ‘I’ know…had to remove a mark or two that way before…

Kohaku nodded after a moment, though the suspicion didn’t seem to leave. Instead, the worry from earlier crept back, making him hesitate before silently pointing to the doorway.

The two proceeded cautiously. The first room was just a normal, empty classroom. They followed the doorway on the side. This next room was super spacious. Nothing cluttered the ground, though it still looked like it was supposed to be a classroom. If it weren’t for the very obvious dark magic, witchcraft star-pentagram drawn in chalk on the floor, it would be just as unremarkable.

The drawing did not go amiss. HiMERU immediately refused to step on it, holding Kohaku back when he realized the other was about to step on it. “Last thing we need is to accidentally curse ourselves.”

Kohaku looked around the pentagram before removing HiMERU’s hand and stepping on it. Nothing happened. “I figured…seems this one is incomplete.”

HiMERU eyed the teenager wearily. “And how do you know about black magic? Is it your supposed background as an occult enthusiast for this universe?”

Kohaku took longer than normal to respond. “Somethin’ like tha’.”

HiMERU didn’t pry but noted how the younger didn’t show any signs of a headache typical of reliving certain information or memories that clearly aren’t real except for in this universe.

He has his secrets and ‘I’ have my own…but why does it feel like our secrets are much more similar than ‘I’ imagine?

The two proceeded to reach the other doorway where they could spy the remainder of the hall they were in previously. Before they could leave, a voice called out from behind them, “HiMERU-san? Kohaku-san?”

~*~

Niki stopped to pick up an item that caught his eye as they began making their way to the outdoor walkway. “Hm? What’s this doing here?”

Rinne stopped upon realizing Niki wasn’t quite with them. He saw the idol holding a slightly worn stuffed cat toy. He raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t that diary say that little girl’s mom got her a cat toy for her birthday?”

Mao and Hokuto examined the toy. Niki hummed in thought, “Maybe we should keep it with us. If words aren’t enough, perhaps a physical reminder of her mom’s love might work?”

Mao nodded. “Seems like it would be a good idea, just in case. You got a pocket or something to put it in for now?”

It was only then Mao realized just how covered in blood Niki’s upper body was. “N-Niki-senpai!? How did you get blood all over you?”

It seemed even Hokuto and Rinne hadn’t noticed either, judging by their frantic stares. Niki looked down rather calmly at his splattered blazer. “Hm? Ah, must have happened when we tried to save Ototo-san…”

“H-How!? Those shadow creatures didn’t get a chance to harm either of us and they certainly don’t bleed!” Mao seemed especially pale.

“…That other one though…”

“What other one?” Rinne’s voice was dark.

Niki paused for a long moment, not meeting his eyes. “It wasn’t one of those pets of the entity’s. It seemed like something from this universe. There were no eyes or teeth…just shadows that looked like it was trying to resemble a person. When I was fighting it off to buy Mao-kun and Ototo-san time, I stabbed it…maybe that’s where some of it came from?”

“Some? If so, what about all that?” Hokuto gestured to Niki’s side and pant leg, also caked in blood.

Niki looked at it in wonder for a moment before he remembered. “Oh, when I left to catch up, I did slip on some of that…bloody mess by the infirmary. That’s probably why. I certainly know I wasn’t injured!”

“And somehow, yer completely calm ‘bout it all. Only ya, Niki, only ya.” Rinne sighed, gesturing to the cat toy, “Lemme carry it. Doubt the little girl would appreciate a blood-soaked toy.”

The four continued until they came across the outdoor walkway’s doors. Rinne fell behind some with Niki being the one to start slowly pulling him along by the hand. Hiiro’s body wasn’t out there. Of course, it wouldn’t. This was a different dimension. It still left a sour taste in all of their mouths at seeing it.

A man’s sudden scream made everyone turn their sights out towards the tall tower that began the next wing of the school. A man in a brown suit fell from the top of the school and landed on the ground a little ways away from the walkway with a sickening thud. Mao and Niki screamed at the sight and pulled back.

Hokuto was aghast. “Wha-What did we just see!?”

Rinne, getting over the shock of seeing someone die in front of him far too quickly for Niki’s comfort, muttered, “He leaped from the top of the school…maybe that was the principal?”

The principal’s body disappeared, only for his screams to be heard as he fell from the top of the school once again. Seeing this put more shock into the three younger boys. Rinne seemed far too unphased. “Seems like his spirit isn’t able to rest after what he did, so he’s reliving his death over and over again.”

“I would say that’s horrible, but after knowing what he did, I can’t say I have any pity for him.” Hokuto deadpanned, much to the shock of Mao.

“Hm? Ya see that?” Rinne pointed to something shiny on the ground where the principal landed. He took several steps closer to the railing and leaned over to get a better look, “Seems like a key…”

Hokuto hopped over the railing, resulting in Mao shouting at him, “Wh-Where do you think you’re going!?”

Hokuto looked back at his fellow unit-mate. “I’m just getting the key. We might need it.”

“You realize you could get crushed!? It’s too dangerous, get back here!” Mao seemed about ready to hop over the railing and drag him back himself.

“I’ll just time it.”

“Kita-san, perhaps ya shouldn’t go.” Rinne hopped over himself, much to the chagrin of Niki. “Considering all the shit ya’ve been through so far, maybe being that close to death isn’t a good idea. I’ll go.”

“Excuse the both of you!?” Niki screeched, “Why are you two so damn particular about finding this damn thing out!?”

Rinne grew annoyed, side-eyeing Niki harshly. “This school loves to make shit hard for us and is only convenient when it wants. I’m bettin’ that key is going to be damn well important if it is coming from the asshole who started this nightmare.”

With that, Rinne walked over to the spot and waited. Hokuto hopped back over onto the walkway before trying to defend himself from Mao’s lecture onslaught. The principal screamed and fell again. No one saw Rinne wince at the sight nor could tell he had to steel himself to grab the key before it would be covered by the falling man again.

After grabbing it, he rushed back over the railing and held out the little key hanging on one end of a small rope and bauble, almost like a weird form of a lanyard. “Smaller than I thought…”

Hokuto inspected it. “Maybe it’s to a desk?”

“One way to find out.” Rinne began walking into the second wing, followed closely by Hokuto.

Mao and Niki lagged behind giving each other worried glances. Mao whispered so the other two wouldn’t hear, “Is it just me, or are those two a little…off?”

Niki returned the hushed tone, “More than that. It’s like they’ve grown too used to this…”

Rinne paused in his steps, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. “Since ya two know this area a bit better…got a clue as to where this guy’s office would be?”

Mao looked left and right, shuffling his feet from side to side. “Perhaps the third floor? That would be my guess.”

The two nodded before pausing. Rinne looked to Hokuto before awkwardly gesturing to the other two to lead the way. “Kita-san and I are kinda blind here…”

Niki huffed a sigh as he took charge. “And there goes whatever you two had going on.”

Niki didn’t notice the twinge of hurt in Rinne’s eyes at the comment.

Going up one of the numerous stairwells, the school shook again, though this one was quite gentle compared to the previous times. Not much changed except for the clattering of a cell phone falling in front of the group that wasn’t there before. Mao reached down and picked it up, unlocking it with ease upon seeing the vague imprint of the drawn pattern on the screen.

The screen lit up as the gallery reappeared, having been the last thing that was opened on the device. There were numerous pictures of corpses, including the one from the wall by the infirmary.

Hokuto and Mao nearly gagged at just how many pictures there were of such ghastly compositions. Mao stuttered, “D-Does anyone recognize this phone?”

Rinne took the phone from him and looked at the case. He remembered seeing a brief flash of it when Mayoi was taking pictures by the infirmary. “It’s…Mayoi-chan’s…”

He recalled the vision Hiiro told him. Hokuto noted, “Seems there’s a recording as the most recent.”

“Let’s…” Rinne paused, “…Not listen to it.”

Niki raised an eyebrow in concern. Rinne looked away from his eyes. “Hiiro mentioned this in one of his visions…I’d…much rather not see or hear Mayoi-chan’s last moment.”

Catching the hint, the other three grew somber. Only this universe could push someone like Mayoi into doing such horrible things. He didn’t deserve what had possibly happened to him.

Suddenly, the clip began playing. It was more than just audio…there was video, too. Mao tried to turn it off frantically, but it was as if it was going on its own. They could hear Mayoi muttering dark, creepy nonsense to himself. Then…they heard him. The real Mayoi, talking over his crazed self.

“Please, anyone, if you find this…please watch…there’s something you need to be aware of.”

“Eh? Mayo-chan?” Niki seemed shocked.

Rinne stared at the device, not fully registering seeing Mayoi somehow recording himself scrolling through his phone with said phone. That had to be ghostly shenanigans. Yet, something was nagging at him deep down to listen. “…Mayoi-chan seemed to snap out of whatever had a hold on him when I saw him…maybe he’s trying to tell us more.”

The video continued until Mayoi screamed, dropping the phone so that the camera now faced away from the idol. There was a low groan before a series of thuds faded away. What caught the group’s attention was what the camera caught after all that.

Someone was standing in the doorway, having watched the whole thing. It looked like a person, dressed in black with knives and daggers strapped to it all over. And it was wearing a white mask. It seemed to have conjured a floating book, the pages flipping on its own until they stopped at some unknown point. It seemed to read what was there for a few moments before nodding. It then faded into the shadows as if it weren’t there to begin with.

The video ended.

“What was that? Was that…another of the entity’s pets?” Mao seemed genuinely concerned.

“…I don’t think it’s a pet…” Rinne hardened his stare, “I think it’s a helper.”

“That thing said nothing about having an assistant in all of this!” Hokuto was genuinely angry, “That…thing – whatever it’s supposed to be – watched Ayase die! How much do you bet that thing caused him to become that way!?”

Niki’s lips formed a tight line as his eyes pricked with tears, though whether they were from being upset or rage even he didn’t know. Rinne snarled, “If so, that fucker has a lot of explaining to do!”

Rinne reached for his phone, not even caring that Hokuto more or less confirmed that calls couldn’t be made in this realm, and tried to call HiMERU. Hokuto stared at him blankly. “You realize that isn’t going to work? I tried before and it goes through demented voices.”

“That’s because ya were trying to call someone outside this place. What if it works when both are here?” Rinne was grasping at straws, desperate to warn the other two.

The group was shocked when the phone began to dial out, Hokuto being the most out of the group. “That wasn’t what happened to me…”

Rinne was relieved to hear HiMERU’s voice. “Amagi? How are cell phones still working here?”

“Get on speaker phone, now!” Rinne wasted no time, “We found Mayoi-chan’s cell phone! A video on there showed some sort of masked person stalking the school and we think it caused Mayoi-chan to die! It might haveta do with the entity, so watch yourselves!”

“What?” There was shouting from Kohaku followed by a deep, low rumble before the call was dropped.

“DAMN IT!” Rinne nearly chucked his phone out of anger. Niki caught it before it went far.

There was a new fire in the redhead’s blue orbs. “We haveta get to Principal Scumbag’s office. Find whatever fucking clues we need and get that Sachiko bitch to say sorry. The longer we wait, the more of us are going to die.”

~*~

HiMERU and Kohaku halted in their steps as they heard an all too familiar voice behind them.

“Tatsumi-han!” Kohaku sounded gleeful at hearing the priest again. “You found us!”

There was a building sense of dread in HiMERU’s stomach. He glanced around the room, realizing the size of it, before landing on lavender eyes that reflected his similar franticness. He stalled, however, seeing the state of the mint-haired idol before him. “Clearly it was more than a broken arm in that vision of yours.”

Kohaku turned to the other in confusion. “Whaddaya mean by tha’?”

Tatsumi refused to look at either’s eyes, his useful hand wrapping securely around his mangled arm to hold it in place. “That wasn’t…”

A phone began to ring.

The three stilled completely, the two older ones completely dumbfounded at the change. HiMERU padded his pockets before he found the source of the ringing, the name “Amagi” lighting up the screen. He tentatively answered, “Amagi? How are cell phones still working here?

Rinne was frantic, “Get on speaker phone, now!”

He quickly did so before Rinne could continue. “We found *static* showed *static* we think *static* It might haveta do with *static* watch yourselves!”

Citrine, lavender, and amethyst eyes all widened. “What?”

An invisible force propelled HiMERU out of the room before the door slammed shut, Kohaku calling out for him in terror. He was slammed against the wall before falling to the floor and blacking out as the school shook from another earthquake.

~*~

The quartet finally managed to track down the principal’s office. Turned out the little key was actually for the door.

The room was absolutely covered in papers, many with nonsense scribbled while others looked like charms from shrines.

The principal’s deep, low voice was heard once all four entered. “I didn’t mean for it to happen. It was just a temporary lapse in judgment. She’s the one at fault. She clearly overreacted to the situation!”

Hokuto snarled as he heard the voice, “Maybe Sachiko and her mother had a point in making him suffer over and over again.”

Mao stared at him in horror. He’d seen his leader get hot-blooded and pick fights before, but never had he heard him say something so callous and cold. Sure, the principal did deserve what happened to him, he could agree with that deep down. It’s the fact that one of his closest friends not only voiced it but also was starting to become someone he didn’t recognize anymore that truly terrified him. If they did all manage to get out of this whole situation, would any of them still be the same person they were before?

Rinne motioned for the four of them to stay quiet and keep close as they walked further into the room. It was cold. Very cold. There were a few armchairs and an old coffee table in one corner while the desk and a few bookshelves were offset from the lounge. What books were on the shelves were rotted or falling apart.

Coming around to the back of the desk, Rinne spotted something peculiar. One of the drawers was slightly open. He motioned for Niki to hold the phone’s light while he worked on opening the drawer. It seemed to get caught as he tried to pull it open, the wood having warped over the years. He eventually pried it open and pulled out a bloody hemp bag.

He nearly dropped it back in the drawer when he realized what it was. “Okay, that’s disgusting.”

“What the hell is in there?” Niki covered his mouth, suppressing a gag.

Rinne stared at the bag for a long moment before he quietly asked, “Niki, can ya hold the light? Ya don’t haveta look…neither do ya two. I have a weird, bad feeling about this.”

The two members of Trickstar slowly turned their gazes away. Niki kept the light steady, but second-guessed himself and also refused to look inside the bag. Rinne opened it to reveal a severed tongue that had dried and stiffened with age.

Rinne gasped in disgust and horror before his vision whited out. When he came to, he was standing in some sort of underground, musty-smelling room. He couldn’t move, no matter how hard he tried. The redhead stopped trying upon hearing someone enter the room.

It was the principal, Takamine Yanagihori, and he brought a shovel with him. The man began digging at a certain spot in the room and uncovered the body of Sachiko, with great difficulty, judging by how hard he was breathing.

“Every night…every single night, the same dream! I deeply regret what I did! I can’t even truly express how ashamed I am! But how much are you going to make me suffer for it?!”

Rinne tsked. He didn’t deserve forgiveness. And the bastard still thought he could play the pity card and try to convince even himself that he could even be worthy of forgiveness in the first place.

Takamine darkly laughed, clearly having lost his sanity. “Oh, I understand. I get it. You’re not really dead! You’re only pretending to be dead…”

Rinne sneered as the principal laughed hysterically, saying how he couldn’t have her telling anyone about what he did. His sneer turned to one of disgusted horror as the principal then took a pair of sewing scissors on one of the tables nearby and cut the corpse’s tongue out before giving in to hysteria and repeatedly stabbing the lifeless body.

The principal threatened as he reburied her, “If I ever see you in my dreams again, I’ll be back. I’ll kill you as many times as it takes.”

“Rinne-kun! Rinne-kun, answer us!”

Rinne snapped back to the principal’s office, a greatly concerned Niki in front of him and shaking him by the shoulders. Mao and Hokuto hovered around trying to get his attention. “Amagi-senpai!”

He blinked several times as he looked at each of the teens in front of him. “Wh-yes?”

Niki sighed in relief before turning his gaze to one of sternness. “Seriously, what happened? As soon as you opened the bag we couldn’t get you to answer us at all!”

Rinne slowly turned back to the bag still in his hands. He carefully resealed it before finding an old piece of cloth from what was once a curtain to gingerly wrap it up. “Just…witnessed some unpleasant memories…I think.”

“Eh? Yours or someone else’s?” Niki trailed off.

“Not mine, for sure…” Rinne exhaled slowly, “After that asshole lost his mind…he couldn’t have Sachiko telling anyone, even though she was already dead. I think that was the beginning of her mother’s curse on him. He was so paranoid and delusional that he cut Sachiko’s tongue out and desecrated her body after digging her back up from the basement with a pair of sewing scissors. That’s what was in the bag.”

“That’s…barbaric…!” Mao shook from behind Hokuto.

He took one last, sympathetic look at the small bundle before tucking it safely in one of his pants pockets. “She should get it back. It’s the absolute least we can do for her.”

Sorry for calling ya a bitch so many times. Ya shoulda been able to grow up into the woman you wished to become.

“…So that’s why…”

Rinne looked to Hokuto, “Ya say something?”

Hokuto stopped pondering, giving Rinne wide eyes before looking to the ground. “It’s just…a lot of the details on how the children died are echoes of how she was treated.”

The room grew silent once more.

Mao went to lean against one of the walls when part of it gave way behind him. Had Hokuto not caught him, he would have fallen down the hole.

“Ya good, Isara-san?” Rinne came over to inspect the hole. “Oh? What’s this?”

The hole held a ladder that went far down into the darkness. Charms of protection were plastered on every available surface, even over older charms. Niki stepped back. “I don’t like the look of that. That’s an awful lot of protection charms.”

“Seems like he was scared of whatever is down there…” Rinne muttered half of his thought.

Hokuto seemed to catch on. “A secret passage? Maybe to the basement?”

Mao crossed his arms and eyed the hole from a fair distance away. “It would make sense, considering Amagi-senpai saw the principal go down there before and we haven’t come across anything that would suggest anyone from back then suspected the principal at all. He probably used it to secretly get down there without anyone knowing.”

The redhead stared intently at the hole. “…I’ll go down first.”

“Are you insane!?” Niki grabbed his shoulder to pull him back upon seeing him try to start going down the ladder.

“We have to get to the basement to appease her, anyway. If this does go to the basement, we’ll be one step closer to getting outta here.” Rinne reasoned, sensing Niki’s mental state was starting to falter.

Not seeing Niki making any move or say anything to the contrary, Rinne added carefully. “I’ll go first to make sure everything is fine at the bottom. If it is, I’ll call you all down, got it?”

~*~

Inside the black magic room, the whole room shook considerably, several pieces of the ceiling falling around the duo trapped inside. Kohaku stumbled as he tried to get to the door HiMERU was thrown out of. Tatsumi struggled to get over to him but, once he did, used his good arm to attempt to throw the younger kid towards the door.

The floor collapsed once he got close, like it was one large, trapdoor.

Part of the floor angled down into the black abyss, the other half of it still trying to hang on to its initial place in the room as if it were the hinge of a door. Tatsumi managed to grab one of the raised floorboards with his good hand. Kohaku grabbed another just below him, fear nearly taking over and thundering in his ears.

It took him a moment to realize Tatsumi was shouting at him. “Kohaku-san! Use me to climb up!”

Kohaku, frightened and alarmed, stared at him in disbelief. “But-”

“Just do it! Use my leg! Quickly!” He had never heard Tatsumi sound so authoritative before.

Kohaku reached out to grab Tatsumi’s ankle but let go upon hearing the hiss of pain from the other. “Was tha’ yer bad leg?”

“Doesn’t matter! Climb!” Tatsumi gritted his teeth as he braced himself for the pain. That cabinet must have done something to his bad leg, too, without him realizing it, on account of having several broken ribs and a mangled arm.

The pink-haired teen gripped the older’s leg and began using him to climb, getting further towards safety and away from the abyss. Tatsumi could feel his hand beginning to lose its grip on the wooden board.

“AAAGGHH!” Tatsumi forced himself to use his broken arm to reach up and support both of their weights, the pain searing and intense.

“Ah! Tatsumi-han!”

“Just climb! Quick! You’re almost there!” Tatsumi hissed.

There was a loud bang from up above them.

~*~

HiMERU groaned as he fought with his brain to wake up.

Wake up, damn it! Now’s not the time!

He pushed himself up, his back and body straining in pain at having been, essentially, tossed around like a rag doll. When he looked up, he saw the door to that dark magic room had shut.

No…No!

HiMERU heaved himself up and began pounding on the door and pulling on it, trying to get it to budge.

Damn it! It won’t move!

He slammed his shoulder into it as the shaking began to get worse in desperation.

There has to be a way!

As if struck by a moment of clarity, he remembered a time from just after leaving Priest’s tutorship.

~Flashback~

The drill instructor walked down the line of promising cadets, a young man with blue hair among them. “You were all handpicked for your uniquely high aptitudes and skills, but don’t get cocky! In this unit, you will learn every trick in the book not only best suited for your skill set but also to keep yourselves alive! We may not be an official army with a nation, but you are more than mercenaries! You are more than just hitmen! You have been selected to become part of Fenrir! Shadow agencies and whole nations will come to you with the cream of the crop of work for you just because of becoming affiliated with this unit! You are wolves of the shadows of war! Both those in the light and the dark will quake at your presence!”

The man stops in front of the blue-haired man. “You may be good disguisers, you may be good at slinking in the shadows, you may even be good as is for spies, but you will all learn to fight like each fight will be your last! Like true soldiers!”

~End of Flashback~

HiMERU gritted his teeth as he took a big step back from the door.

‘I’ can’t hold back anymore! ‘I’ am sorry, Kaname, but this is where HiMERU and ‘I’ shall part ways for now.

He pulled his leg up to his hip height before projecting his whole weight into the kick aimed at the higher hinges of the door. He then used another strong kick aimed at the lower hinges, making the door break off from the force. He tossed it out of the way before shouting into the room, “Oukawa! Tatsumi!”

“Down here!”

Startled that the floor had already collapsed and the two were barely hanging on, he quickly knelt on both knees and reached down to try and help them up. He could vaguely hear Tatsumi over the rumble of the school urging the younger to go first. As soon as he felt Kohaku grab his hand he pulled with all his might, the force of which seemed to surprise the teenager.

Even with carefully altering my body to make it look like Kaname, even down to muscle mass, seems even ‘my’ strength is still hidden away. Good to know.

Once safely secured in the hall, he turned and reached down for Tatsumi, feeling his shoulder cry out at the strain of the stretch. “Reach, if you can!”

Tatsumi braced himself as he put all his weight onto the broken arm to try and reach up for the hand.

The board his bad hand was hanging on to broke.

HiMERU could feel the ghost of Tatsumi’s fingertips against his own but briefly, as the priest plunged into the abyss. “TATSUMI!!”

“HiMERU-han, watch out!” Kohaku yanked the older teen into the hall as the school began reconstructing the broken door. The door slammed shut just a hair away from HiMERU’s head as the two teens fell back.

The school ceased shaking, the low rumble fading away until silence encompassed them again.

HiMERU breathed heavily before slamming his fist repeatedly on the wooden floor with every word, “Damn it! Damn it! DAMN IT!”

Why?! We were so close, damn it! That sick fuck is probably laughing at us right now!

His shoulders shook with anger and loss. Tears pricked his eyes and fell onto the floor. After everything, even knowing more about how to avoid exactly this situation, it still wasn’t enough. He wasn’t fast enough. Had he and Kohaku done their work faster, several of their friends would still be alive. Hiiro could have made it had they appeased the ghosts fast enough to reorganize all the dimensions and give Niki and Mao enough time to save him. Aira would still be here had they just immediately gone to the infirmary and caught him in time. Mayoi would still be here had they saved Aira, or if he had just fought hard enough to help him fight off the Darkening. Their work could have saved Subaru, too, had they just been quicker. Tatsumi would be with them had he just given in to his training and broke down the door and recovered sooner.

Had he not argued all the time and dragged his heels when it came to Tatsumi leaving or when Kohaku got possessed…or arguing with Rinne…maybe they would all still be here.

His tenseness faded when he felt someone wrap their arms around him and a hand gently stroke his hair. Even when both were kneeling, he was still taller than Kohaku. The younger rested his head on the older man’s shoulder, one arm wrapped around his torso while his other hand slowly petted his head. Despite that, HiMERU could feel tears seeping into his blazer and shirt collar.

He could barely make out Kohaku’s words. “If ya need a moment…I won’t tell anyone…”

‘I’ don’t need a moment! ‘I’ won’t grieve for that bastard! This is all just temporary! ‘I’ don’t need it! ‘I’ don’t need it! ‘I’ don’t –

He hesitatingly reciprocated the hug and buried his face into Kohaku’s shoulder, a few quiet, strangled cries leaving his lips.

~*~

Tatsumi blearily opened his eyes.

How am I still alive?

He couldn’t feel anything below his shoulders. Couldn’t even move his head if he wanted to. From what he could see from moving his eyes around, it looked like his body was buried by the debris from above.

Ah…that explains…still…

He heard whispers from the shadows and his lavender eyes hardened. His voice was barely above a whisper, “Why…are you…still here? Come…to watch…me die? I’d…rather…be alone…”

The Assistant stared blankly and silently at him. It tilted its head as if trying to ask a silent question.

Tatsumi breathed a small laugh. “Hehe…I don’t…know how…I’m alive…either…if that’s…what you’re asking.”

The masked individual stared up for a long moment before returning to look at Tatsumi, making another small tilt with its head.

Tatsumi felt a small, genuine smile form. “I told you…and your master…that I…would do…whatever it took…to protect…my friends…I…refuse…to fail him…again.”

The Assistant tilted its head massively to the other side, the most expression Tatsumi had seen the other make in the several hours they had been more or less stuck with each other.

“Quite…inquisitive…aren’t you?” He could feel himself begin to slip away.

Ah…I’m finally dying…at last…

Tatsumi narrowed his eyes and sneered at the Assistant. “I would say…good riddance…but you’ll…see me again…whether…I want to…or not…I’ll…keep fighting…until you…and your master…rot in Hell…”

The Assistant stayed long after the idol took his last breath. It summoned its black book, the item hovering in the air as it flipped its seemingly never-ending pages. The masked individual hovered a hand over the book, letting a little pulse of shadow fall over it. The book stopped on some blank pages before it filled with neat black writing. A diagram of a cross followed suit.

It took time to read what was there for a moment, before turning to look back at the now-silent priest. It knelt and, very carefully, closed both of Tatsumi’s eyes with its fingers. It looked back at the book for a moment before bowing its head and making the sign of the cross over its chest. It made to stand and leave before it spotted a white cloth hanging from one of the various bits of debris. Pausing but for a moment, it gingerly took the cloth and folded it up before draping it over the idol’s face.

After another, long pause, it finally left, the shadows absorbing it into obscurity.

~*~

Rinne shined his phone’s light around at the bottom of the ladder, noting the dark, musty corridors. Tatsumi was right; this place did look like a bomb shelter. “It’s okay everyone!”

Several minutes go by until the four of them were standing in a small underground area. The walls were lined with wooden boards that were just barely keeping the dirt behind them in place. The floor was nothing but packed down dirt. A few lights hung from wooden beams above, their yellow light giving the whole place a cave-like aura. As if the air wasn’t already foreboding and eerie already.

Niki scanned the area. “…Should we wait for HiMERU-kun and Kohaku-chan here?”

The four remained silent. Hokuto kept an eye on the only hallway. “Didn’t they say they didn’t have a way over to our side?”

Mao stood beside his unit-mate and stared hard at the passageway. “Yeah…”

Rinne tapped his foot as he assessed the situation. “Something tells me…there’s gonna be more than one entrance to this place.”

Hokuto nodded in agreement. “It would make sense. We just so happened to find a more secret way to get in. HiMERU….is he older than me?”

Rinne blinked several times before he rested on a curious expression for the other unit leader. “What month were ya born in?”

“December.”

“HiMERU-kun was in July, so only a few months. Why?” Niki asked.

“Just want to address him properly. Anyway, HiMERU-senpai and Oukawa probably have found the more official entrance, so maybe we should go by HiMERU-senpai’s suggestion and slowly explore until we find them.” Hokuto took a moment to glance down the hall in uncertainty.

“E-Even so…” Mao took a step back behind Hokuto, eyes not leaving the passageway.

Rinne made his way to the front of the group. “Look, I get that this place is fucking creepy and we may stumble upon that room where those kids died and Sachiko, but we have to keep looking. Kita-san is right, Merumeru and Kohaku-chan aren’t gonna meet us here, so we might as well begin looking for them.”

“Stay close and follow me.”

The passageway was narrow, barely allowing for two people to stand side by side. On the bright side, they knew behind them was safe…more or less. They came to a fork in the passageway, one leading north while the other hall went south. Rinne spotted a door to the south loaded with protection charms.

“That’s…disconcerting.” Rinne hesitated before approaching the door.

It wouldn’t budge. He was about to step away when Niki pointed to a hole in the door. The chef hesitated before peeking through the hole. “Mm? It’s the main building…”

The other three perked up upon hearing that. Mao peeked through the hole, too. “Yeah, looks like it comes out to somewhere on the first floor.”

“Well, I’d hope so. I’d be more concerned if one had to go to the second floor to get to the basement.” Rinne gave a light cackle. Niki fondly smiled at the return of his antics.

Hokuto looked behind them. “So if that is the main building’s entrance and where we just came was a secret one…then the rest should lead to where the murders occurred and where Sachiko is buried.”

Mao grimaced. “How will we know we have the right room?”

Rinne half-joked, “Well, I’d imagine we’ll still find her body and her vengeful ghost. Otherwise, we know that the teacher who helped kidnap them hung himself in the basement. I bet that he did it in the same room as the murders. So if we find his body, we’ll be on the right track.”

“Lovely.” Niki sighed in exasperation taking the light from Rinne and shutting it off to conserve battery. “We may still need this for later, Rinne-kun. Try not to waste it.”

He paused at seeing the battery life. “Huh. You’re only at 75%?”

“Yeah. Me in this universe is much better at keeping their phone charged. What a blessing.” Rinne chuckled, “And I have been using it sparingly, Niki. I’m not that wasteful.”

“If you two are done flirting, can we get going now?” Hokuto stared at the two expectantly.

“Kill joy.” Rinne ruffled the raven-teen’s hair.

The lightened atmosphere lasted only a moment as the group was met with a ghastly sight once they proceeded down the other hall. Severed heads lined tables on each side of the narrow hall, barely leaving room for them to walk down. The vast majority of them were fresh.

“Ugh…” Mao covered his mouth as he was nearly overcome with nausea.

“What is this…some kind of trophy room?” Hokuto clamped a hand over his own mouth as he gagged at the stench and sight.

“If it is, I really don’t wanna meet whoever made this collection.” Rinne swallowed in an attempt to stay his gag reflex as he began walking down the way.

The hall widened and now held an additional 18 tables, all filled with severed heads, lined up in three rows; two along the walls and one in the middle. Rinne felt his stomach try to expel whatever little he had eaten that day, but he forced it down, feeling the burn in the back of his throat. Niki held his hand, giving him a worried look.

He was about to take the left path when a blue spirit formed in front of him, making him recoil with a startled shout. The spirit looked like a little blue flame, either incapable of taking a proper form or the group wasn’t able to see it for who knows what ghostly reason. It didn’t seem evil, however. It pulsated gently before hovering to the right path.

Rinne eyed the spirit and the two pathways created by the tables. Mao spoke his thoughts for him, “Is it…trying to show us the right way?”

“What right way? It’s a straight hallway.” Hokuto crossed his arms.

“Considering how tricky this school gets, how much do you bet we will either die or hit some sort of trap if we don’t follow the ‘correct’ path?” Niki sighed in exasperation.

“Yep. This is just like Makoto’s video games.” Mao more so stated to himself.

Rinne kept staring at the spirit with an unreadable expression. He followed it right, noting how the spirit seemed to pulsate rapidly as he did before it moved further down to go down the right path again. It waited for them. “It’s leading us alright…”

The group followed the blue spirit through the table maze before ending up on the other side. Rinne stopped to stare at the spirit for a moment. “Thank ya…this may sound weird…but I feel like I should know ya from somewhere.”

Niki stared at Rinne with a raised eyebrow. “Have you lost it now, Rinne-kun? First I’ve ever seen of you talking to a spirit.”

The spirit pulsated before bobbing up and down slowly. That made all of them pause. Mao tentatively stepped forward. “Can you tell us who you are?”

There was a moment of silence as the spirit just hovered there. There was a quiet buzzing coming from Rinne’s back pocket. He pulled out a phone, Mayoi’s phone, as it simply notified that the battery was at 15%. Mao stared in shock. “Why would you hang on to that? I get there’s important stuff about that masked person…”

“Couldn’t really bear to leave it. It’s still Mayoi-chan’s phone…ya know?” Rinne couldn’t reason his mixed emotions better than that.

The phone reopened on its own to the gallery, specifically selecting one of the gruesome photos; the one near the infirmary. The picture auto-zoomed to a specific portion of the nasty mess to reveal the student ID. Hokuto was near speechless, “That…was Shiratori…?!”

A pit of sorrow and despair grew in his stomach but was soon replaced by an uncanny warmth as Rinne raised his gaze to rest on the spirit once again. “Is that ya…Ai-chan?”

The quartet could all feel great sadness, but also relief, to see the spirit bob up and down in answer. Rinne’s voice was soft. “I’m sorry we couldn’t save ya…thank ya, for everything.”

The spirit began to fade, but a faint hum of a familiar tune could be heard in its wake. Rinne let one tear fall as he muttered the lyrics. “The real fight starts now. We’ll turn it all on its head, even fate…somebody say ‘impossible’ but we never give up.”

Thank ya, Ai-chan. I’ll remember that.

With a sad, but genuine smile, he whispered, “I promise. I’ll get all of ya outta here and make this thing pay.”

Hokuto let a small smile form as well. “Even after what he went through, Shiratori will still cheer us on.”

“Mm, that’s our Shiratori, alright.” Mao was quiet, a small smile on his lips and the beginning of tears in his eyes.

The school seemed to remind them of their situation, ruining the moment with a low rumble that shifted the dirt around them. Niki looked to the ceiling and tugged on Rinne’s sleeve. “We should get going. Who knows if this place is going to hold up with all that shaking.”

Rinne noticed how uneasy Niki was being, but not out of fear. Niki seemed to look guilty of something.

…Wait…didn’t he say he slipped on that bloody mess by the infirmary…oh, shit…!

When he reached out a hand to grab the other’s, any words died in his throat to address the issue with a singular, pleading look from his boyfriend.

Barely outside of the hall and around the corner, they ran into another person. Someone that wasn’t from their group, but from this universe! Well, more like the other person, a man with a red hoodie and black beanie, ran into them and scared everyone, including himself.

“AHH! A-ah…people!?” The man seemed genuinely shocked to find other survivors.

“Ya good?” Rinne dusted himself off as he eyed the man.

Hokuto spotted the man had dropped something on the floor, a nametag by the looks of it. He reached down and tried to hand it back to the other. “Here, you dropped this.”

The group didn’t expect the man to freak out as he stared at Hokuto, screaming in fright. He bolted from them down the dark halls, still screaming his head off. Hokuto looked at the others in perplexity. “Did I do something?”

“Nah…I think weird things are just the norm down here…” Niki was reasonably weirded out.

“That’s saying something coming from four idols belonging to the weirdest idol company in Japan.” Rinne joked half-heartedly.

“I get the halls are narrow, but the guy ran back the way he came…is it wise to follow him?” Mao pointed down the hall they were originally going to go down.

“Not much other choice since there wasn’t anything else down here. Stay close.” Rinne led the way again.

~*~

HiMERU and Kohaku had long since stopped hugging and were leaning against one of the walls on the floor, somber and quiet. Kohaku was the first to break the silence, “We fucked up…didn’t we?”

The blue-nette rested his head dully against the wall. “Unfortunately…”

“Rinne-han is gonna kill us fer sure…”

HiMERU ruefully chuckled. “HiMERU thinks a death at his hands is still preferable to dying by any means this school and its ghosts could do.”

“Fair,” Kohaku had looked towards the incinerator before squeaking, nearly pressing himself into the other, “Shit! Tis ta’ principal!”

The apparition of the principal stood in front of the incinerator blankly before crawling in through the small opening of the door. The duo turned to each other wearily before standing to investigate. It was so dark inside the contraption that even the light from HiMERU’s phone couldn’t penetrate far.

Kohaku spotted something among the ashes. “Is tha’…a yellow ribbon?”

“What’s that doing here?”

Kohaku attempted to reach for it. “Urgh…tis too far. Looks like it came from Sachiko’s dress when she was alive.”

The duo froze in terror spotting the ghost of said girl hunched over in the darkness as HiMERU’s light panned over it. Upon meeting their eyes, she turned around and began crawling further into the darkness. HiMERU turned off his light and was about to pull up when he stopped, raising an eyebrow as he peered further down. “Hm? Looks like there is light way down there…”

Kohaku turned around to look down the hall before looking back into the incinerator. “T’would be a dumb idea ta follow her inta this thin’…but what other choice is there?”

HiMERU felt a hand inside, judging the amount of space between the floor and what felt to be a ceiling. “Seems like we could crawl through…”

“Can’t believe this…so stupid…” Kohaku muttered his complaint as he began to crawl in, grabbing the yellow ribbon on his way. HiMERU followed suit, turning on his phone’s light before using one arm and his legs to catch up.

It was still very dark, and dusty, and ashy. The duo tried hard not to think about what the ash could have been from. Kohaku coughed and sent a cloud of dust into the air in front of them, forcing them to pause and let it settle.

“Oukawa, try pulling up your shit to go over your nose.” HiMERU managed to do so with his. It wasn’t foolproof, but it worked in a pinch.

The younger teen complained as he managed to wiggle enough to move his shirt up and over his nose. “Tis so disgusting…ow!”

“Are you okay?”

Kohaku waved his hand in front of him to shoo away the pain. “Yeah, just pricked ma hand on somethin’…looks like metal wire.”

The voice of Sachiko froze the two. “Turn back. Please. Turn back.”

The two side-eyed each other for a long moment. HiMERU huffed a laugh. “What’s our track record for listening to things we probably shouldn’t, Oukawa?”

“Too high ta bother countin’.” Kohaku led them onwards, “Right now, she just confirmed there’s somethin’ here.”

“Turn back…Stay away…”

The duo kept going until they heard Sachiko begin to giggle. “Didn’t I tell you to turn back?”

The floor collapsed below them.

Ending Theme: Rasen – jon-YAKITORI ft. Ado

English Lyrics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVld7njUsOc

Chapter Text

Opening Theme: Face Down (Japanese Cover) – Sunrise Skater Kids

Original by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlL5hhNiyrw

“God, how long is this basement!?” Niki drawled his complaint. It had been well over 20 minutes of wandering around.

“Seriously, it’s just one long hall after hall.” Mao sighed, “Still can’t believe my feet are only hurting now of all times.”

“For real.” Hokuto heaved a deep exhale.

Rinne cackled. “Are ya guys seriously complainin’? Don’t we do more than this for Lives?”

Niki smacked his arm. “We also don’t have your energy levels. How are you not even sore yet?”

“Eh, felt worse.”

The comment made all three pause in their complaints to eye him strangely. Niki prodded, “As in just this universe or overall?”

Rinne hummed in thought. “Well, in this universe I already had rolled my ankle thanks to Mr. Child Kidnapper trying to bash my head in and trip me. Overall? Hmm…accounting for my childhood, this just feels like another Tuesday.”

That comment did nothing to ease the others. Niki huffed, “Seriously, Rinne-kun. Just what did that hometown of yours put you through?”

Rinne didn’t comment on that, earning a shared knowingly look between Mao and Niki.

Finally, they came across another room filled with boxes that were much taller than them in a grid formation. Rinne paused as he stared blankly at the room. “Okay, friendly spirit or Ai-chan? Which is gonna lead us the proper way through this so we don’t die?”

“Seriously betting that?” Niki shook his head in disbelief.

“Not betting. It’s obvious by now.” Rinne corrected.

“I’d have to agree with Amagi-senpai,” Mao sighed in exasperation, “At this rate, this universe might as well have been a video game in our world with how predictable some puzzles are getting. That and all the story beats seem awfully like typical horror tropes.”

A blue spirit appeared in front of the group, also as a flame. Rinne smiled his usual cheeky grin. “Hey, Ai-chan. Long time no see, kyahaha!~”

The spirit didn’t move. The smile faded. “Okay, yer not Ai-chan…can ya tell us who ya are?”

There was a tense silence as the four slowly became nervous. The spirit summoned a little card that fell to the floor in front of Rinne. Hokuto leaned down slowly to pick it up before shakily straightening out. “…Amagi…”

It was Hiiro’s student ID.

Rinne’s heart stopped as he gazed solemnly. “Ototo-kun…”

Hiiro’s spirit slowly hovered backward past one crate before stopping and waiting for them. The maze was a bit more convoluted, but the crew managed fine with Hiiro’s help. At the end of the maze, Rinne hesitated before looking at the spirit. “I’m sorry…for not being there…”

The spirit began to fade, another familiar tune being heard. Rinne smiled as he muttered the lines he could piece together, “Keep pushing forward and be proud, then chase the words you have spoken…”

Don’t ya worry. I won’t let this thing beat me down. We’ll win. All of us will.

“…Rinne-kun,” Niki whispered gently, pulling the older man into a tight hug. He returned it, relishing in the warmth for a moment.

“…I’m good now…” Rinne withdrew partially, refusing to let go of Niki’s hand, “Let’s get moving.”

A little ways down the hall, they came to a seemingly dead end. Hokuto spotted a rickety door that nearly blended in with the wall before pulling it open. The room was pitch black, but they could smell something overpowerfully rancid.

“Guh…What the hell is that smell?” Rinne gagged.

Mao felt along the wall and found a light switch. He wished he hadn’t flicked it on.

The room was bloody and gory with buckets of blood and various viscera and tools everywhere. In the middle of the room lay a large table with leather straps, blood having stained the wood due to repeated use. Another table lay a little ways away, already spotting the well-worn and used tools of a handsaw, hammer, and several items that looked to be jury-rigged together to form ungodly instruments of torture. An empty wardrobe sat in the corner.

“Oh fuck!” Rinne stepped out of the room and finally let nausea overtake him.

“Ugh! As if this school couldn’t get any worse…!” Niki hacked at the sight, squeezing his eyes shut to block any more of the sight.

“Wh-What is a torture chamber doing here?” Hokuto and Mao were frozen in pure, disgusted horror.

Rinne stepped back to the group, face pale. “Please, tell me there’s another door we can just go through and forget we saw this…”

“…There isn’t…” Hokuto broke his gaze away to turn back to Rinne.

Loud, heavy footsteps were heard coming from down the hall they had just come from. Sharp inhales were heard as the four idols felt fear course through them. Rinne harshly whispered, “Shit, someone’s coming!”

“What are we supposed to do? This is a dead end!” Mao returned the frantic whispering.

The footsteps started getting louder. Rinne scanned the room before focusing on the table. One side was covered by wood, while the open side had an overhang that would mask the underside of the table in a dark shadow. It seemed to be large enough to fit all four of them. Rinne pushed the younger two and Niki over to the table, “Quick, under the table! And be quiet!”

The four scurried and crawled under the table, with Mao and Hokuto in between Niki and Rinne. It was a slightly tight fit, but far better than staying out in the open. They stayed silent as even louder, though quicker footsteps joined them in the room. Rinne could just make out black Converse shoes, but the voice was what drew his attention.

Isn’t it that random ass guy we ran into earlier?

Hokuto whispered in his ear. “The name tag he dropped earlier said ‘Taguchi’. Maybe that is the Kibiki guy’s cameraman?”

Taguchi panicked and hid inside the wardrobe as the heavy footsteps grew louder and louder. He was clearly running from whatever was making that noise. Rinne had a feeling he knew exactly who the heavy footsteps belonged to.

Just as he suspected, after several more tense seconds, the feet of Yoshikazu Yanagihori became visible from their view under the table. The four stayed staunchly quiet as Yoshikazu groaned and growled in anger, upset that the Taguchi guy had gotten away. He then huffed and groaned, as if he was winded from carrying too much for so long or from overexertion.

Rinne was horrified when Yoshikazu dropped the body of Subaru in front of them, his lifeless eyes staring directly at the group.

He immediately clamped a hand over Hokuto’s mouth, correctly assuming the latter would let out a cry of terrified surprise. Niki had also covered Mao’s mouth, though he had enough space on his side to hide Mao’s face from the scene by pressing the younger’s face into his non-blood-soaked shoulder.

He very quietly mouthed a “Kita-san” to the younger when he felt tears begin to drop onto his hand. Hokuto tried his hardest to rein in his cries and whimpers, even as his eyes widened as Yoshikazu proceeded to drain blood from the body. Blood spilled like a river from Subaru’s mouth, a trail of it leaking under the table and touching Hokuto’s fingers.

Yoshikazu suddenly stopped his gruesome work and groaned questioningly. He charged at the wardrobe, possibly having heard Taguchi inside. Taguchi screamed in terror as the four idols heard Yoshikazu hammer him to death. Having finished that, Yoshikazu picked up Subaru’s body and left the room.

The school rumbled some before silence enveloped the area. Niki was the first to whisper, “I think we’re safe now…”

Rinne looked to the raven-teen beside him and shakily removed his hand from the other’s mouth. Hokuto let out quiet whimpers. The redhead spotted Hokuto’s fingers and gingerly removed them from the bloodstream, using his own pants to let the teen wipe them clean. “Kita-san…”

“Where the hell is that bastard taking Subaru!?” Hokuto lunged out from under the table and out of the room.

“Kita-san!”

“Hokuto, wait!”

Rinne crawled out as quickly as he could while Hokuto shouted from the hallway. “He’s been through enough as is! I can’t let that bastard keep going!”

By the time Rinne ran out of the room, Hokuto had long since started chasing after Yoshikazu. “Shit! Hidaka-san! Come back!”

“Hidaka-kun, don’t run off!” Niki came rushing out.

Rinne gritted his teeth as he realized the dead end that led them to this hellish room was no longer a dead end thanks to the shifting school. Now, it seemed, there was a lot more to the basement. “Isara-san, come quick! We haveta chase him down!”

Mao came dashing after them as they followed the blood trail, assuming that Hokuto was also following it to find Yoshikazu. They hurriedly ran down several halls before Rinne came to a screeching halt at a fork.

The blood trail stopped there.

“Fuck!” Rinne cursed.

Mao, having sprinted faster than Niki, came up behind him, fear and worry etched clear as day in his movements. “Which way did he go!?”

Niki panted as he caught up. “How the hell are you two that fast!? Which way?”

Rinne panicked as he attempted to glean any sort of evidence from the dirt floor, using what he recalled from hunting in his hometown to aid him. The floor revealed nothing concrete. Looking down both halls, he went with his gut instinct and charged down the left side. “This way!”

He hoped his gut wasn’t wrong this time.

~*~

Kohaku groaned as he came to in a dark room. Gingerly propping himself up, he clutched his head as it began to throb. “Ooww…Fuckin’ hate this…I follow ta’ ghost an’ I either do ta’ right thin’ or get massively screwed over. I don’t follow ta’ ghost, ta’ same fuckin’ thin’ happens! I can’t win either way! Ugh…I’m gonna need some major therapy after all this…maybe ES should make a whole department just fer mental health.”

He placed his hand behind him on the ground to start sitting up when his fingertips brushed against something wet.

Oh, fer fuck’s sake! What did I touch this time!?

As if the school cruelly wanted to mess with him more, lights overhead turned on, illuminating the absolute horror. This was a corpse disposal room, and it was filled with too many to count.

Kohaku shrieked as he stood. “Damn it all! Why does this school like ta torture me!?”

Luckily, he was near the one area where it was clear of corpses, save for the puddle his fingers brushed in the dark. He really didn’t want to think about what that puddle was of, given the state of the rest of the room. It was then he realized a very, crucial issue.

He was alone. Again.

“HiMERU-han! HiMERU-han where are ya!?” Kohaku called out, panic beginning to refill his being once again.

Don’t leave me alone again!

“Up here, Oukawa!”

“Huh?”

Looking up, Kohaku was only slightly dumbfounded to see HiMERU clinging to another hole in the ceiling by a tiny overhang. Relief and joy took up most of his mind.

Thank Tatsumi’s God…tha’ ledge doesn’t look like much…is he hangin’ on by just his fingertips? Tha’s impressive!

HiMERU swung his legs a few times to build up momentum before dropping gracefully onto the clear patch of floor in front of Kohaku. “Sorry, got stuck in that other chute. Though…”

He looked behind him and grimaced at the sight, “Perhaps it was a good thing. HiMERU would not want to be covered in…all that…”

“Y-yeah…let’s…just get out of this room.” It took every fiber of the pink-haired idol’s being to not bolt out of the room and compose himself to walk calmly out. He missed HiMERU’s slight frown in response.

~*~

The trio kept running down the halls, but Hokuto was nowhere in sight. Rounding one more corner, Rinne stumbled upon someone just leaving a side room. “Oh shit! Kohaku-chan!”

Kohaku whirled around hearing Rinne’s voice. “Rinne-han!”

“Amagi got here?” HiMERU stepped out, his hooded citrine eyes widening considerably.

Niki and Mao came up shortly, heaving heavy pants. Kohaku peered around Rinne briefly to check on the duo. “What were y’all runnin’ fer?”

The brief elation dissipated considerably from the redhead. “Hidaka-san saw that big kidnapper with Akehoshi-paisen’s body and took off after him. We were trying to chase him down…but…”

HiMERU sighed. “So, we’re still separated.”

“We just came from…in there, so we didn’t see him.” Kohaku eyed the room nervously.

“Something tells me that room is bad news.” Rinne heaved an exasperated sigh, “Probably can’t beat that torture chamber we just saw.”

“A what!?” The pastel duo looked aghast.

“Yeah, this school is really messed up.” Niki heaved out, “I’m just glad you two are safe.”

The chef came and encased both teens in a strong, tight hug, which was reciprocated with a little less force from both of them. Rinne lightly chuckled, “Never thought I’d see the day when ya two would return physical affection.”

“Yeah, well this universe hasn’t exactly been kind ta anyone.” Kohaku huffed as he let go of Niki, turning his attention to a slightly panicked Mao, “Isara-han, we’ll find Hidaka-han, we won’t leave without him.”

“Speaking of, we found a lot.” Rinne started digging in his pockets for the items as he began to explain their discoveries.

~*~

Meanwhile, at Ensemble Square

Hiyori was staring intently at the polished tile floor of the office, the vision Sora had relayed digging around in his skull. Jun and Ibara seemed to be in a heated discussion, not caring they were on camera at the moment since the entity had yet to return at all. It probably was still organizing and preparing inside the liminal space.

“We can’t send Ohii-san out there!” Jun was adamant.

“You and I both know His Highness is more than capable! I understand your worry. I’m worried, too! But I’m still recovering from the previous expedition-”

“And I’m far more athletic to outrun those creatures! I won’t let Ohii-san put his life on the line! The whole point of us learning about the visions for ES is to prevent them from happening!” Jun slammed his hand against the desk. Hiyori felt his eye twitch at the sound.

“I and Yuzuru nearly didn’t make it against those things! We barely escaped with our lives and we are far more trained than you are! Just because you’re athletic-”

“I can scale and leap over walls with ease! I’m certain I can outrun and out-maneuver those creatures!”

“Did you not hear me!? Yuzuru nearly got eaten! I nearly got killed! I’m not keen on sending His Highness out either, but I’m not willing to send you! As much as you are physically capable, these things are deadly!” Ibara slammed his fist into the desk as the younger refused to budge.

Hiyori was still as he started to drown in his thoughts.

I’m going to get hurt…maybe die…but Arashi-chan and Kaoru-kun…Jun-kun is physically capable and he does have a point about trying to avoid letting these visions come to fruition…but…I can’t let anything happen to him either. Bad Hiyori! Everyone is sending someone out to help with the distraction. We NEED that laptop…What am I to do…?

He hung his head, not wanting to show his frustration as tears began to build. He saved Jun from a miserable life in Reimei. He couldn’t deny he was entranced by him the first time he heard him sing, like a sailor to a siren. After all this time, he couldn’t deny he had come to love him. As the second son of the Tomoe family, he could have a touch more leeway on his choice of partner…but he was about willing to say screw family tradition. He wanted Jun. He needed Jun. He couldn’t bear to see him hurt, much less even consider the idea that one little mistake could cause him to be gone forever. If he was the Sun, Jun was his moon. As much as Jun felt like he was chasing after Hiyori in terms of his capabilities as an idol, Hiyori knew he was chasing after Jun just as much, if only for more personal reasons.

I love him…that much is obvious. Hehe, well, except to Jun-kun. Sometimes he’s too dense for his own good…even if I’m not the most capable, I won’t let him get hurt protecting me.

Taking one look from the corner of his eye to see Jun and Ibara were still arguing, he steeled himself with a steady breath. Those two wouldn’t listen to him if he tried to interject. He would just have to leave and make the choice for them.

A searing pain throbbed his temple, forcing the idol to clench both sides of his head and grit his teeth. His vision flashed to white as he heard a woman’s voice.

Tomoe…Tomoe Hiyori. Speak your thoughts to me.

“…What is going on?”

I can feel your pain…and your determination. Your passion, your love. I’m offering you my help in battling this spirit. The spirit who should know his place. The one who is holding your friends captive.

“…Who are you? How are you speaking to me?”

That “second entity”, as you all call him, has sealed away many of us to save us from the destruction that evil spirit has wrought upon our realm. While he is unable to provide great assistance consistently due to being caged and shackled, he has conserved just enough once again to have me speak to you directly.

“You still didn’t answer my question!”

Time is of the essence. You need to be able to see into our realm without that spirit knowing. He and I won’t be able to hold this link for much longer. We will provide you with a vision.

Hiyori’s sight went from white to seeing the library. He saw himself shakily standing, a hand wrapped firmly around his bloody side, surrounded by bookshelves. He was trapped by the Tiger-Shadow…until he saw Wataru and Kanata come to his aid.

You must meet the ones known as Hibiki Wataru and Shinkai Kanata in the library. They will join you in this expedition, of that we can assure for certain. Help them battle the shadow that dares to harm you. With that battle, not only will they unknowingly each release great powers…

He saw a pale, yellow gem and an equally pale blue gem shine unnaturally bright from the pins on Wataru’s and Kanata’s jackets. The brightness of the two allowed a third bright light to form just a little ways away from his future self.

…but the combined release of such energy will release me and allow me to manifest a weapon to lend you my power. Use it to save yourself, your love, and your friends, both here and in our space. By releasing us, you will begin to break the shackles that hold him in place. I will speak to you again when I have been released.

“Who are you!?”

…That Shinkai Kanata calls you “Sun-san” or “Ohisama-san”, yes? And your love, too?  In that, we are kindred spirits.

With that, Hiyori’s vision returned to normal and the headache ceased. His skin felt clammy, a cold sweat began to form. Yet, deep inside his being, in his very soul, he could feel a strong warmth.

He panted quietly, his lungs feeling like they were frozen mid-breath for too long, taking a chance to check on the other two. Jun and Ibara were still too engrossed in their argument to have noticed what had transpired. Hiyori heard from the computer people volunteering for the second expedition. Distinctly, he heard Wataru and Kanata.

That woman…

He eyed the radio and extra batteries on the coffee table. His line of sight shifted to the door.

Hiyori, with great speed, grabbed the radio and batteries and bolted out the door.

“OHII-SAN!”

“YOUR HIGHNESS!”

Hiyori slammed the door behind him, feeling the wood vibrate against his back as he could hear his unit-mates' muffled cries.

“Don’t do this! Ohii-san!”

“Get back here! We won’t let you get hurt, damn it!”

I’m sorry you two…but…maybe that woman is going to be the ray of hope we all need right now. And she needs me to help.

“I’m not going to sit and do nothing! I refuse to risk either of you to save myself!” His shout silenced the two on the other side; a single tear fell down his face and silently plopped onto the cold tile below, “There’s something I have to do! Just make sure Kanata-kun and Wataru-kun know to meet me in the library!”

With that, Hiyori marched with purpose towards the library.

Hang on, Arashi-chan, Kaoru-kun…the sun shall light the way.

~*~

“Tatsumi-chan’s…” Rinne and company were in shock.

“…We fucked up…” Kohaku muttered wetly, “We…”

“Ah, finally that thorn in my side has perished! At long last…”

Rinne glared all around him, frustration fueling the rage in his veins, “Would ya fuck off!? You probably did something to force him to die, didn’t ya!? Just like with Mayoi-chan!”

HiMERU and Kohaku stared at him, mouths parted and eyes wide. “What?”

“Didya two not hear me on the phone earlier?!” Rinne growled, not intending to direct it towards the duo.

“No. The universe seemed keen on making the signal unstable. We could barely make out what you said.” HiMERU darkly uttered as he began casting his eyes around, “What did you do to Ayase?”

“Hmm? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Cut the bullshit!” Rinne lashed out, “Mayoi-chan’s phone caught a recording of some armed masked creep watching him go insane! Since there’s no evidence in this universe of some masked freak running around, it’s gotta be one of your fucking pets or a helper!”

HiMERU and Kohaku quickly turned from confused to enraged. Kohaku finally lashed out, “Fuck ya an’ yer fuckin’ helper! Mayoi-han wrote how he was chased by somethin’ with knives right ta where Love-han died like he was bein’ corralled! Was tha’ yer fuckin’ helper too!?”

HiMERU shouted, “Is that why Shiratori was in the infirmary!? Did you have that helper of yours force him to enter!? Why he looked possessed and could barely break free?”

The voice was quiet for a long moment. “…I see. Seems I was too preoccupied keeping the priest quiet that I didn’t consider that other one…”

It began to darkly rumble in laughter before its voice distorted. “Hehehehahahahahaha!! So that’s why they call him the PhaNTom! Hahahaha! What a SneAKy liTTLe sHiT!”

Kohaku screamed, “What did ya do ta Tatsumi-han!? Why are ya interferin’!? Wasn’t this supposed ta be a test!?”

“HahahaHAHAHAHA!! Your friends at ES fiGUreD that out alREAdy! So I’ll tell you all! THIS IS RIGGED! Hehahahaha!! You’ll still FinD yOUr ThREE conSEcuTIVE uniVERSeS to esCAPE! But will YOU ALL PERISH BEFORE THEN? HEHAHAhahaHA!”

“Ya asshole!” Rinne gripped his hair before slamming a fist into one of the dirt walls.

“YES, rAGe! SufFER! MY FRIEND WILL WATCH YOU ALL!”

As if a switch had been flipped, the distortion ceased and the voice became eerily calm again. “Guess I’ll have to change some of my plans for after this punishment round, since you now know. Maybe I’ll find a universe where I and my Assistant will face off with you lot on a more…personal level.”

Mao was frozen in place, unable to make a sound. It seemed the entity noticed. “Ah, but we aren’t done with this universe, yet. Tread carefully. Especially that leader of Trickstar. One misstep on anyone’s part, and you’ll damn your ritual partner, too…I’ll leave you to it while I prepare a bit more…Good luck.”

The voice ceased. The halls remained deathly silent as the idols seethed in rage and despair.

Mao trembled slightly. “Wh-what…did it mean by ‘damning your ritual partner’ if we mess up?”

Kohaku tapped HiMERU’s arm and mimed for him to hand over the notes Mayoi got them. He reopened the page and read a moment before it dawned on him. “‘Cause ta’ way outta here requires two people minimum…”

Niki came and took the papers from the youngest to read over himself. “Those paper scraps then…we need to redo the ritual with the people we did it with in the beginning, or at least those that are alive. If you’re by yourself…that’s it. You're done for.”

Rinne removed his head from the wall where he had perched it in his moment of rage. “…We need to find Hidaka-san. If we don’t then…”

No one would look at him, but Mao knew what that would mean for himself. “Hokuto…don’t do anything stupid…”

~*~

Hokuto was running down another long, underground hall. “Akehoshi!”

He slowed down as he neared the end of the hall. There was a doorway at the end. He followed as best as he could the whole way. That bastard had to have brought him here.

“I won’t…let you suffer…anymore!” Hokuto ran into the room with haste.

The room was empty, save for a TV and a camcorder in the corner. The TV was on, but it was just static.

“Huh? But…I followed him here! Where did he go!? Where did he take you!?”

There was a whisper in the shadows that drew his attention to the far wall opposite the TV. Someone in a mask was staring at him, arms crossed.

That’s the masked person Oukawa warned me about from that vision of Ayase’s!

“What did you do to him!?”

It stayed silent, simply observing him for a long moment. It slowly unfolded an arm and pointed to the camcorder.

Hokuto stared at it hard. Sensing the teenager wasn’t going to understand easily, the Assistant returned its pointing arm to gently tap its chest with a single finger before pointing at him. Hokuto paled slightly as he felt the pocket inside his blazer.

How did it know I still had that camcorder tape?

He chanced pulling it out and showed the Assistant. The masked person nodded and then pointed back to the camcorder before stepping back into the shadows and vanishing.

That thing did something to Ayase, it had to have! It’s probably trying to do something to me, too!

He paused and looked down at the slightly blood-splattered tape. Guilt started to wrack his mind as he recalled he ran off from the group. Checking his student ID case, he saw his paper scrap was still there, safe and sound. He recalled what the previous tapes said about doing the ritual to get back home.

…What if…it’s a long shot, but maybe there might be something useful on here to help us with Sachiko? I already caused a lot of problems for them now by running off. The least I can do is find information that can help them.

He inserted the tape into the camcorder and pressed play.

~*~

The five of them proceeded down the dark tunnels before they came across an open area. Rinne glanced back the way they came, thinking about the path right they hadn’t taken before meeting Kohaku and HiMERU.

Before he could voice his thought, however, the ghost of Yuki appeared before them, scaring Rinne’s original group half to death while HiMERU and Kohaku were genuinely surprised, albeit a touch wary. “Yuki…do ya still have control over ya will?”

“The fuck do ya mean by that!?” Rinne tried to pull the duo behind him, much to their chagrin.

Kohaku waved the hand away. “She was ta’ ghost child who showed me Sachiko was ta’ real problem after appeasin’ them.”

“…Ah…right…” Rinne was still quite unsettled at the idea of what Kohaku had to go through.

“Kohaku…HiMERU…Don’t give in.”

The pink-haired idol turned inquisitively to Yuki, as did HiMERU. “Waddaya mean by tha’?”

“…You’ve both been stricken by the Darkening, and its effects are beginning to take hold in you.”

Stunned fear resounded in the young kid’s being. HiMERU clenched his fists at his side, thinking back to Mayoi. Yuki continued, projecting a little ray of hope, “There’s still time to stop it! You must hurry!”

A dark, eerie hum echoed from the room behind Yuki, making even the ghost girl turn around in brief fright. She turned back to the group slowly. “She’s here. Just beyond that room. Whether you’ll return to your world or not depends on her. Go quickly.”

“Woah! Wait a minute!” Niki was aghast, “What about Hidaka-san? We can’t leave him!”

“He’s wrestling his own demons at the moment,” Yuki muttered, much to the confused shock of the group, “If he can overcome them…overcome his own Darkening…then he’ll be along…”

“His own Darkening…?” Mao sounded impossibly small.

Yuki looked back to the room behind her. “I think…it should be possible to appease her. Just remember, you have to touch her heart, get to her humanity…please, make certain you’re ready…”

With that, her ghost vanished. Kohaku stared numbly at the floor. “How are we afflicted with ta’ Darkening?”

Rinne thought for a long moment before he very carefully chose his next words. “Kita-san mentioned a ghost that talked ‘bout people losing their minds ‘cause of some curse in the school. It said something ‘bout possessions by evil spirits were more likely to happen when one had been touched by the curse…could that explain why ya kept getting’ possessed all this time?”

“…That certainly would…except HiMERU never got possessed.”

“That ghost also said…” Rinne paused before looking HiMERU in the eyes, “That strong emotions can speed up the process…maybe ya two have just…endured too much already.”

HiMERU looked to make a retort but stopped, looking to the ground instead. Rinne took that as a silent admission to what he feared. Even the stone-cold, seemingly strong HiMERU was pushing to his limit here. He’s seen or at least was present in the last lucid moments of or the deaths of three of their five friends, that Rinne knew for certain. Kohaku had nearly died multiple times, gotten possessed who knows how many times, saw or was present for the deaths of three of their friends as well, and was still grieving the loss of both Aira and Hiiro. Even if those two had done most of the paranormal work in this world…he feared those two wouldn’t last another hit.

He steeled himself, “I’ll take point on this one. You two stay back and only intervene when absolutely necessary.”

The duo whirled on him. “Are you insane, Amagi!?”

“HiMERU-han is right! Ya don’t know what ta’ hell yer gettin’ yerself inta!”

Rinne shuffled his feet on the dirt floor, eyes focused on the little stones scattered here and there. “…Well, I actually do.”

“What? You’re saying you’ve appeased an evil spirit before?” HiMERU huffed.

Silence.

“…Have you, Rinne-kun?” Niki approached his side.

“…A lot of…the things I learned in my hometown were quite…spiritual in nature, due to my future role of becoming the next chief. Some of it dealt with sending back spirits to the afterlife.”

The room was silent at this new information. “…Why didn’t you say anything about it, Rinne-kun?”

Rinne scratched the back of his head, gaze focused on the ground. “‘Cause I’m not a big believer in the system I was taught. The whole town believed everything, and I mean everything, had a spirit, a soul, even man-made shit. Everything had to be done a certain way with the correct tools and the correct procedures in order to pay respects to the spirits and the gods in whichever realm they belonged to.”

“Amagi, there’s a difference between a little girl who was murdered for witnessing her mother’s death and a bowl that wasn’t cleaned properly.” HiMERU leaned against one of the walls.

“No shit, Sherlock.” Rinne spat, “And it’s not that excessive with man-made shit. The point I’m making is that I do know what I’m doing when it comes to appeasin’ souls who were wronged or treated poorly.”

“May he ask how long ago your last experience with this was?”

“…First one I ever helped with was several years ago…for a little girl murdered by her father in a drunken rage…” Rinne uttered quietly, though everyone could hear.

No one was certain how to proceed after that confession. Kohaku tentatively stepped forward. “Was she…treated similarly ta Sachiko?”

Rinne could only nod silently. Niki rested a hand gently on top of his shoulder. “How old were you then?”

“…About 5 or 6.”

Stunned silence.

HiMERU shook his head. “What kind of parent would let their child see something so grotesque? Even if it were for experience as the future chief, that should have been a line to not cross.”

Rinne heaved an exasperated huff of air. “Yeah, exactly why I’m not a big fan of my hometown and why I left when I did.”

“Come to think of it,” Mao pondered, “Amagi mentioned it was a pretty far trip from your hometown to the city. Just exactly how far is it?”

“Probably far if such practices are goin’ on…” Kohaku muttered to himself.

“Mm, I left my town around midnight and walked to the nearest town by sunrise, then took a bus to the next nearest town that had train access to the city…by the time I got to the city I think it had been well over 24 hours.”

“Christ…” Kohaku blinked.

“Yeah, real boondocks town.” Rinne hurried, as if any long on the topic was causing physical discomfort, “Look, I’m taking point on this one. I don’t wanna risk ya two succumbing to that Darkening shit, so only intervene when absolutely necessary, got it?”

“What about us?” Niki motioned between himself and Mao.

Rinne stared for a long moment. “If ya two think ya can handle it, then ya can help me. But don’t feel bad for not helping if ya don’t. I’d rather not risk anyone after coming this far.”

Mao looked back the way they came. “Shouldn’t we try to find Hokuto? That girl said he was fighting the Darkening, too…”

“Yuki said he would be along after his own demons were sorted. HiMERU has a feeling even if we find him we wouldn’t be able to help. It’s a battle he’ll have to face alone…unfortunately.” The blue-nette seemed reluctant to answer as he did.

“So…do we need a moment to go over what we know and what we have? Or are we ready?” Niki prodded the group.

Rinne took a moment to look each idol in the eyes, only moving on to the next when the one he was looking at gave their nod. “Let’s go then.”

When they entered the room, it was a tiny entryway with a chair. The rotting body of Yoshikazu Yanagihori hung from a rope. To the right was a small room where the murders from 1973 took place. To the left, was another room, a dark, imposing aura emanating from it. That had to be where Sachiko was.

They entered.

The five had barely filed into the room before they were all struck frozen in place, each receiving a killer headache. Rinne hissed through gritted teeth, “Yep, gotta be the place.”

The sound of a shovel digging in the dirt could be heard. The body of Sachiko came into view in front of them, as if she were a queen entering her throne room to preside over court.

Sachiko’s ghost, red in hue, hovered over her body. “I told you to stay away! Don’t come any closer! Don’t look at me!”

Rinne attempted to speak, “Sachiko, please listen. We-”

She was not having it. “Leave!”

Rinne persisted. “Please, believe me, all of us, we mean ya no harm.”

“Leave, now! Or I’ll kill you!”

The room began to shake as a low rumbling resounded.

~*~

Hokuto watched the TV come to life as it played the camcorder video. Taguchi appeared on screen. It seemed to have occurred sometime after he ran off from Kibiki. He documented himself as if it were going to be his last words or last will.

“I intend to keep my promise. I won’t stop filming, no matter what! These records-”

A familiar scream interrupted him. “NO!! DON’T!!”

“What the-?”

The voice screamed again. Taguchi ran up the stairs towards the noise on the third floor. He stopped in front of the boy’s bathroom. When he got close, there was a loud, metallic thud. He stood beside the door but was too scared to enter. Instead, he aimed his camera to record what occurred inside.

Hokuto’s blood froze. His entire being felt hollow and empty.

The voice was, indeed, Subaru, as he suspected.

“Please…don’t do this…!”

Yoshikazu stood off to the side, as did the masked individual from earlier. Subaru was in the stall, hands tied, and standing on a metal bucket.

Hokuto was putting the noose around Subaru’s neck, a dead look in his eyes.

“Hokke…” Subaru was scared, bordering on tears.

~*~

Sachiko glared harshly at the group before grabbing a pair of scissors and sprinting towards Mao. Mao made a strangled cry as he braced himself. A blue flame dashed into the room and into the cross still pinned on Mao’s shirt, as if it knew where to go. The cross shined bright, repelling Sachiko’s scissors and forcing her back, leaving Mao unharmed.

“Huh?!” Mao snapped his eyes open as the cross still shined brilliantly, “But there are no more charges…”

“Tatsumi-han…” Kohaku nearly whispered, catching Rinne’s hearing.

Tatsumi-chan! First Ai-chan and Hiiro…now you!?

Sachiko readied another strike, but the cross glowed bright, repelling her once again. Mao squeezed his eyes tight, trusting, hoping that Tatsumi’s spirit was strong enough to keep her at bay for just a bit longer. In a rage, Sachiko repeated several strikes, each getting repelled successfully, though the cross was beginning to glow a touch less than at first.

Keep it up! Just hang on!

“Amagi, get on with it! Quickly!” HiMERU shouted at his leader.

Rinne turned back to Sachiko’s body, now seeing her second ghost of when she was alive, determination filling him as he steadied himself.

~*~

Hokuto couldn’t breathe as the video kept going.

Subaru pleaded with Hokuto in the video, “Hokke…Hokuto, please! Don’t do this!”

Hokuto in the video had finished tying the noose around Subaru’s neck and very slowly shifted to the side.

Subaru cried out again, “No…no, please…Hokuto!! Snap out of it!! Hokuto! HOKUTO!!”

Taguchi caught on camera Hokuto kicking the bucket out from under Subaru’s feet.

The video turned to static and ended. Hokuto collapsed onto his knees, his soul feeling cold and hollow. Shadowy tendrils began to slowly form over his body.

Rinne was right. Subaru didn’t hang himself.

He was murdered. Hokuto murdered him.

~*~

“Sachiko!” Rinne managed to pull the bundle of cloth from his pocket out and unwrapped it to reveal the bloody hemp bag, “This is yours! It’s your tongue that was taken from ya! Please, take it!”

The Sachiko in white muttered quietly, “Mommy…You promised…”

“Your mom’s been suffering just as much as ya have! What you’re doing isn’t making her happy! Here! This is from your mother! She was gonna give it to ya for your birthday!” Rinne handed over the black cat plushie.

White Sachiko looked blankly as she held the items. “Who…? Where’s mommy? Where am I?”

Rinne managed to move his body freely, as did everyone else. Red Sachiko was still trying to go after Mao, even as the cross imbued with Tatsumi’s spirit kept repelling.

It has to be working! Just a bit more!

White Sachiko let out a series of pained, agonizing, angry groans as the room shook violently. Red Sachiko vanished, her spirit now becoming unstable.

“Guys! Is that you!?”

Mao looked shocked at the entryway when he heard that voice. “Hokuto!?”

The raven-haired teen into the room, out of breath. Rinne smiled briefly before seeing their moment. “Guys! Get your paper scraps and find your ritual partner!”

“Make sure to repeat the line once for each person plus one more for Sachiko herself!” HiMERU grabbed Rinne and readied his paper scrap.

Rinne shouted to Sachiko. “Sachiko! Hear us! We just want to go home! Your mom and ya have suffered greatly and it was unjustified! We just want to free ya both from this suffering!”

Each duo, HiMERU and Rinne, Niki and Kohaku, and Mao and Hokuto, each put their paper scraps in one by one.

“Sachiko, we beg of you!”

“Sachiko, we beg of you!”

“SACHIKO, WE BEG OF YOU!”

The room flashed white before fading away. Sachiko’s body was nowhere to be seen. The shaking ceased entirely. The dark, oppressive aura vanished.

Panting more out of stilling his racing heart, Rinne checked each of the others. “Holy shit…did we do it? Is everyone all good?”

Kohaku looked around slowly in disbelief. “I think so…”

Hokuto shakily leaned against Mao, the other catching him. Rinne looked at the other unit leader. “Are ya okay, Kita-san? What…happened with Akehoshi-paisen?”

“It’s…a long story…I’ll…tell you all later…” Hokuto choked down a wet-sounding whimper.

Yuki’s ghost appeared before them. “Now…is your only chance to escape. The veil between this world and yours is at its thinnest. You must hurry and get out of the building before it closes. Once this nexus closes, you will have lost your chance to escape, and the place will go back to what it once was.”

Kohaku approached the ghost girl with confusion evident. “What do ya mean? What does tha’ mean fer all of ya here?”

“It appears we have become part of this space. Aside from Sachiko, no one else can be saved. Right now, I’m free, but it won’t last. Soon, I’ll begin shaping this place like before…This place is going to create a new Sachiko, you must leave now! Hurry!” Yuki’s ghost began to change, her clothes now turning into a red dress.

The school began to shake and rattle violently.

“Fuck!” Rinne nearly fell over at the force of the shake.

HiMERU caught him and brought him back. “C’mon! We got to go, now!”

The six of them sprinted out of the room and through the halls of the basement underground as the shaking continued. A deep, resonating bell began to chime once, like an old grandfather clock. As if the school was mocking them one last time by reminding them they had such little time left.

Soon they came upon the box room from before. Kohaku nearly sprinted on through before a blue ghost gently pushed him back. Well, as gentle as trying to stop a sprinting teenager could be. Kohaku fell backward into HiMERU, both greatly confused and a touch pissed off that a ghost was trying to stop them.

“Wait, ya idiots!” Rinne sprinted up to them, as did the rest of the group.

The redhead turned to the spirit, before looking back at the box maze. “Hiiro, could ya show us the way again?”

“Hiiro-han!?”

“Younger Amagi!?”

The blue flame shifted into Hiiro’s figure, albeit quite transparent. He waved them through as he quickly guided them back through the maze. He saluted them and vanished once they made it out.

“I’ll explain to ya two later! C’mon!” Rinne shouted as he grabbed Niki’s wrist and charged forward again.

They kept running through the maze of halls, somehow still remembering the way they came after they complained of how long they had been wandering around. As they ran, two more chimes rang out.

They reached the tables of severed heads, much to the disgust of HiMERU and Kohaku. Aira’s ghost, now his proper appearance except nearly transparent, wasted no time in guiding the group back through the maze. He vanished only as the group made it through.

“I owe ya big time, Ai-chan!” Rinne called out behind him. HiMERU had grabbed hold of Kohaku’s hand and yanked him onward after noticing the other paused.

As they continued running, Rinne realized belatedly a major issue. The quickest way to get outside, the outdoor walkway, was through the charm-sealed door. And it was still locked.

Just as he was about to turn to the group, the cross glowed brightly as Tatsumi’s spirit left it. His figure, just as transparent as the others, made a hand gesture towards the door before it blew open into pieces. His spirit vanished right after.

“Remind HiMERU later to thank him when we next see each other!” The blue-nette remarked quickly.

They ran through the halls as the school began to crumble around them. By the time they nearly managed to make it to the hall just before the walkway, a sixth chime had rung out. The air was beginning to get thicker.

Just as they rounded a corner, Niki slipped. HiMERU shoved Kohaku to Rinne and backtracked to get the chef. A large wooden beam came tumbling down over the two but froze midair. The group was in shock as the ghost of Mayoi, half of him barely visible while the other half was darkened, used what energy he had to shove the wooden beam away from the two before vanishing.

“Ayase…thank you,” HiMERU whispered before pulling Niki back up and the two began running to catch up.

‘I’ promise to save you next time. ‘I’ won’t let you slip away again.

The group bolted out onto the walkway and each practically vaulted over the railing, desperately hoping that this would work.

~*~

Everyone in ES held their breaths as the six of them hopped the railing, barring those who went on the second expedition.

“…Even I have to say, that was quite impressive. Especially the work of those five…managing to stave off the Darkening and keep their forms long enough to aid them…those five are quite powerful…”

Something in its tone made those in Room 6-66 wary of the implications it was making. Eichi raised an eyebrow in question, “What do you mean five? I only saw the ghosts of Alkaloid present.”

“…Hehehe…you’ll see the fifth one soon enough, when all is revealed…”

~*~

“Ugh…” Rinne woke up in his classroom. His classroom.

He practically shot up from his place lying on the floor at the realization. He frantically looked around the room and felt the floor, as if he needed more proof that, yes, he had returned. Several hours had since passed, the clock reading sometime around 9 at night, or 21:00.

“Holy fuck…Holy fuck, we did it!” Rinne searched around until he saw HiMERU sitting up, barely coming to himself, “We did it, Merumeru!”

The blue-haired idol took a moment to process his environment before his citrine eyes widened and an uncharacteristically large smile formed. “We did… We did it!”

The two were elated for several moments before both stopped to stare at two chairs in the corner, the ones where Tatsumi and Mayoi had sat before the ritual began. It was a stark, brutal reminder that not everyone had made it.

The two were interrupted in their somber thoughts by Rinne’s phone ringing. Looking down, he realized his blazer was still missing, no doubt still back in that hell dimension where he left it. He answered the phone quickly as he saw Niki’s name light up the screen. “Niki! Ya made it!?”

“Thank whatever fucking god will listen! Are you and HiMERU-kun okay?”

“Yeah, we both made it! How’s Kohaku-chan?”

“He’s here, too! I’m so glad that’s over!”

“Yeah, no kidding!”

HiMERU’s phone then rang. Answering it revealed a frantic Mao, “HiMERU-senpai! Are you there?!”

HiMERU recoiled the phone slightly from his ear as he winced, “Yes, Isara. Are you and Hidaka alright?”

“Y-yeah…he’s kinda…”

“He’s what?”

“…He wants to see Amagi-senpai. And everyone. Like, now.”

HiMERU raised a fine eyebrow. “Kind of late, but understandable. How does Inokashira Park sound? Over by the pavilion? Should be empty around this time of night.”

“Fine…you don’t sound like you got a headache…”

“Ah, that…it’s a long story and we aren’t even sure if our theories about it are right. We’ll see you there.”

HiMERU looked at Rinne before gathering his stuff and calling over his shoulder, “Let Shiina know we need to all go to Inokashira Park by the pavilions. Trickstar needs to see us.”

~*~

On the subway, Rinne couldn’t help but spy that HiMERU was quite engrossed with something on his phone. His brows furrowed greatly as Rinne could visibly see the blue-haired idol chew on the inside of his cheek. He was about to ask what was wrong when an old woman tutted him for making too much noise.

Sheesh. Guess he’ll wait until they’re off the subway.

~*~

They were just walking down the slightly dark pathway when Rinne spotted Niki inside one of the pavilions. Just as HiMERU said, the place was practically absent of people, save for their group. Their breaths came out in cold puffs as the frosted ground crackled from their steps.

Even if he knew there was no way they were, the crackling sounded eerily like those wooden floorboards and basement floor.

Rinne chanced a glance at the other, “Say, what was that all ‘bout with your phone earlier?”

HiMERU looked conflicted. “…It was the Student Council’s Vice President…”

Rinne screeched to a halt. “I thought Tatsumi-chan was the Vice President? How..?”

HiMERU showed the texts from someone who wasn’t Tatsumi. “That’s what is confusing HiMERU. This person is telling him there was never once a Kazehaya Tatsumi attending our school, nor ever part of the student council.”

Rinne stared hard at the phone before darting his eyes up to his unit-mate. “I’ve got a bad feeling…”

They quickly approached the pavilion, seeing just Niki and Kohaku there. The two younger ones practically bolted to them in excitement, Niki nearly tackling Rinne into a bear-crushing hug while Kohaku hesitated before hugging HiMERU. The blue-nette used one hand to rub the pink-haired teen’s back while the other patted his head.

“I see we are just in time for the reunion.” The bees turned to see Mao calling out to them with Hokuto trailing just a touch behind.

The group settled down at one of the tables under the pavilion’s roof. No one spoke for a while, all stuck between relishing in escaping and grieving over their losses. Niki took the initiative. “I know we’re all here for Hidaka-kun…but…has anyone noticed that we might be the only ones who…remember the others, at all?”

Rinne’s heart dropped as he and HiMERU both stared at each other. HiMERU muttered lowly. “Tatsumi was HiMERU’s vice president…but he got messages from someone else claiming to be the vice president…and that Kazehaya Tatsumi never went to our school. They seemed…confused as to who he was talking about, like they never heard of him before…”

“They also…” HiMERU took a moment to glance between Mao and Hokuto, “Were talking about the first years transferring over next year, and mentioned you two…but when he asked about Akehoshi…they had no idea who HiMERU was talking about.”

Kohaku nearly dropped his phone in shock. “Love-han and Hiiro-han’s numbers are blacked out…”

On the youngest’s phone was a list of contacts. Two of the starred ones near the top were completely blackened out. He opened the messages from them. They were all blackened.

“That can’t be…” Rinne pulled his phone out. The device clattered onto the tabletop when he opened it. The last thing he had opened was the group chat between himself, HiMERU, Tatsumi, and Mayoi. The picture the four of them took also blacked out the two idols.

As if they were cut out of existence.

“Do they…only exist in our memories?” HiMERU covered his mouth in shock.

“Tha’s just beyond cruel…” Kohaku whimpered.

“No…” Hokuto sounded distant as a fresh wave of sadness took hold, “There’s no way…how are we the only ones who can remember them!?”

Hokuto began curling in on himself, much to the panic of his unit-mate. Hokuto ranted on as he pressed his face into his knees, “After everything! After they saved us countless times and helped us! All the way to the end they were there! How are we supposed to accept this kind of reality!?”

“Kita-san,” Rinne hesitated a moment, “Out of the five…we only saw Alkaloid. Did Akehoshi-paisen come to ya?”

“…Yes.” A sob wracked the teen, “…That’s…what I wanted to talk to you all about…”

“What happened, Hidaka?” HiMERU prodded.

The teen slowly unfurled himself and pulled out his phone. “Amagi-senpai will know what this is.”

He showed them the long, long, long list of texts that had come in not even an hour ago. Unlike the others, only the sender’s name was blacked out. The content of the messages was still there.

Rinne’s blue eyes widened. “That’s…those are all the same thing…that message Akehoshi-paisen tried to send ya back in that school.”

~*~

“I…need to tell you all something.”

Room 6-66 stared in confusion. The voice mocked them, “Now this will be a real treat for you all…”

Unbeknownst to the rest of the idols, Ibara had gotten a message from Hiyori about the expedition crew wanting to hear what was going on. Something about how he, himself, needed to know what was happening. Ibara kept one of the spare radios under the table as he held the button down, having warned them all to be quiet, to listen in.

Everyone was dead silent in shock as Hokuto revealed what that blood-spattered tape had on it.

Deep in the vents of ES, Makoto had to push the radio away as he covered his mouth with both hands to muffle his whimpers.

~*~

“…So…it was you?” Rinne was nearly silent. The rest of the idols stared in frozen shock like the rest of the winter scenery at Hokuto.

Was this what that Yuki girl warned us about? About Kita-san’s Darkening?

“Ya…don’t remember any o’ it?” Kohaku held a knuckle over his lips.

Hokuto numbly shook his head. “Subaru couldn’t move…but instead of snapping out of it…instead of saving him…I kicked the bucket out from under him…After I saw all that…my mind just shut down and I felt like I was slipping away as this black mist started forming…I still remember not caring…remember wanting to welcome death at that point…”

Mao held his hand and pulled him close, wrapping a protective arm around his shoulders. “It wasn’t you, Hokuto.”

“Now I do…but it didn’t matter. I still did that to him…” Hokuto cried quietly.

~*~

Hokuto screamed in agony and despair. “Akehoshi! Subaru! I-I... GOD WHY!? NO!”

He felt himself crumple to the floor. “Subaru…I wish I could take it all back…”

His sobs were choked off as he began gagging, the black mist starting to choke him and fill his whole being.

~*~

“I remember that mist filling my whole being and suffocating me…I was just about to lose consciousness…but…”

~*~

Hokuto heard his phone ping, notifying him of a message. Confused, he barely managed to hold himself together to pull the phone out and check the message.

It was that unsent message from Subaru way back.

“Why…am I receiving this now?” Hokuto muttered before placing the phone down on the floor, “Doesn’t matter…I deserve this…I deserve to die… Subaru must have died hating me…he deserved to live instead of me…”

His phone pinged again, startling him.

The same unsent message from Subaru popped up a second time.

“Huh?” Hokuto stared at it blankly, “Akehoshi…are you trying to tell me something?”

The message reappeared.

Hokuto was amazed and dumbfounded in his grief. “No…There’s no way you aren’t mad at me…I didn’t stop when you were pleading with me to…”

Subaru’s message flashed again.

“You can’t possibly forgive me…not after all that…all the arguing…and what I did to you…” Hokuto began crying.

His message was sent again.

“Subaru…there’s no excuse for me…You have to hate me, right? You still have some sort of grudge…right?”

Subaru sent the same message.

Hokuto glanced up upon seeing a slightly blue glow hovering near his phone. Subaru’s ghost stood there, smiling gently at him.

His phone kept pining insistently. Hokuto slowly took his eyes away from him and reached for his phone to unlock it again.

~*~

“It…wasn’t just his messages anymore…”

Rinne raised an eyebrow at that. He asked after wiping some tears that were beginning to form, “What do ya mean by that?”

“The others…”

~*~

Hokuto could barely process what he was seeing.

Every, single, one from Alkaloid had sent him a message. All of them were pleading with him to pull himself together. To live on. To bring the fight back.

Another copy of Subaru’s unsent message came through.

“…I’m…so sorry…I’m so sorry…”

~*~

Hokuto kept the last bit to himself. His most precious treasure.

Subaru’s ghost sent a whole new message to him.

Please, don’t blame yourself.

…

…

I love you.

Please, smile for me. One more time, okay?

He still remembers uttering the same three-word phrase as he held himself crying. The black mist vanished completely after that.

“…Hey…this is just a temporary thing…right?” Hokuto sounded hopeful. “They aren’t truly dead…right?”

“Mm.” Kohaku didn’t trust his words, so he simply nodded and hummed in agreement.

“Even…even if we are separated for a bit longer because of that punishment…we’ll see them again, right?”

“Yeah, we will,” Rinne whispered. He felt a grateful smile slowly form as HiMERU clasped a hand over his.

“…Then I’ll keep fighting…I’ll keep fighting until we can put this all behind us!”

Rinne smiled fondly at the courage.

He felt the floor give way beneath him.

~*~

He fell unceremoniously onto the white and grey polygon ground. Rinne hissed at the sudden pain as he sat back up. The rest of the six were there, too, all in mixed states of disorientation and annoyance.

“How touching. Those five really are something to behold, aren’t they?”

The lack of enthusiasm and dead-sounding tone irked Rinne considerably. “What? Can’t tolerate us having a moment’s peace or even one good thing?”

“Not particularly.”

“You don’t seem particularly chatty, either. What? Mad that so many of us did survive and not less?” HiMERU spat as he stood.

“Oh, no. Not that. Those five really did a number in that last bit. A lot of which they weren’t supposed to do.”

“What? They break yer little narrative or somethin’?” Kohaku was sarcastic.

“Well, the whole reason Kazehaya Tatsumi had that little accident was to keep the narrative of the universe in line. After all, this one was rigged so that not all of you would survive. That other Trickstar and three of Alkaloid were meant to die regardless of their actions.”

“You mean they would have lived if you allowed them to heed those visions! You forced them into those roles!” Mao shouted into the void.

“Had to make sure the rest of you understood what you signed up for. There’s a reason this universe was particularly nasty.”

“Fucking sadistic asshole…” Rinne growled.

“Hey, now. Your brother was the only one who wasn’t supposed to die due to his role. He could have lived had he played his cards right.”

“FUCK YA! YOUR PETS WERE THE REASON HE DIDN’T MAKE IT!” Rinne lashed out.

“No. Had he been more patient instead of running blindly, even when my pets did lose him due to the shift of dimensions, he would have been fine. Even if you two didn’t have that unfortunate separation thanks to Sakasaki Natsume-”

“Bullshit! Ya forced Natsume-kun to do something he probably didn’t want to do! That’s why ya forced me to make that choice!”

“I didn’t force you. You could have kept him with you. The only difference then would be Sakuma Ritsu wouldn’t be here, now would he? Theoretically, it was a smart move. Sakuma Ritsu only has one life to play with out there, while you lot can at least try again and again until your mental state finally gives out.”

“Quit yer damn gaslightin’, ass-wipe!” Kohaku stood by his unit leader.

“True, I have gotten a little bit more chatty now. It’s best to get going on these two universes so we can move back along.”

“Woah, hang on! You said we’d only endure one worse universe as punishment!” Niki screeched.

“Hehe, well, four of you will be in one, and the other two in another. Simple.”

“You can’t do that!” HiMERU whirled around as he shouted. He hated not being able to direct his anger.

“Actually, I can. The conditions said nothing about the ones who lived have to endure the same worse universe.”

For lack of being able to direct his anger properly, Rinne huffed. “So, how’d ya decide to separate us?”

“The two on their own are both guilty of the same crime. Murder.”

~*~

Eichi’s jaw dropped. This is how that entity is going to get at Shiina-kun?!

~*~

“Ta’ fuck do ya mean by tha’?!” Kohaku stood in front of Hokuto protectively.

“Clearly you do know what I meant since you’re protecting one of the murderers right now.”

“He wasn’t in control!” HiMERU stood alongside the younger teen.

“Even when pleading insanity or as an accident, murder is still murder. Shiina Niki shall join him.”

“What!? When did I murder anyone back there!?” Niki protested.

The voice grew silent before darkly laughing. “Shall I remind you? The Darkening took the form of a black mist and covered the whole body, as you heard from Hidaka Hokuto. Who else in your group succumbed to the Darkening?”

“…Ayase…” Mao whispered in shock.

“Seems your friend realized it sooner than you. Correct. Ayase Mayoi did. Now, who do you think that shadowy mass was that attacked you after you two rudely killed off one of my actual pets and one I was borrowing?”

Niki paused a moment before he began quaking in horror.

“That’s right. Shiina Niki, you killed Ayase Mayoi.”

“It was not his fault!” Rinne stood in front of Niki, keeping the chef behind him, “He didn’t know!”

“Oh? So if it was some random netizen of that universe, it wouldn’t be murder? How arrogant humans are in their self-importance.”

Mao guarded Niki’s back for lack of knowing where the entity was. “Even Ayase would be supporting Niki-senpai! You’re only doing this to harass us more under the pretense of having a higher moral code!”

“Weren’t you the one who said you would be willing to do whatever it took to stop me? To get out alive? How hypocritical.”

“Leave them out of this!” A familiar voice shouted.

Everyone snapped to attention as they saw Subaru standing a little distance off. The voice even seemed mildly surprised. “Hm? Well, seems you found us quite quickly! But you have no say in this.”

The Assistant materialized behind the ginger and clasped a hand over his mouth, keeping him from escaping by holding his torso with its other arm. Hokuto nearly lunged at the masked individual if it weren’t for an invisible wall blocking his path. “GET YOUR HANDS OFF HIM!”

“Relax. Your friends will be here and not enduring any universes until you lot get back. Can’t guarantee that my pets or Assistant won’t pay them a visit from time to time, however.”

“Oh? And what are you doing?” HiMERU spat.

“Why…I will be joining your lot’s punishment rounds. I will personally be there to throw obstacles and interfere when I see fit. Affecting when and where supplies will appear, the enemies you’ll face, and so much more…The group of four just needs to make it through the end of a single, smaller narrative, while the group of two just needs to finish the narrative of theirs.”

“…So you’re leaving ES unguarded?” HiMERU echoed out. If no one else had caught on out there, he would damn well try to hint at the opportunities.

“No. I’ve thrown far more of my pets around to keep them in line and report back to me if anything goes amiss. I have my bases covered. I suggest you lot make sure to check yours at every opportunity.”

“…Can you answer one question?” Hokuto glared at the Assistant.

“Me? Or my Assistant you seem to be unable to remove your eyes from?”

“You, entity.”

“Speak.”

“You say you’re borrowing some of the creatures. Who are you borrowing them from?”

“…An acquaintance in this realm. Just to forewarn you, kill any more of my borrowed pets, and you’ll gain her ire. She’s quite fond of them.”

With that, the group fell through the liminal space and blacked out.

~*~

Hiyori sat on the floor in one of the bathroom stalls at ES. Ibara had spoken the all clear and chatter resumed on the radio as everyone organized themselves into their positions. He numbly stared at the floor.

Lady…you better not be lying to me.

Ending Theme: Rasen – jon-YAKITORI ft. Ado

English Lyrics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVld7njUsOc

Chapter Text

Opening Theme: Hana no Saku Basho (Where the Flowers Bloom) by Asami Imai

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mINvfJqZBzE

Rinne blinked and he found himself and his crew inside a boarded-up room in what appeared to be a basement, judging by the cellar entrance across from him. His clothes had changed to that of simple jeans, a grey graphic t-shirt, beaten-up sneakers, and an olive-green jacket. He had an AR-15 strapped to his back and several knives strapped to his boots and hips, which caused him great panic at all of a sudden having weapons after having to be defenseless in a haunted school. At least in this universe, he knew he could fight back, but that also terrified him as it meant whatever dangers were present were serious enough to warrant such weapons.

He spotted HiMERU sitting on a chair in one corner, wearing simple jeans, a white t-shirt, black leather boots, and a thick, black leather jacket. Honestly, it looked like something HiMERU would wear in their world. The blue-nette darted his eyes around the room before resting on his unit leader, a look of mild irritation setting in.

The two youngest looked like they had another school uniform, although it was far simpler in terms of style and looks, merely spouting white collared shirts, black pants, and simple sneakers. The main difference is that Kohaku had a red leather jacket while Mao had a simple, zip-up hoodie in a magenta color.

The other three also had weapons, from guns to objects. HiMERU carried a pump shotgun and a crowbar, Kohaku had a pistol strapped to each side, what looked like a tiny metal pipe with a fuse strapped in his belt, and a baseball bat over his shoulder, while Mao had some sort of submachine gun and a simple hunting knife.

“Well…this is certainly a change in pace.” He said bluntly, not entirely sure what else to say in this situation. He eyed how his unit-mates seemed eerily calm about having such weapons compared to Mao who was starting to freak out.

“W-Why do we have these?” Mao shook.

“Isara-han,” Kohaku approached and gently rested a hand on his shoulder, “It’s okay. Just breathe.”

“How is any of this okay!? What kind of universe are we in that warrants all this?”

“Well, if you would let me catch you all up on that, you would know.”

Rinne sneered at the voice, “Barely here 30 seconds, and yer already are yacking away.”

“Well, if this universe had a better introduction that told you what this was about, I wouldn’t be saying much. Regardless, welcome to Fairfield, USA.”

HiMERU raised an eyebrow from his hunched position. “The United States?”

“What? Thought all these universes would keep you in Japan? How closed-minded. As of now, two weeks have passed in this universe since the first case of Green Flu that has started to sweep across the nation. It is a virus of unknown origin that makes those who become infected have grey skin, eyes glow, lose hair, and are quite aggressive to any non-infected!”

Rinne rolled his eyes. “Great. So a zombie universe?”

“Quite right. The catch? It seems you lot are immune to the virus.”

“Oh?” HiMERU sat up straight, “Quite convenient for us, what’s the real catch?”

“Indeed…well, you’re immune, not immortal. Remember that. The goal? Escape, survive, by any means. Just keep following the story to the end. I’d highly recommend reading the graffiti around the place. They may give you more answers…or questions, heh.”

“What are ya supposed ta be doin’, then? Ya said ya would be interferin’…” Kohaku nearly growled.

“Hehe, these infected are fast. Sometimes quite intuitive, with a little guidance. Even when you think you are all safe or there aren’t any more infected, I can always throw more at you, even affecting when and where supplies and ammunition will appear. What types of infected will appear…”

“…Whaddaya mean by ‘types’?” Rinne narrowed his eyes.

“You’ll find out. Just remember, I’ll always be watching. Though, waiting for you lot to finish up and prepare in safe rooms would be quite boring. Maybe I’ll use that time to check in on your other friends on their punishment. I’ll speak again once we get to the true start of this universe. Good luck.”

“Son of a bitch!” Rinne kicked the wall before grasping his foot in pain, “Urg! Bad idea!”

“Great…great…just fuckin’ great…” Kohaku grumbled to himself as he began to slowly pace.

“Just when I thought we would have something other than a world filled with blood and gore…” Mao nearly whispered.

HiMERU stood abruptly. “We need a game plan. Oukawa, Isara, we need to learn what we can about this universe. Start with looking at the graffiti in this room. Amagi, help HiMERU with that radio over there. There has to be some sort of government evacuation or something going on.”

Rinne only finally noticed the absolute mass of graffiti everywhere and truly began to look around the room. At least someone was keeping their cool. He couldn’t help his thoughts stray more to Niki.

~*~

Niki felt himself fall through the floor before waking with a start to the banging on a door. The room looked like it was excessively dirty and deteriorating as if the building hadn’t been maintained in several, several years, if at all. The windows were boarded up and only faint slivers of light managed their way into the room. The place looked like it used to have electricity and running water at some point but not anymore. Even his clothes were filthy and he could feel a distinct layer of grime on him.

Ugh, this is disgusting. Where did I end up?

Welcome back, Shiina Niki.

…Alright, where did I end up, what’s the premise or any information I need, when do we wrap this up, and how are you going to be a royal pain in my ass the whole way through?

Straight to the point, I see! Quite a refreshing change of pace from your friends, especially that Amagi Rinne. Always cursing me out and accusing me!

…If you’re aiming to rile me up, you’ve earned my true anger long ago.

Oh? Your boyfriend seemed quite upset that I whisked you away, yet you aren’t showing a single ounce? Guess you are quite cold.

I know he will be more than capable, especially with HiMERU-kun helping keep up with the other two, and even they are more than capable considering the last universe. You trying to harass and goad people is what I’ve come to expect, so I’m choosing to not waste my time or energy on you. You may want to punish me, but I’m not going to make it entertaining for you.

…We shall see. Welcome to Boston. Post-apocalyptic Boston, to be precise.

…Boston…the United States?

How many Bostons do you know? Is there a Little Boston somewhere in Tokyo? Of course, it’s that Boston!

Well, duh.

…Well played, Shiina Niki, well played.

Alright, how did Boston and presumably the rest of the United States go to shit?

Quite perceptive.

That’s what you get for underestimating me back at the beginning of all this.

…Regardless. Technically, it was the whole world that went to hell in a handbasket. A mutation of a Cordyceps fungus caused it to infect humans and turn them into…well pseudo-zombie creatures. It’s quite the nasty infection where you’re still somewhat aware of your infection and what you are doing to a certain extent, but the fungus is in control, turning you aggressive before you eventually die and begin to produce spores that aim to infect others, if you hadn’t already bitten them. The world began collapsing on itself shortly after the first infection began in the year 2013 in this timeline, with the original US government now long gone and FEDRA has taken over. Right now, you are 20 years after the initial outbreak, and you initially survived the start of the outbreak in the United States back in Texas.

Why the large jump?

Eh, who knows? Goes to show that humanity in this universe had a hard time combating this disease. There is no cure and you turn within 2 days after contracting the fungus in small doses. Rations are low inside the walled cities. And you, my dear Shiina Niki, are a smuggler in this universe. You were able to kill in the last universe, regardless of knowing who you were actually killing, let’s see if you can do it again. In this dog-eat-dog world, the infected aren’t the only dangers here.

Where’s Hidaka-san?

You’ll meet him soon. Once you do, work together and make it to the end of the story in Salt Lake City. The way I’ll mess with you both is in the amount of enemies you shall face and the scarcity of supplies and crafting materials. You’ll find each very, very difficult to come across. Let’s see if you can remain the same Shiina Niki as before this universe. Good luck.

~*~

Hiyori hid around the corner from a wandering big-cat-like shadow creature. It had long, protruding canines and a bobbed tail, the eyes still glowing an unholy yellow with no pupils. It seemed to be reminiscent of those Saber-Toothed Tigers from the Ice Age. It looked to be approximately a meter, or 3 feet, tall and just shy of 2 meters, or 6 feet, in length. However, it had these spikes running from the back of its head and along its back, similar to that of a porcupine.

Odd. This is only the second one of these shadows to look like some extinct creature. Every other one seems to at least be some semblance of a current animal. Then again…some of them look like they are actually hybrids…chimeras maybe?

Hiyori kept his radio at a much lower-than-normal level, just barely making out the callouts of the others. Wataru was in a position near where Makoto first entered the vents to keep that area clear for his return. Kanata was by the STAR PRO offices keeping an eye on two Doberman-Shadows that were pacing around together. Souma, with his trusty katana, patrolled the floor just above the basement after returning from escorting Makoto to ES’s main building from the dorms. Now, he was mostly to be on standby if Mitsuru was having issues with the Raptor-Shadow by Tsumugi’s workshop. Kaoru and Arashi were near the library as they slowly kept hiding and moving around to avoid detection by the Tiger-Shadow until it was time.

Kaoru and Arashi…

At least Ibara-kun still has access to the cameras around the place. The entity didn’t say we couldn’t use them.

He was nearby, but not as close as he wished he could have been thanks to this Saber-Shadow that he will call. He was half tempted to just call it a Saber-Chimera due to the spikes, but until they got more information on what exactly these creatures were or how the entity could summon them, he would just stick with what everyone else was doing.

Hiyori heard Ibara talking to Makoto through the radio. “Yuuki-san, are you in position?”

“As close as I can be. I’m at least on the basement level, but that Raptor seems to have really good hearing. I don’t think I can get closer without altering it.”

“That’s why we have Mr. Tenma and Mr. Kanzaki on standby. They’ll keep it distracted while you sneak into the workshop.”

Hiyori wasn’t much of a believer or one to have faith in a divine being, but, even so, he sent a small, thankful prayer to whatever god was willing to listen for getting Makoto through ES relatively unscathed. The kid already had to sneak into ES and go through the vents on each floor to reach the stairs to the next level. There were already too many close calls with nearly setting off the shadow creatures before they were ready. And then hearing about Subaru and Hokuto…he could only imagine what Makoto is feeling at the moment.

Wataru-kun and Kanata-kun are still quite a ways away. Once I get into the library and gain the thing’s attention, I’ll have to hold it off a while for them to get to me.

He chanced asking a quick, quiet question to Ibara as he saw the Saber-Shadow begin rifling through a garbage can. “Ibara-kun, did you notify Wataru-kun and Kanata-kun?”

“Yes. They know. Are you sure about this? You didn’t explain as to why you need them there. Numbers won’t mean anything when up against something akin to a tiger.”

“Yes, I’m sure. It’s a long story, but I promise to explain when I get back.”

“Please, be careful. Jun’s worrying about you. If it weren’t for the consequences for more than one of us leaving a room, he probably would have chased after you by now.”

“I will.” Hiyori remained silent after that.

Jun-kun…please forgive me.

He mentally mapped out the area as he heard Ibara begin the countdown. Breathe in. Breathe out. He touched the sun pendant around his white turtle neck, a gift from Jun on the spur of a moment several months ago. Breathe in. Breathe out.

“Show time.”

Now!

Hiyori confidently stepped out from his hiding spot and stared the creature down. “Come here, kitty, kitty!”

The creature growled demonically as it caught sight of him, its unholy yellow eyes gazing over him like a choice cut of meat in appraisal. Hiyori dashed back down the hall as it began to roar, the creature giving chase shortly after. He sprinted down the halls before nearly crashing into a few editors.

“Sorry! In a rush!” Hiyori called out over his shoulder. Just as Tsumugi had told them, it seemed no one else but the idols could see or feel the creatures as the Saber-Shadow barreled through the cluster of editors harmlessly.

As if people weren’t already going to think we are all mad if we told them what is going on, this certainly will make us look questionable.

Hiyori rounded a corner and ended up in the practice room wing, just a floor below the library. He kept running, his lungs burning and legs begging him to stop, but the adrenaline his brain was pumping seemingly by the gallons spurred him on. He chanced a look behind him to see the creature starting to slow as if it was losing interest.

That’s bad weather! I need to keep it distracted!

Taking a risk, he dashed into an open practice room and over the orange cones that indicated it was closed for maintenance. The sharp turn caused the creature to slip on the floor as it scrambled on the smooth tile to continue the chase before struggling to get through the doorway due to its sheer size and bulk. Hiyori dashed to the far wall, spotting a tool that might aid him.

A hand-held power drill. Battery operated, too.

Picking it up, he realized a bit late that it was heavier than it looked. He swung it up and stumbled backward, spilling a toolbox filled with metal screws and bits. The noise of the metal pieces scattering created a loud, high-pitched, metallic ringing, almost like the shaking of a bell or several of them at once.

He stared in wonder as the Saber-Shadow reared back from the door and attempted to cover its ears, yowling in great pain. When the ringing stopped, he could practically feel the absolute hatred radiating from the creature as it gained a new ferocity.

The creature burst into the room and closed in on him. Before a massive, shadowy black paw and claws could crush his head, Hiyori held up the drill and pulled the trigger. The drill activated and pierced the paw, a sickly, dark yellow-green liquid coming from the wound and splattering onto Hiyori’s sweater, no doubt the creature’s blood. The Saber pulled back in an agonizing roar, giving the idol his chance to run back out of the practice room with the drill in hand. He had no doubt it would come in handy for the tiger.

It seemed an injured paw didn’t slow it down nearly that much, or it was just unusually fast to start with. That, or Hiyori was actually a slow runner. Well, there would be time to improve on that during this whole mess, he supposed. Probably won’t be the last creature he would be running from. Chancing another look, he could see the fierce determination in the creature’s pupilless eyes, as if its sole mission in life was to hunt him down.

The brief distraction had bought Hiyori a touch more breathing room as he continued running down the practice room hall. A janitor gave him a perplexed look as Hiyori leaped over the floor he freshly mopped. Hiyori inwardly beamed at seeing the creature slip on the wet surface, giving himself a slightly farther lead.

He could hear on the radio updates from others as they dealt with their own demons, quite literally now that Hiyori thinks about it. These creatures are probably not that far off from being outright demons if this entity is a god or deity at all. Ibara was giving shoutouts from his post as he and Jun looked over the cameras to watch over them.

“Your Highness! Turn right up ahead and go through the stairwell that’s under maintenance! And why do you have a power drill!?”

Right, there were no cameras in the practice rooms. Well, not unless Ibara had a reason to bug them ahead of time, which he didn’t at the moment. He didn’t bother to answer as he dashed right and took another turn to start running up the stairs to the next floor. He stumbled some as he rounded the corner too tight and stepped on some rounded metal pipes that were meant to replace the loose handrails.

Almost there!

He was just about to round the last set of stairs when he felt his heart drop. The Saber-Shadow lunged into the stairwell and jumped off the wall to land in front of him at the top. With his current momentum, Hiyori desperately tried to stop and turn around. The cat swiped at his feet and knocked them out from under him, causing him to tumble down the concrete steps and roll hard into the wall behind him, landing on top of the various metal pipes. The drill clattered away out of reach.

His head was pounding from smacking into the railing and the steps. His shoulders and back were nearly screaming in pain from taking such a hard fall. His hands and feet kept slipping as they attempted to find purchase on the ground amongst the pipes.

Violet eyes chanced to look up, freezing in place seeing the creature staring him down at the top of the stairs as a low grumble came from its throat. Its mouth began to hang open, a grey-blue tongue swiping at the strands of saliva practically falling from its jaws. The yellow-green blood dripped down the steps from its injured paw.

Disgusting!

He chanced one more look at the pipes he was on and spotted one of them was rusted, possibly from the old railing. Most importantly, one end was jagged and sharp. Hiyori took one more look at the creature as it made ready to pounce. His hand gripped the pipe in a vice.

The creature leaped with a roar at him. He sat up and presented the pipe, sharp end towards the creature. He squeezed his eyes shut and braced for impact.

There was a sickening sound of something being pierced and a gurgling noise before the weight of the pipe grew too much for Hiyori to handle and fell to the side. He opened his eyes at the unusual quietness. The pipe had pierced the creature's head through its open jaws, having killed it instantly. The creature began to disintegrate into dark, steam-like tendrils before vanishing completely. Even the blood on the concrete and his sweater evaporated from existence.

Hiyori panted heavily as he could feel cold sweat form on his skin. His hands were shaky, legs uncooperative as he tried to stand. He could vaguely hear Ibara on the radio.

“Your Highness! Where are you? Are you okay!?”

Opting to rest instead of struggling to stand, he pulled out the radio from his hip pocket and talked while still sitting on the floor. “I’m here…”

“Your Highness! Thank whatever force out there that you’re alive! When you didn’t leave the stairway I – Jun-“

“I’m fine…little shaky…but fine.”

“That creature is in there with you, right!?”

“Was. It’s dead now.”

“Dead?! How?”

“Thought I outran it…but it used the wall to jump…around me…cut me off at the top of the top of the stairs…took my legs out from under me and…sent me falling down the steps…I…took one of the old railing pipes and defended myself…went right through its head.”

“Holy…Are you okay? Are you injured?”

“Sore,” Hiyori grimaced as his head began to pound and his left side was smartening but otherwise uninjured, “but unharmed…I don’t think that these creatures are nearly as untouchable as that thing is trying to make them out to be. Hard to kill, sure. Dangerous, too. But not impossible.”

“That…That’s actually good to know. Was there anything else you noticed about it when you were fighting?”

“Disgusting blood. It was this dark yellow-green color. Didn’t seem to be acidic or anything. That thing was still incredibly fast after I hurt its paw, though.” Hiyori stood cautiously, using the wall as support, before going over to retrieve the power drill. It was dented, but it still seemed to function, though it was occasionally refusing to spin the metal bit.

Bad weather…but it’s still better than nothing. Saved my life in a pinch, but I doubt that will keep the tiger at bay…But the way this saber reacted to the screws clattering was odd…do these things not like the sound of metal? Or…was it the ringing noise? I’ll have to see if the tiger reacts the same way to be sure.

“So even after a major injury like that, it was still able to wall-jump and keep up with you? These things are ridiculous…”

“Ridiculous, but not immortal. I’m…going to keep going. How are the others?”

“…You didn’t hear?”

“Kind of had a big cat trying to kill me for the past…” Hiyori checked his phone to look at the time, “…20 minutes. Didn’t exactly have time to stop and catch up.”

“Well, so far, Mr. Shinkai trapped one of those dog creatures in a meeting room and currently keeping the other occupied. Mr. Hibiki is still on guard by the rendezvous point. Mr. Tenma and Mr. Kanzaki have successfully brought the Raptor-Shadow away from the workshop and the package has been secured. Yuuki-san is on the return as we speak.”

“What about Arashi-chan and Kaoru-kun?”

He hated the silence on the radio.

“…I don’t know. They’ve been radio silent since we started. The cameras seem to be down by the library, too…”

“…I have to hurry.” Hiyori refused to answer the radio after that, trying to get up the stairs as quickly as his aching body would allow. He stopped to pick up the pipe that saved his life, finding it was just small enough to make carrying it manageable.

~*~

Nearly 20 minutes later, the group reconvened around the little table and chairs by the radio.

“Anything on the radio?” Mao tapped the table with his fingers in a scattered pattern.

HiMERU sighed as he leaned back in his chair. “Nothing. Mostly static.”

Rinne leaned over the table, refusing to take a seat. “Can’t believe it singled out Niki and Kita-san like that…and that mother fucking Assistant is gonna be fucking toying with the others…”

HiMERU took a steadying breath, tone even. “Amagi, we all feel the same way. The sooner we finish this, the quicker we can get back to them.”

“…How the fuck are ya this damn calm?” Rinne whispered accusingly, “After all the shit everyone, and I mean everyone, has gone through so far…Hell, even ya were quite pissed when ya found out your boyfriends got offed because that fucker and his masked pet intervened, but now you're just taking this all in stride?”

“They are not HiMERU’s ‘boyfriends’.”

“Well, ya certainly have been quite upset with their deaths and panicky when ya found out Tatsumi-chan was injured! Hell, from what I’ve seen, ya’ve been especially protective of Kohaku-chan since he got the real short end of the damn stick last time! How are ya not angry?” Rinne glared.

“He is angry, but right now, we need to focus our energy on surviving and wrapping this punishment up before anything extensive can happen to the others while we are gone!”

“…He’s got a point, Rinne-han…” Kohaku was oddly quiet, “…We should channel tha’ anger inta gettin’ us outta here.”

Rinne hung his head limply for a long, long moment. HiMERU leaned forward and spoke in a low tone so only he could hear. “Amagi…‘I’ can tell you’re reaching your limit. First your brother and now Shiina, ‘I’ do understand, even if you think ‘I’ don’t…But Shiina is far stronger than he looks. He kept Isara alive by himself most of the time in the last universe, and Hidaka even overcame the Darkening and survived. They will keep each other safe, that ‘I’ am sure of. Alkaloid and Akehoshi also are far more capable than we give them credit for. As long as we keep fighting, they will keep fighting…But you have to pull yourself together. We still have these two to worry about…If need be, rely on ‘me’ to help, but you can’t lose it. Not now.”

Rinne didn’t want to admit it, but HiMERU was right. He couldn’t mope and stew like a petulant teenager, despite barely being older than one himself. Raging wasn’t going to help them, any of them. They had to keep a level head, every single one of them, especially now that there might be hundreds, thousands of essentially undead wanting to tear them apart. He had to keep going.

“…Sorry.” Rinne could barely muster a whisper. HiMERU laid a hand on his shoulder, gripping it firmly in answer.

“…Don’t be, Amagi…” HiMERU sighed heavily, “We’ve all been through and seen far more than we should ever have had to, and we have only just finished one universe.”

“Talk about a real test of perseverance…” Mao rubbed at his temple, not focusing on anything in particular.

Silence gave way as the four recollected themselves. In this world, they only had each other. There won’t be any ghosts of their friends to come to their rescue. Possibly no helpful survivors, if any at all, and hordes of the undead. They had to work together.

“…Is it bad timing to say that I’m scared of sharp objects?” Mao asked aloud, gesturing to the hunting knife at his side.

Rinne paused before a breathy cackle left him. “Not meaning to sound patronizing, but damn, I don’t think this fucker is going to pick a universe where that won’t be a problem.”

Mao laughed along, though his hand reached to rub the back of his neck, “True, but maybe I should stick with a more blunter weapon? Seems like freezing up and panicking will be a death sentence out there.”

“Wanna swap?” Kohaku took out his baseball bat and held it out.

“While you two are swapping gear, found anything particularly useful within that graffiti?” HiMERU, despite his stern tone, held an amused smirk.

Kohaku readjusted the knife holder to rest in front of one of his pistols. “Seems previous survivors can’t agree on whether this virus is airborne or transmitted by bites. Fuckin’ weird knowin’ English in this universe when I’m not tha’ great at it back at home.”

“That…is disconcerting.” HiMERU tapped his fingers.

“Well, we’re immune. I don’t think that matters to us.” Rinne gestured to the four of them.

“Unless we come across other people…” Mao paused as he readjusted the baseball bat, “Maybe other survivors might avoid us or become hostile. The entity didn’t say our immunity is common knowledge.”

HiMERU hummed in agreement. “It might be best to avoid other humans…but then what do we do about escaping? There’s no way the government would let a whole city fall, especially not the United States government.”

“Eh, I don’t know ‘bout that,” Rinne tilted his hand up and down, “That might be a 50-50 case. Either the US would do as you think or would be covering this shit up ‘cause it had something to do with it, least by Hollywood’s standards.”

“Noticed tha’ in ta’ graffiti, too. Lots o’ evac locations crossed out an’ conspiracies ‘bout this virus comin’ from ta’ government.” Kohaku gestured to several of the markings around the room.

“See? What I tell ya?”

“Point proven, Amagi. Anything else?”

“Seems the incubation period varies from person to person if I’m reading this one right.” Mao pointed to a small list of scribbled-out timeframes.

Rinne approached the markings and muttered them aloud, “4 days…3 days…2 ½ hours…5 minutes. Damn, that’s a lot of variability.”

“Could be this virus is both airborne and a blood pathogen,” HiMERU crossed his arms as he leaned back in his seat, “It would explain the wide range of the incubation period and how it seems this apocalypse has already brought this city to its knees in 2 weeks.”

“Uh, HiMERU-han, I think tis more than just this city. Some survivors have crossed out names tha’ appear ta be other place names.” Kohaku gestured to a scrawling list of towns and cities, all crossed out with varying extra words like “overrun”, “abandoned”, and “no go” next to them.

Rinne whistled, “Shit, this is one fast-spreading little bug.”

“I think some survivors were suggesting it came from…P…” Mao trailed off as he squinted at the word.

HiMERU walked over to inspect it, completely unhindered as he read. “Pennsylvania. It’s one of the states in the US.”

“You can read English?” Mao seemed quite impressed, “I was getting a minor headache from reading this because I know I can’t read English all that well, so maybe that was simply info this universe required of us to know.”

“Yeah, when did ya learn that, Merumeru?” Rinne smirked, “Hiding more talents? Kyahaha! Or are ya just getting lucky for once with not getting headaches?”

“…HiMERU is just a good student. English is used quite often and being proficient in it allows for more jobs and opportunities as an idol. He did have to get a tutor to help on occasion outside of school, but he believed it was necessary.”

“Okay,” Kohaku butted in, “Before we get further off track, if it started in Pennseervania-”

“Pennsylvania.” HiMERU corrected.

Kohaku lightly punched the older teen’s shoulder. “Quit correctin’ me! I’m not good at English! Anyways, where is this Fairfield place ta’ entity says we’re in?”

“Oh! Here we go!” Everyone turned to Mao’s sudden sound of surprise, seeing he opened a drawer from a desk nearby that had a detailed map of the city as well as one of the country, “This should answer that!”

Unfolding the city map revealed they were still somewhere in Pennsylvania. HiMERU took out a nearby red pen and started tapping out places on the city map and the larger country one. “Seems we are still in the same state as Ground Zero.”

“Could be this city was Ground Zero,” Rinne muttered.

“Could very well be. Judging by the country map, it seems this infection has spread to various other cities outside of this state and has worked its way down the East Coast, with New Orleans being the farthest west it has gotten potentially so far.” HiMERU recircled New Orleans on the map.

“I’d imagine this map has to be relatively recent since the entity did say we are starting 2 weeks after the initial outbreak,” Mao noted.

Rinne hissed as he scratched the back of his head. “Goddamn! This is one fast-spreading virus. Taking just two weeks to take down most of the East Coast?”

“Agreed, that is incredibly fast and destructive.”

“I mean, I know the US is big, but wouldn’t that mean people are more spread out? How could it have spread over such a large area that quickly?” Mao looked at the map in confusion.

“The East Coast of the United States is almost a whole cluster of city after city with large populations in each,” HiMERU tapped out various points along the East Coast of the US, “Pathogens can easily spread when populations are in tight clusters, and this one is exceptionally easy to spread not just by air, but also making their hosts actively hostile to non-infected. It would not surprise HiMERU that large chunks could be completely lost with how quickly this is spreading compared to how quickly the US government could mobilize any countermeasures.”

“Ya seem awfully knowledgeable ‘bout this kind o’ thing.” Kohaku kept a level, neutral gaze on the blue-nette.

“…It’s mostly speculation with basic knowledge. HiMERU has never been to the United States before, but he knows a little about the nation and is using what he is seeing so far to conjecture.”

“So,” Rinne pointed past New Orleans, “Do we head west? My bet is to head south over to here.”

Rinne took the pen from HiMERU and circled a few islands south of Florida. “I’m betting these fuckers can’t swim, or at least are enough like rabies to fear water.”

“We haven’t even seen any of these infected to know that for sure.” Mao sighed in exasperation.

“Considering the farthest west this shitty virus has gone stops at a river,” Rinne pointed to the Mississippi River, “Maybe these infected are unable to swim or refuse to touch water.”

“Looks like there are several safe zones all over ta’ city,” Kohaku pointed to the city map and pointed out the key that showed little red boxes, “If they’re anythin’ like this one, there’s probably supplies an’ more graffiti ta tell us more.”

“Closest one looks to be across the street.” HiMERU circled the closest safe zone.

The three looked at him with blank expressions. The blue-nette darted his eyes to each one. “What?”

“Man, I wish I was like ya and didn’t get a fucking headache with each bit of helpful knowledge. How the hell do we even know where we are?” Rinne cackled lightly as he playfully shoved the other, much to his chagrin.

“I remember you were saying it was a long story when I called you in the last universe,” Mao stated plainly.

HiMERU raised his hand before dropping it back to the table in defeat. “We’re not even sure why he is not receiving these headaches everyone else seems to get. Even Tatsumi wasn’t getting them either.”

“Yeah, Mayoi-chan and I thought it was super weird, too.” Rinne shrugged, “Haven’t been able to have a solid theory as to why, yet.”

“Tha’ is very odd.” Kohaku furrowed his brows.

“Well,” Rinne folded up the country map and pocketed it, “I’d say first goal is to get across the street in one piece. Maybe we’ll find out ‘bout some sorta evacuation is still going. Then the loftier goal would be to leave the city. Otherwise, we’re just sitting here with our thumbs up our asses while Alkaloid and company are getting harassed.”

HiMERU folded up the city map and held it out to Rinne, but the leader shook his head. “Considering the shit storm that is likely out there, maybe one person shouldn’t have all the important shit on them. Just in case one of us…ya know…”

The blue-nette hesitatingly pocketed the map. “…Fair enough…”

Rinne looked to the younger two. “Alright, judging by yer uniforms, ya two are still kids. But this goes for everyone. No separating unless ya have a buddy and always watch each other’s backs. Call out if anything seems amiss or if ya find something useful.”

~*~

“Shit, Narukami-san! Jump!” Kaoru reached a hand out to grab hold of Arashi as she jumped over the gap in between their bookcases. The Tiger-Shadow roared as it attempted to jump up and claw her from the other side. The shelves couldn’t hold its weight as one of them snapped underfoot, causing it to come crashing down to the floor as books pelted it from above.

Kaoru pulled her safely up against the wall, thankful, for once, that these bookshelves were tall, enough that the creature couldn’t easily reach them and wide enough for them to stand atop. Not five seconds after Ibara had given the go signal, this creature had found them and began chasing them in and around the shelves like rats stuck in a maze. They were both missing their jackets, having thrown them over the shadow’s face to gain time to run away at some point. He had the brilliant idea when Arashi distracted the creature to climb the shelves and travel above them, before keeping the creature distracted as she then climbed up on the far side of the library.

It was honestly impressive how many bookcases were still standing in their rows and not broken or fallen over like dominoes with how insistent this creature was at making them its next meal. He barely registered hearing Ibara updating them on each other’s positions and how much longer for Makoto to get to the workshop, on account of trying not to die.

The two teens heaved deep breaths as they nervously eyed the vicious shadow below. It hissed and lowly growled as it kept its eyes on them, occasionally leaping up to try and swat them before falling back down due to the weak shelves.

Kaoru began to panic as he darted his eyes around the room, “Okay, okay, okay! Where to now?”

“Senpai, look out!” Arashi yanked him towards her as the shadow just missed grabbing his leg. He hissed as he felt a claw slash his shin slightly through his jeans.

Don’t panic! Don’t panic!

He heard Ibara mention the “package” was secured and in “transit”. Arashi practically beamed, “Thank goodness, Makoto-chan made it!”

“Okay, so that means we can start planning an escape.” Kaoru looked towards the western end of the room before he spotted a vent above one of the bookshelves near a reference room.

He felt a pit form in his stomach as he remembered that vision of Hiyori. Looking at Arashi, she seemed to know exactly what he was thinking. He sighed, “Not the greatest idea, but it seems we’ll have to use the vents. Doubt the halls will be any safer than in here.”

He looked over to their left and spotted the next bookshelf by the wall was separated by two brick pillars that framed the main entrance. He tsked as he realized their route, “We’ll have to jump along those shelves in the middle to get back to the ones along the wall on the other side. Think you can handle that?”

Arashi had a teasing smile, “Asking the damsel to do physical work? Oh, if she must~.”

She took the lead and began leaping from shelf top to shelf top, making the older teen scramble to catch up. Demonic growls and snarls echoed throughout the room as the shadow would leap up to catch them mid-jump, missing by a hair each time. They were almost to the other side when the growls ceased, causing them to freeze.

Silence. Any other time, silence in a library would be commonplace, almost peaceful.

The two blonds looked at each other before the bookshelf next to them toppled over after a loud roar, knocking into theirs and making them fall with it. Kaoru groaned as he hit the floor hard, shielding his head from the onslaught of books falling above him. When the crashing ceased, he opened his eyes to find that his ankle was pinned under one of the fallen shelves.

“Urgh…Naru…kami-san…are you okay?” He looked around for the other teen.

A low, demonic gurgle echoed as the Tiger-Shadow stalked around the corner, eyeing him from a distance. The older blond froze, his trapped ankle straining at trying to release itself, no doubt needing assistance to do so after a moment. He heard a light groan to his left and saw Arashi slowly start to come to under a pile of books.

The Tiger-Shadow looked between the two of them before stalking over to Arashi. It grabbed her by her black sweater and started to drag her, causing her to panic and lash out at the creature to release her. The UNDEAD member saw the creature attempting to take her to the study nook under the second-floor veranda, which looked like a little cave.

Not on my watch!

Kaoru reached out and grabbed hold of Arashi’s ankle. “Let go of her!”

The shadow creature growled as it pulled harder. The member of Knights tried to dig her nails into the creature’s eyes, but it would shake her side to side violently anytime she got close. He could feel his grip slipping around the ankle, panic and fear coursing through him.

A sharp, metallic clang echoed in the room, causing the creature to let Arashi go and rear back. It roared in pain as it tried to cover its ears with its shadowy paws. It and the two teens turned their heads towards the sound, coming from another idol by the entrance, a pipe lowering from where it struck one of the brick pillars in one hand and a power drill in the other.

“T-Tomoe-senpai!” Arashi called out in surprise.

Hiyori ignored her, staring intently at the shadow. The shadow, itself, stared back with a downright furious glare. The off-green blond muttered coldly, “Ah, so you don’t like that sound.”

He clanged the pipe harshly against the brick pillar again, the sharp echo making the creature screech demonically as it yowled in pain. When the echo ceased, it roared and focused solely on Hiyori. The idol smirked, “Yeah, that’s right. Focus on me.”

“T-Tomoe-kun!” Kaoru called out.

Hiyori yelled, “Focus on getting out of here! I got this!”

The idol darted to the side, the Tiger-Shadow following like it had a vendetta against him and him alone.

~*~

Rinne and company worked their way down a dark alleyway, guns drawn and covering every angle as they moved. There was the smell of rot and decay in the air, as well as burning and a vague smoky smell. The area was cold as the night was in full swing. It was quiet. Too quiet.

“Hold up.” Rinne raised a hand to stop the group, inspecting some of the dead infected on the ground.

Just like the entity said, their skin had turned pale, even ashy in color. Some of their eyes still glowed even after long expiring. Many were torn to shreds by bullets, though whether the bullets were from Rinne’s group before they were placed in the world or from other survivors, he couldn’t tell. There was a viscous green fluid on some of them. The redhead took a piece of garbage on the ground and used it to gather some of the fluid onto it, recoiling and scrunching his nose at seeing it begin to eat away at the balled-up newspaper.

“What is that?” HiMERU whispered, pausing in his scanning of the rooftops above them to stare in disgust at the fluid.

“Don’t know,” Rinne held a hand to his head as he felt a brief pain strike his temple, “Seems memories for this universe are indicating this is not normal. They may be changing.”

“Is this ta’ introduction o’ those ‘types’ ta’ entity was talkin’ about?” Kohaku pondered aloud, taking a moment to scan the rooftops before grimacing at the sizzling sound the fluid was making as it ate away at the vast majority of materials. Seemed it wasn’t quite strong enough to make it through concrete, though some metal seemed to deteriorate upon contact.

“Could very well be.” Rinne discarded the newspaper ball and flicked on his flashlight attached to his AR-15, scanning ahead of them through the thickening fog.

“That’s not good if this virus is causing some individuals to mutate after just 2 weeks of being in the general population.” HiMERU returned to scanning, “Isara? Got any wisdom to potentially share? Maybe if your friend played a game akin to this?”

Mao paused a moment. “…Maybe? Makoto sometimes played zombie shooters…if I remember right, these ‘types’ are probably special infected and each will have different abilities, requiring the survivors to have different tactics to counter them and to throw in challenges on the fly.”

A faint, woman’s cry echoed near them, causing the group to freeze. Amethyst eyes lit up as the pink-haired teen approached a metal door to their right, hearing the crying again. “Someone’s still alive…”

Rinne and HiMERU eyed each other wearily. A hand stopped Kohaku from touching the door handle. Rinne stared at the other sternly, the younger returning the stern gaze.

“Kid, remember. This is an alternate universe. We need to look out for ourselves.” Rinne warned the youngest lowly.

“So ya want ta give ta’ entity a reason ta harass us? Maybe even suggest we are losin’ our humanity?”

“Or mock us for being stupid.”

“I’d rather be berated fer stupidity than get accused o’ lackin’ humanity. Can we at least check?”

Rinne took a steadying breath before turning silently to the next eldest in the group. HiMERU’s lips formed a strained, thin line before giving a curt nod. He wordlessly gestured for Mao to help keep guard.

The redhead sighed before nodding to Kohaku. Carefully, they opened the door. The room was pitch black, causing Kohaku to turn on his flashlight attachment on one of his pistols to aid the bee leader in scanning the room. It seemed to be a storage area for some business, with crates and metal shelves lining the sides.

The woman’s cries were louder.

The two crouched as they began to slowly walk into the room, taking their time to scan. Kohaku quietly asked aloud, “Hello?”

“Ya know, that is probably the stupidest thing to say in this situation.” Rinne hissed. He had a gut feeling to turn off his flashlight so he did.

Kohaku didn’t seem to listen to him as he called out softly again. Rinne had walked further ahead before stopping, dread and a sense of danger starting to take hold. He could practically see the outline of a woman sitting cross-legged on the ground in what looked like her underwear, head hunched as she continued to cry, not responding to Kohaku’s soft questions. Kohaku’s light ever so slightly got closer, revealing her fingers to have massively extended into long, sharp claws.

Rinne darted a hand over to Kohaku’s gun and immediately lowered it, seeing the small bit of light that shined on her was making her begin to hiss and groan and her eyes glow red. A flash of lightning from the approaching storm outside gave them a brief glimpse of her full figure. Matted white hair covered her face to her shoulders, her skin ashy and bloody.

Rinne hissed into Kohaku’s ear quietly, “Lights off!”

Kohaku quickly did so, fear and regret starting to light up in his eyes. “…I did it again…”

Their de facto leader gripped the younger’s hand gently, but firmly, sensing the kid was getting some sort of flashback to the previous universe. “Ya just wanted to help, kid. That’s not a bad thing. Let’s just quietly retreat and move on, okay?”

Out in the alley, HiMERU and Mao guarded each end of the alley. On Mao’s end, coming from the area they had just been, he could hear a series of low groans, hisses, and growls coming from several individuals. The light on his gun quivered. “Hi-HiMERU-senpai!?”

The blue-nette quickly approached the younger’s side, gun drawn. “Oh shit… SHIT!”

The younger took that as his cue to start firing his gun, several bullets coming out from one pull of the trigger. HiMERU also began firing his shotgun at the shadows coming towards them, calling out for the other two, “AMAGI! OUKAWA!”

Mao panicked and ran into their room and shouted, “They're coming! We gotta go!”

His light landed directly on the infected woman causing her to start screeching and stare directly at them. Kohaku’s eyes were alight in fear, “TURN THE LIGHTS OFF!”

It was too late. The infected woman slowly started to stand as it kept its intense gaze on them. The trio scrambled out of the room as she began running at them, arms and claws splayed out as she screeched. Mao slammed the door in her face and braced it with his shoulder, the infected making a dent in the door.

There was a brief pause before her claws and arm smashed a hole through the door and began slashing wildly, causing the teen to begin shooting his gun at the arm in fright. The other three focused on the incoming horde down the alley. The sounds of bullets flying mixed with the sounds of flesh being shot and several hisses, growls, and gurgled roars.

“Will you just die!” Mao finally finished off the woman before joining the rest in their stand against the oncoming horde.

No one noticed a weird, infected individual above them on the fire escape. It made a groaning sound akin to a chain-smoker before shooting out a long, long tongue to wrap around Rinne, causing him to drop his gun. “SHIT! THE FUCK!?”

The infected started pulling Rinne towards him and up off the ground. HiMERU was the first to notice, eyes wide before aiming his shotgun up at the creature. “Hang on!”

The blast killed the infected easily, its body erupting into a smoky haze. Rinne dropped hard to the ground, his wrist screaming in pain.

Damn it! Not the time to get a broken wrist!

HiMERU rushed over to help Rinne up, shouting at the other two to hold the line while he got him and grabbed the abandoned AR-15. The two youngest fired into the fast-moving targets, Mao more often spraying and praying while Kohaku seemed to fire with pinpoint precision. It seemed you didn’t have to destroy the heads of these like in other zombie media. Destroying the bodies enough could suffice just as well.

Just as HiMERU brought Rinne to a standing position, two more infected rushed them from the other side. The blue-nette blasted them to bits with quick work, giving his unit leader a smirk that the redhead returned.

“GUYS!” Kohaku cried out, seeing the horde grow bigger. His gun clicked.

Instead of reloading he reached instinctively for the metal pipe at his waist. One look at the fuse gave him the idea that it had to be a jury-rigged pipe bomb with a beeper. He activated it and sent it flying into the horde, “Fire in ta’ hole!”

The pipe bomb’s beeping made the horde that was running towards them stop and turn around, attracted by the sound. The explosion took them out as the group darted away. Mao stumbled at the shock wave behind him before looking up in brief wonder and relief as he heard the sound of a helicopter flying over.

Forgetting his surroundings, Mao ran after it and shouted, “Hey! We’re down here! We’re not infected!”

“Isara-san! Damn it!” Rinne called out before beginning to run after the kid, followed by the other two.

Mao didn’t notice an infected jumping high above him silently following. The teen ran out into the empty streets, disappointed that the helicopter hadn’t stopped. He turned in fright as he heard a screaming roar before being pounced on and pinned to the road. An infected man with a hoodie began attempting to rip into his abdomen, the teen trying desperately to not get injured and fight it off.

Kohaku came barreling around the corner, having reloaded his gun in the meantime, and ripped the infected off of Mao. He began shooting it repeatedly with his pistols, the infected stumbling backward with each successive bullet until it was up against the trunk of an abandoned car. Mao realized, belatedly, that he had a small revolver in one of his inside jacket pockets. He pulled it out and prayed he had good aim before firing a bullet.

It shot the infected straight through the middle of its forehead, killing it instantly. It fell back against the car heavily, setting off the car’s alarm.

Rinne and HiMERU came running after the two. Rinne stared in exasperation at the loud car before turning around at hearing a lot more growls and yowls. “Ain’t this just peachy…”

Infected came running from all sides by the hundreds seemingly, their shadows looming large on the buildings as they sprinted. Many started climbing a chain-link fence that appeared to have once been a military checkpoint. The four kept their backs to each other as they began firing at the horde.

As if in slow motion, HiMERU turned to part of a horde running down the avenue to spot a car come flying up, a low, deep roar coming from something in the back. “Amagi, we got a situation!”

“No shit, Merumeru!” Rinne only looked over when HiMERU tapped his shoulder rapidly.

The flying car crashed through the oncoming horde and into the fence behind them, taking out many of the infected. The group looked ahead in great shock at seeing an unnaturally, heavily muscled infected come barreling towards them. Its arms and shoulders were massive as if it was a bodybuilder that took far too many steroids, but even then, that couldn’t account for the sheer size of the brute. It ran like an ape, smashing regular infected as it came running at them.

The group began to walk backward as they kept firing straight ahead. Mao looked to Rinne, “Run or shoot!?”

Rinne glanced left and saw an empty alley. “Both! Follow me!”

The group began running and shooting at the horde as they funneled into the alley. The ground shook as the large infected came chasing with the others. Mao looked up and noticed a ladder mostly extended from an above fire escape with access to the roof above. “Get to the roof!”

HiMERU stood back and began firing his shotgun, taking out several in the horde quickly enough to buy the group time. “GO!”

Rinne gave Kohaku a boost to reach the ladder first, turning quickly to return fire and support HiMERU while the other climbed. Once Kohaku got far enough up, Mao ran and jumped to reach the bottom ladder rung, pulling himself up to also climb. His heart was racing and beating so loudly it was a miracle he could hear anything else.

The hulking infected came around the corner and used one of the normal infected to throw at HiMERU, knocking him over and splattering the common infected into the brick wall. The normally stoic idol felt fear freeze his being as he barely had time to look up and see the hulking infected raise its fists above its head, intending to smash him into a bloody pulp on the concrete.

Rinne dashed over and began shooting at the creature, stopping it in its tracks and allowing HiMERU to stand back up and run, grabbing his shotgun that had scattered away before impressively using the other wall to run up briefly to reach a higher portion of the ladder. Rinne dodged as the brute tried to slam him into the wall, the brick caving like a wet paper bag at the force. It growled before ripping a large chunk of concrete up and tossing it at the group on the fire escape, just missing both Mao and HiMERU as the wall and fire escape began to cave.

The redhead turned around and was nearly grabbed in the face by an infected before it was shot. Kohaku’s pistols smoked as he shouted down to his unit-mate, “GO! I’ll hold them off!”

The youngest continued to fire his pistols into the horde to buy Rinne time. Rinne climbed quickly and nimbly, partially thankful that his village was insistent on some of the more physical requirements. The hulk of a giant started climbing after them, the weight of it slowly beginning to tear the fire escape off the building as it reached for the survivors.

HiMERU quickly pulled Rinne onto the rooftop before turning to run towards Kohaku standing on the other side. The brute lunged once more as Kohaku turned to the other, causing him to stumble back and lose his grip on both of his pistols, the weapons falling into the dark alley below. He ran and jumped, reaching out for HiMERU as the brute took the remaining bits of the fire escape down with it.

“HiMERU-HAN!”

The blue-nette grabbed his arm, practically lunging for him as he lay on the ground. Both paused briefly to check to make sure the brute wasn’t going to follow them before HiMERU began pulling the other up, his hidden strength showing once again. Mao ran over to help the older idol pull the youngest up the rest of the way.

The group collapsed on top of the rooftop, breathing heavily as the area grew quiet once more. Mao was the first to speak. “I don’t know how we made it…but we actually made it! I can’t believe it!”

“Let’s not celebrate too quickly, Isara-san,” Rinne grumbled, gingerly holding his aching wrist, “We just crossed the street. We’ll do that once we are outta the city.”

The rooftop once held a survivor safe house, judging by the hastily constructed blue tarp tent and a large “SOS” painted on the ground in white. There was a table with some more ammunition and weapons, among a few other things. The helicopter from before flew over announcing over its speaker that there was still an evacuation site at Mercy Hospital and for any survivors to make their way there for pickup. The streets below were filled by the hundreds with the infected.

Rinne sighed, taking stock of the group. “Let’s rest up for a few, restock, then head out. Seems that hospital is our new destination.”

~*~

Wataru stood silently by the rendezvous point. All was quiet, uneventful even. He periodically heard callouts from the others as they were either chased or updating their current status.

Arashi and Kaoru were far too quiet, as was Hiyori.

He chewed his lower lip and began quietly tapping his foot against the tile floor. He fiddled with a small brooch pinned to his jacket, a pale yellow gem at the center surrounded by a metal ring depicting an owl.

He still remembers how he ended up with this thing and how unsettling it has been since.

He and the rest of Fine had just finished a Live about a week or so ago when he returned to the dressing room to change out of his Fine uniform. He could have sworn he saw a shadowy figure leave the room just before he entered, but he blamed the supposed specter on being tired from the Live and a trick of the light. He hadn’t seen the brooch attached to the jacket until he got back to the dorms and noticed it then. He knew he didn’t own anything like that.

He had taken it off the jacket and was inspecting it when Eichi came knocking on the door to drop off a few things Wataru had forgotten in the dressing room at the venue. When he turned back around, the pin had somehow reattached itself to his jacket. Each time he removed it and turned around, it would somehow reattach to the piece of clothing.

He had no idea how to broach the topic with anyone.

The eccentric man sighed heavily as he leaned against the wall, eyeing the weird piece of jewelry. Considering it attached itself to the main jacket he always wore when the weather turned cold, people just assumed it was his new favorite accessory. After a while, he had come to accept this strange hunk of metal. Well, as accepting as he could, given the strange circumstances, especially as of late.

Then again, wasn’t it almost fitting for strange things to happen at ES? Especially with all the eccentric idols that populate it.

Wataru felt his blood freeze as he overheard on the radio Ibara and Hiyori’s discussion.

He sounds really hurt…

“…I have to hurry.”

Sun-san…

He looked left and right. He was alone.

I can’t leave this place unattended. Yuuki-kun needs to get out here safe and sound…but Sun-san…Viper-san said I and Kanata need to get to him at the library for some reason…Why do I have this bad feeling it has to do with that vision? What if…Sun-san’s survival rests on me and Kanata? But we need to secure that laptop…

He heard a sound that he could only describe as something shining before a mild, but no less piercing headache formed. The yellow gem of the brooch glowed faintly. He heard a voice.

Hibiki Wataru, thou who bears my vessel, heed my voice! Speak thine’s thoughts to me!

“Who the hell are you!? Where are you!?”

Which hell is thou referring to? Does not matter, for thine’s definition and picture of that “hell” is different from the hells that I am aware of. I am the overseer of the land, humanity, and all beings both spiritual and physical! The definition that humans define as the epitome of what makes a great leader! The wise one! The one who shall guarantee thine’s success against the demon who had laid waste to my realm and defies mine and the Creator’s designs! The very same who threatens thou and the others of thine’s world!

“Okay, I know sometimes I can get a little long-winded and beat around the bush when talking, but this is excessive! Speak plainly and directly! I don’t have the time to listen to you for days on end! Who are you and where are you coming from?”

Hmm…I will forgive thine’s rudeness, for we share the same enemy. I am Chikap-Kamuy. Thou are holding the vessel that is temporarily holding me and my powers, sealing me away for the moment. That “brooch” thou calls it. As my realm was being lain to waste by that demon, one of my associates managed to seal away me and several other of my associates into these to save us from imprisonment. It is unfortunate that not all of us were saved, but he managed to save as many as he could.

“The artifacts!”

Yes, the artifacts that the demon wishes to find are the very vessels that hold us. He wishes to capture us all in his naïve quest. That cannot be allowed to happen! The one who saved me and several of the other Kamuy has instructed us to aid thou and thine’s friends, as aiding thou will aid ourselves in rebalancing the scales and provide order once again to our realm! I shall lend you my aid, as thine’s friends in the other worlds and the others in thine’s world have collectively charged enough of this vessel to begin unsealing me…bring forth one of thine’s pigeons, and I’ll bestow upon thou with the first of my abilities.

Wataru blinked several times as he realized the pain in his head had long since ceased. He summoned a pigeon from his coat and let it rest on his hand.

Excellent. Despite it not being a bird of my expertise, it shall suffice until I can directly come to thine’s aid. Send it to where you wish it to go. Whisper the location. It shall know.

“Little one…” Wataru thought for a moment, “Go to the library.”

The pigeon cooed before swiftly taking flight and vanishing from sight.

Now. Focus thine’s mind, thine’s essence, and project it into that pigeon, thou shall see what it sees.

“I have so many questions! What do you mean by ‘charging the vessels’?”

“There is not enough time for such questions! Once I have been fully released, I will answer the best that I can. Focus!”

“…Okay…”

He closed his eyes and began to channel himself. It took several minutes, but Wataru felt a shift. When he opened them he was startled to see that he was running – no flying – down a corridor and into the library just behind someone who had entered. The pigeon rested on one of the lamps overlooking the main sitting area. The library was in complete disarray and the Tiger-Shadow was attempting to drag off Arashi and Kaoru desperately trying to hang on to her as he was pinned by a shelf. Hiyori stood by the front door and clanged the pipe, a look of steel coldness taking over his violet eyes as he took in the scene.

He couldn’t quite make out what was being heard, but he saw Hiyori begin to run around the library after clanging the pipe again, keeping the shadow creature occupied while Arashi scrambled to help unpin Kaoru.

He inhaled sharply as his sight came back to him, focusing on his actual surroundings. It was as if his lungs burned from lacking any oxygen for those brief moments, maybe even minutes.

The more thou uses this power, the more thou will get used to it, and the less the side effects will faze thou. Thou knows what thou needs to do. Take action. Take control! Do not wait for others to tell thou what to do!

With that, the voice ceased and the brooch stopped glowing.

It…wants me to go rogue, essentially? Well, sort of…but what about Yuuki-kun? He should be on his way back now.

A thought pricked his mind. If Makoto was moving out of the basement, then that means Souma and Mitsuru have done their jobs.

Goes against the plan Viper-kun outlined…but if we are to help Sun-san…!

He took hold of his radio. “Samurai-kun, Little Rabbit-kun. Come in. What is your status?”

“Eh!? Hibiki-dono? Tenma and I just escaped the basement. The package is on the way. Everything all right?”

“…I need you both to come to my location and take my place. I need to get to the library.”

“N-Now!?”

“As quick as you can. Kanata, do you copy?”

He could hear panting. “Yes…just lost that ‘shadow’. Time to ‘move out’? For Sun-san?”

“Yes. We need to hurry. I’ll be there as soon as Samurai-kun and Little Rabbit-kun get here.”

“Mr. Hibiki!”

“Viper-kun, this is necessary. Those three haven’t spoken in a while, and you know that.”

Silence answered him as Ibara relented.

Just hold on, Sun-san.

~*~

Niki was no longer truly angry at the entity. He was outright furious.

It thought it would be funny to have his partner in the beginning portion be Mayoi, dragging the purple introvert into this hellscape with him. It claimed Mayoi wouldn’t be there for long, which only made the chef even more outraged, knowing that it would mean Mayoi was possibly going to die again.

It was tense between them as they navigated post-apocalyptic Boston, avoiding both nasty characters and the FEDRA military, as they had originally aimed to find some sort of contact that apparently owed them a gun shipment. It took him a long moment to gather himself when the both of them were caught by three of this “Robert” guy’s goons and Mayoi shot one of them in the head with no hesitation. It took even longer for him to comprehend that he had to choke out and shoot living people, long before they ever saw any infected.

At least Mayoi was able to tell him he didn’t blame him for what happened. In a way, Mayoi had said he was relieved that he was stopped, even if it was painful. He still remembered the introvert giving him a kind smile as he joked that if he truly held any resentment towards him he would have let the beam crush him when they were escaping the school.

He still was chuckling at the memory of calling Mayoi out that he would have let the beam also crush his “boyfriend” HiMERU, leaving the introvert to blush like mad and stutter out how they were absolutely not like that. Yeah, sure they weren’t. He betted that they would totally be an item by the time this whole mess was done and over with.

After a whole convoluted mess with now having to get their guns back from the Fireflies, a rebel group, they were now tasked with smuggling a teenager out of the city.

That teenager was Hokuto.

The duo were relieved to finally find each other before the trio were forced to hide from the military as they escaped the city. Then, it was revealed Hokuto was immune. After 20 years of no cure, someone who became immune showed up. The Fireflies supposedly had an operating lab in another city where they hoped using Hokuto could provide a vaccine. As they missed the original rendezvous point to drop off Hokuto, the trio were now making their way to the Capitol Building where another group was supposed to take Hokuto further out. They were only supposed to smuggle him a little way, but Niki immediately understood that it wouldn’t be the case, simply because it was a universe meant for him and Hokuto to travel alone.

It was honestly hard to stop and really take in his surroundings with so much going on. Nature had long since begun its process of reclaiming the land the city stood on. Grass, vines, and trees grew out of the concrete and in and around cars long since rusted away. The city had become a ruin. A lost relic of a now seemingly distant past. It was strangely beautiful, in a sad, haunting, mystical sort of way.

That beauty always became tainted when they would stumble across bodies, some freshly torn apart and others having long since begun attaching to any surface to grow more of that fungus. He still felt clammy remembering seeing Mayoi flinch in pain as he told them about Clickers and Stalkers, recalling an earlier encounter with the infected. He had to kill them, too. A deep-set feeling took root that these were only going to be a drop in the bucket as far as this universe was concerned.

They were still making their way through one of the old high-rise buildings when they heard the rumble and distinct sound of metal creaking, feeling the building shift under their feet. Niki groaned, “Great, feels like the building may fall right on top of us.”

“Please don’t say that…” Hokuto, despite all the spunk and banter he had when encountering the military, sounded greatly uneasy as he glanced around.

The trio had worked their way into what once must have been an office, now completely slanted. The rumbling continued, making one of the office chairs shift from being trapped by a desk to come sliding down, past the group, and clunk into the wall. Niki worked his way up the slant to try and open the door finding it somehow still locked after 20 years.

Niki began banging his shoulder against it, anticipating that it should give relatively easily after being out in the elements for 20 years. When it seemed to only budge slightly, he turned to Mayoi. “Mayo-chan, give me a hand.”

The two mother hens of their respective units proceeded to shove their combined weights against the door a few times before it finally gave way. As it opened, it pushed a metal desk that was behind it off a ledge with a loud bang.

“Shiina-san!” Mayoi attempted to warn the chef.

Just as he turned around, Niki was accosted by one of those Clickers as it attempted to bite him, knocking him to the floor. Its clicking and screeching were loud in his ears as his eyes lit in horror and terror at the sight of the creature. Its face from the nose up had blossomed into a mushroom-looking fungus, its teeth gnashing as it attempted to tear him to bits.

Before he could shout for help, Mayoi kicked the thing off of him. He walked over and pinned it to the ground with a foot, shooting it twice in the head. It finally stilled and the clicking stopped.

Niki breathed heavily as he recovered from the shock. “Thanks…”

“Are you alright, Shiina-senpai?” Hokuto stood back by the doorway partially obscured.

“Yeah…fuck, I hate this universe already…”

~*~

Just after he finished discussing with Wataru, Kanata heard a growl enter the room he was hiding in. Slowly, he inched his way around the desk, making sure to keep out of sight as one of the Doberman-Shadows began sniffing around. The door was right there.

Taking his chance, he bolted and trapped the last of those creatures in there, breathing heavily.

I wish I could “call out” to you, Chiaki. You said you would “save” me if I did…but we can’t “leave” Midori and Shinobu “alone”…I worry about Tetora, too…He’s “stuck” and can’t do “anything”…I know you “wanted” to give him “experience” as the secondary “leader” and take your “place” at that meeting…but what poor “timing”.

He eyed the pin on his jacket. A silver pin in the shape of an orca with a pale blue gem for an eye. He had just finished a refitting of his RYUSETAI uniform with Shu about a week ago when he came back to that pin having been attached to his sweater. He figured it was a surprise gift from one of his friends, but when most of the people he was close to commented on it, he could tell none of them had ever seen it before. It was quite unsettling when he put the sweater through the wash and knew for certain he had taken the pin off before, only to find it reattached as the sweater came out of the dryer.

Why is this “happening” to us? What did we “do” to “deserve” this?

A quiet sound, almost like soft static or ocean waves echoed before a brief sting of pain entered his temple. The blue gem glowed faintly as a happy-go-lucky voice spoke.

Hey-yo!! How ya doin’? Oh, what am I saying? Of course, it’s not great! Tha’ stupid demon really doesn’t know when ta accept his lot in ta’ universe! Ironic how I serve more importance than him, yet I don’t take my duty as a spirit tha’ seriously! But anyway, this isn’t some one-sided conversation! Talk ta me with your thoughts…uh…Shinkai Kanata, right?

“…Uh…who are you, Mr. Spirit?”

*Gasp* I forgot ta say my name! Oh! Just when I thought I was makin’ a good impression, too!

“…Uh, it’s okay…You can ‘start’ again.”

Huh, ya talk a little funny! Ah, not like I talk any better! Ha, ha! I’m Repun-Kamuy! Ta’ god of ta’ sea! But ya can just call me Repun! Special privilege tha’!

“Re…poon?”

Yer close! But tha’s fine! Yer friends an’ ya have felt an’ done enough ta start chargin’ this vessel an’ begin releasin’ me! Tha’ means I can start helpin’! Finally! It’s been quite frustratin’ not bein’ able ta help ya at all so far!

“You…want to help?”

Absolutely! Ya an’ I are like two birds of a feather, tha’ we are! Oh…but ya don’t like bein’ treated like a god, right?

“Well, no…”

Ah, I’m so sorry! I don’t particularly care fer bein’ a Kamuy, either! But we both like ta’ sea and sea critters, right? I think we’ll get along just fine! Haha! I think ya would like Wakka-ush-Kamuy, too! Ah, but she insisted on stayin’ behind. I think she had an inkling tha’ yer friends would end up in our realm regardless of his visions, so she wanted ta stay an’ try ta help them where she could. I hope she didn’t get captured…

“Who ‘is’ she? And the one you ‘mentioned’, his visions…”

Oh, she’s the goddess of fresh water! Real sweetheart, tha’ she is! Well, Fuchi-Kamuy would beg ta differ on tha’, but…well they have history. Anyway, yeah! Ta’ guy who sent those visions ta Alkaloid an’ that all of ya are freakin’ out about, those are his doin’. But he means well! He even saved me an’ a few others by sealin’ us away in these gems tha’ appeared one day! Ta’ stupid demon tha’s causin’ all this trouble has practically eaten away at our home, tha’ place yer all callin’ ta’ liminal space.

“…This…is quite ‘a lot’…”

*Gasp* Right! We gotta run! Tha’ friend of yers needs help, right? Ta’ one in ta’ library? Whatever tha’ place is? I’ll help ya as best as I can!

As quickly as the energetic, youthful voice came, it went, much like the crashing waves of the ocean. Kanata sighed deeply, “Just when I thought I was ‘done’ with the spiritual ‘aspect’ of my life…”

~*~

Subaru sat in a pit, glaring at the high wall that separated him from the rest of his cell. Odd how the rest of the liminal space was practically all polygons and weird-looking, but that Assistant dragged, or maybe teleported him to this place. It honestly felt like a dungeon.

Kind of fitting considering that stupid entity acts like it’s King or something like that.

He still remembers getting unceremoniously tossed into here by the Assistant, both having been escorted by one Humanoid-Shadow and a weird-looking shadow creature he couldn’t quite name. It was a large, two-legged bird with an equally large, sharp beak. Didn’t seem to be capable of flying, but still looked to be a fast runner.

It was rather interesting the brief exchange he saw between the shadows and the Assistant. The Assistant started walking away while the bird-shadow seemed keen on making it a snack before getting smacked by the Humanoid-Shadow, the latter then roughly shoving the Assistant forward.

Odd. Would think that all the shadows would treat that Assistant like another boss or something…seems they don’t all think that way if they can think at all…Why did it seem like even the Assistant was as much a prisoner being escorted around like me? Nah, maybe that was simply its entourage or something and that’s just how they show their weird sense of affection.

He hadn’t seen anyone else upon arriving here. Hadn’t heard anyone familiar, either.

He already tried to climb out, but the wall was too high. He half expected another shadow creature to be in the pit with him like some sort of Colosseum, but there was nothing, no one except for him.

The door to his cell creaked slowly, as if whoever or whatever opened it was trying to keep quiet. Blue eyes widened a fraction as they spotted the masked Assistant appear at the top of the ledge, looking over its shoulder one more time before kneeling and holding a hand out. It kept gesturing for him to be quiet and to come over.

He recalled how frantically Hokuto had warned him about following a masked man. He whispered just loud enough for the Assistant to hear, “…After everything so far, after hurting my friends and making them go to their deaths, you expect me to trust you?”

The Assistant stilled as if contemplating the question. It shook its outstretched arm roughly, more insistently. Subaru wasn’t buying it. “Why are you doing this?”

The masked individual retracted its hand and gripped the edge of the hood harshly as if it was actually attempting to pull at its hair in frustration. The ginger-haired idol could practically see a light bulb turn on behind the mask as the individual summoned through shadows a marker and whiteboard. Subaru had to raise an eyebrow at the weird display and at how something from this realm knew what those things were. Or rather, how it summoned them to begin with. Were they just fabricated? Or did it pull them from somewhere else?

…Wait…can it not speak?

The Assistant shakily wrote on the board before showing it to the idol. Subaru could barely make out the rough kanji and hiragana. It was more like the Assistant barely understood Japanese or had great difficulty writing. He could make out the verb “to help”.

He raised an eyebrow at the figure before the figure pointed to the idol, pointed at the word, then at itself. It raised a finger as if trying to illustrate that there was a condition or a pause. It then pointed back at itself, to the verb on the board, then back at Subaru.

“…You…want me to help you, and then you will help me?”

The Assistant nodded in affirmation.

“…What do you need help with…?”

It erased the previous chicken scratch and paused, tapping the marker on the edge of the board in thought. Shakily, it wrote down something before showing the idol, the words “hex”, something that seemed close to the word “complicated”, and “friends”.

“…So, let me get this straight. The whole situation is complicated and there’s a hex on my friends?”

It seemed to tap the marker in more thought before pointing to the word “hex” and then at itself.

“…You’re hexed?”

It nodded.

“…Is that why you can’t speak?”

It nodded again, pointing to its mouth, eyes, and then, where he assumed, its ears.

“Is it multiple hexes or just one?”

It wrote the number 4.

“…Where’s the fourth?”

It paused before erasing and rewriting, the words “to think” and “memory” written in black ink.

“…Your memory? ...Are you even from this space?”

It shook its head negatively.

Wait…maybe it’s just as much a prisoner here as we are!

“So, if you are hexed, you want me to help you break the hexes. But why? And what does that have to do with my friends? Aren’t you helping the entity?”

It took several moments of intense scribbling before it presented an odd diagram. There was a black shape similar to that of a person with the number 11 next to it. It pointed from its eyes to the black figure, then back to Subaru.

“…Is the hex potentially making you see us as…indistinguishable figures?”

It nodded.

“Okay…”

It then gestured to the second half. An arrow pointed from the black figure to a new figure, equally black and human-like except with two white circles where eyes would be, with the number 2 next to it.

“…You can see the eyes of two of my friends?”

It made an iffy hand motion.

“Sort of…but it’s only two?”

It nodded.

“…Is one of them me?”

It shook its head no.

“You can see the eyes of two of my friends despite the hexes…but you don’t know why? And you want to know?”

A nod.

He narrowed his eyes at it. “Okay, but what is in it for me? How are you going to help me?”

It erased the diagram before rewriting a “2”, the kanji for “voice”, and then a shaky-looking kanji that appears to be close to resembling the one for “location”.

Two…Voice…Location? WAIT!

“You know where the second entity is?!”

A nod.

A nagging voice in his mind was telling him something still wasn’t making sense. “…You didn’t answer my other question. You’re helping that entity harass us. Why are you sneaking around to help now?”

Its shoulders rose and then sagged as if it was heaving a big sigh. It rewrote the kanji for “complicated” in the same, shaky hand.

I don’t think I can trust this fully…but the way those shadows treated it and what it is supposedly saying about having hexes…it can’t tell who we are at all with those…it’s even sneaking around to talk to me…and it knows where the second voice is…

He took the chance and stood up, approaching the high wall and the masked Assistant.

Ending Theme: Rasen – jon-YAKITORI ft. Ado

English Lyrics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVld7njUsOc

Chapter Text

Opening Theme: Hana no Saku Basho (Where the Flowers Bloom) by Asami Imai

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mINvfJqZBzE

Hiyori considered himself lucky that he was able to take sharp turns better than the Tiger-Shadow, otherwise, this would have been a very, very quick fight. He kept it towards the farther end of the library, away from his friends and fellow idols as they struggled to move the shelf. He had run around another corner and up the small stairs to the second-floor veranda when he heard Arashi call out.

“Tomoe-senpai! Does that drill work?”

“It has its moments. Why?”

The blond tried pushing up against the bookshelf again with little success. Even if she was stronger than she looked, there was a limit when another, heavy bookshelf laid across the other in a domino fashion. “I think I can free Senpai if I unscrew the shelf!”

Hiyori briefly looked at the drill in hand before shouting for her to catch it, tossing it as best as he could. Honestly, he was impressed that he managed to toss it far enough for her to stumble a catch. “It does work, but you may need to push the trigger a few times!”

A demonic roar behind him forced Hiyori to turn around and quickly smack the pipe he was holding against the metal railing, creating the ringing sound the thing detests so much just to buy himself some time to run again. He kept dodging and weaving through the tables on the veranda, keeping the shadow in sight, before vaulting over the second-floor railing onto the ground below. The tiger had just missed him but did tear the back of his jacket into ribbons, growling at having missed its slippery prey once again.

Hiyori noticed the torn-up jacket. “Tsk, do you have any idea how much this cost?”

The shadow gutturally hissed at him. “Of course you don’t. Probably have no concept of currency.”

“Are you seriously talking to the thing?!” Kaoru was incredulous as he tried to help Arashi get the drill to work. They eventually had to alternate between manually turning the drill and swapping out when it would begin to work again.

“Seems to have some semblance of thought or higher thinking, considering it and the one I did face previously seemed to hold vendettas!” Hiyori ran through another maze of shelves, the tiger following closely behind.

“Wh-What do you mean by the one you faced before!? And what the hell did you do to piss them off!?” Kaoru shouted.

Hiyori dodged a swipe as the tiger’s claws got stuck in the treated wood of a shelf, buying him more time to run. “Let’s just say they hate the sound of ringing metal and don’t take kindly to getting injured!”

“Well, if someone was doing that to me, I would be pretty upset, too,” Arashi muttered through gritted teeth as the shelf began to come loose.

Hiyori ran back to the second-floor veranda, seeing the creature was starting to get even more pissed at having been led around in a loop. As he started running up the stairs, his footing slipped, causing him to fall at the top of the landing. He turned in horror as the tiger was nearly upon him.

“Coo!”

He didn’t expect a pigeon to come flying down and claw at the tiger’s face, providing the needed distraction. Hiyori retrieved the pipe he had been carrying and bolted again. He spotted the pigeon flee back to one of the lamps farther up on the wall. It had a little tag he was familiar with.

Wataru-kun! You must be close if your pigeon is here! I owe you big time!

“Tomoe-senpai! I got him!”

He ran to the railing to check on the duo. Arashi was already helping Kaoru to stand when they began making their way to the vent. She turned to Hiyori, “We’re going the back way out of here! Are you okay?”

“Yeah! Getting a good workout with all this running!”

“Geez, take this seriously, Tomoe-senpai!”

“I am! Just get moving!” Hiyori leaped over the railing again as the tiger missed him again, sounding extremely agitated.

Just a bit more time! Where are you, Wataru-kun, Kanata-kun?

He dodged an incoming pounce and ran underneath the veranda into the little study nooks. He knew it was sometimes a maze under there with a bunch of hidden corners. He had hoped that Jun would have worked up the courage to kiss him in one of those tucked-away areas, thinking he was too shy to do something like that in front of others. Now, he hoped he could lose the tiger in there, which would buy the three of them enough time to escape.

It seemed to be working as he started to creep through the shelves and hide when the sounds of its growling grew too close for comfort. Hiyori knew of two entrances: the one he had just come through, and one out by the staircase to the upper floor. He snuck around, waiting to find an opening to sneak out of the maze. Hiyori saw his chance and bolted.

“Tomoe-san! Look out!”

Kaoru’s warning came too late. The tiger had long since snuck out of the maze through the veranda exit, and leaped down from the second floor, tackling Hiyori to the ground. He quickly managed to turn around in time to block the tiger’s bite with his pipe, hot breath and shining, dagger-like teeth inches away from his face. He felt a sharp sting in his side as a paw swiped at him, but his fight-or-flight instincts were taking over and they relegated that feeling to the back burner.

Hiyori reached blindly to his left as he realized he must have been close to where Arashi and Kaoru were stuck. When he felt the drill, he wasted no time in grabbing it and shoving the drill bit into the tiger’s eye, making it recoil in a pained yowl. He attempted to stand, but the searing pain in his side was limiting his movements.

There was no way he would be able to climb the bookshelves to meet Arashi and Kaoru now. The halls were too dangerous. He realized there was only one option.

He bolted to the reference room and slammed the door behind him. The shadow paced and roared outside of the room, staring fiercely at the door it wouldn’t be able to open.

Hiyori slid against the door, down to the floor, breathing heavily. His side felt warm. Hiyori only looked down because he needed to know the extent of the damage.

Guess I wasn’t able to avoid that…damn it!

He took his jacket off and applied pressure to his bleeding side, thankful that it seemed to not be too deep. Looking around, he realized with resignation that there was no other way out for him. He was trapped and the weapons he had brought with him were still out there in the main library.

~*~

Jun tapped an impatient rhythm on one of the desks as he and Ibara watched over the expedition crew. Ibara pushed his glasses back up his nose. “Seems Mr. Shinkai and Mr. Hibiki are on the move to the library.”

“Hmm.” Jun kept trying the library cameras, despite already knowing they wouldn’t be able to see anything out of them.

Stupid cameras. Goddamn! Out of all the times they had to go down, they had to go down now?

All of the expedition crew paused in their movements as the radio crackled to life with voices they hadn’t heard since the operation began.

“T-Tomoe-senpai! Are you okay!? What happened!?” Arashi’s worried tone was uncharacteristically loud.

Jun snapped to attention.

There was the sound of heavy puffs echoing before Hiyori spoke. “Bastard just nicked me. I’m in the reference room.”

“I’ll come back! Just hang on!” The sound of metal could be heard as Kaoru attempted to turn around in the vents.

“Don’t…I’ll be fine. Wataru-kun and Kanata-kun…are on their way…just focus on getting Makoto-kun out of ES.”

“Tomoe-san!”

“I SAID GO!”

Jun had never heard Hiyori raise his voice like that. A deep dread gripped his heart. His lungs felt like they weren’t getting enough air, forcing him to breathe faster. His hands shook uncontrollably. His head was only filled with thoughts of Hiyori.

“JUN!” Ibara lunged forward to catch the hyperventilating teen.

~*~

Wataru practically sprinted into Kanata as they met on the same floor. “Kanata! C’mon! We’ve got to hurry!”

“Coming!”

The duo sprinted down the halls, each unaware that the other held incredible powers. Powers that would ultimately begin to help unravel the mysteries plaguing ES.

~*~

Subaru slunk behind the Assistant as they made their way through the dungeon-like catacombs, avoiding any and all shadow creatures. It seemed they were going further in and lower, too. Several times they both had to hide behind pillars or in little crevices when patrols would go by or overlap. He saw many shadows that he never would have thought could exist, many greatly disturbing and equally vicious.

At some point, he was shoved behind a tapestry, seeing a particularly shadowy figure begin to approach. Before the Assistant could hide with him, Subaru heard the demon call out, “Ah…It is quite rare to see you this far down, O’ Precious One.”

The voice was as chilling as ice and filled with mockery. “Aren’t you supposed to be escorted? You really should be careful in these parts.”

The Assistant turned to face the demon, simply staring hard at it. It seemed to chuckle, but it sounded like nails on a chalkboard. “Right! You can’t speak! Must be so tiring to be a good little pet!”

So these things genuinely don’t care for the Assistant…but what do they mean by ‘Precious One’? Also, why does this demon-shadow-thing reek so bad!?

“I won’t say I saw you here, this time. After all,” Subaru could just make out from behind the edge of the tapestry the shadow shifting into a stout black dragon with red, pupilless eyes as it laid out a clawed foot to pat the Assistant’s head, “We wouldn’t want his Precious One to get scolded too badly.”

The Assistant yanked its head away from the touch. “Heh, fine. Be that way. Just watch out for Kenas-unarpe’s pets. They may be borrowed by him, but they don’t hold any loyalty to you, even if you are his Precious One.”

The demon moved along and vanished out of sight. There was a long, long moment before the Assistant tapped on the tapestry, signaling Subaru to come out.

The ginger idol waved a hand in front of his nose and made a disgusted face. “Why does that guy smell so bad? Does he not believe in showers?”

It was the first time he had ever seen the Assistant look like it was laughing, if he was judging the shaking of the shoulders and the hand over the mouth slits in the mask correctly. The masked individual brought out the whiteboard again and wrote down “stench” and “normal”.

“Ugh! I don’t recall all of these guys smelling that bad!”

The other shook its head before writing an arrow that pointed down the hall where the demon came from.

“Just that guy? Yeesh!”

The duo was silent as the Assistant began leading them down the halls, keeping out of sight of more shadows. Once they were in another empty hall, Subaru began getting curious. “So…are these hexes on you specifically or is it the getup doing that?”

The Assistant stopped moving and tilted its head at him. Subaru clarified, “Like, are you able to take that off and not have the problem with the hexes?”

Resummoning the whiteboard, the Assistant shook its head before writing “to have to”.

“…You can’t take all this off because you have to wear it? Why?”

It tapped the marker on the edge of the whiteboard several times, clearly trying to formulate an answer. In the end, it wrote “stink”, a plus sign, “shadows”, “protection”, and something akin to “recent”.

The idol mulled the answer over for a few seconds. “Yeah, I kinda got the impression these shadows aren’t doing anything to you because they don’t want the consequences that would come with harming you…but this getup was only recent? Or was it the protection against the other shadows and demons that was recent?”

It wrote the number 1.

“The first one…So you could walk around without this at all until recently?”

It nodded.

“How recent are we talking?”

It wrote “friends” before gesturing to it and Subaru himself.

Okay, that is incredibly suspicious.

“Do…you think it’s wanting to hide your identity? Potentially?”

It tilted its head and wrote “why”.

“I-I don’t know! Maybe we actually know each other?”

It seemed there was a slight sense of humor in the Assistant, as it drew a simple circle with a face and a raised eyebrow. Subaru began chuckling, “Cute, but seriously. I know you’re kind of working for the guy – I get it’s complicated – but aren’t you the least bit curious as to why you needed this whole getup suddenly?”

It focused on the whiteboard for several, tense moments before erasing and rewriting. It wrote “question”, the symbol for the negative participle, and “trust”.

“You seriously trust that guy? After witnessing what it’s capable of?”

It wrote “never” and “to lie” before following up with the negative participle and “to hide”.

“So…you know exactly what it’s capable of because it never hid its true nature from you…and you’re okay with that?”

He could tell the Assistant was getting frustrated as if the intended meaning wasn’t getting across in this version of charades. Subaru sighed, “I guess I’m not exactly getting the right answer. That or you’re having a hard time conveying what you actually want to say…this would be so much easier if we could remove the hex that prevents you from speaking.”

It nodded in agreement.

Subaru decided a change in topic was needed. “So, circling back to the…outfit. Do you have to wear this all the time or is there a space where you’re allowed to take it off?”

It wrote “room” before pointing to itself.

“Your room…? But you could take it off elsewhere? Not like it’s stuck right?”

It shook its head before writing “can”, followed by “choose” and the negative participle.

“…So you choose to not take it off anywhere else. You really trust this guy, whatever the entity is?”

It nodded.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but is the entity your only friend here? I mean, that other demon called you its pet, but even its actual pets don’t seem to care for you all that much.”

It slowly looked away before nodding once.

Oh…

Isolation. Rough treatment. Loneliness.

Subaru felt a twinge of sympathy. “…You know…as much as it’s difficult for me to trust you after what you did to my friends and with how trusting you are of this thing…I know how you feel.”

“I…” He wasn’t sure why he was sharing, “I was isolated a lot, too. People kept calling me a ‘try hard’ for putting everything I could into becoming an idol. With my father’s reputation before it was cleared…people would always shun me or hurl insults. I still remember my old home would be constantly vandalized after my father’s scandal and imprisonment…people would glare at me, even though I was just a little kid…”

The Assistant was motionless as it listened. It seemed unsure of what to do before slowly raising a hand to gently pat Subaru’s shoulder, albeit very awkwardly, as if it wasn’t used to comforting anyone.

He couldn’t stop a small, fragile smile from forming. “Heh…yeah, sorry. Didn’t mean to spill my guts to you.”

It waved its hands frantically back and forth before writing a simple “okay” and giving him a thumbs up.

Subaru let out a few small laughs. He frantically stopped when he saw the Assistant form fists and place them on its hips as if it was offended. “Ah! Sorry! I’m not laughing at you! Just at the situation! I’m sorry-”

He paused as it fully dawned on him. “…Oh…I don’t know your name…”

The Assistant tilted its head.

“W-Well, it doesn’t feel right to just say ‘hey you’ or call you the Assistant…can you tell me your name? I’ll tell you mine! I’m Akehoshi Subaru!”

The Assistant appeared frozen for several, several moments. The idol tilted his head at it, “Are you okay?”

It nodded quickly before looking away. It seemed to have been startled and was trying to recompose itself.

“Sorry…are you comfortable sharing your name?”

The Assistant hesitated before writing “name” and “curse” before pointing at itself.

“You think your name is a curse?”

It nodded before writing “pain” and “hatred”.

He felt another twang of sympathy for the other. “If you don’t want to share it, is there a nickname you wouldn’t mind if I called you?”

It shrugged before gesturing to him and pointing to a new word, “choose”.

“Y-You want me to choose?” A nod.

He thought for a long moment. “Well…you sneak around a lot, and are very quiet…mysterious, too…how about…Ghost?”

It tilted its head in such a way that it seemed to be considering it before nodding affirmatively.

“Well…okay…I’ll call you Ghost.”

Ghost seemed to be content. It pointed back to him and wrote “write” and “name” before offering the marker. Subaru took the marker and began writing before pointing back to each character as he repeated his name. Ghost attempted to rewrite the name, getting the “ake” portion right before its hand began to shake too much. Subaru could have sworn it was hesitating somewhat due to pain as well as uncoordinated hands. It gave up on the rest before attempting Subaru’s first name, also giving up on trying to write it, even in hiragana, save for the hiragana for “ru”. It seemed to shrink its head into its shoulders slightly.

“It’s okay! You tried!” He paused, pondering briefly to himself about what he was about to say, “…Normally, I don’t like when people call me by a nickname…but I’ll make an exception for you. You can call me Ake-Ru if you like, especially if it will make this charade thing easier.”

It rewrote the two characters for “ake” and “ru” again before tilting its head at him. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Also…I know I shouldn’t assume. But…are you a boy or girl?”

He could practically feel how scandalous it made Ghost feel before writing the classic circle with an arrow sticking out of it. It put a hand on its hip before tapping its foot, like it was trying to ask how it wasn’t obvious. “Okay, boy! Got it! Just didn’t want to assume!”

Ghost’s shoulders shook as if it was trying to contain a laugh. Suddenly, he stopped and gestured for Subaru to stay quiet, remembering where the duo was currently.

He seems nice…a bit weird and rough around the edges, but nice…despite having assisted in murdering quite a few people so far…and trusting this sadistic asshole.

They wandered down a few more halls before coming to a seemingly dead-end. Ghost paced around, keeping a hold of Subaru’s wrist, as he seemed to be tapping his foot around the floor. Subaru whispered, “Is there a trapdoor or something?”

Ghost nodded, seeming frustrated that he was having difficulty finding it, before stepping forward.

The ground gave way and the two plummeted.

~*~

Hiyori felt tired. Drained. He just wanted to close his eyes.

No, Bad Hiyori! You have to stay awake!

Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to stand. He nearly stumbled forward as the tiger on the other side of the door slammed into it, aggravated that it couldn’t reach him. The force of the slam caused a few books on the shelves nearby to fall. One particular book caught the idol’s eye.

It was aged and leather-bound, quite different from the other books. In faded, gold lettering read the title: The Ainu Deity Compendium: A Collection.

“Ainu? I feel like that should be familiar somehow…” Hiyori whispered as he painstakingly walked over to retrieve the fallen book, wincing as he straightened out. Right now, the jacket and his sweater were doing a good enough job of stemming the blood flow, but he knew he would need medical attention soon.

Sensing he still had time before Wataru and Kanata would come, he flipped the book open to the first page, the Author’s Note. The author’s name had long since faded, or, perhaps, was never written in the first place. What struck him as odd was that none of the pages were typed, instead the entries were all neatly written. It read:

The Ainu are the indigenous tribes native to northern Japan, particularly Hokkaido, though their historical ranges and territory were originally vast. Some pockets remain in Northeastern Honshu and have historically occupied the lands surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk before the arrival of the modern Japanese and Russians.

Due to forced assimilation by the Yamato in the 18^th century and discriminatory practices from the Meiji Restoration era, the Ainu culture, faith, and general way of life have been threatened with near extinction. They have no written language and rely solely on oral tradition to pass on cultural practices and their mythos. Due to laws and practices during the 19^th century, the Ainu were banned from practicing their religious faith and from speaking their native language, forcing many to learn Japanese and culturally assimilate. Several of their gods and beliefs were sometimes adopted by Shintoism or made into bastardizations that deviate greatly from the original Ainu belief, often as a way to further insult the Ainu. This has led to the near eradication of a vibrant, culturally distinct faith and way of life, though it is with great hope that more recent efforts have been underway to try and preserve what remains.

Their faith ranges widely based on region and from village to village, with origin stories and other myths and legends, even the importance of various gods, changing. Along with this is the ambiguity of several of their gods' identities and whether they are truly benevolent or malicious. For instance, some speculate that Nusa-kor-Kamuy and Yushkep-Kamuy are one and the same according to many myths, but others define them as separate entities entirely. Villages who subsist mostly off of the sea will value the sea god with greater importance than the goddess of hunting. Although, a few deities appear to have consistent importance, such as the fire goddess and the god of the mountains and bears.

Due to the lack of a written record of their beliefs and recent attempts at revitalizing and preserving their culture, it is with my hope that my efforts in documenting these deities, myths, and legends will help in this effort. As there is much variation and speculation, this book shall detail any and all variations that I have come across in my travels and research.

“Huh…” Hiyori flipped a few pages, seeing the author had provided diagrams and pictures depending on the topic at hand.

He paused noticing the unique patterns on the traditional Ainu clothing. “That looks an awful lot like what Rinne-senpai had shown briefly…Doesn’t Hiiro-kun also where clothing with these similar patterns?”

He flipped further into the book, stopping in his tracks as he hovered over the beginning of the section, scanning the paragraphs.

Kunne Kamuy

The word “kunne” means “black” in the Ainu language. Pairing it with “Kamuy/Kamui”, which is the Ainu term for a spirit, “Kunne Kamuy” would literally translate to “black spirit”. As the name would suggest, this is a title given to kamuy who are wholly evil. One of the most evil is the Ainu deity known as Pauchi-Kamuy.

Pauchi-Kamuy

Also spelled Pauci-Kamuy, this spirit is the very god of insanity and chaos. He was created back at the beginning of the Ainu World Myth as a counterbalance to the virtuous Kamuy by the creator god, Kotan-kar-Kamuy. This is representative of the Ainu belief in the scales of balance and how they perceive the world; for every good, there is always a bad. That is simply how the world is, according to the Ainu. It reflects the balance of nature, which they relied greatly on for all basic needs.

However, I use the term “he” loosely, as many of the kamuy do not have set genders due to the variations in stories. This is further complicated by the fact that Pauchi-Kamuy does not have a set physical form, often described as a formless, sometimes human-like shadow with swirling, ever-moving colors surrounding it. However, this one is often referred to in a masculine way, and, as such, I shall maintain using the “he” pronouns.

He is often associated with seizures, stomach ailments, food poisoning, and frenzied dancing. Apparently, he was quite fond of inducing the latter of these on villages, as several legends and myths have been consistent from region to region in this regard. In some cases, there is a more lustful component to all this, particularly naked frenzied dancing and occasionally acting in a more lustful manner, but very few variations of this exist.

This kamuy, for lack of finding a particular hierarchy associated with the Kunne Kamuy, appears to be like the “king” of the evil kamuy in the loosest of terms in that it holds immense power within this group, being regarded as the first Kunne Kamuy by some stories and inferred by his creation by Kotan-kar-Kamuy, but it still acts relatively independently. Its greatest rival, the Chironnup-Kamuy (see page 75), dates back to one of the various myths that explains why the world is the way it is.

Hiyori furrowed his eyebrows in deep thought. He was there when Natsume had explained what he saw when the entity attacked him.

That sounds…awfully like this thing…

~*~

Subaru tumbled down a chute before he landed harshly on stone ground, having rolled a little ways away. “Ow…”

Ghost came down a different chute, but was much more graceful in his landing as he rolled upon impact. Still didn’t stop him from taking a moment to collect himself. “You okay, Ghost?”

Ghost waved off the concern before resummoning the whiteboard and marker, writing an apology of sorts. “No worries! Things happen!”

The masked man shook his head negatively, writing “realm” and “change”.

“Does this place change up a lot?” It nodded and wrote “stairs” before drawing an arrow to another word, “chute.”

“Ah, so it should have been stairs instead of a trap chute. Gotcha…So, does it still lead to the same place?”

Ghost looked around. The area was seemingly less oppressive than the rest of the previous dungeon. It looked like a cave, the stone and crystals occasionally sprouting here and there taking on a blueish hue.

“Woah…pretty…!” Subaru was entranced by the sparkly crystals. Ghost tapped him on the shoulder before turning its head inquisitively.

“Oh, sorry! I just like shiny things!” Subaru giggled.

Ghost seemed to not know how to answer that before taking another look around again. The confident, sentinel-like figure slowly started to lose his bravado the more he looked around. Subaru seemed to catch the hint. “I’m guessing you aren’t familiar with this place.”

He made an iffy hand motion before writing “area” with a checkmark next to it. “Okay, so right area but a different entrance potentially…so…explore?”

Ghost shrugged before making an “ok” sign with his hand. The masked man slowly began leading Subaru down the tunnels, sometimes widening out into large caverns that occasionally had water flowing through them that made traversal difficult. Sometimes it seemed hazardous, even for the well-equipped Assistant.

“So…will you know the exact area when we come across it?”

Ghost paused in his movement to write “overheard”, “voice”, and the numbers 1 and 2.

“…So you overheard the two of them talking at one point?” A nod.

“…You weren’t supposed to hear it, were you?”

Ghost hesitated before making a slow nod and rewriting “maybe”.

“Did you hear what it was about?”

He wrote “visions” before drawing an arrow from 1 to another word, “angry”.

“Yeah, I bet that entity wasn’t too happy that we were getting aided.”

They continued through more caverns before Ghost nearly slipped off the ledge, the stone underfoot being slippery from the water. Subaru caught him before he went far and pulled him back. “That was close!”

“Who’s there?”

The duo froze in place at hearing a high-pitched voice, something akin to what would be heard from a small animal if it could talk.

“Is someone there?”

Ghost and Subaru shared a look before the masked man motioned to the sound with a thumbs up. Subaru whispered, “That’s the second one?”

“Second what?” The voice echoed off the walls, but the source seemed further off.

“Uh…Hello?” Subaru called out cautiously, “Um…spirit who sent us visions?”

There was a sharp gasp of surprise that echoed before the voice hurried. “Yes! Yes! It’s you guys! Come here! Quickly!”

“O-okay! Uh, just give us a moment! It’s a little slippery!”

“Please, be careful!”

Subaru gestured to Ghost to lead the way before the duo slowly inched their way through the cavern. They called out periodically to gauge where they needed to go before coming across a partially submerged cave entrance. The masked man gave Subaru a look that seemed to suggest he was trying to ask if he could swim.

“Uh, yeah, I’ll be fine.” Subaru was about to step into the water before Ghost held him back, opting to go in first.

Geez, I’m not a complete damsel in distress…then again he knows this world better than me.

Thankfully, the water barely reached their shoulders as they began wading through the tunnel. On the other side, which opened into a dead-end, small cavern, Ghost helped Subaru out of the pool before taking a look around. Subaru was about to start walking around when Ghost yanked him back.

“W-Whoa! What was that about!?”

Ghost picked up a stone before tossing it a few feet forward. It bounced off of an invisible wall. “Ah…that would not feel good if I walked right into that…thanks.”

“You guys made it!”

The two glanced over to the far end where the voice echoed. Scampering out from behind a small boulder was a black fox with intricate, white patterns similar to thorns and brambles that appeared to run down from the forehead, along the back, and all the way to the tip of the tail in a braided fashion. The tip of the tail was white as if a paintbrush was dipped in white paint. It had a braided cord around its neck that held six medium-sized grey beads, though Subaru could have sworn some of them faintly looked like they had distinct colors to them as if they had faded over time. Its eyes were an uncanny shade of light grey, as if it was edging on white and the only way the iris could be differentiated would be from the dark, black line outlining it.

“It’s so good to see you in the flesh!” The fox spoke in the same, high-pitch before making foxlike cackling noises. Its tail swished rapidly behind it like an overexcited puppy.

Subaru and Ghost slowly looked at each other with possibly the same bewildered expression.

The fox picked up on it. “Sorry! This one knows this is extremely weird. You all expect some great, divine entity to be a person or at least look somewhat human. If this one had more power reliably, he would be human. But this one worries that using any power to do that will cause himself to lose the ability to send you all visions and help you out, so this one is staying as a fox!”

“Uh… ‘this one’?”

“Ah!” It fluffed up slightly as if startled, “Where are this one’s manners?! This one is Chironnup-Kamuy, god of foxes, calamity, premonitions, and this one’s favorite during festivals, trickery! You both can call this one Chironnup for short! Special privilege to you guys and all your fellow idols, whatever those are!”

~*~

Hiyori flipped to page 75 and read the entry.

Chironnup-Kamuy

This is the god of foxes, but he holds many titles, such as the “trickster god”, and serves several functions.

It is important to note that this is referring to the Chironnup-Kamuy, the god, rather than the various spirits or aspects, also referred to as Chironnup-Kamuy, as Ainu belief appears to insinuate that there are multiples of the same Kamuy, which would make sense given there is always more than one of any given creature or plant, though it is never explicit. It also appears that the masculine is used to describe this kamuy more often.

It is believed that the preferred form of Chironnup-Kamuy is that of a fox, though there are occasions where he appears as a raccoon or a weasel. Often, this Kamuy prefers to make practical jokes or, sometimes, cause misfortune for humans, such as upturning boats or making a scene at festivals. However, there seems to be an underlying theme that, despite all this trickery, this god does care about the wellbeing of its subjects, and can be quite protective of them if they are to be harmed.

One of the major functions of Chironnup-Kamuy is that of also being the god of calamity and, most importantly, premonitions. Often, he takes the form of a black fox that will yell at the base of a mountain to warn humans of an incoming calamity or bad event. It is often capable of sending premonitions to specific individuals, as it wishes for humans to avoid misfortune.

This kamuy serves as the opposite, and great rival, to Pauchi-Kamuy (see page 145), the god of insanity and chaos. One of the biggest myths involving these two is when the Evil and Good Kamuy were battling over who would rule over the world and its inhabitants. The Evil Kamuy, such as Pauchi-Kamuy, wanted to rule the world with brutality and stagnation, whereas the Good Kamuy wanted to rule the world with flexibility and peacefulness. It was decided that a bet was to be made to decide the ultimate fate of the world. Whichever faction saw the rising sun first would become the ultimate rulers. As all of them sat and waited for the sun to rise, it was Chironnup-Kamuy who tricked them all into looking the wrong way, making him the only one to see the rising sun, thus cementing the Good Kamuy’s rule over the land. After this, the Evil Kamuy were driven underground, residing in a land called Teinei-Pokna-Moshiri. It is believed that these Evil Kamuy, especially Pauchi-Kamuy, are typically trapped in this realm, and they hold a great grudge against Chironnup-Kamuy for ultimately tricking them all.

Hiyori nearly dropped the book, violet eyes wide and hands trembling greatly.

~*~

“Ah…okay, Chironnup.” Subaru hesitated.

“Ah! Anyways! Chironnup has been eager to see you! Come! Come!” The fox gracefully bounced over to the edge of the invisible wall by a small pool, stamping its feet like a host gesturing their guest to sit.

The two humans sat around the edge of the pool, still completely unsure of what was going on. Chironnup seemed quite pleased as it curled its paws under its chest, tail swishing happily. “This one has so much to tell you all!”

“Um, well, not everyone is here…” Subaru began, not knowing exactly how to explain Ghost.

“Of course, this one knows that. Chironnup was referring to you two specifically.” Chironnup’s excited tone changed to one of calmness, “Just how Chironnup also understands Ghost’s position.”

The two snapped to attention. “H-How do you know of the nickname I gave him?”

“What? Thought he was only able to see memories?” There seemed to be a sly grin as it giggled mischievously, despite its mouth not having moved once other than to make noises typical of a fox, “This one can do it, too. It’s not just something limited to him.”

The two exchanged looks before addressing the fox again, namely Subaru. “O-okay. So, do you know why Ghost’s here to begin with?”

“Ah,” The fox sounded disheartened, “So he did a number on you…this one is sorry about that.”

Ghost tilted his head in confusion. Chironnup’s ears aimed directly towards him, its grey eyes piercing. “Don’t you find it odd certain memories you remember? Or that certain memories are vague? Or that what you should know you seem to not?”

His memories are affected. And this fox knows exactly who he is and what had happened to him for him to wind up here? But why isn’t he spelling it out for him?

Subaru spoke for Ghost after they shared a stunned look, “Are you saying that entity is messing with his memories?”

“Yes.”

“…Why?”

“For his goal.”

“…What is the goal? World domination? Destruction?”

The fox seemed startled by the last word, though it was oddly calm in its explanation. “Oh, no! He wouldn’t want that! He may be an evil spirit, but he doesn’t want to destroy the world…and less so dominate it. More like subjugate.”

Subaru raised an eyebrow at Ghost, to which the other shrugged. “What is it wanting to subjugate for?”

“Your world is not the primary concern, for him, at least for the moment.” Chironnup held an even tone, “This one can tell that he wants to restructure the faith we belong to. Starting with reorganizing the power structure of all the Kamuy.”

“The…what?”

“The Kamuy!” Chironnup sounded dumbfounded, “You know? The thing that this one is? A spirit? Specifically, he wants to reorganize the pantheon of the gods. By doing so, he can then have enough power to come after your world and other spaces, to reestablish our faith in your world.”

“What do you mean by other spaces? And reestablish? Is your religion dying?” Subaru grew curious.

“This ‘liminal space’, as you humans are calling it, is the spirit realm of the Ainu faith, of which this one and he belongs to. There is more than one of these spaces. One for the Shinto kami, one for the faith Kazehaya Tatsumi belongs to, and so on. But yes…our people used to worship us for so long before they were forced to give it up, to assimilate or convert to Shintoism. As such, our faith is on the verge of vanishing.” Chironnup bobbed its head gently as it spoke, “Honestly? It was purely by chance that Switch found this space and not another one, as the veil between the living world and the various spirit worlds, as well as in between each spirit realm, is quite thin.”

“So, who is this guy, the entity?” Subaru sounded desperate.

The fox remained silent. It slowly panned its head left and right then all around the small cavern before leaning in close with a whisper. “This one will only say his proper name once. Whatever you do, do not shorten it, and try not to say it often.”

“Why?” Subaru returned the whisper.

Ghost tapped his shoulder and wrote on the whiteboard he resummoned. It read “to summon”.

“Exactly as your friend wrote,” Chironnup continued to whisper, “Saying his name without the proper respect can gain his ire, and this one doesn’t want to risk saying his name too often in case he thinks someone is summoning him. We don’t want him knowing you two have met Chironnup.”

The fox took another look around before leaning in further, nose almost touching the pool. “…His name is Pauchi-Kamuy.”

“Is…he a god? Or a spirit?” Subaru continued to whisper.

Chironnup sat back up, tone returning to a normal volume. “Technically, all gods are spirits, thus Kamuy is like a blanket term. But yes, he is a god. Specifically of insanity and chaos.”

The ginger-haired teen sighed tiredly. “Sounds exactly like what we’ve been dealing with.”

“This one is sorry,” Its ears drooped sadly, “This one failed their duty to keep him locked up. Chironnup is greatly upset that you all are going through this.”

“…What do you mean that you ‘failed’?”

The fox looked forlornly into the pool. “It’s a long story…”

~*~

Hiyori gripped the book hard and tucked it as best as he could into his pants pocket. It had to hold the key to this mystery, and he would be damned if he let this slip away. He turned to face the door, still hearing the demonic gurgling of the Tiger-Shadow outside.

Kanata-kun, Wataru-kun…I hope you’re both nearby…

With what strength he could muster and brace himself with, especially knowing the pain his side was in, he bolted out of the reference room.

~*~

Chironnup took a deep breath before he began to recount what had transpired on their end. “In our faith, the world was formed partially on the orders of Kando-koro-Kamuy, the sky god, by Moshir-kara-Kamuy. From then on, the real Great Kamuy, Kotan-kar-Kamuy, structured the world according to how our people understood it. He created both the good and the kunne – evil – kamuy to form the world and create order and balance. However, he never set up who was in charge after returning to Kamui-Kando, the highest heavens. Thus, both the kunne and good Kamuy started warring with each other. It was so bad they decided it would be settled with a bet: whoever’s faction saw the rising sun first would rule the world. They all sat there, so tensely, just waiting for the sun on the horizon…”

Subaru sensed the fox was hesitant as if it was deciding on whether it should admit its guilt or not. “What happened?”

“…This one didn’t care for being a Kamuy in the beginning. Even if this one specifically was created by Kotan-kar-Kamuy to be the force of positive change in the world, often challenging authority for the betterment of all creatures and the world he created simply by being a trickster…this one didn’t take that role seriously. This one was fine hanging out with the other Chironnup-Kamuys, with not a care in the world…”

“Other Chironnup-Kamuys?”

The fox nodded. “Chironnup-Kamuy translates to Fox Spirit in your language. Really, the faith we belong to implies that there are several of the same spirits, save for some obvious ones like…Pauchi-Kamuy. The difference between this one and them is that this one is the one first created, and thus has the right to be called a deity…But…this one was upset that everyone hated each other so much…this one just wanted to make others laugh. This one thought breaking the tension was the best thing to do…so this one tricked everyone into looking in the wrong direction when the sun was beginning to rise.”

“So…the world was never directly ruled by either of the two factions?”

“…No…it went to the good kamuy…because this one was ordained a good kamuy by the Creator…and this one so happened to be the only one who saw the sun rise…this one didn’t mean to…” The fox’s ears drooped considerably and its tail stilled.

“But, that means the good kamuy are in control. That’s a good thing, right?” Subaru pleaded quietly as if reassuring a friend in sorrow.

“Yes…it’s more of what happened after that. The kunne kamuy were banished to Teinei-Pokna-Moshiri, the deepest parts of the Underworld, including him. After all that, the Creator tasked this one to watch over and make sure no one left that place. This one was the jailor, so to speak.”

“But I’m sure you’re friends with several, if not all, of the good kamuy?”

“…It’s complicated…” Chironnup refused to look into their eyes, “Because this one also tricked them and nearly cost the world…they were still very mad…most just tolerate this one’s existence. Sometimes call this one a nuisance, especially when this one tries to liven up festivals, or sometimes they are still outright hostile. Hasinaw-uk-Kamuy, the goddess of hunting, is particularly…unusual with this one. This one doesn’t know if she will tolerate this one or roast him over the fire for lunch whenever we are near each other…There’s really only a small handful that doesn’t mind this one.”

Ghost tapped on the whiteboard to grab the fox’s attention, writing “foxes”. Chironnup looked away sadly. “Because this one is now a god and not a simple spirit…the other foxes treat this one weirdly, like not letting this one play with them or looking at this one strangely when this one pulls a prank like this one is supposed to be above that given his important roles…It’s…lonely…this one…is lonely…most times…”

~*~

Hiyori bolted as quickly as he could through the wooden shelves that remained standing. The shadow appeared to realize its prey wasn’t as mobile as it once was, and seemingly slowed its own pace as if savoring the torment it was inflicting.

With blurring vision, Hiyori rounded a corner, mistaking his current position for somewhere further along, before realizing too late that he had boxed himself into a dead-end. He turned around, not having found the metal pole or the drill in his hobbling movements. The shadow watched from the only entrance with a blank, cold expression before taking a step toward him.

~*~

“…That’s why Chironnup often left his post to go to the human realm. Humans provided better company more often than not.”

“You left your post? As in you left this spirit unguarded?” Subaru’s blue eyes widened a tinge as he felt his fingers tighten their hold on his pants.

“More like the whole of Teinei-Pokna-Moshiri…” The fox was downcast, refusing to meet their eyes.

“…But it wasn’t like you left only once, correct? So, did they just finally realize you were missing one time?”

“This one was more like the final defense if they did break down the barriers or try to leave…this one was far too confident in the other fail-safes,” The fox glanced at the pool, seemingly lost in thought, “Around 16 or 17 years ago, during a trip Chironnup made to the human world…he came across this small village. This one could tell that time and the Japanese had not been kind to them, especially in how their faith was…different, to say the least.”

“Different how?”

“More like a hybrid between the original Ainu faith and Shintoism. There was a martial art now taught there, some sort of boxing art called ‘Amaterasu Omikami Punch’, or something like that. Amaterasu is the Shinto kami of the sun and is quite powerful. But…a bit of our faith remained, especially the belief in the various kamuy and paying respects. This one came in the middle of a bad winter storm one day…and this one heard a villager call out to Chironnup for help…for anyone to lend aid.”

“What were they asking for?”

“…It was a little boy…maybe no more than…4 or 5 years old? He was asking for help to heal his little brother who was just born shortly before this one came along. His mother was beside herself when none of the usual healing methods were working, as she was also ailing, and his father thought the baby was simply too weak to survive…But the little boy wanted his little brother to live…even offered up what little his child-mind thought would serve as good offerings, even if they weren’t much.” Chironnup appeared to be more wistful and nostalgic as if the memory was bitter-sweet, “Chironnup was very touched at how far the little one was willing to go to save his little brother and by how much he loved him, despite only knowing him for a week or so at most.”

“So you helped?”

“Of course! This one even forewent accepting the offerings and did it for free, essentially!”

“Do the offerings count as compensation?” The ginger idol raised an eyebrow before looking at Ghost, also receiving a confused head tilt.

“Humans believe offerings are like enticements or compensation for the kamuy to intervene on their behalf or to keep ill-intentioned kamuy at bay or to stop harassing them. However, from how this one understood it from seeing how it affected other kamuy, it seems like offerings are more like extra energy that we would use to intervene, as sapping our actual energy takes both a toll on us and takes longer to recover. Thus the more or better offerings are made, the more power humans are giving us kamuy to work with aside from our own energy. This is similar for the kunne kamuy who are yearning for power, so the offerings supply it without them having to lift a finger or cause havoc,” The fox explained.

“Oh…that makes sense…” The ginger-haired teen trailed off momentarily, “…So…by refusing to accept the offerings, you intervened with your own power?”

Light grey eyes broke contact with blue to stare at the rocky bottom of the small pool. “Yes…this one stayed in the mortal realm for 3 straight days, curling up with the babe and using his power to strengthen his constitution.”

“3 days…? As in 3 days straight of using your power?” Subaru was astounded.

The fox nodded solemnly, “In our heyday, 3 days straight of using our own power was still considered a lengthy amount, but was doable. Now…even the strongest kamuy would be hesitant to use any of their own power reserves for even a few hours.”

“You…you must have been really tired after that.”

“Very weak, too…” Chironnup slowly began pushing little pebbles into the pool, watching the ripples fade before pushing in another, “The baby lived…and this one remembers the little boy coming back to offer prayers of thanks, even giving more offerings just to show more appreciation despite Chironnup refusing to take any of them…but when this one returned to our realm…several of the great kamuy were there and were greatly angry that this one was absent.”

“Did they find out about the baby?”

“Yes…This one couldn’t lie about that…What was truly strange was that Pauchi-Kamuy lied and said he tricked this one into leaving.”

“Huh?” Subaru blinked rapidly.

“That's what Chironnup thought!” The fox began kneading the ground, “As much as we are rivals and don’t like each other, this one was greatly confused as to why he would have his back. Kotan-kar-Kamuy was gracious enough to forgive Chironnup for leaving because he believed in his lies…but, this one was still punished.”

“How? If that’s okay to ask!”

“Chironnup was forced to wipe the memories of the village that this one ever came, alter them, too, if wiping was not possible. The little boy doesn’t remember this one, and the babe was too young to even begin forming memories…But Chironnup still watches over the two, from time to time, even when things started going wrong in our realm. This one is very proud of them, despite their rough patch this past summer.”

“…Wait…” Subaru leaned back as one could perceive the cogs clicking into place, “…I know those two you’re talking about…don’t I?”

The fox’s tail slowly swished back and forth. “Yes. You do. They are leaders of two new idol units in your company.”

Amagi-senpai and Hiiro!? This fox saved Hiiro’s life!? That’s why the second entity was so weak when the tear happened a week ago?

“Yes. This one did save Amagi Hiiro,” It was as if the fox read his mind, which it probably did if it was truthful about seeing into memories, “But Amagi Rinne doesn’t know that this one did intervene, much less recall ever praying to him or any kamuy to begin with…Probably for the better. This one wouldn’t want him to learn their identities. If he does, he would harass those two even more than he is now, this one bets.”

The idea that both of the Amagi brothers were walking a very dangerous line did not sit well with the shining star of Trickstar. He needed to know more about what happened that caused all of this. Maybe it would save them and everyone else. “When you returned from saving Hiiro…Was that when…he escaped?”

“Oddly…no,” The fox turned back to Subaru, an unknown emotion emanating from the spirit creature, “He was waiting right at the edge, just before he would have to face Chironnup…It was like he was waiting for this one to show up before he asked the rest of the kamuy to listen to a finding of his…”

“He was trying to get everyone’s attention? For what?”

Ghost tapped his shoulder before writing “artifacts” on the whiteboard. “…Wouldn’t those artifacts be something you were all familiar with, though?”

Subaru was not prepared for what the fox was about to reveal. “That’s the thing. Those artifacts you are all talking about and what he wants back were never Ainu to begin with. Even we kamuy don’t know where they came from or how they got here. They just showed up one day in Teinei-Pokna-Moshiri, and Pauchi-Kamuy could sense something was off about them, so he asked the rest of us for help in identifying them. He believed this one would be best to keep an eye on them, which is why this corded collar was made. These beads are the original housing vessels of those gems. Shortly after that was when things truly started going downhill. Had this one retained his strength instead of using most of it to save the child, perhaps Chironnup could have done something to stop it.”

~*~

Wataru was the first to burst into the library. “SUN-SAN!”

The shadow creature turned around at the sound of the intruder, seemingly confused as to where the other man came from. Hiyori brightened as he could feel hope fill his being.

Kanata came barreling in shortly after, wasting no time in tossing a chair at the creature. It was too slow, or rather, too occupied with a surprise second individual to block the incoming chair, wincing a moment before roaring in agitation, fully turning towards the duo.

All three froze upon hearing Chikap-Kamuy speak, the yellow gem from his brooch glowing brightly.

Thou shall not lay a hand upon these mortals, foul demon! Hibiki Wataru! Repeat after me! ‘In the name of Kotan-kar-Kamuy, I summon his right hand to rebalance the scales! Chikap-Kamuy!’

His voice was immediately followed by Repun-Kamuy, which all three could hear, as well as see the blue gem in the pin glow immensely.

Finally! It’s show time! Shinkai Kanata, say what I say! ‘In the name of Kotan-kar-Kamuy, I summon the sea to sweep away evil! Repun-Kamuy!’

Then a third light, just beside Hiyori, began to form, as if it was a tear in a piece of fabric. A familiar, young, feminine voice emanated from it.

Tomoe Hiyori! Repeat after me! ‘Let the sun burn away the shadows! In the name of Kotan-kar-Kamuy, I summon thee, Tokapcup-Kamuy!’

~*~

“So, were those artifacts corrupting or something? Or were they just capable of so much that he wanted them for himself?”

The fox tilted its head ever so slightly, “Those artifacts are really just gems that hold bundles of energy. Each one pertains to specific emotions and actions of humankind, as well as their counterparts, and are thusly powered by them. There’s red which is powered by love and hate, orange with hope and despair, yellow with happiness and frustration, green with trust and deceit, blue with surprise and sadness, and purple with fear and courage. Of course, human actions and emotions are rarely influenced by or fall into just one category, so certain actions and emotions can overlap and charge more than one of them at a time based on the circumstances.”

“All of humanity influences them?”

“…Perhaps…? We only experimented and kept track of how it was influenced by the villages that still believed in us over the past 16 or so years. It wasn’t until Switch opened a tear to our realm and he and this one escaped that Chironnup figured out these were also affected by those in ES, and not just those who believe in us. It’s another reason that made many of us believe these gems were not Ainu in origin. When they’re charged, their power can be used for practically anything, so they are more like spiritual power reserves that recharge over time so long as they are in contact with humanity. This one…also believed they could house deities and other entities for quicker recharges…”

He could feel a weird pit begin to form in his stomach. “…Are there other kamuy inside those gems? Is that why he wants them back?”

The fox was too quiet for a long moment. “…Pauchi-Kamuy started acting very strange about 2 or so years ago…like, worse than a typical god of insanity and chaos would be…He started obsessing over how our faith was dying and there were fewer and fewer people who believed in us…Somehow, he got it into his head that he could use those gems to restructure the faith and bring about a new era for us. No one understood how he started getting more and more powerful until he was nearly out of Teinei-Pokna-Moshiri and started waging war with us again. Since this one was still greatly weakened from the incident 16 years ago and Kotan-kar-Kamuy had fallen back into slumber, we were on the back foot. Our realm started deteriorating from lush forests to what you all see right now as shapes of white and grey…and this one resorted to saving as many kamuy as he could from getting captured by him and the other kunne kamuy…by putting as many as he could into those gems and sending them to the human realm to hopefully gain enough power from humanity to fight back, but not everyone was able to fit in them. It was about that time Chironnup was going to hide the gems when Switch opened the tear…thus Chironnup hid them in ES with the instructions to only reveal themselves when they found suitable holders to help us rebalance our world…except Pauchi-Kamuy then started attacking all of you. Now it’s not just our realm that is in danger, and this one believes your world and other spaces are in jeopardy as he will keep craving to unleash more and more chaos until there will be nothing left, and even he will be unable to stop himself if he does realize where his actions are going to lead. But he can’t destroy this realm until he has those gems to move on to other realms and your world completely.”

~*~

All three idols shouted their phrases before a bright light and burst of wind enveloped the room, blinding all. When the light subsided, there were three, floating, slightly transparent humans, one beside each of the idols. The one by Wataru spoke like the voice of Chikap-Kamuy, “Now then, thou shall get a taste of the true power of the kamuy!”

The one by Kanata sounded like the one who called themselves Repun-Kamuy. “Haha! Even if yer just a simple demon spirit, I won’t hold back! Harming humans is a big no-no for me!”

The third one was a young woman looking no more than possibly 19 who must be the Tokapcup-Kamuy that had spoken to Hiyori just over an hour or two ago. “I’m sorry we could not intervene sooner, but I will not allow any more harm to befall you or anyone else!”

Each summoned their own weapons for the idols to take hold of; Wataru had a spear akin to an Awl Pike, or Ahlspiess, Kanta had a harpoon with a polished, wooden handle depicting orcas and waves, while Hiyori was given an odd, circular, golden shield that began rotating around on its own and had no handle to hold onto, opting to float and follow his movements. Chikap-Kamuy commanded, “Do not worry about training! We kamuy shall lend our aid to help guide thee in battle!”

The shadow roared and leaped toward the duo. Tokapcup-Kamuy began generating power that fed into the shield, “Just get in front of your friends! I’ll handle the rest!”

Hiyori dashed in front of the others and held the shield out. Tokapcup-Kamuy’s power made the shield spin faster until fiery spikes formed around it and began slashing at the shadow, ripping part of it open as it reared back. Repun-Kamuy guided Kanata into summoning ocean water to whip the creature back before launching the harpoon. It pierced its side and was resummoned back into Kanata’s hands by the kamuy’s will. Chikap instructed Wataru to let loose more pigeons and doves to distract the creature until he could ready a strike with his long-bladed spear, spinning around and slashing the creature before finally impaling it with a simple thrust. With so much happening at once, the shadow could barely put up a fight and began to disintegrate in front of the trio, leaving nothing behind other than the physical destruction it wrought.

The trio knelt on the floor, catching their breaths before finally getting a good look at just what they summoned. Chikap-Kamuy had caramel beige skin with black, wavy hair that went down to his mid back and sported a curly, full garibaldi beard. His left eye was silver while the right one was golden in color. His robe, which looked like an oversized, long-sleeved shirt, reached his knees and was an olive-green color with black and white braided patterns around the cuffs, hem, and neckline with dark green accents. His pants were poofy and cream-colored with simple black shoes. From his dark green belt hung a talisman in the shape of a Horned Owl.

Repun-Kamuy looked like a young, fairly athletic-looking man with golden bronze skin. His hair was dark brown and short and curly while his eyes were like aquamarine gems. He sported a similar-looking robe only in dark blue with red and white patterned accents in the same spots, though the patterns appeared different from those on Chikap-Kamuy, imitating waves. While his black pants rolled halfway up his shins and sandals made him look otherwise casual, he sported an off-white, open jacket that reached his ankles with similar black patterns around the cuffs and hem that worked their way up the sides of the opening and around the neckline. Unlike Chikap-Kamuy, he also sported simple, small silver hoop earrings with small black resin balls that dangled from them.

Tokapcup-Kamuy was a young, petite, and short woman with chin-length wavy black hair with equally wavy bangs, similar to that of Hiyori. Her eyes were a sunny gold, which brought a similar warmth to that of her warm beige skin. She wore a white dress that cut off at the knees with no pants and yellow shoes, though the dress was of a similar fashion to the robes of the men. Around the cuffs, hem, and neckline were black patterns, also not quite the same as the others, with yellow accents directly on the hem and neckline. She had a white cloth wrapped around her head with the same black patterns that was partially obscured by her bangs, as well as a black, cloth choker with golden embroidered patterns and a metal pendant in the shape of the sun dangling from it.

The female crouched to look at Hiyori’s side better, though she was still floating, concern etched into her facial features. “Let me help with that, at least a little.”

She held her hands out and hovered them over his bleeding side before closing her eyes. Warm, golden light shined from her outstretched palms and gently laid over the wound. Hiyori honestly felt nothing but a pleasant warmth, like that of warm food heating the body on a cold day. However, it only lasted a moment before the young girl winced and let out a pained whimper. She clutched herself as she began panting, the light now ceasing.

Repun floated over to her and patted her back in worry. “Easy, Tokapcup! I know ya wanna help, but don’t overdo it. We don’t know how long it has been since ya were captured an’ all, so take it easy fer a moment.”

“Agreed,” Chikap’s stern gaze softened greatly at the young girl, “Though thou is greatly affected by seeing suffering, thou must remember we are not as powerful as we once were. A simple heal takes far more of our power and strength now than it did before. Especially after that demon has now altered so much of our realm…Though, that begs the question as to how thou managed to escape since thou was not placed in one of these vessels.”

Hiyori glanced down at his side and was stunned to see the gaping wound was now much smaller than before. Still quite noticeable and bleeding a good amount, probably still needed stitches, but nowhere near as life-threatening as it was before. “I…thank you?”

The three spirits whirled around as if they had forgotten they were in the presence of three humans who could very much hear and see them. Tokapcup looked up and warm gold met violet, a small smile gracing her face despite the tears in the corners of her eyes. “I’m just happy that we could help you in time…Sorry I wasn’t able to heal you completely…I don’t have all of my strength and I don’t want to risk fading away if I use too much.”

Still too stunned by what had transpired, much less trying to comprehend what was now before him, Hiyori could only respond with, “Well…it’s probably better this way…it might be hard to explain…all of this to anyone.”

“Ah, right,” Chikap narrowed his eyes as he evaluated each of the idols, “I suppose some explanations are due. But first, understand that since thee have been touched by the kamuy and have been chosen as the holders of our powers and essence, no one else besides others also touched by kamuy will be able to see or hear us.”

Wataru and Kanata stared blankly at the tall man in front of them. Hiyori pulled out the leather-bound book and waved it at the spirit trio. “Are you three…kamuy? Like what this book had depicted?”

“May I see that?” Tokapcup asked before gingerly taking the book from the off-green blond and skimmed through it, “Hmm, for some reason, the writer sounds familiar…if only any of us knew how to write…but yes. Each of us is a special kind of kamuy. Gods and deities if you will.”

“Do you ‘gods’ not ‘know’ how to write?” Kanata pondered aloud.

“What is with that way of speech…?” Chikap seemed slightly irritated but mostly dumbfounded.

Repun cackled, “Like yer any better, Chika!~”

“Do not call me that!” Chikap roared. He sounded greatly intimidating to the idols, but it seemed Repun was unaffected.

“Sure, Chicky. That’s just a weird speakin’ quirk with Japanese when they swap from kanji ta hiragana.” Repun waved away the fuming kamuy.

“A-Anyways…?” Wataru seemed at a loss, “So…you’re all gods? From…?”

“They’re Ainu gods,” Hiyori explained.

“To be specific,” Chikap tucked a few loose strands back in place behind his ear, “I am Chikap-Kamuy, god of owls, leadership, success, and the overseer of the land, humanity, and kamuy. I serve as the right hand to our supreme Creator, Kotan-kar-Kamuy.”

“Yeah, yeah. We know ya like him so much tha’ yer other name is almost identical ta his, Kotan-kor-Kamuy.” Repun teased as he stuck out his tongue.

The owl deity looked like he had his feathers ruffled. “Grr! And this is why I am entrusted with overseeing and keeping humans and kamuy in line and not thou, salty brat!”

“Uh-huh, sure thing. If yer so good at keepin’ everyone in line, then all of this wouldn’t be happenin’,” Repun waved him off before doing a cartwheel, despite being a good foot or so off the ground, “I am ta’ sea god, Repun-Kamuy! I control ta’ sea, sea life, an’ ma specialty are orcas! Fer ta’ sake o’ brevity, y’all can just call me Repun fer short!”

“…I suppose thee can just refer to me as Chikap…but don’t use it often. It is far more respectable to use my full name.” The owl god simply crossed his arms, looking slightly comical as he leaned against a bookshelf despite floating.

The woman seemed a touch shy before beaming as bright as the sun on a summer’s day. “I’m Tokapcup-Kamuy, goddess of the sun.”

“…Huh,” Wataru hummed, “Considering how much the other two have on their plates of responsibilities, it feels odd that you have only one role.”

“…That’s because…well, I’m more of a…neutral kamuy technically.” Her bright demeanor vanished as she became a touch shy.

“Neutral how?” Hiyori grew wary.

“As in, my role is fairly out of the way and not as proactive as, say, these two. I watch over the world during the day but don’t really interfere that much in human affairs. I’m more of a constant rather than a force to sway. Much like the moon god and sky god.” Tokapcup handed the book back to Hiyori after bending a corner of a page that marked the entry that talked about her.

“Indeed, though the celestial gods have great powers, they are much more keen to do the behind-the-scenes work or to watch from afar since they were some of the very first kamuy made by our Creator. No offense, Tokapcup-Kamuy.” Chikap began explaining before waving his hands frantically and bowing to the young woman.

“None taken. That’s just how it works in our faith. The celestial regions and realms are more of a constant and naturally hold a distance to the world.”

“Where did you get that book, Sun-san? I’ve never seen anything like it in this library.” Wataru gestured to the item.

“It was in one of the reference rooms when I was trapped. It seemed oddly out of place there, too.” Hiyori flipped through a few pages absentmindedly.

“Does this have to do with the ‘entity’ that’s been ‘trying’ to kill us?” Kanata drawled.

“Oddly relaxed, given the circumstances…” Chikap muttered aloud more to himself while Repun seemed quite pleased to see the other god become puzzled.

“If this entry is right, then yes.” Hiyori showed the Pauchi-Kamuy entry to the other two.

“It’s right. It’s him.” Tokapcup muttered bitterly, “He’s gone mad and started waring and capturing the other kamuy. The gems in those pins of yours were meant to temporarily house a few of us so that we could escape, regain our strength, and turn the tides in our realm.”

“…Except, they said you were never in one of those and were captured…so how did you get here?” Hiyori asked.

She smirked, a mischievous, playful glint twinkling in her eyes, “I’m the sun goddess. No matter how thick the darkness, light will always shine through, even if only through a pinprick. I simply found a weakness in his magic and barriers and then found a weakness in the realm veil between our realm and your world. However, that was challenging, which is why Chironnup gave me some of his power to contact someone who would be a sufficient holder for me to regain my strength in this world. That being you, so I do owe a bit of the work to you for helping me find the weakest portions to break through.”

“Chiron…nup?” Wataru and Kanata pronounced slowly.

“The one who sent those visions.” She clarified.

“So he’s looking for these – I’m assuming these are the artifacts he was referring to – because he found out a few of you escaped?” Wataru eyed the brooch. This would definitely explain why the brooch seemed to always reattach itself to his jacket.

“It’s more so the gems themselves, though I wouldn’t doubt he would want to make sure none of us can foil his plans,” Chikap blew a strand of hair out of his face, “They are like vessels that hold spiritual energy that can be used for nearly anything one can think of. He probably wants them to complete his full takeover and destruction of our realm before coming to your world and other realms.”

“Other realms?” The three idols were slowly getting overwhelmed.

“Tha’ liminal space y’all call it was our realm,” Repun’s tone grew much quieter than his usual loud, cheery voice so far, “It was just like yer world with ta’ sea, forests, villages an’ such…it was beautiful. It was our home…but his want fer chaos an’ his conquest have eaten away at it ta what it looks like now. With ta’ other kamuy captured an’ ta’ rest of us out here, ta’ realm has begun to break down. If we can contain him an’ send him back ta Teinei-Pokna-Moshiri where he belongs, we might be able ta start rebuilding, an’ all of ya will be left in peace.”

“Amazing!~” Wataru’s tonal change startled the three kamuy, “So we are natural allies then!”

Chikap let out a gruff sounding chortle. “Indeed. It is time we all ban together and drive this foul demon back to the deepest pits of hell where he belongs and-”

“Chicky-chicky-bang-bang?” Repun cooed as he waved a hand in front of the much taller kamuy, “Don’t make them fall asleep with yer long speeches!”

“Urgh!” The owl god seemed about ready to set loose one of his owls upon the shorter kamuy.

Tokapcup sighed, not feeling up to mediating the two kamuy who were supposed to be more responsible given their workload, “Regardless, Chironnup mentioned that we need to be careful about announcing that we are free. We don’t want to gain his ire before we are ready. I’m sorry, you three, but we’ll have to keep our meeting quiet other than with others who will also become holders of some of the other kamuy.”

~*~

A rumble shook the cavern, breaking the conversation between the three of them. The fox stiffened and sniffed the air, “This one apologizes, but we must cut this conversation short. We might get interrupted soon. Ghost, come here a second.”

The fox pointed to the edge of the invisible wall that went over the pool with his snout. “Tuck your hand under the wall through the pond to Chironnup’s side.”

Ghost appeared hesitant before gingerly sticking his hand into the cold water, arching it to have his palm facing up and his fingers sticking out of the water on the other side. Subaru looked surprised, “There’s a hole in the wall?”

“Trust this one,” The fox visibly rolled his eyes, “If there was a big enough hole for this one to crawl through and escape, he would have done so by now. However, when Pauchi-Kamuy set up the wall, he didn’t realize he left a loophole in the ward that meant it can’t go through water, thus, Chironnup’s power can reach you all still because it goes over this shallow portion of the water pool.”

The fox god was just about to touch Ghost’s finger with his nose before he muttered, “This one can see the hexes you are plagued with…and this one wants to help you all…including you. Chironnup will use a little of his conserved power to break the one preventing you from speaking. The rest will be up to you two to figure out how to break, as this one needs to focus on your friends and try to keep them alive as much as possible.”

Once the fox touched Ghost’s hand, a slightly golden-orange light shined before disappearing. The kamuy looked up at Ghost in a silent question before Ghost attempted to speak, his voice coming out gruff and hoarse as if it were being filtered. “Th..ank…you…”

The fox seemingly smiled before making a few small cackles. “This one sees…he made you use a voice modulator of some sort, just in case that hex was to break…sneaky. Though, the raspiness will subside. That happens when a hex is removed. Takes a minute for the voice to go back to normal.”

Subaru looked away a moment. So…this kamuy has to be hiding Ghost’s real identity for a reason. Maybe one of us does know him…

“Akehoshi Subaru,” The fox called him, startling the idol out of his thoughts, “You, too. Stick your hand in for a moment.”

Subaru mimicked what Ghost did, shivering at how cold the water was before Chironnup touched his hand. After the light faded, he pulled his hand out before noticing a faint marking on the back of his hand that looked vaguely like a fox face. “This one knows to keep this mark faint to avoid detection, but its power will be the same. Use this to come back here quickly in the future when Chironnup calls for you. You can bring Ghost with you so long as he holds onto you once you recite ‘Bring me to my summoner to answer the call’…or anyone else for that matter. Chironnup can also send you back out of here with that mark. This one is going to rely on you two to help figure this all out.”

“What about the others? I’m sure they can-”

“No,” Chironnup sounded stern, tone growing deep, “Chironnup apologizes, but the fewer people who know where this one is or of the aid this one is giving you, the better. Loose lips sink ships and all that. Right now, you’re kind of the only one who isn’t a hothead out of your crew. It’s already a dangerous idea having both of you aware of this, but this one needs both of you to know. The best way to start taking the fight back is to find several of the missing kamuy who have yet to be captured and have your friends become their holders.”

“Their what?”

“Holders. The kamuy will lend their respective holder their power to aid them. Once we find all the ones who are missing and get in contact with those that he sent out there in those gems, Chironnup has an idea of what universe we can then use to finally send Pauchi-Kamuy back into imprisonment. Once people have become holders, then we can start cluing them into what the big plan is.”

“But…” Ghost whispered, “He’s…my friend…he…”

“Saved you? This one knows that,” The black fox sat back and kept eye contact with the masked man, “This one saw Poro-nitne-Kamuy alert him to what had transpired that led you here in the first place.”

“You…know who Ghost is? And why he’s here?” Subaru looked between the two of them.

“…Why…?” Ghost rasped.

“Why is this one not telling anything about it?” The fox tilted its head, “Because that is not Chironnup’s place. If this one were to reveal that too soon, that partial link Pauchi-Kamuy set up would be for not.”

The fox used his paw to point to Ghost’s clothed left wrist. Ghost slowly parted the cloth and gloves to reveal pale skin and a rotating, shadowy braided pattern wrapping around his wrist. Subaru looked at the weird shadow bracelet, “A partial link?”

“Links are very rare for a kamuy to form with a mortal. While being a holder is temporary in that once the mutual goal is met, the two beings separate and return to their normal states. A fully established link means the human can traverse both our realm and the mortal world at will regardless of how strong the veil barrier is and allows for the associated kamuy to take control of the human in either world. A link makes it so that the human will constantly keep and wield the power of the associated kamuy until either they expire or something occurs for the link to break. This is only possible because the kamuy and the human are directly linked by shared energy and life force; in essence, the kamuy use part of their life force to give directly to the human…A partial link is essentially that, the bare basis for the start of a link.” The fox kept staring at the shadowy link.

“Are you saying this partial link is keeping Ghost alive?”

“Yes.”

Ghost and Subaru both looked at each other in shock. Ghost seemed particularly disturbed, “He…never said…he…he told me…he saved me…not that…he was…keeping me alive.”

Chironnup grew pensive. “Hm…Seems even he is capable of some compassion…He probably realized the trauma and reality of the situation would be too great for your soul, or subconscious whatever you want to call it. It serves the same purpose. If you suffer too much of a mental break, that partial link will collapse and you will be sent back to your body in that world…but even this one can tell that without his link, you will not last long in the human world. Though why he wants to keep you alive…maybe it’s for getting to your world at some point once he establishes a full link.”

“I-If he has someone out there with a full link-” Subaru realized the horror of the situation.

“It doesn’t matter if he is imprisoned or not. He will bust out time and again so long as he has someone with a fully established link. Then the only way to send him back would be to eliminate the human portion of the link.” The fox finished his thought.

“But…” Ghost’s voice slowly started to grow stronger as the voice modulator made it go lower, “Sometimes he…when he isn’t all there…he builds up the link. But when he is normal he starts to undo it back to just this…like he didn’t remember doing it and doesn’t want it to fully establish.”

“Normal? Not all there? Undoing a link?” Chironnup tilted his head back and forth with each question, “…This is exactly why Chironnup needs the both of you in on this. Akehoshi and Ghost, both of you need to work together to get to the bottom of this while this one helps the others eventually find the other kamuy who haven’t been captured yet. Ghost, Pauchi-Kamuy clearly has a soft spot for you, we need to know what is going on at his end to get the whole picture. This one has a sneaking suspicion that this isn’t purely just a situation where an evil spirit rises and wants to destroy everything and cause chaos and misery to all. This one also thinks he was right to suspect the gems in the beginning. Ever since they arrived it has been one issue after another.”

“Couldn’t you just see into his memories?” Subaru gestured upwards for lack of having a physical rendition of the other kamuy, “Or even Ghost’s?”

“When a link is made, it is forbidden for another kamuy to encroach. Nothing necessarily stops us from replacing links with our own, but it gets more difficult when it is a fully established link. It’s like stealing. Not only that, but even a partial link makes the human become more aware of a kamuy’s presence. This one can access a regular human’s memory and they will be none the wiser. This one tries that on Ghost, Ghost will feel it, and it will hurt, as well as alert his linked kamuy to what’s going on. Not only that, but kamuy can’t access another kamuy’s memory for the same reason. We feel it, it hurts, and we don’t like it. Thus, no one does that, even for him that would be crossing the line. It’s impossible for Chironnup to access either of their memories without alerting him to what is going on.” Chironnup shook his head like he was reprimanding a child.

Another rumble, louder this time, shook the cavern.

“You two must go. Please. Stay safe and stay strong. We will figure this out.”

The fox lifted his head and tail, summoning a bright light that blinded the duo. When the light subsided, they were back at the dead-end of the dungeon.

“Woah…”

“Huh, I’ve seen evil spirits use their powers, but that was truly something,” Ghost warbled.

A distant screech of something inhuman caught their attention. Ghost grabbed the other’s wrist, “Come. You need to go back.”

“Wh-what!? After all that, you’re just going to put me back in a cell!?”

Ghost yanked him close, the ginger-idol’s nose just barely brushing the mask. “If you want to keep this all quiet, yes. An idol can act. This will be no different.”

Subaru nodded slowly before allowing himself to be escorted.

~*~

By the time he had returned Akehoshi Subaru back to his cell and made a few more rounds in No Man’s Land, as he likes to call the barren wasteland of white and grey, in an attempt to find a few of the other idols who were left behind, Ghost was thoroughly exhausted. That was the very first universe he had ever jumped into, and Pauchi was not joking when he said it might be draining. Maybe a quick break in his room will help recharge him.

He had just gotten back when he was greeted by a familiar shadow with glowing yellow eyes and various colors flowing around him. The voice was one he had long since come to know as Pauchi’s true voice. Not the pretentious one that he uses when talking to those idols. Not the insane one when he gives in to his nature too hard. This one was gruff, raspy, but above all, slightly warm.

“Ah, I was wondering when you would return. You must be tired. I apologize for having to call you in so soon, but I truly did not expect that particular idol to be such a nuisance.”

Ghost stepped behind a screen and began taking off his mask and attire before changing into a more lax set of clothes consisting of grey sweatpants and a plain white shirt. He ran a hand through his powder blue hair before stretching his back. “You weren’t joking when you said jumping universes would be draining. Also, that guy was such an asshole! I was so wanting to cuss him out whenever he glared at me.”

He flopped onto his bed face first, the super fluffy and soft blankets and pillows giving at the weight. Pauchi chuckled, “The hexes are for your own good against them. At least they only activate when you are around them. I can only imagine how much more annoying that would be if it were all the time.”

It made a move to pet his head before it stopped. Ghost tilted his face out of the pillow to crack open one of his citrine eyes. “I don’t mind your touch. It’s fine.”

Pauchi hesitated once more before lightly running a shadowy hand over his head a few times. The blue-nette sighed in contentment at the feel of his icy cold hand scratching his scalp, “Feels like fresh air after being stuck in that getup.”

“Hmm…This is the first time I’ve ever had to care for a human…Caring is much harder than what I’m used to.”

“Yeah, destroying is so much easier. So much effort and energy is taken to build something up but takes so little to tear it down…” Ghost became lost in thought.

“…Why don’t you stay and rest until the next universe, hm? Don’t worry about the others. I’ll have my pets or some of the other kunne kamuy round them up. Rest up. The next one is going to be even more involved than the last for the both of us.”

“You’re actually taking your threat to them seriously about having the both of us face off against them in a universe?” Ghost had his eyes closed as he began to relax.

“Well, found one that is particularly evil, in a way. It still ends well for the heroes of that universe, but it is more bitter-sweet. While we may die in that universe, that will be a small victory for them while they will endure heavy consequences and losses.”

“That does sound evil…” Ghost began drifting off.

Pauchi turned to inspect the dozing-off teen before finding a blanket to drape over him. Before he made to leave, he turned one last time to the sleeping human. “Sleep well…Kaname.”

Ending Theme: Rasen – jon-YAKITORI ft. Ado

English Lyrics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVld7njUsOc

Chapter Text

Opening Theme: Hana no Saku Basho (Where the Flowers Bloom) by Asami Imai

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mINvfJqZBzE

Aira sprinted around the white and grey polygon landscape as a nasty demon chased him. It routinely would chase after him as a swarm of tiny, non-descript shadows before it would coalesce into a human ravaged by smallpox. It looked like a ragged, lanky man with unkempt, long black hair that often hung in front of his eyes. His whole face and most of his exposed skin were covered in the distinct raised bumps and rashes associated with the disease. When it was human, it would just watch him and antagonize him with words before beginning to chase after him again as a swarm.

The demon watched him with twisted, smug amusement. “Keep running! You’ll find this place is endless! Sooner or later, you’ll tire! And what then? Save your energy and just let me capture you!”

The blond refused to listen and kept running, sometimes tripping or slipping as he could barely discern what was a slope and what was flat land. His abdomen was screaming in pain, a reminder of the universe he was briefly in with Niki and Hiiro, but he didn’t stop. He followed a trench until it rounded a corner to reveal something truly odd.

There was an old, disused building made out of woven reeds and was fairly large, about 12 feet wide by 18 feet long. The roof was a mix of wooden poles and more woven reeds or straw but had started to strip away or cave in at some parts. Even more intriguing was that the area surrounding it wasn’t the usual polygon landscape, but consisted of grass and a few wildflowers.

What truly startled him was that there was a woman, appearing to be in her mid-30s with shoulder-length, straight black hair and a dark grey cloth headband with white patterns wrapped around her forehead, who spotted him from one of the windows. She seemed equally stunned to see him before looking behind the blond at hearing the smug demon call out for the kid to give up, sounding slightly distant. The woman looked back at Aira before frantically waving him over.

Something in the back of his mind told him it would be a bad idea to trust strangers, but he’d rather take his chances with the lady over a disease-stricken demon. He sprinted to the house and the woman helped him climb through the open window before she ushered him to hide under one of the raised boxes in the sparsely furnished room. She held a finger to her lips, which he realized were stained black with what appeared to be tattoo ink. The tattoo mimicked a mouth shape as it surrounded the real mouth and stretched out towards the beginning of her cheeks. Even her hands and forearms were covered in geometric, crisscrossing tattoos.

She stood back up and called out to someone else in another room, brushing off the dirt that had gotten on her dark grey, robe-like dress, “That demon is back!”

A man’s voice answered, “Again!? I don’t know how much longer we can hold out after this one…”

He had just stepped into the room and noticed Aira under the raised box. He had similar hair to the woman but sported a 5 o’clock shadow and a light grey robe. It was only now Aira noticed the unique-looking patterns on each of their clothes and the jackets of dark red for the woman and dark blue for the man. The man looked to be about to say something before the woman held a finger to her lips and pointed outside. He looked between Aira and where she was pointing several times before tsking and grabbing a spear and tossing the woman a bundle of dried herbs with silver bells attached to the strings holding them together. She motioned to him once more to stay put and be quiet before following him.

Aira could just barely hear the conversation going on outside as the demon must have spotted the couple. “Well, well! Funny seeing you two again! I’d imagine the human must have run into you! If you hand him over, I won’t tell Pauchi-Kamuy where you’re both at. Sound fair?”

“We do not negotiate with the kunne, Pakoro-Kamuy. You know that.” The man spoke in a stern but threatening tone.

“Besides,” the woman spoke, sounding deeper than the man, “You’ve run into us so many times and yet have done nothing to reveal our location to him thus far. That trade means nothing, just like your alliance with him.”

The demon began laughing darkly. “HA! At least I know I will benefit from this alliance in the long run by sticking with him! We kunne kamuy may not cooperate often, but we at least know when a deal benefits us…I’ll ask one more time. Hand over the human.”

Aira steadied himself before slinking out from under the raised box, curiosity getting the better of him. He slunk below the window before standing back up near the edge. He peaked around the corner to see out the window, spotting the three people in a standoff.

The man shook his head slowly, readying his spear. “We all know this song and dance by now.”

The demon toothily smirked, revealing a slightly larger-than-normal canine. “But how long will you two last? That is the real question…AAARRRGGHH!”

The demon launched himself at the couple with great speed. The duo split in different directions even faster, making the demon miss. The man charged him with the spear. The demonic entity used the metal braces on his wrists to block and deflect the incoming attack before attempting a roundhouse kick. The man ducked under the kick and used the spear to sweep the demon’s legs out from under him. The diseased man rolled away and started another charge, using one hand to generate more of the shadowy swarm.

The woman, off to the side, began chanting and waving the dried herb bundle around, the bells tinkling with the movement. The sounds of the bells made the demon waver in his next charge and stop generating whatever the shadowy swarm was, gripping his hands over his ears as he let out an annoyed, but pained grunt. He still stood and blocked the incoming thrust of the man’s spear. The woman chanted louder and faster, now beginning to generate a shield ball around the demon. The demon spotted this and attempted to charge her, but the man stood in his way, smacking him upside the head with the blunt end of the spear.

When she finished chanting, the shield ball was complete, forcing the demon to stop attacking. He glared at the couple, snarling as he tried to unleash a swarm. The swarm bounced off the shield and back onto him. He screamed in both rage and agony before he vanished. Only once all of the shadowy swarm was gone did the shield disappear.

Both man and woman were panting heavily and looked paler than when Aira first saw them. He was stunned by what he saw.

The woman called out, “It’s okay, child! He’s gone.”

The man muttered, “For now…”

Aira hesitatingly poked his head further out before he was motioned over by the woman to go ahead and jump through the window and approach. As he slowly approached, he realized the man was barely taller than him while the woman was just a little shorter.

Before he could speak, the man huffed, “What in all the divine realms is a human doing here?”

“Uh…”

“Dearest, what if this is a sign?” The woman interjected.

“Of what? Catastrophe? There hasn’t been a human in our realm in several hundred years! Our faith is dying in their world, so what would make a human come here at all?”

“What if he could help us?”

“Um…excuse me?” Aira felt a touch small.

“How? Our realm has been laid to waste by the kunne kamuy, several of our fellows are missing or captured, and the wards that are keeping us hidden are almost about ready to break! If Pakoro-Kamuy doesn’t reveal our location, then the weakening of the wards will! I doubt this human even knows what we are!”

“I…I mean…yeah, true…” Aira interjected quietly.

“Chironnup-Kamuy sent several of us out to their realm to find ways to fight back! What if a human coming to us means we can turn the tide?”

“C-Can I-?”

“The future is uncertain! We cannot put the fate of ourselves into the hands of an inexperienced human!”

“And you are so stuck in the past that you think we can keep hiding forever and wait for it all to blow over! The scales won’t rebalance on their own this time! We have to do something!”

“EXCUSE ME!!” Aira had enough of being ignored.

The duo turned to him as if they both had forgotten he was standing right there. Aira faltered slightly before hurriedly speaking, “L-Look! I don’t mean to interrupt or be rude! Thank you for helping me! But clearly, neither of us knows what is going on! All I knew was that some sort of creepy voice forced my friends and me into some sort of death game and that we had received visions warning us about all this, but now there is talk about alliances and more evil things and I really don’t know what I just stepped into!”

The woman placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, silencing him. Her gaze was kind but there was a hint of curiosity. “Received visions?”

“…Yes…”

The woman looked at the man with a raised eyebrow and a knowing smirk. He huffed, “Fine. He has been touched by Chironnup-Kamuy. I guess that will count for something.”

“Chi-Chiro who?”

“Chi. Ron. Noop.” The woman helpfully pronounced.

“Chi-Chiron-Chironnup…”

The woman nodded before motioning to the man and gingerly taking the blond by the arm towards the hut, patting him like a mother or grandmother. “Come, there is much to discuss. I have a feeling we might be able to help each other.”

~*~

HiMERU pulled out the city map, placing a finger on Mercy Hospital before circling it with a blue pen as well as their current location. He started tracing with his finger over a subway line nearby. “Amagi. Come look at this.”

Rinne came over, having refilled his AR-15 with more ammo and fiddling with a few more clasps to hide extra cartridges. “Found a route?”

“The subway will take us directly there.”

“Underground? Lovely.” Rinne drawled out with little enthusiasm, “Where’s the nearest entrance?”

“According to this? Just up the street. We’ll take the Red Line right on Holly Street. Figured it would be better than trying to get through this city on the streets.” HiMERU gestured with his eyes over to where they had just barely made it to the rooftop.

“No kidding. Doesn’t mean underground will be any safer, but better than getting ambushed on all sides.” Rinne scratched the back of his head, thankful that his headband was still there if only for a small comfort.

“HiMERU thinks we should work our way down the building we are on and get to the side alley over there,” HiMERU pointed to the map before having the redhead follow him to the edge of the rooftop to look out at the streets, “Once we get down to street level, we need to figure out which way to take to get to the subway entrance.”

“I’d prefer if we have a plan before we get down there.”

“Hence why he is having us look at the streets from up here first.”

Rinne scanned the street below, spotting the distinct sign of the subway entrance just down the street and around the corner. He pursed his lips, “There’s always the bold option of running down the street and directly there, depending on the horde size and how we are all doing on ammo and injuries.”

“Quite bold, indeed,” HiMERU narrowed his eyes before pointing over toward an office building to their right, “Could potentially cut through there. It will provide more narrow spaces but means less infected will be able to funnel in from fewer entrances. Should dump us out right beside the subway entrance on the other side.”

“Or,” Kohaku approached from behind the duo, “We could go straight on through past ta’ stalled semi-truck.”

The older men looked to where the younger was pointing, brows furrowing quizzically. “No offense, Kohaku-chan, but why the fuck would we want to go a longer route?”

“Considerin’ our meager supplies thanks ta invisible jackass, tha’ area looks like it has warehouses, maybe even some supplies.” Kohaku huffed as he scuffed the roof with his foot.

“Ugh, I don’t like the sound of it either, but we might have to do that,” Mao came out from under the makeshift tent, “Barely any ammo, crappy weapons, and very little medical supplies.”

“The fucker really wanted us to have trouble right out the gate,” Rinne mumbled under his breath before speaking up, “How little of medical supplies we talkin’?”

Mao tossed two small med packs onto the table under the tarp before holding out a piece of paper. “Two. Each barely has enough supplies for one person. The entity left us a note saying how we should be grateful he’s giving us two of these and that we’ll just have to make do with popping pain pills like HiMERU-senpai or scavenge around and hope we get lucky. Along with descriptions of each of the Special Infected.”

“Geez, no need to call out Merumeru,” Rinne snickered.

“I’m not, the entity wrote it on the paper,” Mao tilted his head at the blue-nette, “Do you have chronic pain?”

“More like chronic headaches because of dealing with this one.” HiMERU gestured to his unit leader as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Fair enough.”

“Wow! I see how it is!” Rinne huffed a laugh and crossed his arms.

“Can we get back on topic!?” Kohaku growled.

“Oukawa is right. We need to figure this out before we get to the streets.” HiMERU grumbled.

Rinne assessed the options, realizing he had become the de facto leader once again. He looked to the younger two before noticing Kohaku only had a pistol and a knife. “Where did yer second one go?”

“Down there.” Kohaku pointed behind him to where they had just managed to get on the roof by the skin of their teeth.

“There’s one gun still here, but it’s another pump shotgun…” Mao gestured to said firearm on the table with a few more rounds nearby.

The redheaded man took a deep breath before unclipping his gun and handing it and the extra ammo to Kohaku. “Here, kid. You’ll fare better with this.”

Kohaku blinked rapidly before slowly accepting the gun. “Why…?”

Rinne grabbed the pump shotgun before checking to make sure it was loaded and grabbing extra magazines and bullets. “Since we’re gonna go through this building to get back to the streets, lots of tight corners means lots of places for infected to blindside us. Merumeru and I will stay up front while ya two will cover the back as we go through. Besides, ya might just fly backward if ya fire a shotgun.”

“What!? I’m not tha’ much o’ a lightweight!” Kohaku formed fists as he looked about ready to punch Rinne’s lights out.

“Eh…he kind of has a point…” Mao glanced away.

“See? Even Maomao agrees with me!”

“Wh-What is with that name!?”

“Aw, don’t like that nickname?” Rinne teased before humming in thought, “Well, yer name means ‘cat’ in Chinese, so how about Neko instead? Kyahaha!”

“Wh-! I’d prefer my normal name or just ‘Isara-san’!”

“Ya might as well get used ta it, Isara-han. He does this with almost everyone,” Kohaku drawled.

“F-Fine!” Mao stomped his foot like a disgruntled little kid.

Kohaku looked at the older men, ignoring the tantrum of the other. “So, do we go straight there, go through ta’ office buildin’, or try ta’ warehouses?”

“Do we even know what could be in those?” Mao glanced to said buildings off in the distance, “Could be nothing useful at all.”

“…We may just have to see how we are doing when we get to the bottom floor. If we aren’t fairing so well and have a horde, take the office building route. If we seem okay and don’t have a horde coming for our asses, go straight to the subway. If we are sitting pretty, we can take the chance with the warehouses. Let’s scavenge what we can in the building and stay close. Don’t fall behind and don’t go too far ahead.” Rinne instructed the crew.

“Who should carry the med packs?” Mao picked up the two.

“Probably would be best ta have one fer ta’ people in ta’ front an’ ta’ back.” Kohaku took one and stuck it inside one of the inside pockets of his jacket.

“Sounds like a plan. Merumeru, which of us has more ammo?”

Rinne and HiMERU counted out cartridges before Rinne took the other med pack. “Figured I’d end up with the short stick.”

“It might be a good idea to keep each other posted on anything we find or if we need to reload, that way someone can cover you,” HiMERU suggested.

“And that’s why yer automatically my second-in-command, Merumeru!” Rinne grinned and gave him a thumbs up before turning serious again, “Also, keep a close eye on yer ammo and make the shots count. I have a bad feeling this fucker is gonna make ammo real scarce for us.”

Rinne approached the rooftop access door before turning to everyone else, checking that he had a round in the chamber of his new gun. “Make sure yer locked, loaded, and ready to go. Ready?”

A few seconds go by as the crew makes sure their weapons were loaded before giving the all-clear to the redhead. He nods. “Safeties off. Stay close.”

He unbarred the door and slowly pushed it open, keeping quiet as he and the blue-nette took point.

“Ah, so we are finally getting this started!”

All four of them stopped with looks of absolute annoyance. Rinne spat, “Don’t tell me we gotta deal with ya making commentary the entire time.”

“Aw, you don’t like my voice?”

“Grr, if ya hadn’t already pissed off by now, you’re certainly on the right track.”

~*~

“So…” Tatsumi put his hands in his pockets as he watched a woman, possibly no older than her mid-20s, go about collecting herbs near her hut. It was still quite awe-inspiring to see nature instead of the polygon world after so long.

It had been quite eventful for him since he returned from the dark school. His leg nearly gave out again as he tried to escape from a tall, two-legged, bird-like shadow demon, which he was mentally cursing himself as he remembered most of the pain coming from said limb was psychological and thus would be a constant problem given he is currently experiencing everything in his mind. Just when he thought he would get caught, this woman appeared and sliced the demon into ribbons with a stream of water she willed into wielding like a whip. Ever since then, she has had him follow her around as she and him began explaining the circumstances that caused them to meet.

The woman, who introduced herself as Wakka-Ush-Kamuy, looked up from where she was bent over collecting a few leaves, brushing some of her long, straight black hair out of her face. “Yes?”

“Um…so this is a spirit world…does that mean…?” Tatsumi was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that, yes, he was in a spirit world and he was speaking to a spirit, a god, the god of fresh water in the Ainu pantheon.

“That there are others? Yes,” She finished collecting a few leaves before straightening back up, gesturing for him to follow her back to her hut and continuing to talk as they walked, “There’s the realm of the Shinto kami, the old Greek pantheon, even the one belonging to your God.”

“I see…” Tatsumi whispered.

“I know. It’s a lot to take in.” The woman smiled kindly, stopping to pick up a container of fresh water just outside the hut before entering, gesturing for the idol to sit by the hearth. “Come in, I’m making some tea while we discuss.”

Tatsumi sat on one of the offered mats, grateful to feel the pleasing warmth of a fire. “Almost forgot what warmth felt like. Didn’t realize just how cold this place was.”

“That would be thanks to Pauchi-Kamuy and the other kunne ravaging the place,” The woman shook her head in annoyance, “As much as I would love to fight back, there is not much I alone can do.”

Tatsumi grimaced at the mention of the demon. He remembers just how aghast the woman was to hear of how he and his Assistant treated him back in the school, along with the others. “You said you turned down the opportunity to leave here by way of those vessels – the artifacts. Why, Kamuy-san?”

Wakka-Ush gave him an amused smile as she poured the tepid water into the pot to boil. “You can call me Wakka-Ush, or just Wakka for short if you like, Kazehaya Tatsumi. But yes, I did. Unlike Chironnup-Kamuy, I was not as confident in thinking that you all would be able to heed those warnings he sent you. Thus, I insisted on staying here, just in case either you all would need help or to stave off what kunne forces I could until we could turn the tides. Unlike some of the other kamuy, my powers and realm flow far into Teinei-Pokna-Moshiri, our Underworld if you would, thus I’m not in as immediate danger of fading away as some of the others.”

“It was certainly foolish of us to not heed them…” Tatsumi trailed off, gazing at the embers in the crackling fire.

He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, drawing his attention back to the woman with grey-blue eyes. “Do not hear me wrong. It was no fault on your end. I simply believed that Chironnup-Kamuy was too late in sending those visions. That or it didn’t matter in the end. I was the one to make him think of a few contingency plans, just in case you hadn’t been able to heed them.”

He felt a small smile tug at his lips, feeling slightly lighter after the reassurance. “Since you are insisting on informality, Tatsumi is just fine.”

“Very well, Tatsumi,” The woman smiled before pointing to his moles, “Seems you and I are quite similar. I have one, too. See?”

She tucked some of her hair back behind an ear to reveal a beauty mark under her left eye. Tatsumi felt more relaxed, feeling the tension in his shoulders easing. “Indeed we do. That’s a very nice necklace, too.”

“Oh, this?” Wakka held out part of the two-stranded, black, clear, and turquoise glass-beaded necklace with a silver medallion depicting a river, “This is what my people call a shitoki. These are very sought after by women and are quite valuable, since we only got to get these beads and medallions whenever we used to trade with the Chinese and Japanese. Without the medallion, they are referred to as tamasai. The women often pass these down through the generations.”

“Did one of your people make that as an offering to you once? Or did you make it yourself?”

“It was so long ago I almost don’t remember…” Wakka smiled nostalgically, “I believe it was a fisherman and his wife who were thanking me for intervening when the salmon weren’t arriving on time, which threatened their little village with starvation. I almost refused to accept it since I knew how much trading and time it took for them to get the materials for it, but they insisted. They even named their daughter after me shortly before that. I just wanted to make sure that they wouldn’t starve, so long as they did their due diligence and treated the salmon and rivers with respect, which they were doing. It was more of a mix-up on the salmon kamuy’s end that caused the delay.”

“You are quite humble and kind,” Tatsumi smiled warmly.

“I feel for humanity. Sometimes too much…Heh, Fuchi-Kamuy always told me I would end up running on low for all of eternity by doing so many selfless acts with no offerings if it weren’t for the entourage of other water spirits under my command taking care of it for me.” Wakka’s eyes crinkled around the edges with her smile as she cast some magic on the pot of water to speed up the boiling process.

Tatsumi watched the change of state with intrigue. “Sorcery?”

“I and a few other kamuy are quite adept in it, yes. Especially Fuchi-Kamuy. Bending such energy is very rare for kamuy. Most rely on animals or physical elements for their powers. Kamuy like Fuchi and I are rare outside of the celestial kamuy and Kotan-kar-Kamuy.” Once she was satisfied with the water temperature, she added some of the various herbs and berries she had collected, letting them steep.

“You seem quite fond or at least hold this Fuchi-Kamuy in high regard.”

The smile faded by a small fraction. “Fuchi-Kamuy is the goddess of fire, the hearth, and is one of the most important and powerful deities in our pantheon. She and I have…complicated history. She is a better sorceress and holds much sway in our pantheon…even over the celestial gods who are technically older than her…I wonder where she is now…or how she’s doing…”

“Did she also refuse to go in one of those vessels? Was she…captured?” Tatsumi gave her a pensive look.

“No. We all agreed that she needed to go in one of those because of how important she is. I believe she and Hasinaw-Uk-Kamuy, our goddess of hunting, share a vessel, the orange gem. Pauchi-Kamuy would absolutely want to make sure she was contained and captured first and foremost because of how important she is in our pantheon and because she is that strong…” Wakka trailed off as she stared at the embers, “I remember Hasinaw-Uk was quite upset that I refused to leave with them, but I reasoned with her saying that not only would I still be able to hold out for a while, but that if the both of them left then it would keep Pauchi-Kamuy hesitant on acting too brashly. If he doesn’t have either of them captured, then he will be more cautious.”

“Sounds like those two are quite powerful, but you shouldn’t doubt yourself.” Tatsumi gently rested a hand on her knee.

She seemed startled by such a statement as she blinked at him rapidly. “Oh, well I-”

“I can tell you are quite skilled, and you understand your worth enough to know you can hold out and give up your place in a vessel for someone else to go. You are quite intelligent, too, seeing as how you understood the power dynamics well enough to create a situation for Pauchi-Kamuy to hold back.”

Wakka’s gentle smile returned, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “That may be what you see, but I’m unable to do much else in this war…unless…”

She darted her eyes around at seemingly nothing, her mouth silently moving as if she were talking to herself. “There might be a way…and it might help you and your friends…so long as those two are found and create a contract with a potential holder…”

“A what?”

“A holder is like a temporary vessel for a kamuy in the form of a person. The human and the kamuy make a temporary contract in order to accomplish a goal. This contract allows the kamuy to essentially use the human as a traveling home as a way to recharge our spiritual energy, and is usually formed under dire circumstances. This is because we essentially become a tool for the human and allow them some access to our powers. The main difference is that it has to be mutual. The human can’t use our powers unless we allow it, and we can’t force anyone to become a holder without their consent. Once the terms of the contract are fulfilled, the kamuy vacates the person and the person no longer can summon us or use our powers.”

“So what does that have to do with fighting the kunne and my friends and I?”

She readjusted herself so that she was keeping direct eye contact, her tone growing serious. “Because a kamuy who has made a contract with a holder essentially becomes invisible to other kamuy unless the holder calls upon them. Me becoming invisible and staying with a holder, like you, means that I can help you all fight back against the kunne and return Pauchi-Kamuy back to imprisonment by lending you my powers. I could even help you navigate alternate universes myself, even if Pauchi-Kamuy wouldn’t want you to be there, since my powers and influence traverse all the realms in this world.”

“Which means my friends and I would be safe and can go home. And everyone else at ES won’t be harassed.” Tatsumi’s lavender eyes started to brighten at the prospect, “As much as I know my God would not like me making a deal with another…I want to protect my friends.”

“Do not think I’m forcing you into this,” Wakka urged him, “It is merely a suggestion.”

“A suggestion that is proving to be a very valid and worthwhile option,” Tatsumi corrected.

“For us to form that contract, we need to know if Apasam-Un-Kamuy hasn’t been captured yet and that they are strong enough to still be able to aid in the binding process.” Wakka began pouring some of the readied tea into two cups, handing one to Tatsumi, “They are in charge of that along with a few other important things, and are the only ones that can sense when these contracts and links have been formed outside of the kamuy who are involved in them directly. Without their aid, these contracts can cause undo harm to the human or not form at all. If they are captured and already in Teinei-Pokna-Moshiri, then there is nothing we can do.”

“Would we need to be in their presence to form it?”

“No,” She huffed as she stared out into the polygon landscape, “Thankfully not. They’ll be able to sense that a contract is being forged and be able to aid in the binding from a distance. But without their aid, making those contracts becomes quite dangerous.”

“I’m assuming we don’t know where they are?”

Wakka sighed pulling out a bowl of water and casting more magic over it to view a worn-down hut, “If the realm was like it was, I’d be able to find their place in no time, but all the landmarks are so different or are almost completely gone now thanks to the kunne…Hopefully, those two aren’t going at each other’s throats.”

“…Two?” Tatsumi raised an eyebrow.

She turned her gaze back to him. “They share the same name and are one kamuy, but Apasam-Un is a dual entity. They are two people.”

~*~

“So let me get this straight,” Aira sat around a small hearth with the man and woman, “This liminal space is really a spirit world, and this space in particular is home to the Ainu spirit world.”

“Exactly,” The man nodded.

“And the spirits in this world are referred to as kamuy. Some are just regular spirits while others are like gods?”

“Yes. My husband and I are one such god. We both are called Apasam-Un-Kamuy. We are the guardians of the threshold,” The woman nodded along as she repoured some tea, “Here. While you may not need to eat or drink in our realm, this tea will help calm your nerves after everything you have endured so far.”

The man appeared solemn, appearing empathetic to what the blond had gone through thus far. “Indeed…”

Aira accepted the cup gratefully with a shy smile. The couple seemed genuinely friendly, if a bit comical with how often they bicker with each other. “So…are there specific names for each of you? And what exactly do you mean by the ‘threshold’?”

“Just Apa-kunrari-kur for my husband and Apa-kunrari-mat for myself. They translate to ‘man sitting behind the entrance’ and ‘woman sitting behind the entrance’ respectively. We are called upon whenever a change of state occurs, from difficult childbirths, to protecting travelers crossing foreign lands, to protecting against angry kamuy, and even protecting our people when encountering or dealing with other cultures. There are two of us because we each see a point before or after the change of state, that way we can better guard the supplicant, the individual who called upon us.”

“Oh! That’s why each of you focuses so much on either the past or future!” Aira’s green eyes lit up in understanding.

“Precisely,” The woman, Apa-kunrari-mat, smiled kindly, “I focus on what occurs after the transition while my husband focuses on the state before the transition. With our combined work, we protect the individual and ensure their safety through whatever uncertainty.”

“So, that shield thing I saw earlier. Was that specific to you?” Aira tilted his head in question at the older woman.

“Both of us can do that, though my husband is more of the physical fighter between us, so it tends to fall to me to cast them. They are reflective shields that are meant to reflect a singular attack, rather than to keep repelling. They can also be used against an attacker as you saw, creating a bubble around them that forces them to either cease attacking or inflict their attacks upon themselves.”

The man chuckled, a slightly smug but proud smile forming. “The best offense is a good defense, as they say.”

“Except our wards are proving that we can’t be on the defense for long…” The woman gave the man a judging look.

“The wards you’re both talking about…are they keeping you hidden?”

The man, Apa-kunrari-kur, took over. “Yes. Pauchi-Kamuy, the one who started this whole mess with us and your world, has been trying to round up all the kamuy. The artifacts he wants the rest of your people at ES to retrieve hold several of our most powerful deities to escape captivity. They were sent to your world by Chironnup-Kamuy, the one who sent you all those visions, in order to regain strength and find a way to turn the tables against the kunne kamuy, the dark spirits, such as Pakoro-Kamuy, the one you were chased by earlier, in order to return the balance of power to its proper state. Suppose it is not and Pauchi-Kamuy remains left unchecked. In that case, the destruction and chaos he sows will not only eat away at our realm completely but also seek other spirit worlds and eventually your world in its never-ending quest to destroy, even if that isn’t what he desires.”

“What do you mean he wouldn’t want that? He’s the…god of insanity and chaos, right? Wouldn’t he want to destroy things?” Aira pondered.

“From what we have understood so far, as well as what Chironnup-Kamuy has told us before he was captured, it seems that Pauchi-Kamuy just wants to make sure our faith doesn’t die out, as our people have gone through rigorous cultural genocide by the Japanese government for centuries, many having turned to Shintoism and abandoned us. To do that, he needs more power, which means he needs to be able to leave Teinei-Pokna-Moshiri, our version of the Underworld for the kunne, and hold more sway. Because the world is ruled by the Good Kamuy, thanks to Chironnup-Kamuy’s intervention near the beginning of the world, he is unable to have the power he needs. Thus, he is aiming to flip the balance of power in favor of the kunne by capturing us all to eventually challenge Kotan-kar-Kamuy, our supreme Creator. In the end, destruction is not what he seeks. However…”

Aira raised an eyebrow as the man trailed off. “There’s more going on, isn’t there?”

He sighed, “It’s more speculation, even on Chironnup-Kamuy’s part. Firstly, Kotan-kar-Kamuy tends to let us go about our duties unhindered and stays out of the way, so long as the balance that was agreed upon stays intact. He periodically goes into deep slumbers, since he is rarely called upon and the other kamuy take care of the day-to-day tasks. However, he should have awoken by now, since the last slumber he had was interrupted about 16 years ago when Chironnup-Kamuy left his post and Pauchi-Kamuy nearly escaped just to tell us all about those weird artifacts he is now looking for. We don’t understand why he hasn’t woken up yet and there is no known way to wake him on our own. If he doesn’t, it allows Pauchi-Kamuy to bypass him entirely. Secondly, this demon has been going on about this dying of our faith for only about 2 years or so, shortly after he rescued some kid from dying after a riot. Ever since then, Chironnup-Kamuy has been speculating that there has been a shift in Pauchi-Kamuy, something unnatural, even by kunne standards, though he has yet to confirm if that is the case.”

“Wait, the artifacts we are looking for are more recent?” Aira set his cup down for his hands were becoming too shaky.

The woman nodded in deep thought. “Yes. They supposedly showed up about 16 years ago in Teinei-Pokna-Moshiri, and they were so unknown and odd that even Pauchi-Kamuy was getting unnerved by them. He even suggested that his rival, Chironnup-Kamuy, hang on to them and for all of us to investigate. All we know is that they are like vessels that can hold immense spiritual power each, and the power can be used for nearly anything, even bypassing the need for us kamuy in some instances. It appears they charge based on opposing sets of emotions and actions, but their origin is completely unknown, even to us. That’s why it seems extremely odd to all of us that Pauchi-Kamuy is now so obsessed with them when he was extremely wary of them at first.”

“M-Maybe he just didn’t realize their potential?”

“Could be…” The woman paused, “Still…something doesn’t sit right with me on this whole situation…it feels like there is something greater afoot, and we kamuy so happened to be the first victims.”

“While I would normally say you are thinking too far ahead…even I am feeling something happened elsewhere that set off this chain reaction.” The man looked out the front door, gazing at nothing in particular.

“Still…it doesn’t change the fact that you two are on borrowed time…right?”

“Unfortunately,” The man still kept staring out the door.

“…There might still be a way…” The woman looked to the young teenager with a contemplative appraisal, “Another portion of what we do is help the binding process between a Holder and a Kamuy, as well as help to establish Links.”

“What are those?”

“A Holder essentially receives aid and the powers of a given kamuy for a temporary purpose. A link is a more permanent binding process that requires the kamuy to share part of their energy with the human and provides greater powers. Specifically, the kamuy can take control of the human when they are in the human world, but the human is also granted all of the kamuy’s associated powers and can use them at will, without the kamuy needing to aid them, as well come and go to and from the spirit world at will.”

“Okay…so what does that have to do with helping yourselves out?” Aira felt a weird pit begin to form, but he wasn’t too sure if this was entirely a bad feeling.

“The reason the others are called Holders is because the kamuy essentially travels with the vessel, the individual, that serves as a temporary home that can enable the kamuy to recharge their spiritual energy at a quicker rate, even when called upon, until the purpose or shared goal is completed.”

“Wife…” The man turned back, giving her a leveled look, “I know exactly what you are thinking. You realize if he agrees to that, we will constantly be right under Pauchi-Kamuy’s nose.”

“And if we help his friends find the others who haven’t been captured? And help them with the binding process? With our teamwork and those in the human world, we could finally bring the fight back!”

“Woah, wait a minute! You want me to become a holder?” Aira leaned back in shock.

“Specifically for us,” The woman continued, “Because we are often called upon to protect those from angry kamuy and to protect individuals during critical state changes, we are crucial to the binding process for holders and kamuy. Without us, without our freedom and power, they cannot occur. By lending some of our powers to you, you will serve as a temporary vessel for us to hide and regain our energy. You will be able to cast the shields that we can do, as well as allow us to protect your friends whenever they could potentially become holders for other kamuy, to ensure the binding process goes smoothly.”

“W-Wouldn’t that mean I have to be there or nearby?”

“Not necessarily. We can sense when those processes are being called upon. Having us with you just ensures that we can easily lend our aid to ensure the process goes correctly wherever and whenever it occurs and not worry about not having enough energy or power…Another thing with being a holder is that the kamuy will help strengthen the mental fortitude of the holder…Part of your predicament is that if you go through too much mental strain, that ‘program’ will forcefully pull you out and cause you to die, correct?”

The woman delicately laid a hand over his as if he were a scared animal. To be fair, he sort of was at the moment. Her voice was calm, serene, and gentle. “You do not have to agree. A contract between a kamuy and a holder has to be mutual.”

She turned to her husband, having a silent conversation between them with just their eyes before he relented and nodded. She turned back to Aira in the same gentle manner. “What we are offering you is aid in exchange for helping us return our world to normal. By helping us, it will help you and your friends. By providing yourself as a temporary vessel – don’t worry, it doesn’t mean we take control over you whatsoever – you will provide us with safety to then further help you and your friends, meaning we will always be with you until the contract is fulfilled. You can talk to us through your thoughts or have us appear physically whenever. We will strengthen your mind so that the threat of a mental breakdown will be less of a pressing issue – not completely negated, but less likely – as well as provide you some of our powers to protect yourself and your friends. By hiding us within yourself, you will keep the option open for others to become holders of other kamuy, allowing everyone to be able to help fight back against Pauchi-Kamuy.”

“…Wouldn’t forming this be detected by him? How can we be sure he wouldn’t know?” Aira’s voice was small. The deal was quite tempting.

“…We’ve allowed him to form a link with someone before all of this…and allowed the link to persist. Thus, he would not detect a change since he knows we need to be aware of the existence of such links. Think of it like letting water free from behind a dam. Does one realize just how much more water is being released once the flow is active? It is imperceptible to the point where it is negligible,” The man quietly admitted.

“…Did…Did it have to do with the kid he saved a while back?”

“…Yes,” The male kamuy admitted, “The boy would have died had Pauchi-Kamuy not insisted on sharing part of his energy with him. Why he was insistent on saving this one is beyond us. Typically, Kotan-kar-Kamuy would forbid such links between a kunne and a mortal, due to the dangers that would incur, although links can form between any kind of kamuy. We made the exception for him because he was insistent on saving him and vowed to find a way to make sure the boy could return to a normal life free of the link at some point…”

“So he lied…”

“No, Pauchi-Kamuy did not lie, for he knew forming a link would mean splitting some of his energy and powers at a time when it would be counterintuitive for himself,” The man shook his head, “The issue lies in how a link is formed. It can be based on two things: either by the human body, or the human soul. The basis of a link is the sharing of the kamuy’s energy, a life force if you will, with the human. If a link is established through the body, it is a physical link and is far less dangerous, as well as easier to break off, as the human body will be able to recover on its own. A spiritual link, one with the soul, is immensely difficult to break and very dangerous for the human involved. Spiritual healing is different from physical healing in that it is a very, very slow process. From what we saw, the boy had undergone so much physical damage that it affected his brain – the subconscious, the soul if you will. He suffered the equivalent of what would occur to you if you were pulled out of the program: a complete separation of the subconscious from the body. For the kid, it means that without his energy, he would die. However, by being stuck here, his body has entered a coma in your world, but he cannot leave until the link is fully established. It forms in layers, the basis being a sharing of life energy, while more is unlocked the further it progresses. With a full link, it won’t matter if he is imprisoned, he will be able to sneak out into your world time and again by simply taking control of the boy.”

“Why couldn’t he do it with the physical body?”

The man picked up a stick and started drawing a crude diagram in the dirt to illustrate his point. “The kunne reside here, in Teinei-Pokna-Moshiri, a section of the spirit realm. Where we are now is just below Kamui-Kando, the highest heavens where Kotan-kar-Kamuy resides. The kunne are trapped there and are not allowed to leave, save for a few here and there, such as Pakoro-Kamuy, the god of pestilence and smallpox, and Poro-nitne-Kamuy, the kunne god of the unknown. Pauchi-Kamuy is relegated to the farthest depths of this world and can only interact with your world through intermediaries, such as other kunne or his Humanoid-Shadows.”

Apa-kunrari-kur drew a line to a new area, simply calling it the human realm, before drawing another area. “All of our realm, Teinei-Pokna-Moshiri and all the other layers, are part of one spirit world, thus think of it as two worlds interacting. To form a physical link, he would have to be physically present in your world with no intermediaries with the desired individual. Since he was unable to leave at that point, a physical link was not possible. The only way he even managed to find the boy’s soul was because Poro-nitne-Kamuy had been watching over the events before the riot that nearly took the boy’s life and brought the soul to Pauchi-Kamuy’s attention.”

“…Okay…but wouldn’t capturing you two end up breaking the link because it can’t stay connected?”

He shook his head. “It would only prevent us from binding new contracts between holders or allowing the beginning of new links. It would not affect previously established ones.”

“…I wonder…is that boy still here?” Aira whispered, not intending to get an answer.

“From what we know, yes, he is. He’s been here for the last two years, though we think the boy doesn’t know that.” The woman absentmindedly fanned the embers in the hearth, “He’s so far in Teinei-Pokna-Moshiri that we do not hear much about him, but we do know he is still here from sensing his presence.”

“…Would becoming a holder mean I’m then stuck here? Or would I still be going through other universes?” Aira glanced at three pebbles near his feet, one having red speckles, one looking yellow, and another looking like a pale red, almost pink granite.

“No. The contract that we would form would dictate we would help each other until our world is saved, thus allowing you all to go home. It would not limit us or you to being stuck in this realm alone.” The woman patted his shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze.

“It would be best if you continue going through these universes regardless,” The man leaned back on his hands, “That would immediately catch his attention and suspicion if you are somehow unable to join them…Tsk, I wish I had some wine…”

The woman scoffed before smacking him with the dried herb bundle, the bells jingling as he was smacked over the head. “That wine is for celebrations! When we save our world, then you can have some! Besides that took me ages to make since this whole ordeal started!”

“…So this world…was supposed to look like what is around your house?” Aira stared at the green grass as it faded to the polygon landscape a little ways away.

“Yes. The white and grey stuff you see is the last remains of what this world used to be. This is what happens with Pauchi-Kamuy’s power,” The man gazed sadly at the landscape, “His power craves destruction until there is nothing left to destroy…what you see here is the last strand before it gets cut. Any more destruction will result in the land disappearing. It leaches the life out of everything until there is nothing left…”

“…By rebalancing this world…it would return to normal?” Aira’s eyes never left the grass.

“We believe so. It would take time, and maybe it will start healing the more kamuy that are found…” The woman gazed at the embers as if she were seeing an old friend, “Of course, most of the healing will probably be done long after you return to your world. What matters is that we turn the tide before it is too late…and it seems we may have little time left at this rate…”

Aira evaluated his options with downcast eyes. “I…I want to save my friends…if what you say is true…even if I’m scared…I want to do whatever it takes…”

The paired kamuy waited patiently. Aira sighed, steeling himself. “I’ll become your holder. What do I have to do?”

“It is a simple, painless process, child,” Apa-kunrari-mat smiled gently, taking his hand in one of hers while grabbing her husbands, “Take his hand in your other and we will begin.”

~*~

Niki takes it back. He doesn’t hate this universe. He loathes it entirely.

He had already lost count of just how many Runners, Clickers, and Stalkers had tried to turn him either into a punching bag or an all-you-can-eat buffet. Oh, and apparently, Runners can still sense flashlights and it was pitch black as he and the other two were traversing more ruins, and they could hear far more than the others. Then, when one would go off, he immediately would have at least 5 other infected inbound like the dinner bell had rung. It also wasn’t that comforting when he realized the majority of the runners looked to be unlucky soldiers from FEDRA, so make them armored or at least have helmets to boot.

He could deal with the Runners and the Stalkers when it came to sneaking around. Just keep his distance and they could go down relatively easily with a choke hold or a few bashes to the head with a wooden board he found if there was only one or two of them. The Clickers? They were his least favorite with how terrifying their clicking noises could be in an otherwise dead silent room, especially when there were multiple of them going off and sounding like those damn floorboards back at that school, and they were super durable. When all three were around? Niki lost count of how many times he thought, “Man, fuck my life…”, when he realized he would have to navigate areas with minimal cover, next to no ammo, and with just the right amount of enemies to make it difficult to take one down without another spotting him.

Oh, and he had next to no crafting supplies for the precious med kits and shivs. At least the obligatory introduction sequences left him with one of each to start with, otherwise he was so up the creek.

Fuck this jackass of an entity! Only way this could be worse is if it was basically over my shoulder making comments the entire time!

On the bright side, at least he got another gun. It was just a revolver with only 6 bullets, while his pistol only had 5 bullets, but it was better than nothing.

Mayoi heaved a great sigh. “Well, isn’t this just a fun universe?”

Niki and Hokuto were taken aback by the sarcastic tone of the normally quiet, stuttering introvert. However, Niki returned the sentiment. “Yeah, having next to no ammo and really annoying infected that would love to eat me is such a fun treat.”

“…You seem…particularly stressed.” Hokuto, for lack of being able to do much of anything so far despite supposedly being one of the main people for this punishment universe, was left at a loss for what to say, much less even do.

“Stressed? No. Aggravated? Absolutely.” Niki kept leading the way, shining his light on occasion to find any nook or cranny that either could hide supplies or lead them along.

The thing about ruins? They look pretty and mystical from a distance. Trying to navigate them? Especially when they are skyscrapers? Absolute nightmare.

Niki dropped down from a ledge and landed into a nearly foot-deep pool of water. “Ugh! I just dried off from the last one!”

Hokuto dropped down a touch less gracefully, getting his arms drenched as well as most of his legs. “At least it has to be somewhat clean water…”

Mayoi appeared to be the only one completely fine and brushed off the dirt, debris, and wet clothes like it was nothing. Then again, Niki supposed, the introvert was used to the dark and crawling through vents and several secret passages. The braided-haired man stopped by a recently deceased body. “Shiina-san…a Firefly.”

Beside the dead, bloody Firefly member was a glass bottle with a rag sticking out of it. Picking the object up, Niki realized with some glee that it was a Molotov. “Huh, this will come in handy…but that is concerning…makes me wonder if there will be any Fireflies at all at the Capitol.”

“Was this a metro station at some point?” Hokuto looked around in slight awe.

“Probably the beginning part of those underground malls…over here.” Niki gestured to the others after pocketing the Molotov for later.

They crouched under some caving-in debris and into a hall that indicated the area was supposed to lead to the Orange Line of the subway system. Niki immediately turned off his flashlight and froze upon catching a glimpse of another Clicker on the other end of the hall coming around the corner. “Shh…Mayo-chan, how many do you hear?”

Turquoise eyes narrowed as he could almost visually see the strain the other was putting into his hearing as the clicking noises echoed around them. “…Quite a few…might be better to sneak around rather than engage…”

“How many bullets do you have?” Niki whispered as he kept his eyes on the Clicker ahead.

“Three, I think.”

“Shit…”

Mayoi guided the duo to hide behind a fallen vending machine before taking a chance to peek up and over the makeshift barrier. He seemed to be recounting what he could hear and see based on the vaguely moving shadows in the darkness. He crouched back down before making a plan for them. “Here’s the plan. Shiina-san, since you have more bullets, you will take point. I’ll guard the back. Hidaka-san, no matter what, stay close to Shiina-san. Let’s be quiet, only fire when we absolutely have to and, if we do, run. It sounds like there are more than just Clickers down here, so be careful.”

Niki felt a tired smile form. “Man, wish you were going to stick around for the whole thing.”

Mayoi blinked several times before settling on a shy smile. Hokuto seemed to be the only one not sharing the camaraderie. “How are you two being so calm about knowing Ayase might die?”

The smile faded from the phantom’s lips. “I’m terrified…t-truly. But…in a way, I’ve made peace with that…I’ve already died before and will probably die several more times before we finally resolve all this. B-But if I can help others survive so they don’t suffer that fate…then I won’t care how many times I’ll die.”

Niki glanced away, using the sound of the Clicker to disguise how torn up he was on the inside.

No one should have to go through all this.

“R-ready? Shiina-san?”

“…Okay…Follow my lead.”

Niki turned off his light and took a moment to readjust to the lack of light before slowly beginning to creep through the dark, pausing at the cubbies to his left and grabbing another shiv. He could just make out side areas that must have been bookstores or convenience stores once upon a time. Depending on how crowded this area would be, he may want to use those to help reorientate himself or to lure in one infected at a time.

The closest Clicker turned around and started walking their way. Niki wouldn’t put it past the entity to have controlled them somehow into making them do exactly what Niki didn’t want them to do. He paused, Hokuto right behind him followed by Mayoi, all crouched low with baited breaths as they waited for the infected to stumble on by within a foot of them. The grey-haired young man looked at the second shiv he had yet to store away before taking another look at the passing Clicker.

He motioned for the two to stay put, taking a single second to shine his flashlight around to check for any nearby infected, before slowly approaching it from behind.

You can do this, Niki. You can do this…Just steel yourself…You’ve already killed living humans…Consider this a mercy.

He quickly wrapped the Clicker in a headlock before taking the shiv and plunging it into the once-human’s neck, ending it quietly and quickly. He placed a hand over his mouth as he could practically hear his shaky breath, only to quickly gag as he realized some of the blood was on his fingers before doing so. Mayoi placed a hand on his shoulder, asking with his eyes the question they all knew the answer to.

I’m fine…I’m fine…No…I’m not fine…But I can’t lose it now…

With one more, much more subdued shaky inhale, he nodded before continuing on, leading the group into a bookstore to get a better look around the area. At least the Clickers were easy to spot since the mushrooms they had for heads glowed in the dark. Mayoi motioned that he spotted one Runner and where it was. Thankfully, it was by itself. Not so thankfully, it was crying, and it sounded far, far too human.

The asshole did say the infection still left the individual partially aware of what was happening…does that mean she still has some semblance of a conscience left? Fuck…at least other zombie universes allowed the infected person to die before turning…this is a nightmare on a whole other level…

Waiting for another Clicker to leave, Niki began choking out the Runner. He willed himself to keep thinking that he was just doing her a final mercy this way. He certainly wouldn’t want to be left like that.

Slowly but surely, the group made it to the other side before climbing over more debris and coming out onto the surface under a highway. Niki sucked in deep breaths of the fresher air. He stuck his trembling hands in his pockets, focusing on the ground beneath his feet.

“Shiina-senpai…” Hokuto attempted to gingerly pull the other by the arm to sit down.

Niki shrugged the hand away his voice slowly beginning to shake and wobble. “Not now, Hidaka-san…not now…”

The chef walked away, not noticing the tight line of the younger teen’s lips nor the pinching of his brows. They were too out in the open. The infected or the military could show up anywhere and at any moment. He could not have a pity party right now.

Mayoi pointed down a street clogged with a semi-truck. “Capitol’s that way.”

The trio managed to clamber over the stuck semi before continuing to make their way towards a shutter door. Niki began pulling on the chain, making his mind purely focus on doing what needed to be done to get this universe over with.

Mayoi tapped his shoulder upon hearing a distinct groaning scream. “D-Did you hear that?”

The trio stopped only to all feel their heart rates drastically increase and fear course through their veins at hearing more screams of the infected coming their way, and fast. Mayoi tapped the chef’s shoulder repeatedly. “Shit. Shit. Shit! Double time!”

“They’re coming!” Hokuto began inching closer to the duo, staring intently at where they had just climbed over the semi.

Niki pulled the rusted chain with as much force and as quickly as he could. It was barely up about a foot and a half before Mayoi started pushing Hokuto towards the door. “That’s good enough! Go!”

Runners started piling over the semi, screeching their bloodlust. Mayoi and Hokuto ducked under the door. Niki barely managed to leave the chain and begin crawling under when a Runner grabbed his foot. Hokuto dragged the chef inside fully before Mayoi slammed the door down, locking the infected out.

“Holy shit…Holy shit!” Niki panted as he stood, eyes unmoving from the metal shutter as the infected banged against it.

“Um…you got something on your shoe…Shiina-senpai.”

Niki looked down and realized the door had sliced off the Runner’s arm, which still clung to his foot. He quickly shook it off with a grimace. “Ew!”

“M-Maybe we should take a breather…” Mayoi took a look around before realizing that it may not be a good idea, given how the other door out of here had long since come off the hinges, “On second thought…we may need to keep moving until we have someplace more secure…”

The infected screeched and banged on the metal shutter, startling Niki. “I second that.”

Going further into the building, they found themselves in an old museum that once possibly was for the American Revolution, though the building had long since started to collapse in on itself and showed signs of having been looted sometime within the past 20 years. Niki held down a piece of lumber to pry open a space for the other two to pass through before the weight of the building forced him to let go, collapsing the small opening and separating him from the other two.

“Shit!”

“Shiina-san?!”

“I’m fine! I’ll find another way around.”

Clicking and screeching echoed from the room Hokuto and Mayoi were in. “Ayase!”

“Shit! Run!”

No, no, no, no, no! Don’t let this be how Mayo-chan goes! He’s tougher than that! Maybe we can beat that entity and have Mayo-chan stay with us!

It was a vain hope, somewhere deep in his mind supplied, but he was going to hang on to any little bit, any faint glow of an ember of a chance. Even if he had to kill more Clickers, more people, he would not let any more of his friends die.

He snuck around the side and into the darker rooms of the museum, whispering for the other teens as he began honing in on the various Clickers. He quietly crept through the broken museum until he reached the back stairway. Once he was certain he wasn’t being followed, and closing the door for good measure, he began jogging up the stairs. Banging and rabid noises of an infected drew his attention to down the hall.

A Runner was banging on the door as if it was still chasing whatever had alerted it.

That’s got to be where they went.

He choked it out swiftly, the realization that he was starting to not become affected nearly as much by taking these things down slowly crept in. It was a cold comfort at most.

“Ayase! Help!”

Niki burst into the room to see Mayoi get attacked by an incoming Runner while Hokuto was fending off another. He came running over and bashed the Runner attacking Mayoi with a nearby brick, the introvert tag teaming it with a wooden board over the head, breaking it open and killing the infected person. The clover soldier wasted no time in rushing the infected attacking Hokuto, swiftly ending it.

“Shit! More!” Mayoi pulled out a pistol and began firing as best as he could, taking two of them down with headshots before choosing to save his last bullet and going back to his wooden board.

There were at least seven more of them incoming, causing Niki to pull out his revolver and fire multiple shots. After a few tense minutes, the last Runner was down.

“Are you two alright?” Niki panted.

“Define alright.” Hokuto, at the very least, was starting to get his spunk back.

“Are you still breathing?” Niki cracked a toothy grin.

“If short, rapid, panicked pants count, then yes.” Hokuto chuckled, part of him not believing that they managed to make it through that unscathed.

Mayoi was quiet, taking a moment to lean against a display case. “I r-really hate this universe…”

“Yeah…no kidding…the dark doesn’t help either,” Niki looked out the windows and spotted the beginning of sunrise, “Would you look at that…we see another sunrise.”

“Let’s get going…” Mayoi quietly stated before walking out to the fire escape, taking a moment to look behind him with an unreadable expression, “We’re almost done…Stay focused.”

~*~

Wakka suddenly looked back at the bowl of water she had been using to check on this other hut, more than likely the place where the couple were. She saw a faint, golden glow coming from inside the building. “They are alive…and they formed a contract of their own!”

Tatsumi felt a sense of hope course through him, something that felt both unnatural and exhilarating ever since getting stuck in this mess. “Does that mean-?”

“Tatsumi,” Wakka grew stern and serious, “Are you certain you would like to become my holder?”

“Absolutely.”

“Then take my hands and we can begin.”

~*~

Niki and Mayoi opened the doors to the Capitol and were met with a grisly sight. All the Fireflies they were supposed to meet were dead. Shot. Every one of them.

“No…no…” Mayoi’s eyes widened as he began frantically checking the bodies. Hokuto was speechless at the scene.

“Mayo-chan…” Niki called out to the other who kept searching, “What are you doing?”

“M-Maybe they had a map…Hidaka-san, did that Marlene woman say where this lab of theirs was?”

Taken aback by the sudden question, the raven-teen took a moment to respond. “I…I don’t know…she said it was somewhere out west…”

“Fuck!” Mayoi cursed quietly.

“Mayo-chan, it’s okay! We’ll figure this out, all three of us!”

“No…you two will figure it out…this is my last stop…” Purple bangs covered his eyes as he stared at the ground, refusing to meet either of their faces.

“…Mayo-chan what do you mean?” There was a wetness to Niki’s voice.

“Ayase…” Hokuto could barely get the words out as the worst scenario unfolded before him, “…You’re infected…aren’t you?”

The air tensed between them. “Mayo-chan…there’s no way…”

Mayoi, with plucked courage, revealed the bite on the juncture of his shoulder and neck, the veins already darkening around the area as the infection spread. His voice wavered only slightly as he tried to remain strong. “This was over an hour ago. Back at the museum…Oops, right? Our luck had to run out sooner or later, Shiina-san.”

“What fucking luck!?” Niki kicked a rock in frustration, “You’re fucking telling me I was just a few seconds too late back there!? That I was so fucking close to saving you!”

“We knew this would happen, Shiina-san!” Mayoi began shouting back, “The entity made that very clear in the beginning! We knew I was on borrowed time and it wasn’t going to suddenly be kind and allow me to live!”

Niki gritted his teeth before punching one of the pillars, not caring that some of his knuckles split. “It’s one fucking thing to kill random people in this universe, even the infected, but it’s a whole other thing when someone you care about is infected with probably the worst disease that won’t even kill you! You remain conscious even when the Cordyceps takes over! I could barely hold myself together when I had to take out that Runner down in the subway because she was crying like she was still human!”

Niki choked on a sob. “I don’t think I can bring myself to shoot you, but I don’t want you to go through that and leave you like…one of them…”

Sounds of armed military trucks were heard outside. Checking out the window, Mayoi saw dozens of armed military personnel start piling out. “Looks like you won’t have to.”

“What?” Hokuto tried approaching the other.

Mayoi shoved Hokuto towards Niki. “Go, both of you. I can buy you both some time but you have to run.”

“You want us to leave you?” Hokuto tried to grab Mayoi again.

The other teen pushed him back. “Yes.”

“Mayo-chan-”

“I will not turn into one of those things!” Mayoi stood nearly toe to toe with Niki, unshed tears clouding his eyes as his voice shrunk to nearly above a whisper, wincing only once from a mild headache, “Please…I’m trying to make this easier on both of us…Get him to Hiiro-san, he used to run with the Fireflies he will know where to go…”

Topaz blue met turquoise for several tense seconds. Topaz broke away. “Hidaka-san…let’s go…”

Mayoi took a step back, readying his pistol with only one bullet left. “Stick together and have each other’s backs…okay? You both will get through this…”

Niki and Hokuto bolted through the doors behind them and up the grand, split staircase, hearing the gunfire behind them. It took all of Niki’s will to not look out across the balcony overlooking the entryway and see Mayoi splayed out on the floor with blood pooling around him.

He could feel his mind begin to fill with memories flashing back to the beginning of the outbreak, despite not remembering having them before. The entity came back, just to mock him, “Finally remembering? You have been in this universe for longer than you think. Seems the pain was too great, and your mind was blocking the memories…but it seems even your mind can protect you only for so long.”

He remembered fleeing from a house in Texas with Aira in tow. Hiiro had driven a truck to meet them and the three were attempting to flee. After the truck got into an accident, Niki was forced to carry Aira who had a broken ankle. At some point during the chaos, they were separated from the other teen. He and Aira nearly made it out of town when a soldier stopped them and was given orders to shoot them.

Niki…he tried to protect Aira…they tumbled into the ditch and he was nearly shot if it weren’t for Hiiro coming in time. But it wasn’t enough. Aira had been shot in the abdomen and was going into shock, crying at the pain. He died in his arms, the blood pooling everywhere. Aira’s shirt. Niki’s hands. The very ground.

“Shiina-senpai!” Hokuto hissed, trying to get the other’s attention without alerting the military below, “Shiina-senpai, please come back! Please…I don’t know what to do…”

Not now, Niki. Not now…don’t panic, don’t fall now. You have to stay focused. Hidaka-san needs you! Do not let Mayo-chan down!

He shook himself out of his daze and grabbed hold of the other’s wrist, slinking them around to another room where he spotted a hole in the wall that led outside. He will not let another fall. Not again.

Ending Theme: Rasen – jon-YAKITORI ft. Ado

English Lyrics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVld7njUsOc

Chapter Text

Opening Theme: Hana no Saku Basho (Where the Flowers Bloom) by Asami Imai

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mINvfJqZBzE

Fuck. These. APARTMENTS!

Rinne was so done with navigating tight corners with seemingly hundreds of infected. After the incident with that infected woman, a Witch, as the note helpfully supplied, he’s been terrified of accidentally rounding the corner on one with his flashlight on, or anyone else accidentally stumbling upon one of them. At least it was a good call to have him and HiMERU up front with the shotguns. Sure, it meant they were in the line of fire and faced the infected head-on more often than not, but at least the shotguns cleared groups of them out effectively. At least no Tanks, those big, hulking, assholes on steroids, have shown up. Yet.

Mao grimaced as blood spattered on the walls and himself, “Ugh…this is so disgusting…”

HiMERU blew a group of 5 down with one shot, nearly gaging as one of them had their innards explode. “At least…we can’t get infected…”

“Uh, HiMERU-han?” Kohaku quickly shot one screaming infected in the head with the AR-15, “Ya got somethin’ on yer shoe.”

HiMERU, disgusted at spotting some sort of organ matter on his foot, shook it off rapidly. “Never mind. He agrees with Isara. He cannot wait to be done.”

Thunder rumbled loudly throughout the building, reminding them of the approaching storm. Rinne continued down the next set of stairs after everyone regrouped, shooting a few more down the hall. Kohaku shoved himself in between Rinne and another infected that came from a blind corner, shooting it with no hesitation. The unit leader gave him a playful, but no less thankful nudge with his elbow and a small smirk. The pink-haired teen rolled his eyes, though a similar smirk grew.

Nearing another hall, there was a loud, low sound akin to a belch before something smashed into the wall around the corner from them. Green, slimy bile dripped down the wall as a particularly large, overweight infected stomped around the corner. HiMERU wasted no time in unloading a round on it, all four of them recoiling as it exploded violently, the top half completely gone while the lower half flopped on the ground. Several other regular infected were clawing at the green bile on the wall, completely ignoring the survivors until the bile seemingly started to evaporate. Their attention drew back to the group, though were quickly mowed down.

“Now that…was both disgusting and intriguing…” Rinne eyed the previously bile-covered wall.

“I guess that’s what’s called a Boomer…” Mao swallowed back a gag at the stench.

“Correct! As you saw with the bile, it attracts the infected like flies to shit! Do try to remain lucky like this time and don’t get covered in it.”

“Ya know, I can’t tell if yer tryin’ ta antagonize us or be oddly helpful.” Kohaku kicked away an infected that came through a bathroom door before HiMERU smashed its head in with his crowbar.

“Why not both? They aren’t mutually exclusive.”

Mao looked through what remained of a kitchen before finding a bottle of pain pills on the counter. The voice spoke before he could, “Ah, this is the other way you could heal…well, temporarily.”

“What do you mean by that?” Mao motioned for the others to guard him while he went into the kitchen to retrieve the bottle.

“Your medical packs will provide permanent healing, but are less plentiful, especially with me at the helm. Those pain pills will provide temporary healing that depletes over time but are more common to find. Do try to be careful about when you use a med kit. You never know when you will desperately need them. It might be better to bank on waiting to heal until you are really low to make the most of it. Course, that means you will be at lower health most of the time, which could become a liability.”

“How would we know our health? Not like we have health bars in our line of vision that would tell us.” Mao pocketed the bottle, making sure the pocket was zipped up to ensure it wouldn’t fall out.

“I took the liberty of adding those handy little bracelets. They’ll show your health bar. Have fun…”

Mao and the others chanced a glance at the said bracelets. They were simple, stainless-steel rings that had a bar on one side. They were all glowing green, though the bars were different lengths for each person, with HiMERU somehow the lowest of the four.

“Geez, Merumeru. Didya get hammered a few times without us knowing?” Rinne raised an eyebrow with a smirk.

“He thought he was doing quite well, thank you very much. Though that is quite concerning…”

A cacophony of roars made the group scurry. However, the staircase down to the next level was blocked with debris and furniture, no doubt from previous survivors who attempted to keep the infected at bay. Rinne looked around before spotting a large hole in the floor of what used to be a bedroom, several infected dotting the room below and a few on the other side. He quickly shot the two on the other side before motioning for the others, “Make sure to kill all infected before jumping down.”

“J-jump down!?” Mao noticed the height, “That looks like we’ll break something, or at least sprain our ankles!”

“No, it seems fine,” Kohaku judged the hole and the distance as if he had done this before, “If yer still worried, aim fer ta’ bed just over there.”

HiMERU began shooting a few infected that began gathering below, their mouths open in hideous screeches as their hands clawed the air. “It’s not as far as you think, Isara. Besides, we don’t have another way.”

Rinne jumped over to the other side upon noticing a closet. His gut instinct paid off when he spotted a small survivor’s cache hidden away behind some paper towels. “Score! There’s some stuff here!”

“What do ya see?” Kohaku kicked down an infected that managed to grab hold of a dangling floorboard before firing a few rounds quickly into the heads of a few more.

Rinne pocketed a Molotov and another bottle of pain pills before seeing a pipe bomb. “Can either ya or Neko get over here? There’s a pipe bomb available!”

“Again with that nickname!?”

“Congrats for volunteering, Neko!” Rinne held out the pipe bomb, “Can’t exactly toss it, ya know? Don’t wanna have a premature explosion right on top of us!”

Mao sucked in a breath and trailed near the edge where the hole was smaller. As he leaped, an infected grabbed his ankle, nearly pulling him down. Mao had just landed with his other foot on the edge when Rinne grabbed his arm and kicked the infected in the face, making it release its hold on the youngster. “Th-Thanks…”

Wordlessly, with a small smile, Rinne handed the pipe bomb to the other before checking the hole. At least the two bees were making good work and cleared most of the room, if not the whole floor. “Alright, careful! I’ll go down first, but make sure to cover me!”

Rinne shined a light around, making sure the hole and other entryways were clear before jumping down, thankful that the other two were right and that it wasn’t that far of a drop. It was more or less quiet, save for a few faint breaths of more infected outside of the apartment. Mao jumped down, using the bed to cushion his fall, before stumbling slightly. The other two came down shortly, keeping their guns at the ready.

They rounded a corner and found themselves on the first-floor landing of the building’s interior hall. Dispatching a few more infected, there wasn’t much to glean other than realizing they were almost halfway there. HiMERU took a couple of steps further forward, glancing around a corner before looking back at the crew.

It was then a Smoker was heard. A tongue shot around the corner and grabbed HiMERU by the throat before violently pulling him down the hall. He struggled, wishing he had grabbed a knife from Rinne before setting out, but the tongue refused to budge as he was dragged quickly away. He could hear the others shouting his name and attempting to run after him, but more infected roared. Bullets flew in the distance, the occasional one being aimed at the Smoker that had grabbed him. The next thing he knew, he was pulled outside and into the alley in front of the cursed infected.

Before it and a few infected down the way could do anything to him, they were shot in the head in quick succession. HiMERU gasped, feeling the humid, burning air fill his lungs as he coughed and hacked. He quickly recovered and stood before spotting someone he never thought he would run into again.

~*~

A knock on a door alerted Jun and Ibara. The former quickly opened it to see Wataru and Kanata helping Hiyori to stand. He scrambled to take hold of Hiyori, thanking the two profusely before a screech was heard down the hall. Kanata and Wataru waved him off as they sprinted away to return to their safe rooms before whatever shadow demon came by. Ibara rushed over, shutting and locking the door first, before helping Jun get Hiyori to lay back on the couch.

By the time they laid him down, the door handle jiggled before another knock was heard. Ibara hissed under his breath, “Damn it!”

He barely cracked the door open before Anzu, Jin, and Akiomi rushed in, the young woman with a bundle of clothes in her arms. She was panting, as if she had run all the way there. “Eh, Miss Producer? S-Sagami-sensei and Kunugi-sensei?”

She quickly knelt beside Hiyori and handed the clothes to Jun. “Can I see how bad it is?”

Hiyori gingerly tried pulling up the shirt before wincing. Jun covered his hand with his own until the older man relented, allowing Jun to lift the bloodied shirt to reveal the wound. His breath hitched in his throat. It wasn’t nearly as bad as he expected with all of the blood loss, but it pained him to his core that the other got hurt regardless.

Anzu moved over and took a small sewing kit and a bottle of peroxide from Jin who had hidden them in his jacket pockets. “We got something that might help. Though I’m good at sewing, I’m afraid I don’t have anything to numb the pain…”

Hiyori kept his tired smile. “I’ll take whatever I can get…”

“Sazanami-kun, could you help me tend to him? And Saegusa-kun…could you fill us three in on what’s going on with this…‘entity’ thing?”

Hiyori closed his eyes but briefly.

~Flashback~

A screech was heard behind the trio. Anzu, Jin, and Akiomi stood there, astounded by the chaos and general state of the library. “Wh-what happened here!?”

Her eyes drifted to the three idols before seeing the blood all over Hiyori. “Oh my god! Are you okay!?”

She rushed over to check over Hiyori, who looked between the two idols and the three floating kamuy. It seemed they didn’t notice the spirits. He finally found his voice, “Er…well…kind of…broke a shelf reaching for something…and…it kind of fell and…a chain reaction…”

“Y-yeah,” Wataru caught on, “Kanata and I just barely got here when we heard a loud crash.”

“Then how did you get hurt like this!?” Akiomi reached to check the wound, “That’s really deep!”

“Er…” Of course, of all times for Hiyori to lose his charisma, it just had to be now. Then again, all of his charisma and secret intelligence never prepared him to try and explain a situation like this!

“I’ll call an ambulance! You need stitches!” Jin made to reach for his cell phone.

“AH! No! No, no! There’s no need!” Hiyori quickly waved them away. They couldn’t leave ES unless it was to the dorms. Not unless they wanted more people to get hurt or even killed.

“Yes! There is!” Anzu was practically flailing, “You are going to bleed out if you don’t! No idol is going to die on my watch!”

“W-we can’t leave!” It was rare to see Kanata speak so quickly.

“Why not!?”

Hiyori laid a hand on Anzu’s shoulder, eyeing the kamuy before looking back at her. “It’s a long story. I can explain some, but…well, I am going to need stitches…and it will be very hard to believe…but we need you three to trust us on this.”

~End Flashback~

Hiyori woke to Jun calling for him. He had passed out partway into Anzu stitching up his wound, not having felt even the peroxide. “Ohii-san! Stay awake, please!”

“Ugh…I’m tired…”

“Ohii-san!” Jun grew more persistent with his shaking, “Just hang on a moment!”

As much as he wanted to go back to sleep, the noble realized that with how much blood he lost, he would most certainly die if he did. He mustered what strength he could to squeeze Jun’s hand to keep him grounded. Hiyori just barely made out Ibara discussing some of the events that had occurred and their current situation with the three producers as Anzu worked.

Don’t worry. I’m sure those three will help us.

Hiyori blinked several times, trying to figure out where Tokapcup was after hearing her. He finally glanced up to see her hovering over the couch, feet kicking in the air while laying down on nothing as she watched him, head resting in her hands.

Just speak with your thoughts. It will be easier to do that than try to explain why you are talking to thin air.

“How…how am I hearing you but not getting a headache?”

That was just because I borrowed some of Chironnup-Kamuy’s power to send a message to you. Currently, I’m attached to you because you more or less accepted becoming my Holder by freeing me and taking my shield.

“What is a Holder?”

Basically, a human that makes a deal or contract with a kamuy to gain power for a limited time, usually until the terms of the deal are met or broken. Depending on which kamuy a person makes a deal with, the powers change. For example, you are my Holder, thus, you get some of my powers, such as wielding sunlight that can be used against physical and spiritual foes, some fire-wielding capabilities, some healing magic, and the use of my special shield. In exchange, the human becomes a living vessel for that kamuy where they can then easily interact with the human world without necessarily physically being there, recharge their spiritual energy, which is our life force, and serve as a makeshift secret base in case we need to hide.

“…That’s…a lot…”

Oh, trust me, there’s even the whole consent portion of it. A Holder contract can’t form unless both the kamuy and person agree to it, and a kamuy can choose to reject giving or letting the person use their powers.

“Wait, so we may have access to them, but we still have to ask to use them?”

Duh, it’s a precaution to make sure our powers don’t get used for malicious purposes or in ways that would break the contract. Just like how a human can stop being a Holder whenever they wish, so long as they’ve been abiding by the terms, without a kamuy’s consent. That’s to make sure us kamuy don’t abuse humans or hold them against their will.

“…You know, for gods, you guys are awfully keen on making sure humans are almost on an even playing field with you.”

Our faith is based on how our people see nature, of which we are aspects. Our people view nature as a scale, a balance. So long as the proper respects are paid and rituals are done, the balance is kept. How we go about contracts with humans is a mirror of this. There is no doubt we are very, very powerful beings. Kotan-kar-Kamuy was responsible for creating humans in our faith to begin with. So long as we are respected, we gift humanity with sustenance and everything they need to survive. We only show our might when we need to defend them or if they have failed to respect us.

“Hm, so the whole Holder situation is almost like a symbiotic relationship.”

More or less.

Hiyori looked over to Jun when he felt his fingers brush some of his bangs out of the way, not necessarily looking at his eyes. He felt his heart tighten at how tender it felt.

Ah~ So this is your love? Your moon, so to speak? He’s cute!~

Hiyori felt heat rise to his cheeks, which grew hotter when Jun noticed it. “Ohii-san…? Are you okay? Still with me?”

“Mm…mmm.” Hiyori didn’t trust his voice but nodded.

“H-How did you know…?”

Hm? Know you liked him? You and I share the same body more or less right now. I can easily hear your thoughts and sense your feelings.

“Then did you guess when you first contacted me?”

Sort of? It was kind of obvious even from how far away I was…or maybe it’s because you and I are similar with…

Hiyori could connect the dots from there. You have a crush on your moon god?

Er…It’s…kind of complicated! Since our people never had a writing system, all of the legends and stories were passed on orally. As such, a lot changed based on village and from region to region. Sometimes we were referred to as brother and sister, but the vast majority of stories and places already referred to us as husband and wife…The truth of the matter for us on a personal level is that we…more or less just agreed with the humans to call ourselves husband and wife but we weren’t ever together…not like I wouldn’t want us to be like that…

“Sounds like someone is admiring from afar.~”

Pot meet kettle.

“…Touché.”

Hiyori glanced around at the other people. He must be extremely out of it if he can’t feel Anzu forming the stitches.

…No one else can see or hear me.

“EH!?”

I can sense your feelings and read your thoughts!~

“Right…But Wataru-san and Kanata-san could…”

That’s because they are Holders themselves. They have been touched by the kamuy, as we say. Really, it’s just because they’ve had direct contact and interactions with kamuy that allows them to perceive all of us. Everyone else here other than you can’t see or hear me. They could walk through me and be none the wiser. That demon can move between dimensions a lot easier than us, and he’s so much more powerful now that he can be perceived simply by existing, unlike us who are now weaker.

Hiyori’s gaze softened as he stared at her, seeing her golden eyes trail off to the side. “Mind telling me a bit more about this moon god of yours?”

Her warm golden eyes, almost like that of honey, sparkled. He is sooo dreamy!~ He acts all calm, and collected, though somewhat distant to most others, but he is always so sweet and gentle with me when we do get to talk! And he has the gentlest, sweetest smile! Our jobs keep us more or less at opposite times, so we tend to communicate through letters. He’s such a poet! He writes so beautifully and is so smart!~ I can’t help but feel like I make a fool of myself in front of him though…I’m just so bouncy and energetic that some people find it a bit much! He’s never said anything about it though…There were quite a few times whenever I got down he was the first person to ask what was wrong and try to brighten my mood. And he wouldn’t leave until he knew I was genuinely okay…

Hiyori inwardly giggled. “Sounds like this may not be one-sided.”

*Sigh* If only it were that easy…we still hardly get to see each other…and now after everything…I hope he’s okay…

“Did something happen? I remember you mentioned your realm was being attacked or destroyed by this demon.”

…I guess I really should start by telling you what happened with us…

~*~

Ibara watched over the group for a moment before pulling up his email. There was email after email from the government agency that requested the job that started all of this, requesting follow-ups and progress reports. Just today alone there were over five of them. He stared at the corner of his desk in thought, recalling any other time a government contract came in. They were never this pushy.

He pulled out a radio, speaking quietly. “Aoba-san…I have a request.”

“Eh!? Wh-what is it?”

He stared intently at the radio before speaking with more conviction. “I need you to trace something for me. The job that started all of this. I want you to double-check where it came from. My sources seemed to indicate this was a government-sanctioned contract.”

“Well, if it’s already been confirmed-”

“That’s the thing,” He kept his voice low, “I’m starting to wonder. They’ve been quite insistent on progress reports, far more than any agency or employer I’ve ever seen in one day. It’s one thing to train soldiers, even with unorthodox methods…but…something is not sitting right with me on all of this, especially now that we are dealing with potential spirits. Can you please just see where this could be all leading to?”

“…I’ll try my best.”

“Also…Miss Producer, Sagami-sensei, and Kunugi-sensei now know about the situation…if we need their help, let’s make sure to be careful. I don’t want the entity knowing that there are people who know what is going on and are immune to his intervention.”

“You think they’re immune? I get these shadows and the entity may only have enough power to be visible to us idols, but do we know that they can’t extend it to three more people?”

“That’s what I’m worried about.”

~*~

HiMERU stared in astonishment at the individual in front of him. “How…”

The large, bulky man looked up, his pistols still smoking from the bullets he fired. His black hair was half buzz cut, about an eighth of an inch in length, on one side while the other was far longer and straight, reaching the top of his pecs, and had a streak of white in the front. His half-stubble and half-goatee, as well as his café brown skin, made him look like a man of mixed descent in his mid-30s or early 40s. He looked like a businessman with a long-sleeved, white collared shirt under a black, vest corset, black tie, and black dress pants. What gave him away as being anything but a salary man were the heavy-duty combat boots, knives strapped to his biceps and thighs, and two pistol holsters around his shoulders.

His voice was deep, mature, and even. “It’s been a long time…Flash.”

Flash. The codename he used during his time with Fenrir.

Whether as a spy or on a secret covert op, Fenrir would occasionally require their agents to form pairs to get the job done. He was usually the undercover agent, but every undercover agent needed a second set of eyes to watch their back, or to get them out of a bind if their cover was blown. This person was the one he was most often paired with on account of how well they meshed and excelled at their missions.

He never did care to reveal his real name, which was common among the people of Fenrir. The man was always straight-laced and all business, but extremely reliable in a pinch. They were one of the few that he openly respected. One of the few in that unit he ever let get marginally close.

He felt his throat go dry. “…Thunder…how are you here?”

Thunder remained leaning against the wall, a passiveness permeating from them with an unknown undercurrent. “I would ask you the same thing. Last I knew, the top brass held a funeral for you. You were given full honors…such a shame you ‘died’ when you did. We were just getting to know each other…You even cut your hair. I remember you preferred it shoulder-length and always had it in a ponytail.”

Citrine matched steel-grey, the latter keeping a carefully constructed poker face. His former partner smirked, a very slight upward tilt of one corner of their lips, before letting out an amused hum. “Though, I’d imagine you being here is of the same willingness as mine. Or rather, a lack of it.”

He dropped the HiMERU act, letting his eyes widen to their normal place before letting his brow arch and furrow. “Very unlike you to speak in riddles.”

“Hmm-hmm,” Another amused hum, “You remember well. I would be quite worried if you forgot.”

He tried to keep his temper in check, something he realized he and Kaname both inherited from their father. “Speak plainly and answer me.”

Thunder’s smug smirk faded, the poker face returning. “About time we got down to business. You’re not the only one now hiding from Fenrir. Though unlike you, I didn’t get the luxury of faking my death.”

He clenched his fists. “Why are they hunting you?”

They stood up from the wall and slowly walked towards him, slowly circling him like a predator. “Long story short? They figured out I was high up on their wanted list and didn’t take kindly to realizing one of their most sought-after bounties had gotten so close to them and several of their files.”

Thunder stopped in front of him, his presence and the way he held himself made even the most rebellious and stubborn of individuals cower. “While you were gone, it seems Fenrir started getting ideas. Starting with those special items for a very old, long-buried project they wanted to bring back.”

“How old are we talking?”

“Mm…16 years ago?”

~*~

Niki was thankful to have found a hunting rifle. Still, very few bullets, but a third weapon, a bigger one at that, was not something to sneeze at. After a few engagements with the military, the two of them snuck out of the Capitol and into the subway. Once they made it out to the other side and were a safe enough distance, especially since most of the subway had been filled with spores, they found themselves sitting outside and catching a breather.

The chef kept staring at the grass, hands shaky and legs tremoring. He could still feel the warmth of the fire. The slight burn as he used the lighter to light a Molotov and burn two soldiers alive. The slipperiness of the blood on his hands as he searched the fallen soldiers for more ammunition and supplies. The screams in his ears as he killed them.

“Shiina-senpai!”

He hadn’t realized Hokuto was holding both of his hands, kneeling in front of him, desperation evident. Didn’t realize he was breathing extremely shallowly. He forced himself to take deeper breaths. “I’m-”

“If you say you’re ‘fine’ one more time I am going to slap you!”

Topaz finally lifted to gaze into bright ocean blue, though the latter had visibly darkened. “Please…Just let me help…You don’t have to shoulder all of this alone…”

Slowly, something internally began to give. Not quite like a dam bursting, but more akin to a weight simultaneously getting heavier and lifting off his shoulders at the same time. It drained him. Exhausted him.

His head slumped forward, dully resting on the other teen’s shoulder. He barely felt one of Hokuto’s hands leave his to rub slowly up and down his upper back. “…What happened back there? You…saw Ayase’s…and then you froze…”

“…So I did end up looking…after I tried so hard not to…”

“…Shiina-senpai?”

“…Niki…is just fine…I guess…the asshole said…I had experienced more of this world than…I remembered…”

Hokuto’s brow furrowed but his gaze remained somewhere behind the other idol. “What did that mean?”

“…I…was there…20 years ago, when all this started…” Niki felt hot tears begin to spill, “Hiiro-san and Aira-san…us three tried to escape…a soldier…he shot Aira-san…he…in my arms…”

The hand rubbing his back stilled before pulling the other into a tight hug. His voice was barely above a whisper, “Didn’t that bastard say they wouldn’t participate?”

“That’s what I thought, too…He’s using them…making them suffer more… to make us suffer harder…” He didn’t realize he spoke the last part aloud, “Killing…is so much harder…even when fighting for your life…it’s worse when they’re still human and you know that they are…Am I even myself anymore?”

“Shi…Niki-senpai. You are still you. What happens in these universes doesn’t change that…” He pulled back to look the other idol in the eye, “I know I haven’t been much help so far…but please, don’t shoulder all of this on your own. Like Ayase said, we have to have each other’s backs…Teach me. Teach me everything you know so far and we will work on the rest together. Did the entity say where this ends?”

“Salt Lake City…”

“How far is that?”

Niki sighed, slowly feeling the tears cease and dry. “Quite the distance…”

“Guess we better get going.” Hokuto gave a gentle smile.

He huffed an exhale before a weak, albeit fond smile grew. He barely registered a brief sting of pain in his temple after he said, “There’s someone near here that owes a few favors. They may have a car we can use.”

~*~

“So,” the blue-nette kept a close eye on his former partner, “You’re saying Fenrir picked back up interest in a project from 16 years ago?”

Thunder leaned beside the door he had been dragged out of, the roars and bullets still going. “The project itself dated back to a theory long before then. It was simply launched 16 years ago and then was more or less forgotten about until roughly 2 years ago. Seems Fenrir once dabbled in the occult as well as political and military intrigue.”

His arms remained at his sides, but his palms faced outwards, and his head tilted a fraction. “Why would they care about the occult? They are plenty powerful with how well they train individuals for other organizations and for their own purposes.”

“Organizations that are also off the books and in the shadows,” Thunder corrected, “Fenrir’s history is a lot longer than what most think. It didn’t always care about politics and the military. From what I gathered, they were once exclusively focused on the occult and alternate dimensions. The political and military intrigue portion was originally a side business to fund their pet projects, becoming the secret shadow of every shadow organization in existence in the process.”

He wished he had his shotgun with him. It probably fell when he was grabbed. Instead, he opted to twirl his crowbar around with faux boredom while his gaze stayed glued to the person. “Why are you telling me this?”

“The project that started 16 years ago was the result of a researcher who managed to make six distinct energy capsules that were made from the residual power of ancient gods whose names are long forgotten. That researcher – scientist – whatever you want to call them, based each one off of some theory that distinct emotions and actions gave off certain energies.”

He scoffed, “Like a vibe? How is that even useful?”

“Not that kind of energy,” The poker face momentarily broke as he rolled his eyes, “I mean useable energies. Similar to the burning of coal and oil or the use of solar and wind power, even nuclear. Each capsule can hold so much energy that just one could power all of China’s current energy consumption for the next 200 years before needing to be recharged.”

He nods after a moment. “Okay. Quite useful. And there’s only six?”

“Indeed…But their energy capacities go beyond merely electrical means. If all of the energy is released or used in a certain fashion all at once, they can rival the destructive power of 10,000 nuclear missiles.”

“…Why would Fenrir make something capable of that? That would defeat the whole purpose of organizations like itself.”

Their lips quirked upwards ever so slightly. “Since there are only six of them, they would fetch a very, very high price, possibly causing a bidding war…even amongst nations, given the energy and climate crisis as of late. Once they are sold under contract, all it would take would be for Fenrir to send undercover agents in to steal them back and pin the thefts on another organization. Then, once they were contracted to… ‘remove’ the supposedly responsible organization, they would send them back into circulation for more bidding under the guise of having reclaimed property. So long as the energy capacity remains sufficiently charged, this could go on almost indefinitely. Then nations would want to up their security to make sure they can’t be stolen. And who often helps with that, I wonder?”

A deep, slow inhale. Palms were starting to get sweaty. “…Fenrir.”

“So with Fenrir getting contracts to help improve security and secretly stealing these back and reselling them…”

“…It’s more or less an infinite cash cow.”

“Bingo,” Thunder inspected one of the knives he pulled out, “They will squeeze out all the competition and have practically everyone eating out of the palm of their hands. You could say even governments would become their puppets. With that, their hubris will get the better of them. They’ll lax. Drop their guard.”

“…Leaving room for any militant groups to catch them off guard and steal them,” He began to realize the true danger.

“And what would militant groups do with such items, I wonder?” Their voice dripped with sarcasm at the obvious rhetoric before returning to something akin to dangerous sternness, “The only hitch is that they need a reliable way to keep them charged. As the population these capsules draw their power from grows, the amount of energy from each emotion or action becomes greatly diminished. It would be better to either keep a small population influencing these capsules, such as locking them away and only having a certain group know of their existence outside of those who would bid on them, or find one extremely powerful source. And what better way than to look into the occult and alternate dimensions? Especially if they can sap power from, let’s say, another god.”

“You know far more than you are letting on, Thunder.”

“We don’t have the luxury of much time, unfortunately. The main point is that Fenrir found a disturbance that they linked to a god about 2 years ago. Following the clues, they found a certain boy had been placed in a coma due to a riot at a certain school…ring a bell?”

It felt like the floor gave way beneath him as his heart stopped and blood froze. Thunder continued, “Fenrir figured out your little secret shortly after that. And right now? That little brother of yours and the god he’s with are in their sights. This whole disturbance is a mix of both this spirit realm’s actions and the actions of Fenrir…I’m here to offer assistance in correcting all of it.”

He couldn’t make himself speak as he kept an eye on them, the revelation that Fenrir long since knew he didn’t die clouding his mind and suffocating his lungs. Thunder approached, keeping direct eye contact. “I figured out what was going on with you and ES, and it so happens our goals cross paths, align even. I can help you and these others, as well as your brother, escape this. But, in exchange, you have to help me take down Fenrir. Permanently. Even you can agree that this is something that will keep cropping up so long as they or those capsules remain in any sort of capacity. Even if your brother wakes from his coma, he’s still going to be in danger, so long as Fenrir remains. Besides…no one can simply leave Fenrir, not unless they truly are dead.”

The roars from the infected died down, as well as the bullets. Thunder pulled out some sort of small gun before shooting up to the rooftops, a grappling hook pulling them up. Before disappearing, they turned back to toss HiMERU a pistol and say, “Think about my offer. It’s not something to take lightly. But the situation is far more dire than you think.”

As Thunder disappeared beyond the roofs, Rinne came barging out into the alley. “Holy fuck! You’re okay!”

Mao and Kohaku came shortly behind, the former yelling at him to not dash off and get himself killed. Kohaku wasted no time in hugging HiMERU tightly, nearly knocking the breath out of him. Carefully, he wrapped his arms around the other teen in return, a weapon in each hand.

A pair of piercing blue sapphires noted the gun. “Since when did ya get that gun? Hiding more shit?”

Citrine eyes spotted one of the infected was a dead police officer. “When HiMERU was pulled out here, he managed to take down an infected that still had a gun.”

“Well, yer shotgun will still be far more effective.” HiMERU at least was able to put away his crowbar before Rinne tossed him his gun back.

“Careful! That was still loaded!” Mao scolded the eldest.

“Not like Merumeru would have caught it by the trigger, Neko,” Rinne’s attention snapped to the end of the alley going to the street, “…Looks like we’re almost there…How’s everyone doing?”

Everyone checked their gear and bracelets. HiMERU winced as he saw his bar had dropped to half and was glowing yellow. Rinne tsked as he glanced at his own, indicating his health wasn’t doing too well either.

“I’m runnin’ low on ammo.” Kohaku finished checking his stock.

“Same.” Mao bit his lower lip and began rubbing the back of his neck.

“…As much as the warehouses might have supplies, with how low we are, I don’t wanna risk us taking a longer route. The longer we’re out here, the more of those things will show up.” Rinne looked at each of them.

HiMERU focused on his hearing, hoping to glean something from the seemingly quiet streets ahead. “If we don’t have another horde on the way or after us, maybe we should just make a run directly to the subway.”

“HiMERU-han, if we do tha’,” Kohaku pulled out his med kit.

“Let’s not use it just yet, Oukawa. Some pills will be fine.”

“…Are ya sure?”

Rinne huffed before tossing a bottle from his pocket to the blue-nette. “Good thing that survivor’s cache had some extras.”

After HiMERU downed a few pills, the group took a moment to analyze the health bracelet as it showed part of HiMERU’s health bar becoming zigzagged as it increased but slowly started to lower. “So that’s what the entity meant…”

Rinne loaded a round into his shotgun and pumped the lever to ready it. “Stay close everyone. We’re almost there.”

~*~

Niki was getting very irritated. Whoever this Bill guy was better be worth it, considering all the traps laid around. The duo had to walk the whole way to this town, several miles away. This had better been worth it.

At least they now had a bow and some arrows and found far more ammunition. That would make sneaking around so much easier, so long as the enemy didn’t have a helmet and he shot straight and true each time. Although, considering how jerky the infected are in their movements, that would definitely be easier said than done.

Niki and Hokuto maneuvered around the clogged streets and back alleys that were far too quiet. They only found two or three clickers this whole time. The chef could sense something was off.

As he stepped through a back door into what used to be a warehouse, he spotted a fridge with a rope tied around it giving slightly. He quickly followed the rope trail before realizing it was a trap, and the snare was right around his foot. The rope tightened and pulled him into the air.

“OH FUCK!” Niki dangled upside down, somehow his weapons still staying secured in their holsters.

“Niki-senpai! Are you okay?” Hokuto ran over and steadied the swaying idol. It was so weird seeing the world and the other upside down.

“Damn it! Not another trap…Looks like the fridge is a counterweight. Think you can untie it?”

Hokuto pulled out a small knife from his pocket, looking slightly perplexed as to how he didn’t realize he had it. “…Or maybe use this?”

Niki sighed, “I’m not even going to question any of this shit anymore. Just do whatever.”

Hokuto climbed on top of the fridge and began sawing away at the rope. The knife was not the sharpest, judging by Hokuto’s frustrated appearance. “Might take a minute.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Niki passed the time to stretch his arms. He could almost touch the ground if he stretched enough.

A creaking groan resounded from outside. The duo froze. Then there were several clicks and more groans. Hokuto began trying to cut the rope faster.

“Shit!” Niki pulled out his revolver and began aiming out the doors and windows.

Several infected were trying to climb the chain-linked fence outside, while some came out from around other corners. Niki attempted to shoot, but being upside down made the task more difficult as his brain struggled to grasp whether he was lined up for a headshot. One infected came close and started trying to bite him, the chef struggling to push it away. He eventually smacked it with the butt of the gun before steadying his aim. One shot to the head took the runner down.

Two more came running, and Niki managed to take them both down in quick succession. If he had time to lament, he would be impressed with himself with how quickly he was starting to improve in his marksmanship. A clicker came barreling in and he spammed three bullets into it. Another runner came over and nearly bit him until he did it away the same as the first.

There was a brief lull in the flow of infected. “How’s it going!?”

“Almost…there…” Hokuto shuffled on top of the fridge. The movement caused the fridge to shift on the unsteady table. They both went toppling down, causing Niki to go higher in the air and Hokuto to fall off and into some debris.

“Shit! Hidaka-san!”

“I’m fine!” Hokuto ran back to the fallen fridge and began to struggle cutting the rope faster.

“C’mon, you can do it!” Niki paused seeing more infected come over the fence. He was up higher and out of immediate danger. But not Hokuto. “Shit! More coming! I’ll cover you!”

“Here!” Hokuto spotted a package of revolver ammo near his feet and tossed it to Niki before returning to his task.

More runners came and Niki started to feel panic and fear grow in his veins as Hokuto occasionally had to stop his task to run from an infected that managed to get close. It felt like hours but could have been no more than a few intense minutes. Hokuto managed to cut the rope just as an infected tried to tackle him, using his knife to stab it in the eye.

Niki fell hard on the ground before a runner got on top of him. He struggled to push it away before another person, a man, came in and slashed the infected’s head off. “C’mon, this way!”

The duo sprinted out of the warehouse and followed the man through a maze of barbed wire and trucks before reaching a dead end. The man struggled to find his keys as more infected approached.

“N-Niki!” Hokuto shouted, his fear making him forgo honorifics, as he spotted a clicker and several runners inbound.

Niki pulled out the hunting rifle and began shooting, keeping them at bay as much as possible. The man finally opened the door and the trio rushed in, the door being slammed shut by the man, who Niki had to assume was Bill since he was supposedly the only one in this town. More infected came in through what used to be a laundromat, with Bill shouting that they had to get through. Niki mentally calculated how many bullets he had remaining.

Shit! Not good…

He grabbed Hokuto’s wrist and pulled him around the side, kiting the infected and getting out of the laundromat. They followed Bill into a safe building, Niki and Bill working together to bolt lock the door before a clicker could get in.

Hokuto panted before Bill came over and handcuffed him to a metal pipe in the wall. “H-HEY!”

“Hands up and on your knees!”

“Woah, wait a minute!” Niki was kicked in the back of his leg before he relented.

“Any bites? Any sprouts?” Bill looked over Niki with great paranoia.

“No!”

Hokuto managed to pull the pipe free from the wall and bashed it over Bill’s head. Niki quickly pulled the pipe away from him and stood in front of the other teen, keeping himself between him and this “Bill” guy. “Are you done?”

“Am I done?” Bill sounded incredulous, “You come into my house, set off all my traps! And who the fuck is this bitch and what is he doing here!?”

“HEY!” Hokuto shoved past Niki, “I am none of your goddamn business! We are here because you owe Niki some favors, and you can start by taking these cuffs off!”

“Hidaka-san!” Niki held the teen back with a stern reproach.

“Oh, I owe Niki some favors?” The way Bill said Niki made it sound like a robotic voice took over, “Is this some kind of joke?”

“I’ll cut to the chase,” Niki kept an arm over Hokuto, “I need a car.”

“Well, it is a joke! Niki needs a car!” The man turned to him, “Well if I had one that worked, which I don’t, what makes you think I’d just give it to you? Might as well take all my food while you’re at it!”

“By the looks of it you could stand to lose some of that food,” Hokuto spat his insult.

“Hidaka-san!”

“Listen here you little shit-”

“NO! You listen! You handcuffed me!”

“HOKUTO!” Niki pulled the other far across the room with a sharp glare and low tone that made the other quiet down immediately, “I need you to shut up. Let me handle this.”

The trio calmed down before Bill spoke up, “I owe ya some favors, but they ain’t worth that much.”

Niki leaned in, using what intimidation tactics he remembered Rinne used to use, “Actually, they are…”

“…Well it don’t matter cause I don’t have a car that works.” Bill’s tone evened out, calming slightly.

“There are plenty of cars in this town,” Niki kept his tone low and even.

“Parts,” Bill corrected, “There are parts in this town.”

“And you can fix one up.” Niki narrowed his eyes.

Bill finally relented after a pause, wiping stuff off a table to reveal a map of the town. “Alright, if I’m gonna do this, I need some gear. It’s on the other side of town. If you can help me gather it, I can maybe put something together that runs. But after this, I owe ya nothing.”

Bill slams down a set of keys for the cuffs. Niki takes it calmly before unlocking the cuffs and tossing them on the ground. “That’s fine.”

“Good. Follow me. Whole town is booby-trapped so ya better stay on my ass.” Bill led the way out of his shop.

Hokuto muttered under his breath, “Can’t miss it…”

Niki grabbed him by the upper arm, hissing under his breath. “Would you stop it!?”

Geez, and I thought Rinne-kun was hot-headed!

~*~

The meeting room was quiet as the center monitor showed Rinne’s group and the right monitor, now free of static and the damn entity’s presence, showed Niki’s group. Tsukasa could barely hold his gaze on either monitor, not after nearly seeing his cousin fall off a roof, HiMERU get dragged off, and Mayoi die again. Seeing them all go through such agony and question themselves burned him to his core.

He felt helpless. Powerless. He hated this.

Forced to watch and be unable to do anything.

Meanwhile, all of those he considered his family and friends were fighting for their lives.

I can sense your desire to protect, young one.

Tsukasa snapped his head up and looked around. Everyone was either lost in their thoughts or keeping an eye on the monitors wordlessly. The near youngest lowered his head again. He must be under so much distress that he was starting to hallucinate.

You are not hallucinating. I am very much real.

He furrowed his brows and bit his lip. Maybe he was tired on top of it all. This whole situation was draining mentally.

*Sigh* No, despite this being a very draining situation, you are not dreaming me. Of course, I just had to pick the most stubborn one. Speak to me through your thoughts.

“…Who are you?”

I am called by several names, formally as Ae-oyna-Kamuy, Oyna-Kamuy, along with Ainurakkur and Okikurmi. Though, perhaps you might remember my physical presence if I tell you that you can call me Oki for short.

Tsukasa racked his brain, as the short name seemed awfully familiar. Then he remembered that one bodyguard. The one all idols at ES loved to have at events or during Lives. The jovial, kind, and strong guard who had a bad habit of smoking.

“Oki…Oki the bodyguard?! How the hell…?”

I may look like a human, but I am far from it. I have been traveling around since my original time here on this Earth. My travels have brought me here, right when I’m needed the most. The ‘entity’, as you call him, goes by Pauchi-Kamuy. He is a spirit, the god of insanity and chaos. I am a demi-god in actuality, son of the Thunder God and a human, and I served the gods as the protector and defender of humanity. Pauchi-Kamuy is too caught up in his war with the other gods to realize that spirits, like myself, can still play a part. I am the original human who became the first Holder and Link to the gods. I offer my aid to you all at this time.

“…How? What can you do?”

Since I am outside of that room, in physical form no less, I can help combat the evil spirits that are hunting you all down. Though I am but one man and now bound to somewhat human capabilities, thus can only be in one place at one time, I assure you that my powers are still beyond measure. When the time comes when I can safely break you and the other leaders out, I will call upon you to help aid the others in finally riding ES of this scourge and correcting the balance of the spirit world.

“…I…Look, I don’t…”

You doubt yourself? After feeling powerless, wanting to do something, to be of use, you doubt yourself now? I do not doubt you. The only reservation would be that, since I aided many gods and became their Holders at once, as well as became the first Link for my father, I hold immense power, possibly far too much for one person to handle…That white-haired one and brunette next to you seem like good fits…perhaps bringing them into this would disperse my power to a more reasonable level for each person.

“Since you’ve been a bodyguard at ES this whole time, why are you only showing yourself now?”

I was on leave, away from ES, when this all broke out. Upon my return, I immediately sensed the evil spirits and him plaguing this place. I knew I couldn’t leave this to sort itself out. Whether you accept my help or not, I will not let these idols and friends of yours come to harm. I will protect them as best as I can. However, I fear this situation is going to become far more dire later on, which is why I wish to extend my aid further, but I cannot do that without you and the other two agreeing.

Tsukasa spares a quick glance to Madara and Nagisa. The latter looked beside himself as he kept glancing toward Eden’s camera, looking for an off-green blond teen.

“How would I convince those two? I hardly believe this myself.”

…The reason I was able to speak to you in this way is because you have mentally sunken low. You have been forced to see those you hold dear get attacked and go through traumatizing situations without being able to help them. You have been greatly pained by this, and have a strong drive to do something. I’d imagine the other two will also have to sink to the depths you have gone for me to speak to them as I am to you now.

“So…They have to…”

It may only be a matter of time until they reach that point. Hopefully, I can reach them before they are too far gone. That is if you end up agreeing. I understand this is a lot to have thrown at you at once, much less may not understand fully what is going on. You can speak to me directly by calling out to me in your thoughts. I can allow time for you to think. I can sense my old guardian is in the building with you. She seems to have found a holder herself. They will have more answers for you. Try to coax that information out. I will be occupied in keeping everyone safe as best as I can.

With that, the voice ceased. Tsukasa shook minutely, his gaze bouncing between the two screens and the two leaders.

~*~

From a distance, a tall man with café brown skin and large muscles watched as Souma escorted Makoto back to the dorms. He had long, straight black hair that reached his lower chest and had two braids. One braid had six colored beads: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. The other had six beads of white and black. He exhaled one last puff of smoke before putting out his cigarette, tossing it into the trash, and walking off with hands in his pockets.

“Suou Tsukasa. Let’s hope you do agree. Just like you, even I can’t sit back and do nothing.”

~*~

“Shit, down here!” Rinne called to the trio as he led the way down the steps of the subway. It was a miracle that the streets were more or less empty save for a few clusters. Of course, the entity just had to send a horde just as they were almost there, and they were running out of bullets.

The redhead blasted a few stragglers that were in a storage area, spotting the safe room just ahead. HiMERU quickly shot one that nearly snuck up on Rinne. Mao and Kohaku kept the back secure as they progressed, though they kept looking over their shoulders to see how far the safe room was.

Rinne rammed the door open. “Inside! Quick!”

Everyone rushed in before Rinne slammed the door shut and secured it, a few infected hissing and growling on the other side.

“Congrats. You made it to the first of 5 safe areas.”

“Five!?”

“Oh? Thought it would be that easy to get to the hospital?”

“Ya know what,” Rinne hissed, “How ‘bout ya go and do your other shit!?”

“With pleasure. I’ll see you all when you leave this room.”

They all collapsed onto the floor, legs quaking as the adrenaline slowly began to die down. It was a small office, barely holding a few desks, a brick of an old monitor dating to the mid to late 2000s, and an old two-way radio, as well as a small bathroom and another door that left the safe room to the rest of the subway system. There was a small pile of ammo on one of the tables as well as two more med packs and an extra pump shotgun and submachine gun. Otherwise, other than more graffiti all over the walls, it was bare.

“Fuck this…four more areas? Of this bullshit?” Rinne sighed.

Static on the radio was heard, making the four jump as they recognized the voice. “To all survivors, go to Mercy Hospital for evacuation. HiMERU-san or anyone else, if you hear this, please pick up.”

“Tatsumi?” HiMERU staggered to the radio, holding the mic as he felt his heart begin to lighten at hearing the other, something he would need to seriously evaluate later, “Tatsumi? Is that you?”

“Finally! I’ve been trying to contact you all for ages! Are you okay? Who else is with you? Can the entity hear?”

“Amagi, Oukawa, and Isara are with HiMERU. We just barely got into the subway’s safe room. We were planning on taking the red line straight to the hospital to avoid the streets. And know, the entity left. It won’t reappear again until we leave the safe room, something about it would be boring to watch us rest.”

“Smart thinking.”

“H-How are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be-”

It was rare for the priest to cut anyone off. “It’s…It’s a long story. Essentially I found a friend who is going to help us. She knows who is causing this. He goes by the name of Pauchi-Kamuy.”

At hearing that name, Rinne’s eyes flew open before squeezing shut as he pounded his fist into the floor. “Damn it! That fucker!? Oh, this is going to be so much more difficult!”

“Hang on Tatsumi, HiMERU will hold down the button so you can hear,” HiMERU turned to the other, “You know this thing now?”

“Now that I have a name for it, yes! Remember my hometown situation? Well, they weren’t originally believers in Shintoism. Pauchi-Kamuy was from our original belief system. He’s the god of insanity and chaos. This explains so much why it kept sounding so damn familiar!”

“Ya know, tha’ makes so much sense…” Kohaku hissed in annoyance.

“So…do you know how to fight him then?” Mao sounded hopeful.

“It’s one thing to send back a spirit, it’s another when it’s a fucking god!” Rinne spat back.

HiMERU released the mic to let Tatsumi chime in. “She agrees that this is going to be tougher than it seems.”

Rinne came over and took the mic from HiMERU. “Priest boy. I have a few questions. This whole liminal space? That’s actually the spirit world, correct?”

“Yes. She says the Kunne Kamuy have been waging war with the other kamuy and the state we see the space in now is a result of that.”

“And this woman…she’s a kamuy, isn’t she?”

“Yes.”

“She’s a god, too?” Mao seemed nervous at the prospect.

“Kamuy is a blanket term that means spirit,” Rinne began explaining, “Similar to Kami in Shintoism. However, certain spirits are stronger than average, making them gods. Just like any other spirit, sometimes they are benevolent, other times they are assholes.”

HiMERU yanked the mic back. “Tatsumi…who is this…kamuy with you?”

“Her name is Wakka-Ush.”

Rinne let out a relieved sigh. “Thank whatever gods are listening that you ran into a good one!”

“Well, she is sitting right beside me and can hear you.”

“Oh, shit! Really?” Rinne seemed intrigued.

“Um, who is she?” Kohaku jabbed his unit leader with the butt of his gun.

“OW! Uncalled for, Kohaku-chan! Anyways, she’s the goddess of fresh water. She often intercedes on behalf of humanity and is quite adept at sorcery.”

“Yes, it was quite the miracle I ran into her when I did. She was able to lend me some of her power to come to this universe to find you.”

“Woah, woah, wait a fucking minute! Didya just say she lent ya her powers?” Rinne slammed his hands on the table.

“Yes? I…agreed to become her Holder, as they call it.”

“Oh son of a…” Rinne took a deep steadying breath, “Oh, I wish we could solve this without having to resort to that.”

“Are you against this?”

“It’s…Look, I’ve never been a big believer in this spiritual shit, but the idea of making deals with spirits has never sat well with me. Usually, it bites you in the ass in some way or another. As it is we are dealing with a really, really fucking evil kamuy, dealing with more may not help.”

“She says that the kamuy are struggling with this and need us. By helping them it will help us be rid of him and put an end to this madness! Besides, I’m not the only one who has already made a contract! We were only able to do so when the kamuy responsible for allowing these contracts to form also made a Holder contract of their own!”

“…Someone else…” Rinne could feel a migraine forming, “So…That means either Mayoi-chan, Ai-chan, Hiiro, or Akehoshi-paisen already…guess it’s too late now…”

“Honestly?” Kohaku leaned against another desk nearby, “We need all ta’ help we can get.”

“Just one thing! We need to be careful about revealing this at all, especially in front of Pauchi-Kamuy. We need to see if we can find several other kamuy to help us before we reveal this trump card. Also…we need to be careful about those artifacts.”

~*~

Those in the meeting and the call were stunned to hear the revelation. They now could put a name to the one tormenting them all. At the same time, things just got a lot more complicated. They continued to listen.

“What’s the need for caution?” HiMERU hesitated, “Also, Amagi. Wouldn’t you know what those artifacts are?”

“Dude, the original faith never had written records and changed from village to village, let alone from region to region. There’s no way there would be six unifying artifacts!”

“That’s the thing,” Tatsumi paused, “These six artifacts Pauchi-Kamuy is looking for were recent discoveries in their realm, about 16 years ago. They are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple gems that hold a few of the great kamuy. Chironnup-Kamuy, the one who sent us those visions, was the one responsible for that and sent them to ES. He tried to warn us so we wouldn’t end up in this situation.”

“And I received one of those visions a while ago…he’s actively trying to help…” Mao sounded distant.

“You did!? He’s still going…” Tatsumi sounded both parts relieved and disbelieving.

“Wait a minuTE…” Natsume muttered, “GemS…?”

“…Like this one?” Rei touched the tiny purple pendant in the shape of a spider that dangled from his silver chain.

Everyone stared in shock and apprehension. Shu spoke up, “It…reminds me of what Kagehira mentioned to me about a week ago. He said the red gem on his Valkyrie uniform looked different…”

“Same with my uniform for SwiTCH…” Natsume stared hard at the table, “I thought one of the producers added some bejeweled sequences to our unifORMS…but only mine had a green GEM.”

“Come to think of it,” Eichi pondered, “Wataru wore this odd owl brooch that had a yellow gem at its center…”

“And Shinkai-senpai was confused when no one said they gave him this orca pin recently…and it had a blue gem for the eye…” Tetora looked between several of the leaders.

“Um, guys?” Hinata piped up warily, “…Where’s the orange one?”

Ending Theme: Rasen – jon-YAKITORI ft. Ado

English Lyrics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVld7njUsOc

Chapter Text

Opening Theme: Hana no Saku Basho (Where the Flowers Bloom) by Asami Imai

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mINvfJqZBzE

The producer and teachers had since left, having to attend to other duties, but made sure to keep in touch with them as things progressed. Hopefully, it wasn’t a mistake to tell them about all of this. Hiyori’s eyes were half-closed, still resting on the couch, while Jun sat on the floor in front of him, rubbing circles onto the back of his hand that he held.

Ibara was glued to the computer, relaying the entries of the book Hiyori handed over to the others. It seemed Ibara was also taking notes on those gems the leaders were talking about, planning something with Mika who knew where in the various costume storage rooms the outfits in question were, probably another expedition. If more kamuy were in those gems, they had to get them, and soon. Now the main question at hand was tracking down the whereabouts of the orange gem.

Hiyori thought for a long moment.

“Hey, Tokapcup?”

Yeah?

“…If the other kamuy so far have been in those gems…how did you end up here? Didn’t you tell me you were captured? Or is the orange gem somehow hiding?”

I know for a fact that the orange gem holds Fuchi-Kamuy and Hasinaw-Uk-Kamuy, our goddesses of fire and hunting respectively. I was never put in one. When the Kunne started attacking and capturing the others, us celestial gods were arguing over whether to intervene or not.

“Aren’t you also good? Why argue over something like this?”

It’s because of our nature. Us celestial gods are more mediators or watch from afar, and don’t intervene, even between the good and kunne kamuy unless they directly attack us. However, Kunnecup-Kamuy, our moon god, and myself argued with…I guess you could call him our “boss”, Kando-Koro-Kamuy, the sky god. Our “boss” wanted to remain neutral, as our positions were not going to be affected and he had to remain on guard in case Pauchi-Kamuy tried to go after Kotan-kar-Kamuy, our ultimate Creator. Kunnecup and I went against him and opposed Pauchi-Kamuy directly, hence why we were captured.

“Ah, so he viewed you two as a threat since celestial gods usually stayed out of situations such as this?”

Yes. Our powers, though we are mediators and play little roles in the grand mythology of our people, are incredibly powerful due to our positions as…I guess you could call us Kotan-kar-Kamuy’s royal guards. When I borrowed some of Chironnup-Kamuy’s power to contact you, I was more or less betting on trying to find a potential Holder that would help me find a weak point in the dungeons to escape. So by you summoning me, I was able to escape captivity.

“…Wait, your moon god is called ‘Kunnecup’? Doesn’t ‘kunne’ mean ‘dark’ or ‘evil’? So is he good or bad?”

Well, sort of. Another way to say “evil spirit” in our language is wen-kamuy. Kunne typically means dark or black, though they are often interchangeable. Kunnecup is…quite different out of the celestial gods in terms of powers. While Kando-Koro and I wield divine energy, kind of what Fuchi-Kamuy and Wakka-Ush-Kamuy do with sorcery, he can use both divine and kunne energy. Usually, if a kamuy can manipulate energy and do sorcery, it’s only one or the other.

“How is he able to do both?”

I guess it’s because of the “dual nature of the night and the moon” as he put it. Some people romanticize the night and moon while others view them negatively. Kind of like how certain stories and myths can make certain figures either be good or bad depending on the context.

“So because of that dual nature, he can wield both? He’s quite powerful…”

Which is why I’m worrying so much. We were both in the deepest parts of the dungeons in Teinei-Pokna-Moshiri, our deepest part of the Underworld. Even then, we were separated. I’m not too sure…but I think I remember overhearing something about how they were trying to get him to “see their side”…

“They’re trying to get him on their side? Even though he already objected?”

Because of his dual powers, he would be quite potent for either side. I think Pauchi-Kamuy and the other higher-up Kunne want to convince him that their cause is just…just like how they want to find Yushkep-Kamuy so badly.

“Yushkep?”

She’s our goddess of death, marriage, childbirth, and spiders.

“That’s…quite the…eclectic role there.”

I can assure you, she is benevolent. Sure, you get her mad enough she can be just as vicious as the Kunne, but she hates showing that side! She’s honestly one of the sweetest! Kind of like a mother-hen! Though she’s aware that many fear her, she tries her hardest to be kind to every soul.

“Is she like our version of a Grim Reaper?”

Hm? I guess…she’s more like the one who greets the souls into the afterlife. Once Fuchi-Kamuy deems where they should go, she helps organize them down in the Underworld.

“Oh…So more like Hades?”

Who?

“Ancient Greek god of the Underworld.”

Um…sure? I don’t know who that is, so I’ll just roll with it!

“Also, how does a fire goddess work with the dead?”

Oh! The Ainu believed the soul was like an inner fire, since when one dies their bodies become cold! She also serves as the mediator between humans and the gods, hence why she is invoked before anybody else, and the hearth where she rules is viewed as a portal to the ancestors and the afterlife! She essentially decrees where they get placed in the afterlife, whether to the regular Underworld, Pokna-Moshiri, where Yushkep rules, or to Teinei, under Pauchi-Kamuy and the other Kunne. Although, she’s specifically in charge of infants and the like.

“Why them? And would that mean Pokna-Moshiri is like heaven? And Teinei would be hell?”

More like Teinei is meant for the worst of the worst and the one above has several more layers based on the individual. Fuchi-Kamuy tends to decree which world they go to, but not the layer, which Yushkep would figure out. Infants are different in that Fuchi-Kamuy will hold on to their souls until she deems it time to put them into a new baby.

“…Because they never got a chance to live?”

Yeah, she has a real soft spot for them. As much as she chastises Wakka-Ush, our freshwater goddess, for caring about humanity so much, she’s just as guilty, at least when it comes to babies.

“…So, if Yushkep is the…for lack of better terms an ‘undertaker’ of sorts and manages Pokna-Moshiri…does that mean she’s in contact with the Kunne often?”

Yeah. Her realm is just above theirs. How it started was that, after the Kunne were banished underground after Chironnup-Kamuy saw the sunrise, no one knew exactly where they went. Just that they went underground. So when Yushkep was expanding Pokna-Moshiri, she more or less stumbled upon them by accident. She ended up making a deal with them to make the two realms like a joint afterlife depending on how bad a person was while alive. However, that meant she was also in charge of many of the fail-safes to keep them down there, with Chironnup-Kamuy as the last resort. She’s never been too fond of the Kunne, especially that Poro-nitne-Kamuy. That jerk tried to force her into marriage with him!

“How did she stop that? Also, do the Ainu not have arranged marriages?”

It’s more like women have the final say on partners, despite how subordinate they are in most other circles of life. It’s because of how Yushkep handled that issue with Poro-nitne-Kamuy that the Ainu have that belief. She…well, rumor has it there are two stories. One, she had disguised herself as a reed and let a few of the other lesser kamuy beat him up when he tried to come back for her. The other…she sent her insect kamuy after him and then killed him when he tried to run away.

“…Well, clearly he’s still alive, right? So how can it be the latter?”

…It gets kind of complicated. You see, lesser kamuy, even demons, can easily be killed, as they just…recycle, I guess. However, for kamuy that are more defined, such as myself or Pauchi-Kamuy, we can’t necessarily die; we can reform and put ourselves back together all we want. So long as what we represent still exists, we’ll just keep coming back…unless our spiritual energy depletes…then Kotan-kar-Kamuy would, I imagine, create a new kamuy to replace us.

“What do you mean by imagine?”

It’s never happened before, so even we don’t know what would happen. Very few of us kamuy know what truly happened between Poro-nitne-Kamuy and Yushkep, other than he finally left her alone. We initially thought he was just some demon, as he just came from somewhere beyond the horizon one day, but…I think Yushkep did try to kill him but he couldn’t die, which is why we think he might be a genuine Kunne god of some sort. He’s never stated what he was a god of, though…so many of us just call him the Kunne God of the Unknown.

“I’m guessing the Ainu feared the Unknown?”

Well, when the proper rituals are followed and respects are paid, it would follow that everything runs smoothly. When something goes wrong, humans may not understand what is wrong, and thus contact us through Fuchi-Kamuy to figure out what the problem is. If we don’t have an answer, or can’t solve it…

“That would put them into a panic…”

And they didn’t particularly care to meet other cultures, or interact with them much…especially after…the oppression by the Yamato and the Japanese…

“So the unknown was considered a dangerous place.”

Pretty much.

Hiyori glanced at Jun, feeling his heart tighten at the gentleness in which he was being treated.

…You really like him. What’s stopping you from telling him?

“…It’s so complicated. There’s my family…even though I’m the second son I may end up in an arranged marriage regardless. Then there’s how Jun-kun and I met…I can’t stand the idea of losing him…he understands me in a way very few ever could, has seen me at my lowest, yet still follows me. Heh, even when I know I’m being a brat…I…I’m scared…that he doesn’t like me like that…that I might ruin what we have…that he would leave…”

He chanced a glance up and spotted Tokapcup with a saddened smile.

I get that…Me and you are quite alike, huh?

“…Yeah…I guess so…”

“Ohii-san?”

Violet eyes blinked rapidly before turning to meet gold. “Hm? Something wrong?”

“…No…just…making sure you’re still with me…Told you to come back. That it was too dangerous…”

He flicked the younger male in the back of the head, giggling at the indignant squawk he let out. “For once, I didn’t want you to do something for me, and you are complaining? Do you like serving me that much?”

He relished in the scarlet hue that blossomed on the other’s face. “N-No! Goddamn, it’s cause you always insist on me doing everything for you…”

“Uh-huh, sure, Jun-kun.”

“…Besides…I was worried that it would be the last time I saw you…” Something in Jun’s tone was making the gears in his head turn, and not in a good way.

He whispered very quietly, “Jun-kun?”

Jun turned around at that, his voice also low, “Yes?”

“…Be honest with me,” he had to know, “That sounded like you’ve had that happen to you before…care to tell me what happened?”

The scarlet flushed even further on Jun’s face, forcing him to look away. “Goddamn, how were you…”

“Jun-kun?”

“…Before you came to Reimei…there was…a friend…he and Kazehaya-senpai were supposed to announce they were forming a unit together…I told him I needed to talk to him after that…but…”

Hiyori knew a little of what had happened the year before his arrival. At the time, he was preoccupied with the War and being part of fine. “I remember you said some sort of riot or something happened within the student body, right?”

“Yeah…he wasn’t the same after that…it was like he didn’t know who I was when I ran into him later…after everything we went through together…I guess I was just replaceable to him.”

Hiyori furrowed his brows, lightly smacking Jun on the shoulder. “Don’t say that about yourself.”

“Ohii-san?”

“You are not replaceable. Anyone would be lucky to have you by their side. I don’t know what happened to your friend during all that, but he shouldn’t have thrown you away like that. Tough luck to him, because now you have me.~”

Jun shook his head, though a small smile formed. Still, something bothered him about this “friend”. “What? Were you going to say you had a crush on him? Hm? Did my little Jun-kun have a crush?”

“…Goddamn,” Jun hissed quietly, “You are ridiculous…don’t understand how obvious it was…”

His eyes widened. “I got it right?”

“Yeah…I guess you could say he was my first crush…though it doesn’t matter now. HiMERU-san is too different n-” Jun’s face flushed a deep, deep red, “Shit…”

“HiMERU-kun?” Now this was interesting. Although, he could feel some sort of burning deep down, along with the sudden urge to punch him.

“J-Just forget you heard that!”

Hiyori decided to drop it. As much as he would love to press further, he could sense when a raw wound was reopening. He knew Jun was practically drowning in despair and darkness when they met, but he didn’t realize it went that far. Instead, he laid his head further into the pillow and closed his eyes. “Jun-kun?”

“Hm?”

“Where do you think that orange gem is?”

“…I don’t know…so far they’ve all been jewelry either on us or on our unit uniforms…but no one has come forth about it…”

“Hm…that’s quite concerning…I hope Wataru-kun and Kanata-kun made it back safely.”

“I think they did. Heard something about them when I checked with Ibara a little bit ago. Seemed the rest of their units were hassling them.”

“Mm…” Hiyori felt himself begin to drift into slumber.

~*~

Several minutes later, Jun let go of Hiyori’s hand once he knew the other was asleep. Though it pained him to leave, he stood up to check on Ibara and the others.

“Ah, Jun. I need your input.” That was not one of the first things he thought Ibara would say to him.

“On what?”

“Mr. Kagehira believes he knows exactly where the red and green gems are in those various storage rooms. Since he and Mr. Kiryu know those areas like the back of their hands, we need them both to get to those rooms safely. The cameras are showing extensive activity with several shadows in that area. Since Mr. Kiryu has been on one expedition already so far, we need others to back them up. His Highness has given us great information about how to fight these things, even if they are extremely dangerous,” The magenta-haired man trailed off briefly, “…I…was wondering if you would like to join them.”

“Weren’t you just arguing with me before this last one that these things are much more dangerous than we thought?” Jun folded his arms, brows furrowing and stare hardening.

“Yes…but now that we know these things are not invincible-”

“Which we knew already because of Amagi-kun,” Jun reminded the other. He still couldn’t get the kid’s screams out of his head.

“In the liminal space – spirit realm – and the alternate universes, yes. Out here? We didn’t know what rules they would play by, much less if we would have the tools to even harm them to begin with. His Highness was able to take out two of them, one even on his own. I’m more confident in us being able to fight them, at least the ones I know can have a reasonable chance…”

“…That’s why you want people to guard Kagehira-san and Kiryu-senpai. Since they both may not have the strength to protect themselves.”

“Especially with how many there are,” Ibara pulled up the camera feed showing the storage rooms, “See how many we can see right now? These rooms are crawling with them. It’s going to require everyone on this expedition to be there and work together…I’m giving you the option because I know His Highness would probably prefer to have you stay.”

“Ibara,” Jun sighed, posture easing, “You’ve already been on one of these.”

“I’ve had enough time to rest like Mr. Kiryu.”

“But,” Jun interrupted, begrudgingly complimenting him, “You…you’re invaluable here. You’re…how do I put it…like a commanding officer or tactician for us. Even you nearly got caught by those things. It would be dangerous if we didn’t have you here. And it wouldn’t be fair if no one from our room went to help.”

“…So I take it you will join?” Ibara kept a level gaze, but his tone was far softer than usual.

Jun thought for a moment as he stared at the ground. Hiyori would be safe here. There was no way he could go back out, even if they would allow him. He couldn’t sit and do nothing.

“Yes. I am.”

Unbeknownst to them, Tokapcup watched the two as they conversed. She bit her lower lip, gaze darting between Jun and Hiyori.

~*~

When Jun returned to Hiyori’s side, until the rest of the expedition was ready to head out, Ibara heard his name being called by Nagisa.

“I know you can hear me…What else happened with the second expedition crew?”

Ibara dreaded this. He knew the other was keenly interested in a particular individual.

Hiyori.

…Your Excellency…you’re not going to like this…

~*~

Okay, Niki could give the guy credit, Bill was a very prepared survivor with several safe houses and armories dotting the town. Despite his rough exterior, he was proving to be quite reliable. Hell, the guy even gave him a shotgun and taught him how to make nail bombs! Even had info to upgrade his medical skills and med packs! Even knew where a battery for a car was supposed to be!

Key words being “supposed to be”.

At least Hokuto was serious about pulling his weight with helping them navigate areas. The guy was even willing to crawl through a blocked-off doggy door and climb up onto the bus to drop a ladder for them after nearly getting bitten several dozen times. If only Bill would stop being stubborn and let Hokuto have a gun. He tried giving the other one of his a while back, but the weapon kept somehow ending back up on him. The stupid entity must have thought ahead and made it so they were unable to share weapons…well, not like they had much in terms of ammo regardless.

After sneaking the best that he could up to the high school with Hokuto and Bill in toe, with the other teen having saved his hide when three runners sounded off and the closest one was pegged in the head with a glass bottle, they were just barely outside by the old FEDRA truck that had crashed into the school on one of their supply runs. Shortly after Bill mentioned that they were almost there and just needed to get to the hood of the truck, Niki just knew. He just knew that either they were jinxed, would have to deal with a small horde, or probably both.

When roars and screeches of several infected were heard along with Bill’s frantic exclamations, Niki wasted no time in trying to find a door or window that got inside the building. Running around the back, he spotted a window that would slide open, ushering the two ahead before attempting to crawl through. A clicker jumped him from behind, forcing him to elbow it in the face to break away. It grabbed his leg and tried to pull him back outside, Hokuto trying desperately to hang on to Niki’s arm. Bill, proving to be the capable survivor that he is, yanked the chef into the building before blasting the clicker’s head off with his own shotgun while Hokuto, stunned at how quickly that escalated, immediately closed the window to slow any more infected from coming in.

The room looked like it was some sort of shop for the school, like an auto shop or some sort of AG room with several propane tanks and other tools in the area. Infected banged against rusted doors. Niki had Hokuto help him move a shelf in front of the door to buy them a bit more time while Bill got the battery.

“It’s empty.” The tone of disbelief in Bill’s voice was not what he wanted to hear.

“What!?” Niki came over from leaning against the shelf to see the compartment for the truck’s battery empty.

“Guys! It’s not gonna hold!” Hokuto struggled as more infected beat down on the door and shelf.

“Fuck! Where do we go!?” Niki panicked.

“Anywhere but here! Follow me!” Bill led them deeper into the school, locking the doors that led to the shop. “We can cut through the classrooms!”

The trio halted as soon as they realized the infected inside the school hadn’t been alarmed yet. Bill whispered, “Let’s sneak out the back.”

Yeah, sneak. That will be easier said than done.

~*~

It was a good thing the entity – Pauchi-Kamuy – allowed them the freedom to go to and from the dorms. Just couldn’t make any pitstops. However, inside the dorm buildings was a different matter entirely. Jun crouched as he hid behind one of the couches that got moved during Sora’s chase a few hours ago. All he had to do was get to the dorm room, get Mika, and return to ES to the costume storage rooms. He could do it.

The expedition force was going to consist of Kuro, Shinobu, much to Chiaki’s reluctance, Yuzuru, also with great reluctance by Tori and Wataru, Adonis, Hajime, much to the greatest of reluctance from Nazuna and Mitsuru, and Leo, as well as himself and Mika. The first step was to escort Mika from the dorms to ES to ensure Mika would get there safely, as more shadows started to roam the dorms. The second step would be to work their way through the storage rooms with Mika and Kuro as their guides, while the others were there for protection in case they were detected. Ibara stressed that fighting should be a last resort and to prioritize sneaking around if they could. Unlike the other expeditions, this one had a clear goal, more like a sting operation rather than aimless wandering.

He figured Shinobu would be better with the sneaking, but then he thought better of it when considering the issue of if they got caught. While Shinobu and Mika weren’t necessarily pushovers, judging by Hiyori, Kaoru, and Arashi’s encounters, you needed to either be extremely lucky or particularly strong and agile to contend with them. Then again, he also questioned why Hajime would come on this, as Nazuna would be a better contender. Hell, even Mitsuru was a fast runner. However, if Adonis supported the idea, considering their arm wrestling match, then perhaps the blue rabbit was stronger than he looked.

He glanced around before an idea came to mind, having seen no shadows at the moment. He pulled out the radio and whispered into it. “Hey, Fushimi-senpai. Your dorm is on the first floor, right? Do you want a different pair of pants, considering you are walking around in half shorts?”

Yuzuru’s laugh was quite welcome, given the tense situation. “If you can, then that would be greatly appreciated. Though, do not risk yourself or Kagehira-sama if it is too dangerous.”

“Yeah, I got that…Otogari-san? Is there anything you need from your dorm?” Jun mentally remembered that Adonis shared the same room as Makoto, his ultimate goal.

“Hmm…I don’t think so…unless…could you get my running shoes? The ones I use for Track and Field? They would be better than what I have right now.”

“Got it. Going dark.” Jun muted the radio and placed it back inside one of the side compartments on the satchel bag Ibara provided him with.

Okay…Fushimi-senpai’s room is on the first floor…but Harukawa-kun should have the Master Key…so I would need to go to the second floor, get Kagehira-san, the key, and Otogari-san’s running shoes, then go to the first floor, get Fushimi-senpai new pants, then leave…Goddamn, this is going to be long…

He figured going left would be the wiser idea, as it would be the shortest path between the two rooms and the entrance. Now, if the shadows would keep the area relatively clear was up for debate. He crept over to the left-hand side, taking a quick moment to look down the right wing to check for shadows. Thank whatever god was watching over him that he had a couch to quickly duck behind because a weird-looking shadow creature started approaching.

It looked like a hodge-podge of several species. It had wings that were folded against its body, the feathers occasionally ruffling out as it shook them. The back of the body was that of a lion while the front was that of an eagle, including the front legs becoming more like legs with talons. The head, that of an eagle, had pointed ears that rotated around like satellites. Belatedly, Jun realized it looked uncannily like a griffin, just a lot more shadowy and demonic looking.

As it came closer, he moved himself around the couch keeping a low profile. It clacked its beak as it scanned the area with unholy yellow, pupilless eyes. He shuddered at remembering how Pauchi-Kamuy saw through its eyes to go after Sora. It let out a low screech before clacking its beak again, deciding to start wandering down the left hall.

Damn…so much for that plan. Guess I’m…fuck, these halls are long with few chances to hide in side rooms. If I’m spotted, I have to run and who knows what other ones could be lurking around, much less how fast they are...Even the bulky one that chased Ohii-san earlier was still fast, even with an injured paw…I don’t think that thing will be small enough to get through the stairwell, so maybe…shit, ballsy move, but it just might work.

He began sneaking behind the Griffin-Shadow, banking on it not turning around until the end of the hall. Hopefully, he would find an unoccupied lounge or common room to hide in as it turned around. He kept to the left-hand side, momentarily pondering if he would need anything from his dorm.

Actually…

He pulled out his key and quietly began to unlock the room, keeping a close eye on the shadow. Once he was inside, softly closing the door before properly standing up, he immediately went to his bedside drawer and pulled out a bag of marbles, something that they used in the ASOBI Club from time to time, before placing them inside his bag.

Might help make a good distraction in a pinch. Should save as many as I can for the storage rooms.

He paused briefly as Kohaku’s side of the room caught his eye. He remembered first meeting the kid. Quite the spitfire, that one. It did concern him how isolated he was at first, but was glad to see he had found his place at ES, and had several friends, including himself, despite some of the teasing and tricks they would play on each other. Memories resurfaced of seeing Kohaku in that school, breaking down after seeing Aira die, getting possessed, and nearly drowning. He couldn’t look anymore.

Jun peaked out of the dorm, checking to see where the Griffin-Shadow went. He spotted it returning to the right side of the building, a grin forming at just how lucky he was getting.

A hiss from above the door made him freeze. He glanced to the ceiling, seeing a Humanoid-Shadow clinging upside down to it on all fours. It glared at him before hissing again, mouth opening and revealing more of those large fangs, blue-grey tongue lolling out due to gravity. He slammed the door.

The creature screeched as it banged against the door. Jun had his back to it, heart beating a mile a minute as he looked around for some sort of weapon. His eyes landed on his window. He was on the first floor, perhaps someone else left their window open? Unlikely, considering it was the middle of winter.

…But could they be unlocked?

His weights would be too cumbersome as proper weapons, not with how quickly these things moved. He had to take the chance.

He bolted for the window, quickly unlatching it before tumbling out, then shutting it before looking around. At least Yuzuru’s dorm was right next to his. He spotted that the window to said dorm was ever so slightly cracked. Dashing, he scrambled inside the window after a little prying. He could still hear the screeching creature through the semi-thin walls. Taking but a moment to find Yuzuru’s dresser, he dug through the drawers until he found a pair of pants before stuffing them inside the satchel bag.

The shadow must have noticed he was in the next dorm, as it began banging on that door. He bolted out the same window and glanced up. He could make out Yuta waving at him from the second-floor window. Yuta pulled open the window before reaching out with a hand. “Quick! Can you find a way to reach me from here?”

The creature screeched as it started breaking down the door. Jun glanced back up, spotting the dorm was right next to one of the pillars and above a half-wall on the first floor. He backed up enough to get a good running start. The shadow burst through the door, screaming as it launched out of the window. He ran and scrambled up the pillar, grabbing hold of Yuta’s hand and his feet using the wall below the window to anchor himself.

Yuta was beyond shocked. “Holy! How did you-”

“Pull me in!”

Yuta quickly pulled Jun inside the dorm, just as the creature tried to reach up and snap at his feet. Inside the safe dorm, he took that moment to heave deep breaths. “Goddamn, now I get why Ibara and Fushimi-senpai had so much trouble!”

“Are you okay, Sazanami-kun?” Makoto was sitting at one of the desks, the secret laptop open as he waited for Tsumugi to signal him in the chat log. Sora was sitting cross-legged on the couch looking over more of the binder of Tatsumi’s visions, he barely waved a hand at him before refocusing back to the subject in his hands with an intense look.

“Woo, what a rush!” His tone was far from ecstatic, “Thought I was going to become lunch to one of those things!”

“How did you scale a wall!?” Yuta nearly shook him by his sweater.

“E-Easy! Stop shaking me! I work out a lot, that’s all! I swear!”

Mika stood in a corner, visibly shaking at hearing the screeches. Yuta noticed and shut the window, effectively blocking out the noise. “It’s okay, Kagehira-senpai. They can’t get us here.”

“But I have ta leave…”

Jun took pity on him. “Not quite yet. I’m going to need a breather after that. Plus, it will give some time for these things to hopefully calm back down again. Yuuki-san, where’s Otogari-san’s running shoes? He wanted me to get them.”

“Uh, over there.”

Jun placed the shoes inside the satchel bag, thankful that it had far more room than it looked like it would. The impromptu attack at least checked off several of his tasks. Now it was just time to get Mika out of here.

“Uh…Jun-kun?” Mika spoke up slightly.

“Yeah?” Jun flopped onto someone’s bed, probably Makoto’s judging by his exasperated sigh.

“Uh…well…you an’ Tomoe-senpai were supposed ta have ta’ day off…but I didn’t see Bloody Mary with ya both durin’ ta’ call. So I was wonderin’ where she was.”

Jun’s eyes snapped open as he remembered. Hiyori and he were planning on just relaxing in Hiyori’s dorm with Bloody Mary. They thought they would be back soon after getting that fake message from Ibara and left her in the room. “Oh, fuck! I need to get her!”

He then remembered several of the other pets at the dorms. “Shit! What about the others?”

Yuta tried to calm him. “L-last I knew everyone else was at an animal daycare for the day!”

Jun slowed his breathing marginally. At least it was just Bloody Mary. Granted, what the hell was he supposed to do with her once he got her? Leave her with them? Actually…

“If I get her, would you guys be willing to watch her?”

Yuta fondly smiled. “You mean while this whole life or death situation goes on, we can play with a puppy? Sounds good to me! Although walking her might be a touch difficult…”

“Actually…we could probably find old newspapers or somethin’ when at ES. On ta’ way back, I could grab a bunch…” Mika offered.

“As long as we can get her dog food, too. We should be fine with that.” Makoto turned to sit in his chair backwards, giving Jun an encouraging thumbs up.

“Then,” Jun stood back up, depositing the satchel on the bed, “I’m going to go get her. She’s in the dorm right above us…wish there was an easier way than using the stairs to get there, but I know none of the windows are open. I’ll make sure to grab her smaller bag of dog food, too.”

“Y-you sure!? You just got here!” Makoto’s encouragement wavered completely.

“So long as that thing stays down there. I can handle the ones up here.” Jun retrieved three marbles and tucked them into his pocket, just in case, “I’ll be back.”

Jun left the dorm. At least Hiyori’s dorm was still close to the stairs. He managed to get into the stairwell with little incident, save for hearing the occasional screech and growl from somewhere on the other floors.

Just up one floor and two doors down. Hang on, girl. I’m coming. Thank whatever god that Ohii-san gave me a spare key.

The next floor was also semi-clear, with more Doberman-Shadows farther down. Inside the dorm, he let out a shallow sigh before whispering out for the dog. “Here, Bloody Mary. Come here, girl.”

A whimper came from under Hiyori’s bed. Lifting the blanket slightly, he spotted the Yorkie with her paws on her head and big brown eyes looking scared. “Poor girl, did those monsters scare you? C’mon, let’s get you somewhere safer.”

The Yorkie practically leaped into his arms but wisely stayed quiet. Jun petted her fur gently, wondering just how close the monsters may have gotten to her. Pauchi-Kamuy never said they wouldn’t eat anything else. He grabbed one of the reusable cloth bags that Hiyori very rarely hung onto, at the behest of Jun because he was not paying extra to get a plastic bag every time he had to go to the store for one of his whims, and began putting a few items for Bloody Mary in them, namely the food and a few toys. After that, he carefully tucked the little dog inside the bag, shushing her before she lowered her head to remain hidden.

Okay, now to just get back downstairs.

He barely opened the door before a shadowy hand gripped it, forcing it open to reveal a Humanoid-Shadow. It grabbed him by the throat and pulled him out into the hall, lowly growling as it sent out its tongue to taste his face. He grimaced. It wasn’t slimy. It was ice cold. His heart beat faster as he scrambled with his hands to pry away the arm and his legs kicked the air as they tried to hit the creature to no avail. A small, canine growl was all he heard before Bloody Mary bit the thing’s arm, causing the creature to cry out and drop the teenager.

He crumpled to the floor, gasping for breath as the little dog landed on the ground in front of him on all fours, growling at the creature despite shaking like a leaf. The creature inspected its arm, noticing the sickly yellow-green blood trickle from the wound, before turning back with angry eyes at the dog and teen.

The Humanoid-Shadow began to screech before it stopped upon hearing a large man call out, “Hey! You!”

It turned around, Jun leaning around the creature to spot who caught its attention. His eyes widened when he recognized the man as one of the bodyguards Nagisa always liked talking to, the one with long hair and two, beaded braids. Oki, if he remembered his name correctly. The creature loudly screamed at him and charged.

Oki grabbed it by its jaws in both hands, shouting over to Jun, “Get out of here, kid!”

Jun grabbed Bloody Mary and scrambled to the stairway, half a thought forming in his head at how a human was able to see the creatures if they were right about their theory of only the idols seeing them. However, screeches from other shadow monsters put that thought on the very back burner.

Once out of sight, Oki wasted no time in ripping the jaws apart of the creature as if it were nothing but a piece of paper. The creature let out one final scream of pain before beginning to evaporate out of existence. He heaved one, heavy breath. “Alright. Now, just to make sure they get to those storage rooms.”

“Right, Suou Tsukasa?”

How many times do I have to tell you? Just Tsukasa is fine…Ran-senpai found out about Hiyori-sama’s injury…And Mikejima-senpai seems…agitated…

“I can tell you right now, they’re not quite there yet. On the precipice, but not ready. It will need to be one final push for both before I can get a hold of them…Thank you for deciding to accept my offer, by the way.”

We need all the help we can get. After hearing some of these revelations from Amagi Rinne-senpai, it confirms what you have told me so far. I can’t sit back and watch anymore. We LEADERS have to do something!

“Heh, glad to see that fire return. Just hold out a bit longer. Sazanami Jun should be getting back to the safe dorm soon.”

At least I can still speak to you through thoughts…though, shouldn’t I not be able to if the other two haven’t been contacted and formed a joint contract with you?

“You more or less accepted the terms and conditions, which won’t take full effect until the other two agree as well. For now, this is the most we can do. So long as you feed me information from your room, I will do what I can out here in the meantime. As you humans say, this is a Pandora’s Box situation. Lots of bad things come out, but hope will remain. Hope is what we will use to keep fighting when it seems we have nothing left. Keep that hope strong, kid. The light will appear at the end of the tunnel, you just have to persist.”

…I’ll keep that in mind.

~*~

Yeah, sneaking. Not that easy when the entity adds more infected and they have next to no ammunition. The trio had barricaded one of the main doors to the gymnasium before a low belching, growling noise came from one of the back rooms. A bloater busted through the door, its whole body covered in spores and pustules, the head a flowering mushroom. It tossed one of its pustules at the group, the three of them dodging as it exploded into a cloud of spores.

“Oh, you gotta be fucking kidding me! I don’t have the ammo for this!” Niki bemoaned their situation, “Guess I have to improvise!”

~*~

Was it disconcerting to Rinne’s whole group that Tatsumi was piloting a helicopter as they traversed the subway? Yes. Did it help that his co-pilot was a kamuy? Considering helicopters were long after her prime, probably not. Were they glad that they would be there to pick them up from the hospital and get them out of the punishment round? Absolutely.

Did that make traversing these tunnels any easier? Hell no. Not with this universe’s infected being absolutely destructive pieces of work causing floors, ceilings, and walls to collapse and create fires from the destruction. What should have been easy, following the tunnel and direction signs to the red line and then to the hospital, ended up becoming a maze of blocked-off halls and climbing down more holes.

They made their way down the shut-down escalators when they spotted, sitting on a table near one of the turnstiles, three guns unlike any of the ones they currently have. Rinne raised an eyebrow at that. “Keep your heads on a swivel and clear the place out.”

Once the room was finally quiet of any infected screaming, Rinne finally had a moment to think to himself. It was odd to see three, nearly pristine guns just laid out on a table in the middle of nowhere. He spotted a unique-looking medallion propped up on the table against the wall. It had a depiction of the head of a howling wolf but, instead of a moon, it had a lightning bolt coming from a cloud.

He picked up and inspected the medallion, turning it this way and that. “Huh, cheap thing. But odd.”

“Let HiMERU see that.” The blue-nette plucked the medallion from his hands, his face going from passive to a mild shock before resting on confused intrigue.

“Recognize it?” Rinne asked after a moment.

“…No. Quite intriguing regardless…” HiMERU pocketed the medallion before picking up one of the shotguns and inspecting it, “Huh…quite the craftsmanship on these…at least, that’s what HiMERU thinks.”

Something in his gut told him the other man was not being sincere in his analysis. Right now, however, was not the time to dig into that. Not with hordes that could be dropped on them at any moment. He picked up a different shotgun, bulkier than the one HiMERU picked up. “Huh, wonder how the reload rate is on these. Doesn’t seem like ya have to pump them before every single shot.”

“Auto?” HiMERU tilted his head as he supplied.

“Maybe…”

“Definitely auto shotguns,” Kohaku inspected them briefly before looking over the only assault rifle, something akin to an M-16, “Hmm, Isara-han, I think this one t’would be better than what ya got now.”

“If it has more ammo, that’s already an improvement,” As Mao said that he exchanged his submachine gun for the M-16, eyes widening a touch as the gun felt far more comfortable to wield, “Actually, call it odd, but this feels far easier to wield.”

“Seems akin ta this one,” Kohaku gestured to his AR-15.

“And look at this! Quite a bit of ammo!” Rinne pulled out several boxes of spare ammunition for each of the guns before growing pensive, “There’s no way Pauchi-Kamuy is doing this, not unless the bastard grew a heart spontaneously.”

As if answering them, Pauchi-Kamuy spoke. “Well, now that their universe is sorted, how are…”

Rinne smirked ever so slightly. “What? Not happy we got better weapons?”

“…Tsk. I’ll just up the amount of infected. That will be easy to counter.”

“Uh-huh, sure,” Rinne spotted even more goodies inside the small office terminal the table was leaning against, “Oh, hello?”

Hoping over the turnstiles and popping open the little office terminal yielded them several pipe bombs and a couple of bottles of pain pills, along with an identical medallion next to the stash. Rinne smirked as he tossed several of the items, baring the pipe bombs which he delicately handed out, to his teammates before grinning wide with arms splayed out. “So? Think sending more infected is going to make us miserable?”

It seemed the kamuy did not like what he was seeing, as the tone grew dark, “I can still send out far more special infected. You lot haven’t seen another Witch or Tank in a long while…”

With that, Pauchi-Kamuy ceased to speak. Rinne gave an award-winning smile to the crew. “I think we are set, boys.”

HiMERU discreetly pocketed the second medallion, brow furrowing upon seeing the same depiction. “We should still be careful. Who knows how large of a horde he can summon.”

A few infected were around the corner as they hoped the turnstiles to follow the red line, which were dispatched super quickly by Mao. “Wow! This is so much better!”

Kohaku kept close to Rinne, shooting a few infected to the right as he asked Rinne, “Not callin’ it by its name, yet?”

Rinne blasted a group of four away in one blast, happy that he no longer had to pump each shot, though trying to kick the automatic hand motion was going to be a challenge at this point. He leaned in close to whisper, “There’s no way we would have learned his name yet without the trump card being exposed. Let’s just play dumb until we find an excuse as to where we learned his name.”

“…Good call.” Kohaku seemed hesitant more so to compliment his unit leader rather than giving the answer any thought.

When they climbed the stairs to the red line platform, they were greeted with a very large horde and a Smoker wheezing somewhere in the echoing distance. A subway train had derailed and crashed on the tracks in between the two platforms, forcing the four of them to funnel into the partially open doors of the train cars and follow the derailed mess of metal until it emptied into the tunnel proper. Naturally, Mao called out one of his pipe bombs, having a second one from the glorious stash on standby, before they funneled inside, giving them plenty of breathing space to safely maneuver around without getting accosted every other second.

The loud, feral screech of a Hunter made the group pause as they left the subway car. With how much of the screech was echoing around them, they couldn’t pinpoint exactly where it was. At least they knew it only made noise when it began pouncing on suspected prey. Clearing out more infected at the next stop, which also had a subway car flipped on its side that they had to get around, the group kept a close eye and ear out for the Hunter.

The only way through the subway tunnels was through another derailed metro car. The Hunter screeched one last time before Rinne finally spotted it on top of said car, shooting it as it launched itself at Kohaku. The youngest rolled his eyes. “I woulda gotten it maself.”

“Yeah, but a shotgun blast makes quicker work.” Rinne was about to cackle when they all heard the dreaded noise they didn’t want to ever hear again.

A crying Witch.

“Oh…fuck.” Rinne and the crew shut their lights off in unison. “Anyone got eyes on the bitch?”

“…In the train car we have to go through.” Mao gestured with a nod as he kept his gun trained on the Witch. There she was, sitting cross-legged in the middle of the aisle with no way around or over her.

Rinne was about to start shooting when HiMERU put a hand on his gun to stop him. “What? Wanna try?”

“Look.” HiMERU pointed to just behind the Witch, spotting three Hunters and some sort of jury-rigged alarm system, “If we shoot, that will alert the Hunters and set off an alarm. It’ll bring a horde down right on top of us.”

“Do ya have another idea on how to get around?” Rinne eyed the other, “Even Neko noticed we have no other choice.”

HiMERU shook his head in defeat. “Bastard figured out a way to screw with us…this is going to hurt.”

Kohaku smacked the older bee’s shoulder with a med kit. “Yer gonna need some healin’ before we dare attempt this.”

“Think Amagi-senpai and I need to take some pills, too. I’d rather we not use our med kits just yet for us.” Mao gestured to the bracelet’s bar on Rinne, noting how both were starting to get to the mid-yellow range.

“Fuck, right. Alright, once we all get patched up, make sure your weapons are loaded and y’all are ready to fight.”

~*~

As much as it sucked finding out Bill’s partner was dead and was the one who tried to steal the battery from that FEDRA vehicle, Niki was just glad that he and Hokuto finally had an operating vehicle, not caring once to realize that neither should have known how to drive in the first place. They were somewhere outside of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania when he stopped the car, noting that two of the three highway paths were blocked by a large amount of cars. He tapped his fingers rhythmically as he analyzed the situation. There was a bad feeling starting to set in.

“Guess we go around?” Hokuto blearily woke up, having taken a nap at the request of Niki. He didn’t seem the least bit bothered by this.

“…Yeah…” Niki shifted gears and proceeded to go down the ramp.

As they passed through the empty streets, he quickly pressed the brakes after seeing an injured man calling for help just down the middle of the road. Niki furrowed his brows, flashes of incidents that he definitely was not present for in this universe coming to mind. Hokuto seemed slightly concerned, “Are we going to help him?”

Niki gripped the gear shifter hard. “Put your seatbelt on, Hidaka-san.”

“Are we just going to leave him here?”

“He’s not even hurt.” Niki’s tone lowered as he gunned the truck forward.

The man wasn’t injured at all and pulled out a pistol, shouting for several of his friends to draw fire and come out of hiding. Niki ran over the original man before dodging a hail of bullets and bricks being thrown at them. The way his face barely flinched at all started to scare the raven-teen.

Before he could process much of what was happening, the window beside him shattered, probably from a well-aimed brick. He looked out the window after shielding his face to see the armed men roll a bus towards them. “Shit! Not good!”

The bus T-boned the truck, causing it to spin out and Niki to lose control. It rammed into a shop, through the metal shutters over the entryway, and came to a hard stop as it finally lost momentum when it hit the interior wall. The hood of the truck was completely bent in half. There was no way it would still be drivable.

It may have been just a few seconds, but Hokuto had blacked out, only coming to when he heard Niki’s voice. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah…”

“Then get out quick.” Niki groaned as he tried to unbuckle his seatbelt.

Just as Hokuto barely undid his, a man yanked the door open and grabbed him by the hair, wrapping an arm around his torso. “C’mere, punk!”

The pain barely registered in his mind as he began to fight back, “Urgh, let go of me! You piece of shit!”

He felt himself being pulled out before Niki grabbed hold of his shin, beginning a tug of war that lasted for but a moment. Another man came around to Niki’s side and smashed his head into the middle console of the truck until he finally let go of Hokuto’s leg. The man pulled Hokuto out of the truck fully, beginning to back up towards the entrance. The raven-teen cried out for Niki even as he began thrashing harder.

His ocean-blue eyes froze as he saw the other man grab Niki by the ponytail and shove his head through a glass door, a sharp shard sticking out near the bottom. The highway bandit tried to shove Niki’s throat onto the shard before the chef elbowed him in the face and threw the bandit onto it instead. The way Niki looked so enraged was borderline feral.

Hokuto struggled against his attacker harder. The guy didn’t seem to notice his friend had been brutally murdered and the other teen was free. “Ha! Why don’t ya cry like a little bitch!”

Oh, I’ll show you who’s going to cry like a fucking bitch!

Hokuto managed to pull the arm that was wrapped around his torso closer to his face before promptly biting down hard, not noticing the metallic tang assault his tastebuds. The man released him only to backhand him across the face hard enough to spin Hokuto around and fall to the ground. “That’s it you little shit! I’ll show you! C’mere!”

The man straddled him and tightened his hands around his neck. He gasped as his lungs were refused oxygen, gurgling as he tried to fight back. His vision was slowly beginning to spot when he vaguely saw Niki run over and kick the man in the face. His lungs burned as he could finally breathe again, coughing and gasping as he tried to stand. Hokuto barely registered a distinct crack before Niki was back over to him and pulling him up.

“C’mon,” Niki pulled the struggling teen back to the truck before reaching into the wreckage and pulling out their packs, “Catch your breath. Then we’re leaving.”

Hokuto heaved one more, ragged breath before chancing to look up, spotting another bandit aiming a gun from outside. His voice was raspy as he warned Niki. At least the bandit had shitty aim and missed, albeit barely as it shot out the window. Niki scrambled behind cover, an overturned fridge, before pulling out his revolver. “Hidaka-san, stay close!”

With quick succession and precision, Niki took out two incoming bandits with headshots. Hokuto began to hyperventilate as the bullets began to fly and more glass shattered around him. How he wished he had a gun to help. His shaky hands and being called out to by Niki reminded him that perhaps a lack of a weapon may not be the most crucial issue at the moment. As they hid behind an old counter, Hokuto briefly thought about what Niki said when he finally broke down. About how killing a human was so much harder.

Could he really be able to kill another human? Technically, the last universe did somewhat prove it, albeit he wasn’t in his right mind and was controlled by evil spirits. But as himself? Was he able to do that? He still kept freezing up when any infected came running, gathering what courage he could to just throw a bottle to help daze a runner and buy Niki some time. Now? It was borderline terrifying to see Niki start to show no emotion other than rage or pure concentration as he dispatched bandit after bandit.

By the end of the shootout, about eight bandits lay dead and the city finally returned to silence, save for the last man Niki had bashed a bottle over. The man lay on the ground, still alive, as he begged to live. Niki kept the shotgun trained on the man, face emotionless as he gazed upon him, not bothering to aim at such close proximity. Hokuto thought this was finally over before he saw the man begin to pull out a knife from his back pocket. It seemed Niki saw this, too, and, without a single second of hesitation, shot one last round. Now the man lay in a partially minced meat pile. The teen kept staring at the gun, grappling with the reality before him.

“Hey…” Niki noticed his expression before shouldering the weapon, taking the next moment to grip him by the shoulders, “Are you okay?”

Are you okay!? It didn’t feel that long ago that you were so upset with all this killing and now you’re not hesitating to pull the trigger!

“F-fine…yeah…”

The air remained tense and awkward between them. The slightly older teen sighed, eyes becoming downcast. “Don’t…Just because I’m not…hesitating, doesn’t mean I’m okay with it either.”

The Trickstar leader slowly nodded. These were dire circumstances. Life or death. All this meant was that, if push came to shove, Niki wasn’t going to lie down and take it. Otherwise, he was the same, food-driven idol ES had come to know.

That’s right…If I have to kill someone, it’s only because I had no other choice…

Niki sighed, releasing the other. “Let’s look around for anything useful, then let's get out of doge.”

Both teens took one last look at the destroyed truck. He couldn’t help but chuckle hearing Niki grumble about how he was so hoping the truck was going to last longer than it did.

~*~

With Bloody Mary safely secured with Yuta, Sora, and Makoto, Jun proceeded to sneak Mika out of the dorms, deciding to take the quicker route in basically catching Mika as he jumped out of the second-story window. At least the walk over to ES was peaceful, though there was the constant feeling of being watched that neither was able to shake.

Now, the whole expedition crew gathered together just outside of the first of the costume storage rooms labeled for NEW DI and COS PRO. Yuzuru came back from around the corner, having quickly changed his pants before tossing the old ones in a nearby trash bin, wanting to hide the evidence as quickly as possible rather than think about mending them. Adonis had left his old shoes in the practice room with Koga and Kaoru, having gotten there with just a pair of socks covering his feet, and now sported the better running shoes. Leo kept an eye down the other end of the hall.

Hajime turned to Kuro and Mika. “So, where will we find these uniforms?”

Mika eyed the first door wearily. “Ugh, I think both uniforms are in two different units.”

“Considering how large our group is, perhaps it would be better to split into two groups,” Kuro nodded along, “We can stay stealthier that way.”

Shinobu nodded along, “I can go with Kiryu-dono. Maybe try and split the two groups so neither is skewed to either complete stealth or all-out strength?”

Yuzuru smiled and nodded, “Excellent idea. Sazanami-sama? May I request you come with Kagehira-sama and I? You are quite athletic, so it would be good to have someone with strength, just in case.”

“Uh, sure,” Jun noted the odd division of the two groups.

So far, it seemed he would be with Yuzuru and Mika, while Kuro would have Shinobu. That left Hajime, Leo, and Adonis. Adonis looked between the two groups before wordlessly moving closer to Jun’s team. Even with Kuro as a guide, he could at least hold his own. Hajime and Leo nodded as they joined Kuro’s group.

Yuzuru, their defaulted team leader, whispered, “Okay, once we find the uniforms, we need to-”

Ibara’s voice crackled quietly over their radios. “Mr. Hibiki and Mr. Shinkai have informed me that those gems, whatever piece of jewelry they are in the form of, have a habit of reattaching themselves to the clothing. You may need to bring the whole uniform with you.”

Yuzuru raised an eyebrow at that, “Like they gravitate back?”

“Something like that. Mr. Shinkai noted how it somehow reattached itself to his jacket after it had just finished going through the dryer, despite knowing he had removed it beforehand.”

“Ibara,” Jun hushed, “Can you still see us on the cameras?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, we are going into two groups to make sneaking around easier. Are you able to watch both?”

“So long as both groups remain with the rooms for NEW DI and COS PRO, I should be able to. Do we know which rooms specifically?”

Mika grumbled, “Tha’s ta’ issue. I know COS PRO just reorganized all ta’ rooms inta one big warehouse an’ I don’t know ta’ layout.”

Ibara seemed beside himself, not realizing his voice had been picked up on the radio. “How did I not know that?”

Leo hummed, “At least NEW DI had been doing that from the get-go. My concern is with how we will sneak around all the hangers and cubicles with unknown shadows roaming inside.”

“Let me check…Most of the creatures appear to be canine in some capacity…although…The group going into COS PRO’s warehouse, be very careful. There’s a large one that walks around on two legs.”

“Goddamn, like a werewolf? Seriously?” Jun sighed, “As if I didn’t get enough of this mythological bullshit with the griffin.”

“A what?”

“A griffin? Do you now know what a griffin is?”

“I DO. It’s just – where the hell did you run into one of those?”

“The dorms. Believe me, I kind of thought it was a bit strange to have a flying creature inside a building, but then I almost became lunch twice to those human-looking ones.”

“I told you to be careful!”

“I was! Not my fault they started to cling upside down to ceilings and jump me!”

Yuzuru shushed him and gave a stern glare, “Keep your voice down.”

“Alright. Here’s the plan. Go into those warehouses, find those uniforms, and get out of there with them intact. Since this…kamuy, hasn’t told us it was illegal that we can’t use each other’s safe rooms, you should all meet up at the nearest one so that we can inspect these gems and try to find a way to get the green one to Natsume-kun.”

“The nearest would be Kanzaki and I’s room. It’s up one floor, third door on the right if you follow the stairs over there,” Kuro pointed to the set of stairs hiding behind a metal door.

“Then that’s the plan. Keep your volumes low and ears keen. I’ll try and help with calling out blind spots, but make sure you all keep in touch as you look around. And please, try and stay undetected, only fight when you have no other choice. Even if we know we could potentially kill these things, it’s going to be a tough battle even when facing just one. It might as well be suicide to confront a pack of them.”

“Understood, Ibara. COS PRO group going in now.” Yuzuru motioned for his group to begin and slowly eased the door open.

Jun trailed behind, thinking about Nagisa.

Nagi-senpai…I get why Ibara has been so insistent on me being careful. I was so caught up with Ohii-san that I didn’t take into account that you were unable to help us. I hope you’re doing okay. I know our unit means a lot to you. I’ll be careful. You won’t have to worry. Neither will Ibara. Or Ohii-san.

~*~

Even with preemptive pipe bombs for crowd control, that was an absolute nightmare. The Witch was the least of their problems, having gone down extremely quickly with a few rounds of Rinne’s new combat shotgun. He aimed another few more rounds into the Hunters, quickly dispatching them. The real kicker was that the alarm was on a timer, and it was a long timer. As if Pauchi-Kamuy had anticipated they would get those four specials out of the way, he sent three Boomers periodically during the large horde that came after the alarm started, as well as three more Hunters, two Smokers, and two more special infected that were supposed to be only in the “sequel” to this universe, but got added in anyways purely for “entertainment”: 2 Spitters and 3 Jockeys.

Rinne had now found his least favorite special infected: Jockeys. He understood why horses sometimes would throw their riders. He would too if they kept yanking on his neck and driving him into a horde. But no! He couldn’t escape from them! Someone had to help him! He was honestly lucky that Mao was becoming a much better shot because he did not want to add friendly fire to the list of issues to deal with. Then getting acid thrown at them and Boomer bile was a terrible, terrible combination. How none of them went down or died was an absolute miracle.

“Well, HiMERU thinks this guy has found the exact way to rain on our parade.” The blue-nette hissed as Kohaku bandaged him up, “Easy, Oukawa!”

“Quite bein’ a baby. If ya were more careful, I wouldn’t have ta play yer nurse once again,” Kohaku tightened the bandage on the other’s arm before standing, “How’re ta’ supplies?”

“Well, we’re all out of med kits now,” Mao began listing off, “I’m nearly out of ammo, we have – what? – two pipe bombs left between us?”

“HiMERU still has one.”

“So don’t I,” Rinne sighed, “I’m okay-ish on ammo.”

Kohaku groaned, “Same on ta’ ammo. Still have a bottle o’ pills left.”

“He still has a bottle of pills left and is reasonable on ammo…hopefully that safe room is close.” HiMERU stood shakily, the pink-haired teen having to temporarily aid him as support until he was steady.

They slowly made their way up the stairs on the other side, the rest of the tunnel system having caved in. Just above was a large room with several pillars in rows, possibly the foundations of whatever building this place was holding up. Another Witch’s cries made Rinne sag, chuckling lowly more out of tired insanity than humor. “Another one? Fuck ya and everything ya stand for, ya bastard of an entity…”

Mao scoffed, “Do we engage?”

“Hell, no.” Rinne turned off his flashlight.

Roars of another horde began to echo as the building above began to shake. Rinne sighed, “Ya gotta be fucking with me here…”

After another intense ten minutes of dealing with yet another horde,  getting lucky that no special infected were in this round and somehow not activating the Witch’s “kill on sight” mode, Rinne heaved a big sigh. “Okay…now. Still not engaging…Where is the bitch?”

HiMERU nudged his side before nodding in the direction where the faint outline of the Witch could be made out. At least she was in a corner and the way out was away from her. Sneaking by a Witch was harrowing, especially when she began to groan when the group made too much noise. How she didn’t wake up to the gunfire that was going on previously was beyond Rinne’s will to comprehend and think too hard about.

They made it up the stairs and away from the crying infected, finding themselves in a very large, two-story generator room for the subway station. The Crew Room had a mounted minigun and some supplies but otherwise was fairly sparse. What concerned the group greatly was that the metal shudder they had to open was electronic, and the generators needed to start.

“Oh, fuck my life…” Rinne moaned, “This is gonna create so much noise…”

“I…I might have an idea!” Mao pointed to the Crew Room, “One of us gets on the minigun to help with the oncoming horde while the other three provide covering fire from the doors and windows.”

“What ‘bout tha’ hole behind us?” Kohaku motioned to the debris from the hole in the ceiling above.

“Well, with three of us, one would need to keep an eye on that, but since these infected make a lot of noise before appearing, we might just have to occasionally guard it.”

HiMERU looked towards one of the back corners of the generator room, something catching his eye under a tarp. Flipping it over revealed more ammo, some Molotovs, two med kits, another one of those wolf medallions, and a note. Cautiously, he opened the note, spying the distinct writing of his former partner. He sighed as he eyed the scratched-out logo near his gun’s serial number.

Damn it, Thunder! You said you were a wanted man, not that you also stole weapons and property from them! At this rate, “I” won’t have a choice but to accept your offer with how much “I” owe you!

He pocketed the note and medallion. “Looks like there are more supplies over here!”

Rinne sighed with great relief. “Lemme guess? That medallion guy’s work? Fuck, whoever it is, they are a lifesaver!”

Once they restocked and prepared, Rinne got behind the mounted minigun. “Okay, who’s gonna start this party?”

“I can run over and do it.” Mao, without waiting for anyone else to interject, sprinted over and hovered a hand over the generator’s start button. “Ready?”

“As much as we’ll ever be…” HiMERU couldn’t help but eye the faint shadow of a man somewhere on the second floor of the generator room.

~*~

Ibara noticed a signal coming in on another frequency of the radio. Looking over to make sure Hiyori was still sleeping, he answered the radio. “Aoba-san, any news?”

“Disturbing news, actually. It took a while, but I found the source of that job. It’s…it goes beyond any government agency on record, even beyond those behind the scenes the public doesn’t know about. It’s a group that goes by the name of Fenrir. Like, they are the shadow, of a shadow agency. The dark web of the dark web.”

Ibara felt like he had forgotten how to breathe momentarily. He’s used to the shenanigans that happened with Godfather and the like, but this seemed even shadier. “Like as if shadow agencies are just another puppet and they are the real puppet master?”

“Pretty much. It’s – there’s a lot I managed to find, there’s almost too much! The best I can summarize is that these guys are seriously bad news! They train hitmen, spies, soldiers, they – they’re like mercenaries but with far more power! Sometimes these people are sent to work for other agencies, but they save the best of the best for themselves. They do a lot of security jobs, even organizing whole security systems from the wealthy to governments. And…”

“And what, Aoba-san?”

“It seems they already knew somewhat about accessing alternate dimensions.”

“…Why would they want us to make a program to access them if they already could?”

“I think they lost a lot of that knowledge. One of the last projects I found that involved alternate dimensions and the occult, of all things, was from 16 years ago. Since then, it seems researchers have been replaced and no one from the original team remained, with no paper trail or schematics.”

“So they decided to outsource…wait, did you say that project was 16 years ago?”

“Yes…”

“And from what Mr. Kazehaya mentioned, those gems appeared in their realm around the same time?”

“Yeah, that is what’s making me nervous about this.”

Ibara pushed his glasses back in place, taking a long moment to think. “I…Aoba-san, are you able to access files for this project?”

“Honestly, I’m terrified of trying to go back on that site without at least 5 VPNs going, and even then I’m hesitant. But I would have to be extremely dense to not see that these have to be connected.”

“What a rabbit hole we have found…”

“More like a rabbit warren. I’ll see what else I can do.”

~*~

Even after the generator shut off, the universe did not lighten up on them. They barely sprinted through the opening doors and up to the second floor when they felt rumbling and loud, deep yelling. Mao quickly darted into a side room, “Tank, incoming!”

“Fuck! Don’t have ta’ ammo fer this!” Kohaku darted with the other teen.

A helicopter could be heard, the spotlight shining through the windows and the announcer being heard. HiMERU’s citrine eyes widened as he heard that familiar voice. “Tatsumi…”

He saw, through the offices, a view of the street. An idea formed. “Amagi, we have to run! The street is right out there and the safe house should be in the pawn shop up the road!”

“Best idea I heard all day! Move out, run!”

The four sprinted through the offices, even as the Tank attempted to throw chunks of concrete at them, before coming out to the streets.

~*~

Tatsumi looked out the window of the helicopter as he scanned the streets, keeping a careful hold on the steering stick. Wakka was in the co-pilot’s seat. “See your friends?”

“No…” Tatsumi paused upon seeing distinctly blue hair come running out of a building, followed closely by three others, “Wait a minute…That’s them!”

“We’re not going to be able to land nor have enough clearance to pick them up right there,” Wakka reminded him.

The Tank came barreling out, chasing the group. Tatsumi looked behind to see the helicopter had a mounted minigun hanging by the door. He quickly looked at the woman. “Can you fly?”

An amused huff left her, “Us kamuy have been sneaking into the human realm for longer than you think. Chironnup-Kamuy was just the first to get caught. Did plenty of flying when I enrolled in search and rescue operations years back.”

He quickly unbuckled. “Take over, then. I need to help.”

“I’ll get as close as I can to give you a good view.”

~*~

They did not have the ammo for any of this. As it was, HiMERU was greatly concerned that the Tank was going to catch one of them, being much faster than one would anticipate a huge mass of muscle would be capable of. With the other infected starting to swarm, it would be a death sentence for any of them.

The Tank threw some more concrete towards him, missing by a hair as it collided with an unfortunate car. He quickly shot down a few infected in front with Thunder’s pistol. He realized he was starting to fall behind the others.

Shit! This might be the end for “me”!

He did not expect a helicopter to come flying over, still too high to reasonably climb on top of something to reach and the streets being too clogged with infected and cars to land. Nor did he expect to see a certain mint-haired man behind a mounted minigun point the weapon at the hulking brute. The whirl of the gun and bullets was loud before he heard the dying yell of the Tank, finding the area near him to be clear of other infected as well.

“HiMERU-han!”

He didn’t realize he had stopped. He dashed towards the pink teen who was fighting off an infected near the pawn shop. He pulled the infected away from the other by the back of the shirt before tossing it away and ushering the younger into the building. Rinne slammed the door shut just after they both entered.

“Well, well, well…seems that damn priest somehow wormed his way into here with that Wakka-Ush-Kamuy. How considerate of him to save you from becoming a stress ball.”

HiMERU felt bile rise to the back of his throat and a searing hot rage course in his veins. “Don’t you dare touch him again!”

“I will do as I wish! However, if he insists on being here, perhaps it will be more entertaining to watch how helpless he will be when you all die in front of him. After all, that minigun doesn’t have infinite ammo.”

“Fuck you!” HiMERU growled.

“…Go fuck yourself. Or better yet, since you seem so attached to that priest and that purple-haired, shark-teeth freak, why don’t you go fuck them instead?” He ceased to speak after that.

“Wow…” Mao and Kohaku were at a loss.

“Damn…” Rinne pursed his lips nonchalantly, “Even the demon spawn agrees they’re your boyfriends.”

“NOT THE POINT, AMAGI!”

~*~

Rei could have sworn he had nearly forgotten what laughter sounded like. Granted, the most it got out of the group currently were a few snorts and shocked gasps, but he would take what he could get. He eventually found himself in the attached kitchen, looking for nothing in particular to quench his dry throat. He reached out to grab a mug before catching the reflection of the spider pendant. His hand froze mid-reach as he stared at the reflection.

“Thirsty?” A hand held out a can of tomato juice off to this side.

Red eyes met light blue for a long moment before taking the offered can. Eichi leaned against the counter edge, gaze centered on the pendant. “Have you tried summoning whoever is in there?”

He held the pendant gingerly with two fingers. “Not sure if that’s how it works. Didn’t Hibiki-kun and Shinkai-kun mention that their kamuy talked to them first?”

“Hmm, yes. They did…” Eichi’s gaze went back out to the meeting room, focusing on the white-haired man who was curling and uncurling a strand of hair around a finger.

Rei noticed. “Ran-kun looks particularly stressed, perhaps nervous.”

“Considering Saegusa-kun barely escaped the Raptor-Shadow, Hiyori-kun was badly injured on the second expedition, and now Sazanami-kun is on the third and we haven’t heard from them lately, I can’t blame him.” Something in his tone betrayed a sense of empathy, “He’s unable to do anything nor go to them.”

Hinata came into their view, taken slightly aback that the two were already staring. “Uh, s-sorry. But the expedition crew just got back to Kanzaki-senpai and Kiryu-senpai’s room. They found the red and green gems.”

The trio returned to their seats, eyeing the call on the left monitor. Ibara briefly left to go and gingerly brought Hiyori to a seat in front of the computer. He grimaced at how pale the other idol looked. Rei counted the people, having done so each time with the others. Dread filled him that blossomed into despair, even after recounting.

Only seven of the eight had returned.

“No…not him…” He barely heard Eichi’s whispered plea.

No…no…no, no, no…

Ibara’s eyes widened, seemingly shouting something. Hiyori looked on the verge of tears before looking like he was shouting at Ibara. Nagisa stood abruptly, the chair clattering behind him. He looked enraged, but, even from his angle, Rei could see the beginnings of tears form in similarly red eyes.

“Where is Jun?”

Ending Theme: Rasen – jon-YAKITORI ft. Ado

English Lyrics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVld7njUsOc

Chapter Text

Opening Theme: Hana no Saku Basho (Where the Flowers Bloom) by Asami Imai

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mINvfJqZBzE

~ Flashback: Hiyori ~

Hiyori woke up to find Jun gone. At first, he figured he had to help the Viper with something, but when he couldn’t spot the distinct, dark blue hair or his husky voice echoing in the small office space, he felt a wave of anxiety, sensed a hole had formed at realizing he wasn’t anywhere. If it weren’t for the searing pain in his side, he would have sat upright and started demanding, not throwing a tantrum like Jun would say he would, to know where the other was. He still attempted to sit up, hissing at the sting, which caught Ibara’s attention.

“Your Highness!” Eden’s strategist rushed over to try and get Hiyori to lay back down, “Be careful of your stitches!”

“Where’s Jun-kun?!” Violet eyes blazed even as iris-blue remained cool and collected.

“Jun is helping with the third expedition down to the storage rooms. They are all trying to locate the red and green gems. Once they find them, they will return to Mr. Kanzaki and Mr. Kiryu’s safe room.” Ibara gently pushed Hiyori’s shoulder to try and get him to lay back down.

Hiyori smacked the hand away. “You sent him out there with all of those things!?”

“I asked if he wanted to! He and I both understood the dangers involved and I left the final decision completely up to him!” Ibara grew stern, his tone raising the only indication that he was getting irritated, “Besides, I’m watching over the crew through the cameras, nothing will happen to them.”

Hiyori breathed heavily through gritted teeth, eyes burning a hole into the other. “If anything happens to him, I will hold you completely responsible, Viper.”

No one planned on one of the shadows ripping the electrical cords in COS PRO’s storage room, causing all the lights and the cameras to go out in that particular room.

~ End Flashback ~

Rei did not doubt that, if he wasn’t injured and still lightheaded from his injury and blood loss, Hiyori would have throttled Ibara. However, since they could not hear the others, it was like a silent screaming match between the two, which looked to be further upsetting Nagisa.

Tetora glanced around before noticing the computer set up in the corner. With the kamuy gone, nothing was stopping them from fiddling with it. He grabbed his phone before getting some sort of sound ready. The call was coming from this computer, but there was no button to end the call, as if it never existed in the first place. That wasn’t his primary concern as he found the input speakers and blared the alarm right against the speakers, causing everyone in the call to recoil greatly and quiet down.

“Phew,” Tetora sighed, “Finally.”

Eichi stood then, looking to the left monitor as he addressed the others. “Everyone! I understand this is greatly distressing, but we do not know what happened! Please, let them explain!”

Souma pulled out a large whiteboard on wheels. Mika quickly took the markers and began hurriedly writing how Jun was right behind them as they were running down the halls, after the Werewolf-Shadow got the jump on them in the dark. Then he wasn’t.

“What do you mean ‘he wasn’t’?!” Nagisa roared, no one ever having seen him raise his voice to such a volume, “How can he just disappear!?”

“Nagisa-kun.” Eichi attempted to subdue the other. He didn’t anticipate Nagisa would be enraged enough to smack his hand away without so much as sparing him a glance.

Everyone in AKATSUKI’s room appeared to be panicking. Ibara seemed to be looking at something on his monitor sternly, despite desperation slowly starting to creep into his expression, until his mouth dropped open. Hiyori whirled on him after a moment, about ready to unleash more of his rage and anguish on the other before he stopped, too. Ibara pointed to something on the screen before Hiyori’s eyes widened considerably.

Ibara rushed to a piece of paper before writing, “Mr. Kagehira isn’t lying.”

“Ibara…what do you mean…?” It barely was enough to placate the silver-haired man, his tense tone on the verge of lashing out again.

Wordlessly, the strategist shared with the call what one of the hall cameras caught. Jun was right behind the small group, running down the middle of the hall before vanishing in mid-air in an instant. The meeting room was speechless.

“…Was there a glitch in the system…on the camera feed?” Nagisa seemed to begin uttering half-formed questions that attempted to try and see how any of this was fake. That there was no way Jun just disappeared. That someone had to have a clue as to why this happened or where he is now. That there was something they could do.

Ibara shook his head, the briefest of flashes of sadness appearing before he looked away. Hiyori’s mouth moved, but he seemed to be as stunned as Nagisa.

Tsukasa!

“Oki?”

You have to get to Nagisa now! I can sense he’s gotten to the precipice but he’s going to tip fast and bolt! Do not leave him alone and make sure you are there with him!

Tsukasa spotted the exact moment Oki was warning about. Hiyori openly cried on screen. Nagisa’s arms shook violently. Rei and Eichi approached on either side to attempt to console him before the distraught teen tried to fight back against their restraints.

He’s gonna bolt to the bathroom and try to lock the door, I can sense it! Get in there!

Tsukasa bolted just as Nagisa broke free from the duo and rushed to the adjoining bathroom. He managed to slide in before Nagisa slammed the door shut and locked it, barely hearing the muffled cries of concern from the others.

“Ran-senpai!” Tsukasa attempted to grab a hold of his upper arms to try and keep him from thrashing too hard. The bathroom was cramped with the two of them and one little shove could send him either into one of the fixtures or the wall.

Nagisa was non-verbal at this point, thrashing a bit more before he eventually gave out and collapsed onto the floor. Tsukasa had to hold onto him in a hug to keep the older man from completely collapsing. It was an awkward angle with the taller man having his head buried into the younger teen’s chest and his weight forcing the smaller male to kneel, but Tsukasa knew better than to let go.

The door handle jiggled before rapid banging was heard on the door. The leader of Knights carefully extracted one hand to reach the door and knock in a noticeable pattern to quiet the others down. “I got him. Please give us a few minutes of privacy, okay?”

He could barely hear Tomoya’s muffled affirmation before it finally got quiet again. For a moment, at least.

“Why…?” Nagisa’s voice was just barely audible and extremely broken, “…Why…?”

There were so many questions that he could be asking, none of them Tsukasa knew the answers to. “…I wish I knew…but Sazanami-senpai is tough. He’ll be fine. We will all be fine.”

“How…? We…don’t know…First, this god threatens us. Ibara nearly got eaten…Hiyori-kun was nearly killed…Jun’s gone…And we have to watch our friends suffer and die over and over…What did we do to deserve this? Why is everyone I care about…” Nagisa’s voice cracked ever so slightly and Tsukasa could feel small spots of wetness form on his shirt.

Nothing, Nagisa. None of you deserve this. My heart goes out to you and Eden. My soul weeps for you at this moment. For all of you. But do not give up.

“Heh…Now I’m hearing Oki…”

“Um…”

Tsukasa, just speak with your mind.

T – “Uh…Ran-senpai?”

N – “…I’m not hearing things…am I?”

T – “No…it’s…a long story.”

One we have time to explain. Unless Nagisa needs another moment.

~*~

Fifteen minutes had gone by before the doors to the bathroom opened. Nagisa wordlessly sat back at his spot, not bothering to look at anyone. All eyes were on him anyway. Tsukasa waved away the looks before returning to his seat as well, choosing to wheel his chair closer to Nagisa.

Everyone on the call seemed to be staring at a particular section of their screen. Kuro seemed keenly interested in staring at the red and green gems like they would spout legs and walk off if he took his eyes off them.

Keito started the discussion, sensing everyone was still tense after Nagisa’s breakdown. “So, it seems something spooked our expedition crew just barely. Care to explain?”

No one was prepared for Souma to write that the red and green gems spoke.

~*~

Kaname woke with a start, sitting up straight like he had been yanked by some invisible force. His chest burned as he slowly came down from his hyperventilative state, eyes wide as he squeezed the blanket on his lap. His body felt sore and cold all at the same time like he had been beaten to the edge of his life.

It happened again. That same dream. He could never see anything clearly in it, nothing but murky colors. There was always shouting and jeering, some of the words being coherent enough for him to comprehend. He couldn’t tell who they were, but he could feel the malice emanating from them.

Leech! You don’t deserve to be an idol! This is for that Akehoshi! I always hated your guts! Go crawl in a ditch and die!

He would always feel his body becoming sorer and sorer as the dream would go on, wanting to scream in pain but finding his breath was always escaping him. Like the air was literally getting beaten out of him. Eventually, the murky colors would fade to black and the pain would cease completely, but his body would start to feel extremely cold. A cold so fierce that it was enough to always shock the teen out of slumber.

Most of his memory was intact, as he could piece together that it had to do with something involving what his mother did to Subaru’s father. Beyond that, save for remembering names and people like Tatsumi and Jun, it was like a brick wall. Now knowing that his memory wasn’t entirely present thanks to Pauchi’s intervention, he couldn’t help but wonder if maybe that dream had to do with what he couldn’t remember.

That thought alone made his stomach turn inside-out and grow nauseous. What did he do to deserve all that, whatever it was? It was times like this that he would go to Pauchi for comfort; the kamuy was always kind to him, unlike the others who, at the best of times, would glower at him with indifference. Other times, he would just cry, wanting the comfort of his brother, his mother, Tatsumi, or Jun despite knowing that there was no way they would ever be there. However, knowing Pauchi was occupied and having no other option, he was about to spiral…

…Until he thought about Subaru, remembering what the grey, human-shaped blob said before he had returned him to that cell.

“Hey…I get this is all sudden, and you have a lot of mixed feelings…but…if we do end up working together, you can talk to me anytime. We should get to know each other, at the least.”

His mind was torn in two. His fear was trying to railroad him into running straight to him like a child seeking comfort from their mother. However, the stubborn side, his logic, was screaming at him that it was a horrible idea. If Subaru knew he was related to the fan who caused not only his father’s imprisonment but also, by extension, his own misery in his childhood, the consequences would be dire. It was warning him that trusting him, getting too close, would be detrimental.

Yet, despite understanding, loosely at least, that he had harmed his friends, Subaru had been open and honest with him. Sure, he was blunt about not trusting him, but he seemed to be at least willing to hear him out.

He breathed deep, inhaling the scent of wet earth that still permeated the place despite Pauchi’s best attempts to make his room as normal and livable as possible. It was grounding though at times suffocating, too. Right now, it was helping clear his mind.

He stood from his bed with shaky legs and walked over to his mask. He wouldn’t say anything about the dream. Just make excuses to get his mind off it, see if he can get more information from him, then leave.

~*~

“Amagi, why did we have to take the sewers? Ugh! What is that smell!?” HiMERU pinched his nose as a particularly strong odor practically punched him in the face.

“Not much o’ a choice, HiMERU-han,” Kohaku shot one infected down one of the several side paths, otherwise finding the place oddly clear, “We did end up at a dead end with nothin’ but generators an’ a horde on our asses.”

“Ya see, Merumeru? I get Niki usually asks the obvious questions, but that don’t mean ya haveta fill his role. Kyaha! And it’s a sewer! Do ya really wanna know what that smell is?”

“We wouldn’t have ended up at a dead end if someone didn’t blow up a gas station as we operated a lift to get through the warehouse!” HiMERU shot a group of four lurking around the corner, opting to keep on the concrete sides rather than whatever brown gunk was in the middle. Well, he had a pretty good idea of what that brown gunk was, and he did not want to be covered in that.

“Hey! It kept the other horde at bay!” Rinne defended his actions, “Besides! That horde didn’t even spawn until we operated the lift! How they freak out over a lift going but not an exploding gas station is beyond me!”

“And then we had a new horde right after!”

“Well, sorry!” Rinne started getting sarcastically mean, “I don’t control when hordes show up!”

Mao sighed. He was starting to wonder if everything they faced before the pawn shop was finally starting to wear down on the two eldest. Then again, getting another two Witches and a Tank thrown at them before the sewers didn’t help. He shot a Boomer on the far end of the tunnel, the explosion echoing. “How about we focus on getting out of here? At least the sewers aren’t nearly as populated as the streets.”

“Yeah, just a lot o’ blind corners an’ side tunnels…” Kohaku shot several more infected that tried to come from behind, “Why does every zombie scenario haveta involve a sewer segment somewhere…?”

Rinne rounded another corner before he stopped dead in his tracks, causing HiMERU to walk into him. “Oof! Amagi, why did you stop?”

Rinne held his hand out to gesture to a ladder next to big, red letters that read “SURFACE ACCESS TO MERCY HOSPITAL”. HiMERU sighed, “He doubts the surface access will dump us inside the hospital itself.”

“Yeah…” Rinne was quiet as he assessed everyone’s equipment, “…Tsk, seems I’m the only one with a pipe bomb left. I’ll take a quick peek to see what we are dealing with up there. Watch the tunnels.”

Rinne climbed the ladder and very carefully lifted the manhole a little to check the immediate surroundings. The manhole popped out right near the Emergency Room entrance to the hospital, now packed to the brim with zombies. He could vaguely hear yet another Witch’s cries, spying a figure rocking back and forth near the front doors of the ER. It didn’t appear there were any other entrances available other than those doors. He lowered the manhole back down.

He called out from the top of the ladder, “Definitely a shit ton of them and another Witch to greet us! But the ER doors are just a small dash away!”

“Again!?” All three of them shouted in annoyed disbelief.

“Yep…Y’all ready?”

“About as ready as we can be…” HiMERU began climbing up the ladder, aiming to make sure Rinne would be covered in case anything went wrong on the surface.

Mao waited for Kohaku to climb high enough before he turned after hearing the distinct sound of a horde. Green eyes widened as he hurriedly began climbing. “Guys! We may want to hurry!”

Rinne gritted his teeth and tsked, wasting no time in tossing the manhole off and throwing the pipe bomb immediately after. Luckily, the beeping attracted all of the nearby infected away, giving them time to start climbing out. Rinne kept the back clear, picking off a few stragglers or those who decided they were better than the pipe bomb distraction. HiMERU quickly joined, picking off a Hunter mid-air as it tried to leap at Rinne. The younger two filed out and they moved slowly as a group towards the entrance, picking off a few more before glaring at the Witch.

Rinne quickly unloaded five rounds into the crying infected. “Oh, quit crying, ya faker!”

“Actually, there are a few theories as to why they cry. One is that they are slightly aware that the infection has turned them into monsters and wish to be left alone, and when they are disturbed is when the virus takes over. Another indicates that one of the major symptoms they have of the infection is a high fever, which explains their irritability, sensitivity to light and sound, sluggishness, and constant signs of distress. However, it could also be an evolutionary trait to help lure potential prey into thinking they found another survivor like Oukawa Kohaku thought back in the beginning.”

As Pauchi prattled on, the four quickly took out a bunch more infected and moved into the main ER room. They moved into the safe room just behind the reception desk, slamming the door. Rinne sighed, tone dripping in sarcasm, “Wow. What an enlightening talk. Thanks for the biology lesson.”

“Hey, I’m just sharing the wealth of knowledge I have found regarding this universe! I’m just saying maybe you shouldn’t be blaming the victim!”

All four idols gave each other blank stares before Rinne responded, “Oh, that is so rich, coming from the one who loves to guilt trip us!”

Mao’s brows furrowed as the kamuy’s voice returned to its usual darker tone and cadence. “Regardless, rest up. You’re almost there.”

When the voice ceased, Mao spoke up, “Is it just me, or did anyone else notice a weird personality shift in that guy?”

“…How so, Isara?” HiMERU chose a seat at one of the tables in the back room, a break room it appeared to have been once upon a time two weeks ago.

“I don’t know…Like he felt more casual and…oddly lax? At least until what he just said…and when HiMERU…what year are you?”

“3^rd year.”

“Okay, and also when HiMERU-san pissed him off.”

Rinne snorted, tipping his chair back to rest on the back legs as he propped his feet on the table. “Who knows? Maybe the asshole has a multiple personality disorder.”

“Wouldn’t put it past ‘im ta have one…” Kohaku mumbled as he opted to sit on the floor, back leaning against the wall and closing his eyes, “…’m so tired…”

“Same…All of this adrenaline pumping and stopping then running around…Tsk, and not gonna get a rest even after this. That kamuy probably has the next world lined up already. Maybe we’ll deal with his talking a bit more, but we’ll be right back at it again…” Rinne was oddly quiet as he spoke.

HiMERU waited until the younger two appeared to have drifted off before confronting the other. “Do you need to talk?”

“…’Bout what?” Rinne barely cracked open his eyes, the mask not dropping in the slightest.

“You know, Amagi.”

The blue-nette slowly saw the mask begin to crack and lower. The other man simply looked exhausted. “I’m tired, Merumeru…not even physically…tired of all this…tired of worrying…tired of not knowing…tired of feeling useless.”

They both stared blankly at the wall ahead of them, neither having enough courage to look each other in the eye. HiMERU let out a slow, soft exhale. “You’re not useless. You have been getting us out of one mess after another, keeping us all going even when we start to panic…or feel hopeless…‘I’ still need to thank you for taking over the appeasement process in the last universe…For not letting ‘me’ or Oukawa take any more hits. You saved us so many times it would be pointless to count.”

“And yet I couldn’t save my lil’ bro…For all that I told him, how I would keep him safe…Guess I am a failure of a brother.” Rinne’s voice was whisper soft, but it did nothing to hide the hurt.

“You aren’t,” HiMERU closed his eyes, thinking about Kaname briefly, “You and him are made of sturdy stuff…”

It was only then that the blue-nette turned to Rinne. “…You never did explain exactly what happened in that school…with Younger Amagi. It’s obvious you feel guilt over it.”

Rinne exhaled a huff of air through his nose, momentarily closing his eyes. The blue orbs finally broke the mask, reflecting his inner turmoil like crystal-clear pools. “That bastard of a kamuy forced me to make a decision because of some sort of decision he forced Natsume-chan to make…He told me that if I went with Hiiro to go get my ID card and my paper scrap, I would have avoided that premonition…”

“But…?”

“…at the cost of Ritsu-chan’s life.”

HiMERU couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “…Younger Sakuma? He threatened him? Out there?”

“Bastard showed me he was locked in a freezer and sealed the door so no one else could help, and he fiddled with the thermostat…had I stayed with Hiiro, he woulda frozen to death…Bastard kept making comparisons between me and Rei-chan…and jabbing at me for pushing Hiiro away so much…ridiculing me for being a horrible brother…” Rinne kept staring blankly at the graffitied wall, but blue eyes were noticeably becoming misty and his voice began to crack, “He sent in his pets, one of those ones from inside the elevator and that Wolf-Shadow that harassed Alkaloid…they tore him to shreds…To save one person I pushed my lil’ bro away one more time…I am horrible…a piece of shit of a human being.”

“No, you’re not.” HiMERU turned to him fully, resting a hand on his shoulder, “Amagi, look at ‘me’.”

Rinne slowly and dully turned his head to him, exhaustion, both mental and physical, having taken a toll on him. HiMERU, nevertheless, kept his gaze locked to his and voice stern. “…Hiiro would agree with what you had to do. He wouldn’t want anything to happen to the others out there. He still loves you. Sure, you can be annoying, sometimes an ass, but how can you be a piece of shit when you had Hiiro’s and other peoples’ best interests in mind? When we crashed UNDEAD’s Live, who was it that insisted Oogami wasn’t harmed when he was kicked off the stage? Who was it that managed to grow Oukawa’s confidence in himself? Who is it that promised to take care of Shiina come hell or high water? Who was it that was willing to have his idol career effectively executed just so that his unit-mates would be able to continue? A real piece of shit wouldn’t have done any of that.”

The redhead’s lips parted ever so slightly, taking a long moment to let all of that soak in. A tired smile formed. “Coming from the one who likes to bicker with me like we are cats and dogs.”

HiMERU rolled his eyes, though the camaraderie was infectious enough to make his own tired smile form, albeit smaller. “You are an annoying ass some days. But…‘I’ think we understand each other more than we would like to admit…As much as Crazy:B can drive ‘me’ insane most days…‘I’ wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Rinne nudged him with his shoulder. “For real, I’m serious, this is exactly why yer my second-in-command.”

The redhead leaned back forward, folding his arms on the table to rest his head on them. “As much as this sentimental talk is nice an’ all, we gotta rest up. Still gotta make it to the top an’ signal Tatsumi-chan…who knows what else we’ll run into.”

~*~

“What do you mean the gems ‘spoke’?” Keito blinked several times.

Souma just pointed back to what he wrote with a blank expression. Keito huffed, “Okay. Let me rephrase that. The kamuy? They spoke to you?”

Kuro turned his head away from the gems and to the camera with an equally blank expression. Keito crossed his arms indignantly, “Look, I get this situation has been rough on everyone, but that is not an excuse for you two to get sassy with me.”

Rei snickered, “Then maybe you shouldn’t ask the obvious.”

I agree, that should have been self-explanatory.

All of the leaders shouted in fright at hearing a woman’s voice, some even falling out of their chairs or jumping in them, including Rei who heard it the loudest. Every room in the call quickly wrote “Heard that”. The purple spider gem glowed gently.

Shu was not impressed after getting spooked. “Lady! Give us some warning!”

I am no lady, Itsuki Shu, nor would any other words not elicit the same reaction as just now. The woman lowly reproached.

“Oh, so you’re a kamuy?” Nagisa spoke up, sounding completely normal and even curious.

I am Yushkep-Kamuy. Considering how everything is going and what I am about to ask of all of you, just Yushkep is fine.

“Kind of weird how we can all hear you,” Hinata muttered.

Souma wrote on the board: Green says something about energy build-up and being around spiritual power enough.

Well, he is more or less correct. Thanks to that demon and his creatures, everyone is surrounded by spiritual energy. At first, the traces were faint, but as time progressed and he added more of his creatures, enough built up that everyone started to perceive the other kamuy. Eventually, you all may start to visually see us without us having to exert our will to do so.

No one paid attention to Hiyori’s eyes darting behind him.

“I’m assuming that means the rest of you are now weak due to this god’s…whatever doing?” Eichi asked. It was kind of unnerving to be talking to thin air.

Essentially. Without holders, our power is extremely limited now.

“Wait, I thought whoever possessed the jewelry – er gems – was the chosen Holder?” Tomoya leaned close with a tilt of the head.

No, it doesn’t work like that. We still choose who we would like to be our Holder, so long as the chosen human consents. It just so happened that Chikap-Kamuy and Repun-Kamuy chose the same people who were in possession of the same artifacts.

“Chi…kap? And Repun?” Tomoya slowly annunciated the names.

Wataru and Kanata wrote what each of their respective gods was supposed to represent, with Wataru occasionally rolling his eyes as he kept adding to the list. Eichi couldn’t stifle a chuckle in time, causing Yushkep to speak out.

Ah, right. Chikap-Kamuy is…in charge of a lot of jobs.

Wataru looked irritated before his mouth began moving, speaking something that disturbed Tori who was the only one with him. That disturbed look quickly morphed into one of amusement before he quickly wrote down how Wataru was chastising Chikap-Kamuy’s habit of long-winded talk as this was proving to be a time-sensitive issue.

Yes, he is very prone to that as well.

Wataru looked even more annoyed while Tori stood off to the side in wonder.

He’s speaking still, isn’t he?

Rei hesitatingly answered, “…Yes?”

LISTEN HERE CHIKAP-KAMUY!

All of the gems ceased to glow as they heard Yushkep raise her voice. Even the idols in the room and call recoiled at her sharp tone.

While, yes, you are important in terms of Kotan-kar-Kamuy, our Creator, right now, your self-righteous act is not helping. At the very least, when YOUR jobs are taken care of or when the balance is NORMAL, WHICH IS NOT NOW, you can take a break. I do not get that luxury. You want to be considered important for DAILY tasks? Try managing marriage, childbirth, DEATH, spiders, silk weaving, being the head of all of Pokna-Moshiri and making sure souls stay and go where they need to, as well as deal with the kunne 24/7 even WHEN THINGS ARE NORMAL, AND make sure all the proper safety protocols are in effect if Pauchi-Kamuy escaped and warn Chironnup-Kamuy if and when they inevitably fail. TRY HAVING THE WHOLE WEIGHT OF THIS IMBALANCE ON YOUR SHOULDERS BECAUSE YOUR SAFETY MEASURES FAILED!

Silence.

Wataru quickly wrote his thanks for shutting Chikap-Kamuy up. Following this, Mika wrote how the red and green gems agreed that this was Yushkep when she was merely irritated. She is especially one of the kamuy no one wants to enrage. There was a breathy sigh that came from the purple gem, her voice turning very soft.

Humans, I…apologize for the outburst. I…truly do not like showing that side of myself, but…

“It’s…okay…” Tomoya spoke out, “It’s a stressful situation for everyone…you guys, I think, had your home destroyed, if I’m understanding this all correctly, and displaced from your spirit world. And then we are now dragged into this in a…life or death game.”

There was a deep, forlorn sigh from the spider gem.

I apologize you all got wrapped up in our problems…but I believe we will need your help to fix this. With Pauchi-Kamuy back in confinement, he cannot harm any of you, and we can begin to rebuild…

Eichi leaned forward on his clasped hands. “You said there was something you wanted to ask all of us. What is this?”

…We need you to send us, Shiramba-Kamuy in the green artifact, Kim-un-Kamuy in the red artifact, and myself with the purple artifact into our world.

Madara slammed his fist on the table. “You want us to send half of the artifacts, with you lot in them still, into that world!? You’re asking us to send half of the artifacts to a demon!”

Not to him. To your friends. That is…if you want to ensure they will have a chance at survival.

~*~

They were so close. Niki could practically taste it.

After everything so far, they were almost there. Nearly at the research facility located inside the University of Eastern Colorado. What…a ride it has been.

Despite agreeing to teach Hokuto how to fend for himself, a part of him wanted to make sure the other never learned what it was like to shoot a living human. If he had it his way…well, a lot would be different. As much as the Trickstar leader said Niki was still himself, he doubted that entirely. Killing does that…this whole situation will do that. He didn’t want Hokuto to experience what it felt like.

But alas, whether it was due to the entity or the universe itself, that was not going to be an option. That hotel after they were ambushed…he remembered getting separated from the raven-teen thanks to an elevator shaft. When he tried looping around to him through the basement, facing stalkers left and right, he was nearly drowned by one of those bandits.

Hokuto shot him.

He regretted being so upset with him back then. It was hard to tell, even now, if he was upset that Hokuto was forced to kill another human, or with himself for allowing that to happen in the first place. What ended up eating away at him more was not doing anything to console the other, who was understandably shaken up by how quickly it happened.

Of course, more of the bandits meant Niki was starting to realize he had to come to terms with the fact that, in this universe, no one could remain innocent, or be a saint. That was when he was allowed to give Hokuto a lesson on how to shoot a rifle and, after saving his ass in that courtyard, the universe finally allowed him to give Hokuto his own gun. A small handgun from one of the bandits, but it would still do.

Then…they met Henry and Sam. Both of them couldn’t help but see Rinne and Hiiro in them. Coming across them by chance…escaping the city more-or-less together since Henry did leave them both behind when the ladder broke…though he did save them from drowning after they dived off of the big, yellow bridge…traversing the incredibly depressing sewers and getting a new shotgun…

…And then the suburbs…the sniper…

…Not knowing that, despite everything, Sam was scratched.

That was all it took to infect someone. A scratch just meant the turning process took longer than a bite.

Hokuto getting attacked by a turned Sam the following morning…Henry forced to shoot his own brother…and then took himself out with all the guilt…

…They buried the two outside of the radio tower…and refused to speak of them after that.

Next thing he knew, summer had come and gone and fall had taken its place. The leaves began to change. The weather grew colder. They pressed on, regardless.

Having come to Wyoming, near Jackson City, they were trying to cross a dam…

…And that was when they finally found Hiiro.

It was practically instant the warmth that enveloped him as Hiiro refused to let him go from the embrace, quickly pulling Hokuto into the hug when he saw him, too. After a quick introduction to the crew at the dam, who were trying to get it back in working order to provide electricity to Jackson City, Niki was finally able to talk to Hiiro one-on-one since this whole ordeal began.

Naturally, Hiiro asked about Rinne and then, almost immediately after, Kohaku. He did ask about the others, though Niki wasn’t able to provide much. To his credit, Hiiro was far more perceptive to the awkward tension in the air, something Niki hadn’t fully realized was there to begin with. Nevertheless, he was grateful when Hiiro brought up he didn’t blame him for not being able to save him in the last universe. He and Mao did everything they could.

Then the dam was attacked.

Hiiro held his own…quite well, in fact. Disturbingly well. He never flinched when he had to shoot the raiders. Never showed remorse. Then again…Niki did remember that technically Hiiro had killed a man before. That soldier after Aira…

Regardless…Hiiro held his own. He was far, far more capable and adaptable to this universe…

…Niki was not.

Hiiro knew where the facility was.

…Niki did not.

Hiiro could protect Hokuto…

…Niki, as it was becoming painfully obvious to him, could not. He was becoming a magnet for trouble. It would be safer for Hokuto to go with Hiiro instead. Maybe Hiiro could even help them finish this universe quicker than they would on their own.

After much discussion, Hiiro agreed to take him.

Hokuto heard them and ran off.

Maybe that near-screaming match of a confrontation at the ranch was what the two of them needed. Hokuto told him point blank that it felt like Niki was abandoning the both of them to save himself. Niki finally admitted that he felt like he was constantly failing, failing Hokuto, Hiiro, Aira, Rinne, everyone, himself, never able to do enough, and everything was going wrong no matter what he did…

…When the trio returned to the outskirts of Jackson City on horseback, Niki took back the deal with Hiiro. He and Hokuto would stick together. In a way, Hokuto was right. Leaving him would be like running with his tail between his legs. He and Hokuto were a team. To the bitter end, if need be.

It was then that Hiiro gave him part of a linked bracelet set he had. A reminder that they are all in this together. It was a smooth, black band surrounded by golden trimming with white flame patterns. Hiiro kept the other half; identical in all but the patterns, where his consisted of deer, bear, and birds, and held a small, orange gem as a setting piece. He didn’t think much of it when Hiiro said he didn’t recall when he ended up with these.

“Niki-senpai? Hello?” Hokuto waved a hand in front of him from the back of the saddle.

“Huh?” Niki hadn’t realized he spaced off.

“You pulled the reins to stop and then just…didn’t move. Or speak. You good?”

Niki breathed deeply, smelling the crisp autumn air. Winter would be upon them soon. “Just reminiscing on everything that happened to get us here…You ready?”

Hokuto stayed on the horse as Niki got off, looking far off into the mountains. “…Didn’t you say that…the entity said we were supposed to end this around Salt Lake City?”

“…Yeah…” Niki looked at the college, seeing it almost like a ghost town.

“…So why are we in Colorado? Doesn’t our map say Salt Lake City is in Utah?”

“…Keep your gun loaded. We’re not done yet,” Niki bemoaned their reality. Of course, nothing could be that easy.

~*~

“What do you mean about ensuring their survival?” Rei had since taken the necklace off and laid it on the table in front of him.

I have been watching everything involving them with all of you. I can sense several of them are already reaching the limit…You are all aware of what that would mean if their mental states start to break…right?

Silence gripped them all.

And to clarify, Sakuma Rei, it is not a guaranteed negation of that potential fate. When we bind with a Holder, we provide some mental fortitude. It will not erase the possibility of their minds breaking, but it will provide them with some breathing room and, more importantly, time.

“So just breathing room?” Madara sighed before scratching harshly at his hair, “That’s it?”

You do remember what Amagi Rinne mentioned, correct? Our powers become theirs, so long as the terms and conditions are maintained. Us going to your friends is going to give them an edge against him.

“But we’re also risking the artifacts, which we know this demon wants. That’s half of them going in and risking getting taken. Not to mention, your artifacts are still holding you. Wouldn’t that just defeat the purpose of you guys escaping?” Shu pinched the skin between his brows.

Adonis wrote on the board that Green was mentioning that it would just be two of the gems.

…Shiramba-Kamuy. What are you planning?

This perked several of the interests of the idols.

Adonis slowly wrote out that Green – Shiramba-Kamuy – was going to try…

Before he could finish, the green gem glowed brightly before the metal pieces surrounding the gem broke into three, distinct parts that had greenish light reflecting off of them. The silver ring surrounding the inner metal pieces and gem looked like braided, vines. The two inner pieces were semi-circles, one depicted blooming flowers plants while the other had various plants around a pond and was still attached to the gem.

…Shiramba-Kamuy…are you splitting your power? Are you taking on more than one Holder!?

Tsukasa and Nagisa shared a look.

N – “Oki, I thought having multiple Holders was because your power would be too much for one person?”

It would be for me because I was the very first human to ever become a Holder and form a Link with a god, much less hold powers from several of the gods at once. A kamuy can have multiple Holders at any one time, but usually, it’s never more than two on the absolute rarest of occasions since it means more humans are allowed to tap into that power and the kamuy would have multiple residences they have to occupy in some capacity. It’s like spreading themselves thinner with having too many Holders at once. I’ve never heard of a kamuy taking on three or more at the same time! Remember, I’m technically a demi-god, not a full kamuy!

Adonis wrote that Shiramba-Kamuy had an idea, but it would only work if Makoto agreed.

~*~

“WHAT!?” Makoto reared back in his seat, almost falling out of it, “ARE YOU SAYING YOU WANT ME TO BE A HOLDER!?”

The green gem glowed as a laid-back, calm, male voice emanated from it. Well, the plan would be for two of your unit members to then have the other pieces, while you keep the gem and one-third of the medallion. Kind of like you are the main tree and your friends will be branches, extensions so to speak.

The red gem – Kim-un-Kamuy – spoke in a jovial, deep voice. From what they had heard of him, he sounded like he would be the precise definition of a proud, himbo golden retriever. Hahaha! Brilliant Shiramba! That way that demon can’t catch ya! Can’t catch a kamuy when the main housing is out of reach! Hahaha!

Hajime took it upon himself to transcribe for the leaders what the kamuy were saying. Makoto, meanwhile, was reeling at the information. “Whoa! J-just what kind of god even are you?!”

Shiramba-Kamuy, despite somewhat flowery language, was far straighter to the point than Chikap-Kamuy. I am the god of all vegetation, plants, wood, and every object that our people derived from the plant world. From the humble, tiny flower to the mighty elm, my powers are vast and near limitless. Even in the harshest of environments, plants in some form will find a way to thrive. What I am offering is a chance to limit the risk. With you holding the artifact, the demon will not be able to capture me, as my vessel, our shared bodies, will mean I will always have a means of escaping. Your friends will have some of my power as well as strengthen their mental fortitude.

“WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I WOULD BE A GOOD CANDIDATE TO BE A HOLDER TO A PLANT GOD!? I GOT LOST IN A JUNGLE AND BARELY KNOW HOW TO CARE FOR A PLANT BECAUSE OF HINATA-KUN!” Makoto flailed.

It is about more than just one's ability to care for plants. One does not necessarily need to have a green thumb to become my Holder. It is character, determination, the drive to achieve their goals. This, you, Hidaka Hokuto, and Isara Mao, possess. This situation calls for drastic measures to be undertaken.

“Well…what about Akehoshi-kun?”

Well, if we had more time to see of him, perhaps he could have been an option. However, as I have very little knowledge regarding him, considering we have seen very little of him in these alternate universes since we began are three very viable options already available, it may be more beneficial to not waste time with investigating another person. Consider the proposition this way: You are still here in your world. I will be lending aid to your unit-mates. However, my main residence will be with you. This guarantees this artifact won’t have to be sent back and your friends will receive aid that they WILL need if they are to survive this death game.

Yushkep’s gem glowed faintly. Shiramba-Kamuy, pardon my interruption, but you and him can further discuss this matter later. Those two are not the most pressing worries out of that group.

“…What do you mean out of them?”

…Two of them are on the border. I’m afraid if they take any more hits…that – what did you all call it? – Recall function will activate.

Everyone was quiet for several seconds before Eichi spoke up. “Who are these two?”

…Ayase Mayoi and Amagi Rinne.

~*~

“…Can’t say I’m not surpisED.” Natsume shook his head as he stared at the corner of the table.

Rei was beside himself. Mayoi didn’t seem all that bad during their time in La Mort and had already died twice in quick succession. Rinne…it was clear, even to him, that he was shouldering a lot of the burdens and blows for the others. He glanced down at he spider pendant. “…How would we go about sending you back?”

“…You’re considering this?” Shu looked at him in pure shock.

“We have been pulled into this situation against our will. If we are given the tools to get ourselves out of this situation, we would be foolish to not use them. Despite being wary, myself, of making deals with spirits, I believe we have seen more than enough that these kamuy truly mean to help us…I do not want to see any of our friends die because some demon decided to toy with them,” Rei gave a stern glare to his friend before returning to the necklace, “Yushkep, would I be correct in assuming you are looking to find Ayase-kun?”

Yes. More than just compatibility…I can feel he and I are kindred spirits, in a way. He has had to sacrifice himself twice so far for his friends. Several of them still didn’t make it or are suffering while he can do nothing. His mental state was already fragile even before all of this, from what I’ve gathered. He is especially vulnerable to a mental break. I do not want to allow that to happen.

“AgaiN, how would we go about sending you bacK?” Natsume pulled the conversation back.

You are a magician, a sorcerer, familiar with the occult. I can guide you on how to draw a magic circle that will allow a temporary, but brief window to our world. Specifically, we need to create a circle that needs to open up directly in front of Mayoi. For that, we need to know his exact location.

“Ma’am,” Shu began, “We don’t know where he is. Last we saw him-”

“We can find out where he is,” Eichi interrupted, darting his eyes to Shu with a warning look before looking to Rei, “Right, Aoba-kun?”

Tsumugi took a brief moment before nodding, answering them through the radio. “Yes…yes, we can! Yuuki-kun! We’re going to need to test that laptop out.”

“Not yeT,” Natsume remarked, “We don’t have any chalk to make the magic circLE.”

“…Could we maybe use the markers and the whiteboard?” Tomoya suggested.

Yushkep hummed in agreement. So long as we can make the markings precise, it should suffice. Usually, there would be wood carvings and chants involved, but since you were able to access our spirit realm outside of our traditional means, we should be able to work with that.

Tsumugi started typing on his other laptop to communicate with Makoto and begin working on finding out where Mayoi was.

Once we figure out where he is, we can then fill in the part of the circle with the location inside the spirit realm. Time is of the essence. The longer we wait, the more they will go through, and the more all of them risk not returning. We need someone to help channel energy into the circle for it to open. Once we get the circle opened, Sakuma Rei needs to toss the necklace I’m attached to through the portal before it closes.

“What about Rinne-san?” Madara chewed his lower lip.

He is currently moving too quickly in another universe, on top of being watched nearly constantly by Pauchi-Kamuy. Even if we opened a portal while they are in a safe room and Pauchi-Kamuy is elsewhere, he will most certainly be able to tell that it occurred.

“…How?” Tomoya wracked his brain as he attempted to understand all of this.

Think of it like an energy he knows in an area that fundamentally lacks that energy.

“…Basically one of these is not like the other,” Nagisa commented, “Except it’s more like he’s in a universe that is completely foreign, thus a portal using energy and magic he is familiar with would be like a neon sign announcing our presence.”

Exactly. From what I can see, he seems to be just a touch more behind Ayase Mayoi in terms of urgency. Maybe not in the next universe, but he will need Kim-Un-Kamuy if he is to survive the one after. It all depends on how he is able to handle the next one.

“And Hidaka and Isara?” Keito asked.

Again…I’m afraid we will just have to time it and keep vigilant for an opening.

“So, who’s going to help channel? Seems like we may need someone adept in magic to do that.” Hinata eyed the beginnings of the circle being drawn by Natsume.

Tetora responded, “Well, since Sakuma-senpai has to throw in the jewel…”

Natsume cut in, “NO. The channeler needs to maintain concentration when activating the circLE. Once his mind wanderS, he won’t be able to keep the portal opeN…I’ll channeL.”

It will be quite taxing. To the point where you may not be able to help channel for the next attempt.

Natsume nodded in understanding. “I’m well awaRE…That bastard needs to pay for taking Sora hostage and torturing the Amagis.”

“We should have a back up plan for if Sakasaki can’t channel for the next one,” Keito reasoned.

“I do know my fair share of the supernatural. I should be able to help out,” Rei volunteered, “After all, my main role for this one is just tossing the necklace through. It won’t be taxing on me in the least.”

“I’m somewhat familiar with the cult and worshiping side of things, would that experience count?” Madara looked to Natsume.

“…PerhapS…I will need to see for myself if you have the aptituDE.”

Tsumugi’s voice came in over the radio. “Natsume-kun, I’m going to have Yuuki-kun bring the laptop over to show what we are seeing…see if Yushkep-Kamuy recognizes who is there with Ayase-kun.”

~*~

Mayoi attempted one last time to struggle against the seemingly human’s restraints on his hands behind his back. When the man didn’t budge once again, he finally gave in, allowing the other to force him to walk down the hall of a dark dungeon.

The man was tall and clean shaven with extremely long black hair tied in a high ponytail that reached the backs of his thighs. There were two strands that framed his pale face and contrasted with his red eyes. He wore a desaturated, light purple robe with white and black patterned edges along the hem and black pants. Overtop this, he wore a dark grey, long-sleeved coat with fur trimming around the neckline, white edges around the arm cuffs and bottom hem, and a complex pattern that ran down the length of the back. Unlike other creatures and seemingly-human beings he had seen who wore cloth-type shoes, he wore a pair of thick leather boots. A pair of Dao swords were strapped to his sides.

“About time you stopped resisting.” The man’s voice sounded vaguely snobbish and light, but carried a sense of authority and boredom.

Just as they rounded the corner, the Assistant stepped out of a cell, freezing in place as it locked eyes with the man. They were silent as they stared at each other for several seconds until the clanging of another door behind the man alerted them. The man pushed Mayoi into the Assistant and turned to look over his shoulder.

“About time you managed to catch something, Pakoro-Kamuy.”

Pakoro-Kamuy, the god of smallpox and pestilence, walked in, hands raised behind his head and looking all smug and prideful as a different Wolf-Shadow walked behind him, carrying Aira by the back of his shirt and jacket. “Hey!~ This one was a slippery brat!~ Give me some credit!~”

The diseased god let out a questioning hum as he spotted the Assistant. “Oh? Pauchi has his favorite pet on the job, too? Does he have that little faith in us that he sent a human to do our job?”

Mayoi could feel the hands of the Assistant tighten around his wrists, possibly out of anger. The other man sighed with unimpressed boredom. “And yet, I witnessed him catch this one after being out in the field for no more than 10 minutes. How long did it take you to catch that one, hmm?”

Pakoro rolled his eyes as he instructed the shadow to toss Aira into the pit inside the cell. “Tsk, whatever…”

The man arched a brow before blowing freezing cold air towards the diseased god, freezing him in a tomb of ice. He walked towards the block of ice, staring intently at the other’s eyes. “I’d suggest you take this more seriously, lest a report gets back to Pauchi-Kamuy about what has transpired.”

With a singular hand motion of his thumb, pointer, and middle finger pointing up, the block of ice melted. Pakoro quickly changed his tune, “Anyways!~ My job’s done!~ See you around, Commander and Pet!~”

The demon vanished and the shadow walked off, leaving the other two and Mayoi alone. The man motioned with his head to have the Assistant toss Mayoi into the cell as well.

~*~

“Do you recognize them, Yushkep?” Tsumugi asked through the radio.

…Unfortunately yes. That man who had Ayase Mayoi is Poro-nitne-Kamuy, the demonic god of the unknown.

“The unknown…?” Shu drawled out.

He’s…an odd one; represents the foreign and what lies beyond the visible horizon, able to know everything that transpires, even in secrecy. One that I’ve had FAR too many dealings with in the past. He’s vicious, ruthless, and cunning. There’s a reason why Pauchi-Kamuy has him as his Right Hand Man in this whole debacle. The other one is Pakoro-Kamuy, the god of smallpox and pestilence. A disgusting kamuy.

“And that Assistant is back…” Shu glared holes into the laptop, even as Makoto withdrew to extract coordinates, “So the bastard has humans working for him, too.”

“I really hope this isn’t another cult…” Madara sighed.

…Hmm.

Rei arched his brow. “Sense something about it?”

…I can confirm none of us, even the Kunne, have any cults in your world. So few of our people still believe in us, and we are almost unknown to outsiders.

“I gathered,” Eichi hummed.

…Yet, I can’t help but remember the one human who DID come to us…well, more like Pauchi-Kamuy.

“Oh?” Everyone turned to the necklace.

Pauchi-Kamuy more or less rules over Teinei-Pokna-Moshiri to simplify things. It’s more like he’s the biggest power house and, thus, commands the most authority. For those humans who have proven to be especially wicked, they are cast to Teinei. But…I remember he sent Poro-nitne-Kamuy to fetch that soul in particular, which is not how it’s supposed to work…and that human wasn’t even a believer.

“You mean…that human wasn’t Ainu?” Madara stared at the table in thought, conjuring up a few theories in his head.

Yes. He wasn’t. This was…two years ago, though…it might explain why even I haven’t heard much about what happened after they brought his soul there…perhaps this Assistant…is the same human…

“Do you remember what he looked like?” Nagisa caught the small detail.

Not really. I barely knew about it because Poro-nitne-Kamuy and I barely crossed paths at that time. All I remember is seeing a shock of pale blue hair. Though why Poro-nitne-Kamuy appeared to be helping that other one out…

“Hmm…still, the fact that there is a human involved is…disconcerting to say the least.” Eichi wrote down a few notes about the topic.

Tsumugi pipped up, “Yuuki-kun got the coordinates. We’re shutting down the program now. We can also confirm that Akehoshi-kun is in that cell, too.”

Not yet. We need to keep it open to confirm that I reach Ayase Mayoi and he takes the necklace. Sakasaki Natsume, I will guide you on how to form this circle.

Rei quickly scribbled a note and attached it to the chain.

~*~