Shadows and Despair (Corpse Party Fanfic)

C h a p t e r_T h i r t y-F i v e

AYUMI

"Thirty minutes left... how can I appease four people in thirty minutes?" I muttered to myself, still a bit dazed as I lay on the floor. Thirty divided by four isn't equal, so seven is the reasonable answer, because eight goes over thirty. If I have two minutes left, I could go in the bomb shelter and wait for Yoshiki. I plan to appease Satoshi last, and his domain is in the bomb shelter, so scratch that, I'll already be there.

How can I appease four people in seven minutes? Probably not that hard with Mayu, Morishige, and Yuka, but what about Satoshi? He will be the most challenging to try to convince to rest in peace. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I carefully picked myself up and starting to head towards the bomb shelter. I will appease Mayu next. I think for her to be appeased, she desires Morishige, but he's dead.  If she asks for him, what will I do? I inquire this to myself as I walk inside the bomb shelter. Hopefully they'll be together or something...

"Shinozaki, what a pleasure to see you! Mochida was just asking for you!" A familiar high-pitched voice alerted me to my senses. I glanced around until I spotted Mayu. "Shig'll join us, too!" she squealed, eyes sparkling. "We're having a meeting!" Without waiting for a response, she dragged me along the corridors,  until eventually we reached Satoshi's lair. I pursed my lips as I sat down, crisscrossing my legs on the cold stone floor. There was no chairs or desks available, and Mayu and Morishige were sitting on the floor together, so I assumed I should do the same.

"Hello, Shinozaki," Yuka greeted me curtly before sitting to my right. "Wonderful day, isn't it?" she added briskly, shuffling some papers.

"Good evening, everyone." I glanced up, and my heart fluttered a bit, even though my feelings for Satoshi were long gone. He strolled into the middle of the room and took his sweet old time getting himself comfortable as he sat down beside Morishige and Yuka. She handed him the papers, and he nodded gratefully, and trained his attention on it. "I asked for you all today because this meeting is very important. Sure, someone will die, but this must go on."

With another flutter of my heart--of fear, this time--Satoshi fixed his cold gaze on me. "Ayumi has a secret for us," he announced, smirking at me. I narrowed my eyes as everyone's eyes swiveled towards me intently. As minutes ticked by, my cheeks began to heat up. "What secret?" I finally queried, a hint of challenge in my voice. He smiled.

"Oh, but I am certain you know the reason why Seiko, Yoshiki, and now Ms. Yui have gone missing," he assured me. "Perhaps maybe someone made you sane? Someone has been appeasing them? A certain someone with the name of Ayumi Shinozaki attempt to betray us and deceive her group of friends to try to save her skin?"

"I need to save myself if I can save the world!" I interrupted defiantly. Whoops, I made a mistake. They all raised their eyebrows suspiciously, and Satoshi rose with a sharp, "Oh?" He then smiled wickedly, and beckoned for his comrades to rise, too.

"Tell me, Ayumi, what else have you been hiding from us?"

And they all attacked me.