Shadows and Despair (Corpse Party Fanfic)

C h a p t e r_T h i r t y-E i g h t

AYUMI

I stumbled down the bomb shelter, eventually tumbling in Mochida's home. Yuka whirled around to face me, a knife gripped for defense in her hand. "What do you want?" she snarled. "Satoshi is very busy somewhere else. If you want to see him, forget it!" It may have not have mattered, but I noticed she never references Satoshi by 'Onii-chan' anymore. I wonder why. I stepped closer to her cautiously, eyeing the knife in her hand.

"Oh, I'm not here to see Mochida," I reply.

"Then why are you here?" she queried, her eyes glinting fiercely.

I took another wary step forward. "To grant you rest," I answer, meeting her eyes. Yuka narrowed her eye, arching her eyebrows. "You heard me," I continued. "Heavenly Host has made you miserable, made your death painful for eternity, without any means of escaping it. I'm sorry you lost your eye due to serious and painful matters. I bet you are, too. So, if you let me do this, you can finally rest in peace--"

"AAAH! NO!" Yuka firmly planted her hands over her ears, shaking her head vigorously. "I will not fall for that trick! I refuse to go by your lies! I will never believe you! Never!" I sighed, and reached my hand out toward her. With some difficulty, but finally doing it, I forced her hands off the sides of her head.

"Don't you want it? Didn't you always wish it? Desire it?" I inquired, forcing her to look at me.

"Get off of me!" she growled, thrashing all around, trying to pry my fingers off her chin. I licked my lips. Yuka was sure putting up a fight. But I can appease a fourteen-year-old spirit. I know I can. Yoshiki's words of encouragement rang in my ears as I spoke in a steely calm, soft voice.

"No. I will stay right here, right in this very position, and force you to tell me what made you happy in life, even if I will get no sleep for many nights. I swear to every holy person I will do that. I swear."

She fell limp, and she sighed in defeat. When she glanced up at me again, her eye was brimmed with tears. It was kind of weird, seeing a one-eyed girl cry. "What made me happy in life..." she whispered, "was all of my friends and family." Honestly, I was a bit shocked by her answer. How can I appease her with people I can't present to her? "Including my Onii-chan's friends," she continued, her one eye  growing misty as she remembered all of her happy times with her friends and family.

"I just wish I was with them..." she murmured sadly, her eye becoming glassy with all the crying she was doing.

"Well, for a start, Naomi, Seiko, Yoshiki, Mayu, and Morishige are already appeased," I tell her. "Go to them. They'll welcome you." At the own sound of me saying Nakashima's name, my heart ached. I really did miss her.

"Yeah... okay," Yuka responded dreamily, standing up straight. "My new friends..." As she rose into the air, I smiled. "You're a good person, Ayumi!"? she called down before vanishing with a blinding yellow light.

The bad news: Footsteps echoed louder and louder, which meant I had no means of escape.

And when I saw who it was, and who that person was possessing, I almost screamed.