[Warning: This chapter contains some extremely dark and potentially disturbing content. I have obtained permission to upload this, but even for those who aren’t easily offended, discretion is advised.]

 

Having navigated the halls of the ryokan, Ryuko and Emi finally reached the students' room, where the classmates they’d left behind were still waiting for them to come back with rescue.

“Here's hopin' they're okay…” Ryuko muttered as she reached for the handle. As she pulled, the door clicked, unmoving. “Huh? Th-The door's stuck.”

“It is? It was fine when we left it earlier,” Emi said.

“Y-You're right,” she responded as she continued struggling with the door. “It's just like when we were tryna open the front doors a while ago. It won't move at all.”

“Eh? That's strange…” Emi glanced around, a sudden feeling of vulnerability coming over her as they stood in the barren hallway. “W-Well, let's see if we can get someone to open it from the other side.”

Putting herself in front of the door, she rapped against it a few times while shouting, “Everyone?! Can you hear me?! It's Emi!”

Ryuko too banged on the door from her flank. “Yo, it's Ryuko! You guys in there?!”

They quietly listened for a moment, but could hear nothing from inside of the room. Emi looked at Ryuko worriedly as she took a step back and lifted her leg. “Well if you won't let us in, then I'll just break it down!”

She thrusted her foot into the door, snapping it off of its hinges as it fell inwards. “Just like that! Now-”

As the two of them made to enter the room, they let out a scream at the sight of Ryu motionlessly sitting against the far wall, his face having been caved in and blood dripping all over his front side.

“M-Masuta!!”

“H-Holy crap, Masuta!”

A near imperceptible sound caught their ears, and they finally moved closer into the room to see Takeshi, straddled on top of Cho in the center of the room, his hands surrounding her throat in a vice grip while she desperately gasped for air.

“Takeshi! What...?!”

“Koime!” On Ryuko’s shout, the two wasted no time in rushing into the room and attempting to pry Takeshi off of her.

“Take… shi! The hell're you doing, man?!” Ryuko grunted as she yanked on his arm.

“Takeshi, stop! You're hurting Koime!!” Emi pleaded from his other side as she pulled.

Hearing the voices of new arrivals, Cho gazed at them desperately as her eyes filled with tears and her fingers dug into Takeshi’s wrists. As the two struggled with pulling Takeshi, they realized that he wasn't moving an inch no matter how hard they tugged.

“Huh?! He's… He's not budgin'! Let… go already!”

They continued yanking on him in vain as he strangled Cho, whose arms soon fell limply to her sides as her eyes rolled back into her head. Soon, the gagging and choking noises ceased, and she stopped moving.

“Koime! No!”

“K-Koime?! Koime, say something!”

When they received no reply, the two of them went silent, backing away in consternation as Takeshi rose to his feet.

“H̞̫̥̓ͮͩ̅̎̐a̘̣̺̳̜ͨͧ̀ͥ̅̿̚ḁ̦̪̙̺͢h̢͙͔͇͕͙̻͗ͭ̎ĥ̹̖̗̺̘̣̳̄ͥ̐ͦ͘h̓ͨ͜... ̭͚͓͙̞Ḧ̨͈̣́̀̎a̫h̭̞̩͇̠̰͋̒͊̈ͅh̝͉̹͠ȟ̶... ͓̥̲̞ͬ̌̏͂̀̂͋H̴̲̞̟̞̜a͊̿͆̋̅̋͒ă̬̟̻ͩ̓͟ͅa̭͆͋ͩh̖͈̿hͪ̿͗ͣ҉̞̟͕̮̜̠h̩̫͕̮ͦͮ̃̐̅ͥͅ…” Takeshi’s breaths came out in garbled pants as he turned to face the two of them.

“T-Takeshi...! W-We're your friends, Emi and Ryuko!” Emi's words seemed to have no effect on him, as he still made to approach them with nothing but eyes of pure hatred.

Realizing that they were about to be killed, Ryuko pushed Emi towards the door, her legs already bringing her into a sprint. “Emi, run!”

“O-Okay!”

The girls ran out of the room with Takeshi hot on their tails. As they navigated the halls of the ryokan to escape him, they eventually managed to evade him long enough to hide in a storage closet.

“Hahh… hahh… hah... I think… we'll be safe here… 'till he leaves…” Ryuko breathed as she gently shut the door after confirming that Takeshi was nowhere in sight.

“Ryuko…” Emi moaned as she collapsed to the ground, exhausted. “...I'm so tired. It's getting so hot under this yukata from all the running around. And my tummy still hurts…”

Ryuko kneeled down next to her, placing a caring hand on her shoulder. “I know. It'll be okay, Emi. We'll get outta this, one way or another. I promise.” As she allowed herself to fall back into a sitting position against the door, she reached up and covered her eyes with both hands. “I can't even tell what's goin' on anymore, but it looks like Okeda was right on the money about the curse.”

Emi found her gaze falling as she hugged her knees. “B-But breaking the statue was an accident, and we prayed for forgiveness, didn't we? So why? Why are all of our friends dying?”

“I don't know…” Ryuko shook her head somberly. “I don't know, Emi. There's gotta be some way to fix this mess. But I don't even know the first thing we should be doing right now. I wish Teach was here.”

“Tanehara would know what to do, too…”

At the mention of Wataru, Ryuko forced a grin onto her face. “H-Heh, that guy? He'd probably be freaking out along with the rest of us. Hidin' behind Asano every time he hears a little noise.”

Recognizing Ryuko’s effort to lighten the mood, Emi chuckled shakily. “Yeah… I can definitely see that.”

“...It really sucks,” Ryuko suddenly sighed, leaning back until she was staring at the ceiling as her head touched the door. “We'll never get to hang out with him again, you know? Ah-” Her eyes widened at her own terminology. “S-Sorry. It's just, none of this feels real. We were all so happy just a few hours ago. And now people, our friends, are dyin' left and right around us. We could be the only ones left, for all we know.”

Emi could feel the negativity that’d been sprouting within her radiating from Ryuko now, and moved over to wrap her in a hug. “Don't say things like that, please. We can't give up on our friends. They're still alive. I can feel it in my heart. I mean, Asano wasn't in the room, right? That means she definitely got away.”

Ryuko nodded, her voice low. “Phew… you're right. Thanks, I needed that. We'll definitely find the others and get outta here together.”

Ryuko returned the hug to Emi and the two stayed like that for a while. However, the sound of approaching footsteps caused them both to freeze in place. The pounding sounds seemed like they would pass by the room, but as the girls held their breaths in apprehension, the sound came to a sudden stop in front of the closet.

An eerie silence followed, and just as the two began to silently wonder if they had perhaps just been hearing things, several loud thuds against the door reverberated through their connected bodies. Not moving an inch, the two silently endured the banging until it eventually stopped, the halls going silent once more.

“Just our luck that he's tryna get in here,” Ryuko muttered. “If that door comes down, we're as good as...!”

Almost as if on cue, another loud bash snapped the door off of its hinges, sending the girls sprawling further into the room. A moment later, and in walked Takeshi, his rage-filled expression unchanged since before.

As she came to her bearings, Ryuko’s eyes shot open at the sight of Takeshi approaching Emi, the closest one to him. “Wait! Takeshi!”

“No!!! Please, no!”

Both of their pleas went ignored, and as he made to grab her neck, two shadows slipped into the room. With haste, Takagi put Takeshi into a headlock and screamed, “Now, Sakurai!”

“Right!” Sakurai raised the shovel and brought it down onto Takeshi's head as hard as she could. Once he was sure Takeshi's body went limp, Takagi gently laid the boy on the ground.

“Phew… that was close. Are you two okay?” he asked.

“I-It's Teach! A-And Miss Sakurai!” Ryuko exclaimed.

“Y-You both saved me…”

Sakurai knelt down next to the shivering Emi and put a comforting hand on your shoulder. “Yes, we did. Everything will be fine now, okay?”

“Y… Yeah. Okay.” Emi slowly and shakily stood with Sakurai's help, and Ryuko nearly jumped to her feet as she approached them.

“Wh-Where's Okeda? What happened to your eye? How did Miss Sakurai survive?!”

Despite the barrage of questions, Takagi’s expression became solemn as he responded. “Okeda unfortunately… I couldn't save her. If it wasn't for Sakurai, I wouldn't be here either.”

“I'm so sorry to cut this short, but we really need to find Eika,” Sakurai said. “There's no time to explain, but it's important that we find her as soon as possible.”

“O-Okay. And while we're at it, we need to find the others,” Ryuko added. “

Takagi nodded. “Then let's go. She went to check the back doors of the ryokan if I remember correctly, so we should start our search there. Hopefully we'll run into the other students on the way.”

Having formed a new plan of action, the group made to exit the closet, only to pause when Ryuko spoke up.

“Oh yeah. What should we do about Takeshi?”

Takagi answered as the group turned back to Takeshi’s inert form. “He's unconscious, and should be for a while-

“A̛̳̰̹͓͖̲̪̲̔ͥ̆̐̿̄ͭ̈́̚c͙̮̩̰̥̝͆ͭ̇ͨ̍ͫ̄ͯ́̚k̟̭̭̜̄̀̈́͗́͘!”

With perfect timing, Takeshi suddenly jumped to life with a violent cough, his bloodshot eyes opening wide. The next thing anyone knew, his hands were up at his own neck, digging through the soft flesh with his fingernails.

“Takeshi!” Emi moved to rush over to him, only to be stopped by Takagi when he grabbed her arm.

“Don't approach him! He's too dangerous like this.”

As Takeshi continued roughly clawing at his throat, Emi cried out desperately. “Let go of me! Stop it, Takeshi!!! Don't do this!!”

“T-Take… shi…” Ryuko breathed as she looked on in horror.

“A̹͓͑͒͑̋͛̉ͮ͝͠hc̽̆̽͊͊̎̇̑ͭ҉͎̟͉͔̱̯͉͖ķ͎͍͉̯̯͔̝̟̂ͨ̍͐̌́̈́ͮ́-̤̟ͭ̅ͦ̾̿͟h̹̥͉̑̒̓ͪg̴͍̻̝̼̣͍͔̣̱̒̇ͥ͊̿̍͌͞g̼̱ͦ̅̿͝a̶͎͔̜̪̞̿͟ͅa̵̎̄ͩ͒̎̿̓͛ͨ҉̦̙͇͙͈̤͙̝͠c̨̹͉ͪk̨̙̒͗k͖̙̩͚̮̪̣̗̎̎ͤ͐̋ͧ̅...! ͎͈̳̜̦̩͙̘̖̈ͨͫ͌ͨͧ́͡E͈̗̣̠̮̲̺͖̅.̶̶̡̮̰̬̪̯̤̼̘̞̈́ͨ.̸͓̩͋̌͗ͥ̂̃̉́ͅ.̡͔̯̮̳͖̎͆̈́͘͠E̛͒ͥ̊̈́̿̌̋͡҉̼͎̳͖̼̗͔̬m̜̲̳̺̦̟ͤ̃̒̒̍ͮ͊́͟m̴̪͖̒ͫ͛͋̿͋̋̐͟i̲̯̺̳͓ͣ̈́͆ͪͨͤ̕͞ͅį̴̵̦̰̝̗̰̹ͧͮ͆i̼̣͇͔̗̎ͥͦͣ̈͆͟i̻͖̗̣̜͎̞̜̼ͨ́̒̇̈͑ͬ͑...! ҉̼̘R̩̣̜̝̙̬̙̋̍ͧ̈́̄͟͟-̸̷̨͚̞̱͈̩̥̩ͣ̿ͩR̷̙̭̺͍͍̳͇͖ͪ͛̃͊͌̒̏͡y̷̘̳ͧͯͫǘ̷̧͓̖̖̈ͤ̒͞.̓ͫ̋̑ͨ̋̑̓̕͏̗̫.̾ͤͥͦ͏̢̺̮̲͇.͎̖͂̈͋k̗̲̗͖̤̣̒ͣͣ̓̿ͥ̍̒̌͜k͇̳̟̉ͨ̆̑̋ͣ͐͡h̶͖̞̯̰̯͇ͤͨͧ̾ͯ͑̋̋h̤͚ͨ̇̀̽̔͛͘ö̡̲̦̰̟̺̖̬̖́̑̇̌̓͞o͉͈̖̠̻͔ͭ͛̔ͯ̓o̻͓̺̫̣ͥ̏͒͆̉͛̔͠o͊͛ͫ҉̶͏͖̦̬̪̹...!”

Though they could have sworn they heard something else mixed in with his gurgling, his pained wails eventually came to an end. Soon his hands fell limp, blood and skin matter staining the edges of his fingers.

Takagi released Emi from his grasp only once he’d gone silent, allowing her to fall to her knees. “The same thing happened to Okeda. I don't quite understand it, but they're unpredictable and violent when they get like that. I'm sorry, Akemi.”

“...Why? Why is this happening...?”

Before she could even process the situation, a deep, dark despair suddenly wormed its way into her head, squeezing it like a vice until she could barely comprehend her own presence in the room. As if she was slowly being swallowed up in an ocean of terror, a feeling of dizziness suddenly overtook her senses as she felt her control over her body loosen ever so slightly.

“A-Akemi, please calm down…” Sakurai said gently.

The three of them flinched as Emi whirled around to face them, an expression of hatred twisting her child-like features. “How am I supposed to calm down when my childhood friend just d̢͞i̢҉é̡̧̕d̶̀́͘͜ right in front of me?!”

At first there was silence, but it didn’t take long for Takagi to step forward. “It's because he's dead that we have to keep going, Akemi! Wasn't it you who told me that for those we've already lost, we have to protect those that we still have yet to lose?” He crouched down and put a hand on her shoulder. “Right now, Miss Yamamuro, Fukuoka, and Yoshida are here somewhere. They might need our help, so we have to find them and make sure they're safe.”

Ryuko suddenly moved as well, kneeling in front of Emi and taking her hands. “Asano too, remember? She's out there somewhere by herself and probably needs a friend.”

“E-Everyone…” Emi sniffled as the heaviness on her heart began to lift and tears filled her eyes.

Sakurai as she knelt on her remaining side, encasing her in a gentle hug. “Save your tears for when we mourn them all later, because right now we need the Akemi Miu that was always there to inspire everyone and keep them going. We need you, Emi.”

“I… I understand. Thank you, everyone,” Emi whispered, moving her hand up to wipe her eyes.

“Feeling better? Good,” Ryuko said with a grin.

Everyone stood and exited the room, offering one last goodbye to Takeshi.

-----

As they walked through the halls of the ryokan together, Ryuko eventually took notice of the way Emi would cradle her stomach every once in a while. “What's wrong? Don't tell me you’re carryin'.”

“O-Of course not!” she whined. “I'm just getting a little hungry…”

“Of course you are, dummy. You skipped dinner,” Ryuko retorted.

“And it has been a fairly intense night for us all. Some food would do us some good if we want to keep our strength up,” Sakurai noted.

“Agreed,” Takagi said. “Once we find the others, we'll go and get something to eat.”

Ryuko groaned as she threw her hands above her head in a carefree motion. “Man, I'm really starvin' for Asano's sandwiches right about now. I hope we can get her to make some when we find her.”

“Uguuuuu....” Emi cringed as another wave of pain flooded her stomach.

Ryuko looked on sympathetically. “H-Hey, cheer up. I'm sure everyone's cravin' something to eat right about now. Once we find them, we'll all go and eat together, like Teach said okay?”

“Mmmmnnn... Okayyyyy…”

As they chatted, they rounded a corner, only to cry out in shock at the sight of Eika, sprawled out in the middle of the hallway, neck twisted at an awkward angle.

“M-Miss Yamamuro?!” Takagi exclaimed.

Sakurai covered her mouth with both hands as she gazed upon the body of her sister. “Oh no, Eika!”

“That's… that's messed up.” Ryuko winced as she spoke. “Who would do something like this?”

“W-Weren't Fukuoka and Yoshida with her when we last saw them? Maybe they would know…”

“A-Akemi's right,” Sakurai said. She shook her head to force herself back to her senses. “If the two of them were here when this happened, then they might have been attacked and fled.”

“At the same time, there's no telling what might have happened here. We have to be on our guard,” Takagi said. Cautiously, the four of them bypassed Eika's body and continued down the hall.

“I hope the two'a them haven't gotten far,” Ryuko muttered after a few moments.

“Well, if they were attacked, then it would be good if they did, right?” Emi countered.

“Ahaha... I guess you've got a point there.”

“Shh!” At the sudden sound of Takagi hushing the group, everyone went silent immediately. “...Do you guys hear that?”

“Huh? I don't hear anything.” Ryuko’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“I hear it,” Sakurai said. “It sounds like…”

“Kissing?” Emi offered.

“N-Not entirely, no…” she replied. “I was going to say, it sounds like…”

“Chewing,” Takagi finished. “And it's coming from around the next corner, I think.”

“Chewing? Is someone havin' a late night snack or somethin'?” Ryuko asked.

“Ah! Maybe it's Asano and the others?” Emi’s hopes seemed to rise as she perked up. “She might have made them something.”

“Oh, you're right! She's prob'ly waitin' for us to catch up to her!”

“Don't forget about the situation we're in, you two. Let's proceed with caution,” Sakurai warned.

“She's right,” Takagi agreed. “If things get too dangerous, I want you both to run away, as fast as you can. We'll catch up with you later. Am I clear?”

The two girls shared a look before they responded. “Y-Yes, sir.”

“As long as you promise you'll be right behind us, you got it.”

“Of course. Now, slowly.” Following Takagi’s lead, they carefully approached the next corner, where the noises were coming from. The sound seemed to grow louder with every step they took, and finally as they rounded the bend…

“Ọ̲͍̎͊̽̄̂͒͛́͟h͔̟̣̦͌̊ͦ̔ͥ͋͑̒́͟͝h̪̖͕͉̻͔̙͗͟m̛̳͓͔̫̀̅̋̆͛̄̎̍̈̕͡m̴̼͙̟͚̠͙̪̓̈̊͑͊͟͠f͇̝̗̭͔ͬ̈́́̃̎̿ͪͣ͘͟f͎̞̘͖͙ͩ̒ͩ̑ͭ̐̀͠... Hͮ́͗̏͌͊̕͏̪ͅa̞͇̼̞͕̲ͨ͗̕a̴̶̛̺̗̱̤̳͍̲͋ẖ̢͊ͭͩ̋̈́͢h̥̭̩̣̠̫̜͙ͨ̑ͬ̃̄̑͑͛͝hͥ̉̐̊͗ͤͭ̐͠҉̛̯͈̟̖̦̲̯͉h̶͎͙̙̻̻̫̓̀... A̓ͣ̉̋̏͏̦̹̗̻̫̮ͅh̶̨̠̠͎̭̩̬ͪ͊̃͒̍-a̷̔̉͏̮̰̞̗̯͇̫a̢̨̮̞̠͙̯̞̰̰ͭ̏ͧ̂̂ͤa̢͔̗̯ͩ̽͌̈́̒́a̵̝͔͈̳͔ͤ̆͢hͤ̂̑̽̊ͨ̓̂͡͏̻̹̤̜͖̹̲͜h̴̻̝̖͔͚͔ͧ̃ͦ̓ͫͫ̇͊́h̦̳͈͙͓̙ͦ͌͘h̶̢̟͇͉̓ͦͩ̆̚̕h͈̩̪ͦ̆͜...!”

Perched over top of Reina's corpse, her expression a contorted mixture of agony and unbridled terror, Taitchi continued haphazardly yanking out pieces of her meaty insides and hungrily devouring them.

Sakurai’s hand naturally drifted to cover her mouth like it had with Eika. “Oh... Oh my…”

A sickening retching noise forced its way out of Emi's lips, just before she doubled over and expelled onto the floor any bit of courage she had built up since they left the closet. It didn't take long for Ryuko to follow suit, turning her body away to avoid discharging onto anyone else. Feeling a stirring in his stomach himself, Takagi forced himself to swallow hard before facing the graphic scene before them.

“Yoshida... What are you doing...?!”

Appearing to have responded to his name, Taitchi's eyes drifted upwards to land on the group of four. He made to rise almost immediately, releasing the string of guts he had been clutching in both hands like sausage links and allowing Reina's slightly suspended midsection to fall with a thud.

“Yoshida... How could you do this to Fukuoka of all people... The two of you were so close.” Takagi lamented as he shook his head.

“I can't believe... I'm so, so disappointed in you, Yoshida,” Sakurai said.

Replying to their words with nothing more than a mindless wail, he lunged for the closest one to him, Takagi, who threw an arm out towards the other hallway. “Girls, move!”

Right as he finished speaking, he found himself slammed against the wall behind him with enough force to shatter a crater into the wood. He struggled to keep Taitchi's hands away from his neck, but only momentarily, as Sakurai soon placed the shovel's end in front of the boy's nose. Immediately understanding her intentions, he winded his head back before ramming his forehead into the metal piece, eliciting a cry of pain from the boy as he stumbled away while clutching his face.

“That… probably wasn't the best idea…” he mumbled as he massaged his forehead. “Is everyone okay?”

Ryuko, who had moved aside along with Emi at his command, gripped her stomach as she barely managed to groan out “...Define okay.”

“Alive, for a start,” Sakurai responded.

“In that case, just barely,” she said.

“Good enough. Now I want you both to-”

“Mister Takagi, watch out!” Emi shouted as she pointed behind him. Turning, Takagi instinctively raised his arms to defend against any potential attacks, but found that there was no need, as Sakurai had already deflected Taitchi's next assault by jabbing him with the shovel, causing him to stumble to the side.

In a remarkable (and unexpected) display of skill, she twirled the tool around her body using her fingers before gripping the shaft firmly. “Don't worry, I've got your back,” she said.

Emi gazed in wonder at the two standing firm against Taitchi, who had already recovered and was ready to attack again.

Our teachers… are trying their hardest to protect us.

A small smile graced her lips at the thought, and she placed a hand over her warming heart.

I'm so grateful… to have such reliable teachers.

Next to her, Ryuko released a breath she’d been holding since Emi cried out. “Phew, that was close. I thought for sure he was a goner. Heh, that's our teachers for ya.”

As Sakurai moved to meet Taitchi's next attack, Takagi turned to the two of them. “Alright you two, it's time for you to go. If things were this bad here, Asano could be in serious danger right now. If what you said is true, then she could be anywhere in the ryokan. I want you to find her and wait for us by the front doors.”

“What? Why the front doors?” Ryuko asked.

Sakurai suddenly fell back from the force of being shoved by Taitchi. Immediately throwing her hand out as she tumbled to the ground, she allowed Takagi to snatch the shovel and, with a spin, switch into her former place to clash with Taitchi once more.

Quickly getting to her feet, she took his place in addressing the two girls. “There's something I have to tell everyone. It's about what I found in the forest surrounding the ryokan.”

“Eh? The forest?” Emi echoed.

“Yes. It's a long story, but I need to explain things properly or we'll never get out of this situation alive.”

“So, it has to do with the curse? Just what is in that forest?”

“That's something… for later!” Takagi grunted while he continued struggling against Taitchi's immense strength. “Now… go!”

“R-Right! Come on, Emi,” Ryuko said.

“Ah, wait, I have more questions!”

“Do you not see the tall, slender, hot guy trying to kill them?!”

“H-Hot?!”

“Aaghhhh, jeez! Just come on!” Pulling on her wrist, Ryuko led Emi past the group, narrowly avoiding a swipe from Taitchi as they rounded the corner and continued down the next hallway.

As they ran, she turned her head back to shout. “We'll definitely see you guys later! You better not keep us waiting!”

“Tsuruya, Akemi! When you find Asano, don't be afraid of whatever you see, no matter how bad it might be! Don't give in to the despair of our situation, no matter what!” Sakurai shouted in kind.

“U-Understood!”

“Yeah, got it!”

With those final words etched into their hearts, the two girls eventually made their way out of sight, leaving their two teachers behind.

-----

The sounds of wooden slippers clacking against the hollow flooring of the ryokan echoed throughout the empty halls. Finally, the two girls came to stop in the hallway outside of the guest rooms to catch their breath.

“Hahh… hahh… hahh... So, any idea where Asano mighta gone?”

“Hmmm… I guess… the restaurant?”

Ryuko gave her childhood friend a blank stare. “Ahhh… I kinda doubt she's in the mood for cooking right now, Emi.”

“W-Well I was just hoping she was, okay?!”

Ryuko let out a small laugh as she fended off Emi's meek attempts to bang against her chest repeatedly. “Ahaha, I hear ya, I hear ya. But seriously, if she was in the room when Takeshi went nuts, then she prob'ly ran out to get away. If we can just figure out where she ran off to…”

Emi’s barrage slowed once Ryuko posed the issue, and Emi suddenly found her mind whirling to a possible solution. “Ryuko. Isn't the teachers' room near here?”

“The teachers' room? Yeah, Teach said that it was nearby. Why?”

If I remember correctly, his body should still be…

Looking apprehensive, she shifted her gaze from the floor to Ryuko. “I think I… just… can we check it out, please?”

“Oh, uh, sure. If you think you're onto somethin' then let's go.” Nodding, the girls made their way down the hall, coming to a stop just outside of the teachers' room.

Ryuko reached a hand up, but paused just before she touched the door. “Tanehara's body, as well as Mister Ogino and Miss Shinkai's should be in here.” She gulped. “...We better brace ourselves.”

Both of them took a deep breath before Ryuko slowly slid the door open.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I̛̕҉̢T͏̵͘͏G̶̡̧E͘͘͏T͘͜S͏̶͡Í̸͏̵N̴̨̡̧Y̶̷͢͞O̵͜Ú̷͟R̴̨̡͘͞H̴͜É̷̡̀͜Ą͡͝D҉̧͘͢͠A̶̵̢͟͢Ǹ̀͜͝D̶̨Ţ̶͜E̵͘͞͡A̴̡͝R̢̀͞҉̢S̶̀͢A͢͟͞͝N̨͜D̷̴̛͘Ţ̷͢͡͏È̷Ą̷R̀͝͏̀Ś̢̀͜͢A̵̶̡͘͟N͢͢D̸̛́͟T̵́E͢͞A͠҉̵́Ŕ̨͝͠S̨͢A̷͝Ņ́̕D̨͝T̡͟E҉͝͝A͟҉҉́̀R͜S͝͠Ą̛́͡͞N̛͢D̀̀͞͠T̴̡͠E̶̕͠͡Á̴͟R̨̡̀͢Ś̴̡͝A̶͜N̸̢D̷͠͠T̷͘E͏̴̧́͘A̸̡͟͡R̛S̵D̶͠A̷̷̸M҉̸̶̢̕Ņ͢͟͞͠I̴͝Ţ̵̕D̕͟͞͠A̛͢͟M̡͠͠͡N̸̕͟͜I̶̡̨̨͡T̴̡́Ḑ͝A̴͢͟M̀͘͡Ņ̸́͜͡Ì҉͢͠͠T̵̵̡D̷̛A͜Ḿ̶̶N̷̢̨͘Į̷͞T͘͢͝

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ņ̡́Ó̕҉̢̡Ţ̴͞D̸̴͢͠Ȩ̷̷À͠D̶̢̢̛

However, what sucked them of every ounce of their willpower wasn't the sight of the bodies of those they once knew.

“H҈̪̝͙̟͍̗͍̝͇̬̟̒̔̅̐̌̒ͅà̷̜̯̰͈̫͇̋̀̈́h҈̘̥̯̂̇̍͋ͅh̷̤̭̟̪̘͙̰͉͎͌̐̀͊̑̚... H̴͉̙̲͖̠̳̭̝̍̔̇̈́̏͢͡ǟ̷̧̜̤̩̠̣̙̾͆͒̂̅͡ą̸̭̰͓̳͉̊́͗̍̐̆̍̕ḩ̸̭̩̲͈̤͂̈͠h̶̢̯̯̑̑͌̏͝…”

It was the sight of their friend Yuuna, slowly moving up and down while straddling the body of their other friend.

“H̸̡̕a̶͜͠a҉͢͞a҈͢͠h̶̡͝h̷͜͝h̸̕͜h҈̢͠... They said you were dead, but they didn't know ď̸͉͕̐͒͢͞i҉͇̯͍͂̓͢͞d҈̡͍̯̘́̾̕ņ̶̮̞̤̐̋̓͞'̴̡̘̅͋͞t̵̡̟͚͗͌̒͝ķ̵̛͕̍̋n̸̗̫̙҇̈́͜ó̴̧̜̖̏̕ẅ̷̨̰̙́͞d҉̨͔̤͉̊͊͞i҉͖̱҇͋͢d̸̨̩̂́͡n҈̨̟̣̬̌͠'҈̧̱̫͆̉͛͝ț̷̢̘͕̓̂̚͞k̵͙̲̐͢͝n̷̢͔̖̊͡o̸̧̱҇͑̍w҈̢̯̎͐̍͡d̷̢͕͍҇́i҉̨̥̟̫̅̂̀͝d҉̠̮̚͜͝n҉̡̗̦̤͋̽͆̕'҈̪͖̎̋̀͜͝t̷̨͙͚̝͌͞k҉͚͙̠̔͂͜͝ņ̶̟͛̿̕ǫ̷̝͛͝ͅw̸̢̩̯̒̊̕... But I knew. I knew it was all lies. They're all l̶̡͟͟į̶̶͟͡ą͠҉̸ŗ̶͟͏s͜͠l̸̵̀͝i҉͏̡̨ą̸̷̛͜r̵̛s̷̸͘͢l̢̢i̵̵̶͠a̷̴̧͡r͜͞͠s̷̶͢͝ļ͢͠i̢̢̕͠á̶́ŕ̵͜͠͝s͘͝҉҉̛l҉̧̛͝i̴̸̶̧̢á̢́́r͠͝s̴̶̢͟l̡̧i͟҉̧͡a͟͞҉͝r̸͘s̸̢͘̕ and I hate them. We don't have to worry about them anymore though, Ŵ̵̛̘̗͔̭̱͒̀͜ à̵̡̟̜̟̩̾̊͝ ţ̶̩̪̠̠̭̓̀̐͠ a̷̧͉̳҇̃̏͋̓̿ r̷̢̪͍̀͐͞ u̸̢̠̤̅͗̀͠ ̷͠͠. Haahh... Hhaah... Because they're all d̴̡e̷̢̢͡ą͢͠͞d̷́̕, the liars-hah!”

She leaned down, her hot breaths brushing against his ear.

“But not you. You never left me like the others left me-a̢҉͘a̸̡͘͜h̨͢͠͝ḩ̛̕h̸̵̕͢͡á͜a̸͠a͟͢͡h̵̢h̸͞ḩ̴́͞!!”

Her shoulders suddenly tensed as her body shook violently. She gripped him tightly until the shaking stopped, her heavy pants filling the room with noise.

After a while, she relaxed, letting her fingers gently drift across his cheek. “I should have told you how I felt aaaaaages ago. If I could, I'd want to do this with you e҉͜͠ v҈҇͜ ę̶̛ ŗ̸̕ y҉̢͞ d̶̢͝ a̴̧̛ y̷̡̛. I ŕ̸͟ę̷̴͡͝a̸̢͠͞l̶l̷̸y̕͠r̷ę͏͝ą̴̨́͘ĺ̶̶̵l̵͘͢͟͝y҉̢̕͝͞r̵̵͏̀e̵҉̶҉a̧͏l̵̡̨̀ĺ͘͡y̧͢͟͏͡r̷̵̶͢ęa̕̕͢ĺ̷̵́l̴̢̀͘͟y̵̷͢r̵̴̢͟e̡͟͡͝a̶͡l͜͏̀l̵͜҉̶͢y̧̕͘҉͝r̴̡e͏̕á̵̶͟͡l̛̕̕l̀͞y̴̛͜͢r̸̴̨͞e̷̸͘͢͟a͟͟l̡̕͟͡͡l͘͡y͟͏̀͞r̶̡͝͠è̵͟ą͘͠ļl̕͏͟y҉̛́͟r̨̢͟͜è̴̶͡a̕͞l̶̢͠͠l̷͟ỳ̧r̨̛͜͠e͏̛͠͏ą̵͡͡l̵̕ļ͜͠ỳ͢͡r̸̷̀͡͝ȩ̵͘͟a̶̶̛͝l̵͟͡ļ̵y͏r̕e̸a̷̴̡l̸̶͟͜͞l҉͜y̛ŕ̢̛́͡ę̕á̵̢͟l͡l̸̴̡̨͠y̷̷̨r̴̶̨͠e̸͏͏͞à̸̢̛͡l̵̴̡͠l̸̸̕͟ỳ͘
r͘͠͞͏͘e̸̵̴͟a̸͠l̕͞l̕͡y͏̡͢͠r̡̡̀̀e͘҉̷͝àl̶̷ļ̶̵͝͠y̵̛r̡͟͜͠e̡͜a͠͏͘l̛͜͠ĺ͟͞͠y̧̢̛͝r̡͜͠͏e̶̵̕͠a̴̧̢l̵̴̶͞͡l͜͏ý̵̨̢̧r̵̨ȩ̨̛́͢al̴͡l̴̨͟͝y̧̛͜r̷̸̴e̴̶̡̧a̶̢͘͏l̴̛͟ĺ̕͜ỳ̷̛͘r҉̷̧̛̀e̸̢͞á̷͠l̵̛l̴̢͜͠y̛͘͞r̸e̷͏͞͏a̷̴̸͘͞l̀̕l̴͞͝y̵̨͢r̴̛̕e͘͝á̵̛͏l̷̛͠l͏̛͘͢y̴̢̨̛͘r̸͠è̵̶̛à̕͟ĺ̸̛͟ļ̧y͘͝͞r̶̨e҉̛͘͜a͜l̷͞l͏͏͏ỳ̡r̀͠e͏̢̡a̶̢̛͟l͘͟l̴̶͠͞y̸̸͢͡ŗ͟͡͠e͟͞a̢̛͘l̵̡l̷͠y̢͜҉͢ŗ̵̛e̸͟a̧̧l̀͘l̵͝҉̷ýŗ̕e̶̶̡͢á̕͢͏l̴̨͡͝͡l̡͟͜͡y̸̴̴͜r͏̸e҉̴à̵l͜l̸̸̨͠ỳ̶͘͞r҉̸͡e̵͠à̛͘͠l̀͟͝͞l̴̶̨̛͞y̸̡͢r͘͢͜e̷̶̢͜à̷͜͠l̴̡͝͏̴ļ̸̡́͘y͏ŕ͘͡e͝a̸̶̢͝l͢͡҉̴̨ĺ̀́͟yŗ́͏̷͟e̡͜͡a̵͠l͏l̴͝y̶̛͝͏r̶e̶͟à̛́l͏͝͏͏l̷̨͘͝͝y͝r̸͜͞͡͡ȩ̷̀͞a͝l͡͏l̴͘ỳ͡͡ŗ̷̶́ę̸̛͜͞a̴͢l͡҉͠l̷̛͡y̨͜͠ love you. Do you feel the same way?”

An eerie silence descended upon the room as it became clear that no response would ever come. After a few seconds of silent waiting, Yuuna sat up straight, laying her hands on his chest, and spoke again. “It's fine if you don't speak. I know how you ŕ͢҉͡͏ ̛̕e̶̸̢̛͠ ̶á͟͠͞ ̸̛̕͘l͠͏̵́͢ ̴̕͘͘͜l̶̷͘̕ ̕y͠ feel anyway. Can we go again? I'm not quite s̀͠͏̕ ̴̢͢ą̡̀̀͞ ̷̢͠t̸͘͢͡͞ ͏i҉̡̀͠ ̵͢s̵̸ ̸̕͘͜f҉̀͞ ̸̸̧͢͠i͜ ̷̛͜͞e̢͜͟ ̷̶̀̀͡d̵̢́ yet. But this time-” Reaching into her yukata pocket, she withdrew a kitchen knife. “This time I want to try something new. Something that I know will feel g̷͢͝ ̴͡r̸̨͘͟ ̶é̸̶͠͞ ̧͘à̷ ͝҉̕͜t̵̷ . Just leave it to me…”

The knife sank quickly into his chest, cutting through the material of the yukata with supernatural ease. It was jerked around for a bit before she removed it, and her heavy breathing returned as she marveled at the blood-covered object.

“Haahh... Haaahh... Haaahh... T҈̧̟̃̀͒͠ ĥ̴̢͉̓̀͡ a̵̡̘̬͎̕̚ n̸̢̪͙͊̃͞ ķ̶̰́̔͡  ỳ̸̡͙̪̖̆͞ o҉̰̄̒̐͜͝ u̶͔̪̪҇͆̊̍͢  f̷̧̛̦̤̌̈ͅ ǫ̶̛͚͍͙̓̍ ř̵̮̠͌̑͢͠  t҈̛͖̣͑̍͜ h̷̡͙͓̬̄̑͞ ḛ̸̡̰̌̋͡  f҈̡͙̭̐͝ o̷̧͕͉̅̔̃͞ ọ̸̌̓̌͜͞ d̷͢͡...”

The knife was then sheathed into her own chest. Again, it was mixed around, this time accompanied by pleasurable cries, before it was removed.

“And just like that-!”

Once again, she embedded the knife into him, creating another opening in his torso.

She removed it a moment later, aiming for her own chest once again. “We will finally-!”

Thrusting back into herself, she nearly screamed in ecstasy as her body shook once more. As she went limp, she allowed herself to fall forwards until she was laying on him once more.

Leaning close, she whispered into his ear as her eyes gently drifted shut for the final time. “Be... t҈̨͉͍͍̖̟̭̳̅̾́̄͒̊͊͝ o̴̲͕̥̰̫̙͗͆̏̽͜͠ g҉̫͔͖͙͓̱̫͔҇̒̏͌̿͐̉͢ e҈̧̘͖̯̣͔҇͂̽̋̄͂͋ ţ̸̳̙̞̩͔̰̫͐̋̏̆̍̎̇̌̕ h̸̛͙̦̒̓͢ e҈̧̯̳̳̬̗̩͗̉̍͝ r҉̨̛͈͎͎̦͓̪͕̭̔̔̆ŗ̵̲̠͙̗̊͐̑̑͡r̷̨̗̠̱̮̘̲҇̀͗̂́́r̵̨̝̯̮̩҇̾̇́̂̋̌̃̋ͅr҉̢̛̙͈͓͈̙͖͑́͒̿̅̏r̵̜̤̘͔͖̎͆͋̽̅͆̈́̍̕͜....."

Finally, the room was bathed in a permanent silence, the scene burned into the brains of the two girls who had witnessed it all from the entrance of the room.

“Wh-What the… fuck... Hehe… heh... Are we… are we in hell...?” Ryuko said with a twitching grin, unable to suppress the manic chuckles that escaped her lips.

“I… I don't even know anymore…” Emi responded breathlessly, her unblinking eyes glazed over as tears spilled down her smiling cheeks.

“W… We should go, Emi. We have to… go to the f-front doors…”

“Yeah… We have to… m-meet the teachers…”

Shaken, the two of them quietly shut the door, knowing they would never forget the things they witnessed there for as long as they lived.

-----

As they made their way through the ryokan at a much slower pace than before, Ryuko's shaking legs finally became too wobbly to stand on, and she collapsed to her knees, her palms slapping against the wooden floor

“I… I think I've reached… my limit... I c-can't take… anymore of this…”

“R-Ryuko...?”

Her grin returned shakily as she settled onto her knees, bringing her hands up to stare at her palms. “B-Because… Takeshi… he died right? A-And Okeda said… the curse targets someone and kills everyone around them, right?”

Her hands suddenly latched onto the sides of her head, her eyes widening in abstract terror as she stared into the ground. “Then that means, this whole time... it was me...! Tanehara, the teachers, Okeda, Masuta, Koime, Takeshi, Miss Yamamuro, Fukuoka, Asano, EVERYONE died… a-all because of m-me…”

“R-Ryuko… that's not true though! It's not your…”

“No… I'm done…” She said defeatedly, hands falling to her sides. Slowly, she rose to her feet, stumbling a bit as her knees shivered. “It's only a matter of time… before it gets you too…”

Her empty gaze traveled around, landing on a nearby snack machine. Before she knew it, her elbow was jammed into the machine, shattering the glass shell, before a large piece was snapped off.

She held the piece of broken glass up to her neck, her eyes shut tight in resolution. “I… I won't let that happen...!”

The sound of a sniffle gave her pause enough to open her eyes, only to see Emi staring at her, eyes brimming with yet-unspilled tears.

“Ryuko… you can't do this...! I was able to hold on for so long because of you...! Please, no...!”

“Emi…” Ryuko’s expression faltered at Emi’s pleading, but after the momentary emotional lapse where the glass shard lowered, she shut her eyes and shook her head before raising it back up.

Where she intended to end it all in one move, she hesitated again, and merely held it there. “D-Don't try to stop me. I need to keep you safe...!”

“No, I need you! Please, I can't do this on my own...! Ryuko, stop...!”

“But the teachers… you... E-Emi, you'll die if you stay with me-”

“I won't!”

“E-Eh...?”

“If I promise you that I won't die… will you promise not to leave me?”

“Th-There's no way you can know somethin' like that! Don't be ridiculous.”

“Why don't you understand, even after all this time… after everything we've been through...!”

“What? What're you talking about?”

“It's the only reason I'm even here right now! The only reason I can still keep going! Don't you understand, Ryuko! It's all because of you!”

“M-Me?”

“Yes. Being near you didn't kill me at all. It's the only reason why I'm even still alive, why I can see everything we've seen and still keep fighting.” As she spoke, she began taking tentative steps towards her, arm outstretched. “So please… put it down…”

At her words, Ryuko's head dipped down, her bangs obscuring her eyes as she went silent. However, her arm did fall, dangling loosely while still clutching the glass piece. As Emi's steps neared closer, her hand suddenly came up, and before the two could even register the motion, Emi was already stumbling back, shocked disbelief painting her features. She coughed violently as she fell back, spewing blood onto the floor and staining a bit of her yukata red. It was then that Ryuko finally raised her head, the expression of pure rage on her face familiar. However, it warped into concern a moment later, and Emi could feel her shoulders being grasped tightly as her back hit the floor.

As her vision wavered, darkness consuming everything in sight, Ryuko’s distant voice echoed. “Emi?! Oh god, what have I done...! Emi! EMI!”

End.