“Hey, future Yami!”

Yami jolted up from his slumber. Sweat poured down his forehead as he was not only frightened by his dreams, but also due to the infection that his body was fighting. Taking a sip from the water next to him, Yami wetted his dry throat. Glancing at a clock on the wall, Yami noted that it was only 1 a.m. Yami walked upstairs to the bathroom and began to search the cabinets, finding himself a clean towel. Taking off his bandages, Yami inspected his wounds in front of the mirror. Despite only resting for not even half of a day, his wounds were almost healed up, likely due to Akahishi’s presence. Stripping himself of the remaining clothes on himself, Yami turned on the faucet. Stepping inside of the boiling hot shower, Yami was quick to turn down the heat due to the pain throbbing from his burns. He started washing himself.

“There might still be a way to rediscover that element… No, I already know that it’s impossible in this world. It’s a shame, there were so many advancements in technology that came with its discovery. And to think that it was all due to my own selfish wish… It’s odd, isn’t it, Alexis?”

Turning off the faucet, Yami stepped out of the shower into the steamy bathroom. Patting himself dry with the towel, Yami realized that he had no clothes to put on. About to open the door to his room, Yami also remembered that he no longer had a room. Overcome with sorrow, Yami clenched his fist and strained his arms, making Yami seem as though he was going to scream. Yami didn’t scream, however. He simply let out a sigh, and walked out of the bathroom, right into the boys’ locker room. Walking over to a locker with a blue combination lock, Yami spun the numbers into the proper positions and opened the locker. Inside was a small drawstring bag, which inside of it reside a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt which were covered in sweat. Sighing out of annoyance, Yami walked out of the boys’ locker room into the hallway in Rikai’s house. Walking downstairs, Yami found the laundry room. A washing machine and dryer, along with soaps and softeners, were lined against the wall. Shoving his gym clothes and pouring some soap and softener into it, Yami turned on the washer. Hearing water pour into the machine assured Yami that his only clothes were being washed. Looking at a pile of clean, folded clothes, Yami noticed a pair of basketball shorts that were about his size, if not a tiny bit larger. Sliding the shorts on, Yami caught a shiver. Despite the temperature in the house remaining constant, feeling his skin be naked to the air after spending its time underneath of thick blankets made his sensitivity to the cold grow. Not knowing how long the washer would take, Yami decided to scavenge for food in the kitchen. Standing in front of the open fridge, Yami scarfed down the leftovers he found. Hearing buzzing, Yami walked back to the laundry room and switched his clothes into the dryer. After turning it on, Yami yawned. Walking back to the couch, Yami felt nothing but sick as he looked at it. Blood was still dried onto the cushions, and the blankets weren’t any better. Rubbing the back of his neck, Yami paced back up the stairs. Walking past the bathroom, Yami knocked on a white door. Hearing rustling behind the door, Yami was focused on keeping his eyelids open. The doorknob wiggled, and the door creaked open to reveal Rikai wearing a long, white T-shirt. Her hair along with her groggy eyes made it apparent that she was deep in slumber.

“What’s up?”

Yami pointed at her bed, a queen size with pink sheets.

“You mind if I sleep with you tonight?”

Rikai’s eyes widened as she began to blush. She glanced at her bed, then back at Yami’s face, which was clearly not implying what was going through her mind.

“You mean you want to sleep in my bed?”

“Yeah? That’s what I said.”

Rikai sighed.

“Fine, but just this once, alright? And don’t get any funny ideas.”

Rikai allowed Yami to enter her room. Her room was neat, with the her backpack and a couple of textbooks being left on the floor. The scent of a girl filled Yami’s nose. It was completely unlike his sister’s room, which had no distinct smell. Rikai’s room seemed so kind, so inviting.

“Wait. You did shower, right?”

Yami nodded and plopped on top Rikai’s bed, who promptly smacked the back of his head.

“That’s no way to sleep in someone’s bed! Get under the covers, silly.”

Groaning, Yami slid his body underneath the pink sheets. The softness massaged his skin, relaxing his muscles. Feeling rustling on the opposite side of the bed, Yami looked over to see Rikai place herself next to Yami. Looking back at the ceiling, Yami closed his eyes and began to drift into sleep. Rikai turned her head to catch a glimpse of Yami.

“Despite all the things you’ve done, you’re still like a child. You have to cry on my lap, sleep in the same bed as me, and when you sleep, you look so innocent.”

Rikai stretched out and accidentally bumped Yami’s hand. Flinching, Rikai looked at Yami to see if he’d react, but he was already asleep. Blushing, Rikai timidly moved her hand back to Yami’s and locked her hand around his. Her arm began to lay on top of his, allowing her to feel the rigidness of his muscles.

“You’ve grown a lot since we were little, huh. When did you get to be so tall?”

Rikai smiled and closed her eyes.

“I must be dreaming.”

Sunlight poured into the room, gently hitting Yami’s face. Rikai’s finger was also gently poking Yami’s face.

“Wakey, wakey!”

Yami slowly opened his eyes and blinked them groggily. Wiping his eyes, he sat up.

“What do you want?”

“Breakfast is ready.”

“Alright, I’ll be down.”

As rikai opened the door to leave, she paused.

“By the way, I found your clothes in the dryer. They’re next to the bed.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

As the door clicked shut, Yami threw the covers off of himself and stood up. Stretching and yawning, Yami found his clean clothes, which were folded into a neat pile. As Yami slid off the shorts he had found and prepared to put his sweatpants on, the door swung open.

“Yami! I said breakfast is ready!”

Rikai blushed as she saw Yami, who had already finished putting on his sweatpants.

“Rikai, what were you trying to do?”

Rikai grinned and patted Yami on the head.

“Nothing, nothing at all! Just making sure you were up! That’s all!”

“Right…”

Yami followed Rikai out of the room as he slid on his shirt.

“So what did you make?”

Walking into the kitchen, Yami saw that two plates were already on the counter. Both had a serving of scrambled eggs along with some fresh fruit.

“I’m not that big on fruit, you know…”

“Yes, I do know, and you need to eat it so you can recover faster.”

Yami and Rikai sat down at a round table and ate their meal. Rikai paused her eating to look at Yami.

“So what are you going to do today?”

Yami shrugged.

“I figured I’d see how everyone held up.”

Yami began to gulp down some milk.

“Like Shitto, Shippai, and Mr. Posche?”

Yami paused his drinking, then with one final gulp, he set down his cup and wiped his mouth with his hand.

“How do you know about them?”

“When I came out of the room, I ran into them.”

“I see. In any case, yeah. Them.”

Rikai sat still for a moment while Yami continued to eat his breakfast.

“Does Yami not know yet? Then again, I don’t think I should be the one to tell him…”

“Hey, Yam-”

“Alright, thanks for the food! As always, it was great!”

Yami stood up from the table and rinsed his plate in the sink.

“I’ll be off now. Do you know where Shitto is?”

“At a hospital somewhere. Why don’t you text him?”

Yami held up a phone with a blank screen.

“It must’ve broke yesterday. I’m gonna have to do some shopping later, too.”

“So you haven’t been in contact with your sister or brother either? They must be worried sick!”

Yami looked down at the ground.

“Yeah, they must be…”

Yami walked out of the room and opened a door in the hallway.

“Bye, Rikai.”

The door opened to Posche’s basement.

“Hey! Mr. P! You here?”

Yami paced up the stairs, anticipating that he would see someone, but there was no one in the house.

“You must’ve gotten beaten up pretty bad, huh.”

Yami sighed.

“Guess I’ll go to Shitto’s house and see where he’s at…”

As Yami began to take a few steps down the basement stairs, he heard the upstairs door open.

“Hey! I was just looking for you!”

Yami turned around and saw Shippai standing in the living room.

“Oh, it’s you. What’s up, Shippai?”

“Nothing really, just getting some of his stuff…”

“Ah, so he is in the hospital! He should’ve taken it easier, being so old.”

Shippai opened her mouth, as if wanting to say something, then closed it immediately.

“So where is he and Shitto at?”

“Shitto is in holding right now. As soon as the hospital cleared him, Frank took him in.”

“What for? Just questioning? Isn’t Mr. P good enough for that?”

“Well…” Shippai attempted to avoid the question. “In any case, I think it’ll help Shitto out if you go down and tell the police what happened as well.”

“Yeah, I probably should.”

Yami rubbed his left forearm.

“How are you doing, Shippai? Were you hurt?”

Shippai shook her head.

“Nothing serious, just a few scrapes and bruises.”

Yami nervously chuckled.

“Good.”

Yami looked at the clock on the wall.

“Well, I guess I’ll be off, then.”

“Yeah. Take it easy, Yami.”

Yami walked down the stairs and through the door.

Shippai sighed.

“That kid is hopeless.”

Yami stepped into a conference room. Shutting the door and opening it once more led Yami into the entrance of the police department. Walking up to the front desk, he began to speak with the secretary.

“Hello. I’m here to see Shitto Yuutsu?”

“One moment.”

The secretary began to peck away at the keyboard in front of her.

“I’m sorry, but it seems like he is in holding, and is not permitted to have any visitors.”

“Would it help to say I’m friends with Mr. Frank Posche?”

The secretary paused for a moment.

“One second.”

The secretary picked up her phone and dialed in a number.

“Hi. There is a visitor for Shitto. Yes, I saw, but he says that he is a friend of yours? His name is…”

The secretary looked to Yami for an answer.

“Yami Shinpai.”

“Yami Shinpai? Alright.”

The secretary set her phone down.

“You can go in. Mr. Posche said you should know where he is?”

“Yeah. Thank you.”

“No problem.”

Yami walked through a few sets of doors until he found himself in front of a female police officer, the same one that was in charge of letting visitors see himself. She smiled at him.

“Long time no see. I assume you’re not being put back in?”

“Afraid not. I’m here to see Shitto.”

“Follow me, please. Also, keep in mind that you are not permitted to give him anything.”

“Right.”

Yami followed the officer into the metal interrogation room where he found Shitto, who was asleep in the metal chair.

“Hey, Shitto. It’s me.”

Shitto slowly opened his eyes.

“Hey… Yami…”

Yami let out a small chuckle.

“What’s up with you? Frank can’t be giving you too hard of a time, right?”

Yami noticed that Shitto’s right hand was cuffed to the leg of the table.

“Woah. What’s going on?”

“He’s… relentless… I haven’t had anything to eat… Nothing to drink…”

“What the hell? This is illegal! What the hell is he doing? What does he want from you?”

“Yami, do you not know?”

“Know what?”

“Po-”

The door to the cell slammed against the wall as it was pushed open. Frank stood in the doorway holding a Mossberg shotgun.

“Woah, Frank. What’re you doing?”

“What do you know you little shit?”

“What do you mean? I just got here!”

“Don’t play with me! Why? Why did my son die?”

Time seemed to freeze as the words slid out of Frank’s mouth and hit Yami’s ears. Yami caught a shiver.

“What… What do you mean?”

“Phil died, and I want to know why, god dammit!”

Shitto sat up.

“Leave Yami out of this. He doesn’t know anyth-”

BOOM

Chunks of metal flew from the ceiling as Frank fired his shotgun at it. Pumping the shotgun, the freshly fired shell popped out of the chamber, allowing a new one to be inserted.

“TELL ME WHY!”

Yami’s heart began to beat rapidly. From around the corner, the police officer ran up to the cell.

“Sir, what happened?”

Frank raised his shotgun and aligned the beads with the officer’s head.

“Si-”

BOOM

In a flash, Yami darted next to Frank and pulled the barrel of the shotgun to the ground, causing the BB’s to spray off of the floor, some hitting Yami and Frank. Yami looked at the officer.

“Run. Find some backup.”

The officer nodded and darted off.

“Don’t you listen to him! I’m your superior officer! Not this little runt!”

Yami punched Frank in the stomach and ripped the shotgun from his hands.

“None of your juniors will follow you if you lead them to death, Frank. As for your son, he died a far more noble death than you will. He died not protecting just me, or the other failures like Shitto, but protecting the entire school. All of the futures, all of the pasts, all of the stories. He saved them all. Meanwhile, in your anger of loss, you are insulting his efforts by trying to end those stories.”

Yami walked up to Shitto and pointed the barrel of the shotgun at the cuffs on the table.

BOOM

The cuffs blew off of the table. Yami helped up Shitto and unloaded the shotgun. Only one more shell came out.

“Wow, you’re pretty cocky, Frank. Only four shells? So were they for the three of us, plus the one you shot at the ceiling? Or was that fourth one really for your poor junior?”

Yami held the barrel of the shotgun up to Frank’s face.

“If you want someone to hate, hate me.”

Click

As Yami pulled the trigger, Frank’s pants became wet, and a yellow liquid spilled onto the floor. Yami threw down the shotgun and began to guide Shitto out of the interrogation room. Yami laughed.

“Looks like you’re gonna have to spend some more time here, Shitto. Sorry.”

Shitto kept his blank face. Yami carried Shitto past the front desk and saw a horde of officers dash past him. He looked at the secretary.

“My friend and I will be in that conference room over there, okay?”

“S-Sure.”

Helping Shitto sit in a chair, Yami shut the door and let out a sigh.

“Man. What’s with that guy?”

Shitto gritted his teeth.

“What’s with you?”

Yami turned to face Shitto.

“What was that?”

Shitto looked up from the ground and glared at Yami.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

Yami wore a stern face.

“Care to elaborate? I might have an answer.”

Shitto threw himself at Yami and grabbed him by the collar. Using his momentum, Shitto flung Yami to the ground and kneed him in the chest. Shitto then cocked his right fist back into the air and released a blow across Yami’s face, causing him to spit out blood onto the floor. Shitto began to pant and sweat poured down his face. Yami turned his face back to look Shitto in the eyes and wiped his mouth with his right wrist.

“You feel better now?”

Shitto screamed and swung at Yami again, and once again, Yami did not react.

“We killed so many people… our friends… our family… People we knew are dead, Yami! And you’re gonna sit here and pretend that everything’s okay?! Fuck you! Just because we think you’re the Jinsei no Hogo doesn’t mean you can parade over everyone’s feelings!”

Yami looked Shitto in the eyes with an expressionless face.

“If you honestly feel that way, you can leave me alone. But I need to know. Did you kill people you loved?”

A tear ran down Shitto’s face.

“Of course! I killed my uncle, and you slaughtered my entire cousin’s family! You fucking monster!”

Yami shut his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Shitto.”

Yami opened his eyes and locked pupils with Shitto. Shitto’s angered face became calmer for a moment, then became even more angered than before.

“No… What am I saying?! YOU KILLED EVERYONE! AND I HAD TO WATCH!”

Yami shut his eyes once again.

“Shitto, get off of me.”

Shitto’s face twitched angrily.

“What did you just say?”

“I said ‘Get off of me.’”

Shitto swung his fist again, but before it could connect with Yami’s face, Yami blocked it with the palm of his hand.

“Do you want to go see your dead family? Get off.”

Shitto screamed and jumped off of Yami, bolting into the main room of the police department. Yami rubbed his right eye.

“To think I’d have to use this again…”

Yami walked through the door, leaving the police department.

Rikai finished making her bed and doing the dishes. Walking into the living room, she saw the couch. The dried blood had made the blankets crusty and a metallic smell radiated from it.

“No wonder Yami wanted to sleep in my bed.”

Rikai took the blankets and threw them in the washer, than began on washing the actual couch. Wiping the sweat off of her forehead, Rikai laid down onto the couch. Looking at the table, she saw the laptop that she had lent to Yami.

“I wonder what he wrote. I shouldn’t pry, but…”

Rikai opened the laptop.

Yami walked out of a storm door into someone’s back yard. Hopping the fence, Yami landed onto the sidewalk leading to his house. Hearing familiar voices, Yami slowly crept up to the house. In front of the smoldering remains stood Reikoku and Ai. Ai noticed Yami on the sidewalk.

“Hey, Yami. Good to see you.”

Reikoku looked over after hearing Ai and immediately began to yell at Yami.

“Where the hell have you been, you worthless shit? We’ve had to sort all of this out on our own, meanwhile you’re off doing god knows what!”

Ai held up his hand.

“Seriously? He’s worse off than us, so shut the hell up.”

Yami walked up to Ai.

“What do you mean by ‘worse off’?”

Reikoku smirked.

“Seems like your endless acts of being a disobedient little shit are catching up to you. The cops think you burned down the house with Dad trapped inside.”

Yami shook his head.

“If that’s the case, I’ll figure something out. Who knows, maybe I’ll use the evidence I’ve gathered over the years of the shit you’ve done to me and it’ll be word against word. That is all the proof the have, I assume? Because I was at school during the time this house burned down.”

Reikoku bit her lip.

“Why don’t you just go and die already?”

Ai shook his head.

“Seriously, what is with you two?”

Yami put his hands in his pockets and began to walk back from where he came.

“I don’t know.”

Ai took a step towards Yami.

“Hey, where are you going?”

Yami stood still.

“Anywhere but here. I’ll be honest with you, Ai. The cops are looking for me, but not because of this house fire. I did something far, far worse, and I won’t get you two involved.”

“But where will you stay?”

Yami sighed.

“I’ll be okay, Ai. Take care of yourself. I hope we meet again.”

Yami continued walking down the road, and Ai didn’t chase.

Yami walked into the main hall of Rikai’s house,

“Hey! Rikai! You here?”

Yami walked into the kitchen to see a note on the table.

Yami~

Went to get some food for tonight. Be back in a few hours.

Rikai

Yami rubbed his neck and sat himself on the couch, which was now cleaned. Sinking into its cushions, Yami looked over to see that the laptop wasn’t on the table.

“Rikai…”

On queue, Rikai walked in through the front door holding a plastic grocery bag. Yami looked up from over the back of the couch.

“Hey, Rikai.”

Rikai looked up from the ground to see Yami, then immediately looked back down, showing an expression of sorrow. Yami picked himself up off of the couch and walked into the kitchen. Rikai sat the bag onto the counter and took off her winter jacket. Yami leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.

“What’s wrong, Rikai?”

Rikai walked over to a set of cupboards and pulled out a cutting board.

“Nothing, really. Just cold is all.”

Rikai pulled out a knife and retrieved an item from the bag, an onion.

“How are you cold? It’s so hot in here.”

Rikai began to peel the dry skin off of the onion.

“It’s because I just came in from outside, silly.”

Rikai began to slice the onion with the knife.

“Is that why you’re crying, too?”

Rikai’s tears streamed down her cheeks as if they were rivers flowing down mountains.

“It’s because I’m slicing this onion…”

Yami unfolded his arms and walked over to Rikai, and put his hand on the hand that was holding the knife, setting it against the cutting board.

“Yami… What happened to you in those ten seconds?”

Yami closed his eyes.

“So you did read it.”

Rikai hid her eyes with her hands.

“I’m sorry… I just wanted to know what made you so emotional… Yami… I’m so sorry…”

Yami wrapped his arms around Rikai and embraced her.

“Did you hear about Mr. Posche?”

“Yes.”

“And you lost your father.”

Yami nodded.

“Aren’t you sad?”

Yami nervously chuckled.

“Rikai, I’m telling you, I’m okay.”

“No you’re not!”

Rikai pushed Yami off of her.

“How could you say that? You’re just being cruel to yourself! Mr. Posche was your friend! As for Alexis, she was your everything! And you act as if nothing happened? Yami, you’re hurting inside! Don’t try to hide it!”

Yami opened his eyes, which were becoming teary.

“I’m not hiding it.”

Rikai pulled out her phone and handed it to Yami.

“Look here. I did some research. It seems as though that high school is real! You might be able to find Alexis here!”

Yami wiped his eyes.

“There’s no way that she exists, though.”

Rikai put her hands on Yami’s shoulders and looked into his eyes.

“Yami, you owe it to yourself to try.”

Yami closed his eyes.

“I’ll think about it.”

Rikai hugged Yami.

Rikai and Yami sat at the table and at their meal.

“Man, you’re gonna make a great wife someday, Rikai! Everything I’ve had is amazing!”

Rikai blushed.

“T-Thanks.”

Yami grabbed their plates and put them into the dishwasher. He walked into the living room and laid down onto the couch, closing his eyes. Rikai stood over him.

“Scooch.”

Yami, who was already relaxed shook his head.

“No. I’m comfy.”

“My house, my rules. You don’t move, and I’ll lay on you.”

“Fine by me, so long as I don’t have to move.”

Rikai blushed.

“You leave me no choice.”

Yami felt his body be pushed farther into the couch cushions as Rikai’s body rested itself on his.

“You’re squishing me, Rikai!”

“Too bad. I told you I would!”

Rikai rested her head next to Yami’s and stared at the ceiling.

“Hey Yami, did you two… You know….”

Yami sighed.

“Does it really matter? You’re smart, figure it out. We were married and knew each other since childhood.”

“R-Right…”

A few minutes passed as Yami’s leg started to fall asleep.

“Hey, Rikai? Can I get up for a second?”

Rikai snored in response.

Yami smirked.

“Guess I’ll follow in her footsteps.”

Yamim drifted into slumber with a smile on his face.

“You know what? I’ll pay Yume High a visit tomorrow.”