InSaNiTy [Part One]
Description: Every year, Yokoo refuses to go trick-or-treating with his friends on Halloween. But now because he doesn't want to go. Because he wants to protect them. Protect them from a dark secret he holds.
Fic link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43886004/chapters/110344152
Fic under the cut!
Yokoo stared out the window as the teacher’s voice faded into a dull hum, mind brimming with thoughts. He could go trick-or-treating with Kou and Satou, maybe, but there was also an off-chance they would end up sleeping over or staying out too late, and really…he didn’t want that to happen. His mother had already warned him not to speak to anyone about his…condition, regaling him with stories about how she lost many friends when she was a child just by telling them. He hated it, the curse passed down by generations in his family, the cycle of harming others. “Yokoo-san, please pay attention.” the sharp voice of the teacher snapped him back to reality. His head came back up at the words. He heard the laughter of other students as they watched it unfold. “Maybe if the class was more fun, I would pay attention~” he said jokingly, sticking out his tongue and about to make another remark before hearing another voice. “Psst! Hey!” he heard it whisper. It sounded almost exactly like his own voice, but it didn’t belong to him and was slightly different. It had a more…sinister aura, a deeper tone, something Yokoo himself could rarely achieve. Almost…scary, if you hadn’t heard it before. Yokoo merely sighed, raising his hand. “Hey! Ma’am, can I go to the bathroom??” he asked. When given confirmation, he stepped out of the room, crouching down in the halls. “What?” he hissed out, quiet, suddenly serious. Suddenly, a copy of Yokoo seemed to float out from him. This Yokoo, however, was different. He had black dyed tips and blood-red eyes, with three piercings in his left ear. But his most noticeable feature was his, “Yokoo”’s, transparency, almost ghostlike.
“Nothin~ I just wanted to say hello!!” the copy said, floating down until his feet touched the ground. “Can we play a game? I wanna cut that classmate of yours so BADLY!!” he asked excitedly, jumping from side to side. “No, Kurai-kun. We’re at school, remember?? And you can’t hurt her. She’s a nice girl.” Yokoo whispered, gesturing. “I can’t play right now, idiot.” he said the last word affectionately as he reached out and stroked the copy’s hair. He realized he would’ve looked rather odd, patting thin air, but brushed it off. He felt the other brown-haired boy tense under his touch after a few moments before slowly raising his head. “This year~ this year will be different. I’m gonna catch those friends of yours, and…” he slid his finger over his throat, voice no longer airy and playful but dark. Darker than Yokoo had ever heard it. “Look, Kurai.” he held off on the honorific. “I know you’ve never heard of the concept of ‘friends’ before, but just know I will fight tooth and nail to protect Kou and Satou from…this.” he said, gesturing to the two of them. “Shame, shame, Yokoo. I still think the darlings would love to meet me, even though I’m so carefully hidden away by you. The part you don’t wanna show others…you think they might run away, and it would shatter that carefully crafted personality of yours, your popularity if they found out how many people we’ve murdered.” Kurai sang, spinning in a circle, his sneakers squeaking slightly on the floor. “An-and it wasn’t my fault I never had friends. I never got the chance to meet any.” he said, awkwardly, his voice back to playful, but with an undercurrent of sadness as he looked down at the ground whilst wringing his hands. “Wait, I don’t count~?” Yokoo said at the other boy’s words. Immediately, his expression changed, from fiercely protective to surprised. “Uh…no? Bec-” Kurai was cut off by the bell ringing, people coming out of class and nearly running the two over as students rushed to the cafeteria. At least, nearly running Yokoo over. Kurai floated up above the crowd, red eyes scanning them as he opened his mouth, revealing sharp fangs. His piercings jingled in his ear, almost like the tinkle of wind chimes in a light summer breeze. Yokoo spotted him above the crowd, and as it thinned out, he moved towards him until he was practically under the other boy, motioning for him to come to stand next to him. Kurai followed his lead, floating down to stand beside him and slipping his hand into Yokoo’s, almost like a child. Kou and Satou came out of the crowd of people rushing out. Satou, unsurprisingly, was holding a box of chocolate Pocky, which he opened, slipping a stick into his mouth before attempting to speak, but was cut off by Kou. “Hey, why weren’t you in class?” he asked Yokoo, fumbling with the bento box he held in his hands, wrapped in pink cloth. “Uh…” Yokoo was flustered, a rare occurrence as his tongue fumbled to find the right words. “It took a lil’ while in the bathroom, long line~” he said, drawing out the last syllable as he lilted his voice into something other than nervousness. He saw Kurai out of the corner of his eye, fiddling with his fingers as he watched them talk wistfully, reaching out to the trio before snatching his hand back. He saw Kou glance over at him, shaking his head softly before looking back at Yokoo. “Anyway, do you wanna eat lunch now??” he asked, holding up the pink-wrapped box. “Uh-sure~” Yokoo agreed as the four of them walked back inside the classroom. He could’ve sworn he saw Kou glancing at Kurai, and once or twice even looking straight at him. “I just have to drop this off quickly and we can head to lunch! It’s on the way, anyway.” Kou said before beginning to head to the lunch room, Satou chewing on his pocky and Yokoo in the middle, with Kurai still hand-in-hand with him.
“A-anyway!” Kou said suddenly, making Yokoo jump. “Yokoo, do you wanna come trick-or-treating with us tonight??” he asked, a glint of excitement in his electric-blue eyes. Blushing slightly, Yokoo offered up the excuse he had given every year. “I have night patrol in the school, remember?” he said. Lie. ‘Liar, liar, LIAR! LIAR!!’, his brain chanted, but he swallowed nervously, sweating. It was fine. He was just protecting them from the horrors that went on. Right…? “Oh…alright.” Kou said, deflating slightly. Good. That was out of the way. They were both protected. Suddenly, Kou’s head snapped up as a lightbulb seemingly went off over his head. “Oh hey, I know! Why don’t we patrol with you tonight??” he said, clearly excited at this prospect. “Oh-I-uh-” Yokoo said, floundering around for a response before giving up. “Sure~” he responded, happily. Or at least, as happily as he could muster. “Great!” Kou said, seemingly oblivious to the waves of worry radiating from the fluffy-haired teen. “Should we meet up at ten?” Yokoo asked. It seemed like a good time to set it. He could get there, Kou and Satou would lose interest and leave, and he could go about his night as normal, patching up a few cracks and stab marks in the wall from Kurai in the morning, and then maybe faking a sick day, if he was tired enough. “Okay!” Kou said before pulling up a chair, motioning for Yokoo and Satou to join them. “Hey, what if we slept over at the school??” Satou said. Yokoo had nearly forgotten he was there, which made him jump slightly. “That’s a great idea!” Kou said excitedly, staff jingling on his back. “We can meet at ten and sleep in the school!” he said. “Oh-um-” Yokoo stuttered out, sweating nervously as he desperately searched for any words that might help them stay away. “Please, don’t come!!” he wanted to scream at the two of them. “I don’t want t-I don’t want to hurt either of you!!” Kou spoke up, eyes locked on him. “Are you okay? You look a little…pale.” he said, glancing again at Kurai and then looking back at Yokoo. “Oh! Yeah, yeah I’m fine, I’m fine!!” he practically yelled, standing up. “We’ll meet at ten, right? Anyway, I um-gotta go to the bathroom.” he said before rushing out of the room and into the men’s restroom, stopping just short of a stall before going inside it, sitting down on the toilet, breathing heavily. Meanwhile, Kou and Satou were staring at the space their friend had filled just moments before. “Do you think he’s okay?” Satou asked Kou, who shook his head in response. “I think there’s something wrong. But I don’t know for sure. I gotta head out too. See ya!” he said before running out of the room, leaving Satou alone. Satou watched his two best friends run off before grabbing his bag and hoisting it over his shoulder, pulling a lollipop out of his back pocket and unwrapping it, sticking it into his mouth, and leaving the room himself.
Setting: Kamome Academy, 10 P.M.
Yokoo walked to the gates of the school, eyes trained on his shoes. He could already feel a scratching in the back of his mind as Kurai’s dark side fought to come out. He rounded a corner, hearing Kou’s voice. “Hey!!” Kou said, waving Yokoo over with a smile on his face. Yokoo ran over, stopping a few feet short of the two and striking a random pose. “Hey~,” he said jokingly at the two. Suddenly, he heard another voice just past his ear, coming from behind him. “Yokkun…I don’t know if I’ll be able to hang on tonight.” Kurai muttered next to his ear, hiding behind the other boy and hanging onto his shoulder as if it were life or death. Yokoo whipped around, facing the other boy, opening his mouth to say something before closing it again.
“Jeez, Yokoo, you’ve been jumpy today. What’s up?” Satou said, looking over at him as he chewed on a piece of gum. “Oh, aha, I’m fine~.” he said, scratching his arm nervously, nearly until it bled, a bad habit of his. It was an angry red, and he hid it behind his back, hoping Kou and Satou wouldn’t notice. He, however, noticed Kou looked deep in thought, staring at Kurai thoughtfully. Instinctively, he stepped in front of the other, as if he were protecting him, and threw out his unhurt arm, before blushing, realizing they couldn’t see the other male. Kou’s eyes widened, pupils dilating before turning back to normal. “Oh-shall we go in now??” he said, gesturing to the school gate. “I got permission from Teru-nii that we could sleep here!” he said before noticing Yokoo didn’t have anything but a small backpack. “Hey, did you bring anything to sleep on?” he said worriedly. “Oh, yeah~,” Yokoo sang. “I stuffed a blanket in here to sleep on. I’ll be fine~” Lie. He didn’t plan to sleep. At least, not tonight. He had, however, brought a blanket and some strong rope. With a nod of approval from Kou, the three jumped over the gate, Satou’s bag catching on it and tearing the top flap with a loud ripping noise, stopping the other two in their tracks. Candies spilled all over the ground, one bumping Yokoo’s shoe and rolling to a stop on the dusty ground. He stared at it for a few moments, the scenery seemingly shifting for a moment as he fell into a flashback. The ground shifted and he saw the school’s floor, a scream echoing around the hall he stood in. His head snapped up, and he registered everything around him, taking a step back from horror. He stood in front of a door, the door to his classroom. Blood flowed from under the door, almost like a never-ending river, pooling around him, staining his shoes crimson, his hands crimson, the knife he held stained crims-wait, knife? With shaky hands, he held it up, the deadly edge of the dagger glinting in the night. The scene shifted, the dagger in his hands the only thing remaining from the previous nightmare. Kou looked up at him in fear, crouching over the body of Satou. “Monster! Monster!” the blond screamed out, pointing at Yokoo, crawling away as he dragged Satou’s limp body with him, slipping on pools of blood coming from the boy’s body. “M-monster?” Yokoo stuttered out, staring at them. He stepped forward, Kou crawling backward. “I-I’m not a monster. I’m Yokoo! Yokoo Shun!! It’s me…remember…?” he said, gesturing wildly, seeing the fear in Kou’s eyes. Kou and Satou’s faces kept changing, to Mitsuba-Kun, Nene-senpai, Aoi-senpai…the list went on and on. As each person looked on at him in horror, Yokoo felt more and more tears forming in his eyes, dripping down his pale face. He looked down at his hands, stained red with dried blood. Was he a monster? Suddenly, he felt hands on his shoulders, shaking him violently. With a gasp, he snapped out of the dream, seeing Kou and Satou in front of them, their faces with matching worried expressions, not like the nightmare he had had. The candies were gone from the ground, most likely picked up by the two. With a shaky hand, he lifted his hand and felt his face, feeling the wetness of shed tears, seeing a waver in his vision from unshed ones. “Are you okay??” Kou asked worriedly. “You randomly started crying after Satou’s candy dropped. We were worried about you!” he said as he stepped back, wringing his hands and looking back and forth worriedly. “Yeah! Yokkun, are you okay?” a voice next to him said, making him jump and look over. Kurai stood there. “Like Kou-nii said, you started crying!” Kurai said. Yokoo noted he used the older brother's honorific for Kou, but pushed it aside. He had more important things to tend to, for now. “Nightmare?” Kurai asked, piercings jingling as he tilted his head. “Aha…I’m fine~!” he said, addressing the two, but looking more at Kou, glancing at Kurai once or twice to let him know he was talking to him as well. “I just was thinking, is all.~” he sang, turning before they could see a tear drip down his face, hitting the ground with a nearly silent thud. “Oh, wait!” Kou said suddenly, making Yokoo turn. He prayed they couldn’t see the fresh tear streaks on his face as Kou took something out of his pocket. “Here! I made this myself! It’s a talisman to ward off spirits!” he said before handing it to Yokoo, the latter recoiling ever so slightly before accepting it with shaky hands. He slipped it into his pocket, vowing to tear it up the first chance he got. Already, it felt like a dead weight, like a bar of iron in his pocket. “Thanks, Kou~” he said. “I don’t believe in all that ghost stuff, y’know...” he said, drawing out the last syllable. Lie. “Well, yeah I know, but I figured you might like it!” Kou said, relief evident in his voice as he shouldered his way past Yokoo. “C’mon! Let’s go!” he said. Yokoo turned, following Kou into the building while Satou hoisted his bag up, the candy wrappers inside his bag crackling as he shouldered it. Once they were inside the school, Yokoo immediately felt the tendrils of magic wrap around him. Kurai spoke. “Yokkun…I’m sorry.” he mumbled a quick apology before disappearing suddenly, a puff of smoke remaining as the cold autumn breeze blew through the door, the crisp air choking him for a moment as he coughed violently, coughs wracking his body as he felt forcibly thrown into his and Kurai’s shared mind space. “Yokoo! Are you oka-” Kou began, but he stopped when he saw ‘Yokoo’ lift his head slowly, eyes slowly melting into a blood-red, almost as if someone had taken food coloring and dropped some into his pupils. “Oh fuck you guys. You call yourselves Yokoo’s friends? Friends are worthless. I me-” ‘Yokoo’ said before he shook his head, closing his eyes. When he reopened them, Yokoo’s eyes were back to normal. He opened his mouth, about to speak before he was cut off. Kou stepped forward. “Yokoo, are you alright? You started…cursing at us.” he said, eyes darting to where Kurai sat, floating above him with red strings in his hands. Each string was connected to a body part of Yokoo’s, almost like some kind of twisted puppet. His hands…his arms…his legs… Kou couldn’t even bear to look at his face, afraid of what strings could lie there. Yokoo took a shaky step backward. Just what had he said while Kurai had accidentally controlled him. “I-i-iiiiii-” he stuttered, words eventually blurring into one cohesive form as he blurted out a string of words, none of which Kou or Satou could decipher before he turned on his heels and ran, rounding a corner and disappearing. “Satou.” Kou said softly, the latter turning to look at the blonde male. “There’s something wrong with Yokoo. Be careful,” he said before frantically motioning for him to follow. He tried the doors. No luck. “Hanako! Open the doors!” he shouted out, unaware of the look Satou gave him as he shouted out into empty space. Soon the apparition appeared, the amber-eyed teen looking up at Kou, hakujoudai hovering around him. Satou’s mouth dropped, the pocky falling out and hitting the floor. “K-kou,” he began, pointing a shaky finger at Hanako. “Who’s that?” “Hanako-kun of the toilet! Nice to meet you!” Hanako said cheerfully before turning away from the stunned boy. “I can’t open the doors. There’s a reason why Yokoo declines every year. He comes here to stop something…I don’t know what it is, but it’s evil and big and my powers are nulled by it.” he stated casually. “Evil?? Big?” Kou said, reeling from this information. That explained…well, everything. Yokoo’s reluctance, that weird spirit around him… He then realized something. “Hey, why can Satou see you?” he stabbed the air, pointing at Hanako. “Something to do with this Hallo-” Hanako was cut off by Satou. “How can we stop it?” Satou interrupted, shoving another piece of pocky in his mouth and chewing furiously, fiddling with the box between his fingers, a habit of his.
Meanwhile, with Yokoo
Yokoo whipped around the corner, slowing down when he was out of sight and breathing heavily, nearly falling over but managing to make it to the abandoned Science lab nearby and collapsing onto the table, allowing himself a few moments of rest before pulling himself back up, grabbing some manacles before snapping them onto his wrists. He hit himself on the knee before he could snap the right manacle on, and he yelped in pain before limping into a large cabinet, perfectly person-sized. Dust fell around him in clouds as he climbed in, shutting the door and leaning backward before relaxing. “Kou, Satou, please be safe.” was the last thing he muttered before he felt himself forcibly pulled into his shared mind space with Kurai. The mind space was…surprisingly comfortable, considering it was technically Kurai’s room. The walls were painted a dark red, slightly darker than the shade of Kurai’s own eyes. There were purple couches and magazines littered around the area and a dinosaur-themed blanket on the bed. It had an uncanny resemblance to Yokoo’s room…except, inverted, really. He settled down on the couch and fell asleep, tired from the day’s events. He had a smile on his face as his world faded to blackness. And the “monster” awoke… Kurai opened his eyes, surveying the area. He was in some sort of…cabinet. The sweet smell of wood wafted around him, further reinforcing this was, in fact, a cabinet. His vision shifted left, seeing the cabinet latch. Too easy. He kicked the door open and shifted out, noticing the cuffs on his hands, clinking together like chimes as he lifted them into the moonlight. “Woow~! I forgot what it was like to be solid!” he hummed before skipping over back to the cabinet, opening a drawer, and grabbing a knife. Why did they keep a knife in an abandoned lab?
He pushed the thoughts aside and stabbed the chain, hearing it come off with a satisfying clink as it fell to the floor as his blood-red eyes skimmed over them. He rubbed his wrists, spinning in a circle happily. It was so fun to become solid! He could become visible to normal humans, but this was the only time he felt…powerful. “Wonder what I should do tonight~!” he said, thinking. He could hang out with the mokkes, go to the kitchen…play games…tear up photos…his vision went red. Yuri…Yuri…YURI. He drooled, imagining her blood on his hands, which were shaking violently. “Wait!” he said aloud. Yokoo’s friends! Satou and Kou?? He smiled, wiping his mouth. They would pay. They might’ve been doing the same thing…as Yuri. He took the knife out of the table,, polishing it with the tip of his shirt. Tonight would be fun. Very fun. The door slid open as he stepped out, breathing deeply before picking the right hallway, and skipping down it while humming a tune to himself.
With Kou and Satou
Satou pulled out a box of spaghetti, crunching on the dry noodles as they walked. “Yokoo! Yokoo!!” Kou called out, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify the sound. “He’s fine, prolly just embarrassed. I wonder what that was about, anyway?” Satou said whilst chewing on another piece of spaghetti. “I know bu-hey, do you smell that?” Kou asked, looking around. Sure enough, the smell of roses came from around the corner, getting stronger every second as the two of them stared, eyes fixated.
Soon, Yokoo rounded the corner, humming a little tune to himself with his hand in his jean pocket. “Yoko-” Kou said, reaching out to him but was cut off by Yokoo batting his hand away. “Don’t touch me, you freak.” he said, fangs glimmering from his mouth. Kou froze at the tone of his voice. It sounded… different. Almost like Mitsuba’s in the Picture Perfect world. It sent shivers up his spine as he saw his friend’s eyes, not the warm brown he was used to, but a stark, blood-red. He took a shaky step backward as he pulled out a knife from his pocket, the sharp edge of the dagger glinting in the moonlight, snapping him out of his trance as he spun on his heel, grabbing Satou and racing away before the clone could react, let alone speak. “Wh-” Satou yelled as they raced past classrooms. “What about…Yokoo??” he huffed out. “Can’t help him!! Can’t!” Kou yelled out. Kurai, however, was still frozen in place, watching them run away. “Dammit. DammitdammitdammitDAMMIT!” he screamed, throwing the knife on the ground before his mouth curved into a smile. His plan wasn’t over just yet. He picked up the knife. “Let’s play a lil’ game and have fun, shall we?” he sang out before walking in the direction they ran. “I can feel your heartbeats. Like scared little rabbits.” he mumbled. He would catch them. For Yokoo. Meanwhile, with Yokoo… Yokoo sat up, stretching. His eyes shot open as he registered his surroundings, rubbing his bleary eyes and getting up slowly, opening the door, and walking to the next room. This room was painted a light shade of blue, almost like his own room, and had photos plastered all over the walls. Mostly of him and Kurai, taken by Yokoo’s mom. There was one of them at the beach…their house…younger versions… the list went on and on. He looked over the photos, giggling as a smile spread on his face before it melted off immediately when he saw the crystal ball nearby, set on a table with a purple cloth next to it. It had a layer of dust on it, and he blew it off, choking a little bit as the particles clouded the air. He had set it up for Kurai years prior, so he could watch what was happening without having to expend energy to appear incorporeally. Later on, both twins’ [if they could even be called that]’s abilities evolved, allowing Kurai to appear almost effortlessly in incorporeal form. Focusing would usually show what was happening in the real world. He closed his eyes for a moment as he rested his hand on the crystal, opening his eyes again to see…the school hallway. Kou and Satou were off in the distance, running away. He turned his head, wanting to see them, but was met with a wall of blackness. He turned his head right, then tried to look behind him, only to be met with a wall of darkness every time he looked somewhere except forward, almost like a screen in a movie theater. “Dammit-DAMMITDAMMITDAMMIT!” he heard Kurai scream as he threw a knife-wait a knife!? Yokoo’s eyes widened as soon as he saw the knife, shakily cupping his hands over his mouth and yelling. “Kurai! KURAI!” he yelled out, cupping his hands around his mouth as he watched Kurai bend to pick the knife up. “What?” the bored, lax voice of Kurai filled the room, echoing ever so slightly, almost like a string being plucked. “W-why are Kou and Satou running? What did you do to them?” he said, trying to figure out what had happened. “Nothing! Nothing, Yokkun.” Kurai said soothingly, putting his hands out as he slipped the knife into his pocket. “It’s fine! Nothing, really..” he trailed off, speaking softer. “No! W-what’s wrong..?” Yokoo asked, wringing his hands. He could feel the regret in Kurai’s voice as it echoed around the room scratchily. “NOTHING, I SAID!” Kurai shouted, making Yokoo flinch and cover his ears, tears forming in his eyes. The spirit paused, sucking in a breath and continuing, much softer this time. “It’s fine…I’m trying to protect you, alright?” he said, before Yokoo suddenly got a severe headache, stumbling back and opening his eyes again to see the room. Kurai had severed the connection between the two. He held his head in his hands, moaning in pain from the extreme headache before pushing himself up into a standing position, wobbling over to the crystal ball again on shaky legs as everything faded to black and he collapsed. Start reading here, please! Kurai sucked in a breath between his teeth, sighing. Since Yokoo found…that, it would make his job a hell of a lot harder. He took a shaky step. This was all for the best. He would do anything to protect his older brother, even if it cost him his “life”. Soon, he found Kou and Satou in their classroom, in the corner as he peered through the large glass window separating them, skipping over to the door and trying to open it. It was as if they were serving themselves on a silver platter. Too easy. The door was locked. He gave a little smirk before saying lightly, “Can I come in, please?” No answer. He tried again, “Let me in.” “Please? Please….let me in..?” “Open the door.” he said, slightly louder. “OPEN THE DOOR NOW!!” he screamed, pounding on it and watching Kou flinch, smiling in satisfaction before an idea slipped into his mind. “Minamoto-kun!” he cried out, changing his own voice into Yokoo. “Let me in!! P-PLEASE!! HURRY! He’s coming!!” he stuttered out, breathing heavily. “Kou-kun!! Satou-kun!! Please, please hurry…” he said childishly, exactly in Yokoo’s voice. He had an uncanny ability to mimic voices, and it always made people laugh. But today, it was useful. For about three seconds. With no response, he angrily jammed his hand into his pocket, pulling out his knife and driving it into the window, the sheer force behind it causing it to crack. Kou, however, was crouched behind one of the tables with Satou, who was peeking above the table. “OPEN THE DOOR NOW!!” he heard Kurai scream, and heard a BANG! from the door as he pounded on it, making him flinch. ‘It’s not Yokoo, it’s not Yokoo, it’s not Yoko-” his thoughts were cut off by Yokoo’s voice. “Minamoto-kun! Let me in!! P-PLEASE!!” “Yokoo” yelled, making him squeeze his eyes shut. ‘It’s not Yokoo! Yokoo doesn’t call me “Minamoto-kun”!’ he thought rapidly as tears rolled down his cheeks. Half his brain was screaming, “Let him in!!” while the other screamed, “No!! Don’t! It’s not your friend anymore!” He heard the sound of glass cracking, whipping his head over to see that Kurai had driven his knife into the window, and the glass was slowly shattering. In just a few seconds, he would be in. He jumped up, rushing over to the nearest mirror and banging onto it frantically, Satou staring at him in shock. “Are you crazy!?” A familiar pink-haired ghost appeared in the mirror. “What do you ne-” Mitsuba was cut off by the scene, two disheveled boys staring at him with another boy in the background stabbing the glass. Without hesitation, he grabbed Kou’s wrist and pulled, pulled him into his boundary. Satou rushed over to the mirror, putting his hand on the flat surface. “H-how-” was all he managed to get out before they heard the splintering sounds of the glass shattering as Kurai broke the window, making Satou’s head snap towards the sound as he looked in horror. He jumped in without a scratch, giving a menacing smile before leisurely walking towards the two as if he had all the time in the world. “Come here~!” he sang, reaching out towards Satou. The smaller brown-haired male flinched before dashing to the door, jiggling the lock for a moment before rushing out, leaving Kurai and Kou, alone in the room. “Kurai? That’s your name…isn’t it?” Kou asked cautiously as he saw the other male’s head slowly turn towards him at the sound of his name. “W-why are you chasing down Satou and me?” he asked softly, feeling the presence of the pink-haired spirit behind him as he spoke the last few words with more confidence. A few moments passed before Kurai finally spoke. “None of your business. It’s none of your business if I want to protect my older sibling.” he said simply with a husky voice before lifting his knife and beginning to hack at the mirror with a smile, laughing, his face breaking into pieces as the mirror itself wavered in Mitsuba’s boundary, almost like static, before disappearing. The mirror was shattered from the outside. “Shit.” Mitsuba said as he winced in pain from the mirror being gone. “I liked that one.” was all Mitsuba could say. Kou whirled around on him. “Why didn’t you grab Satou too?” he said, angrily. “You could’ve saved us both! What’s even happening…?” he trailed off when he saw Mitsuba’s face, streaked with tears. “I didn’t have enough time, okay!?” Mitsuba’s voice rang out in the hall. “I saw it, and I panicked, and I couldn’t have let it happen to you, you idiot! Because you’re…my idiot. I can’t let you die!” he said the last few words softly as he looked down at the ground, tears dripping down his scarf. All of a sudden, Kou didn’t feel as angry, and more…sad. “I’m sorry, Sousuke.” he said simply. “I’m just…angry, is all. This night has been so weird.” Mitsuba’s head snapped up at his first name. Kou didn’t use it often, and as always, it made him feel a little better, and warmer. Without thinking, he stepped forward and embraced Kou, who accepted the hug gratefully as he laid his head on Mitsuba’s shoulder, smelling the scent of strawberry coming from the other supernatural as he let the tears he had been holding back the entire time fall on the ground. Meanwhile, Satou was running for his life as the Yokoo clone-no, Kurai skipped after him. He was fast, even while skipping. Satou shivered as he thought of how fast he would be running. Yokoo had been offered a spot on the track team, after all. Kurai giggled behind him. “Found you!” he said before Satou felt a large weight on his back. He fell to the ground. Kurai had tackled him. He looked up at Kurai’s face-the face that had once been his best friend’s. He put his arms over his chest and squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for the knife that Kurai held poised over Satou’s chest. He was graceful, beautiful in his movements even as he prepared to fatally stab Satou. Satou would’ve even dared to call “Yokoo” cute. A few moments passed. A minute. Satou didn’t dare to open his eyes. Suddenly, a small voice pierced the silence. “S-satou…?” Yokoo’s voice came from above him. He opened his eyes, seeing Yokoo above him. His hair hung down and his brown eyes, no longer red, stared down with worry as the knife clattered to the floor and Yokoo slowly got up. “Wh-what happened…what did I do…?” Yokoo said softly, tears forming in his eyes as he saw the scene, his friend on the floor with messy hair and a scared expression. He didn’t deserve to have that expression on his face, not now, not ever. He took a step back before he felt his throat tighten. Kurai was about to come back. “R-run!” Yokoo choked out, stepping backward and holding his neck tightly. His voice had been drained of the eerie quality it had previously, more of the voice Satou knew, and not…Kurai’s. Yokoo stiffened again, eyes flashing between his normal warm amber ones and red, but they turned blood-red once more. “Ding-dong! I found you~!” “Yokoo” sang, pulling out his knife once more. Without hesitation, Satou spun on his heels and ran, taking the advice of his best friend, even though he heard giggles behind him. He felt the urge to turn around and see if Yokoo was okay. But he knew he wasn’t, and if Yokoo told him to run, he needed to run, no matter what.
Yokoo stood in the middle of the mind-space again, eyes widening as he realized how Kurai had taken control. “No!” his voice rang out as he started looking around, for…anything he could use to get him out of here and into the real world. He dug through piles of items, throwing a couple of papers on the floor before he found a small wooden box, marked with red runes. Аварийного. Emergency. He blew the layer of dust off it and opened it, hoping it would lead to some answers. Kurai opened his eyes, shaking his head. “Ugh.” was all he said as a wave of anger hit him and he glanced at his watch. 5:30 AM. The night was nearly over; he had to get this done and fast. He broke into a run, listening for any sound. Within moments, he heard heavy breathing coming from a nearby Science lab. The one that he and Yokoo visited every year. He ground his teeth together and headed for it quickly. Satou was curled up in a cabinet in the abandoned Science lab. How long would this nightmare go on? His breaths turned heavy as tears flowed freely down his face. He thought it would’ve been just a normal night, not…this. He curled up tighter, gritting his teeth. Kou was dashing from mirror to mirror, trying to find, Mitsuba trailing behind him. “The science lab? Why there…?” he muttered, immediately running to find its mirror. Kurai made it to the science lab, forcefully opening the door and nearly falling over when he realized it wasn’t locked. “What th-” he said before shaking his head and heading towards the sound of sobbing. He opened one cabinet after another, humming a tune. It was always good to scare the victim before killing them. It made it taste…better.
He finally made it to Satou’s cabinet, opening it to find the shivering brown-haired boy. “Found ya!” he said, raising his knife up into the air. Nowhere to run. Satou squeezed his eyes shut, screaming in pain when he felt the knife bite, sinking deep into his skin. The clock chimed six times. It was morning. The nightmare-this hell. It was over. Or was it…?
