As the unknowing pair walked down the corridors of the building, there were more blood splatters all over the walls and floors, causing Haruka to shiver involuntarily.

Otoya noticed this, since they were holding hands, and gulped as well, feeling a bit afraid himself.

The eerie silence was rather...suspenseful. The only noise there was was the shuffling of their feet, their footsteps echoing strangely in the hall.

Strange indeed. Since when did the hall echo? The building was made out of wood! It wasn't even possible...was it?

Otoya felt like, if he didn't break the silence soon, something bad was sure to happen. Clearing his throat, he caught the girl's attention and he forced a smile on his face. "Hey, Nanami. Don't worry, I'll protect you, no matter what!"

Her honey-colored eyes widened, before she smiled back, feeling a bit reassured by his words. "Thank you, Ittoki-kun. But, I don't know what's going on...we were gone for just a little bit, and then suddenly, everyone disappears and there's blood everywhere…" She mumbled, tightening his grip on the male's hand as she looked at the ground.

Indeed, nothing here made sense at all. If there was a murder that happened, then how come there was no one around? Did the murderer escape? Did everyone get killed?

But, if they were killed, wouldn't there have been bodies everywhere? So far, they have spotted none...and Otoya hoped to keep it that way.

Squeezing the girl's hand in return, he nodded in agreement. "I don't know much of what's going on either, but for now, we have to find out. Together."

The creaking of old wood was heard under their feet as the pair continued to walk through the building. Windows were covered in red, as well as the walls and floor. Otoya kept his guard up high, keeping an eye on his surroundings carefully to be prepared just in case someone or something popped out of nowhere to attack.

Suddenly, they both heard a loud groan from somewhere nearby...in a room, perhaps?

They both ceased their walking and froze.

"W-What was that?!" Haruka whispered, looking over at Otoya frantically. Otoya only shook his head, to show that he didn't quite understand the situation at hand, either.

Seeing Haruka so frightened and scared...it made him feel like he had to protect her at all costs. Especially now. This wasn't the time to shiver and tremble like a fragile leaf - it was his responsibility to make sure she was alright. A man's duty is a strong one, as many say.

With renewed courage, Otoya straightened his posture and held his head up high. An expression of determination was on his face as he squeezed Haruka's hand again - but this time, it was to reassure her safety.

"I'll protect you at all costs, no matter what happens, Nanami. Stay close to me," he murmured, "If we're going to find the mystery of this place, then we must go and find the source of the groan. If you're afraid, then hold onto my arm - I promise nothing bad will happen to you, alright?" He gave her a charming smile, but a small voice in his head reminded him that he was going to blush and stutter over this incident later on in the future...which was probably going to happen. Ahaha.

There was a distant expression on Haruka's face for a moment, but then she looked up at him and gave him a small nod and a hum of agreement, "Mm!" The girl hesitantly took a hold of his arm and scooted closer to him, closing her eyes.

"If I'm with you, I can always imagine something else that's more soothing than ever…" Haruka said softly, Otoya had to strain his ears to hear what she had said.

That sentence alone made him smile as well. "Just think about the first time we were partnered together to create a song, and follow my lead."

With that, he began guiding her to the room that the sound came from.

It was like a game of trust between two people - if he could lead her there, with her eyes closed, to the room safely...then that meant he was trustworthy. If not, however, he had a feeling Haruka wouldn't be too trusting next time.

Finally, Otoya stood in front of the door, gulping as he did so. What could be beyond this door, he would never know...until he opened it.

His eyes widened at the sight before him: Syo was in there, holding a gun straight at them, while Natsuki was laying on the floor, covered in blood.

"NANAMI!"

Quickly, Otoya pushed Haruka out of the way, causing the girl to yelp and stumble against the opposite wall.

Bang!

Otoyo cracked open his eyes. He did expect to get shot, and he did...but, why wasn't he dead? He had expected to see some kind of blinding light, or hear a godly voice speak to him…

...But what he didn't expect was to hear laughter coming from Syo and Natsuki, and a concerned Haruka at his side.

"Pffft...bahahaha! You totally fell for it! You thought this was a real gun!" Syo said between his fit of laughter, holding his sides. Natsuki was up now, chuckling in amusement with him.

He looked down at his shirt - sure enough, there was a huge red stain on it. And then, everything clicked in his head:

All of the said 'blood' were actually stains of red paintballs.

Knowing this, his face lit up in embarrassment, as Haruka giggled as well.

"Hehe, you look so funny right now, Ittoki-kun," she grinned, wiping a bit of paint that had gotten on his nose off. "Thank you. For saving me from the paintball."

Otoya, even though he now knew that everything had just been a misunderstanding - felt extreme happiness when he heard her say that.

"You're welcome, Nanami."

And he knew that in the future, there were more opportunities of saying that sentence again.

Troll chapter is troll.

It's been so unbelievably long, but I'm sorry to say this was all pre-written from the last time I updated. I've lost all motivation for updating any story from Uta-Pri at all...but maybe my interest will be renewed by the upcoming season 3 of Uta-Pri next season! (Though I highly doubt it...)

The reason why I've neglected updating this story for so long is because 1) I am now soul-bound to the Hetalia fandom. Once you join, you can never go back. That is seriously a fact. And 2) I feel like this fanfction was really horrible, all in all. Terribly written, so many errors/mistakes, and just a lot of things a 12-13 year old would write...which, sadly, was my age when I first began writing this story. I'm overjoyed everyone still likes it, but I don't think I can continue this story...at least, until I feel like I can. Which may be next month, year, or never at all. So with that being said, I apologize for not updating in literally FOREVER, and this might be the last chapter for Always Remember Me. This is my good-bye to the Uta-Pri fandom. ;-;

And, as always...

~Kawaii Dream.