Chapter 1: Accusations Part 5: Deadly Mistakes

Shuji's P.O.V.

*Time Skip*

My own words kept replaying in my mind. How I had told Kimiko to forget about the others and just leave with me. How I'd accused Ichigo. What's wrong with me? Ever since I woke up in this place, I've been acting like such a huge jerk. It doesn't seem like my natural self at all. It almost feels like this entire building is dripping with dark intentions and emotions. It was definitely getting to me.

The further the two of us walked through this school, the more terrified I became. Something was definitely not right with this place. The corpses could tell you that much.

At first, the bodies thrown around were a total shock. Kimiko was screaming at the top of her lungs and it took everything I had to keep it all inside. The corpses raged from total skeletons to torn flesh heaps, to recently killed and still bleeding people. We saw ten bodies at a minimum and Kimiko's eyes were open wide like she was about to go insane. After having seen the first body though and managing to calm down, she was adapting to this horrid environment, or at least pretending it was all okay. She urged me to keep going on with her until we could find at least one of or friends, or maybe even some water.

It felt like we had searched forever before we finally stopped near an art room. I tried to open the door, but it was locked.

Slightly, Kimiko pulled a key out of her pocket that we had found exploring earlier and unlocked the door. Her eyes seemed dead and lifeless. Her face was all scrunched up like she'd smelled something really bad. But then again, she had smelled something bad. Those bodies were rotting. I'm sure the images of those dead people were burned into her mind as they were for me. She must have cried for at least an hour or two after seeing that first dead guy. It wasn't an easy thing to see, especially for a girl who wasn't training herself to view things like this like I was. If I wanted to be a cop or detective of any sort, then this was something I had to be familiar with. What a sad way to gain some practice.

Peeking into the art room, I saw no signs of anyone else, ghost or otherwise. It seems rather safe and welcoming.

"How about we rest here for a while?" I suggested, already walking inside. "I'm tired and you look like you can't go much further either."

She nodded her head weakly and followed me in. "Yeah."

Kimiko walked into the corner of the room and plopped down there, facing the wall and hugging her knees. She didn't look to be doing so well. Her facial expressions kept changing. She looked scared at first, then depressed, then angry, and another face I couldn't quite place. She then began to twitch as well, looking terrified again.

I was going to walk over and comfort her when my eyes locked onto a painting on one of the many scattered canvases in here. The painting unsettled me and I don't know why. On the canvas, a picture of a beautiful, white rose was painting perfectly. But soaking into the paper were what appeared to be fresh drops of actual, human blood. Leaning in closer, an inspecting the easel, I saw no red paint in sight. None at all. In fact, no red had seemed to be used in any of the drawings at all, which was very strange considering the place we were in. So why then? Why was there this crimson red splattered across the canvas?

Sakura's P.O.V.

I cried for a long time before realizing that, oh yeah, it doesn't help a thing. I was all alone now, yes. But that didn't mean that I had to sit around here forever, just waiting for someone to find and slaughter me. No. I had to get up and keep moving. Without Atsushi.

"Suck it up and move it," I whispered to myself, forcing myself to move. "Pull yourself together, Sakura. If you sit around doing nothing, you're going to die for sure. You may be all alone, but you can fend for yourself. Besides, the others might be around here somewhere, right? So quit wasting your precious time!"

That's right. I'm a strong, independent woman and I can do this! When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade, right? Oh, how I love quotes.

I dusted myself off and finally left the room where Atsushi had left me. With each step, I grew less and less confident, but I kept trudging on, commanding my feet to continue moving. I had to find my friends. I had to find a way out. I had to survive.

At the thought of my friends, I sighed sadly, thinking of Ichigo. Out of everyone in the group, I cared for her the most. She had always been one of my closest friends. I'd always been really shy and I have some pretty large breasts, so I'm always either getting made fun of or being harassed by some perverts. Ichigo was the one who always boosted my confidence and fought off the pervs. I still vividly remember the day we met.

It was in English class. We had to present the lyrical poems that we'd written verbally in front of the entire class. As I stepped up to read mine, I glanced nervously around at all of the other students. I hated the way they started at me. It made me really scared. My palms would start to get sweaty, and I'd start shaking a bit, and my words would fumble. I was far too shy for my own good and I barely whispered out that poem.

As I finished, one of the boys in class snorted in disgust. "I thought you wanted to be a speaker or whatever, Sakura. If you're that freakin' quiet, you're never going to accomplish anything. You might as well give up on that dumb dream."

Most people might not mind what he had said, but it had really struck me. I had been dead-set on being a speaker for so long. I loved quotes and creative writing and I'd always had a desire to help people out. Giving speeches seemed like one way for me to truly help people out. To hear him put me down like that made me feel awful to say the least. I hung my head in shame, biting my lips so I wouldn't cry. It was then that Ichigo spoke up to the boy.

"Shut up, Yuki," Ichigo hissed, looking genuinely angry. "At least she got up there and tried your best. You just stood up there like an idiot and made something up on the spot since you didn't do your homework like you were supposed to. A couple fumbles doesn't mean you should give up your dreams. Sure, she's shy, but that's something she can overcome if she truly enjoys speaking. Just like my writing. At first, it was awkward and way too fast-paced, but now all you clowns want to read everything I write. So just shut the hell up. You're irritating."

I sat back down at my desk and starting smiling like an idiot. Ichigo glanced over at me and smiled. "Keep doing what you love. If you ever need my help, just ask. I happen to love performing and talking to people."

I nodded slightly.

After the first incident, there was one more incident that had spurred our friendship. One day, while I was exploring around town after school all alone, two guys from school crossed my path. There was no one else around, so they went ahead and took advantage of the situation, pinning me against the wall in an alleyway.

"Nice boobs, huh Aoyama?" One of the men snickered.

"Damn," he whistled. "Never seen jugs like those before. All the other girls at school don't even begin to compare to this."

I tried to defend myself, but I wasn't assertive and loud enough. "U-um...leave me alone..."

"Eh? Did that bitch say something?"

"Don't mind her. Get out the stuff so we can knock her out already."

Knock me out?! I ducked under the guy's arms and tried to run off, but his hand gripped tightly around my wrist and he dragged me back in. "Where do you think you're going? Come and have some fun with us. That's all we want. Some fun."

I was horrified. I tried to struggle, but he pushed me hard against the wall. I tried to kick him in the groin, but he moved one of his arms to grab hold of my leg and stop the kick. His friend had pulled something out of his bag and was pouring it onto a cloth. It had to be chloroform or some other potentially dangerous drug. My heart was racing and I began panicking, wondering what I should do. Try as I might, I just couldn't escape them. They were going to knock me out and do whatever they wanted with me!

"Let her go!" A familiar voice shouted, firmly, but slightly nervously.

I turned my head and saw a red-haired silhouette out in the distance. Wearing a short maid's dress complete with ribbons, long socks, and just an overall moe air, was Ichigo. I would have exclaimed how adorable she looked, but in my situation, that wasn't the best option right now. And even though she was dressed up so cutely, she stared at the two boys as if she were going to tear out their throats. Their was something about her eyes. Her eyebrows weren't arched down in the furious way you'd see in normal people. In stead all her hatred was focused in her gaze. I could almost picture what she was imagining she would do to them. Scary.

The boys weren't very intimidated though. The guy with the chloroform started walking over to her. "A maid, huh? You can serve us too..."

"I don't serve anyone," she hissed.

She then rushed at him, and pulled back her leg, thrusting into a powerful kick that landed right in their "weak spot". The boy immediately toppled over in pain. Ichigo flicked her hair out of her face and started walking towards me, focusing on the other guy now.

The guy raised his fists and Ichigo laughed. "You wanna play some roshambo too? Be my guest."

"Snooty bitch!" The guy hissed, pulling back his fist and aiming for her face.

Ichigo barely moved out of the way, and the punch colliding with her shoulder. She groaned in pain, but quickly went in for another kick, hitting the guy in the shins. He fell down to his knees, then she kicked him in the groin as she had for the other man. He then fell backward screaming like a little girl.

"The perverts you can find at our school," Ichigo sighed. Her annoyed look dissipated as she looked to me in concern. "Are you alright, Sakura?"

"I-I'm fine," I answered, catching my breath. "You got here before they got the chance to do anything..."

"That's a relief."

I stared at her for a while, examining the maid outfit. "Um...what's with...that?"

Ichigo blushed a bit. "How about we find a good place to talk?"

"Um...but what about those guys?"

"I called the police as soon as I saw them get up on you. I go this way for work, so...anyway, sorry I didn't save you faster. The police should be here any minute now."

"Shouldn't we explain everything to them then?"

Ichigo sighed, looking very irritated. "Right. I'll have to call in to my boss and tell her I'll be late."

"So if you're wearing that outfit," I began.

Ichigo laughed. "I work at a maid cafe. It always looked really fun and cool, and I can use a little money, so it seemed like a logical choice. Plus, I love cosplaying and stuff. I also work at the shrine sometimes~!"

We talked for a while after Ichigo had called into her work and then until the police arrived. Surprisingly, those guys stayed down on the ground the entire time. Then again, the police station was awfully close, so they arrived pretty quickly. It turned into a huge ordeal where my parents and Ichigo's got involved and we had to explain everything to them. Ichigo and I didn't talk for a long while after that and I never got to properly thank her for her help. Eventually, the boys were being put on trial, and I had decided to go to the shrine the day before. Tomorrow, I'd be speaking out against them. Ichigo might be coming to speak on my behalf as well.

I hadn't expected to run into her so soon though.

As I ascended the shrine staircase, I noticed someone up at the top. Red hair tied high into a ponytail. The usual red and white shrine maiden outfit with the socks and sandals. It was Ichigo. I then flashed back and remembered how she mentioned she worked at the shrine sometimes. She looked like a really pretty shrine maiden.

"Hi," I shyly greeted her as I reached the top.

Ichigo looked up and smiled at me. "Good afternoon. You look nervous. Are you worried about those kids' trial tomorrow?"

I nodded and stared down at my feet. "I thought I'd come here and pray that things will sway in my favor."

"I'm sure they will," Ichigo assured me. "The police have all the proof they need to convict him. But sometimes the opposing side gets some pretty convincing lawyers, so it's a good idea to pray anyway. Remember the rules to pray."

~Time Skip~

Ichigo and I got to talking for a while, at first about the guys who tried to kidnap me, then about school, and then I started asking about her. "So, why do you work at both the maid cafe and here?"

"It's partly for money," she answered with a smile. "But mostly because it looked fun. I always saw different anime characters doing this stuff, ya know? I thought I'd give it a try and I really enjoy it."

"So you're interested in anime?"

Ichigo's eyes immediately lit up. "Anime and manga are my life! It's romantic! It's beautiful! It's a way of life! I love it so much that people even get irritated with me when I start talking about it! I completely fangirl!"

"I can see that," I said, sweat-dropping as she bounced up and down like a hyper little kid.

Ichigo stopped for a second and hung her head in shame. "Sorry. I'm obsessing over it again. Yeah. I'm really into it, but I also like reading normal books besides manga too. I'm a huge book worm, I love dressing up and acting, and one of my greatest passions is writing. I write everything from fanfictions to realistic fiction stories. Although, I hate fiction and historical fiction. I want to write for the rest of my life if I can. I'd like to become a writer/editor some day. It's my dream. That's why I got so worked up when Yuki was putting down your dream. I've always thought that if you really love something, you should continue to do it and get better at it, regardless of what others may think. My mom always warned me that the writing business is a tough living, but I'm determined to follow through and I hope that you will too."

I sighed and stared up at the sky. "Maybe being a speaker really is impossible for me. I'm way too shy. I can barely talk to one person at a time, let alone a whole group. I'm not even sure I'll be able to speak up at the trial tomorrow. Even though I want those boys to be punished, I just..."

"Think of tomorrow as practice then."

I looked down and locked eyes with her. She stared back at me with a serious expression. "Huh?"

"Practice makes perfect, right?" Ichigo began. "If you can learn to talk in front of people a little at a time, soon you won't be afraid of it anymore. Then you can be a speaker like you've been dreaming of, spreading joy to the world. I'm sure you'd be very inspirational."

"I don't know," I breathed. I wasn't very confident in myself.

"You just have to imagine them all in their underwear or focus in on one particular person as you speak. And you need to be confident in yourself more than anything. I have a passion for singing, and I never would've been able to perform if I didn't believe in myself. If you really love what you're doing and think you're good at it, then it will push you to try harder. And even if others don't appreciate what you do, if you like what you do, their opinions won't matter. If you think you can be a speaker, you will be a speaker. Don't forget, I'll be there with you tomorrow, so you can count on me to back you up."

Ichigo smiled at me and I suddenly felt very reassured and a lot more confident. Knowing that I had someone who believed in me gave me an extra drive. I wanted to work harder. I wanted to use her advice and show her what In could really do. Even if it took some time to be an actual speaker, I should at least be able to present my story to the judge. Once I had that, I'd go from there.

Ichigo had always been there to help me like that. Those boys got in serious trouble after we spoke out against them, and I spoke loudly and with a fierce intensity in my voice. Ichigo continued to sort of coach me and I gradually becoming louder and slightly more outgoing. To this day, I'm still shy around knew people and camera-shy and all that, but I've become a stronger person thanks to her. Everyone around me was shocked. Even my little sister had praised me for the effort I had made.

But I realize now that I never got to properly thank Ichigo. Why? I never thanked her. Not once. I was saying it to her on the inside, with every smile I gave her, but it had never been verbalized. Even now. I want to find her and thank her for all the help. She's always been one of my best friends. I'll never forget her. Ever.

I stumbled blindly through the school's hallways, without a clue as to where I was going. It was as if some unseen force was drawing me somewhere. I soon found myself starting outside a room. I looked up at the sign by the door and saw that it was an art room. I tried to slide open the door, but it didn't budge in the slightest. It had been locked.

I have no idea why, but something was telling me to go inside of that room, so I decided to look around for a key.

With every step I took, the floorboards creaked in a rhythmic pattern. I found myself shaking more and more the closer I got to the next door over. I stopped in front of a classroom door and examined the surrounding area. I cried out in surprise and fear as blood began flowing out from the bottom of the door. I wanted to run. I really wanted to run, but I heard a strange voice, the voice of a child, perhaps, telling me, "Don't leave. The key to your destiny is in here. The key. Will you come in and take the key?"

Chills ran down my spine. The voice didn't sound normal. There almost seemed to be an echo within it. The voice sounded like it belonged to a little girl. One part of me was saying that I should follow my instincts and run. The blood spilling out of the door wasn't a good omen and why was the child on the other side speaking so calmly? Doesn't she see the blood too?

The other side of me was telling me that I absolutely needed to go into that art room. It was an odd desire, but I just felt the uncontrollable urge. Also, the sound of the little girl's voice comforted me. It reminded me of my little sister, Su, who was 14. We look almost exactly alike. I don't know how that little girl's voice possibly reminded me of her, but I suddenly had flashbacks of the times I spent with my sister.

"Onee-chan, you look really pretty in your pajamas," Su complimented me as she ran into my room.

I was getting ready for bed and had put on my nightgown. It was a long dress with spaghetti straps. It was white, and kind of plain, but I really liked it. Su circled me for a while and gave me a thumbs-up in approval.

"You look sexy. The guys at school would go crazy if they saw you in that. Heeheehee."

"S-Su!" I screamed in embarrassment.

"Whaaaat?" she whined. "With those coconuts, any guy is bound to stare." Su placed her hands and her chest. "I wish I had boobs like that. All I have are these flat prairies."

I put my hands to my face, trying to hide my blush. "Why do you always have to say things like that?"

Su just laughed. "I may not be sexy, but at least I'm adorable. Just look at this face."

I smiled and looked at her in her pajamas. She wore a long sleeve, black shirt with red hearts that was way too big on her. The sleeves surpassed the length of her arms and they flopped around as she spoke. She also wore a short pair of pajama shorts that matched the rest.

"Yeah. You're cute, Su."

"Oh! Right! I had a reason for coming in here. I wanted us to take a picture together."

"I refuse," I hissed immediately. "You know I hate taking pictures. No."

Su whined and gave me a puppy dog face. "Please? For your adorable imouto? I don't have any pictures of you! If you died, I wouldn't have anything to remember you by!"

"I'm not going to die," I said with an eye roll. "I just...hate pictures."

"I don't understand why. You're beautiful, Sakura. Just one picture? It'll get me to stop bugging, afterall."

I sighed, and crossed my arms. "One picture couldn't hurt."

My sister immediately set out to grab mom and she had her take our picture. We stood side by side. Su gave a big smile, and held her arm high in triumph. I nervously held my hands behind my back, giving a weak smile as I blushed a bit. Mom snapped the picture and we all gathered to see how it turned out. I frowned and moaned.

"I hate how I look."

"You look amazing, onee-chan," Su protested.

Mom nodded her head in agreement. "I can't wait to develop all the pictures on my camera~!"

"Really, onee-chan, you should trust people more."

That last phrase kept ringing in my mind. I should trust people more. Trust them more?

"I think it would be a wise decision to take the key," The girl's voice called out to me. "Just watch out for the corpse in here."

My whole body went rigid as soon as she mentioned a corpse. I was about to turn and run, when Su's voice echoed in my mind once more.

"Really, onee-chan, you should trust people more."

Maybe I should trust that voice. I could get the key, open up the art room, and maybe I'd find a friend inside of there. Or Atsushi. Anyone would be fine. I just wanted to find someone else in this building before I went insane.

I swung open the classroom door and walked in. I stopped as I felt something squish and ooze onto my foot. I had just stepped on the stomach of a corpse. Blood had squirted out onto my shoes and soaked into my socks. I cried out in horror and backed up, starting to pant heavily. I was hyperventilating as I stared down at the dead body. He was cut to ribbons, a bloody, chunky heap. I could barely tell that it was even a male. I was breathing so quickly that I nearly passed out.

I closed my eyes and racked my brain, trying to control my breathing before I really did pass out. Still keeping my eyes closed, I took a wide step over the body and opened my eyes, trying to ignored the squishy feeling of my shoes and socks. I looked around the classroom. There were no desks in the room. All I saw was a large chalkboard. That was all that was in here besides the...corpse. I would've walked over to the chalkboard if it weren't for the huge hole in the ground.

I quickly looked around again, looking for something that could help me cross the gap. When I found nothing, I sighed in frustration. Looking again at the chalkboard, I saw something sparkle near a pile of chalk. It looked like a key. I needed to get that key.

I decided to try something reckless. I took several steps back, then took off running, attempting to jump over the gap. I landed with a thud on the other side and growled in pain as I held my hand, which had been twisted during my landing. After a while of wallowing in the pain, I forced myself up and walked over to the pile of chalk, removing the sparkly thing from the pile of white dust. Indeed, it was the key that the voice had mentioned. Hopefully this was the art room's key. The voice had said it was the key to my destiny, and I felt destined to go to the art room.

I frowned as I examined the gap again. It almost seemed larger now somehow, and I had no desire to try jumping across it again. I had already slightly injured my hand. I searched around the other side and found a loose wooden plank. Picking it up, I decided to try stretching it across the gap. I set down the plank and positioned it correctly. It was the perfect length. I gulped as I looked down the gap, wondering how far down it'd be if I fell.

I shook the thought from my head and slowly got down on my knees and crawled onto the wood. It seemed to be sturdy enough to support me, so I continued to inch over, holding my breath the entire time. By the time I reached the other side, I was gasping for air. I caught my breath as quickly as possible and continue walking, trying to avoid stepping on the body again. I then left the classroom and walked determinedly back to the art room.

I quickly inserted the key into the key hole and spun it around. The door unlocked and I slid the door wide open. The room was rather well lit and I took a look around. There were lots of painting supplies and several easels were spread throughout the room, each one of them with a canvas with a painting resting on them. All of them were pictures of flowers, but one of them really stood out. In the middle, there was a painting of a white rose. Only, there was red paint splattered all over the canvas. I found it odd since I hadn't seen any red in any of the other drawings. In fact, as I looked at all the pallets sitting around, I saw that red wasn't even a viable option. So...why did the painting have red paint splattered on it?

I walked over and stood right in front of it, giving it a closer examination. My entire body immediately tensed up.

"Why use red paint when I can just use the blood of all the dead people here?"

That voice. I spun around and saw a little girl standing with her arms crossed behind me. Most of her face was covered by long, black hair and she wore a tattered, red dress. An evil smile was present on her face and she looked at me similar to how a predator would look at its prey.

"So you came after all," The girl laughed, walking closer and closer to me. "I'm sorry to say that that was a mistake. It's never a good idea to trust what I say. Because when I lie, it's easier for me to kill you."

"W-What?" I mumbled in confusion. The closer she got, the more steps I took back.

"My name is Sachiko. Nice to meet you, Ms. Ogawa. You see, I really like killing people and lately I've been bored since less people have been showing up. So now that you and your friends are here, I'm going to have some fun. Get creative with my killings..."

She stopped in her tracks and paused for a moment, laughing hysterically. "You want to be a speaker, right? I'll make sure that dream dies along with you."

Within the blink of an eye, Sachiko had tackled me and pinned me down. My mind was spinning and I didn't know what to do. The girl held me down with such strength. It was like she wasn't even human. I tried to struggle and get away, but she wouldn't let me move. I suddenly saw that she had a paint scraper tool in her hand. She slowly brought it to my face.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" I screamed in terror.

She pried my mouth open and started laughing liked crazy. "It'll be harder to speak without teeth. And then I'll make sure to take out your tongue too. Maybe I'll even use your vocal cords to decorate the room."

She drove the scraper deep into my gums and pain shot throughout my entire mouth. I could immediately taste blood as it dripped heavily onto my tongue. I screamed out in pain and she drove it in again, managed to destroy the roots holding in my tooth. It fell onto my tongue and I quickly spat it out. Pain seered throughout my entire mouth. It was excruciating, like nothing I had ever experienced before. My mouth was burning hotter and hotter with each and every attack, my nerves shooting countless messages telling my brain that I was in pain. Pools of blood seemed to form in my mouth and I had to keep spitting it out for fear of choking.

The scraper ripped at my skin, tearing apart the inside of my mouth. A mouthful of mouth-tearing warheads could not compare to this. My eyes were popping out of my head, I couldn't stop screaming. Tears pricked at my eyes. My nails dug at the wooden floor, splintering me and shredding my nails apart. The pain in my mouth was agonizing, being completely torn apart. Sometimes, she would slowly remove the teeth, sometimes she'd be quick. It was all I could manage to keep spitting out the blood and teeth. I wanted to live. Or did I? The pain was so intense. After what felt like an eternity, the bottom half of my teeth at been removed and she plunged the scraper into the top.

My gums seemed to throb with the fast beat of my heart. I could barely think straight. I wanted to go unconscious, but my body kept me on high alert. My life seemed to flash before my eyes like they would always display in movies. I saw images of my mom, dad, sister, Atsushi, all of my friends, then Ichigo. Ichigo. I never got to thank her.

I lifted my hand to my face, and spat a handful of blood into it. It was disgusting, but this was the only way I could say it now. I reached out my arm to a part of the floor not stained by my blood, and shakily began writing.

T..

I felt more a more blood soak into my uniform as I spat out more and more blood. Sachiko paused for a brief second to collect all of my teeth.

h...a...

More pain shot throughout my body as she drove it in very hard this time, a tooth nearly choking me as it fell back into my throat. I cried out and spat it on the floor beside me. Blood coated my mouth like lipstick.

n...k...y...

The bow in my hair fell off as I shook my head in pain, my hair flew everywhere. I screamed again. The pain was unbearable, all the skin being torn from my mouth. It made me want to throw up, but if I did, that made make for even more liquid for me to potentially choke on.

o...u...I...c...

It took all the strength and determination I had to write this last dying message. The pain was paralyzing, but I pushed on. I would deeply regret it if I died without saying this in some fashion. I just hope that it would turn out legible.

h...

All of my teeth were gone. My tongue desperately shot around my mouth, feeling countless gaps and hanging skin. I screamed my loudest once again, my voice cracking, slowly decreasing in volume as I began to lose my voice.

"There go all the teeth," Sachiko laughed. "You look like an old woman. Now, how about that tongue."

Sachiko now raised a pair of scissors and smiled sadistically at me. I gasped.

i...

I heard a sickening snipping sound and my tongue fell to the back of my throat, blood pooling and choking me out. I had been halfway through writing the g, but I started violently choking, unable to spit out this endlessly flowing red substance. Pain. Pain. All I could feel was this pain as I choked, my throat burning, mouth throbbing, eyes widening. And suddenly, my entire world went black.

And all the pain dissipated.

Not sure about you guys, but my heart is pounding and I'm sick to my stomach. I feel really evil. Well, Sakura is the first victim of Heavenly Host. Who do you think will be next? Sachiko won't stop with one, unfortunately, so be prepared for more gore. That's all for now. Bye!

-IchigoHatake