Summery: It was all a test wasn't it? To see if he'd keep his secret promise, to protect her no matter what happens, as a promise made in secret is still a promise. Nothing, not even the threat of Heavenly Host swallowing him whole, would deter his determination. How's that for keeping a promise?!

Yoshiki K. Ayumi S.

Rating: T (Violence, slight language)

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Hello Everyone, This is BlackDeathParty. Though this is just a prologue I hope you all enjoy it. It's an idea that's been in my head for a while and I thought I'd put it up. I've been working on many fanfictions, but have not posted them yet because I only wanted to be posting one at a time. That way I don't get too overworked and stressed out, because I do very bad under pressure, which has happened to me before on another account. Please share your thoughts, I'd love to hear them. If anyone spies any errors, I will try to correct them if I'm made aware.

Disclaimer: I do not own Corpse Party.

Prologue: A Single Tale in a School of Death

Warmth spread throughout Ayumi as she came to awareness groggily, feeling the force that had been suppressing her consciousness letting up. The warmth left and her blurry vision focused on the figure in front of her. It was Kishinuma. He was looking quite worried and avoiding her eyes, what had happened? His expression shifted from worry to a calculating gaze, studying her from afar. She looked around the room and noticed she wasn't where she last remembered. She remembered being upstairs, but now she was in the infirmary, had something serious happened? Kishinuma's first words only added to her worries, "You're back! Your really back!" He turned from her, facing the other way and sighing in relief.

She decided she needed to know: "Kishinuma-kun, what happened?"

He snapped back with his head down and seemed to freeze like a deer in the headlights, but quickly tried to regain his composure, scratching the back of his head. "Well... You uh- I-" It was as if he was debating whether to tell her or not. His lips finally moved decisively, but he still would not meet her eyes, "You started spewing words that made no sense. It was really freaking me out; it seemed like you were a different person or... possessed. I got you down here to the infirmary, and you seemed to snap out of it soon after." Possessed? She had been possessed and Kishinuma had to deal with that, the thought made her feel terrible. She had been a burden to him. She put a hand on his shoulder and he flinched, taking in a harsh breath. The reaction was uncharacteristic for him- had she- had she really scared him that badly? What had she said to him?

"I'm sorry..." The two small words earned a confused 'eh?' It was all she could say, she didn't even know what had happened, "for anything I did."

His mouth set into a firm line, "Shinozaki, I can't forgive you," her eyes flashed with hurt and lined with tears so he quickly finished, "because it wasn't you. Anything that happened was on the ghost who took control of you. Don't you dare ever blame yourself."

He didn't blame her at all, for anything, but she knew it was her fault, she wasn't strong enough to resist the possession. She decided there would be no way to get that through that thick skull of his, and further discussion might agitate him more, so she let it go. He looked around then without looking back at her he began to speak, "We'd better get moving if we want to find Ms. Yui-sensei and the others." He had already started moving in the direction of the door, but paused to allow her time to get up. She analyzed him carefully, though he'd tried to hide it, she could see the hesitation and limp in his step, it only made her want to know what had happened more.

She joined him at the door: "Should we check to see if Ms. Yui-sensei is back in room 2-A?"

"It's worth a shot. The note did say to stay there until we got back; so if she is there, she'll be waiting." He stated, exiting into the hall.

They walked in relative silence until they entered classroom 2-A. Ms. Yui was indeed in the classroom, but something was wrong. Blood was there; 2-A had been one of the rooms with relatively little blood, and that was why Ms. Yui had settled Ayumi down there when she had started to hyperventilate. Her eyes focused on the teacher, who had a rather large pool of blood below her. Was she the one that was bleeding? "Shinozaki!" The caring classroom's TA shouted happily, excited to see her again. The kind teacher ran up to Ayumi, trying to ignore her obvious pain, and embraced her. When she spoke, it was slurred and out of breath: "I'm so glad... you're all right. When I came... back, and you and... Kishinuma were gone... I thought I'd lost more... of my precious students." Something was terribly wrong; she had many knives and scissors sticking out of her back as well as broken glass. She looked really pale. "By the way... Where is... Kishinuma? Were you two... separated?" Ayumi gasped, quickly turning to where Kishinuma was, he was still there. Ms. Yui wobbled unsteadily until her eyes slipped closed and she fell to the floor face-first.

Ayumi screamed, "Noooo!" She rushed to Ms. Yui's side: "Kishinuma-kun, we have to get her to the infirmary!"

"Right." He picked her up, hurrying to catch up to Ayumi. She did not look back, trusting him to keep up.

They reached the infirmary. Kishinuma gently laid Ms. Yui down on her stomach. She was still breathing thankfully, but it was labored and forced, even in unconsciousness. Ayumi gathered many bandages and a disinfectant spray, hoping beyond hope that her beloved teacher would be alright. She decided she wouldn't worry about Kishinuma's strange behavior for the time being. She was back at Ms. Yui's side, removing smaller things, like the glass. Taking out anything that went too deep was bound to make Ms. Yui worse than she already was. She sprayed the disinfectant and wrapped her up. She turned to search for any sutures so that she could help with the deeper wounds. She really wished she had been able to help much more than she could, but she wasn't a doctor. One thing she did know, was that the odds were not looking the best. Something was missing she realized, some sound from the room was missing. She strained her ears trying to figure it out. Her eyes widened as she turned back to Ms. Yui. Her breathing had stopped! "No, nonononono! This can't be happening! Not Ms. Yui-sensei too!" First Suzumoto and now this? Ayumi didn't think she could take it anymore. She tried to think of anything to do, but she didn't have a blood bag to replenish all that Ms. Yui had lost. There was absolutely nothing she could do for her. A hand landed on her shoulder, but it didn't give any comfort. It did remind her though, Kishinuma had been acting weirdly too, and Ms. Yui hadn't seen him. She was determined to get an answer from him: "Kishinuma." She turned to him and immediately he avoided her gaze. "Why couldn't Ms. Yui-sensei see you? And why have you been avoiding my eyes?" He didn't answer, rubbing one of his hands with the other nervously, "Answer me!"

"She couldn't see me because- because..." He averted his eyes further away. She was tired of his avoidance.

"Dammit, Kishinuma-kun, look at me!" She closed the distance between them and grabbed his face, turning his head to look her in the eyes. In that moment his eyes snapped to hers, and she knew even before he said anything. She let go of him, arms falling limply in realization. His eyes were lifeless, like Naho's. Cold, empty, dead.

She stepped back trying to process, he- He couldn't be gone. He was right there! Even though she knew the words were coming, she dreaded the moment when they would leave his mouth: "I'm already dead."