Chapter 32:

"Tetsuji, you gotta help me!" It was a normal schoolday, just before lunch on the first day of the work week. Yuu came running down the hall, his eyes wider than usual with pure fear. "I'm so sorry I brought him to you, but you're the only he might listen to!" Tetsuji ducked between people in the crowd going to the lunch room, catching an armful of adorable nerd in his arms. Yuu hid behind Tetsuji as a snotty-faced blonde stomped down the hall, students parting the waters for Zac. Tetsuji shriveled up inside.

"Oh no… You so owe me after I get done whatever we're doing here," Tetsuji whined.

"I know, I know, gomen, I'm so sorry!"

"Yuu-terus! Getchur ass out here and tell me where you're keepin' it!" Tetsuji held strong between Zac and Yuu. He'd heard the rumors already, but he didn't think Zac was stupid enough to fall for them.

"Leave him alone! There's no lab, there's no drugs, that's not something he would do," Tetsuji tried to say with confidence.

Evidence of a meth lab had been found inside the school, with one of Yuu's notebooks- empty- right next to the whole set up. There were no chemicals or burners, just an old, yellowed piece of paper with a dangerous chemical formula on it bookmarking a random page in the notebook. Yuu was called in for questioning Sunday, and the son of a policeman found out and started circulating the new through school the second Yuu was released. Instead of the normal Monday, Yuu was faced with a heavy rumor that almost every student believed. Yuu, the bullied, pathetic, skinny boy who'd transferred from the mainland, had finally cracked under the pressure and was dealing drugs for some street rep.

Zac grabbed Tetsuji by his shirt collar and lifted him up by it, and Yuu watched with an impressed blush as the teen picked up his friend with one arm outstretched. He was still afraid, but damn if Zac wasn't the hottest guy at the school…

"Out of my way, Tit-wad," he growled. Tetsuji frowned and mustered every bit of courage he had to kick Zac square in the chest. Zac gasped heavily, choking as he clutched his dented diaphragm, and dropped Tetsuji.

"Run! C'mon, let's go!"

"Gehh… haah… gehehhm!" Zac wheezed, pointing at the two running away into the crowd. Maki slipped between people to keep up, but lost them when the bell rang. Zac was humiliated, on all-fours on the ground still trying to find his breath. "Deaad! Soh… fuh… kin-ded… fuck," Zac cursed, leaning against a locker to hold himself up.

"They're going to the library," Max chimed in. "Easy pickin's."

"No, worse… we won't confront him. We'll make the school confront him. Start telling everyone about Yuu's meth lab, convince them it's real and he's in business. And I mean. Everyone," Zac hissed. By the time lunch was over, the entire school was buzzing with the rumor that Yuu had made a meth lab in the school. It had transformed quickly. He was a meth-head, a genius addict, his parents were addicts, his parents had gotten him into the business, he was going to start selling at school, and then it got to the teachers. There was even a rumor he'd sold to one of the teachers and was having sex with another. When Yuu got to his next class, all eyes were on him, even the scrutinizing eyes of his professor. Before the period was over, he was called to the principal's office. He was questioned, he was searched, and his parents were called.

The police had come in Sunday afternoon and had seen the meth lab set up in the school chemistry lab, but the dogs they brought could find no trace of any drug or lethal chemical besides the properly labeled resources and bottles in locked storage. Yuu was free to go after questioning that day, but now with the media circulating, everyone thought they knew Yuui was an addict, a chemist, and a dealer.

By the end of the day, things had gone from funny and embarrassing to terrifying and mortifying. "Yuu! Are you okay?" Tetsuji nearly tackled Yuu as he was leaving for the day. Tetsuji had to hurry to keep up with him.

"NO! I'm not! I had three people ask me in the past five minutes how much for certain weights! I'm not a drug dealer but no one believes me! In my last class, I got a text from someone I didn't even know threatening to kill me if I didn't bring them a formula! Tetsuji, I'm scared shitless!" Tetsuji stopped in front of Yuu. He'd never heard his friend curse before.

"Hey." He put a hand up to Yuu's chest to stop him. "It's just a crazy rumor, it'll blow over."

"It's only Monday… I have to face the rest of the week like this… death threats and evil eyes and… I take back what I used to say about it not possibly getting any worse!" He sobbed, leaning into Tetsuji. Tetsuji hugged him tight, wondering himself where all this madness had come from. One day it was normal avoid-the-bullies, do-your-work, get-good-grades, the next apparently people truly believed Yuu had made a secret lab in the school and was selling his own batches.

"It'll be okay," Tetsuji promised. "It'll be okay."

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"There's so much death and tragedy in this timeline, too," Ember thought sadly from her perch up in a tree. She watched Tetsuji walk Yuu towards his home until she could no longer see them. The death of thousands of souls had been prevented, just barely, but there had to be a sacrifice for it. To keep the demon sated and under control, he needed souls. And she knew which ones would be ripe and ready for harvest soon. "I'm sorry, Tetsuji… it seems nothing here is going to work in your favor, but I tried…"

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The next day was worse. Tetsuji had hurried to school, but Yuu was nowhere to be found. When he wasn't in his first two classes, Tetsuji went to the principal's office. Using his professional manner and silver tongue, Tetsuji convinced the principal to call Yuu in to the office. He never came, even though he'd been seen coming to school on camera bright and early as usual. Tetsuji had barely missed him coming in the gate.

Tetsuji tapped through third period, anxious for lunch break. The second the bell rang, he was the first one out the door. He knew he was nowhere in the school; he'd even checked the library attendance sheet. Tetsuji went outside to the courtyard when he heard blows being landed and soft groans. "Yuu-san," he whispered to himself. He ran after the sounds, coming around the back corner of campus with all the kitchen dumpsters. He knew this part of school too well… He peered around the concrete wall and saw three heads, but didn't recognize them.

"Where's! My! Formula!" Tetsuji cringed as he saw each word punctuated with a punch to Yuu's stomach. "And don't you try to run again… you won't live if I have to hunt you down like that…" One tall, skinny boy with black hair down to his shoulders held Yuu up against the fence around the dumpster while a large, chubby teen was doing the beating. The other looked like he was keeping watch- he was the tallest, with black hair cut short in a high-and-tight. He had two black lines trailing down from his eyes and one vertical line across his lips. The chubby boy turned to look around, and right before Tetsuji ducked to hide, he saw creepy clown make-up on his face. It looked vaguely familiar, but Tetsuji couldn't tell why.

"I don't… I told you," Yuu gasped. "Please, I don't make any- anything, I swear!"

"Don't. LIE TO ME!" The leader shoved his fist harder into Yuu's stomach, and Tetsuji flinched when he smelled blood. He heard a body drop, and then heard wet, heavy coughing. I can't just stand here and do nothing! But I can't use my powers, either… or maybe I can. Tetsuji knew he had to work fast. Levitating, he climbed the wall in front of him and got on top of the school. He took off his fedora so he could hide behind the ridge better and started gathering rocks and bricks kids had thrown onto the roof. He levitated them over the scene below, lining rocks up with heads, and then let them drop. He ducked, and heard three thumps and groans down below. When he peeked back over, Yuu was looking around, scared and nervous, with three unconscious teens at his feet. Tetsuji swung his feet over the railing and jumped down, quick to go to his friend.

"Tetsuji-san… where'd you come fro-" Yuu was interrupted by heaving coughing. Blood splattered onto the pavement and Tetsuji had to hold himself back for a moment. Yuu was still an innocent, so his blood reeked of delicious purity…

"Sh-sh, don't talk, you're hurt!" Tetsuji tried to act panicked, like he'd just run over from a long distance. "We need to get you to a hospital!"

"No… no more attensh-huch!" He keeled over, still coughing, and Tetsuji had to tap into his strength to hold the human up.

"Please, just trust me. You'll be okay. Let's call an ambulance and then your parents. Urusai! [Shut up!]" Tetsuji snapped, lifting Yuu into his arms and running back into the school. Luckily, he made it to the nurse's office without any interruptions. Zac had heard, but was avoiding the situation until he knew the details. He heard from Max what happened with the wannabe clown gang. A part of him felt guilty- he hadn't started the rumor but he sure had fanned the flames… he could hear Yuu coughing violently and moaning in the office. Tetsuji was frantic on the phone, his Japanese rambling off a hundred miles an hour. Zac picked up that the ambulance would be there in ten minutes, but that was it. He understood more when Tetsuji phoned Yuu's parents and left it on speaker. The conversation, to him, sounded like this:

"Hello? This is Tetsuji Honda, I'm a friend of Yuu's."

"And why are you calling from my son's phone?" (The voice was clearly male, Yuu's father.)

"Yuu was hurt at school, there's an ambulance coming-"

"Hurt?! Hurt how!"

"He was cornered by a few other guys, he's uh… he's coughing blood and…"

"Damn that boy! Tell him to stand up for himself and-" Zac could then pick up a female voice in the background.

"Yuu is still doing badly with his friends at school?"

"Yes, got himself beat up today! What the hell are we supposed to do with him! Useless, and did you see his last report card? His percentage fell!"

"Uh, sir?" Tetsuji tried to break back in.

"You! Put me on the phone with him right now!"

"Eh, you're on speaker, sir, but he can't talk right-"

"YUUDAMI! What the hell is wrong with you?! Can't fight for yourself, can't call your own damn parents, can't deal with your own problems?!" Zac backed away from the door. He thought he had daddy issues. He could hear Yuu sniffling and coughing more because of the stress and the crying. He couldn't stand to listen to any more. This was his fault. The rumor could have just blown over, but instead he had to overreact and do something stupid. If Tetsuji ever found out he was connected, he would never have a chance to tell him how he really felt.

Tetsuji got a sudden burst of courage and broke his voice over the shouting parents.

"There's a really bad- conn- shun- here – the school- call you back- ckk later- let you know ckckckkckc- click." He hung up the receiver after that bad improvisation and took Yuu's hand. Yuu tugged it away.

"They're right," he whispered.

"No they're not," Tetsuji said angrily. "It was three against one, and something that shouldn't be happening at this school. I'll go with you to the hospital."

"I don't want you to. You said you don't like hospitals."

"That was weeks ago, I'm glad you remember, but I'm not letting you go alone," Tetsuji said sternly.

"Tetsuji, go home. Thank you for everything but… I want to be alone right now," he choked, wiping his eyes under his glasses with his adorably too-long sleeves. Tetsuji frowned and pet his friend's head.

"Call me. Please," Tetsuji said as he stood up. Yuu nodded and looked away. As Tetsuji was leaving the school, he saw the ambulance pulling up and students watching as paramedics rushed. Some took pictures with their phones and laughed as they saw it was Yuu, being hauled out. He heard more of the rumors spreading; kids were saying Yuu had overdosed at school. Tetsuji couldn't help but cry on his way out, furiously wiping his eyes so no one would see his freakishly red tears.

"Hey, tit-snot. What really happened?" Tetsuji looked up to see Zac blocking his path off campus.

"I'm not talking to you about it," he sniffled in his broken voice. "Leave me alone and stay away from Yuu." Tetsuji tried to push past him but was grabbed by the arm. He considered using his powers as he tried to pull away, but didn't let himself.

"I asked you a question; now I'd say after that assault in the hallway, you owe me an explanation before I pay it back double," Zac growled in Tetsuji's ear. Oh, he loved the way Tetsuji trembled at his deepened voice.

"The guys thought Yuu had a formula for meth and were trying to beat it out of him…"

"And after that? They just left him there? How bad is he beat up?"

"Why do you care?" Tetsuji snapped, finally pulling his arm free.

"Because you're my nerds, no one else's," Zac said quickly. He couldn't admit he actually cared for a legitimate reason.

"You know, you're a real dick, Zac. You pretend to care, make me think you really do have a soft side underneath it all, and then you go and do the same damn thing at school! How many times have you shoved me into a locker, tossed me in the dumpster, messed with my stuff, stolen my stuff, and how many times have you messed with Yuu?! You do the same stuff to him! You knock him around, you shove him out of the way whenever you see him, you're no better than the idiots I knocked out back there!" Tetsuji raged, and then realized what he'd said.

"So there was more to it," Zac grinned. "How did you do it? You and your scrawny self, it had to be brains, not brawn. Are you holdin' back on me, tit-juice?"

"Yes," Tetsuji growled. "And my name. Is Tetsuji. Not Tit-snot or Tit-sucker or Tit-juice or Tit-smoochy, not Tonka-Honka. His name is Yuudami. Not Yuu-terus, not Cheese-face, not Yuuranus, not Yuub-noob. My name is Tetsuji. And I'm sick of you pushing me around and acting like you're better than me!" Zac was struggling to hide how turned on he was by Tetsuji's adorable fit of anger. He leaned down over Tetsuji and patted his cheek with a light slap.

"And what are you gonna do about it, hun?" He cooed mockingly. Tetsuji grabbed the hand that touched him and wrenched it over his shoulder as he turned around in a quick motion. Tapping into his powers, he grabbed Zac's arm and pulled him over from behind himself. Zac landed with a loud thud on his back in front of Tetsuji. "Agh…" Tetsuji stepped on Zac's arm at the shoulder, still holding onto his forearm, and tugged lightly to get Zac's attention

"I could do far worse," Tetsuji hissed, his eyes suddenly black instead of green. Zac stared up at him, unable to pull his arm back, and was frozen. Not only was the pain searing up and down his spine from the impact, but for once, he had nothing to say. Tetsuji let go and walked off in a huff, and all Zac could do was sit up and watch him leave.

"Damn, Honda…," he sighed as he noticed the prominent bulge in his pants. "I like it rough." He licked his lips; he would do dirty things to Tetsuji in his mind tonight.

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Two days later, the rumors had only gotten worse. Yuu had a black eye and bruises everywhere that he was struggling to hide. People would walk by and mock him about the nonexistent drugs or the "overdose" or just knock him in the stomach to watch him keel over in pain. His stomach had ruptured and he was lucky to have made it in the hospital in time for surgery before bleeding out. Yuu was more than grateful to Tetsuji, but couldn't show it because Zac always lurked right around the corner from Tetsuji. Yuu didn't dare push his luck around any more bullies.

But by this second day, there was more than pain and anger and frustration. There was rage. There was a thirst for revenge, a need for it. And Yuu was a very smart young man who had been given two very dangerous tools- time and emotion. In his stay at the hospital, his pain had kept him awake. Waking, restless hours gave a guy time to think. And think. And plan. And scheme. And perfect. And come up with the guts it took to actually put the plan into action. And so he would. Yuu had, the night before, taken different kinds of flammable liquids, made a dangerously explosive concoction, and brought it to school in three water bottles. They looked harmless, and when he had been questioned by his best friend about the extra water, he simply replied it was doctor's orders.

During lunch, Yuu went to the library as usual, and went to the alcove where he and Tetsuji usually hid because there was no one else there. He checked out all the books he wanted to save and rearranged the rest to other shelves, and then started making lines of the fuel. It was near odorless, but when someone asked him if he smelled something like gas, he simply replied that he was trying a new cologne and apologized if it was too strong. Nothing seemed amiss. The library was set, and there was a line of fuel leading out to the front of the school. Yuu had a lighter, one he'd easily carried into the school. When he was searched at the office *now done twice a day because of the drug rumors* he claimed it was a gift for a teacher, not hard to believe since almost all of them smoked. Yuu bent down on the steps of the school and flicked the lighter, his little heart pounding in his throat. He knew the clown gang would be coming to the library right now, since he had left their leader a note saying he would finally give up the formula and ingredients. He knew Zac and his gang would be passing the library as the lunch bell rang. The only thing missing as the flame went off was his best friend. He'd just sent a text saying to meet him outside the school.

As Yuu watched the fire catch the fuel and travel like a lit fuse, his phone buzzed . Tetsuji had, at nearly the same time as Yuu, sent a text. It read, " library like normal, where r u?"

"Tetsuji-san…," Yuu choked. He dropped his backpack and took off for the library at a sprint, trying to get ahead of the fire line. "TETSUJI!" But Tetsuji was circling around the library, having taken the back exit when he read Yuu's text about meeting him outside.

"Wonder why he wants to meet outside instead… Maybe he finally wants to talk again," he thought hopefully. Tetsuji was almost at the front of the school when he saw the flaming line leading towards the building. "Fire!" He ran into the open hallway and pulled an alarm, watching as flames licked at the brick foundation, following splatters of the fuel. "Yuu, where are you?"

Back in the library, the fire had caught up with Yuu and was fast approaching the large puddle of explosive fuel in the back corner. Yuu raced around, checking each aisle for Tetsuji. His head swung back and forth until he was dizzy, and he ran right into the leader of the clown gang. Yuu gasped and stumbled back, his heartbeat so frantic it felt like a vibration just under his ribs.

"You said you got us a formula, eh?"

"Out of my way! TETSUJI!" Yuu screamed, but the leader held him back as he tried to run away. "No, let go, you don't understand, I have to find him before-"

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Blue flames engulfed one tiny corner of the school for three full seconds, spraying flame and fuel all across the inside of the room, and the library was engulfed in a full blaze only seconds after that. It spread like ants protecting their broken nest, crawling up and all around, defying the laws of phsyics to jump from one shelf to the next and then leap up to the support beams of the ceiling. Wallpaper curled in the presence, privacy screens burnt to a crisp almost immediately. Shelves weakened at their lowest points and toppled over. They fell like dominos into the heart of the fire, books and pages bursting into hungry, devil-eyed orange flames. Ember ran in, disguised as a nurse, and tried to help people get out. She discreetly used portals and inhuman speed to help professors and students out as a smoky haze built up. But just as she'd seen in her vision when Slenderman was forced into dormancy, this was what was originally supposed to happen. Yuu was trapped between three toppled bookshelves and a mirror that had fallen to the floor and shattered. He tried to climb over one shelf, getting deep glass cuts. She couldn't help him without putting other lives in jeopardy, and he was meant to die today. His soul had further purpose, though as she left with two students in her arms and three staff members out in front of her, it seemed so cruel to leave him there, burning alive.

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"YUUDAMI!"

The first thing Tetsuji felt, after the explosion knocked him down, was shame and stupidity. Stupid he'd been to deny a drink all week, to reject nourishment stubbornly, trying to starve himself because he was so depressed his beat and neglected friend wasn't talking to him. If only he'd had a few sips of blood the night before, he could have used his powers to jump in and save his friend.

He could hear Yuu screaming on the inside of the building. He didn't even have the strength to stand after the blast, what with a fifty-pound wooden beam that had fallen on his chest. He was too young, and underfed, and it was his own fault. His fault he couldn't use his powers now; it was his fault his friend was dying a horrible death…

Zac ran out from the hallway, coughing and choking with his members tailing close behind. He held Max close under his arm and spotted Tetsuji out in the rubble by the side of the library. To run out and save him now would be reputational murder. It was the firefighter and the kitten, except he led a gang that fed on kitten torture every day. He instead texted someone else to get help, and led his members and brother away from the fire to the evacuation going to the parking lot.

Help came, and Tetsuji was removed from the rubble, but Zac never saw him. Zac stayed in the parking lot with the rest of the student body, his head swiveling above everyone like he was a panicked meerkat. Max knew why he was worried and was trying to distract the other members so they wouldn't question it. Zac's panic quickly turned into raging angst and depression, yelling at teachers to complete the count and double-check that they had everyone. It was an hour before they were released and sent home, and Zac felt numb everywhere. He never saw Tetsuji included in the count. And it was that night he fell back into alcoholism, believing Tetsuji was dead and it was his fault for not doing anything.

It was three weeks before the school was deemed structurally sound again. Three long weeks of thinking the most beautiful creature he'd ever met was dead because he did nothing to help. So when he saw him back at school, as though nothing ever happened, Zac was pissed. He wanted to pin Tetsuji to the lockers and demand an explanation, ask Tetsuji why he didn't think it was necessary to tell him he was still alive, but none of that would make sense. It would be so out of character, so obvious. So he stuck with pinning Tetsuji to lockers and taking his anger out on him. Between hidden emotions, horrible frustration, and a case of beer every day, they were burning through funds and energy, and things were getting progressively worse by the day.

Tetsuji was grief-stricken from the loss of another human friend, withdrawing further into his shell, and considering suicidal thoughts again as Zac's attacks worsened. Every time he saw him, the smell of alcohol was stronger. He thought about reporting it, but he'd found no proof besides the smell, and Zac was eating mints like a girl eats chocolates to keep it hidden. Tetsuji kept a knife at his bedside, along with paper towels, a glass of water, and a trash bag. He would cut himself, let the blood run and pray it would stop and let him die, and then watch as the cut healed itself and angrily clean himself afterwards.

Ember, having finished her mission, was solemnly moving on. The demons were under control, and the timelines of fate had been restored, however tragic they may be. She took one last stop at Tetsuji's house though, just to see if it was all worth it. The visions she saw that night brought her to tears- of joy and of sadness. Tetsuji's journey was far from over, and the souls in his life were there to stay, whether he liked it or not.

"Good luck, Tetsuji. I dare you to keep believing and pushing for what you truly want," she said to him in his sleep. He turned to face her direction when she left, a picture of innocent beauty as she summoned a portal back to the underworld. "I double dare you…"

And there it is... the end. I really hope my beloved readers enjoyed the trip, and please review or message me! I want to know what you thought, how you felt, every single detail! Please tell me! Even if you're mad and want to kill me for how I ended it, tell me, please! I thrive on your communication! If I have too many typos from writing late at night, tell me and I'll fix them. If you need help understanding something I've written, tell me! I'll explain it, and then I'll edit so the confusion is clarified (see, 'cause this stuff all makes sense in my head, but I don't know if it will for my readers unless you tell me!). Please, let me know what you think, honestly.

And if I get enough suggestions/reviews/messages... I plan on doing even MORE backstory! This is not the end, but it will be if no one tells me otherwise! The next will be a series of one-shots explaining different scenarios of what happened between Slenderman (Takai) and younger Tetsuji. Each chapter update would be a different request, and I will write almost ANYTHING you ask me to for them! THIS SERIES RELIES ON YOUR MESSAGES! If I am to continue, please message me. I am very good at maneuvering storylines, so I could write any Slenderman pairing you deem fit.

Branching from there, I love to write in general. If there is a yaoi (or yuri, for that matter!) pairing you would like to see, send me a message. I will research the characters if I do not already know them and write your scene to the best of my ability. I do have a possible plan for an intense yuri involving Ember's fight with the Slenderman army while Tetsuji is trying to dissuade Takai, but again, you, the readers, must review/message me and tell me that's what you want! Everything I write is for you guys!

Thank you all so much for your support through this story and my others, and I hope that I get lots of reviews so I can keep writing more! Be my muses, I beg you!