Chapter 12

A/N: Hello, I'm back with another update! School is really getting in the way, but I won't give up! ^ Oh, I'm also thinking of posting an Ib fanfic on here. It's still in progress, but I'm still thinking whether or not I should post it.

Anyway, here is the long awaited chapter 12. Enjoy!

Yao's POV

I gently propped Kiku up to the couch, and held his shoulders softly.

"W-Where is this.. Kuro-thing, aru?" I asked, eyes filled with worry. It was getting confusing, and not in the way I had first planned it to be. Insanity, suffering, and now 'Kuro'..? I was sure to get it some time, though I had no idea how far away that would be.

"..ushiro.." he coughed. I tilted my head, trying to remember any Japanese. Ushiro...? Wasn't that something like.. back, or behind..?

Just as I pieced it together, I felt a blunt force strike the side of my head. I was knocked to the ground with an aching pain in my right temple. I wasn't going to be dragged down yet, though. I had a job to do. A friend to protect. I pushed myself off the ground, shaking my head to release the dizziness. I searched around for any other being, but there was no one there. 'What's going on, aru..!?'

"Yao-san, migi!" The translation came to me straight away- right. I jumped back, avoiding anything coming to my right, and quickly searched behind me for anything I could use besides my fists. I was good at no weapon combat, sure, but I knew it would be a drag in the current situation. Not knowing where I was to strike or even where to defend was sure to bring me down without something else to aid me.

"Ue!" Kiku called. I nodded my head, swiftly stepping to my left to avoid the attack from above.

"yOU'RE STUBBORN, AREN'T YOU? kIKU, THAT'S CHEATING, STOP GIVING HIM CLUES.." The voice from earlier began talking. It sounded similar to Kiku, but the harsh tone told me otherwise. I had no idea what it was, but I chose to ignore it in any way possible.

"Shinchō ni!" I whipped around, caught off guard by Kiku's sudden warning. To my utter confusion, a knife was floating in mid-air, a few metres away from where I was standing.

"What's going on, aru..?" I questioned. Just as the words escaped my mouth, a dark silhouette holding up the knife flashed before me. From the split second it appeared, I noticed one crucial thing. It's body outline and chopped hair seemed to resemble..

I shot a glance at Kiku. He was still sitting where I left him, staring at the strange knife. 'What the hell is this, aru!? I've never been in such a strange situation, aru..!'

As if the strange knife despised wasting time, it suddenly launched itself straight at me. It flew at such a high speed, that I barely had anytime to react. The knife impailed itself into my left shoulder, spraying blood on contact. I let out a small cry of pain, shuddering at how close it was to hitting my heart. My knees hit the floor, as I frantically pulled the knife out of my shoulder. The wound was quite deep, but I tried my best not to pay it too much attention.

"Y-Yao-san!" Kiku yelled, scrambling over to me. I lifted my head up to look at him, forcing a small smile.

"I-I'm okay, aru. It's not that bad, a-aru.." I informed, pulling one of my legs up.

"B-But-"

"aH, IT SEEMS i MISSED.. hOW LUCKY FOR YOU." His head shot straight forward, as if he could see another strange figure standing above us. I turned my gaze to Kiku's wound, and noticed a small drip of blood fall from his left arm. He probably opened the wound back up when he rushed to my aid.

"nOW, CAN i FOCUS ON TAKING MY RIGHTFUL PLACE AND GETTING RID OF YOU, NOW?" The voice continued. "oR MAYBE IT WOULD BE BEST IF i WERE TO MAKE MYSELF.. 'CLEAR'." The knife upon the floor in front of me suddenly began to float again. This time though, it didn't point at me- it didn't waste any time, either. The knife lunged straight towards Kiku, however, the spot it aimed for confused me. Instead of stabbing him, it slid along his left arm, cutting the bandages open. It opened up his bleeding wound more, and more blood spilled out. From my years of medicine practise, I wasn't phased by it at all.

I attempted to pull myself over closer to Kiku, but my left arm refused to move at all. My right arm wasn't about to do all the work either, and my knees were already aching from it's impact on the floor. I guess I wasn't going anywhere any time soon. I glanced back up at Kiku's wound, and tilted my head in confusion. It was completely clean, as if it had been healing for days. Besides the stain on his uniform, no blood was in sight.

"You... bastard..!" My eyes trailed up to Kiku, who was scowling straight forward. You know, straight at no..

..nothing..?

There it was. The dark figure from earlier was standing right in front of Kiku, leaning over him with a knife in hand. It flashed transparent every now and then, but it was without a doubt, there. I shot back, leaning onto the wall behind me. 'W-When did he get here, aru? Most importantly, who is he, aru!?'

"Bastard..? I wasn't meant to be nice.." the figure responded. It's voice was less warped now, and didn't hurt my head. Indeed, now that I could listen to it properly, the voice sounded almost exactly like Kiku's. In fact, I swore it was..

"Damare.. Daikirai na!* Yamete!*" Kiku yelled back, glaring right at the figure.

"I'll only stop once you learn your lesson.." it replied, adding an evil laugh after. It sent chills down my spine. It sounded exacty like Kiku, and it terrified me to think about it. I never wanted to hear anything like that in that particular voice.

The dark figure turned to me. It caught me off-guard, but I didn't let my flinch stand out too much.

"You know, now that I think about it, there is another way I could.. ease up.." it began. The more words that came from it's mouth, the more intense Kiku seemed to get.

"W-What is it..?" he forced out, clenching his fists together tightly. Just seeing him this enraged frightened me.

"You can do it for me." the figure stated in a low, monotone voice. It rushed towards Kiku, but instead of colliding with him, it seemed to merge into one. He sat still on the floor, and the figure was no where to be seen. I rubbed my eyes with my functional arm, making sure I wasn't seeing things. Sure enough, the world was exactly the same as before.

"Uh... K-Kiku..?" I thought I'd ask something, so I wouldn't have to sit there the whole time like a confused panda. Instead of a proper response, his arms flew to his temples, as he cried out in annoyance. His tight grip didn't loosen one bit as he shook his head left and right. He muttered small insults and curses under his breath. All of his actions began to raise the concern I already had for him. "Kiku..! P-Please.." I ignored all of my own pain, and dragged myself over to my friend in need. I would have let him lean on my shoulder, but it was bleeding, and if he rested on the other, I wouldn't be able to move my only responding arm.

"Please, hang in there, aru..!" I encouraged. He seemed to relax a little, but frustration was still evident on his face.

"I-I'm.. sorry.. for causing you.. so much trouble.. Yao-san.." he apologised.

"Th-There's no need for that, aru! It's fine with me.. it's okay to lean on someone else when you need it, aru." I explained. He slowly raised his head up to look me in the eyes. I faintly smiled at him, and swore I caught him blushing slightly.

"Y..Yao-san.."

"It'll be okay, aru. I'm here for you, aru." I assured. Just as he began to smile, it dropped immediately. His eyes flashed a deep crimson red, and he let out a scream. He curled up, pulling his legs closer to his body, and suddenly went completely quiet. I leaned in closer to check what was wrong.

"K-Kiku..! Are you okay, aru..?" I questioned, reaching for him with my right arm.

"Kiku..? Oh, but I am Kuro." I was met with fierce red eyes, and immediately froze in place. He lifted his head up straight, and let his legs rest in front of him as he turned to face me. I began to back away, not knowing how else to react.

"What's wrong? Don't you care for your 'Kiku' any more?" he taunted. My muscles didn't react to what my head was commanding them to do. Instead, I sat in place, not moving, and just staring intently at the person before me. "I'll take that blank expression as a 'no'." I shook my head, snapping myself out of the broken state I was in.

"W-Wait, aru- I.. of co-course I care, aru..!" I struggled to find any other words to add, and because of this, 'Kuro' looked at me in confusion. Somehow, he still kept his intimidating aura around him.

"Hm..? Ah, did you say something..? I can only guess it was something along the lines of, 'Of course I care about my Kiku!'. Is everyone here so predictable..?" he commented.

"'Everyone.. here'...? What do you mean, aru..?" I questioned.

"Ah, me and my big mouth. Don't worry about that- let's just get back on topic. You know, that Kiku guy doesn't care about you, right? In fact, you may be the last thing on his mind."

"..S-Say what, aru..!?" Kuro nodded his head, pulling a dark smirk onto his face.

"You heard me. Oh, and he's also planning on back-stabbing you again; that's the only reason he's been so nice to you recently. He's just playing with you so he can take you down for good. You got real lucky last time." he continued. One piece of my world crumbled at each sentence he spoke.

"T..That's not true, aru... It's.. not.. true..." I chanted to myself. "Who are you, anyway? And j-just how do you know it's not a lie, aru..!?" I demanded. I wasn't about to- I couldn't believe anything he said.

"Oh, right, I haven't introduced myself properly, have I..? I'm Kiku's.. let's say.. other side. The better one. The one he keeps bottled in every single minute of the day.. oh, except for when I get to take over. I'm always with him, and I can always hear his thoughts and feelings. He even tells me directly sometimes. If you don't believe me, you can always ask him. I'm sure he wouldn't... lie to you." he explained, adding a mischievous chuckle. I felt my eyes begin to water.

"..n-no way, aru.." I choked out.

"Oh, and just thought I'd let you know, he isn't completely heartless. I mean, he does have feelings for someone.. obviously not you, that is. Ah, too bad. I heard that Ivan guy is interested though!~ I hate to break your heart... wait, what am I saying? It's great fun ripping you apart!~" I ignored the series of laughter coming from Kuro, and entered my own world of thoughts. Though I hated to admit it, by the end, he had completely destroyed me. Everything I cared about and everything I lived for.. it was all completely obliterated. Shattered. Tossed away. Never to be repaired ever again.

I only realised I had tears streaming down my cheeks when I covered my face with my hands. I had no idea what to do. The future held nothing of importance to me anymore, so what was I to do? I had no benefits to gain from any other decisions I could make.

'Living normally would prove too much of a challenge- not after a huge shockwave like this. I couldn't cling onto or depend on anyone, as there was no one to go to. Ivan was plain creepy, and I wouldn't lean on him if my life depended on it. Mei Mei and Kaoru both seem to neglect me, and wouldn't aid me in any way. Im Yong Soo didn't know how to take care of a dog, let alone help someone in a traumatised state. And Kiku...

He's out of the question. Especially since from now on, I'm on my own.'

A/N: Dun Dun Duunn! :D

Have you all checked out the new character songs? I listen to Japan's new one, 'May You Smile Today' when writing this. They're really nice, you should search for them if you haven't already.

As usual, I love reading feedback from my readers. It really motivates me to write, and I'm sure you all hate cliff hangers on the last released chapter! :) I accept all constructive criticism, language corrections, and overall feedback and comments. Please don't hide yourself, I'm not a scary person! :D

See you in the next one!~