Ao Oni 1. Damage

**Okay, I know I should have been writing Rotten love but Writer's block got me on that one. Then, the words for this story came into my mind.  
So, this is the sequel for Saving my blood by sacrificing it. I reaaaally recommend you to read it or you understand anything.  
Enjoy! **

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**Its last game**

**Chapter 1**

Kazuya woke up with a gasp. The child hid under his covers and closed his eyes tightly. He feared that if he looked up, the demon would be there. He had that dream again. That dream where he ran in an endless corridor to join Hiroshi but the only thing he could see was blood splattered on the walls and corpses on the floor. When he reached Hiroshi, he'd figure out it was Naoki holding his older brother's corpse. It's been a year since he came out of the mansion and he still hoped this whole thing was a dream when he was waking up.

The air under the covers started to feel hot. Kazuya needed to breathe but just the thought of the demon was convincing him to suffocate instead of seeing that horrible monster another time. The boy finally forced his head out of the covers and opened his eyes. The demon wasn't there. The child sat up in his bed, his body lightly shivering by the dream he just woke up from. He then stood up and walked in the hallway out of his room. Instead of going to the right and climbing up a small set of stairs to reach his parents' room, he went straightforward in the corridor until he reached Hiroshi's room. During the year, his parents had talked a couple of times about emptying Hiroshi's room and doing something else in it. Kazuya had begged them to not do it and had even cried for that. They decided to keep the room like it was since the boy was desperate to still have it in the house. The child never admitted it to anyone but this bedroom was his only source of comfort since he came back. It reminded him of the better days when Hiroshi was alive. There were still some moments of happiness but the atmosphere in the house wasn't as cheerful as before. Kazuya could understand that; he wasn't smiling a lot himself.

The child opened the door leading in his brother's room and closed it behind. He stared at the empty bed for a couple of seconds before he climbed in curled into a ball under the sheets. Tears quickly filled his eyes and he shoved his face in the pillow to cry. He came a lot in here. He somehow felt like if Hiroshi was hugging him in this bed. Then, he'd look up and expect to see him and would cry even more realizing he was only imagining things. Sure, he could go to his mom instead but… there was something his dad and she didn't have. He couldn't put his finger on it though. Normally, after his eyes ran out of tears, he'd fall asleep again but not this time. His eyes stayed wide open and refused to close. He got out of the bed and walked back in his own room. He took a jacket on the chair in front of his desk. It's only when he put it on that he realized he had forgotten to put his pajama on last night. It happened often these days so it didn't matter anymore for him. He opened a drawer on his desk and took out a cat flashlight. The shape was a bit ridiculous but the two eyes making light lightened more than any other flashlights. The child then got out of his room and walked to the front door. He put on his shoes before opening the door and closing it silently behind. The street lamps were making enough light for him to see clearly outside for now. The boy walked down the empty street until he arrived in front of the woods. He turned on his flashlight and walked down the dirt path. Nobody really wanted to go in the woods after dark. They were talking about a creature. What was the name again? Spendersan? Srindernam? Sprinterman? Slenderman? Yes, yes, Slenderman, that was the good name. Mostly older kids talked about that. It was a man in the woods that was… Um… What was he doing again? Kazuya didn't remember but he knew it was a legend of a weird guy doing something to its victims in the woods. The child didn't know what he looked like. He already asked Hiroshi once if he could see a picture but the teen told him it was better for him to see it when he would be older. It was a bit odd; since he came back from the mansion, there wasn't a lot of _when you'll be older _(There was the answer to where babies came from but that's another thing)_. _He could bet that if he asked to see what Slenderman would look like, nobody would tell him he was too young for that. It was like if he had become an older teen or something like that.

Kazuya walked through some bushes he knew very well and walked throughout the trees until he reached the river. The child turned off his flashlight and walked to the clear water. The moonlight seemed to make the water shine, like if it was producing its own light. He sat on the only big rock nearby and stared blankly at the water for a moment. He then lowered his head and closed his eyes for a moment. He missed those evening when Hiroshi and he would go here and make a fire. Sometimes, Shun, Shura and Rin would join them. Kazuya could have invited his own friends but it would always end very late (That was true; he'd always fall asleep during those evenings and wake up the other morning in his bed.). His friends' mothers would not allow them to stay late. Plus, they also started the fire late in the evening. He missed Hiroshi so much.

When he opened his eyes again, the river had turned red and corpses were floating on the water. At the other side, the demon was there, staring at him. It seemed to say he was next. The boy gasped and fell from the rock. When he looked at the river again, the water was clear and the monster had disappeared. He stared at the spot where the creature once stood before he frightfully looked around, expecting it to be there. His heart started to beat a bit slower while he slowly convinced himself nothing was there. He sighed and turned around to go back home. He heard a twig snap a bit farther on his right. The child turned toward the sound. His heart stopped seeing the demon smiling. It approached and Kazuya could do anything but stare at it. He finally turned away and ran at the opposite direction, not thinking that he might arrive in an unexplored area in the woods. He continued to run anyway, his heart beating fast and loud in his chest. Tears filled his eyes and he shielded his face to protect it from the branches he ran into. He tripped on a large log and fell on the leaf covered ground. His shivering body refused to move. He closed his eyes, preparing himself for death. But no matter how long he waited, it didn't come. After a long moment lying on the floor, he fell asleep.

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Another year had passed since that night. Well, nearly a year. Kazuya sat on his bed, the small television in his room opened with no sound at all. This year's chosen ones were named. The child didn't want to hear the name; he just wanted to see if there was anyone he knew getting chosen. It wasn't necessary for him to look. There was nothing he could do anyway. His heart made a stronger beat when he saw a girl with golden hair on the screen. She looked shocked; it was obvious on her face that she had no idea what she had done. Kazuya was surprised too. He didn't expect to see Rin on that screen. He squeezed the blanket lying under his hand and clenched his teeth. He got up and turned off the TV. Taking a note pad he kept for people who didn't know sign language, he got out of his room and reached the front door. When his mom asked him where he was going, he had just closed the door. She didn't want him to listen to that naming but he did it anyway and he was glad he did. He needed to tell (Well, write.) something to Rin. He ran to the building where he had once been brought in with Hiroshi, the directions coming back to him just like if he knew this path by heart. He arrived in the imposing building and barely noticed the painting of him next to Hiroto's one before he saw the old-looking man who led Hiroshi and he in the room where they said goodbye. The man led him to the room where Rin had been placed in. Because he was a survivor of this mansion, he was allowed to stay in this room with her as long as he wanted. He got in the room and closed the door behind him. The boy ran to her and gave her a tight hug, trying to keep the tears inside his eyes. He then pulled away and took the notepad and the pen always attached to it to write something.

**There is a maze on the second phase. If you find the room with a **_**Catch the mouse**_** like game, there's an easy Sudoku a couple of corridors farther. There should be a golden key in it. Take it or you won't open the door that would lead you outside. There will be boulders surrounded by fire coming out of it but this door is the good way. The code that opens the final door should be 9628.**

Rin read the page and smiled.

"Thank you, I'll try to remember," she said.

Kazuya tore the page and slipped it in one of her pockets. She would need it. He wrote down something else on the notepad but hesitated a bit before showing it to her.

**I'm sure Hiroshi would have volunteered to go with you.**

Every time he wrote his brother's name was painful for him. Maybe it was tough for Rin to read it. She took a hold of his hands.

"I'll do my best to come back."

The child couldn't hold back his tears this time, remembering Hiroshi's words when he spoke to their mom.

_I promise I'll do my best to bring him back._

Kazuya hugged her another time as to wish her good luck and pulled away to head to the door. He knew he had all the time he wanted to stay with her but the others who would come didn't have such an opportunity. He opened the door and saw Shun and Shura waiting outside. The twins entered the room. When the door closed, the boy stopped walking and stared blankly at the floor. Shun and Shura had just turned eighteen last month so they were safe. Rin had to wait two months until she was an adult.

A hand on his shoulder pulled him out of his trance. He expected to see the old man but instead, his eyes met with Hiroto's. That's when Kazuya realized what everyone didn't have: understanding. When his friends began to know how dangerous this whole thing was and all the losses coming with it, they began to pity him a bit but also show a lot of respect. He was respected at school since he came back from the mansion. Even the bullies didn't dare to pick on him. It felt weird. Did they think he killed everyone and would kill them if they did something wrong? There was also that rumor telling that he would've killed his own brother! Even the people who didn't believe the rumor and didn't pity him didn't have that understanding. They didn't know what happened; he wasn't ready to write his story anyway. Hiroshi would've had that understanding since they went through that whole thing together. Hiroto had it. They've been through the same thing but only at different years.

Kazuya wrote down something on his notepad and showed it to the adult.

**I'd like to know what happened to you in there.  
**  
Hiroto didn't answer for a short moment. He then crouched.

"Do you know that spot at the river in the woods?" he asked.

The child nodded.

"Meet me there at a quarter past two."

Shun and Shura got out of the room and Hiroto let go of Kazuya's shoulder. The boy walked back to the entrance and noticed Rin's parents walking inside. The child looked down and got out of the house to return home. It was half past one. Kazuya got in his house and closed it behind him. He didn't answer anything when his mom asked him where he went. He walked straight to his room and closed the door. He locked himself in and lay down on the bed. He didn't answer when his mom knocked at the door and tried to come in. He didn't feel like speaking with anyone for now. He stared blankly at the numbers on his alarm clock. He couldn't wait to hear Hiroto's story but at the same time, he was terrified by what he would hear. He stared at the changing numbers for a very long time until it was two o'clock. It's only then that he noticed he had forgotten to remove his shoes. Good, he didn't feel like passing by the front door anyway. The child walked to the window a bit farther from his bed and opened it. He slipped in the opening and closed it behind him. The boy walked out of the backyard and walked down the street until he arrived in the woods. He continued his path in the dirt road, not paying any attention to the scenery around him that would make anyone passing by stop and stare in awe at all the beautiful colors and the life hidden within the forest.

Kazuya stopped in front of the pack of bushes and hesitated a bit. Maybe he could just go home and make his excuses later. He wasn't sure anymore if he wanted to know Hiroto's story. He backed away and continued staring at the bushes. No, he had to do it. He had to stop hiding behind his fears. When Hiroshi was ten, he didn't hesitate to defend the child who was only three if older kids came to pick on him. He already saved him once. Kazuya was playing on the side of the front playground when that drunk guy came in the street. Hiroshi saw that the car was going in all directions and grabbed his younger brother to drag him away. Just like he had predicted, the car came straight for the spot where Kazuya had been playing and bumped in the tree there. Happily the only thing broken was that car.

The silver-haired passed through the bushes. He made his decision: he was going. At ten, Hiroshi was brave enough to save him from a severe injury and maybe even death; he should be brave enough to hear a story even if it would bring back bad memories. The memories came back every night anyway so it didn't change anything if they came back one more time. Kazuya ran through the trees separating him from the river. Hiroto was there when he arrived.

"I didn't expect you to come, actually," said the adult when their eyes met.

Kazuya wanted to write something on his notepad and then realized he forgot it at home.

"You forgot your notepad, didn't you?"

The child nodded.

"Okay, so if you have questions, you can ask them another day."

The boy nodded again.

"Are you sure you want to hear this?" Hiroto asked, hesitating himself to tell him the story.

Kazuya nodded one last time and the adult sighed.

"Okay, pay attention because I won't repeat the story."

The child slightly tilted his head, a position he had when he was listening very carefully. Hiroto took a deep breath, released it and started his story.

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**So, this is the first chapter! Please leave a review, it always helps and see you next chapter!**


	2. Story

**I didn't expect to finishe writing this chapter early like that...  
Well, I owe it to Anonymous! It's people like you who makes us want to write! Thanks for the review!**

**As you'll see, Hiroto talks for the whole chapter so it's at the first chapter this time. :)**  
**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 2**

I had a brother too. But contrarily to Hiroshi, mine was selfish. He somehow learned that he was chosen and he gave some money to a corrupted policeman to trade his life as a sacrifice for mine. He took the car and drove away the day I was named. Our parents died in a car accident and he was the one who took care of me after that. I was only ten but he still decided to save his ass and let a kid like me go in. We had all heard the legend and we were all terrified by the idea of going there. That year, the only people allowed to come and say goodbye were close family but the only one I had left was my brother who was now long gone. Nobody spoke in the train; we were all too nervous to say anything. The older ones weren't as nervous but they didn't find anything to say so they stayed silent anyway.

Once we entered in the mansion, the older ones went their own way immediately. I have no idea what they were thinking while doing that and letting us behind but they split up anyway. I was a bit surprised that nobody tried to make a team of three since we were three allowed to escape. It's only when other kids moved that I followed randomly one of them. He didn't seem to mind me following him. We walked upstairs and opened the first door on our path.

There was a hand that reached for us. I hid behind that boy in fright and backed away when that monster took him and shoved him in its mouth. I didn't even know that boy's name and I heard him scream for mercy. I ran down the stairs and I went in a random direction. I ended up in the library where I hid behind one of the shelves. I heard the door open and close. I tried to stay silent but I couldn't stop whimpering. I think someone up there took pity of me because it wasn't the monster but two other kids. They were twins approximately eleven years old. They actually looked a bit like you. You have those same big blue eyes, you know. The slightly taller one was named Arata and the other one was Rikuto. I learned later that they were here because they stole a wallet. Their father had died several years ago and their mother was sick. The only thing they could do was to steal money and food. It wasn't fair; they got sent here because they were concerned about their mother. We heard a scream, a girl's one. We decided to stick together since we were three.

We lost Rikuto during the first phase. He left the room without telling us and he never came back. We searched all over the house and we found him on the third floor, well, what was left of him anyway. Somebody had tied him up on a sort of bar and he had been eaten almost everywhere. The only thing left of him was his arms, head and a good part of his vertebral column. Arata couldn't stop crying. We weren't able to move from the room for at least an hour. I had to force Arata to follow me because he could've stayed there until that demon got him. We saw another corpse later tied just like Rikuto in a room on the second floor too. It was a boy but I didn't look at the corpse; I was too scared to look.

Later, the demon found us and we got separated. I ran into another girl while I was running. I think she was nine. I… I didn't really think. I… I grabbed her arm and shoved her on the ground between the demon and I. She grabbed my ankle and I fell on the ground. It seems the god up there decided to punish me and place a nail slightly out of the floor. It pierced my cheek and it passed through my eye when the monster pulled us towards it. That's right, boy. That's where I got my scar. I got it a very dishonorable way. This is another reason why I don't tell this story to anybody. The first time they saw the scar, they immediately though I was saving someone while I got it but I was _killing _someone. Obviously, she let go of me when the monster began to eat her. I let out the loudest scream of my life at that moment. My eye was just so painful. It was so loud and strong that sometimes I still wonder if it's because of it that I fainted.

When I woke up, I was in a place I didn't recognize at all with Arata and another girl named Manami. She was thirteen. She told me we were in the second phase. I think you already know this, but it was a maze. I had to keep a handkerchief on my eye. Manami tied it with a necklace she had so I didn't need to hold it. Along the way, we found another girl tied on a wall just like Rikuto and heard a scream a bit later. I don't know how but we found our way to the exit and the third phase. The demon found us and this time it was coming a lot faster towards us. I tripped and twisted my ankle doing so. Manami decided to stay behind to slow it down and allow us to escape. We never saw her again. I blamed myself for her death. I kept thinking and I'm still thinking that if I didn't trip, maybe she would be still alive.

It took a very long time before another boy died. We got in the last phase. As you know, there were a lot of doors and the majority of them had silver keyholes. The doors with no keyholes were always facing each other by groups of two. Arata and I would always split up and go in a different room. I… I found an older boy tied up to the wall like a lot of people were but this one wasn't dead. He begged me to help him but my fear of sharing the same fate than him and the others took over and I abandoned him in that room. It's only later that I heard him scream.

Later, I entered a room and found the guy who was tying up the others all along. I knew it was him because he was actually tying an injured girl who didn't seem to be able to run away at all since her legs had a weird position. I remember he turned toward me and said he was forced to do it. He said he wanted to live and that it was the only solution. He was crying while saying that. The monster came in and I managed to get out of that room and hide with Arata in the one facing it. We both didn't dare to move until we heard a very loud sound like if something was banging on the walls. I bet you know what it is, huh? Yeah, the boulders surrounded by fire. That guy with the ropes had unlocked the door with the golden keyhole that we found later with his headless body.

We ended up in the last room. The wall closed behind us and that high-pitched sound you probably heard too started to ring in the room. Arata messed around with the numbers until he got the right code by chance. There was blood pouring out of his ears and he didn't seem to hear me when I talked to him. The demon broke the wall and we ran in the last tunnel that would lead us to the exit. Arata suddenly collapsed. He was wincing in pain but at the same time, he didn't seem there at all. My fear and my desperation to get out of this place took over again and I left him behind. I looked at him a bit while I was running. He was crying when the monster reached him. I could have saved him; we could've both made it out alive but I just looked in front of me and climbed up that ladder to get out of that place.

* * *

"Me getting out was just luck and help from other people who I left behind. I am far to deserve all that respect people gives me."

Kazuya stared silently at Hiroto for a couple of second to give himself time to realize what he just heard. So what he said to Hiroshi before they went to the mansion was true; he escaped in selfish ways. He didn't try to save anyone and just left them behind, what he regretted later. Maybe he didn't do things the way he could've done it but Kazuya couldn't blame him. The boy didn't recall saving anyone either. He dragged Hiroshi out at the very end but he didn't really save him too. Hiroshi tried to save people, not him.

The child noticed Hiroto was struggling to keep tears inside his eyes. The boy felt really bad for that. It was a bit his fault, right? It's because he asked to know the story that the adult went through all this again. The boy approached Hiroto and hugged him. The adult looked down at Kazuya and put a hand on his head. He couldn't help but make a faint smile.

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**So, this is Hiroto's story I tried to make it like if I'd tell you something that happened. Like, the sort of vagueness and the forgotten unimportant things. I don't know if I did good but, hey, I tried XD**

**Please leave a review and see you in the next chapter!**


	3. Painful

**Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter!  
I have nothing to say now so, enjoy!**

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**Chapter 3**

Kazuya went back in his house by the window where he got out to join Hiroto in the woods and closed it behind him. He removed his shoes and put them on the floor next to his door. He sat down on his bed with a heavy sigh and stared blankly at the television. Maybe the chosen ones were getting in the mansion just now. He hoped Rin would be okay. He didn't understand; Hiroshi always said they took bad children but Rin didn't do anything bad. Well, _he_ got chosen last time and he didn't do anything bad. Did he do something without even realizing it? Was he actually bad? That would mean Hiroshi died for a bad kid? But if he was bad, why did Hiroshi go? He was good, he had friends and good grades, he had nothing to be chosen and everything for a good future! Why did he go and spoil it all by dying for a bad child? He didn't understand at all. Hiroto wasn't chosen because he was bad too… Well, actually, his case was different because his brother gave money to send him. The child didn't understand that very well too. How could someone send their own family in a horrible place like that? He didn't know where that guy was but he sure hoped he was regretting to have sent Hiroto there now.

Kazuya looked away from the black screen and stood up. He was a bit surprised that Etsuko didn't knock on the door again or unlocked it with one of those very thin sticks. They had a problem with the bathroom door a couple of years ago so it was getting locked by itself sometimes. She'd always use those sticks when it happened. Now, she didn't use them a lot but this would've been an exception. He was out of the house for almost an hour. She would've gotten worried if she knocked after fifteen minutes without having a paper slipped from under the door saying _leave me alone_ or something like that. That's when she would've used it. The child walked to the door and realized it was still locked. Looks like she didn't unlock it with a stick this time. He slowly opened the door that didn't make any sound when he pushed it open and walked in the living room by getting down a set of a three steps staircase. He looked in the kitchen at his right to find it empty. He then walked in his parents' room but he didn't find her there. Did she go out without telling him? He doubted she would've let him alone. Maybe she just went to see if there was anything in the mailbox at the corner of the street. That would make sense.

He was about to go back in his room when he heard a sound coming from the end of the small corridor where Hiroshi's room was. It wasn't a sound like the floor cracking or something similar but more like a gasp or a sigh. The boy walked down the corridor and put his hand on the door. The door wasn't completely closed; there was a small crack but too small for him to see something through it. He lightly pushed the door to make the crack slightly bigger. He looked in the room and saw his mom sitting on Hiroshi's bed. She was looking down at the floor, slowly passing her thumb on the blanket. It was the first time the boy saw her in there. Normally, she seemed to avoid that room, like if she tried to forget that Hiroshi already lived there. He didn't understand why she would want to forget Hiroshi. Was this what happened after death? You were buried and then forgotten? What a pile of crap. He wasn't going to forget Hiroshi. Kazuya pushed the door open and stepped in the room. Etsuko looked up, a bit surprised by the visitor she didn't expect to see now. Her eyes were red and her cheeks seemed wet.

"Oh, hello Kazuya," she said, passing the back of her hand on her eyes, as to erase the proof she was crying.

The child walked up to her and sat on the bed next to her. She passed her arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer. Kazuya closed his eyes and hugged her. That's when Kazuya understood; she didn't try to forget Hiroshi. She just didn't want to cry in front of her other son. He let one tear fall but he contained the sob this time. It was the first time he saw his mom cry here. She was so strong to keep that sadness for herself. It was his turn to be the one comforting her.

* * *

Kazuya stood up with his plate in hand. He rinsed it in the sink and closed the water. He opened the dishwasher and took back his plate. When he was about to put it in the dishwasher, the plate slipped off his hand and fell on the floor. The plate shattered when it made contact with the ground. The sound caught Etsuko's attention who looked at the plate. She stood up while Kazuya got down to pick up a piece that looked a lot like the plate shard they picked up in that mansion; that same plate shard he killed Ryota with.

"Oh, you shouldn't touch that!" said Etsuko, "You'll get hurt."

But of course, when she said that, Kazuya was already holding the plate shard and staring at it. He could hear his fast heartbeat loudly like if his heart was inside his head. He looked up and saw that room in the mansion and Ryota leaping on him. He let out a mute scream and fell on his back. He dropped the shard and hid his face in his hands, trying to stop shivering and silently whimpering. His mom crouched and put her arms around her son, gently putting her hand on his head and bringing it on the base of her neck. The child closed his eyes tightly and let out another soft and silent whimper.

"Shh, you're safe… It's okay…" she whispered, slowly swinging back and forth.

She kept repeating this in his ear. He tried to believe it, he tried to believe everything was fine but he knew nothing would be okay for him as long as this demon was out there. It was like those evening when he thought he had no chances of having a nightmare about that mansion but ended up waking up trying to scream in fright. He couldn't take it anymore; he was so tired of that, he was so tired of those nightmares, he was tired of those visions and those memories. He just wanted all of this to end. He didn't know how Hiroto lived all those years keeping this for himself. He didn't complain even once. Kazuya wanted to keep his promise; he wanted to respect Hiroshi's last request but it was just so hard to do. From the outside, it looked so easy; stay alive. He couldn't help but wonder if Hiroshi would've done things differently if he had known what would happen after getting out of that place.

* * *

Kazuya grabbed his notepad on his desk and got out of his room. After a day, he had found his first question to ask Hiroto. He indicated, to his mom, thanks to the sign language, that he would be back very soon before getting out of his house. He walked down a couple of streets until he reached that building where every chosen one of the city went in and approached one of the men standing beside the door. He wrote down something on his notepad and showed it to the man.

**Where's Hiroto's house?**

The man crouched and pointed a street on his left.

"If you go in this street until you reach the last right turn before the dead end, it's the house on the corner. You can't miss it; it's the only house with a balcony at the front."

The child forced his lips to make a smile and nodded. He would've liked to thank the man but he couldn't say anything. He followed the instructions of the man and immediately recognized the house even though he never saw it. The house was slightly bigger than the others and there was also a balcony. Kazuya wrote down his question on the paper and knocked on the door. Obviously, it was Hiroto who answered. He looked a bit surprised to see the boy there.

"Kazuya?" he let out before letting some space for him to enter, "Come in."

The child stepped in the house and the adult closed the door behind. He followed Hiroto in the living room. The adult invited him to sit on one of the two couches and sat down on the same couch. The boy showed his question.

**Do you have visions too?**

"What do you mean by _visions_?"

Kazuya took out his pencil and wrote something down.

**Like, do you ever walk in your room and see the corpse of someone you saw in the mansion for a split second?**

Hiroto sighed.

"You have those?"

The child nodded.

"That's horrible… Just when you think you can forget about this, you're back in there for a split-second."

Kazuya looked down at his feet.

"But to answer your question, you're not the only one to have them."

The boy looked up, curious to know what Hiroto would say.

"I have one each time I see you. I see Arata all bloody. It's like if he found his way out and went to see me first. There's also the blood and the corpses of course. I see ropes with blood on them a lot. I dream being the one tied up very often."

Kazuya wrote down something that Hiroto read.

**There's one boy I have a lot of visions about. He killed two boys and he tried to kill Hiroshi and me. He tried two times to kill me. I don't remember his name, though.**

"Let me guess… Ryota?"

**How did you know?**

"The second I saw this guy, I knew something wasn't quite right in his head."

He then saw Kazuya seemed like he wanted to say something but didn't dare to.

"What's wrong?"

**I killed him. I killed Ryota.**

The boy looked away so the adult wouldn't see his face. Hiroto didn't know what to say. He heard the child make a couple of deep gasps and releasing it rather slowly.

"Kazuya, look at me."

The boy obeyed and turned around, revealing the fact he was crying.

"He tried to kill you twice. He tried to kill your brother. If you didn't kill him, he wouldn't have stopped. Besides, I'm not better. That girl I shoved in my way didn't do anything to me but I shoved her anyway. You were defending yourself. I was… I was murdering by pure cowardice."

The child looked down. He felt a bit better but he still didn't like to know that he killed someone.

* * *

Kazuya ran in the hospital. Yesterday, around eleven o'clock, Rin had gotten out of the mansion with two other kids, both very young. The youngest child had died the second they were out, the other one died while he was taken to the hospital and Rin was still alive but in a critical state. It was the first time someone was getting out of this place so quickly. The child had a feeling that his indications helped but this wasn't what would've made it go so quick. It also meant people died rapidly. Was there another cold-hearted killer like Ryota who died only at the very end? He hoped not.

The boy entered in Rin's room and approached the girl. She wasn't sleeping. She turned and smiled. For a second, he wondered if she was mute too but she spoke and this reassured him.

"We tried to kill that thing."

The boy put his hand on her arm.

"We all agreed in the train to stick together and attack that thing. We didn't think about the fact we didn't have weapons. We lost each assault."

She sighed.

"They were all nice; they didn't deserve to be killed by that thing."

She took a couple of breaths and smiled at him.

"Your indications helped a lot. Thank you."

Kazuya made a small smile and took her hand with both of his. She coughed some blood and fainted.

* * *

Etsuko knocked on her son's room door. The child opened it. His heart tightened when he saw his mom's saddened face.

"It's Rin… She passed away this morning…"

* * *

Kazuya climbed up the three steps that lead him to Hiroto's front door. He knocked with all his might, feeling a great rage burning inside him. Happily, he had already written down what he had to say on his notepad or it would be torn apart if he was writing it now. He was about to knock another time when Hiroto opened his door. The child didn't even let him do anything before he lifted the notepad right under the adult's nose.

**That's enough. We have to stop this demon.**

Hiroto was dazed by the sudden visit and those words written down on the sheet. He let Kazuya come in and closed the door behind.

"That would be a good idea but how'd you plan doing that? That girl told me they tried to take it down. They were _fifteen_ and it didn't work! Do you really think we have a chance?"

It took a moment before the child wrote down something.

**They had nothing to fight with except their bare hands and maybe plate shards and a metal stick. We'll find a way.**

Hiroto immediately knew this sudden wave of determination wasn't random.

"You knew that girl, didn't you?"

He then realized he already saw her too.

"She was there during your year, right? I told the man to let her say goodbye. Was she Hiroshi's girlfriend or something?"

Kazuya looked down at his paper, the pencil laying on it for a short moment before he took it and wrote something down.

**She would have been if Hiroshi had gotten out alive.**

Hiroto felt terribly sorry for the child. He wanted to do something; he wanted this to end too but how could they do that? Even if they had weapons, how would they enter? The entrance of the mansion was watched twenty-four hours on twenty-four and the well where people were getting out was shut until the new chosen ones were entering the mansion.

Kazuya wrote down something and Hiroto read it.

**I think I should go.**

The boy stood up and headed for the door. It's when he turned the knob that a little idea sparked in the adult's mind. He had no idea if it could work; maybe it was stupid but he could tell it to the child. He put his hand on Kazuya's shoulder to stop him.

"I think I have an idea. Here's what we could do."

* * *

**The chapter was a bit long to write. I guess that's what happens when I keep reading death note...  
Well, anyway, leave a review and see you next chapter.**


	4. Plan

**Chapter 4**

The plan had sounded crazy. The chances that it worked were extremely low but they decided to do it anyway. Hiroto had absolutely nothing to lose while Kazuya wanted this to end more than anything. The preparations had needed more than just a couple of days. They didn't need to build anything but those years were necessary. It took four years. The boys would meet by the river once per week and sometimes twice.

During the years, Kazuya seemed to drift away from reality, or maybe his sanity was draining with his innocence. His mother had been extremely worried about this but he'd reassure her and insisted with the fact that he was fine. A bit after he turned 13, his dreams had slowly changed during the years. He switched from dreams of being chased and being killed to dreams where he killed and enjoyed it. Each time it happened (each night, actually), he'd put his hands on his head and shake it violently once he was awaken, wondering why he had those dreams. One day, even Hiroto noticed he changed too much. Kazuya had told him what happened. He told the adult about his dreams, the constant black void in his mind and those random killing desires he had lately.

Hiroto told him about another survivor of the mansion. A survivor that everyone had preferred to forget. He had survived the second year. He was 8 years old too when he got in the mansion. He had barely made it out of there but when he was found, he was completely mad. The fresh blood on him wasn't his; it was mostly other's blood. People tried to know what happened to him but they had never been able to get anything from him; he was often rambling about things that didn't make sense, he was constantly seeing corpses and the beast since he kept talking about them or screaming and trying to run away from something, he tried to kill one of the doctors who took care of him and bit one of the nurses on the forearm until she was seriously bleeding from the bite. He ended up killing himself by hitting his head on the wall until he died from it. Rumors said he laughed while doing so.

Hiroto told him that it was thanks to Hiroshi that Kazuya didn't end up like that. He also said that he had been in a phase where he was beginning to lose it too but he got out of it by thinking of Arata and the next chosen ones who could get out. He told Kazuya to hold on to something until he would have passed it.

So he held onto the fact Hiroshi saved him another time, he held onto Hiroto who wouldn't like to see another chosen one end up like that poor boy years ago, he held onto his parents who wanted to keep their only child left safe and sound and he held onto the fact this demon would be gone soon. Still, he lost contact with almost all of his friends. He felt like they were there more out of pity than friendship. It was true that he was in another world most of the time; they did not see what he saw and they did not know what he knew. Girls seemed to like it. They liked the fact it was making him look mysterious and dark. Kazuya didn't really care at all; he'd care once this was all over. Besides, which girl would like a boyfriend who couldn't even smile? This wasn't a movie; they wouldn't be able to make him smile again just like that.

Then, the big day finally came. It was time to execute the plan. Kazuya and Hiroto needed to do one last thing. They watched the naming of the chosen ones and walked to the building. There were only two persons from this town who had been chosen. Kazuya had to talk to the girl while Hiroto would go speak to the boy. They separated and went to their designed chosen ones. The girl seemed familiar to Kazuya even though he perfectly knew they never spoke to each other. It's when he saw her again that he realized she actually spoke to him once. She came in front of him and asked him if he could smile. He didn't recognize her at first because a couple of other girls did this too. He noticed she was crying. She looked up when he closed the door behind him. They stared at each other silently for a couple of seconds until she looked down at the floor.

"I know, I was bad and I deserve it," she said, "Scowl at me, I don't care anymore!"

Kazuya took out his notepad and wrote down something on it before showing it to the girl.

**We have a plan.**

She looked up at him, wonder easily seen in her eyes. He wrote down something else and tore the page to give it to her.

**We need you all to stick together in one room. Wait in the first phase; we're going to come and get you. Tell this to the others and show the page if they want a proof.**

She looked at him, not sure if she should believe him or not. Kazuya wrote down something else.

**Trust us.**

When she looked up from the paper, she met with a very reassuring smile. The girl lost control of herself and hugged the teen. He lightly blushed since it was the first time in years he was getting such an affection gesture from a stranger. He hesitantly put his hands around her and then pulled away so she could see her family before she would go in that train.

Kazuya waited for Hiroto at the entrance of the building. He arrived a couple of minutes later.

**I thought you'd be faster than me since you can talk.**

Yes, Kazuya just said that in sign language and Hiroto understood all of it. The adult had decided to learn sign language; he guessed it would be useful while doing the plan and just faster while speaking every day.

"I had to wait for the family to get out first."

The young teen nodded and they headed to Hiroto's house. They quickly grabbed their things and got back to the building from behind. There, they looked at the two chosen ones entering the train. When the old-looking man closed the door behind them and got back in the building. The boys ran to the back of the train and got on the platform at the back when the train started. Kazuya started to feel sick and it wasn't because of the train.

**Are you sure we can make it? The plan is really crazy…**

"It's only now that you start doubting!? What else can we possibly do? You… You could have told me a year ago and we would've thought about something else."

**It's just that…**

The teen looked away for a moment and turned back with tears that he tried to keep in his eyes.

**I don't want anyone to die there. If we fail because the plan wasn't thought well, this will continue forever.**

Hiroto couldn't find anything to say. He wasn't sure about this plan either but no matter how hard he tried to find something better, his mind would go completely blank. This was the only plan he had been able to think about.

After a while, the train stopped. Hiroto led Kazuya to the back of the house without being seen by the few policemen there. The young teen recognized the well where he got out six years ago. For a split-second, he saw Hiroshi leaned against the bricked side with his stomach full of blood soaking his clothes. Kazuya stopped walking and stared at the spot for a couple of seconds. It's only when he heard Hiroto's voice that he came back to reality. He looked down in the well and suddenly felt pulled inside. He backed away before he'd fall and took a couple of breaths to calm himself down.

"You're sure you'll be okay?" asked Hiroto.

The teen nodded but at the back of his head, he was shouting _no _and _I want to go home_. Of course, he didn't say it. It was now or never; no time to act like a coward. Kazuya decided to go first and climbed down the ladder.

* * *

**Hm... There's not a lot of chapters left... Oh well! Every story has to be finished one day!  
So, please leave a review and see you next time!**


	5. Darkness

**Chapter 5**

When Kazuya's foot touched the floor, he let go of the rope ladder and took a quick look around. The tunnel didn't change a bit. He remembered seeing Hiroshi run with Takero, shouting at him to climb up the ladder. He started to shiver; he felt like he was reliving this moment again. Hiroto joined him just a couple of seconds later and looked around too.

"It didn't change a bit…" let out the adult before heading toward the door at the end of the tunnel.

Kazuya followed Hiroto who opened the heavy door. Looks like it was locked only from the inside. Hiroto opened his bag and pulled out a metal ring attached to a nail, a hammer and a solid-looking rope. Kazuya kept the door opened while Hiroto put the ring in the wall with the hammer. He then took the rope and attached the ring with the knob. He verified if it was solid by trying to close the door but the rope didn't snap and the ring stayed in the wall; good, that's what they wanted. They walked in the room with the final code and reached the door with the golden keyhole. They did the same thing with this door and headed to the beginning of the last phase. They did this with every important door until they arrived in the maze. All the lights were out.

"I didn't expect this." admitted Hiroto.

Kazuya pointed himself and took out a flashlight.

"You're very clever, you know that?"

The teen turned it on and lead the way around the maze. Of course, Kazuya didn't remember the directions he took six years ago so they had to walk in random directions. The darkness of the maze reminded him of that moment in the dark during his year when Ryota was trying to find him in the dark. He could still hear the kick right next to his head and feel the vibrations in the wall. It brought back another shiver in his body. Was it odd to say that Ryota was part of the main guys he saw in his dreams? Even after years, he was still scared of him. Well, actually, since he grew up, he understood some things his mind at 8 years old didn't understand. At first, during his time at the mansion, he was scared of Ryota only for his actions; he was scared because there was a body behind and he was scared because he pursued him until they both couldn't see anything. Now that he was older, he understood that guy was more of a hidden psycho than a normal teen. If Ryota had gotten out, he would've been like that forgotten survivor who killed himself. He couldn't help but think about that survivor's parents. It must be more than horrible to see your own child completely mad. Maybe if Hiroto didn't tell him to hang on to something a year ago, he would be mad himself. He was thankful for that; he wouldn't like to be just a guy rumored to have been laughing while committing suicide.

Kazuya continued to progress through the maze until he arrived in a room he would have preferred to not recognize. It was there that he saw the plate shard into a corpse; that same plate shard he killed Ryota with. Even though he knew it was maybe good for guys like Ryota to be out of this world, it was still a horrible thought to know he killed someone. Back then, he was more terrified of the body and all the blood on his hands than the actual death. He didn't want to tell it to Hiroshi at first only because he knew it was something bad and he didn't want to be a bad kid but now he knew a life had value. Even if he knew it was an accident, he still found it a bit terrifying to know he killed someone at 8 years old.

It made him think of the fireplace in the third phase. Hiroshi told him there was only some junk burning in the fireplace. In his 8 years old mind, he just believed Hiroshi like he always did but now, he could bet the _junk _was _a corpse you don't want to see. _

Hiroshi hid things the best he could to preserve Kazuya's innocence but now that he was older, he saw through the lies he believed when he was younger. He'd like to be 7 again; he didn't know what was going on, he didn't need to care about what was going and Hiroshi was still there. He missed his innocence and he missed the happiness. He hoped the happiness would come back once the beast would be gone. He wanted to be happy again even if his beloved brother was gone.

Through the years, even if he had matured, there was one thing Kazuya didn't understand; why Hiroshi came back for Takero at the end. If he hadn't come back for that dick, he would be still alive. Takero tried to kill them and used them multiple times to get out. Kazuya could understand a bit Ryota; that guy was just insane but Takero was perfectly sane and knew what he was doing. Plus, he had been bullied by him and that guy gave Hiroshi a black eye and a very painful ankle. Why did Hiroshi come back for him at the end? Did he think Takero would magically change after they had gotten out? Did he think he would magically turn into a good boy with a halo on top of his head?

They arrived in a small room were Kazuya recognized the _Catch the mouse_-like panel. Kazuya never played that game again, now that he thought about it. They were close to the first phase. The teen turned around and walked in the now somehow familiar corridors. After a little while, they arrived at the door leading in the first phase. They attached the door with the ring to keep it open and entered the first survival phase.

"Now we only need to find the chosen ones," said Hiroto.

Kazuya nodded. The adult opened his bag and got out two guns and two katanas. During the years, Hiroto faked to want to collect ancient samurai things. It was very expensive to buy the swords but Hiroto earned a lot of money just by being a survivor. He had verified if he could fight with the weapons and he found out that they were perfectly usable. They took one katana and a gun each. They wanted to use guns first but if they didn't have any ammo left, they'd take the swords. Just when they were about to take another step forward, they heard multiple screams coming from upstairs.

The chosen ones were there and it didn't look like they were going to live any longer if the boys didn't hurry up.

* * *

**The final chapters are coming! I'm exited to write them myself. :)  
Please leave a review and see you next chapter.**


	6. Last encounter

**Chapter 6**

Hiroto let his bag fall on the ground.

"Go help them, I'll join you!"

Kazuya nodded and got up the stairs as Hiroto pulled out one last thing from his bag: a shotgun. Kazuya opened all the doors he could see but none of them led to the chosen ones. It's when he opened the door near the other staircase going up that he found the beast in front of the chosen ones. It heard the door opening and turned around. Kazuya silently raised his gun, aiming for the eye, and shot.

As he expected, the demon barely flinched; a single bullet would surely not kill it. Actually, the bullets' purpose wasn't to kill it. When it took a step closer to Kazuya, smiling with its sharp blood-stained teeth, Hiroto came in right behind him and shot with his shotgun two times in the other eye. Kazuya ran to the other side of the room and guided the chosen ones out of the room and back in the main hall while Hiroto kept its attention towards himself. The teen aimed for the doorknob and shot. He then opened the door to let everyone out and closed it behind them. As long as the beast didn't know the door was unlocked, it shouldn't go out. Kazuya got back up the stairs and joined Hiroto in the room. The monster transformed into a great wave of bugs. Perfect; that what they wanted it to do. The boys swung their katanas on the floor to kill as much bugs as they could before they got on the same spot but separated in two groups. They formed two human shapes that slowly adopted the color of their skin and reproduced the same clothes. The boys immediately recognized them.

It was Hiroshi and Arata.

They didn't know the demon could do that. They knew it could turn into bugs and transform again but they didn't know it could turn into anything it felt like turning into. Hiroto was able to keep his gun raised even if he couldn't get himself to shoot but Kazuya wasn't able to aim at his brother and lowered his gun. Hiroshi reached out a hand.

"Kazuya," he said with a voice exactly like Hiroshi's one, "c'mon, I'll get you out of there."

Kazuya bit his cheek from the inside as hard as he could to not run in his brother's arms.

"I shouldn't have let you all by yourself for so long," continued Hiroshi, "I promise I'll never let you alone anymore. Your brother will protect you."

Kazuya felt a warm salty liquid in his mouth and his eyes became full of tears. He was about to join Hiroshi but Hiroto put his arm in front of him before he could do so.

"Don't go. That's what it wants," said the adult, "Give me the flashlight; I have an idea."

The teen handed over his flashlight and Hiroto got out of the room, grabbing Kazuya just to be sure he wouldn't stay behind and get killed by the copy of Hiroshi.

"Don't abandon me!" shouted Arata from behind.

The adult almost stopped but he was able to continue to get down the stairs.

"I'll keep the flashlight opened," he said to Kazuya," Lure them to the light and I'll shoot them, okay? Just don't join them or lose them; they have to be chasing you. Can I be sure you'll do it?"

The teen nodded.

"I go to the left, you take the right."

When they arrived at the door of the second phase, they split up. Kazuya waited a couple of second just to be sure they were both chasing him and ran to the right. He ran in random directions. He didn't know where Hiroto would be but he knew he wouldn't go too far in the maze. The voices of the two boys rang in the teen's ears no matter if it was Hiroshi telling him to come back or Arata pleading for help. He forced himself to focus on the run; he had to forget their voices and to picture something else. It wasn't Hiroshi behind him; he had to force himself to hear someone else. He had to imagine someone he'd rather run away from.

_Come, I'll get you out of here._

He kept hearing that line Ryota said. He kept repeating this to himself to cover the voices of the ones chasing him now. Those words seemed terrifying for him now that he understood what Ryota had meant by that. He could hear him say the sentence with his real signification.

_Let me kill you, I'll make it really quick. It'll be over soon._

Kazuya suddenly felt a hand grab his shoulder.

* * *

Hiroto saw a shape meet the flashlight's gleam. He raised his shotgun but didn't shoot; it was probably Kazuya. He then realized it was Hiroshi's copy. Where was Kazuya? He'd look for him right after. For now, he had to shoot. He aimed for the head and pulled the trigger. A loud sound was heard and the shape fell on the ground. Hiroto was surprised it didn't turn into bugs. Did he shoot…? No, he couldn't have shot Kazuya. Hiroshi and Kazuya both had very different shapes but the adult began to have a serious doubt. He hoped by all his heart he didn't because it would mean he was dead; no human being could just live after a headshot. He let go of his gun and approached the body. He sighed in relief knowing he did shoot Hiroshi. He still wondered why the corpse didn't turn into bugs. He decided to ask himself this later and look for Kazuya instead.

A sharp pain in his stomach made him gasp and look down. There was a blade getting out of it with his blood on it. His legs gave up but his assailant caught him before he'd fall and leaned him on the nearest wall. Hiroto looked at the blood slowly soaking his shirt and then looked up; the gleam from the flashlight was enough for him to see his assailant's face.

"Kazuya!?" he let out before he coughed some blood.

The teen didn't seem to react; his eyes were feeling-less. Hiroshi's corpse turned into bugs and got on Hiroto, biting him on the legs. There was the sound of a gunshot and Kazuya fell on the ground too, turning into bugs and climbing on the adult. A silver-haired boy stood there, holding Hiroto's shotgun. He dropped the gun and grabbed his sword before he tried to push away the bugs biting the adult all over his body. He squashed every bug he could shake off but there was too many and they ended up leaving by themselves to go in the same spot again. Kazuya grabbed the flashlight and saw a motionless Hiroto who didn't seem to have any skin. The teen gasped and backed away, tears blurring his vision. He looked back at the beast that was much smaller due to the bugs that couldn't be used anymore. It had a different shape. It was square-like and had some very large teeth. A tear ran down the teen's cheek but only anger could be seen on his face. He took his sword with both of his hands and charged toward the monster at the other end of the corridor. The demon changed form again and turned back into Hiroshi.

It didn't stop Kazuya this time.

The teen slashed the copy of his brother and swung again but before he could touch him, Hiroshi turned into bugs that fell on the floor and climbed on Kazuya. When a lot of them were on his back, he let himself fall backward, squashing almost all of them when they got stuck between the floor and his back. He pushed the others away and crushed as many as he could, containing a silent scream at each bite. The bugs backed off and got in the same spot to form somebody else. They formed Kazuya at eight years old. His younger self was curled in a ball in a corner of the hallway, weeping. Kazuya stopped for a moment but soon pulled himself together. He approached his younger self and raised his sword.

Just before it would touch the shoulder, the copy grabbed the sword and looked up. Kazuya couldn't really tell if it was still his copy or not. His ponytail was undone and his hair was plastered to his face like if he stood in the rain for a long time. There was blood on his face distorted by an insane smile and wide eyes. When the copy stood up, Kazuya kicked it hard in the stomach to lean it on the wall and stabbed it in the chest with his sword. He heard the copy laugh and he stabbed it another time. It turned into bugs that the teen immediately crushed. Why did the copy remind him of that insane chosen one? Would he have been like that if Hiroshi hadn't been there? The decade of bugs left climbed on Kazuya's legs and bit him hard. Kazuya shook them off and squashed them. The pain in his legs made him fall on the hard floor. There were no bugs left. Did this mean that demon was gone? Did this mean the plan worked? Kazuya let out a sigh of relief as tears slowly filled his eyes. Was it finally over? The teen forced himself up and walked on all fours to the flashlight lying on the floor. He grabbed it and turned it toward the spot where Hiroto lay…to find only a small puddle of blood. He was alive? Did he crawl away to be sure he wouldn't get hurt? Kazuya stood up, taking the flashlight with him and walked slowly, leaning on the wall due to sudden dizziness to look for the adult.

When he turned a corner, a dark shape leaped on him and he fell on his back because of the sudden push. A split-second later, Kazuya felt a sharp pain on his face and a warm liquid flow on his cheeks. He grabbed the flashlight and directed the gleam in his assailant's eyes that screamed and backed off. He saw it was Hiroto with purple skin and his eye black. He was like that guy during his year: Naoki. Hiroto showed his sharp teeth and leaped on Kazuya again who tried to push him away. The adult put his hands around the teen's neck and squeezed it tightly. Kazuya put his hands on Hiroto's arms to try to pull them away but he had a very tight grip. The silver-haired felt like something pierce through his neck and his head began pounding, his vision distorting. The teen reached out a hand to grab his sword or a gun but the tip of his finger barely touched the bottom of the sword's handle, pushing his hope away trying to take a hold of it. He felt his strength vanish and his arms fell limply on the side as he tried desperately to breathe.

Hiroto was suddenly pulled away by something and Kazuya took a deep breath, life suddenly coming back to him. He grabbed his sword with his right hand and his flashlight with the left one. It was just like that moment when Hiroshi's copy took a hold of his shoulder. He had been pulled away like that too, like if someone was helping Kazuya without being actually there. The teen got on top of Hiroto before he could stand up, his knees on each of the adult's hands. He raised his sword but wasn't able to bring it down. He couldn't kill Hiroto; he couldn't kill the only one who understood him, he couldn't kill the one who accepted to slay that demon with him, he couldn't kill his friend! The adult started to make more violent moves under him, struggling to get his hands away from under the teen's knees. Kazuya heard a familiar voice; Hiroshi's voice.

_If you don't kill him now, he is going to murder you! You have to do it! It's your only chance, do it!_

He felt like if someone gently grabbed his hands. Just before Hiroto would free one of his hands, Kazuya closed his eyes and stabbed the adult in the chest. When he felt some movement, he stabbed him again in the chest and continued multiple times, tears streaming down his eyes when he felt some liquid soak his hands. He kept his sword raised for a couple of seconds, eyes still closed, to wait for a movement or anything similar but when none came, he opened his eyes to see Hiroto was dead. His chest was soaked with blue blood and there was some on his face. His eye was closed and there was a bit of blue blood pouring out of his mouth. The teen's hands were full of blood too. He backed away and stared in horror at what he had done. He felt something pull him away from the corpse but he wasn't scared. In fact, he felt secure when he got pulled away. His head started to seriously hurt and he started shivering, his body suddenly turning cold. He felt some warmth surround him and he heard Hiroshi's voice again.

_You did what you had to do, Kazuya. You have to get out or you'll die in here. Follow me; I'll lead you out._

He suddenly felt a wave of energy and he looked at his right. He couldn't believe his eyes. Hiroshi stood there, waiting for him. Kazuya was sure it wasn't a copy; the air was getting cold around him when it was a copy but he felt suddenly at peace seeing his brother standing there. He didn't need any flashlight to see him for some reason. He stood up and joined the gray-haired who ran in a couple of different hallways. Kazuya's dizziness got the best of him and he fell on the ground. He coughed and felt a liquid fall on his hand. When he looked back up, Hiroshi was still there, waiting for him to stand up and follow him. The silver-haired stood up with the help of the wall and followed Hiroshi the best he could, his vision getting distorted. They passed through the two last phases and arrived in the rope ladder tunnel. Kazuya collapsed but didn't find the strength to get back up. He could barely see a faint light at the end of the tunnel that lightened up a bit the rocky hallway. He tried to push himself up and noticed there was blood where he lay. Did this mean he had been bleeding out during the whole run? How come he didn't die of blood loss yet? Hiroshi's voice made him look toward the light even though his brother wasn't there.

_C'mon Kazuya, you're almost there! One last effort; don't die there! C'mon!_

He felt a warm presence next to him and hands grab his shoulders to pull him up. Kazuya stood up and walked toward the rope ladder slowly, each step making him wince because of the sharp pain travelling his whole body. He finally put his hand on the ladder. He felt the warmth surround him like a hug.

_You did it, Kazu... It's all over now. I'll see you soon, okay?_

The presence vanished and Kazuya's legs gave up. He barely caught himself up by holding tightly the rope ladder. His hands soon gave up too and he fell on the rocky ground. He was barely able to keep his eyes opened and look at the sky with his blurry vision. He felt a couple of retches and his eyes filled with water, feeling his last moment arriving. He closed his eyes, a single tear escaping and running down the side of his eye to disappear in his hair. Somebody grabbed him, taking him in his lap as he coughed some blood. The teen felt himself drift away and he barely heard a very distant and shaky voice but it wasn't Hiroshi's one. He recognized his dad's voice and felt a light pain on his left cheek when a warm thing gently touched it before he felt himself slip into darkness.

"Kazuya, come on! Open your eyes, please! Kazuya! KAZUYA!"

* * *

**...  
Seriously, I don't know what to say... I don't even know how my fingers typed those last paragraphs... XD  
Anyway, please leave a review and see you in the ultimate chapter!**


	7. Peace

**Chapter 7**

Kazuya woke up in his room. He took a quick glance around his surroundings and stood up. Why did he feel so small all of a sudden? His room also seemed to be bigger. He looked out the window to see the backyard. The sun was shining on the small set of swings and the sky was clear. He turned around and his eyes met with his reflection in the mirror. He rubbed his eyes just to be sure his eyes weren't fooling him. He was actually smaller. He seemed to be eight again. He couldn't understand at all what was happening. Was this whole thing a nightmare? No, it couldn't be. Why would he dream in a dream? Why would he dream for a couple of years? Why would he write in his dreams? Writing in dreams was impossible; the brain couldn't make it. The boy put his hand on the doorknob and twisted it. He ended up in his house. Everything was normal in here. He heard some sound from Hiroshi's room. It seemed like somebody was talking. The voice sounded familiar. The child walked hesitantly to the room and pushed the door open.

There were three persons in the room: Rin, Hiroto and Hiroshi. They all turned toward him when he stepped in the room, staring in disbelief at the three persons.

"Good morning, Kazuya! Slept well?" asked Hiroshi with a smile.

The child didn't answer for a short moment. His eyes filled with tears.

"Hiroshi…" he let out, not even noticing he had a voice.

The boy ran in his brother's arms and hugged him tightly, hiding his face in his shirt. He let out a couple of sobs, clutching to Hiroshi's shirt as to convince himself he was truly there.

"It's okay, Kazu. You made it. That demon is gone."

After a moment, the child was able to calm down. Still, he didn't let go of his brother. For years, he came in this empty room to try to have a glimpse of comfort and that warmth Hiroshi had but the only thing he received was more tears and guilt.

The boy winced when he felt something pass his whole body. He looked up at Hiroshi, expecting an answer of what was happening but when he saw Hiroshi looked saddened by the phenomenon, he didn't want an answer anymore.

"Looks like they aren't ready to let you go," said Hiroshi with a faint glimpse of sadness in his voice.

Kazuya felt another electric shock travel his body. He understood he wouldn't stay here for a long time anymore. He began to panic.

"Hiroshi! I don't want to go! I want to stay here with you! I-I don't want to be alone again!"

The teen put his hands on the boy's cheeks.

"Kazuya, you're not alone! All of those years, I looked at you. I wanted to give you a sign but I couldn't. It's only when you came back in the mansion that I was able to do something. I'll always be there for you, Kazuya!"

Another electric shock was felt in the child's body and he moaned. Hiroto put his hand on Kazuya's shoulder.

"Hey, I just want you to know that it's not your fault if I died, okay?" he said, "I'll try to join you out there but don't wait for me."

"Wait, how will I know it's you!?" asked Kazuya.

"You'll know it, trust me," answered the adult, ruffling his hair.

Hiroshi hugged Kazuya one last time and Rin kissed the child on the top of the head.

"You'll be fine," she said, "You're very strong; you'll make it."

The gray-haired approached his mouth of the boy's ear.

"I love you."

There was another electric shock that seemed stronger and Kazuya opened his eyes, taking a deep breath that made him cough some blood. He saw blurry shapes around him and felt a vibration around him, like if they were in a car or something like that. He felt something pass rapidly on his mouth and something being put on it. Breathing began to be a lot easier but it was still painful. He heard a distant voice that slowly became clearer. Something held his hand and lightly squeezed it.

"Oh god… I thought we lost you!"

He lightly turned his head and the blurry form soon began to be more human and he recognized his father's traits. His dad put his hand on his son's cheek, a relieved smile on his face.

"Look at me, Kazuya! Stay with me!"

The teen squeezed the adult's hand back and tried to say something but no sound got out of his throat. He forced his eyes to stay open. His vision kept getting blurry before getting back to normal. Each time he was closing his eyes, he'd hear his father's voice and open his eyes again. When the vehicle he was in came to a stop, his father let go of his hand and disappeared from Kazuya's field of view. He tried to call out for him but the only thing he could make was a releasing of air that brought more pain. He tried to grab his father's hand when he felt like he was being moved but the only thing his hand met was thin air. His head fell on the side and he slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

The first thing Kazuya heard when he woke up was a regular beeping noise. He turned toward the machine and felt a slight resistance. He put his hand on his neck to feel something that felt like a bandage even though it had a square-like form. He noticed he had some on his cheeks too and an oxygen mask. He tried to move but a sharp pain convinced him that he was better to stay in this position. He felt like if there was something between his back and the mattress and noticed he was topless if it wasn't of the bandages. He took a quick look at his surroundings. There was a chair next to his bed like if someone had been seated next to him.

After a couple of minutes where he started blankly at the ceiling, the regular _beeps_ of the machine being the only thing that travelled his mind, he heard some footsteps getting closer and the door leading to his room opened. His mother entered in the room, a coffee mug in hand and light dark circles under her eyes. When she saw her son was awake, she put the mug on the night table and took his hand. She smiled and her eyes filled with tears. It was obvious to see that she contained herself from pulling her son into a hug. Kazuya guessed she knew it would be painful for him if she pulled him up. The teen decided that the bad job would be for him. He removed his oxygen mask and leaned on his elbows to push himself up. Etsuko tried to keep him down but he got up anyway and put his arms around her. She hugged him back, being careful where she put her hands to not hurt him. Kazuya closed his eyes and took deep breaths, the easiest way for him to breathe regardless of the pain. After a long and quite pleasant moment, Etsuko helped her son to lie back down and sat back on the chair, still holding his hand. His vision began to slowly blur and he fell asleep.

* * *

After a couple of days, Kazuya was able to sit easily and stand with a bit of difficulty due to the bites that hadn't completely healed on his legs. The doctor who took care of him explained to him that he had been infected by a sort of poison with multiple effects. It made him drown from the inside, have a slower brain activity and other things that he didn't remember. He just knew that he was lucky to be still alive. Well, _lucky _wasn't really the term he would have used but it was a good term to say that not a lot of people would have survived that.

It took him a week before he was completely cured. He didn't feel that much relieved when he came back home. Yes, that demon was gone and he had pretty much every reason to be happy about it but he felt like if a part of him was missing.

* * *

There were a lot of people at Hiroto's funerals. The whole town was there if not more. He highly doubted they were all close friends but a survivor was famous and respected so everyone came more out of respect than anything. When Kazuya had arrived, he had been greeted politely by a lot of people and some even bowed. Of course, he didn't like all of that attention. One of the things that saddened him the most was to know that nobody of his family was there. Like Hiroto said, his parents had died and his brother drove away. His brother didn't show up. Well, Kazuya didn't think that he wouldn't come but it wouldn't be because he didn't know it because the new of his death passed at least twice on each news channel as well as the demon's death.

After a moment, Kazuya wasn't able to stay anymore because of his guilt. He couldn't stand the fact he killed him even though it was because he had become like that beast. He got out of the funeral home and walked down a couple of random streets. The sky was covered with dark clouds but it didn't convince him to go back and see the friend he murdered. He ended up in front of Hiroto's house. He stared at it for a long moment before he continued on and entered the forest as a drop of rain fell on his nose. If they hadn't done the plan this year, they would've met at the river today. The rain started to fall louder and the drops were quite big. He finally reached the river. The drops were falling loudly in the water and making the flat rocks wet and darker. Kazuya removed his shoes and his socks and walked in the water, letting the cold sensation travel the bottom of his legs. He removed the elastic in his hair and dropped it. His hair fell to the bottom of his neck and he felt the rain soak them. His bang was plastered on his face, barely not touching his eyes.

He began to take deeper breaths and they slowly turned shaky and then they became small sobs. Kazuya fell on his knees in the water and he squeezed the sand under his hand. His tears fell down in the water like the drops of rain. He looked up at the dark sky and screamed.

Even though there wasn't any sound coming out of his throat, Kazuya felt like he had a voice and heard himself.

_Why me? Why not them? Why!? There's nothing here for me anymore! Why didn't you let me go? WHAT DO YOU FUCKING WANT FROM ME!?_

He then lowered his head and took a couple of shaky breaths.

_I'm sorry… I'm sorry I couldn't save any of you…_

Kazuya felt a hand on his shoulder. He gasped and looked behind him. There was a girl with very short black hair ending at the middle of her neck and brown eyes. Her black pants were rolled up until her knees so the water didn't touch them. It was the girl to who he explained the chosen ones' part in the plan.

"Are you…crying?" she asked.

He looked down, trying to control his shaky breaths. She put her hands around his arm and pulled him up.

"I wanted to come and thank you at the hospital but I never found the courage to do so," she said.

Kazuya looked at her and wiped away his tears.

"If you hadn't come and told me about your plan, I'm more than sure that I would have died in the first phase," she continued regardless of the rain or the cold, "I might be fourteen but my will is weaker than a five years old girl."

She looked down and then back in his eyes.

"I'm sorry for your friend, really. He looked like a nice guy."

She put her hands on his shoulders.

"I'm maybe too young for that but…"

She didn't end her sentence and kissed him. Kazuya blushed at the contact of their lips but didn't push her away. He felt something, a pleasant shiver going down his spine and sudden warmth surround him. He immediately felt it; she had that understanding nobody except Hiroto had.

"Thank you," she said quietly when she pulled away.

She was about to head back in the forest but she stopped and slightly turned.

"My name is Hikari, by the way," she said before heading in the forest to return home.

* * *

Just before they would hit their sixteen, Hikari moved at the other side of the country. They had stayed friends during the years. She came to say goodbye. Since that day Hikari had talked to him under the rain, he had promised himself to not cry for bad reasons. Good reason or not, he cried when he left a goodbye kiss on her lips. He had taken out his notepad and wrote something down on a sheet that he tore up and put in her jacket's pocket before she entered the car. When she closed the back seat door, she had taken out the paper and read the quick note. She had held it close to her heart and made a sad smile to him before the car got out of the driveway. Kazuya looked at the car go away and turn the corner of the street.

Each year, there was that celebration called _Liberation day. _It was to celebrate the beast's death. There would be thirteen different drinks or food depending on the family representing the chosen ones who fell and then three special ones kept for the end. They were representing the demon, Hiroto and Kazuya. The demon was eaten or drunk first and then somebody would make a small speech to thank the two chosen ones who put an end to this before eating or drinking the two last things.

For Kazuya, it was the day where he didn't eat anything or speak to anyone. It was the day where he stayed in his room and thought alone. He'd think about a lot of things but the thing he thought the most about was Rin, Hiroto and Hiroshi. He hated that celebration even if it was a day to thank him and Hiroto. It was a day where fifteen children were saved, where the demon was eliminated, where a chosen one gave his life doing so and where he almost died too and they were feasting over it. _Feasting. _It was a day where people suffered and they were feasting.

The mansion became a memorial and a museum. The first phase was the entrance and people could look around a little bit. People could do the maze in the second phase if they wanted to and see the exact place where Hiroto had died or take a shortcut with a tunnel built in the wall next to the maze. The third phase was more about the beast's legend and they could explore a little bit. The last phase was a memorial of all the ones who had fallen during those years. There were pictures of the chosen ones with their names below and a proverb about courage above. The picture of Kazuya and Hiroto was in the last room with a thanks message. People had asked him if he could come and do a speech. He didn't refuse. He talked about the chosen ones, Hiroshi and Hiroto. He also talked about that forgotten survivor. Of course, people felt uneasy about it but he continued anyway and finished his speech.

* * *

Once he became an adult, Kazuya moved a lot. Once he finished his studies to become a vet, he moved in another city for a year where he worked there. He didn't need to talk where he was; he only needed to concentrate on the animal. He moved a couple of times, getting hired in different places each time. He also wrote a book during his free time. He wrote what happened to him in the mansion and everything afterward with as much details as he could remember. The only thing he didn't write in his book was Hiroto's story. He wrote Hiroto told him the story but he didn't write the story itself. When people asked him why, he answered that it was to respect his friend who preferred to keep his story in silence. The book became a best-seller and they made a movie out of it. They had asked him if he wanted to play as himself at fourteen but he refused. People invented Hiroto's story during the movie and specified this part was fictive. They made a story where he tried to save people and got his scar while saving a friend. It was probably better for Hiroto if no one knew the invented story was more than entirely wrong. At least, people didn't know he escaped selfishly; Hiroto wouldn't have liked it.

One day, Kazuya noticed an oddly familiar child in a back street.

"It's an annoying kid," the baker said when Kazuya bought some bread, "he always comes and tries to get something without paying. We give something after some time of course. That ol' butcher guy got mad a couple of times and chased him but he comes back the next day anyway. Plus, he fakes not hearing us when we talk to him."

Kazuya decided to approach him. He had dark brown hair and dark eyes. He wasn't older than six. The child sat up, as if he was ready to run when Kazuya crouched next to him.

**My name is Kazuya. What's your name?**

After seeing the hand movements, the child's eyes lightly widened and he smiled before he spelled his name with his hands.

_**Hiroki.**_

The silver-haired's heart stopped for a second. He forced himself to calm down.

**Where are your parents?**

_**I don't have parents.**_

Kazuya then noticed a faint and very pale pink line crossing the child's eye. He couldn't help but hug the boy. That was really him. He pulled away and smiled, trying to keep the tears of joy inside his eyes.

**Let's get you home, Hiroki.**

* * *

After Kazuya adopted Hiroki, he had moved one last time to get in a house instead of an apartment. He treated Hiroki like his own son. He paid him a special school for children with disabilities and picked him up at the end of each day. At home, they would speak in sign language and Hiroki began to learn how to read on lips by looking at his teacher speak for the blind kids while doing sign language. Kazuya wanted to move again to…_look _for a certain something but he decided to not do it because schools for people with disabilities were rare. Besides, Hiroki had some friends there.

One day, when he had a day off and Hiroki was at school, he was having a little walk and passed in front of a café. He saw somebody inside playing with a small piece of paper with a coffee mug in hand. He entered the restaurant, his heart beating fast in his chest. He got out his notepad and wrote down something on it. He put the piece of paper on the table and let it slide on the table until it reached her field of view.

**Is your name Hikari?**

The girl looked up. She had long black hair until the middle of her back with a square bang and rectangular glasses in front of her warm brown eyes. He stared at him for a moment and stood up, disbelief clearly seen in her eyes.

"Kazuya!?"

She put her hand on her mouth, hardly believing it. She made some hand gestures.

**I waited for you.**

He smiled and she kissed him, gently putting her arms around his neck while he put his hands on her cheeks. On the small piece of paper she was still holding, there was some writing. It was a paper she kept for years, in hope to see the boy who gave it to her again.

"**I'll come and find you  
****I love you**," it said.

She slightly pulled away.

"I love you too," she whispered before letting another kiss on his lips.

* * *

Hiroki looked at the baby in the cradle with a smile. In two years, he got a very nice mother and a cute little sister; he sure was a lucky boy!

_**What's her name?**_

Hikari nodded to her husband and Kazuya spelled her name with his hands.

**Ran.**

Hiroki turned back to the baby and Kazuya put a hand on his son's shoulder. When Hikari leaned her head on his shoulder, he understood why he had been kept alive after the death of that demon: happiness. After Hiroshi passed away, Kazuya had forgotten what it was to smile and be happy. He had lost contact with his friends but he hadn't really tried to keep contact with them. Kazuya's life had become a repetitive cycle where he grieved or thought about Hiroshi without thinking about living and honoring his brother's sacrifice. He thought he just had to stay alive to keep his promise but he had to live his life happily; he had to stay alive from the inside too! The only thought of happiness passing in his mind were pushed away by a _once that beast is gone _or _when this will be over. _It was like if he hadn't truly lived during those years. Hiroshi didn't want him to just live; he wanted him to live his life at the fullest.

He thought he would never be able to be happy again and now there he was, being the happiest man on earth. The beast didn't win; he got out of the torment he was constantly in and he stopped having the nightmares after some time. Hiroshi saved him another time. Kazuya lightly squeezed Hikari's hand and smiled. He closed his eyes and leaned his head on hers. He saw Hiroshi making a warm smile. Hiroto was right; he was there, he just had to realize it. Forgetting Hiroshi would be a crime; he would've died a couple of times if he hadn't been there and not only in the mansion. If it wasn't of the promise he made to him, Kazuya would have killed himself. Now that he was here, he thought that all this pain and suffering was worth it. Besides, the silver-haired knew his brother's sacrifice wasn't vain and that he could rest with Rin in peace now. Kazuya sighed and opened his eyes with a smile he never had before: a smile of pure and true happiness; the smile of someone who fulfilled all of his goals and was now at peace.

_Thank you, Hiroshi._

* * *

**I know what you're thinking... _"__Man, it's cliché!" _To be honest, I don't care XD It's the happiest ending I ever wrote in my life!**

**I don't know if the ending is _too_ happy... I like it anyway! Seriously, I was smiling while revising it!**

**Also, I have to bring an excerpt of something for a club thingy and I thought about bringing an excerpt of this story. Which part should I bring? There's no special length but it would be better if it wasn't too long (like half of a chapter is way too long) and there isn't any constraints. If I don't get any answer at the end of the third of August, I'll choose by myself.**

**The only thing that wasn't a last minute idea was Kazuya not dying, the Hiroki part and Kazuya "screaming" at the river. The rest came in my head at the last minute. That Nirai Nikki theme really got me... I couldn't find a better song to give me inspiration, really!**

**Thank you for reading this story and probably Saving my blood by sacrificing it, too! It's the story I enjoyed the most writing so far in my fanfic author life!**

**As you probably know, I'm better with emotion and description (like that moment when Kazuya was dying) than action :) This serie also made Kazuya become my favorite Ao oni character x)**

**Special thanks to DatLittleStar a.k.a Star who made the idea of this serie spark in my mind and thanks to you for reading!**

**Please leave a review and see you next time! :)**


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