7-1

-Normal P.O.V.-

As soon as Iroha opened her eyes, a sharp pain was felt; in both her wrists. She was sitting on a chair with her hands tied to her back. She struggled to free herself but failed to do so. She looked around. It was dim, whatever this place was. Her mind was a big mess; first-she was told to come here in the middle of the night, now- she doesn't even know where she is. On top of that, she was separated from Yoshino.

"What a fool I've been..I'd never should've drag him with me...!" she cried. "Yoshino-kun..."

AHAHAHAHAHAA..!! A laughter was heard. Iroha was alert. It seems to be coming closer as it loudens; echoing the room. She felt goosebumps again, just like the girl in her story this morning and she began panicking.

Just at the corner of the darkness, a figure approached...with a pair of scissors in its hands! The figure grinned; revealing its half-eaten, rotten flesh.

"Snip! Snipp..!!" the blades were sliding against each other; hungry for blood.

"!!" she gasped in horror. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

----------------------------------------

(Yoshino's Scene)

"N..Nakatsugawa-san..?" Yoshino blurted as he regained his consciousness.

He tried to stand up but his head was hurting.

"Argh! My head..I need to find her quick," he leaned to the wall.

Iroha's phone was still on the floor; still emitting a bright light. He picked it up. If his memories served him correctly, she was carried by an anonymous figure just ahead.

"E-Eh? What the...?!" he looked at the lighted screen.

' Come back here at 11pm if you don't want it revealed..

-Unknown-'

"Don't tell me, she came here tonight for this...? Does that mean she lied about everything tonight? So there was no notebook all along..?!" Yoshino was confused. "But...why would she..lie to me?"

7-2

-Yoshino's P.O.V.-

That's not important now. I'm sure she'll tell me why one day. Right now, I've to find her. She might be frightened somewhere. Judging from her condition a while ago, I don't have much time.

"Please hang in there, Nakatsugawa-san!! I really hope you're okay..."

She's such a mystery...Even after all these times, I've never really known her that much. Her friendly nature makes it hard for me to actually reach her. She was always so near yet so far. What dark past could she be holding? What really lies beyond that brilliant smile of hers?? I don't know....

With the phone in my hand, it led me the way. There was still no sign of her. Where could she be? If I was the bad guy, where would I take her? Calm down...and think!

(Music Playing)

Is that Beethoven? Is there someone else here too?!

CRREEAAAAAKKK...

A door behind me opened in a creepy manner. It was the music room. I wonder who's playing the piano, at this type of hour...in the middle of the night? I entered the room.

"Hey, is anyone here? Nakatsugawa-san..?!!" I called out.

(Music Stop Playing)

BLAAMM!! The door closed; locking me in. It wouldn't budge. It was locked from the outside.

Bang! Bangg!! I banged the door to show my presence.

AHAHAHAHAHA..!! That same laughter echoed but this time it was coming from the opposite side. I slid down in frustration.

"Damn it..!! What the hell is going on here?"

Footsteps were heard behind me and I turned around, prepared. I was shocked to see who it was. It was...

"N-Nakatsugawa-san...!" I called. "I'm so glad you're...?"

There was definitely something wrong. She was just standing there in the dark, silent. She walked towards the light. That's when I knew what's wrong! The shiny object was just below her throat; a blade of half a scissor. And her eyes were full of emotions; fear and despair...In between her lips was a white cloth tied at the back of her head, her hands too behind her. She was completely hopeless. The figure approached behind her with its hand grabbing Iroha by her hair forcefully. Iroha moaned in pain.

"Nakatsugawa-san!!"
"Looks like your knight in shining armor has finally arrived..kii kiii kiiii," the figure voiced.
"Get your hands off her!!" I commanded.
"No way, I'm still in for more of her delectable screammm!!" it said licking Iroha's left cheek with that dead tongue.
"Noo.." Iroha was disgusted as her face turned red.
"Tch, damn it! Fine, what do you want from us?" I asked.
"Kii kii...well that's easy. I want...NAKATSUGAWA IROHA DEAD!!!" it explained; twisting Iroha's arms.
"What?!"
"I'm sure you want her dead too, right? After all, she did LIE to you from the very beginning!! Kii Kiii.."
"It can't be...what do you mean..she lied to me?" I asked in disbelief.
"You don't know that? You've gone too far, Nakatsugawa Iroha...!"

It kicked Iroha's right leg and pushed her to the floor. Iroha fell with a thud but remained silent. She got up slowly and sat down with her head pinned downwards.

"C'mon! Tell him..tell him everything..!!!" it growled.

I walked towards her and kneel down.

"Nakatsugawa-san..?" I called.

She remained silent...still refusing to tell me.

"Isn't this going way too far?!" I became furious.
"Going too far? Kii kiii...then let me tell you who Nakatsugawa Iroha really is!! She..."
"Don't..!!!" Iroha yelled. "Please..."
"Nakatsugawa-san.."
"I came here, didn't I? What is it then??" she cried.
"Hmm.." it smirked. "Very well..."

I sat there blankly; not knowing what's really happening. My mind was a complete mess! What the hell is really going on here? Lies? What lies??

BBAAAAKK!! A sudden force was felt at the back of my neck. I was losing consciousness again. Noo..it's getting dark..wait! I've finally met Nakatsugawa-san, I can't..not now!!

"I'm sorry, Yoshino-kun..." Iroha looked away as she left.
"Na..Nakatsu..gawa..sa..nnn.." and everything went black all over again.

7-3

-Normal P.O.V.-

The hallway was beginning to feel rather cold and it was misty too. Iroha continued walking as the monster pushed her back. She was too scared to even do anything; it was just like before. In the past...something that will always crawl back to haunt her. The cause of her mental abnormality.

"Here..it's in here!" she said.

It was the staffroom on the ground floor. The corpse said nothing, slid the door and entered with Iroha.

"Guard the door!!" it commanded its fellow comrades using the walkie talkie in its hand.

"Roger that!" said a manly voice at the end of the line.

Quite modern for members of the dead; Iroha thought.

"Where is it?!! Don't just stand there!!!" it groaned as it pushed Iroha forward roughly.

"It's...over there.." she pointed. "Under that shelf."

It pushed Iroha aside and went to where it was told. Under that shelf. Iroha stood silently; watching the half skinned man reaching for something.

"Now...the documents, where are they?!" it questioned.
"I..I don't know..."
"What do you mean you don't know?!!" it was obviously furious.

It flipped the blade and pointed it towards her neck. Just a few more inches, Iroha will ooze the red liquid. She gulped; a little pissed as she couldn't do anything about it.

"I said I don't know!!"
"Well, I guess you really don't value your worthless life!!"

The blade swung in mid air. Iroha shut her eyes in fear. Is this the end?

BAAANNGGG!!

The door shook vigorously. The sound was coming from the outside. Iroha could hear voices outside; struggling. But after a few moments, it stopped. The blade from her neck was removed. Iroha fell to her knees, the pain from before was unbearable. The half-skinned man slowly walked towards the door where it suddenly opened from the opposite side.

"Boss, we've caught him. The boy!!" a voice was heard.
"Hahahaha...excellent! Bring him to me at once!!" it commanded eagerly.

The hideous monster turned to Iroha, feeling very content as it grinned. Iroha looked away. It's all over...her life...Yoshino's life too. And it was all her fault. Yoshino was involved because of her. She cried hopelessly; warm droplets of tears streaming down her eyes.

"I'm so sorry...Yoshino-kun.." she cried softly.
"More..more!! Kii kiii kiiii..." it was amused.
"More? I'll give it to you!!" said a voice behind them.
"..?!"

SMAACKK!! It sounded really hard and painful. In a split second, the monster fell to the floor; unconscious along with a baseball bat. Iroha looked up at her hero. It was him..he saved her again.

"It's over now. Don't worry, I'm here."
"Yo..shi..no....kun.." she was just so happy.

7-4

-Iroha's P.O.V-

"It's over now. Don't worry, I'm here."

Those were the exact words that he told me...7 years ago. My hero. That hopeful smile comforted me, that soothing voice of his; telling me not to worry about anything and those hands of his; caressing my hair gently.

"Uh..emm..what happened?" I was finally awake.

The first person I saw was Yoshino-kun. He was carrying me as he walked.

"Oh, you're awake." he smiled.
"Um..yea..p-put me down..it's embarassing!!" I blushed.
"Can you even walk with that injury? That jerk must've been really harsh!!" he gritted his teeth.
"Y-You noticed, huh? I guess I can't really hide it anymore..."
"Hide? Why?? You're a girl. Girls shouldn't suffer from pains!!" he explained.
"I see..you're such a kind person, Yoshino-kun." I smiled bashfully.
"R-Really? Isn't that a normal deduction?!"
"No, Yoshino-kun. You're really kind." I hugged his neck a little tighter this time as I placed my head on his back.

It was warm and comfortable. My fears were long gone but my heart was still racing. I couldn't stop smiling; I can't help it. I really wish he'd remember me, who I was. But I was really curious...what happened while I 'shut down'?!!

-----------------------------------------

-Normal P.O.V.-

"I..I think I can walk by myself now, Yoshino-kun." Iroha finally spoke.
"Are you sure? O-Okay..then." Yoshino puts her down slowly.
"Thanks. It's been pretty fun, though mostly terrifying." Iroha laughed. "My house is this way. So..."
"Um..Nakatsugawa-san, here. This's yours, right?"
"M..My notebook!! Where did you find it?!!" Iroha was shocked.
"I..found it. It was with one of those bad guys."
"Thank you...I thought I'd lost you forever!!" Iroha held it close to her; relieved.
"Sorry, I called it 'stupid' earlier. I didn't know it was that important to you." he apologised.
"It's okay..I know you didn't mean it!"
"Really? That's a relief."

They stood under the lamppost; looking at each other in the eyes. There was a brief silence.

"Yoshino-kun..y-you didn't happen..to..umm..read this..did you?" Iroha's face was blood-red as she turned away; embarrassed.
"E-Eh? Umm..."
"YOU READ IT??!!"
"N-No! Of course not!!!" he stammered in disagreement.
"Really, really, really??!!"
"Yes..."
"I see," now she looked a little depressed.

'Now, why the hell did she looked so depressed right now??' Yoshino thought.

"Hey, what's in that book anyway?"
"....i-important..things..and stuffs.." she looked away. "W-WHY DO YOU EVEN NEED TO KNOW?!! WHAT'RE YOU TRYING TO MAKE ME SAY..!!"
"Okay, okay..sheesh..I'm just curious," he made a face.
"It doesn't really matter, anyway. Besides, I've lied to you..." she looked at him; her face full of sorrow.
"Lied...? What is it about?"
"Everything..about me.."
"H-huh?"
"The truth is..I.." she paused; her lips trembling.
"........."
"I...I...I've lied about my image! I was never the perfect, perky, happy-go-lucky person!! All of those things were just LIES!!! I..I'm just..!" she cried.
"That's enough, Nakatsugawa-san."
"No...I've been lying to you the most! From the very beginning..I..I came to Sakurasaka because I know you'll be there too!!"
"W..what? But..we just met..three months ago"
"I..lied about that too." she squeezed her left arm slightly.
"W-Why didn't you tell me?! Do I even know you? Have we even met before?!" he was just confused.
"I..I couldn't...not now..I'm sorry I can't tell you just yet.."
"Nakatsugawa-san..."
"I'm sorry..."
"Is that how you've gotten my number too?"
"E-Eh?" she turned away.
"So that too, huh?" he grinned.
"Stop making fun of me, geez!"

There was the silence again. They looked at each other's reactions then laughed uncontrollably until they began tearing.

"Okay, then..I'll just have to wait until you're ready," he smiled.

She just nodded.

"That's kind of unfair of me, though. Yoshino-kun...as a special treat...give me your phone!" she instructed.
"E-Eh? W..Why??"
"Stop asking me and just do it already..!!"
"Okay, whatever. Now she's back to being her.." Yoshino do as instructed.

Iroha started typing and after a few moments, she returned it to him.

"Here's my number. So don't lose it!"
"E-Eh? Is it really okay to just give it to me?!"

With that said, Iroha kissed him. She pressed her lips against his lovingly and breaks it off after a little while. They looked at each other, it was rather awkward. Yoshino's face was burning in embarrassment, so did Iroha's. He was shocked at the sudden move and surprisingly, she was equally shocked as well.

Her hazel eyes was teary; just speechless. Why did she do it? She didn't know... She covered her mouth, the tingling sensation and heat was still there...she felt it.

"Na..Naka..tsu..gawa..s..aaann.." his face still red.
"I'm so sorry...!!" she pushed him away and ran; too embarrassed to face him again.
"H-Hey, Nakatsugawa-san!!" he called out but she was nowhere to be seen.

She was long gone, even before he could catch his breath once again...

7-5

(Yoshino's Home)

It was 12.27 am by the time he reached home.

"Huaargghh.." Yoshino yawned as he stretched his tired arms.

He noticed that the living room was still brightly lit. Are they still awake at this hour?; he thought. He opened the door and saw Ana sleeping soundly on the couch with the tv on.

"Haah..she slept with the tv on. How old is she? Five?!" he chuckled as he turned the tv off.

He stared at the sleeping Ana. She looked innocent, like an angel. It's been a while since he saw her sleeping face. He smiled and carried her upstairs to her room. As he was about to leave, Ana took his hand. She seemed to be half asleep.

"I'm really sorry...I..didn't mean..it.." she mumbled, but he could hear her loud and clear.

Yoshino brushed her hair and rubbed her head like he used to.

"I forgive you, Ana. Thanks for waiting for me...I'm home now."

Ana smiled upon hearing his words and continued sleeping. He left the room to finally rest in peace in his bedroom.

(Iroha's Scene)

She was in her bedroom. It was dim and she sat on her bed, silently.

"I..I'm such..an idiot.."