Suddenly, Shijima arrived with a rapier on her hand as she attempted to stab Mei. Y/n stood up from her chair. "Mei-chan! Look out!"

      Mei flinched as she stumbled sidewards to avoid the attack. She fell to the ground, Y/n rushed by her side to see if she's okay. "Mei-chan, are you alright?" she asked.

      "Ouch, I'll be fine." Mei assured her. Shijima stood there emotionless while staring at Mei, she could be dead by now if looks could kill.

      "She has the same face as me!" Mei pointed out at Shijima. "Who are you?"

      Shijima went over to Mei. "I'm a piece of fiction, a dream and a supernatural."

      "I've always wanted to apologize to you." she said reaching her hand towards her. "I'm sorry, Shijima Mei."

      "I was unable to fulfill my task even though I was born in order to protect you."

      "I'm an ideal "you" which you drew." Shijima laced her fingers with Mei's. "Just a single piece of paper."

      "To live on, you gave life to me." Shijima explained.

      Y/n stood there sipping the tea she saved from before. "But the fake cannot change reality, I was unable to save you and then,"

      "Your death gave birth to all kinds of rumors."

      Shijima looked at her hands. "I won't forgive them! My wish is to protect you!"

      Shijima grabbed Mei's hand as she pinned her to a table whilst holding the rapier to her other hand. "Mei-chan!" Y/n exclaimed.

      "I was unable to save you, that's why even though I am fake, I will not allow those rumors to harm you!" Shijima pledged. "I will protect your reality."

      Mei realized something as she looked at Shijima. "You're the picture I drew." she said. "Am I gonna die?"

      "I'm aware of all the suffering you have to deal with." Shijima tells her. "Your anxiety, your fears, all the sleepless nights, I've been always by your side."

      "Even then, you'd trust that the future you wanted would come, but it won't. You're destined to die."

      Y/n came as she grabbed Shijima's arm. "Nope not today!" she said. "Why are you doing this?!"

      Shijima shoved Y/n away from them. "Please stop getting in the way, you don't understand any of this." she said sternly.

      "This is beyond comprehension anyways." she said. "Supernaturals and living beings will never come to understand each other."

      "I must protect this girl."

      "I will save you Y/n."

      Hanako's voice echoed through her mind, repeatedly playing as if it was a record.

      Shijima raised her rapier to stab Mei but to her surprise the girl dodged the supernatural's attack. "Well that was close wasn't it?"

      Mei grabbed her hand as she slammed her to the table. She uses the rapier to stab Shijima's blazer. "It seems that you really like me huh?"

      The place started to crumble and shake as if there was an earthquake. "Come on, Y/n-chan!" Mei grabbed Y/n wrist as they escaped the room together.

      "Why are you running away?!" Shijima asked. "I did this all for your sake and you still refuse to do so?!"

      Mei looked at her one last time before leaving the room. "Mei-chan, where are we going?" Y/n asked.

      "To the exit of course!" Mei chirped. "This is the place that I dreamt of, which means if I open my eyes and wake up you'll surely go back where you came from."

      "Oh the floor is falling apart!"

      "Since we're in a dream, I can basically do anything." Mei swooped Y/n in her arms. "Like this."

      Mei jumped over the gap of the floor and successfully landed on the other side. "See~?"

      Mei puts Y/n down. "I have to wake up soon, I have been dreaming too much."

      The two of them went to the rooftop of the hospital and saw stairs ascending to the sky. "Is this a stairway to heaven?" Y/n asked while holding Mei's hand.

      "It's the exit!" Mei replied as she climbed on to one of the steps. "Come on."

      Y/n's foot went through the stairs. "Oh my god you have got to be kidding me!" she exclaimed.

      "Maybe your destination is different than mine, Y/n-chan." Mei tells her as she grabbed her hand. "This is where we part ways."

      "Do you really have to go?" Y/n asked. "You'll die if you leave."

      Mei stepped down infront of Y/n as she kissed her cheek. Y/n's eyes widened at the action she made. "Just where did you come from I wonder?" she smiled.

      "I came under one dream." Y/n replied.

      "Wait!" Shijima yelled before Mei can even climb up. "Please don't go!"

      "I don't want you to stay at the useless piece of fiction that harms you!"

      Mei smiled slightly as she step down to go to Shijima. "You aren't worthless."

      "Reality is sometimes cruel, I close my eyes and dream so that I can wake up tomorrow and live."

      "You're my drawing, my dream, my hope." Mei puts her hands on the sides of Shijima's teary eyed look. "Because of you, I'm here today to open my eyes."

      "It's thanks to you that I'm alive!"

      Shijima felt something that she never got to know.

      Epiphany.

      "Anyways." Mei patted the supernatural's back. "Isn't it fun to be a supernatural, like you know about the rumors about the school stairs."

      "It's super awesome!"

      "Thanks for coming to visit, other me." Mei let go of Shijima's hand as she went to the stairs.

      Shijima didn't say anything but looked onwards.

      "Ghosted-senpai."

      Y/n groaned a bit in her sleep. "Wake up, Ghosted-senpai!" Mitsuba whispered next to her.

      Y/n opened her eyes and saw Mitsuba infront of her. "Oh you're awake!" he said as he went over to Kou and Yashiro.

      "Guys! Ghosted is awake!" Mitsuba cheered.

      "Hey don't call her that!" Kou scolded him while smacking his head.

      "Y/n-chan!" Yashiro ran towards her friend to give her a big hug.

      "Nene-chan!" Y/n hugged her back.

      "Senpai!" Kou cheered. Y/n ran over to her kouhai as she tackled him into a hug.

      "I knew what happened about your lifespan." Yashiro tells her. "I probably have to live until my early adulthood but you——"

      "I know." Y/n cut her off.

      "By the way we caught No. 4!" Mitsuba pointed at Shijima who is currently all hung up and tied.

      "Mei-san!" Y/n exclaimed.

      "The second I got back, they threw me around and tied me up ever so rudely." Shijima sighed as she released herself.

      "So what are you going to do?" Shijima asked her. "After all you're going to die soon."

      "You don't have to rub it in that I'm dying." Y/n sweatdropped.

      "Oh hell no she did not." Mitsuba was shocked.

      "I'm going to see Hanako-kun," Y/n tells Shijima and everyone in the room. "I've found something that I want to tell..."

      "Along with my feelings for him..."

Losing hope
Out of balance
Spaced out

➽───────────────❥

loraine's note:
this book is almost but not really finished so :>