Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Trapped In Purgatory ❯ Lesson 6: Two Can Keep A Secret ( Chapter 6 )

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Trapped In Purgatory

By: Revamp

Lesson 6: Two Can Keep A Secret

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Each of the students took a white envelope that they were handed. A look of bewilderment was written on their features and at the same time, they dreaded what the contents held. What kind of wicked thing would they be expected to do? What nefarious deed lay inside?

“What's this?” Ryuunosuke asked and broke the silence.

“They are letters containing your deadliest secrets. They say that a secret is a powerful thing. Knowing someone's darkest desires is dangerous. I'd hate for any of these secrets to fall into the wrong hands,” the bag-headed figure shook his finger in a tsk, tsk kind of way as he gazed over the group of youths. Some of them stared with widened eyes at the envelopes. It was clear that his words were affecting them, and that's what made the game so fun.

“They're….They're not true…” Izayoi was the first to pull her letter out and read its contents. Although she had denied it, her words were shaken by her disbelief.

“I-If we have n-nothing to hide, this c-can affect us,” Arata tried to talk some sense into his classmates. If they just showed everyone their letters, then they wouldn't have to worry about anything. There was no secret too big, nothing so detrimental that it would cost someone their life…right?

“We shall see what evolves from this,” the mysterious male spoke. Learning someone's secret would be the death of someone if they weren't careful. Could they truly be open and honest with themselves or would someone cave in to madness?

Liam's body shook as he clenched the opened letter close to his chest. He didn't want anyone trying to take a peek at it. Glancing around the room, he could see the looks on his fellow classmate's faces. Some of them he couldn't read well, but others were letting their paranoia and fear shine through. He had to admit, he was nervous himself. “”Y-You guys didn't do anything really screwed up, did you?”

“Man, not that I know of,” Osmond replied with a hand on the back of his neck. “Remember, our memories are missing.” Ever since he had learned about that, he wasn't too sure of anything. He wasn't even sure if the memories he had now were real or a fabrication that had been implanted in him.

“It would be tragic, wouldn't it?” Kaizer sounded like it would be funny. He wasn't taking this turn of events too seriously.

Kasuga daintily opened her envelope and pulled out its contents, reading what was scrawled across the parchment.

“This really is my darkest secret,” Persephone's green eyes were wide, “but…how did they know?”

“Mine is true,” Kasuga glanced up at everyone. The reveal of her secret didn't seem to bother her. It was as if someone had revealed her favorite color or favorite kind of animal. Whatever secret she was hiding didn't seem like a big deal to her.

“Who are these people? How could they know such a thing?” Roxy was outraged. She had never told anyone her secret! How did these people get a hold of such sensitive information?

“My secret isn't bad. I wouldn't mind sharing it,” as a psychologist, Okasana knew the best way to kill all of their fears. It might be hard for some of them to come out and talk about it, but she was sure that they could work through it. If everything went alright, they might end up making friends because of it. When people feared something, it was because they didn't understand it, or they didn't think others would understand their situation but people were far more empathic than they all thought. She was certain if they all just cooperated with her that they would get through this.

“No way! I ain't doin' it!” Raiga protested, holding the letter to his chest. She might be gung-ho for telling people, but he damned sure wasn't going to do it. He was a yakuza. He had more than enough to hide.

Shiko pointed at him in accusation. “Then you have something to hide. You probably killed someone.” After all, it wasn't an uncommon occurrence for people to be beaten up or killed by yakuza members. In fact, she was willing to bet that he'd killed a lot of people.

“Then what's y'r secret?” Raiga wanted to know if she was willing to let go of what she held dear so easily.

The white-haired girl clutched her envelope to her breast and became defensive. “No! I won't tell!”

“This is just making us paranoid of each other,” Ryuunosuke pointed out the psychological effects of the event. If they weren't careful, then they were going to do exactly what the bag heads wanted them to do.

“It's taunting us to plot on killing each other. That's what they want us to do. Since we're sticking together, they're attempting to make us turn on each other and stop trusting each other,” Leo was sure that was their master plan. If they managed to break them up, they could weaken their team efforts and shatter their reliance on each other. They had to find a way to make them get the ball rolling, and this was just another ploy they were going to use to put that into effect.

“The logical thing to do would be to kill the distrust by telling each other,” Kazoo didn't really want to, nor did he feel right about letting them know his darkest secret, but he'd rather do that than have someone die because he decided to be selfish.

“But…” Shiko sunk back, furrowing her eyebrows and frowning like a scolded child, “I don't want to.”

“I agree,” Kasuga placed one hand on her hip. “I'm not telling any of you that. You all might have petty secrets, but there are things that are best left in the dark.” She considered her secret one of those things. The Lolita was sure that there were many others who also agreed with her.

Akagi looked at the contents of his letter, and read the black kanji. `My family is dead because I killed them. This isn't my secret. How the hell did this get in my envelope?' He glanced around the room at the other students, trying to decipher their expressions. `If I have someone else's secrets then…they have mine…but who has mine? Shit, shit, shit! I hate this! What do I do? What if they tell it out loud? I'm so dead!'

He could feel a thin layer of sweat ooze from his skin as fear and nervousness overcome him. The secret the baseball player had was dark. It was something that he didn't want anyone knowing, and in the wrong hands it would serve to someone as a great sense of manipulation if they were to figure out it belonged to him. The core of his very being was at stake. This wasn't any run of the mill secret. It was something that could make him a suspect, and it was something that could get him killed.

Monica glanced over her envelope. `I got away with murder by hitting a home run that killed a spectator…This isn't mine. Baseball…a baseball game.' The wavy-haired sukeban's eyes went straight to the only baseball player she knew. `Akagi…That must be who has my secret. I've got to get a hold of him alone.'

`Who could have killed their family, and why?' It was true, what he did was no different, but he was still curious. On some level, he might be able to identify with whoever it was. Surely, there had to be a reason behind it, some kind of story that he was missing. Akagi didn't have the heart to judge much, not knowing that they knew what they had about him.

“W-Why are you l-looking at me like that?” Arata asked nervously. This whole time, the baseball player had been casting him a wide-eyed look. Did he know something about him? Did he accidentally see his secret?

“Sorry,” Akagi glanced away, “I'm just really freaked out.”

“I want to know how they knew this crap,” Osmond held out the opened envelope containing his secret. “I don't know about you guys, but I never told anyone my secret.” In order to get that kind of information, they would have to read their minds. It was something that sounded like it came straight out of a sci-fi movie. There was no way that they could know this kind of stuff!

“My secret isn't that bad and a few people know it,” Ryuunosuke admitted, “but I don't get how the school or these guys could have gotten a hold of it.” It was rather odd in his book. The martial artist thought that maybe someone gave some of his trusted friends a lengthy interrogation session or something. However, to obtain secrets no one has told anyone went far beyond that theory.

“What if we're being stalked? Maybe that's why some of our memories are gone,” Persephone knew what she sounded like, but she didn't doubt anything at this rate. No one else could come up with a plausible enough reason that such sensitive information could be leaked.

“Either way, this is all a set up,” Monica was sure of that, “some big master plan to get us to repeat the actions of the graduating class.”

“If your pasts aren't that bad, then there's no reason to worry. It's not like any of you slaughtered anyone or you're a big time criminal, so why care?” Kaizer knew that out of everyone, the one with the most to hide was Raiga but even then, the activities of the yakuza weren't exactly a secret. He didn't see what the big deal was.

“No secret's worth killing for, right?” Liam glanced around at everyone, hoping that they would all agree with him and offer him some sort of solace.

Monica narrowed her eyes, Akagi looked nervous and Kaizer simply smiled. The room was dead silent in that moment and it was right then that each of them could feel what kind of tension the situation had brought them.

“Perhaps,” Kasuga finally spoke up and broke the silence, “this is all just a game. Who will crack first? Which of you will kick off the grand series of events? Who will become the killer and who the first victim? It's intriguing, don't you think?” Her voice held an air of excitement to it, as if this were some kind of game that she wanted to last to the end of. Maybe it was the criminologist in her, but it was highly disturbing and unsettling to her peers.

“Cut it out, Kasuga.” It was giving Ryuunosuke the creeps. “This isn't a murder mystery - it's real. These are real human lives we're dealing with.”

Okasana listened in as the two continue their conversation. `They're all waiting around for someone to crack. Why are we playing this game? We all know what fate dictates. No matter what will happen, we all will die. We all have blood on our hands whether we physically killed or not. This is too much to bear…' She ran a hand through her hair as she felt the weight of the situation bear down on her shoulders like a heavy load. She didn't want to kill anyone, and she didn't want to witness any murders. It was bad enough that she saw what she had. This was sick, and all she wanted to do was go home and try to forget everything that happened. Every day she woke up, hoping that she would arise in her bed and that this was all some sort of sickening, prolonged nightmare but she was greeted with the same terrible reality.

“Are we done blabbering about paranoia,” Monica looked upon her peers with disapproval, “because I have other places to be, like finding my way out of here. We're wasting time.” Nothing was going to get done if they all stood around discussing their issues. Besides, she had to catch Akagi before he got out of her sights.

“I agree,” Leo spoke up. “We should find the switch to that dome. We need to do another ground inspection. Let's try to look in places we haven't looked before.”

“There could always be a place we haven't looked,” Ryuunosuke thought that was a good idea. “Maybe we'll make a new development.” Surely everyone hadn't checked everything. There had to be something that all of them missed somehow. Knowing that there were still possibilities diminished the darkness they all felt.

“It's worth a try,” Shiko smiled a little. She would have rather been looking instead of talking about their secrets. The whole situation made her uncomfortable.

Monica walked up to the baseball player while her classmates were discussing places to look in order to find the switch. Akagi gave her a look of acknowledgement. “You and I. The storage room. You know what it's about,” the sukeban's voice was low enough to where only the two of them could hear.

“Uh…Yeah, man,” Akagi agreed and the two of them slipped away from the others.

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Akagi opened the door to the dark little room. It was small enough for about five people to fit in if they squeezed in really close. There was a small shelf that had a bunch of cleaning supplies on it. On the ground in the corner was a broom, mop and a mop bucket. The baseball player couldn't help but feel nervous and intimidated. Here he was, about to walk into a small room with a woman that could easily beat the shit out of him if she wanted, and on top of that she knew his darkest secret and also was aware that he knew hers.

That spelled the perfect recipe for murder. Even now, he could feel an ominous presence around the two of them. Akagi wasn't sure if it was the tension that was getting to him, or if it was his instincts telling him to get out before something bad happened. Even if she killed him, he doubted anyone would care. She'd get to keep her secret and no one could hear him scream. Even if they asked her why she killed him, she could tell them all his secret and twist it into something terrible. It made him nauseous even thinking about the millions of possibilities that were birthed from his paranoia and fear of the unknown.

`Man….I feel like puking. She's going to fucking kill me. I know about her secret. Fuck, man. I'm going to die in this storage room, I know it.' Nervously, he stepped inside as he tried to control his visible shaking.

“Would you stop standing there like a dumbass and come in,” Monica's irritated voice brought him out of his thoughts. “Someone's going to see us.”

He swallowed nervously as he closed the door behind him. “Well, it's now or never,” Akagi felt the light diminish behind him and the door close, sealing them both in a shroud of shadow. The only light that got through was the small amount that shined under the door.

“Let's just cut straight to the point,” taking out the letter, the sukeban flipped it over and exposed it to him. “First off, what the hell? You killed someone and got away with it?”

“That's kinda hypocritical,” Akagi shot back. Did she really forget that he held her secret as well? She didn't have any right to act like he was some kind of terrible person when what she did was really no better.

Monica's voice subdued after hearing his words, “I can explain.”

“You don't think I can't?” Akagi continued to be defensive. “It was an accident, man. You think I meant to do it? I didn't. I regret it every day. Before we got trapped in here, I visited that guy's grave every day. I regret it, more than I've done with anything in my entire life.”

What was once anger had now quelled to being sorrow and regret. All of the things that he had never wanted to remember had flooded back to him, assaulting his senses and reminding him of why he had never spoke to anyone of those horrific events. Even now, he felt the tears clinging to the corners of his eyes, threatening to fall.

“How did you kill him? Did you smash his head in with a bat?” Monica could see the stress washing over his form and spoke to him in a calmer voice. She knew how it felt to carry unbearable sin on her shoulders, so she was going to try to go about this more rationally.

“It was getting tense between the teams and our scores were close. If I hit it out of the ball park, I'd take a championship home,” Akagi began to recall that fateful day. He could picture himself on the diamond, poised and ready to strike down that ball with a serious look on his face. “So, when the pitch came I used all of my might to slam one out of the park. This guy in the stands tried to catch it, and it hit him right in the temple.”

The impact sounded through his memories. The man's body fell limply to the ground and the stands burst into a flurry of confusion and horror when he didn't get back up. Akagi could do nothing but stand there in shock and horror as he bore witness to the consequences of his actions. It was in that moment that he realized exactly what he had done.

“He dropped over dead…right in front of his kids and wife,” the tears that clung so desperately to the corners of his eyes now fell down his cheeks as he wept. “I feel bad, man. They got paid off well, and I even gave up a lotta money to help them but I can't ever buy back a life. They must hate me,” he couldn't hold back the intense sadness he felt and continued to sob. “I never got trialed or went to jail…It was an accident, though. That doesn't make me a killer, right?”

Reaching up, the desperate baseball player grabbed her coat, clenching it tightly in his hands. He looked at her with widened eyes and shrunken pupils, trembling with the emotion he felt. “I didn't intentionally kill him!”

Monica looked moved by his words. She knew how he felt. Her heart sunk in her chest and she could barely bear to look into his eyes. It was as if his pain was infecting her body like a virus. She could feel the tears stinging at her eyes as she gazed down on him wordlessly. “My situation is the same. I drive a stunt bike, right?” Her story began to unfold as she told him her own sorrowful tale. “So, I was going to do this trick. Fly through the air in a huge jump, through three rings of fire and land on the other side. The trick went wrong and my bike caught fire. It slammed into the stands and exploded, killing my family and sending me into a coma for a year. I missed a lot of school. I almost died and I lost everything. I… killed a lot of people. My parents were in the direct line of the bike. It wiped them out in a single hit. I had no one, nowhere to go, so I became a sukeban. My trick biking came in handy there. The deaths were all accidental.”

They were in the same spot. They both held a heavy burden on their shoulders, something that they could never tell anyone for fear of persecution or being called a murderer. They had held their feelings in for so long, wishing that the scars on their hearts could be healed with time. However, the scars only served as painful reminders of their screw ups and what it had cost them. Monica could feel her own tears biting at her eyes, threatening to fall in a display of weakness that she hardly ever shown.

“The media covered what happened up. I feel so…guilty…” Akagi's voice cracked as he broke down another countless time. He didn't care if Monica saw him as weak. If anything, he felt a little more at ease crying in front of her. She was someone who seemed like they knew what it was like to feel the kind of pain that he did and if anything it felt like some off trick of destiny that their secrets had been switched.

Akagi felt firm hands on his shoulders. “Listen to me, Akagi. It wasn't our fault. We come from situations no one could possibly understand. You and I are…a lot alike, and we never woulda known,” Monica stepped a little closer, closing the distance between the two of them. “It feels…kind of weird, you know. Having someone to relate to after all of this time. I…” She trailed off.

“I was so scared, man. I thought you were gonna kill me,” before any of this happened, Akagi swore that this was going to be his last breath of air. He was practically saying his prayers before he walked in the door. Thinking back on it, that seems ridiculous.

“No,” she responded taking out the paper. “You want to know something?”

“What?”

Monica tore the paper containing his secret in half, then she continued to rip it into even smaller pieces as he stared at her display, dumbfounded and shocked. “That guy failed. This is what I think of your secret,” the sukeban threw the pieces into the air and watched them flutter and twirl around them like snow. “They wanted us to kill each other because our secrets are probably the worst outta the bunch. I feel different, though, kinda weird and at peace with myself. After all this time…I finally found someone who knows my pain. I been going to school with him all this time, and we've been living in separate worlds.”

“I admit, I wouldn't of paid attention to you before. Hell, all we did was give each other a passing glance. I feel kinda shitty,” Akagi couldn't believe that someone like her existed in his life, and closer than he thought. The baseball player kept things to himself, never letting anyone know his pain but little did he know there was a woman who was doing the same, putting on that strong façade so no one could see her cry. It felt as he had found his other half.

“Don't,” she chided him. “These kind of things happen for a reason.”

“You must have been in so much pain,” Akagi leaned in slowly. His mind screamed at him, but his body wasn't listening. Right now, he didn't care that she was a sukeban with the capability to do more than give him a smack for being a pervert. Something just felt right.

“It's nice to know that I'm not alone,” the taller woman placed a hand behind his head and drew him closer to her. She could faintly smell his cologne and feel the warmth of his breath on her lips. “So nice…I mean…thank you…”

She wanted this just as much as he did.

Akagi closed his eyes, lips brushing against hers. “You know, Monica is a pretty name. It flows off of the tongue nicely.”

“Shut up and kiss me,” she demanded and wrapped her other arm around his waist. The first touch of their lips was awkward, as if neither of them really knew what how to react to each other. After a few moments of exploring each other's mouths the two fell into a series of passionate touches as everything fell into place. However, Akagi ended up pulling back.

“Sorry, I'm nervous,” the boy blushed and averted his eyes in shame.

“Its fine,” Monica reassured him, “unless you don't want to.”

“No, I want to. I mean, that probably sounds bad-“ He instantly regretted his decision. She probably just thought that he was trying to play off of her sympathy to get laid or something. Akagi felt a wave of anxiety wash over him before he was cut off.

“I never noticed how cute you were.” Those words calmed him down, and evaporate away anything terrible he could have thought about her being angry at him.

“You never noticed me at all,” he retorted.

“Buzzkill,” she frowned.

“I feel like I'm safe with you. Kissing you any more might be dangerous.” After all, they were just friends. They shouldn't just jump into something like this driven by emotion alone. Akagi didn't want to risk losing the only person in the world who understood him to a moment of weakness.

Monica arched an eyebrow. “Are you saying we'd end up naked in here?”

The baseball player was caught off guard by that statement. He didn't expect her to say it so boldly. “I'm…not sure…I feel kinda strange.” Now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure if he was turned on or just highly emotional from everything that just happened.

“I want to take your pain away,” Monica had to admit that it was for both of them but she felt compelled to make him feel better.

“You make me feel like the girl in this relationship.” It didn't help that Monica was taller than he was, and that she could literally break his neck with no effort. Everything about her radiated strength and beauty. She was muscular and had that mean girl look that he couldn't ignore. It was the kind of look that commanded respect.

Akagi never thought that he'd find himself attracted to that kind of woman at all. Usually, he was one to look at petite girls, or girls who were really sporty. He never thought he'd like the strong type. The type that could bench press him if they wanted to, or crush his head in their legs as if he was nothing. A girl like Monica just seemed too masculine for his taste. Not to mention, the mean girl or bad girl type really intimidated him in general, but there was something special about this girl.

“Who says we're in a relationship?” Monica asked with a cock of her head.

“Shit, I'm-“ Akagi tried to apologize, but he was cut off as her lips brushed up against his in a heated kiss. His body locked up as he felt the contact. After a few minutes, they pulled apart and she stared deeply into his eyes.

“I don't know what it is right now. Give me some time. Just know I like you and I'll be here for you.” At this point, Monica didn't care about what their relationship was supposed to be. She felt a connection to him, more than she had to anyone else. She didn't know what she was thinking, or if she was at all. None of that mattered in this moment.

“Are we friends then?” Akagi knew that might be a stupid question, but he was still interested in the answer.

“We're something special,” Monica replied, her voice was soft and kind. It was something

“Let's make this our new secret,” the wavy-haired sukeban leaned into him, pressing their lips together again.

The two began kissing each other. It started out as tender embraces of the lips before the two of them became more heated and reckless as their passion reached its peak. Hands roamed over each other's bodies, exploring every intimate curve and crevice. Akagi's hands ran over her breasts as he felt hers run along his abs. There was something strong and secure about her touch, something he never thought he'd like in a woman.

She guided him backwards until he felt the wall against his back. Akagi's head was swimming from the kiss as the two of them pulled away from each other, panting lightly.

“Damn…” He breathed the word out as she continued to kiss down his neck. Each kiss seared against his skin as her long finger nails flicked over his sensitive nipples. “Don't stop…”

“You're easily pleased,” her lips brushed against his neck. It was amusing how responsive he was, and it was endearing in a way.

“You're really skilled,” Akagi complimented her. She certainly knew how to handle him, and it was intoxicating.

“It comes from having a few boyfriends. Guess I learned a lot,” she smiled bitterly as the male shook in pleasure below her. She could tell his knees were weak. When she pulled away, she saw that look in his eyes. Monica couldn't tell if it was lust or love, and that was a dangerous in itself. “Don't look at me like that. I'm going to start thinking about how I want you out of those clothes.” The sukeban knew he had an athletic body by getting a feel of him beneath the fabric. In a way, she wanted to see that muscular body moving against her, to feel his bare skin make contact with hers.

“If you keep teasing me, I'll take them off willingly.” It wasn't going to take much more before he did so, either.

“Damn it,” she cursed. “I'm pretty hot for you, Akagi. You turned out being sexy.” Few guys had this affect on her; of all the people to be attracted to it had to be this guy. However, she couldn't help but admit that he had his own appeal. A young face with chiseled features, beautiful dark blue eyes and a cute Mohawk. He was a real looker.

“I have so many feelings, none I want to say,” Akagi was afraid to cross that line. He was afraid to say something in the heat of the moment that would get him in trouble. The last person he wanted to hurt was Monica and he especially didn't want to by saying something he might regret later.

“Don't,” she knew what he was talking about. “I care about you a lot…and I'm sorry about before.”

“I already forgave you. Needless to say I'm not telling your secrets,” he thought they could both be clear on that.

“We have some fucked up priorities. Here we are fricking in a storage room while everyone is trying not to die,” Monica felt a little guilty about that. It wasn't like the two of them planned this on purpose but she should be helping them try to find a way out.

“Shit, I forgot,” the realization hit Akagi as well. In all honesty, he had been so caught up in their moment of passion he forgot about searching for the device that controlled the barrier.

“I didn't,” Monica admitted. “I'm just making the best of it. They can look around for it but they didn't find it the first time. What makes you think they'd have better luck this time?” She had thought it was pointless to look a second time in general. They needed to try a different tactic if they wanted to make progress. She doubted they missed it, the sukeban just didn't think it was where they were looking.

“I'm,” Akagi paused, as if he was thinking, “not sure at this point. Hey Monica, what do you think the other's secrets are?” Some of them were pretty defensive about them. He couldn't help but let his curiosity wander on the subject.

“Who cares?” She shrugged, running her hands down his chest. “They're high school students and I doubt they're like us. The only one who probably has a dark secret besides us is Raiga…maybe Kaizerschmarren.”

“Let's make a pact. Let's try and get out of here alive, just the two of us.” If there was anyone Akagi wanted to fight for it was her. From this moment on, he was going to try and keep himself alive so he could see the day the dome was lifted. He wanted to walk out of the school of terror hand in hand with her.

“Don't bullshit me,” Monica gritted her teeth. Even if they did survive, once he got out he'd have more of a spectrum of women to pick from. She'd just be a faint memory to him and he'd probably just replace her with some bombshell. After all, he was a famous baseball player and someone like her was unorthodox in looks and in attitude. They had too much going against them to really stay in contact, much less be together.

“It's not bullshit,” Akagi's features turned dire. “We can be a team. I want to help you out. If we have to kill someone, I'd rather it not be each other.” In fact, she was the last person he wanted to kill.

“Understand the fact that I usually don't trust shit anyone does or says. It's not that I'm using you-“ She was cut off.

“You've just been alone for a long time. I mean, it's gotta be tough being in a gang. I bet you've seen a lot.” He didn't blame her for not trusting anyone. Akagi didn't doubt that she had some distrust in him. Who wouldn't in general, much less at a moment like this? Girl gangs were just as bad as male gangs, and he was certain she learned the hard way not to turn her back on anyone for a second or she'd get beaten up. The concussion she had was probably the one of the lighter injuries she's had over the years. That much he didn't doubt.

She tore her gaze away from him. “I've seen some shit. I've had to be tough all of my life. If you want something in life, grasp it or die trying.” It was what she lived by. There was no risk too light for the sake of making herself happy. It was something she was going to retain until the very end.

Akagi smiled. “Chasing your dreams is pretty cool, huh?”

Monica turned her sights back to him with a null expression. “I feel half-hearted about it.” After all, it didn't matter anymore now that they were trapped in this hell hole together. Not to mention, chasing her dreams ended in her parent's death and a lifetime of guilt.

“Even if I feel a little guilty, it's kinda nice getting to know you.” It was too bad that they couldn't have figured this kind of thing out under different circumstances. Akagi thought briefly about how much different things would be between the two of them. They'd probably be out somewhere, sitting around and talking about life, or they might be entangled in bed together recovering after a passionate round of love-making.

“Yeah, I never knew we had so much in common,” she never would have thought it, either. Monica thought that people like Kaizer or Raiga would be the most relatable ones out of the bunch, but she had judged this guy far too quickly.

Akagi flashed a toothy grin at her. “For sure. Man, you're pretty badass. I sorta admire you.”

“You're so full of shit,” Monica smirked a little. Why would he admire some murder?

“I mean it,” his voice took on sincerity. “You can take a lot and you keep going. You're tough and you aren't afraid to jump right into shit. I like that. You know how to take control.” Light pink stained his cheeks as he reflected on his words and lightly scratched his cheek with his pointer finger. “It's pretty sexy.”

She blinked a little, not wanting to really believe what he said. “Are you serious? I'm macho for a girl. I'm not like Persephone or Okasana. I'm not some thin-framed, dainty thing.”

Monica thought for sure that he would be more interested in that type of woman. The women who were sleek and looked as if someone could break them. A blonde bombshell like Okasana who embodied the epitome of elegance and womanhood, or a pretty starlet like Persephone who had a look of youth about her that the acting companies monopolized, someone who always looked good no matter what they were put into. Most men liked women like that, especially men Akagi's age. No one ever really fantasized about some amazon-looking woman like herself who cursed like a sailor and could give any man a run for his money.

It seemed too far-fetched to be attracted to something like that.

“Who says I like those girls?” Akagi wondered why she thought the two of them fit into his type.

“Just stop,” she growled and turned away from him, but Akagi took her gently by the jaw and turned her back, giving her a tender kiss. “I couldn't even I wanted to.”

“Akagi…” Her voice was emotional as she spoke against his lips.

“You started it, so now you got me. I bet you didn't expect me to stay.” She probably expected him to just agree with her and walk out of the storage room, passing off their moment of passion as just that. However, Akagi wasn't that kind of man, nor would he be.

“I had no idea what to expect. My head is spinning and I just feel…a lot of shit I'm not sure of,” Monica was having a hard time dealing with the different types of emotions she was being pummeled with. It almost felt as if she was going to go crazy.

“Man, I hear you. I want to say a lot of things I might regret, and I don't want to hurt you.” They wouldn't be things that would hurt her off the bat. They were promises he wasn't sure he could keep. Things that he wanted to say, but he didn't want to take back later and say he didn't feel that way. It was just a rush of emotions that caused him to blurt it out. Akagi didn't want to say something stupid like `I love you' and not mean it.

“I think it's the same for me,” Monica admitted that she could relate. “Just know that I like you a lot.”

“Your hands are still up my shirt. That was a given,” he remarked before he felt her fingers pinch both of his nipples hard, earning her a yelp from the baseball player.

“You scream like a girl,” she grinned playfully.

“How about I pound you like a guy?” Akagi retorted unaware of just how sexual it sounded until he earned a blush from the sukeban. “That…didn't come out right.”

Well, that was embarrassing.

“Not like I'd mind,” the wavy-haired girl averted her eyes.

“Are you saying we should do something in here?” The baseball player didn't know she was that serious about it.

“I don't know, okay!?” Monica belted the words forth in irritation, holding her fist up before she jerked her head to the side, immediately regretting her actions. “Sorry, I'm bad at this. I sorta scare away guys.” It happened nearly every time she tried to be intimate with someone. She would get incredibly flustered and awkward, yelling at them like she just had with him and since most of them had been afraid to approach her in general they ended up thinking she wanted to kill them and ran away.

“I think it's cute,” Akagi smiled at her. It was endearing that she was so bashful and awkward and he couldn't help but feel like he just wanted to hug her.

Monica blushed and fiddled with the edge of her jacket. “Maybe…we should…I mean. We're both lonely…”

“I don't call it lonely. I call it comforting,” Akagi placed his hands on either side of her face. He could feel her leaning into his touch.

“We can say it's that,” Monica agreed, placing her hand on the back of one of his. She grabbed his limb and moved it to her face, kissing the inside of it tenderly. The action earned her a pull forward by the baseball player.

She couldn't believe that she was actually going to go ahead with this, but she knew that she wasn't going to regret it. More than anything, she wanted it and she needed it as well.

XxXxXxXxXx

Night fell over Shinjinku and the school was shrouded in darkness. The only light that was emitted was the soft glow of the moon, and the distant twinkle of the cold stars. Everyone had tried their best to look for any device that might control the dome, but they had just as much luck finding it as they did the first time that they looked. Saddened and with weary hearts, they all returned to their rooms for a hopeful good night's sleep.

Leo sat on his bed and gazed out of his window. His form was bathed in milky light as thoughts flooded his mind. What should he do tomorrow? Should he try to continue the quest for the device that controls the dome? Would the others still want to do it? Was there a device at all? What about those envelopes containing the secrets? Surely, no one would want to kill each other over something so simple, but he could never tell the mental states of his classmates.

Suddenly, there was a knock on his door. The raspy sound jarred him from his train of thought. He jumped a little as he looked to the door. `Who could that be?' Leo thought as he glanced at the clock. It was two in the morning, a pretty late time for anyone to be around. It was dangerous out there at this time of night. Why would someone risk that just to come to his door?

He walked over and opened the door to reveal Okasana standing there. The blonde looked scared out of her mind, and as if she had been crying shortly before she came there. She was clad in a long, white gown.

“Okasana?” Leo was caught off guard by her presence.

“Can I come in?” She asked in a saddened tone.

“Sure,” Leo let her in and locked the door behind them. “What's wrong, Okasana?”

The blonde psychologist glanced to her right and grabbed her arm. “Leonardo, I trust you and I believe you're the most sound of mind. Your mental strength has always been exceptional so I feel that I can come to you. I've had a long night and since we've been locked in here, I can't help but think of the death and carnage going on around me. I screamed when I had dreams of their haunting facial expressions, staring back at me and dragging me into insanity. To my horror, I've been getting worse as the days go by and my situation becomes increasingly hopeless. I fear that we will have one ultimatum no matter how much we struggle against it, and so I have to ask you a favor.”

This wasn't going to be easy for either of them. Okasana had to overcome a lot to make this decision, and as much as it frightened her, it also made her feel a sense of peace. It wasn't something that had come easy to her and it she wasn't entirely sure that Leo would agree.

“I'm not sure I like where this is going,” Leo hated everything about this situation, from the look on her face, to the tone of her voice and the feeling in his gut.

She turned and gave him a hard stare. “I want you to kill me.”

“What?” His blue eyes widened in shock. Leo couldn't believe that he was facing off with someone who was suicidal this early into everything. He didn't want to kill her. He didn't want to kill anyone.

“It's not wrongful if I agree to it,” Okasana quelled his worries about being murdered in a trial. “I don't want to be here anymore. I am nothing but miserable. The longer I am alive, the more people in my life die. I have weighed the price of life and I believe that sacrificing my own is better than having everyone around me die. To continue living is to continue mounting guilt on my body and I have fallen to my knees with no strength. I beg of you, Leo. Please end my pain. I don't wish to live knowing everyone around me is dying,“ tears clung to her eyes as her voice trembled. “I can't bear the guilt and I can't stand hearing the screams,” she grabbed either side of her head, shaking it back and forth in distress, “or seeing the bodies. I can't take it anymore.”

The girl's sobs sounded in his ears, and Leo closed his eyes with a frown. “I can't kill you, Okasana.”

“Please,” she looked at him with wild eyes, “I beg of you to kill me. Put me out of my misery.”

“We made an agreement not to kill anyone,” Leo turned away from the distraught form. If he broke the pact, then he knew what was going to happen. Not to mention, it would make the others suspicious and distrusting of him. He couldn't afford that.

“That's different. Many people don't believe that death will get you out of here, but it does. It solves your problems, Leo. You don't feel anything,” a strangely peaceful smile crossed her features. “In death, I cannot feel misery. I don't hurt like I am now. I won't get out of here alive, Leo. Even if I were to face off against the last one standing, in the end all of us are going to meet the same fate.”

“How can you say that? It's like you're not even fighting against this,” Leo was offended that she was just going to give up. Did she really think her life wasn't worth anything? Was she really willing to throw it all away and not even try for the ones who missed her outside of the dome? What the hell was wrong with her? Surely this was an awful decision, and he wanted to talk her out of it if he possibly could.

Okasana looked down in defeat. “Kaizerschmarren is right about a lot of things. I've found out the psychology behind this game, but I don't know why it's being played or what their motives are. This problem is bigger than all of us, Leo. Even if someone makes it out, can they live with the guilt of having killed someone, or many? When you look at it from a psychological standpoint, could you bear the guilt? Wouldn't you feel as if you shouldn't have lived?”

She didn't know about him, but she couldn't bear any of that. He might be that strong, but she wasn't. It was bad enough that she had her biggest fear breathing down her throat every day, and this just made things far more painful. The girl thought about what she wanted to do, made preparations, and made certain that she had a sound enough mind to deal with the consequences of her actions. She wasn't about to turn back now.

This was her final decision, and she wanted to have control of her life.

“I haven't thought about that,” and it was something he didn't want to think about, either.

Okasana walked up to him, her steps were unsteady. She reached down and grabbed his scythe and placed it in his hand, wrapping his fingers around it. “We should escape in our own way, while we still retain an ounce of humanity and sanity. You should take the logical approach.”

“There has to be a better way,” he closed his eyes as if he was trying to struggle between reason and motion. However, he didn't have much time to think as he heard something that sounded like the cutting of meat and felt a warm touch.

His eyes opened and widened upon the sight before him.

“Why?”

Before him, the girl had carried out her plans. She stared at him, holding his hand with the blade of the scythe lodged in her chest. Blood oozed from her body, coating the blade in sanguine as it dripped onto the floor. She had forced his hands to kill herself.

Tears ran down her face as she smiled kindly at him. “Thank you…now, I'm free…”

With her final words, she fell forward, her body sliding sickeningly down the blade of his weapon. She would no longer fear for her life, or stay trapped in this purgatory. Okasana could finally see her family, and that was all she had ever wanted.

…To Be Continued