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yansimstorythatiwillnotworkon · 10 months ago

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#10

Friday

Almost every student came to the funeral, but additionally, no one bothered to count heads. Some students came, some didn’t. One of the more noticeable absences were Shoku who had stayed home, along with Geiju. Amai’s parents were likely planning a separate funeral somewhere more meaningful. Outside of Shoku, the rest of the Cooking Club attended, all with their own amount of grief.

Ajia refused to speak to anyone, and stayed near the back with her parents. Seiyo’s sister accompanied him, his own parents nowhere to be seen. He didn’t have many friends outside of the club, but Fureddo did come over to talk to him, which he likely appreciated. Kenko was here alone, but was surrounded by his classmates and peers, clearly attempting to steady his own mind after the incident. Despite his willingness to converse with his peers, he was still quiet and only gave short responses.

“Ayano.” Scilla called out softly, looking anxious as usual, but not entirely remorseful as the others looked.

Ayano turned to look at him, attempting to mock the dread on her peers’ faces, but likely only looking unsettled. Which he was. Hopefully this next weekend will give her time to properly calm down. “Scilla.”

“Hi.” Scilla clears his throat awkwardly. “I-I didn’t know that the cut was that deep.” He says. When Ayano doesn’t respond immediately, he haphazardly shoves his hand into his pocket. It looked to be a small, scuffed wallet, and was packed with a couple hundred dollars, it seemed.

Before reaching a hand out to grab it, Ayano lifts an eyebrow at Scilla, as if asking what exactly it was for. He didn’t seem like he could, but this could be some sort of bribe. With a nervous laugh, he says, “For like- h-hospital bills and stuff. Ahem. I know that they’re super expensive..”

Ayano pauses in thought, wondering if he was lying, before remembering that he did only recently move to Japan. “Universal Health Care covers my injuries.” She says, folding her arms. “I’ll go if it gets any worse.”

“Oh… Oh, yeah..” Scilla nods, his face red in embarrassment as he seems to recall that fact. “Sorry, I forgot. I went to the hospital pretty often in the US so…” He stops, realizing that Ayano probably didn’t care for the reason.

As Scilla stands awkwardly stiff and avoids Ayano’s gaze, she decides to speak up. “You don’t seem too upset about the current… event.” She says, looking back to the stage, which had the preparations hidden behind the giant curtain.

“I-I didn’t really know Amai that well.” Scilla quickly explains, lightly scratching the wallet in his hand. “...It’s sad that… that she passed, I know that. That’s why I’m here, to pay respects, and..” He clears his throat and takes a deep breath. “...I’m just trying to let people know that I’m sad she’s gone, too. I don’t have the… the best reputation, after all.”

“Sounds like you’re using Amai’s death to try to make yourself look better.” Ayano says, folding her arms with a judgemental look.

Immediately hunching his back over in shame, Scilla hangs his head, looking guilty. “Don’t s… Don’t say it like that, Ayano..” Despite his visual attempts to defend himself, he only ends up deflating. Rather than saying anything, he shoves the wallet into Ayano’s hands. “J-Just take this as an apology for the injury.” He says quickly, before quickly walking off.

Some might feel compelled to bring the money back, ‘It’s your money, and you’ve already apologized.’ But from how Ayano sees it, that’s a couple hundred less cash she has to worry about. She quickly pockets the wallet and looks around the gymnasium. The ceremony had yet to start, and so far students just mingled and mourned in the darkest wear they could find, if not black.

As Ayano looks around, she suddenly spots Kokona sitting down by herself, her gaze stuck on her phone. Not Riku or any of her friends seemed to be around, so Ayano assumed that this was because she asked to be alone. Of course, Kokona didn’t know that Ayano knew that, so approaching her would be an innocent act in her eyes. Checking up on her would be an ever more beneficial act to show how much Ayano “cared”.

“Hi, Kokona.” Ayano greets, unintentionally shocking the girl. Before Kokona abruptly turned off her phone with a sad smile, Ayano spotted that she was texting someone. She gives Kokona a sympathetic look and speaks in a soft tone as she continues. “You seem distracted. Is there anything wrong?”

Kokona opens her mouth to respond, and ends up letting out a tearful laugh as she looks back down to her shut off phone. “I-I really wish I was better at lying at times like these.” She inhales sharply as Ayano pats her on the back and exhales shakily. “I’m just… This week turned out to be such a disaster so quickly. I-I’m just not sure what to do with myself right now.”

“Take your time.” Ayano says quietly, rubbing Kokona’s back. “I’ll wait.”

After a moment of a few deep breaths and blinking rapidly, Kokona speaks up. “Riku couldn’t come today- or more precisely his parents wouldn’t let him come and they haven’t told either of us why, yet. I could not stop crying earlier so I sat over here to calm down, and- and then I decided to ask Saki’s parents about her and- and they just–” Kokona sucks in another deep breath and just hands Ayano the phone.

The conversation between Kokona and Saki’s mother was nothing short of cruel. It could likely be excused as dread on Saki’s mother’s part, but that didn’t entirely excuse the things she was saying to Kokona. The conversation starts ten minutes ago with:

You: I’m at the funeral right now. Have you still not heard from Saki?

Mrs. Miyu: If I had I wouldn’t tell you, Haruka.

Mrs. Miyu: I don’t know why you keep messaging me.

You: I’m just worried about Saki.

You: She’s my best friend.

You: She hasn’t contacted me either.

Mrs. Miyu: And she shouldn’t.

Mrs. Miyu: If Saki wasn’t so adamant on following you to that wretched school, none of this would have happened.

You: I know you’re upset, Mrs. Miyu, but Saki made that choice on her own. I couldn’t have told her what to and not to do in that situation.

Mrs. Miyu: Chinatsu shouldn’t have bothered trying to get to know you or your blasted father.

Mrs. Miyu: You’re just like that old wreck.

You: My father hasn’t done anything wrong!

Mrs. Miyu: Except influence you to influence my daughter.

Mrs. Miyu: If you weren’t so “supportive” of her, she would have changed that addiction of hers and wouldn’t have been so susceptible to that girl’s death.

Mrs. Miyu: I guess in the end it’s my fault for allowing all of this to happen.

You: It isn’t an addiction, she just likes sweets!

You: And she’s been trying her best to change her habits. I think she’s doing very well.

You: It’s just that you and others around her are pressuring her to do so at the same time and it’s stressing her out.

Mrs. Miyu: Are you questioning my parenting?

You: I think if everyone was a bit more gentle on her

You: No! Not at all!

Mrs. Miyu: Saki was always so rebellious when it had anything to do with you.

Mrs. Miyu: Constantly sneaking out to watch your “dates” and buying you things with MY money.

Mrs. Miyu: You oughta be ashamed of yourself!

You: I’m sorry.

Mrs. Miyu: Nothing good ever comes from Saki whenever it has something to do with you.

You: I’m sorry

Mrs. Miyu: If anything, YOU are the most suspicious person to me since YOU seem to have SO MUCH control over her actions!

You: I promise I wouldn’t do anything to hurt Saki

You: I’m so, so sorry

You: Just please don’t talk about her as if she’s already gone

“Kokona, that’s…” Ayano starts, but stops immediately upon seeing Kokona with her knees pulled up to her face, refusing to look up at her.

Kokona sniffs into her dress, her voice shaky and muffled because of the fabric. “Nothing is going right, Ayano. I wish- god, I just wish that none of this had happened. Everything went so horribly in less than an hour, and I don’t know what I’m supposed to do about it..”

It was normal for Kokona to react this way about this whole situation. Ayano just didn’t know what to say about it. Her plan of seeming like a great person backfired as soon as Kokona began crying. She’s never cried, so her mother never needed to comfort her. What would her mother have done in this situation?

“I wish Riku were here. I wish Saki were here.” Kokona pauses, before muttering quietly. “I wish my mom were here…”

Ayano’s mother never comforted Ayano. But whenever she was comforting others, she would often offer a hug. An embrace in hopes of making the other party feel better. That would have to work for now.

Silently, Ayano wrapped her arms around Kokona’s form, which seemed smaller, almost more child-like now that she had hunched herself up. As soon as she did, Kokona leaned her head into the crook of Ayano’s neck and sobbed quietly. Thankfully, there were already other tearful parties littered in and outside of the gymnasium, so Kokona’s breakdown didn’t drag over any attention.

After a couple of minutes of crying and then silence, Kokona leans back and wipes her eyes. “Thank you, Ayano. I’m glad that you’re here, at least.” She says, standing up with her small purse in hand. “I… I probably screwed up my make up, right? I’m going to the bathroom..” She sniffs, slowly shuffling out of the gymnasium.

Ayano’s own dress was now wet with tears on her shoulder, but others probably wouldn’t notice. She didn’t stand up, and instead stared at the phone that Kokona left behind. After staring at it for a moment, she gets a text from her own phone.

Info-Chan: Extra info points if you download me onto this phone as well ;D

That’s really all Ayano needed to see to stand up and stuff the phone into her own bag. She begins walking to the gymnasium door. Before she can leave, however, Kenko appears at the doorway, about to walk through as well. “Oh, Ayano.” He blinks, a bit surprised, but he almost looks relieved to see her. “Hi. How are you feeling?”

Internally, Ayano almost feels drained by all of the mentions about Amai. She was already dead, and Ayano didn’t want to think about her anymore. Of course, it would be foolish of her to think that everyone would be discussing their favorite books at a funeral dedicated to Amai.

“..I don’t think I’ve come to terms with it just yet.” Ayano claims, folding her arms and looking away. “I feel like… all of it just… hasn’t caught up to me yet. I dread when it does, though.”

Kenko sighs, frowning sympathetically to Ayano. “I understand how you feel. This was an event that… no one saw coming.” He tugs at his sleeve and fixes up the tie of his suit. “Shock or not, you seem to be taking this well, Ayano. I’m glad to see that others aren’t too�� lost in sorrow despite the events. We might need more calm people like you around.”

Ayano gives a small smile. “Well, don’t say that.. I’m more concerned that you haven’t shed a tear yet.” She says, tilting her head to the side.

“I have. Of course, I have, just… not here.” Kenko says, folding his arms as well. “Me breaking down here would only serve to make others run to me instead of focusing on the matter at hand.” He nods to the stage curtain. “I’m of course not saying that anyone crying is looking for attention. But… I just feel like that’s all I can do for Amai right now.”

He pauses for a second before adding. “..Shoku is the only one who’s invited to Amai’s proper funeral out of everyone in the club.” Kenko pulls out a small picture out of his breast pocket with a frown. “It’s not my right to be upset about that choice. Shoku was closest to her and… it’s her parents’ wish. I won’t try to convince them otherwise, but… I wish I had a chance to apologize to Amai.”

Before Ayano can respond, Ajia suddenly runs past the two, and Seiyo quickly walks after her. Kenko grabs his arm and gives him a stern look. “Seiyo..” He sighs, “I know you don’t mean any harm, but if you get punched, it’s not her fault.”

Seiyo frowns and nods. “I’m… prepared for that.” He says, walking off again as soon as Kenko lets him go.

After Kenko sighs, Ayano speaks up about their topic before they were briefly interrupted. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Kenko.” She says, patting his arm in an attempt to be comforting.

The gesture seems to work to an extent, as Kenko smiles at her, but not for long. “I know. I did my best ever since she came back. I made sure to. Everyone in the club knows that, and I know she knew that, too.”

Kenko closes his eyes and exhales, raising his hand up not to his tie, but to his neck, rubbing the front of it with an almost distressed expression. “I guess I want to apologize for… for not noticing what she was going through, maybe. Not everyone can talk about their struggles. The line between that resulting from cowardice or bravery is very blurry, but I believe that that makes Amai very strong. I’m… sorry for not being as helpful as I thought I was being. Every one of my efforts this week seems like it meant nothing now that she’s gone.”

Ayano pauses for a moment. Unlike the others, Kenko doesn’t seem like he doubts that he was the best he could have been during Amai’s return. Naturally, this doesn’t leave him without some form of… regret? Ayano wasn’t sure. She never could be. She sighs silently and removes Kenko’s hand from his neck, instead cupping it inside of her own hands. “I know you don’t need to hear this, but I’m sure Amai was thankful as well. I didn’t know her as well as you and the others did, and I wish I had the time to, but… I feel like if Amai had any lingering expectations for anyone, you wouldn’t be one of the options.”

Ayano squeezes Kenko’s hand a bit, and he responds with a genuine smile. “I agree… I think.. Heh.” He shakes his head at himself with a light chuckle. “You’re very sweet to help make me feel better, Ayano. We haven’t interacted much, but I appreciate your kindness. And your help a couple days ago. I hope that after this incident I can get to know you better.” He says.

Nodding to her thank you, Kenko continues past her in order to speak to one of their other mourning peers. Ayano watches him leave for a quick second, at the very least so it didn’t look like she was desperate to leave to others. After that quick second she did indeed walk back to the school.

Thankfully, there were no rules against going through the school halls, even grabbing some stuff if anything was left after the rush on Wednesday. The only thing off-limits was the roof until the tall fence was finished being built.

Similar to the process with Mai, Ayano was able to easily put Info-Chan’s functions into Kokona’s phone. As she was walking out, however, she bumped into one of her peers. Who, as it turns out, was not mourning with the rest of them.

“Oh, hey.” Bea lifts an eyebrow Ayano’s way, before glancing behind her to the rows of computers. “What’re you doing in here?” She asks, looking back at Ayano nonchalantly.

Ayano shakes her head dismissively. “Just needed some time alone.” She says, nodding to the room. “I usually sit in here when I need that time.”

“Hm.” Bea folds her arms with an almost suspicious grin. “Yeah, well, it’s an awfully strange place to mourn. But to each their own, I guess.” She looks down to Ayano’s hand, which was still holding Kokona’s phone. “Ain’t that Kokona’s?”

Looking at the phone in question, Ayano realizes just how easily identifiable the phone was as Kokona’s. She was one of the few who added charms and customized her phone, and her style was very recognizable. Flowers and baked goods stickers and such. “...yes. Kokona left it with me and I forgot to bring it back.”

The reasoning seemed believable enough, as Bea simply shrugged at her response. Before Ayano can excuse herself, however, Bea holds out her hand. “You can keep chilling in here, then, I guess. I’ll take this back to Kokona for you.”

While originally suspicious of Bea, Ayano realized that keeping the phone to herself could be ruled as suspicious in her own right. If anything, playing the “too sad to do it myself” card might be beneficial for Ayano to some extent.

With that thought, Ayano nodded and handed her the phone. “Okay. Thanks.” She says. Bea nods in response and heads back down stairs in order to look for Kokona. For a moment, Ayano will likely have to sit in the computer lab so that her story actually sticks together.

So, Ayano grabs one of the chairs and sits down on it. As soon as she does, she gets an immediate text from Info-Chan.

Info-Chan: Did you do the full process?

Yan-Chan: What?

Info-Chan: Did you complete the hacking process?

Yan-Chan: Yes. I did exactly what you told me to last time.

Yan-Chan: Didn’t you gain access?

Info-Chan: For a moment.

Info-Chan: But Kokona Haruka is no longer on my records of access.

Yan-Chan: I already finished.

Yan-Chan: I should still get my pay.

Info-Chan: Very funny.

Info-Chan: No access, no pay.

Ayano scoffs, standing up and walking back out of the room despite her earlier judgment. She wasn’t sure how much time she had left before the funeral officially started, but she figured that she should use whatever time she had either finding another phone or doing some other task.

That’s when she ran into someone for- who knows how many times by now. Based on the sudden shove Ayano was awarded with, she would have assumed that it was from a student council member she ran into, but it wasn’t. It was a shorter student with long black hair, who wasn’t actually wearing anything dark to support the event, but instead just a variant of the regular school uniform.

The girl glared at Ayano after her firm shove and briskly walked past her, looking left and right as if in search of something. Ayano held a hand to her stomach. Frankly, not even Aoi had given her such a needlessly violent shove- if Ayano were to be dramatic, she’d even call it some form of punch.

“So, you’ve met her.” A voice said in a quiet tone. Turning, Ayano realized that it was Frankie, who stayed to the side until the black-haired girl turned the corner. “Lori, I mean.”

Ayano frowns with a nod. Thinking back, Lori’s appearance and the description Frankie, Hana and Cassie gave matched incredibly well. Short, black haired, clearly very antisocial if not just outright violent. “I guess so.” Ayano says, looking back down the hall to where Lori just left. “Is she looking for you?”

“Yeah. Well, I mean, probably.” Frankie says with a shrug. She barely out of breath, as if she’d been running from Lori this entire event. “I went to the girls’ room to wash up and she was just- waiting there! I think there might actually be a dent in one of the lockers right now from the punch she tried to land on me.”

With an uncomfortable expression, Ayano patted her stomach where Lori had shoved her. “I… can’t imagine what it must be like being actively beaten by her.” Realistically, Ayano didn’t feel much concern for Frankie, but it seemed stupid to allow herself to be harassed and assaulted like that almost daily. “Why haven’t you called the cops yet?”

Sighing, Frankie shakes her head. “I did. Once. But then Lori started, like… crying when she was brought to the station. They took her into another room and next thing I knew she was getting left off the hook.” She shrugs.

Frankie takes another peek past Ayano suddenly, but calms down after seeing that it was just Kuroko down the hall. “She’s been more sneaky about it, I’ll admit. If I’m around a big group of people or something she’ll back off for a while.”

Ayano folds her arms, tilting her head to the side. “So, why haven’t you told anyone? Budo, the staff, your parents I’m sure would do something about it if you told them.” She points out, to which hesitates, pulling her lips into a tight line.

“....well, about that..” Frankie pauses again, before sighing, “...I mean, it’s more- ohhhh shit..” She stops abruptly and speed walks away from Ayano. When Ayano looks at what Frankie had seen, she spots the familiar dark-haired girl speed walking- nearly jogging after her.

Part of Ayano wanted to follow them, maybe help Frankie out, but then she realized that being bloodied and bruised while trying to help likely wouldn’t do her any good- not for a slightly better reputation at least. Thankfully, an announcement on the intercoms interrupted her thoughts.

“The funeral is now starting. Students and staff, please make your way to the gymnasium.”

With one last press on her stomach just to make sure she was alright, Ayano continued on her way to the gymnasium, following the other group of students who weren’t in the gymnasium yet.

“Ajia, you– mph!” Seiyo pauses momentarily as his face is met with his own apron after the girl had thrown it at him. He had followed Ajia into the school when she stormed off. It was his presence that caused her to excuse herself from her family and run off, but Seiyo felt like this was a desperate time. Maybe the only time Ajia might even be desperate enough to shut up and listen to him for once. Desperate times do call for desperate measures, after all.

“Always nagging me.. Always SO persistent!” Ajia groans loudly, walking to the other side of the counter to stay at least a couple feet away from Seiyo. “And of all times, too! You just can’t LIVE without following me around, can you?!”

Seiyo was always a patient person, sure, and now he had to be more patient than ever since he was the one pushing his luck. “I-I know, Ajia, you hate me, I’ve come to terms with that, but this is the one time that I need you to listen to me.”

Throwing her arms up in the air, Ajia lets out another dreadful groan. “Of course you do! It’s always been about you, hasn’t it?! ‘Ajia, I need this! Ajia, please listen to this!’ What sort of moron would continuously bother someone who clearly doesn’t care at ALL for what they have to say?!”

Seiyo paused, thinking over how Ajia worded it. She was right, to some extent. He did always nag her. If she ever left the room without them speaking, he would follow her for a couple of minutes in order to tell her something.

It didn’t matter if Seiyo tried to make the topic about something he knew Ajia liked. It didn’t matter if he tried to say one thing and then let her comment on it in an attempt to not ramble on and on. At the end of the day, Ajia just hated him. Again, that was something that he was aware of. He had just also convinced himself that maybe if he took different approaches, tried to be a little bit less of himself, he could find a way for Ajia to stand his presence.

Swallowing a lump in his throat, Seiyo nodded. “I know, I get it. But I know you need help right now, and I don’t want to see you in such a horrible state. It feels… it doesn’t feel nice to see you in such a mess when it isn’t my fault.” He sucked in a shaky breath and quickly added, “And also, it’s not your fault, either.”

“You-!!” Ajia gripped the collar of her dress in frustration as more tears spilled out of her eyes again. She seemed to choke on her own words and gritted her teeth in anger.

“It’s not! I want you to know that!” Seiyo said quickly and loudly, hoping that he could somehow seem louder than whatever horrible thoughts were flooding Ajia’s mind at the moment.

“I don’t care!” Ajia grabbed her phone from her pocket and threw it at Seiyo, successfully hitting him in the eye. “I don’t care what you want! It is! It…” She takes a moment to look at Seiyo’s eye, which he quickly covers with his hand, and his troubled expression.

With several shaky, quick breaths, Ajia’s legs eventually fail her and she crumples to the floor. “It.. It.. It is my… my fault…” She insists beneath sobs, her breath barely coming through correctly through her panicked huffs and gasps.

Seiyo walks over to her side immediately and kneels down next to her. “Ajia, I promise you it’s not.” He repeated, tearing up himself at her dread.

“She.. hhh… she said…” With another shaky inhale, Ajia eventually spits out her words. “She said.. ‘I know you’re a good person deep down’, Seiyo!” She raises her hands to cradle her head as she continues sobbing. “That means- I- I didn’t SHOW her that I was a good person! I didn’t make that OBVIOUS! And now I’ll never fucking get to!”

“Ajia.. that…” Seiyo hesitates, thinking as quickly as he can to decide how exactly he could reassure Ajia.

“How- hic- how bad of a person do I have to be, that… that acting how I have my whole life is enough for someone like Amai to believe that I’m not a good person?! I–” Ajia’s breath becomes heavier and she keeps her eyes shut tight, sick of staring at a blurry, dark floor. “-I’m so- so- horrible! I’ll never be a good per-son and I’ll never- hhh- ever make it up to Amai for everything I’ve done to her! It’s my fault it’s… hhh… my… hhh… Fault.”

As soon as Ajia allowed her arms to fall to the floor, Seiyo wrapped his own arms around her shoulder and kept her close to his chest. For once, Ajia didn’t intervene and simply sobbed into his chest, hardly being able to catch her breath due to the panic and dread running through her veins right now.

After about five minutes, an announcement rang on the intercom, telling everyone that it was time to attend the funeral. Still, though, Ajia hadn’t been able to calm down, and didn’t react to the announcement at all. A couple minutes later, Ajia’s sobs had decreased to muffled heavy breathing into Seiyo’s chest.

As she got quieter, Seiyo gently patted her head and said in a quieter tone, “I know you hate me, Ajia. But I don’t hate you at all. The people you think hate you really don’t, especially not Amai.” He pauses, trying to keep himself from crying as well.

“What happened is something I’m sure we could have helped with, but only if Amai had told us what she was going through.” Again, he felt the need to add. “It’s not your fault, Ajia. It’s none of our fault.”

Ajia didn’t respond, so Seiyo leaned his cheek on top of her head and continued speaking softly. “…I know you hate me, Ajia, and that’s alright. You don’t need to like me at all. But, again, I do really care for you and I admire you. I followed you because I hated seeing you upset, and even if I couldn’t, I wanted to try to help make you feel better.” He gently rubs her back and closes his eyes. “This is going to take a while to handle, Ajia, I know. But you have all the time that you’ll give yourself. …I sincerely hope that you give yourself all the time you need to cope. You don’t need to stay in the cooking club and you don’t need to cook again, but I know you can.”

Exhausted, Ajia’s breathing finally settles down, but she still remains silent. Still, Seiyo stays with her. “I believe in you, Ajia. I always will.”

The ceremony was just about as Ayano expected. If anything, it was draining to look as depressed as she did throughout the whole thing. Putting effort into an expression for an extended period of time always was stressful for Ayano.

It was the end of the ceremony, and everyone was either talking again as before, or leaving immediately. Amongst the crowd, Enpitsu seemed to be standing alone. Ayano couldn’t entirely place his expression. It seemed like he was exhausted. He was one to socialize, so maybe he was more affected by the atmosphere than he seemed.

Others that Ayano had spoken to like Tsubaki, who helped bring a bunch of flowers, were just as depressed and almost awkwardly standing alone. Perhaps she was just too uncomfortable to speak with anyone right now. Mai was also sitting alone, just staring at her phone. She had dyed her hair a light, soft green, which didn’t match the color scheme. Apparently, she had done so because it was Amai’s favorite color, and she wanted to honor her for a time.

Toga was speaking with Kuroko, who seemed the most troubled out of the whole student council. As much as Ayano would like to learn more about what they were talking about, she knew that getting in hearing range would arouse some sort of suspicion. So instead she turned her attention to…

…Taro Yamada. He looked stunning in a suit. If only the school uniform were more dull and dark instead of the light color palette it had today. After all of her months of stalking, she realized that he did indeed look better in black, dark red, and darker colors in general. She didn’t know how he did it.

Currently, he was speaking to Osana and Kyuji, obviously about the past events. Maybe they were trying to make him feel better. But, then, that raised the question, where was Raibaru? As Ayano looked around, there was a tap on her shoulder. Lo and behold, Raibaru stood there with a sympathetic smile. “Hi, Ayano. How are you holding up?”

Before Ayano can answer, Raibaru suddenly backtracks and sighs. “Oh, what am I kidding? I guess that’s a pretty stupid question to ask right now, huh?” She says, shaking her head disapprovingly at her own question.

“I appreciate you asking regardless, Raibaru.” Ayano says, holding her arms behind her back. “It’s the thought that counts in this situation, isn’t it?”

Raibaru gives a light sigh but nods. “Yeah, I guess it is.” She says with a sad frown. “I’m not sure how the cooking club is going to be able to recover after this.” Looking down, Raibaru crosses her arms. “I know that I didn’t really know Amai that well, but I know that she was a very sweet person. Everyone knows that. It’s…” She shakes her head. “..well, I guess rambling about it isn’t going to fix my problems. You never did answer, did you?”

Ayano smiles. “I’m doing alright. The only problem I’m having right now is the thought that I may be taking this too lightly.” She says fauxing a nervous look as she looks to the floor. “I didn’t know Amai personally either, so the only thing I’m depressed out, I think, is the toll her suicide will take on the school. Is that… bad?”

“I don’t think so, Ayano.” Raibaru shakes her head, and then offers Ayano a smile. “In fact, it’s pretty noble of you to think of the school at a time like this. Not to say that everyone focused on Amai is selfish, of course. But setting grief aside to focus on bigger, longer-lasting matters is a very mature thing to do.” She points out with a smile, “So, good job.”

As Ayano folds her hands together, she offers Raibaru a brighter smile. “Thank you. That’s relieving to hear.”

“Students. Guests.” A voice called from the microphone. Miss Kunahito stood up there with her own black gown on, and bowed her head respectfully. “We’ll unfortunately need to leave the school at this moment in order to leave the halls and outer grounds open for the fences on the roof to continue being built.” She gave a solemn look, one full of regret and despair as she looked over to the makeshift memorial of flowers, gifts, and pictures set up on the stage. “Say goodbye if you need to, and please make your way to the exit at your own pace. Thank you.”

Raibaru sighs. “I’m going to go check on Osana.” She says, rubbing her hands on her dress almost nervously. “These past events have been… dreadful, to say the least, but I’m sure with people like you around, we can get back to our prime.” She says, smiling at Ayano before taking her leave.

Ayano herself simply left after that whole event. Her presence was known. Her peers knew that she attended the funeral, and frankly, that was all that she needed. It was more exhausting than she had hoped that it would be, but the effort she put into her reputation would eventually pay off.

Info-Chan: Once again, congratulations on eliminating your rival.

Info-Chan: Attending the funeral will show to your peers that you care about their well-being and health :)

Info-Chan: Keep this up, and you’ll win over your Senpai in no time. ;D

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yansimstorythatiwillnotworkon · 10 months ago

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Thursday

On Wednesday at 9:33 AM, Amai Odayaka’s body was found by Kyoshi Tachibana. Her story was that she was checking every area and every room of the school to see if every student was in class, since three were reported to be out of class. The three students in question were Saki Miyu, Ayano Aishi and Amai Odayaka.

Saki was last seen with Daku, who claimed that she was following Amai wherever she was going. Saki wasn’t seen by anyone since then- not even Daku himself, who waited in the hall for her until 8:30 AM. Ayano Aishi was found in the Nurse’s Office tending to a wound that she’d acquired earlier that day that had supposedly opened back up. Scilla was able to vouch for her since he was the one who accidentally inflicted the injury on her in the first place.

Amai was last seen by Daku and Saki, although Saki has since been labeled missing. The only other person who saw her was Shoku around 7:55 AM, although he went to class around that time as well. His other classmates can vouch that he did attend class at that time.

The only clue that they have towards Amai’s death is a note left beneath her shoes, which was left on the rooftop. The note, after plenty of investigating via the police, confirmed to the authorities that this case was, in fact, a suicide.

The note read as such:

“This may seem like a spontaneous decision, but if that’s the case then that means that I’ve been hiding everything well. I don’t know if I want my death to make an impact as a last wish or if I want it to be brushed off for the sake of those I care about.

“I guess the main question that will arise is ‘Why?’ The reason why is because I don’t think I… fit here anymore. I’ve been through so many stressful moments in my life, all in which I’ve overcome with the help of my loved ones. But this is something else entirely.

“Part of me feels like it’s my fault that bad things keep occurring in my life. Is it my past selfish actions that are coming back to bite me in the form of guilt? I know I’m not the reason my family’s bakery is failing, but I know that I’ll blame myself for the rest of my life once it does. In that case, am I selfish?

“Maybe I’m just a coward. I realize that my whole life has been set around one thing, and that was my family’s bakery. Every ounce of my life was surrounded by thoughts, concerns and wishes for the bakery. When that thought came to me I realized just how much of ‘nothing’ I would be once it was gone.

“I know it wasn’t a waste, but I also know that it was going to be once our bakery failed. I’m eighteen now. I don’t think I have the time to start from the ground up anymore. Even every ounce of my childhood was set around baking. I barely went to the playground, I didn’t go on playdates or anything. Now I just don’t have the time to do that.

“Everything was always set out for me. It was meant to have hardships- but ones that we were able to overcome. This isn’t one of those. So many misfortunes have reached us, and so many that we aren’t able to overcome anymore.

“I know I have people I consider friends and parents who love me, but I don’t think it’s enough. I know that sounds selfish, but I think that’s all I can do to put everything I’m feeling into words. If it was enough, wouldn’t I be fine right now? I don’t know how to fix this and I can’t stand the thought of burdening anyone anymore with whatever the Hell is going on in my mind.

“I’m really sorry to Saki. I’m sorry that your parents don’t talk to you like normal.

“I’m sorry that you have to stress about our health, Kenko. I know that you would’ve helped everyone who needed it if that were possible.

“I’m sorry that your passions are so discouraged, Seiyo. Life’s about making your own path in life, and I think you can do it, no matter how hard it may be.”

“I’m sorry, Ajia. I promise this isn’t your fault. I know that you’re a good person deep down.”

“I’m very sorry, Shoku. I know this is selfish, especially since you always wanted me to be the leader, but I think I need to leave the club in your hands. I know you’ll do a lovely job.”

“And I’m not sure what words I can say to express how sorry I am to my parents. It’s one thing to lose a bakery, but I know that losing someone you’ve raised since birth is much worse. I’m sorry that all of that time amounted to now.

“Mom, Dad, I’m still unsure about this. I wish I had the courage to ask you to help make me feel better, but I’m not a child anymore. I’m not sure that I ever was, or ever could be.

“I’m sorry. But I think my fear for the future overpowers the love I have for you.”

No one believed it. It didn’t matter that it was a page torn from her own diary. It didn’t matter that it was written in her handwriting with her pen and it didn’t matter that there were other note “drafts” that she berated herself for being too selfish or dishonest still sitting in her diary.

Her parents refused to believe it, Shoku refused to believe it, but the proof was there in front of them.

School was let out for Thursday, with Friday being optional to the students for a funeral held in Amai’s honor.

The Odayakas have since shut down the bakery, with Amai’s mother seeking daily therapy and Amai’s father working at the Dark Delights bakery as a way to keep making money.

Taro was nothing if not conflicted. He didn’t have the courage to talk to the cooking club or Amai’s parents, and has instead been talking to Osana and his sister about the incident. He plans on attending Amai’s funeral, but is too disturbed to try to join the Cooking Club.

The Cooking Club have been dealing with their loss in different ways. Kenko seems to be taking it the best, although he was never the type to let his emotions drag anyone else down. Seiyo can’t bring himself to watch his favorite shows like normal, and instead spends his time looking through pictures and videos of the club and Amai.

Ajia, despite Amai’s note to her, has been doing nothing but blaming herself. In her state of grieving she’s broken personal items in fits of rage and has stated numerous times that she’ll never cook anything again. Her parents don’t know what to do outside of continuously offering her their support and therapy.

Shoku went home first, and has yet to open his door for anyone or eat anything. After hearing about how close he was to Amai, Amai’s father has sent a package with gifts Shoku has given Amai to his residence. Geiju has stayed home as well for the time being, and plans on staying home for as long as Shoku will. Shoku’s parents will let him stay home as long as he needs, but won’t let him go too long without food.

That then leaves the mystery behind Saki’s disappearance. Since she was seen following Amai, it was speculated that she witnessed Amai kill herself, and was hysterical and in shock by the loss that she ran away somewhere. No one knows where, but her face has since been plastered all over the town.

Info-Chan: Your Senpai is okay.

Info-Chan: He doesn’t think that he’s tied at all to Amai’s suicide, so the only thing wrong is how shaken up he is by the event. As are most.

Yan-Chan: Okay.

Info-Chan: You’re lucky the majority believe Amise’s note. I personally thought that it was a little tacky.

Info-Chan: But in the end it did you well.

Yan-Chan: Yes.

Info-Chan: I get that you’re shaken up, but that’s to be expected!

Info-Chan: You finally went through with an effective plan. Good job!

Info-Chan: I am proud of you :)

Ayano noticed that the muscles in her hands and arms had been twitching often since she dealt with Amai and Saki. She no longer thinks that it was because her limbs were sore, but something else. Some intense feeling that she couldn’t quite place. Then again, how could she? As far as she was concerned she was bare of feelings, anyway.

After she had finished tossing Saki and Amai over, she sat on the rooftop for at least ten minutes, likely processing what all had happened. Eventually, Info-Chan’s blasted alarm finally caught her attention, and she rationalized that she needed to get to work with ridding of the evidence.

The first thing she made sure to do was grab the note Amai had in her pocket. There was something calming about seeing Amai lying there and slowly getting colder. It must have been the relief of not having anything else to worry about.

Next was to get rid of Saki’s body. If Kyoshi had to find anyone’s body immediately, it had to be Amai’s, and Saki’s body was right in front of the door. Anyone from down the hall would be able to see her.

It was hilarious, really. Such a rushed death could’ve been saved and ruined Ayano completely if Saki had landed on either of the hedges. That alone likely would have saved her life. It’s a shame she wasn’t that lucky.

Unfortunately, grabbing a crumpled body proved more difficult than Ayano thought. Akademi was a tall building, so it would make sense that there would be so many shattered bones. It was a strange experience, though. Strange bumps and jagged ends were not something Ayano expected to feel prodding against such regular, human skin. She had skin like that, too. Part of Ayano wondered how that would feel.

Regardless, the gardening club seemed like a dreadfully long walk with the weight of Saki in her arms. As she passed the incinerator, she saw a readied mop and bucket waiting in front of it. Despite Amise claiming to dislike the thought of killing her rivals, she still had several things ready for her just in case. Not only the bucket and mop, but a lockpick, just in case.

The lockpick proved useful. This allowed Ayano to get into the shed and use the shovel to dig a deep enough hole to keep Saki hidden. It took at least twenty minutes to make a reliable hole. It was smaller than Ayano imagined when she started, but still deep enough. Thankfully, Saki’s body was already plenty crumpled to fit into the hole.

After finishing with that, Ayano grabbed the mop to clean up the blood that Saki left behind. Thankfully, that was a much quicker process than carrying Saki’s body. After she was finished with that, she requested a new uniform from Info-Chan, cleaned her own, and began working on her alibi.

She did this by cutting the injury she received a bit deeper, washing the knife used, and heading to the Nurse’s Office after haphazardly wrapping the bandages back around. She told Nurse Kankoshi that her wound opened up and she tried to fix it herself for a long time before eventually coming to help. The wound was by all means real and Amise claimed that Ayano was going to fix her wound before class, which made Ayano’s alibi tight enough to be overlooked.

Speaking of Amise, she of course was with the Cooking Club when the police came to the school in attempt to calm them down and help them feel better, but her efforts definitely proved useless for the more… inconsolable members of the group.

Info-Chan: You should see what your peers have to say about their loss :3

Ayano blinked slowly. She was exhausted, really. The smarter decision would be to go to sleep, but…

Looking over at her own bed, Ayano realized just how dark it was. This coaxed her to turn on her light, which eliminated the choice to sleep at the moment. So instead, Ayano sat down at her desk, scrolling through her computer and heading to whatever social media the students at her school were using.

Eventually, she found a post that had a picture of the school from afar, showing a group of people working on building a large fence around the school rooftop. It was posted by “Beasness”, aka Bea, and was blowing up with all sorts of reactions. Mainly from others from the school, with her own following just asking what had happened. There was plenty of “RIP” and “fly high” in the comment section of the post, but something else caught Ayano’s attention.

Particularly an anonymous comment that was placed suspiciously in the comments despite the dislikes and disapproving replies from others. It read:

Anonymous:

‘ I’m sure literally everyone will disagree with me here, but I don’t think that Amai killed herself. I know what was in her diary and her note and everything, but considering that Amai’s life just started getting “harder” around three days ago, it’s weird that she’d jump to such an extreme “solution”. ’

There were bound to be people like this here and there, but Ayano was surprised that this person would make such a bold comment so soon after the incident. It didn’t seem like anyone was agreeing, so it might not have been something that Ayano had to worry about. Most of the comments were simply saying how inconsiderate this user was being.

Hoshiko commented “Pun intended?” with an angry face, likely so that it wouldn’t look like she approved of the possible pun. Kokona left a long message about how everyone was entitled to their own opinion, but sometimes those opinions didn’t need to be shared. And then Musume asked why Bea hadn’t taken this comment down, if not for the dislikes than for the fact that it was simply inconsiderate. Bea herself didn’t reply to that, but she did leave a like on her comment.

Thanks to the comment being anonymous, everyone was left without a face to slander, and Ayano was left without someone to keep an eye on. Part of what the commenter had said was true. Amai, regardless of what was put into her diary and note, obviously wasn’t the type to solve her problems like that. After a little while stalking Amai, that much was irritatingly obvious to Ayano.

Even the small flaw that Amai had wasn’t enough to make her look like anything other than the perfect girl. It didn’t matter if she could easily be convinced, Taro could just as easily be manipulated, Ayano was sure of it.

Ayano wanted to say that she was glad that Amai was dead. But there was an aching feeling in the back of her…heart..? It wasn’t her head, because her chest is what was hurting. Something… inside her ached. Something inside her was disturbed. But what?

Taro sat on the couch silently. It was only around 1 in the afternoon, but the living room was dark. He attempted to distract himself with another book, but it didn’t sit right with him, so instead, he turned on the tv. Despite the dread that had washed over damn near the whole school when Amai’s death was announced, nothing popped up on the tv about her.

Now that he thought about it, he probably didn’t want to think about that anyway. He’d only really known Amai for less than a week, but he could already tell what an amazing person she was. She didn’t seem depressed or troubled, but what exactly would Taro know? Despite the fact that Taro wasn’t too close to Amai, it was still… disturbing to hear that news. He talked to her less than six hours prior to the incident.

What if Taro had somehow worn her down? What if he unknowingly contributed to her actions yesterday?

Before Taro could bury himself in his thoughts, the front door opened. “Oh my God why is it so dark?” Hanako paused in the doorway, dropping her bags and blinking to adjust her vision. She put leaned over, feeling the wall for the light switch and flicking it on. “Jeez, Taro, that is not good for your eyes. You know that.”

Sighing, Taro stands up, stretching his limbs briefly before walking over to Hanako. Despite today being a school day for her, she decided to stay home as soon as she realized that her brother was distressed. Her twin, Haruka, on the other hand, wasn’t willing to get in trouble for something that they could all talk about during dinner.

Taro felt a bit bad. Looking through the bags proved that Hanako had bought him plenty of things that she knew that he would like. Some books he was planning on getting, a favorite snack of his, and so on and so forth. “You didn’t go shopping just for me, did you?” He asks, almost shocked at all of the things Hanako had bought.

Hanako always was quick to panic whenever either of her brothers were upset, and was even more notorious for overreacting, so it wasn’t too surprising. But the fact that she’d bought all of this within the first day that they both stayed home was impressive. She didn’t have a job yet, so all of this likely came from her saved allowance money.

“Duuuuuh.” Hanako muttered, checking her phone laxly. After a moment and as Taro lifted up the bags off of the floor, Hanako kicked the door closed and followed Taro to the kitchen counter. “So, that girl’s funeral is tomorrow?” She asked, frowning at the thought.

Nodding, Taro frowns and takes the groceries out of the respective bag. “Amai. Yeah.” His frown deepens as he sighs. “She was such a nice girl. Everyone at school was just as shocked as I was. It’s obvious that no one expected that from her of all people.”

“I bet.” Hanako frowns. She and Haruka had accompanied their father when picking Taro up, and everyone around was devastated. Hanako hadn’t even properly heard what had happened but the sheer dread around was enough to almost make her cry as well. “It was… unsettling picking you up that day. Especially since everyone knew what had happened except me!”

Taro shook his head. “Dad didn’t want you to overreact, I guess.” One by one, he puts the groceries up where they belong. “Which you 100% would have. I almost cried and I only knew her for a couple of days.”

“Well, duh. It’d be weirder if you didn’t feel like crying.” Hanako said, sitting down at the counter. She put her cheek in her hand and looked Taro’s way. “I bet a bunch of other students are absolutely devastated right now. And it’s not necessarily because they knew her, but because someone as bright as, ah… Amai was ending their own life just isn’t something anyone wants to hear. Imagine if they were struggling at home or something. After hearing the news, they probably feel doomed. ‘If someone as great as Amai just couldn’t do it then how can I?’”

Taro nods. “Yeah, I get it. Dread is something that affects people differently, regardless of who the person in the situation is.”

Hanako nods as well, glad that her brother understood. “So is Osana affected at all by this?” She asks, wondering about the red-head. It had been a while since she’d formally seen Osana or spoken to her. That was to be expected since the two had different lives and went to different schools.

Welcoming the change of subject, Taro smiles a bit. “Most of Osana’s friends our outside of Akademi. The only friend of hers that attended the same school as her was Raibaru, who didn’t really know Amai much either. I’m glad that the two of them aren’t too bummed out about that, though. The day before they were helping Amai’s club out with specific dishes.”

A shiver crawled down Hanako’s spine as she thought about that again. “Gosh, that really is terrifying. Imagine talking to a girl one day and finding her… well… gone the next?” She holds a hand up to her mouth as she furrows her eyebrows. “I don’t know what I’d do if that happened to me.”

“I’m glad you understand.” Taro says, sitting down next to Hanako and laying his head on his arms on the counter. He scratches the counter softly for a moment, a displeased frown on his face. “...Hanako, uh..” He sighs, and quietly continues. “...is it… bad that I wish I hadn’t met Amai?”

Hanako raises her eyebrows, more so in interest than shock. “That depends.” She says simply, coaxing Taro to keep going.

“I don’t..” Taro groans, putting his hands on top of his head as he tried to think, which muffled his voice as he spoke up again. “...Amai was a great person. And she didn’t deserve to die. But, this whole incident is just… I guess I’m paranoid now..?”

Despite Taro struggling to explain how he was feeling, Hanako simply listens, waiting for him to piece it all together. “We met when she was trying her best to make me feel better about Osana. And I’m greatful and she did help me, but if it prevents me from feeling so conflicted or… or even better, somehow prevents Amai from taking her own life, then I’d rather we never met at all.” He mumbles.

Hanako frowns, laying her head down as well to look at him. “So you’d rather feel how you did before you met Amai then now.” She guesses, looking at her brother sympathetically.

Taro peeks out at her briefly, before burrowing his face in his arms again. After a heavy sigh he speaks up quietly. “..yeah.”

Reaching her hand over, Hanako pats her head. “I understand, Taro. You’re not in the wrong for wishing that.”

After Taro murmured a quiet ‘thank you’, Hanako noticed the sound of rain outside. Quite fitting for the overall mood. Hopefully this would help settle Taro down a bit.

He always did like the rain.

Bea lets out a long, exaggerated hum as she watches the rain pour outside. She spins in her chair, looking to Kokoro, who was sitting on her phone. “Guess I can’t ask Genka for that talk show for a while after this whole incident, huh?” She asks briefly, flicking her fringe of dyed hair back out of her eye, although it just fell back down again.

“Bea.” Kokoro whined, clearly wanting to say ‘you can’t say that’, but their history preventing her from doing so. “No, you can’t. If you tried to crack a joke on speaker any time this month someone will probably hit you.”

For a moment, Bea wonders if one person hitting her for being apathetic would be worth getting that talk show she wanted. Nothing big, of course. Just a quick announcement in the morning, during lunch and after cleaning time. It would help promote her app, which would also help her bring news to the school. All Bea really was good at was collecting information, so a “talk show” where she could share that information was perfect for her.

Kokoro could tell exactly what Bea was thinking and frowned at her. In return Bea only snickered. “Yeah, whatever, I get it. I’ll wait a little longer.”

After a moment of thought, Kokoro speaks up again. “...Emile could probably do it.” She says, raising her phone up to her face as Bea gave her an irritated smirk.

“Har har.” Bea rolls her eyes. Emile was another computer nerd that actively tried his best to get on people’s good side. He was still a jerk, but not as much of a jerk as Bea. And since people generalize Bea as the bigger jerk, Emile’s schemes are often overlooked. “Stupid, four-eyed freak.” She mutters. She would never admit it (because it didn’t need to be admitted), but she despised Emile. Thanks to Emile valuing reputation over fun, he’s earned Genka’s good side where it lacks for Bea.

Instead of dwelling on her friend’s nasty comment, Bea decides to think of something else. “So, what have the girls been talking about this week?” She asked, leaning her chair back as far as it could go. Rather than joining in on the gyaru’s group gossip, Bea usually just got Kokoro to tell her important things that happened since most of it was crush BS anyway.

Kokoro’s phone screen turns off as she thinks, but she still keeps it close to her, as if she were still using it. That was a habit embedded into her back in middle school. “...uh, Musume says that Scilla–”

“--it better not be anything that amounts to ‘he’s a freak’. The whole school already knows that.” Bea warned her. She reached over to grab her juice box but threw it on the other side of the room when she saw that it was empty.

“No, I mean.. Musume says that Scilla was lying about cutting Ayano.” Kokoro says, anxiously tapping her phone screen. Whenever she did that it usually meant that one of the girls found out something that they enjoyed but Kokoro was 100% against. Not that she’d ever say that.

Bea makes a low humming noise, looking suspicious. “Well, she’s wrong. A whole hallway saw him trip on her and bandage her up. What else is there to it?” She asks, lifting an eyebrow.

Kokoro twists a piece of her hair between her fingers. “...uh, Musume says that… Scilla says… that his scissors didn’t cut as deep as Ayano’s wound was. Like, there was too much blood for it to have come from his scissors, or… something.”

Bea’s eyebrows raised in interest immediately, and she almost stopped smiling in her shock. She scoffs, raising a hand to her mouth as she thinks that over. “...so by that logic, Ayano’s wound got worse somehow. But she claims that it was just from running into Scilla… which would mean that Ayano was lying.”

“Don’t… don’t say that..” Kokoro muttered, fearing Bea letting this newfound information slip. Whenever Bea thought that she had an interesting piece of gossip on her hands, she would usually go on long rants that somehow tied to ridiculous schemes. “I’m sure it was a mistake.”

Bea swats her hand at Kokoro dismissively. “Yeah, yeah. Let’s treat this like a story, then. One of them Wattpad reads.” She says, raising her hand back over her mouth. “So, hypothetically, if Ayano had lied then that implies that she has something to hide. If not, then just tell them what made the injury worse. Even if it was something embarrassing like tripping over an ant, you’d still want to tell the police so that you’re 100% clean. Y’know, an air-tight alibi.”

Kokoro frowns in disapproval and shakily speaks up. “She does have an alibi. She isn’t tied to anything.” She insists, really just hoping that Bea will drop this. “...and anyway, Amai’s case is closed. Even if Ayano was hiding something, it would have nothing to do with Amai.”

“Hmm…” Bea gives her a mischievous look. “Yeah, right, okay. I’ll just keep the fact of the matter in mind, then.” She mumbles, turning to her computer with an excited smile. “Ayano Aishi is hiding something.”

#yansim story #yandere simulator #yandere #yansim #yansim ideas #art #ayano aishi #Week Two #Day Four #WeekTwo DayFour #Bea Gemron #Info-Chan #Info Chan #Kokoro Momoiro #Hanako Yamada #Taro Yamada

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