Akane’s POV

 

“Hehe, look who we have here~”

 

“P-Please, spare me..!” I tried to resist the man’s grip on my hand, “I-I don’t know what you want with me, but I just want to leave!”

 

The pressure on my hand became more and more, until I finally gave up. I didn’t know what to do and I didn’t want to worry Airi, Jurina and Rena…

 

“I’m only doing my job, now stop resisting!”

 

I could only whimper in pain, I couldn’t talk or move because of his intimidating figure. He pulled me up and dragged me into a car, I could only sit there in silence.

 

I’m sorry guys…

 

My eye averted to the skimpy looking buildings, I instantly thought that they were used for things I didn’t want to think about. It wasn’t long until something was wrapped around my eyes to prevent me from seeing anything that was going to happen and around my mouth to prevent me from saying anything offensive.

 

“Get her out and do it carefully. It won’t be long before the boss implants it into her.”

 

“Alright!”

 

I could feel myself being pulled somewhere by someone who was rough. I just ignored it as many thoughts were flooding through my mind. I was only thinking about her…

 

“Ah~ So this is Takayanagi Akane-san, correct?”

 

“Yes, sir!”

 

“Uncover her blindfold.”

 

“Shouldn’t we tie her up first?”

 

“No, I’m going to insert my compound on her hands first.”

 

“I see~”

 

“Just uncover her blindfold or I will do it to you first.”

 

“Yes sir...”

 

Before I knew it, my eyes tried to adjust to the brightness of the room, seeing 3 bulky looking men and a woman I think I recognise…

 

“Akane-chan, it’s nice to see you again~”

 

“Mmph?” I couldn’t talk because of the thing that was covering my mouth, so all that they could hear was muffled sounds.

 

“Take the gag off too.”

 

“Ok, Manatsu-sama~”

 

As the gag was taken off my mouth, I was instantly surprised at what Manatsu has decided to become...

 

“Why, Manatsu, why me?”

 

“I’ll tell you after, okay, Akane? Or should I say, Churi~”

 

I saw her with a syringe and I was instantly scared.

 

“Pin her down, make sure she doesn’t escape.”

 

“No!”

 

I tried to resist their force. But due to the intense pain in my arms, I decided to give up. I just let them do what they wanted and let them shove that syringe inside my left arm. The pain was unreal, every time I opened and shut my eyes, it became more and more painful…

 

“N-now tell me… W-why me of all people..?”

 

“It’s easier to get someone I’m familiar with, such as yourself.”

 

What..?

 

“I know your weaknesses, Churi~”

 

“......”

 

“You want Airi to yourself, right? You want to show Jurina and Rena that she’s yours and yours alone?”

 

“I...I...”

 

“Ummm?”

 

“Y-you’re right…. I do want Airin to myself….”

 

“This will help~”

 

“W-wha….” Before I could finish my sentence, my vision began to blur. I saw visions of Airin being with Rena and Jurina and I really didn’t like that... I let out a painful scream, which seemed to have made her entertained.

 

“Goodbye for now, Akane-chan~”

 

I slowly dipped into unconsciousness.

 

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

 

Airi’s POV

 

This is strange.. She’s been gone for longer than I’ve been expecting….

 

“Airin.. Are you okay?”

 

“E-Eh? Rena-san...” I couldn’t help but to sound surprised, “Y-Yeah, I am but...”

 

“You’re worried about Churi, aren’t you?” Her eyes seemed genuinely worried, “She did say she was going to come back as soon as she could...”

 

“I know… It’s just...” I swallowed all the flem that was building up in my throat, “What if  something bad happened to her…?”

 

Just then, I got a phone call. It was Churi…

 

“Hello..?”

 

“Airin, can you come over here? I need your help with something.”

 

“Eh?”

 

“Don’t worry, just come.”

 

“Uh okay. I’ll be right over.”

 

I had a really bad feeling about Churi… Her tone of voice didn’t seem like her usual bubbly voice…

 

“Airin..?”

 

“Sorry, Rena-san but I need to go.”

 

“Eh--”

 

Before she could finish, I was already out of the door. As I didn’t know where she was, I decided to call her back.

 

It started beeping. Once. Twice.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Hey, Churi, it’s me. I’m just wondering where you are.”

 

“Oh, I’m at my house… I was just feeling under the weather so I wanted you to visit.”

 

“Ah, okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can...”

 

“Thanks…. Bye, Airin.”

 

“Bye, Churi.”

 

She’s feeling under the weather, huh…. She’d usually tell me first before going straight home… So this is really strange…

 

As I was deep into thought, I heard my phone ring for the second time today.

 

“Airin, it’s me, Jurina. I’m warning you now while I can. Something’s happened to Churi.”

 

“Eh? What do you mean….?”

 

“She’s not being herself, I’ve tried to talk to her… She seems more forceful...”

 

“What…?”

 

“Please… Give her some sense...”

 

“I’ll try to, thanks for the warning, Jurina.”

 

I hung up and continued to walk…

 

What’s wrong with her…?

 

I finally arrived and knocked on her door…. Someone opened it.

 

“Churi...”

 

“Thanks for coming,” she said as she pulled me in.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“Nothing.” What? Nothing’s wrong? “I just wanted you here.”

 

“Eh..?”

 

As she shut the door, I suddenly felt myself being pushed to the wall. The next moment, I was staring at Churi’s crazed eyes.

 

She looked hungry… for me.

 

“I’ve been waiting so long for this~” she said, her lips.

 

“Oi, Churi, what’s gotten into you?”

 

“I want you, Airin...” The fire in her eyes became more and more apparent… Maybe Jurina was right…

 

“S-Stop for just a second…!” I couldn’t take it anymore. I wanted answers.

 

“No way. You’re MINE, Furukawa Airi, all MINE!!!”

 

She grabbed my neck and suddenly pulled me forward. She attacked my lips with a deep, hot kiss. My mind couldn’t process what was happening…

 

“C-Churi.. W-Wait--”

 

“No.. I’ve waited for long enough!”

 

She grabbed my shirt and ripped it off my body. I was scared of what was going to happen next, this was so unlike her...

 

"Churi, please! Let go of me! I'll be with you, just... Stop acting like this..."

 

"...." She stared at me for a bit.

 

"You know this isn't you... Right?"

 

"Airi... I don't know if you're taking me for a fool... But the pain you have given me has taken it's toll..."

 

My heart started to shatter… Was hanging out with Rena-san too much a bad thing?

 

“What…?”

 

“That’s why I had asked Manatsu for a little something~”

 

Manatsu…? But we haven’t seen her in years…

 

How....?

 

“What did you..?”

 

“Nee, Airin~” She grabbed my neck, pulling me down as we both laid on the ground. “Let’s leave this world.”

 

“Eh..?”

 

“Let’s die together.”

 

What is she saying...?

 

She then pulled out a small gun, aiming it at her head.

 

“What do you say? Shall we?”

 

She pulled a slight smirk on her face... What is going on...?

 

I ran up to her and slapped the gun off her hands.

 

"What the hell are you doing, Churi?! This isn't what you should do...!"

 

She started laughing. It wasn’t her normal laugh, it was demonic... Something she would never do…

 

“Nee, Airin~”

 

“What..?”

 

I didn’t like the sound of what she was going to do to me…

 

“You do love me, right?”

 

“Churi...”

 

She pulled out a knife, handing it to me.

 

“I want you to prove it, how much you love me. Show me you’d die for me.”

 

W-What..?!

 

She grinned, picking up the gun. “I made my decision. To end this pain.”

 

“But...”

 

“Don’t worry. Once it’s done, we can be together forever. We don’t have to worry about anything and leave this bull world behind.”

 

I want to end my life first.. For her to realise what happened...For her to feel guilty… But at the same time, I want to cherish my life…

 

“Better make your choice. You...” She lifted the gun to her head again. “Or me?”

 

“....” I gripped the knife, biting my lip as I tried to fight the tears.

 

“Fine then.”

 

“Eh..?”

 

“See you on the other side,” she said before cocking the gun.

 

“No! Churi!”

 

*BANG*

 

I saw her on the floor, a blood puddle forming around her body but… Her blood wasn’t red… It was black.

 

“No...”

 

I felt myself slipping, falling into madness, darkness…

 

I… I..! Churi!

 

“RAAAAAAAGH!!!”

 

I lifted the knife, aiming it at my chest. I had enough, this is all too much…

 

I tried to resist the temptation to stab myself.. To let myself die because I wanted her by my side…

 

But… all of it took over me.

 

I’m coming, Akane…

 

I felt a sharp pain in my chest, then my world slowly fell apart. My eyes fluttered closed as I slipped into darkness.

 

Meanwhile…

 

Third Person’s POV

 

“Hmm...” Manatsu wrote down on her charts as she watched the scene. “What an unexpected result.”

 

Just then, the door opened.

 

“I knew it...”

 

Manatsu turned around, her eyes widened in shock.

 

“You were behind this all along, Mukaida.”

 

“J-Jurina..?! Why are--”

 

“You really shouldn’t underestimate me just because I’m younger. I know a lot more than most girls my age. Or, be that, people in general.”

 

Manatsu then took out a handgun and aimed it at Jurina.

 

“I’ll kill you!”

 

“I wouldn’t,” she said with a smirk. “The police are already outside.”

 

“Wha-?!”

 

“Better turn yourself in before it’s too late.”

 

“You--” Before she could continue, Jurina gestured to someone with her finger.

 

“You better stay right where you are. We have cops surrounding the whole perimeter," a voice said.

 

Manatsu’s eyes widened. “Uso...”

 

“Sorry to inform you, Mukaida Manatsu… but, you’re finished.”

 

"H-How?!"

 

“Simple. When I first saw Churi, she seemed different. Her arm also started to bleed, which signified something or someone must’ve hurt her in someway.”

 

“That’s when we knew, you injected the serum into her.”

 

“Mukaida, you should know that serum is illegal!”

 

“What was the serum… And what was it’s effects?”

 

“It’s called XP3471. It enacts a certain chemical that affects the brain and also the ual hormones in ones body.”

 

“So that’s why Churi was so aggressive...”

 

“And why she wanted Airin so badly...”

 

“But, to think, they would go so far as...”

 

The girl with Jurina suddenly got mad and grabbed Manatsu’s collar.

 

“You got some nerve...” she said angrily, in a low tone. “To do that to Churi and Airin…”

 

“Rena,” Jurina held her shoulder, “Hold back for just a second...”

 

“But--” Rena looked back at her partner and saw her serious eyes. She let her guard down a bit and let go of Manatsu. “Fine...”

 

Jurina stepped forward. “Why did you do this to Churi.. To Airin…?!”

 

“Believe me, I had no intention of Furukawa dying… all I desired was to see Churi complete my experiment. To see the final results of what I’ve worked on for so long!”

 

“Well, now you have your answer… she’s DEAD! And you also took an innocent victim too..!”

 

“Tsk, Airi was of no use anyway~”

 

“You..!” Rena was about to face her again, a hand on her gun, but Jurina stopped her.

 

“All of you are fools… This serum… with it, the world will..!”

 

“Mukaida Manatsu...” Jurina stopped her, “You are under arrest for usage of illegal substances and for the purposeful deaths of Takayanagi Akane and Furukawa Airi. You have the right to remain silent.”

 

“No...” Manatsu’s hands were cuffed together. “No! NO!!! You can’t do this!!! Everything I’ve worked for, do you want it to go to waste?!”

 

“This is for the greater good, Mukaida.”

 

“I’ll get my revenge!!!” She screamed as the police finally came and dragged her away.

 

“Well, that’s the end of that...”

 

Jurina looked over at her partner, who now had tears streaming down her face.

 

“Rena...” She embraced the tall girl, her hair. “I’m sorry.”

 

“Airin… Churi…. Why....”

 

“Rena… Please...Let’s forget this...”

 

3 years later…

 

Jurina and Rena were painfully reminiscing the times they had shared with their fallen cohorts. They stood in front of their graves with Rena laying down two bouquets.

 

Takayanagi Akane

 

29/11/1991 - 28/04/2015

 

Was a loveable friend, who never deserved to die the way she did...

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

Furukawa Airi

 

13/12/1989 - 28/04/2015

 

Was a loveable dork, who will never be forgotten…

 

“It’s already three years...” Jurina said with a sad look.

 

Rena looked up at the sky. “I wonder if they can see us.”

 

Jurina patted her shoulders and the two started leaving.

 

They didn’t notice the spirits of two girls, sitting at the two gravestones, watching them.

 

Airi smiled, “I miss you two...”

 

In response, Akane touched her shoulder, “I realised that because of our stupidity…. It brought those two together even more...”

 

“Sometimes it’s other people’s sacrifices that bring rewards to those they care for...”

 

“I’m sorry for doing those things to you, Airin...” Churi hugged the girl.

 

“I’m sorry, too… for not protecting you.” Her eyes met with Churi’s, creating more tension between the two.

 

Airin hugged her. “It’s okay… we can’t go back now.”

 

“Un...”

 

“Let’s go...” The two held hands and made their journey.