"SHIHO!!!!" Saki yells and runs up onto the stage in panic.
The stage is a mess. Stuff is everywhere, curtains are pulled down, Shiho lays lifelessly on the floor, and in the middle of it all...
"Toya... Toya what happened? Wake up..." Tsukasa cries.
Tsukasa sits in the middle stage while holding Toya close to his body. Emu, Nene, and Rui stand behind him trying their best to help Tsukasa calm down.
"SHIHO! SHIHO ARE YOU OKAY?! PLEASE TELL ME SHE'S STILL ALIVE! PLEASE!!!" Saki shouts, panicked. She makes her way onto the stage and picks up her body covered in curtains. Honami and Ichika follow her in stunned silence.
"I- She- She's not- SHE ISN'T BREATHING!!!" Saki wails. She lets out loud sobs with Shiho in her arms and Tsukasa soon joins in when the reality of the situation finally seems to hit him.
"T- Toya?" Akito suddenly appears behind me, "No..."
He suddenly collapses and covers his mouth before puking.
I realize Kohane has been standing next to me frozen the entire time.
"Kohane? Are you okay?" I ask her nervously.
She doesn't answer me. She just stares.
"Kohane?"
Still no answer.
I find myself doing the same. Just standing in place watching the scene unfold in front of me. Both Tenma siblings wailing on stage holding their lifeless childhood friends close to their bodies with their living friends trying their best to help calm them. Akito collapsed on one side of me and a frozen Kohane on the other. I'm not quite sure what place I have in any of this. I didn't know either of them particularly well. Sure, I'd met Toya a few times in school but we weren't exactly close. I don't even think I ever had a proper conversation with Shiho.
I don't know what to feel. Should I be sad they died? Happy it wasn't a close friend? Angry I couldn't stop it in time? Worried how this will affect my friends? Scared if I'm next? I guess I'm supposed to feel all of them? I guess I'm supposed to feel despair.
I don't know how long I was staring but eventually I see a hand wave in front of my face.
"Hello? Mizuki? Can you hear me?" Kanade asks me, "Mizuki?"
"Ah! Yes I can hear you!" I finally answer.
"Good, good," She answers, "I didn't expect two people to die at once," she says sadly.
I nod sadly in agreement, "You weren't close with either of them, right?"
She shakes her head, "I had heard about Shiho a lot through Mochizuki. I am worried how this will affect her... but that means this will be an easier investigation, right? We both have clearer heads."
"I guess," I answer. Kanade seems to be running on a logical save-everyone-now-mourn-later mentality.
Kanade mentioning her worries about Honami reminds me of Kohane, who I turn to find is gone.
"Where did Kohane go?" I ask Kanade.
"I think she's on the stage," Kanade answers.
I look up to find both Tsukasa and Saki have been taken away by their friends and rather just Kohane stands alone on the stage. How long was I really staring?
"I guess it's investigation time."
YOU ARE READING
Despairful Music
Fanfiction"Huh? What?" Where am I? Why does my head hurt? What happened? Mizuki's suddenly in a strange place they don't recoginze along with all their friends. Why are they here? For a killing game, of course!
