HOWLITE • chishiya

ELEVEN

"Kaori..."

The voice was weak, it sounded almost like a dreadful whisper, like this name was the hardest word to pronounce.

Kaori's heart missed a beat. It was Asuka's voice calling out for her. She had been so caught up in the tricks of her own mind that Asuka had vanished from every thought —or maybe she had unwillingly put her best friend aside when she had realized there was no way for both of them to walk out alive.

"Kaori... I know you're alive."

Kaori was on her feet in a second, rapidly breathing, "Asuka... Asuka, where are you?"

Asuka released a shaky sigh, "Oh my god... In the main room!"

Kaori sprinted through the maze, not even hesitating as she easily found her way. She had to restrain a gasp when she spotted her best friend covered in blood from head to toe, her clothes partially ripped and the knife still in her hand.

Asuka dropped it onto the floor, "I killed four people."

And the girl bursted into tears, violently sobbing, Kaori quick to rush by her side, wrapping her arms around her trembling figure only to be pushed away, "I—I wanted them all to die, Kaori."

Kaori tried to catch her eyes but she was avoiding her gaze, most certainly brought back to reality when she saw Kaori —the only one who could bring her some sanity and, at the same time, make her grasp the severity of her actions.

"That's what the game wanted," Kaori explained, barely covering her fear as she knew the clock was ticking, "It was all a trick!"

Asuka's sobs halted, her eyes now filled with a new sense of hope as she eventually looked at her best friend, "I knew you'd win this game."

"Shut up," Kaori's tone was harsh, betraying the atrociously painful reality she was desperately trying to ignore, "I'm not walking out of here without you."

After everything she had to do, and that Kaori could never imagine, Asuka still found the strength to smile, "Yes, you are... So, how did you find the mirror?"

Now, Kaori was raging, she couldn't believe her best friend was giving up, that after everything they had to go through together, she decided it was the end for her. That Asuka didn't want to fight one last time. "You're giving up? Y—You can't do that! Asuka, Asuka, please, don't do that, please..."

Asuka was trying her hardest not to start crying again at the sight of Kaori's slumped shoulders and torn gaze. She placed her hand under her best friend's chin, gently lifting it to make eye contact, "We can't both get out alive... You know it and so do I."

The silence in the maze was deafening, suffocating like the hot breeze in July, Asuka is dying, Asuka is dying, Asuka is dying, no, no, no. No, she can't die, I can't win. Why? I don't wanna win without Asuka. What am I gonna do without her?

"I got a clue, at some point," Asuka said, her eyes darkening for a second as she recalled the murder, "It said my eyes would not help... So, I'm curious now, how did you find the mirror?"

Her eyes would not help, her eyes would not help... Kaori's eyes opened in slight realization, recalling all the times she went into a mirror maze when she was a child —how the goal was the avoid the mirrors to find the way out, "I never looked for it."

Asuka nodded with a smile stretching her lips, "What did I always say, uh? You're the smartest."

A bell rang in their ears, "One minute left."

Kaori's heartbeat increased even more, pounding so hard in her chest she felt like she was about to have a stroke and, truth was, she would not even care. It would never be worse than what was currently unfolding.

She only noticed she was crying when Asuka's hand gently swiped the tears away, resting her palm on her cheek, "Do you remember what you told me in the middle of the night, when we were fourteen and I had ran away from home after the argument I had with my mom?"

Kaori was reading a book that night, under the comforting warmth of her bedsheets, when Asuka had knocked on her window.

She was breathless from all the running and shaken up from all the crying.

Kaori had helped her calm down, offering her random pajamas, a spot next to her in her tiny bed and a shoulder to cry onto, giving Asuka the space to share what was happening behind the closed door of her house.

That was the night Kaori had found out Asuka —who was this extroverted, confident and magnetic girl to everyone, was struggling to meet up with her mother's extreme expectations.

"You said you'd make me the main character of your book," Asuka said with a shaky voice.

Kaori nodded, tears spilling even more, the knot so big in her throat that she knew she would not be able to pronounce a single word without breaking down. Asuka did inspire my main character... she's so much more interesting than I've ever been.

"If you could just... not use this part of me," Asuka softly inquired, referring to the side of her capable of murder, "I don't want you to remember me this way."

Kaori was still in denial, vigorously shaking her head. She didn't want to have a conversation like this, it was never supposed to happen, "Asuka, please, don't do this."

"Go to the beach," she said, "Figure this out and go home."

Kaori's shaky breath turned into quiet sobs, "I—I can't do this without you, no, no, no, Asuka, I'm begging you—"

"Thirty seconds."

Kaori grabbed Asuka's arm, unable to control her tears blurring her eyesight, "I'm so sorry, I didn't... It wasn't supposed to go this way."

Hot tears were spilling from Asuka's eyes as well as she leaned forward to press her lips on her forehead. Gently, she pulled her hand away and Kaori understood it was time to let go of her arm. Reluctantly, she did.

Her heart missed a beat when she noticed Asuka stepped back, "W—What are you doing?"

Asuka's voice was soft, "I don't want you to see this."

Asuka spotted a tiny hallway between two mirrors and walked by the frame, turning around one last time to take a final look at Kaori, "Please, try to have fun with your life a little... Just so you know, you've always been my favorite person."

Asuka disappeared behind the mirror and, as the final seconds passed —painfully ticking in her headset, Kaori's mind replayed her entire friendship like a movie too joyful to end this way.

Kaori felt her heart physically shattering when she heard a laser, followed by a thumping noise.

The chirpy bell echoed, "Game clear. Congratulations."

• • •

author's note. i'm back...... guys, you can't imagine how writing this chapter broke my heart... but i do have a thing for tortured characters who go through awful things... sorry sorry sorryyyy! i might post another chapter right after since i've been gone for soooo long!
but, as always, feedback is always appreciated !!!