﹕﹒ 𝙇𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 ﹗ ᴬⁱᵇ ‧₊

〖 GAME 〗 ²

The girl, Naoya, thought Aiko didn't know her name yet. She stopped behind the same tree and saw her. She gasped and screamed, thinking it was the person chasing her.

"Shhh!" Aiko whispered harshly. "Be quiet!" Aiko didn't want them to get caught. Though, the woman's light who sat right by her was on.

The girl's breaths were shallow, quick. Tears welled in her eyes. She was clearly barely holding it together. Aiko felt a sharp pang of guilt. Whoever this was, she wasn't ready to die. None of them were. And even if it wasn't Aiko's fault, she couldn't just sit and let it happen.

"Here—" she immediately unwrapped the hoodie off of her lantern and shoved it into Naoya's hands. "Wrap yours. Hide it. Go!" She yelled. Though she probably shouldn't have.

Naoya didn't argue. She took off into the darkness again, her lamp dimmed by Aiko's sweater. Aiko made sure the girl stayed safe keeping a very close eye on her, she looked back seeing another lantern flicker and light up. It brought her hopes up to know Heiya, and the girl she just met was okay.

Aiko pressed her back against the tree, chest heaving. Her mind was racing so fast it felt blank. She tried hard to maintain calm, but in her position it was almost impossible. People dying left and right, bloody screams could be heard too. The seeker/ghost's shadow passed by. They had the figure of a man, but Aiko wasn't sure it was dark so of course her view wasn't as clear. She let out a shaky breath, too scared to move from that tree, but she wasn't safe yet.

Far ahead, another lamp glowed. The person ran, hard. But didn't make it, Aiko saw as they stumbled and fell down. Hearing the sound of the lasers shooting down from the sky. The sound made Aiko flinch, her entire body seizing. Every time she heard that horrible, boom, a chill ran down her back.

She decided she needed to find Heiya. Now.

Not even a couple minutes later. Her own lamp lit up. Aiko froze in pure shock. No breath. No thoughts. Just instinct. She quickly sat up her eyes darted around the cemetery seeing if she could spot the ghost, so Aiko didn't run right into them. From the right she heard the sound of boots slamming against the floor as they came closer, louder. And then she ran. She ran as fast as humanly possible, still trying to stay quiet but she just couldn't.

The cold wind stung her cheeks. Her legs burned. Her lungs screamed.

"Please go away, please go away..." she whispered over and over, trying to force the fear down, trying her hardest not to scream to the top of her lungs or sob. But it clung to her throat. She stumbled over uneven ground, almost falling.

Suddenly, arms caught her mid-fall.

Renji.

He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. He swept her up off her feet and bolted, carrying her like she weighed nothing. Aiko barely registered the movement, her mind was still stuck in survival mode. She looked up once. The ghost was still behind them. Her pulse spiked. She shut her eyes tight and clung to Renji's shirt.

Aiko pushed herself a bit more comfortably looking up seeing the ghost still chasing after them, she shut her eyes tightly expecting to die. Her hair flipped to the side as Renji took a sharp turn, she glanced up again no longer seeing them.

He didn't stop running until they reached an enclosed area near a mausoleum. There, he gently set Aiko down.

Aiko dropped to the ground, knees hitting the grass. Her hands trembled. She looked up slowly, scanning the shadows.

Aiko lifted her head. "Heiya?"

Heiya was sitting nearby, breathless but alive.

Aiko didn't think. She crawled forward and wrapped her arms around her, holding her like she'd never let go again.