(Edited as of Wed, August 3, 2022)
I felt I was insinuating something bad! Anyway, please enjoy!
~
"What does that shirt say?"
"'This Sends Me.'"
"Why does it say that?"
"I don't know," Mitsuba shrugged. "But Sewing Girl made it for me, and I'm not taking it off."
Y/N continued to lead a disgruntled Mitsuba through the Rift. He clearly didn't want to be here; she couldn't blame him, though.
Going against Tsukasa's back was both risky and reckless. He would have their heads if they were to be caught.
Finally, Y/N stopped along a staircase. It looked similar to the one she used to enter the library.
"Is this the one?" Mitsuba peered over cautiously.
"I'm sure!" Y/N bravely swung the door open, taking a step forward into thin air.
'Wait... into thin air?!'
Y/N yelled in fright as she fell into an abyss of darkness. She could hear Mitsuba calling out desperately, but it faded into a dim echo.
Many cursewords rang in Y/N's head, but all fell into a painful close once she landed on cold ground with a loud thump!
She let out a gasp for air, but something crashed unto her, suffocating that out of the way.
Mitsuba babbled hasty apologies as he quickly got off of Y/N, red on the face.
"Where are we?" The Sukora Wonder groaned.
"I...." Mitsuba's eyes were wide with anxiety. "....I don't know."
Y/N scrabbled to her feet. At first, she didn't mind the coarse, sandy texture below her. It felt like rock, when suddenly..
'Wait. It's moving.'
"Holy crap!" She hastily rushed up to Mitsuba protectively.
"Whatsa' matter?" Mitsuba stammered, taking a step back. Y/N opened her mouth to answer, but the floor had changed to sweep her off her feet, collapsing in a terrifying rush.
"MITSUBA! THIS IS THE WRONG ROOM!"
The patches on his shirt had ripped off, so that now it fittingly spelled "END ME." He looked at her as if she popped out of an alien planet.
"WRONG ROOM?!"
"WE NEED TO GO BACK!"
"I WANNA DIE!"
Y/N nodded to the endless pit of darkness that leered below them as they scrabbled to get a foothold.
"I DON'T WANNA DIE!" Mitsuba decided, clinging to a rock for dear life.
"Listen!" Y/N's grip was slackening, but Mitsuba held on as tight as ever.
"Try to contact Tsukasa's kakujoudai! It responds to a whistle! It should take you out!"
"But..." Mitsuba started with relief, before bursting into anger.
"But what about you?!"
"I'll be-"
Y/N slipped for a moment. Mitsuba screamed, but she struggled to get another foothold.
"-I'll be fine!"
The room decided otherwise.
Mitsuba let out an agonized yell as Y/N's hand slipped from another tremor. The last thing he saw was her terrified face as she reached out desperately, engulfed in darkness.
● ● ●
Y/N was surprised that the end of the tunnel wasn't darkness, but in fact, a door.
She painfully fell through it and bursted it open, falling unto ground.
She lay still for a moment, eyes half-closed.
'This is it.' She thought.
'The ground is going to move. I'm so stupid.'
But the ground was nice, as no tremor coursed through. Y/N choked back a cry of relief.
She got up with a start, hastily dusting her red coat. Who knows how many rocks got caught in there?
She jogged around, desperately searching for a way out. It was also a way to cool down.
She could feel pebbles in her shoes and rocks poke at her skin, and she decided there must be some place she could undress.
She spotted a door a few feet away. Carefully, she pulled it open a crack.
'A classroom.' She observed. 'No students. Should do the trick.'
Her red coat billowed behind her as she rushed in, closing the door with a swift click. She faced the wall, pulling off her coat.
Someone screaming in terror and the sound of rushing footsteps. Y/N's eyes widened.
She curled into a helpless ball as a lone student barged into the room. She didn't have her mask on, and she looked less intimidating with only her raincoat.
The student who crashed into the room was a boy. His back was to her, but he was trembling all over, which clearly meant he must be chased by something.
Y/N reached into her pocket as he shuffled up to his feet, then turned to look at her.
Aka Manto's E/C eyes were as wide as the amber ones that met them.
"Another student?!" Tsukasa spluttered in disbelief.
'Student?' Y/N gaped incredulously. 'Tsukasa-sama, do you not recognize me?!'
Suddenly, a cold, brooding coo came from outside. It sent a familiar shiver down Y/N's spine.
"Hey, where have you gone to? Come out..."
Y/N was struck with a realization.
"That's Tsukasa. You're Ha-"
"Just come 'ere!"
Y/N let out a dignified gasp as Hanako pulled her behind a desk and close to his chest. He clinged on to her tightly, head above hers as the classroom door slowly creaked open.
The petrified pair watched as Tsukasa walked in smugly. Unlike his brother, he was free of any wounds, bruises or bandage, and less shaken.
"Goodness me, you're such a pain for a brother, ya know!" Tsukasa whined. He stamped his foot, looking around.
"Why don't you come out? It'll be a fun game, I promise!"
Y/N watched in admiration for his confidence, but Hanako was shivering all over, letting out shallow, nervous breaths.
'Something's wrong.'
Tsukasa frowned at the silence, his shoes clicking eerily as he padded closer to their hiding spot.
Hanako winced as his glaring amber gaze stared at their desk. Y/N was the one who held him close this time, as he was that nervous.
He stood in thought for a moment, staring at the desk opposite theirs. Y/N couldn't bear it.
She hastily nabbed a pebble from her shoe, then threw it far across the floor and outside the classroom.
"Woah!" Tsukasa jumped. Then, he let out a giddy laugh.
"Hold on, I'm coming~!"
Hanako watched with a look of guilt as Tsukasa rushed after the sound of the crashing rock. Y/N wasted no time locking the door after him.
She waited for a minute as Hanako stared after Tsukasa, then realized he was actually looking at her.
He looked as if he were going to burst into tears, unsurpressed awe in his stunned look.
Y/N felt a little overwhelmed. She awkwardly cleared her throat.
"Uhm, Hana..."
But she stopped as soon as she saw how terrible his condition actually was. Other than injuries, his hair was a tousled mess, his head had a bandage, and he had more bruises beyond compare.
"Y-You..." Hanako spoke properly for the first time, though he still stammered greatly.
"Who are you? Are you from my batch, 1951?"
'1951?!'
"Hey." Hanako managed a small smirk, a flash of his old spirit shining through. "Did my brother go to your head that much?"
"No!" Y/N crossed her arms tursely.
"Then what batch are you from?" He asked, breaking down his smug demeanor. He crept up to her, on his knees. Y/N sat down politely.
"Please. I've never seen you before. And, uhm..."
Y/N watched with slight amusement as he awkwardly looked at the floor, red on the face.
"...I'd like to visit your classroom. I owe you plenty."
It was only then that Y/N bothered to look at her surroundings. It definitely looked old-fashioned, and a writing on the chalkboard proved her growing suspicions:
September 14th, 1951, Kamome Academy.
'Kamome!' Y/N thought with triumph, then held back a groan.
'But I fricking traveled back in time!'