"What's her problem…" Tomoyo whispered to Naoki pointing at Ayameko.
"She's…Actually I don't know…" Naoki whispered back.
"I can hear you two talking…!" Ayameko shouted slightly.
"Ah! The witch can hear us from here!" Tomoyo sarcastically hinted.
"..." As much as Ayameko wanted to go and strangle the girl, she knew she'd be falling for some kind of trap.
"Boo…" Tomoyo pouted.
Naoki looked at the two of them as Tomoyo smugly looked at Naoki, raising her eyebrows up and down almost like she was really hinting at something.
"What?"
"You know what." Tomoyo smugly smiled.
"No, No I don't sis." Naoki responded.
"Do the thing." Tomoyo nudged Naoki with her elbow slightly.
"Huh? Do what??" Naoki looked at her confused.
"You know, what I said." Tomoyo chuckled a bit.
"Why?" Naoki replied even more confused.
"C'mon bro, have a little decent fun in your life." Tomoyo pouted.
"I…" Naoki sighed, "Fine…Aah…! The witch can hear us from here…!" Naoki said without much enthusiasm.
Without much effort a small pfft came from Ayameko, both siblings looked over at Ayameko as she suddenly gave a silent response for a few seconds.
"Did you say something Ayameko?" Naoki asked her.
"N-No! I- Not really, I just thought how nice the sky looked." Ayameko somehow stuttered.
"Huh, now you say that…" Naoki looks at the sky.
"…Huh…" Tomoyo looked dumbfounded at them both
"Brother- you didn't-" Tomoyo questioned him.
"Didn't what?" Naoki answered obliviously.
"…You're an idiot…" Tomoyo told him coldly with a blank stare.
"Whaat!?? What did I do?!!?" Naoki told her with absolute obliviousness.
Meanwhile, with her back facing them, Ayameko's face was still a bit red from Naoki's nonchalant and unenthusiastic attempt to get her angry.
***
Kimura floated in some water as he was resting at the surface of the water. He took deep breaths while floating as he felt his head bump into something, forcing him to open his eyes and look up at the dark abyss above him.
Why can't my memories stay hidden away…
He flips over as he places his hands on the surface, somehow the surface of the water became solid, pushing himself up and onto the water. He stood up as he looks at bodies, bodies floating past him as some were faced up and some were faced down, some had blood leaking out as some were burnt to a crisp, but mostly…they all wore the Ishimura Academy insignia and uniform.
He stared at the corpses floating past him, the corpses going either to his left or right, never bumping into his shoes as he just looks down, watching the bodies float past him. When Kimura looked down, he saw a younger version of himself, one that didn't sport his nose scar.
You tried…keep telling yourself that me…
While the bodies still flowed past him the voices of other students and adults began to fill the room.
"Get out of here! I don't want my son associated with you!"
"Everyone! move away from that guy! He's a bad omen!"
"Don't burn down this academy too dirtbag! I'm too young to die!"
"Fuck off ashtray! This schools better off without you here!!!"
"Take it and leave! Don't bother paying for it!!"
"Not in a million years! Find someone else who'd take a bad omen willingly!"
Kimura took a deep breath exhaling as the intensity of the voices and the words used became more and more apparent, taking a toll on Kimura.
"I told you all I tried…"
Kimura lightly told himself as he covered his ears, squatting down to his knees. He looked down at his reflection in the water as it slowly reaches out, a hand covered in burns and cuts as pieces of its skeleton were showing as it reached out and caresses his cheek.
"Because of you…I'm gone…"
He heard his mother's voice echo as he tears up, the hand still on his face as it rolls down the hand and into the water seamlessly.
"I'm trying mom…I'm really trying…"
Kimura muttered lightly, his lips trembling as he stared at the reflection of his mother in the water. Tears dropped into the water, rippling as it rippled to his friends from Ishimura Academy, both looking at him as it ripples again to a younger version of himself.
"You told us you'd do everything to find out who did it…" His younger reflection told him.
"N-No…I've tried so much…I don't want to try…not anymore…" Kimura told his younger self.
"Does that mean you're giving up on us…" His younger reflection asked somberly.
"N-No…I just…" Kimura stuttered as his teardrop ripples the waters once more.
The water rippled as his younger reflection was accompanied by the mutilated versions of his Ishimura Academy friends, one burned while the other with bloodshot red eyes and their neck at a harsh angle. Alongside them was his mother as well as they began to guilt trip him.
"If you give up…that means you've given up on all of us Kimura…You're running away from your problems again…" the voices spoke in sync.
"I don't…I don't want it anymore…"
"Forgetful…Scared little Kimura…" They taunted in sync.
"Please…Shut up and go…" Kimura said lightly with a shaky voice.
"Kimura…" they said.
"I…said…LEAVE!" Kimura shouted.
"Kimura…!" Another voice came out.
Kimura then looked up from the watery reflection as he saw his older sister standing in front of him.
"K-Kiriko…?" Kimura stuttered.
"..." she smiled softly at him as she lends a helping hand.
Kimura looks at her hand as he lowers his ears, the voices are gone again as he reaches out, grabbing onto her hand as Kiriko pulls him back up on his feet. Just then, Kimura began to regain consciousness once again, hearing the crowd yelling and cheering.