[IC] The World of Wasted Dreams

[Skyswimsky]

And it was happening, again, someone was getting killed in front of Shinobu's eyes. It wasn't such a monstrous view compared to the day before, but the fact that the perpetrator was no one else but the girl who swore to protect them, and compared to the red hair Akane was even closer to Shino. Still, angst had taken hold of Shinobu and all she could watch was as their saviour feasted upon the karate girl like some kind of vampire. No! Shino wanted to help, but she couldn't move. She didn't want to lose another person. Why? Why was she so weak? What if they would be the next victims? Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! She wanted to yell, but even her voice wouldn't come out and tears started to roll down her soft cheeks.

And then, the evil deed was done, and as if Reiko had been put under a similiar curse as Shino, they were finally able to react properly. A Shinai got thrown, words exchanged, Shino didn't care, no, the green-hair immediately rushed towards the new corpse. "Akane-chan! Akane-chan!" Her tears not stopping she kneeled besides her, gently shaking the drained body. "Hey! Wake up! Please! You are not dead, right? C'mon, 'Just a flesh wound.'...Hey!...Hey!...Please..." As her voice grew more silent, she violently shot her balled fist towards the ground, hurting herself more than the cursed floor. Why? Again, why was this happening? And why was their friend the one who just attacked them? Was she under some influence? A fake? Maybe this was HER hunting ground? Was she even human? Why couldn't she protect Akane-chan? Why was she so weak? So goddamn weak? No...she couldn't lose faith in her believes...but still... .

Still sobbing, Shinobu closed the eyes of the corpse before fixating on the thrown Shinai, proceeding to move towards it and pick it up.

[Xaltwind]

While Shiori was waiting for Aito to come down the hall and - inevitably - spout his nonsense and non-coherent and unrelated tidbits of factoids around, she was surprised to see another figure beat the aforementioned boy to it. Instead, this new person decided that a good cause of action was to try and ram the large, corridor-spanning mirror. Indeed, in most cases, a forehead-first-frontal-charge would no doubt have been enough to shattter any mirror back in the real world, or at least cause some serious cracks to appear in it. Unfortunately, the mirror in this hallway was either made out of indestructium, or was just incredibly thick, for the boy's attack had no effect other than to cause him to fall butt-first onto the ground.

Taking a step in the direction of the new arrival, Shiori was about to reach out and clutch as his collar - seeing as the ghostly hands were stretching out to get him. Luckily, the guy had reflexes like a mongoose and was able to scoot backwards just in time to avoid being sexually molested by the reflective surface. As he stood and looked over in her direction, Shiori was surprised to see that it was none other than Kaku, another member of the POIR club. He was starting to speak and say things, barely visible in the outrageously poor lighting, but it didn't matter. The screams of the children beyond the mirror were still overpowering anything and everything and Shiori could only hear bits and pieces of what Kaku was trying to get across - though it was obvious he was displeased. For good reasons.

At this point, Aito also finally joined the scene, stopping next to the president and his fellow club-member. He too looked like he was saying things and gesturing with his hands - although, as before, it was to no avail. Getting a mental migraine from the idea that both of these dullards thought she would be able to hear them over the screams, she turned her attention to the small notepad in her hand. Holding up to her face, she scribbled onto it with the pen she had gotten out earlier. Once having written a few notes and pages, she stored the pen away in one of her pockets and turned the note towards the two boys. She also held up her cell phone, using it to cast light on the notepad so that they could both read it.

Shiori's handwriting was clear and easy to read, and the characters were written with simple, but extremely functional, lines. The notes began:

'You both realize I can't hear a word you're saying, right?' Page-flip. 'This mirror is dangerous, don't get close to it.' She flipped the page again. 'You probably noticed it too, Kaku, but the mirror will try to grab you. It got my necktie earlier. I was careless.' Another flip. 'In any case, I looked around but there's no way around the mirror here. We should go back.' That was the final page. She looked at them with her straight, blank poker-face, waiting for confirmation in the form of a nod or something. However, only after having done this did Shiori realize something.

There was another figure here.

And it was standing infront of the mirror, looking into it.

Her eyes grew wide and a cold sweat broke out across her neck. Standing before the mirror was Tsubasa-kun, a baseball bat limply dangling in his arm as he stared, with a glazed look to his eyes, into the surface before him. No doubt, just like Shiori, he too was seeing something in the mirror that wasn't there - an illusion to draw you close. Knowing full well what could happen, the club president pushed past Aito and Kaku, running at Tsubasa as fast as she could and - just like Resan-san before - tried to tackle him to the floor.

Sadly, Tsubasa's stature and weight gave him an incredible advantage over Shiori's slender form and light mass, and the tall boy didn't even budge when she impacted against his side. She pulled on his arm, desperate to get him away from the mirror, but he didn't move. Or wait... He did... Had he noticed? He was looking at her. His lips were moving, he was saying something. What? She couldn't hear. His eyes were still hazy though, just what was he do-

Whack!

Shiori let out a pained yelp as she flew back towards Kaku and Aito, landing on the ground on her side, clutching at her upper left arm. Tsubasa was standing where he had been, but the arm he had the bat in was raised and bent. He had struck her! He had batted her away because she had tried to stop him. But why? Just what was he seeing in that blank surface that would cause the normally docile, friendly and gentle Tsubasa to willingly strike one of his classmates? And with a bat no less!

As she tried to wrap her mind around it, as well as get back up, Shiori looked on in horror and tried to shout, but couldn't make her voice heard.

The ghostly arms reached out of the mirror again, and clasped onto Tsubasa's leg, then his arm, his pants and his shirt. With a violent tug, they pulled him against the surface and the impact caused him to drop his bat, as well as regain the normal light to his eyes. Hwever, it was too late! More arms extended and grabbed hold of him, latching around his throat and shoulders, his forearms and chest. And then... They pulled him into the mirror. The sight was so surreal you could have sworn it was a trick or some kind of CGI-animation. To see a person pass through a solid surface as if it was water, with no sound or no ripples or other effects was... unnerving and bizarre, to say the least.

Shiori sat on the floor, staring at where Tsubasa had been.

But wait... What... What the hell!? He was there, but... On the other side?! He was inside the mirror!? She stood. Her mind raced. Tsubasa was, quite frankly, standing in the mirror now, looking back at them. He was holding his hands up to his mouth, shouting something, but no sound was heard. He waved his arms, trying to see if they could see him. Just what was going on here?

[TheWendil]

Shizune visibly flinched at the harsh words thrown at her. Reiko was right. She was a monster. But she wanted to help! She had to help them! Gritting her teeth-no, her fangs-Shizune looked Reiko in the face and slowly shook her head. "I'm sorry. I really am. I....I don't know what happened. I couldn't control myself..." Her confidence fading, the red eyed girl tried to turn away and began fidgeting in place. She felt like a little girl being scolded by her parents or the principal.

Her gaze flitted over to Shinobu, and the muffler girl cradled Akane's still corpse. Why did it matter? She would just...no. There were enough secrets exposed for one day. "Shinobu.....please I-I...well it must have been that gray child! That's never happened before..." She spoke as if confirming it only to herself. Right. They had to get out of here now. Back to business.

"Reiko. Please, we have to find Shiori! She'll...she understand! She'll help you. She can help me." Shizune pleaded to Reiko to at least have the P.O.I.R president hear her out." A pause. Followed by a heavy sigh. "Right. I guess you should know the truth then....I...I am....." She kept her gaze to the ground, genuinely afraid of what their reactions would be.

"I'm a vampire."

[Jedly]

Where does the Mirror go?

Kaku stood up with a groan and patted himself down, surprised he was able to retreat at such a rate from the arms. The image of the appendages was still burned in his mind; a ghostly arm with a translucent hand, all of its fingers reaching for something to get a hold of. In the student's reality, such a thing wouldn't even exist, as the limbs were able to launch themselves through a solid material. Unfortunately for them, this world was genocidal to common sense and logic. It would succeed in trying the unexpected, and can bring one’s worst fears to life. ”This world is basically a giant screw you to any form of reason." He muttered under his breath as he straightened out his back. The constant screaming, originating from the back of the mirror wasn't helping him clear his mind.

The boy spun himself around when he heard the quick tapping of feet coming from down the hall. Whatever the source of it was, it was approaching the two at an alarming rate. Kaku’s hand rushed down into his shirt's pen pocket and whipped out his phone, shining the light in the direction of the footsteps. Had another malicious entity approaching them, Kaku squinted his eyes, trying to spot their possible demise. As it got closer, he noticed a voice was accompanying it. ”Wait a second…” He recognized the voice and shook his head; dashing towards them was Aito, shouting up a storm. ”He did stop screaming for a few minutes, wasn’t sure whether it was him running at us” The student thought to himself as the only other male in the club stopped before them, panting like a dog, shouting curses and gripes of his experiences. ”At least you had the right idea to stop. I charged head first into that.” He motioned the light towards the mirror taking up the entire hallway, built into the walls. ”Hey Pres, wha-” Kaku was cut off as a notepad was shoved towards both of them, on it was finely writ characters.

Kaku guessed the cause of Shiori’s inability to hear was the screams from before. He had followed those very shrill cries, though they barely had an effect on him, as he had only heard them from a distance. He couldn’t even fathom how ear-shattering it must have been to be in the midst of such a sound, how she was able to keep such a straight face was a mystery. With a glance of Haru’s expression, he seemed to have been extremely surprised by this news, disbelief floated in his eyes. To people who hadn’t experienced it, it’s a hard concept to wrap your head around. ”Though, the appendages are somewhat slow. I’ve got a few suspicions on how they operate and capture their prey.” Kaku shined his phone over his shoulder, giving Aito a full look of the mirror. He stared at the dust-covered ground for a few moments, congregating his thoughts. ”Anyways, I agree with the proposal of getting the hell away from this thing. Let’s go.” Looking back up, he realized Aito was still staring at the mirror. It was just an oversized mirror, nothing captivating about it. Then the student realized that Shiori had her fixated in the same direction. Kaku raised an eyebrow and turned around to see what was taking up their attention. He stepped back in astonishment at what his eyes saw. There was another figure standing in front of the mirror, much taller than all of them. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he was able to confirm the identity of the individual. A few meters away from them was Hazama Tsubasa, a member of multiple sports teams and the student council. Kaku had been forced to watch a few of his games, his tall phisyche was easily distinguishable.

But, Tsubasa’s fight wasn’t over just yet. On the other side of the mirror was him, still holding onto dear life. Kaku was surprised by the student’s willpower and let out a sigh of relief, though he was still trapped behind the pane of glass. He fully took in the seen and put the facts together in his head, trying to piece together a solution. He wasn’t sure whether the president could hear at the moment, so it seemed the only form of communication was through written word. With a few taps on the screen, Kaku had composed a small phrase; I might have an idea. I’ll have a quick conversation with Tsubasa-san. He showed the other to the screen then approached the mirror, staying at least keeping a meter’s distance. From the looks of it, Tsubasa was able to see onto their side as well, which made this even more complex. It seemed the appendages which popped out of the reflective surface were embedded within the middle, between the two sides. He raised the phone up so that Tsubasa could completely see the text on the screen. Don’t worry, Tsubasa-san. We will get you out of this alive, trust me. But before we attempt anything, I need to quickly confirm with you, can you see us? I just need a nod, and if you can’t, then you will obviously keep shouting and banging on the glass. The boy’s eyes scanned over the screen and gave a nod of confirmation, Kaku then proceeded to type another message and placed the phone over his shoulder. This will be a tad risky. Aito-san, if they manage to defy my guess, then yank me away. If I’m too far gone, then just leave me. He faced the tall student and typed another message to him; If I get stuck in there with you, I’m going to strangle you with these headphones. Alright? It was obviously an empty threat, in all honesty, Tsubasa was half a foot taller than Kaku, and could easily deck him. Though, the student perceived it as an honest promise, Kaku tapped on his phone and showed him the message without a second to lose; Just kidding.

With that, Kaku undid his tie and clumped it up in his left hand, sighing deeply. ”They took her tie and just let her be? Either these appendages have quite the fetish, or there’s something else to them.” The student took a running start and leaped at the bat, reaching as far as he could. He landed on his feet and quickly snatched up the bat, the almost silent sound of muscle movement flew towards him. With a motion to his behind, he knocked away a lone arm. Unfortunately, Kaku wasn’t as anatomically strong to behind with, and a one-handed strike with a blunt weapon, in a reverse movement, would barely leave even a bruise. Other appendages phased out of the mirror at an alarming speed, Kaku was fully aware of his disadvantage. As a last ditch effort, he tossed his overly expensive tie at the group of limbs, hoping his suspicions were correct. When one caught the finely knit piece of attire, the other arms, as if it was on instinct, swarmed the neckwear and pulled it back towards their origin. Meanwhile, the student quickly booked it away, back to the other members, out of breath. Once he calmed down, he managed to type another phrase on the phone, which took him at least a minute; Well, that was some amazing luck. When Pres mentioned they only took her tie, they could have easily continued to attack her en masse. But, they lack any way to visibly intake information, and can only act upon the sense of feel and instinct. Once one of them acquire a grip on something, the others instantly assist, to secure their prey. Now, either than almost been felt up by those things, we still have a classmate trapped in there. But, here’s the catch. He could be within the mirror, or he could be on a completely different side. Those arms must go somewhere, right? There’s a space between the mirror, in which the limbs take refuge. A space which defies what we see as filled, but they are able to use some sort of loophole. If we were to shatter the glass, we could either save him, or end his life within a second. It’s a gamble. I’m not sure whether he can even tell where he is at the moment. Aito-san, you’re the most physically capable out of all of us. A piece of advice, friend. Take off anything that you can get stuck on, and that they can latch onto. I can pull you back if need be. By this time, Kaku had already lost his tie and jacket, all that was left was the dress shirt and his khakis. He flipped the bat in his hand and placed the tip in his hand, then pointed the grip towards Aito. ”It can go down south really fast from here if we don’t play our cards correctly.” He said, staring at the student, who was obviously unable to hear him.

[Xaltwind]

"-e Hell.... What the hell!?"

Aito shouted - his eyes shaking, his lips quivering and his entire body shaking. Having seen what just happened to Hazama, and now reading what this guy was trying to say to him with the cell phone, just what the hell? Did this guy really think that he'd just go along and walk up to that ... that... thing!? No way! That mirror just ate Tsubasa, and if he got near it, it could very well eat him too. No, even if Shiba wanted to keep as many of his classmates alive, for the sake of safety in numbers, Hazama was a lost cause. Yup, there wasn't anythjing they could do. Not really, right? If they tried, they might end up the same way, and that wouldn't help anyone!

Backing away from Shiori and Kaku, Aitor eached into his pocket and pulled out his own phone. With a feq, quick button-mashes, he typed something and then shoved it into Kaku's face.

Do it yourself!!

While Kaku and Shiba were busy with their thing however, Shiori stood silently and watched Tsubasa in the mirror. It was eerie, to know that there was a person inside of it, and that it might be no thicker than an ordinary, household mirror. It was also terrifying, knowing full well that if you got too close, and weren't prepared, you too could end up in the same state. She wanted to save him, she really did, but how? It seemed the mirror only turned into a pseudo-liquid when the hands reached out of it, andjudging by Hazama's vain banging on the other side, the surface was solid on that end too.

She raised her hand to her chin, tapping her cheek with a finger whle closing her eyes. All the while, the pained screams from beyond the mirror continued, making the ears of those in the hallway bleed wth their shrill shrieks of pain...

What do we do...?

[UnendingEmpire]

"I'm a vampire."

Oh, joy. We've been led on by a bloodsucker. At least Reiko didn't look ready to burst into flames anymore. Quick to anger, quick to calm, as she'd put it. She still didn't look particularly happy though. How could she be, really? She'd still seen Yoshida kill one of the people she was trying to protect, and how the hell was she supposed to compete with a vampire if it came down to having to fight? For all her talent with a shinai, she was still only human. Maybe it's because of this that she said what she said next.

"If you need blood, I don't mind offering up a little bit from time to time. Just don't kill anybody else, don't make more bloodsuckers, and get us out of here. I can't see me getting along with a vampire - I still don't fully believe they really exist, much less that you're one - but we humans do what we have to in order to stay alive." Survival was the basest human instinct, even if it meant doing something they didn't like. The expression on Reiko's face made it perfectly clear that if given the choice, she'd much rather not team up with this girl, but she was pretty much the only way to keep on living right now. Reiko found a small bit of ironic humor in that their best bet for survival was to trust a girl claiming to be a vampire.

"But keep this in mind," Reiko added once it crossed her mind. "I'm not a big vampire fan, but from stories I remember, they're notoriously good schemers. If I find out you're leading us to make some kind of feast for yourself, sunlight will be the least of your worries. Got that?"

[TheWendil]

Shizune didn't flinch at Reiko's worded threat, only nodding in acceptance. "Yes...I understand Nagatani-san. If it's all the same to you...I trust you completely to destroy my existence if the need arises." Although her tone held the same monotone of before, her expression revealed her nervousness. "As for the offer...I appreciate it. I will only feed when I absolutely need to. In fact, I've only fed from one other before...I'm sorry. I know my words probably mean nothing to you...I promise to inform you of when I need to feed."

Looking down and avoiding Reiko's gaze, Shizune closed her eyes to monetarily ponder her thoughts and steel her nerves. How long? How long would this living nightmare last? Thinking about it all...it was almost enough to make her break down here and now. Two dead...she had to keep going. She could spare tears for the fallen later.

"Right then. Let's meet the others. We're done here." Turning away from the two girls, Shizune led the way down the longer corridor to hopefully run into Shiori and the others.

[Skyswimsky]

Able to calm herself down a bit Shinobu looked at Akane again, still hoping this was just some sort of big joke, but alas she was really dead. Unlike the red-hair however, Akane's was still complete meaning she could get a proper burial.

"Right then. Let's meet the others. We're done here."

Just like that? Maybe she just wanted to move on from this horrible experience, but Shinobu had the feeling the vampire didn't even care? She couldn't just let it stand like this, moving towards her friends corpse the first thing she did was getting Akane on her own back, she was lighter than expected, maybe because of all the missing blood? She wouldn't just leave her here, even if "just" a corpse. Hurrying towards her Senpai and the murderer to not fall too far behind she caught up rather easily. In fact the green hair moved in front of the leading Shizune, just to turn towards her to get her attention. Catching her breath for a moment she started to talk. "T-There are a great deal of things I can forgive, but if there is something unforgivable, it's murder! Do you even realize what you have done?! Just because you were too much of a coward to ask for bloo- no the reason doesn't even matter, you killed someone! You killed someone who was involved with a lot of people, someone who was loved and depended on, you just...just...killed her, just like that. What is her sister supposed to do? What about Aito? Do you even care? Because to me it doesn't seem that way. You are the worst someone can get, and once we are out here, I will make damn sure you will receive proper judgement." Shinobu got louder than she wanted to, but she did not care for the moment. Furthermore there was disgust and hate in her eyes, something she had probably never shown anyone before, but there it was, all just for their "only hope left".

The green hair didn't even expect an answer, she just moved a bit to the side, waiting for the murderer to lead the way...if not for her Senpai she probably wouldn't even listen to her anymore.

[TheWendil]

Shziune flinched at every bite of word Shinobu had to give her but retained her stoic expression. She wouldn't lie, she had never expected the normally bright and bubbly girl to snap out like that to her. Of course...yes, it had to be because of that...a bitter laugh escaped the vampire's pale lips and she turned to focus her crimson eyes on the green-haired girl.

"Yes that's right...I'm the absolute worst, aren't I? That's what you both think, right? Good. Hate me, degrade me, spit on me...it doesn't matter. I already know my sins. I....I am deeply sorry that you do feel that way about me Resan-san...perhaps if we get out of here, then you may punish me after all. You'd be doing me a favor anyway," she muttered.

With those dark words hanging in the air, Shizune dismissed the conversation and said nothing further. Leading the way back to the others, the vampire wanted nothing more than to crawl into a corner and sleep forever. Their remarks....she was far past the point of breaking down into tears...and to despair would mean to give up. No.

They had to keep moving.

[UnendingEmpire]

"T-There are a great deal of things I can forgive, but if there is something unforgivable, it's murder! Do you even realize what you have done?! Just because you were too much of a coward to ask for bloo- no the reason doesn't even matter, you killed someone! You killed someone who was involved with a lot of people, someone who was loved and depended on, you just...just...killed her, just like that. What is her sister supposed to do? What about Aito? Do you even care? Because to me it doesn't seem that way. You are the worst someone can get, and once we are out here, I will make damn sure you will receive proper judgement."

"You're not serious about bringing that corpse along, are you?" It wasn't that Reiko wanted to see justice for what had happened. Far from it; she was just as eager to see Shizune's deeds brought to justice just as much as Shinobu. It was mostly that if they went to police, Reiko didn't think it would be easy. It'd have to be something they did themselves. That, and if they did manage to escape, Reiko at least wanted to do something for the vampire before killing her or whatever. Some gears started turning, until Reiko said "When we get out of here, I'll cook everybody something nice. Steak, maybe. With lots of garlic mixed in for yours, Shizune, if you really want us to do something to you for this. Vampires are weak to garlic, yes?"

Then she stopped for a moment. "But more importantly, you have my shinai. I'll be taking that back now." Turning to directly face Shinobu, Reiko held out a hand. She felt more comfortable if the bamboo sword was in the kendo club prez's hands, as opposed to the hands of somebody who was also bringing around a corpse. This adventure from (to?) hell was far from over. "Anything else we should know while you're sharing, Shizune?"

[Xaltwind]

Shiori was staring in disbelief and irritation.

The two idiots had done the unbelievable. In their suqabbling state, a minor game of shove-and-push had broken out - Aito being the instigator, of course - and this had eventually turned into a fight. Having learned her lesson from trying to approach Tsubasa who had a bat, and getting her shoulder almost dislcoated by that, Shiori had decided to stay out of this scuffle and only interfere after. However, the unthikable had happened. Kaku had punched Aito in the chin and the boy had staggered backwards - and as he did, he grabbed Kaku's collar and pulled the other boy with him.

And then... Then they had bumped inti the mirror. It only took a second, but the ethereal, white hands of the polished surface lashed out, grabbed Aito and pulled him in with little effort. And as Aito vanished into the solid surface, Kaku slammed into the mirror and suffered the exact, same fate. Now... Now she was standing there, looking at the three boys, caught on the other side of the glass. Aito was shouting and banging his hands against the other side, Kaku was trying to use his cell phone but it appeared to no longer work, and Tsubasa was just standing there, looking betwen his two classmates and the girl still on the real side.

"You morons..." Shiori sighed.

But, what was she to do now? She couldn't just leave the three boys in there. Who knew what might happen to them! No, she had to do something, but what? They had tried to study and understand the mirror, but was it really necessary? The usually rational and logic-driven Shiroi had a thought. Maybe the soloution wasn't that difficult? Maybe the mirror just wanted you to overthink things? Maybe, just maybe, the correct soloution was the most simple in this case? Reaching down to her feet, she picked up the baseball bat and wrined her hands around the duct-taped end. She looked at the mirror.

"Don't worry, I'll get you out of there." The club president said, taking a deep breath and stepping forward with what little courage she could steel herself with.

Approaching the mirror was greatly unpleasant, mostly because she knew that one wrong move and she could fall into the same situation as the others. Standing about a meter and a half away now, her heart was in her throat, she tasted blood in her mouth and her hands were starting to sweat. A cold chill ran down her spine and she could tell her breathing had become slightly erratic and hastened. This was scary... This was unwise... This was uncertain... She hated all of those things. But running away and leaving them, without even trying, would be far worse and far more haunting than the feelings of dread she had right now. Shje gulped, tightened her grip on the bat, and then... Hurled it with all her might.

Ka-craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack~!!

The aluminium, phallic sports-equipment struck the mirror, causing a hole and cracks in it to appear.... But... The cracks... They suddenly began spreading, at an alarmingly quick rate. Shiori stared. That shouldn't be happening... There should only be damage where she had hit it, so why...? Wait! What!? Her eyes opened wide in horror. As the cracks spread and passed over the spots where the three boys were, wounjds similar to the cracks appeared on them! Blood began streaming out and they began to cringe and fall over, sscreaming - though she could not hear them. The mirror cracked more and more, and so did the boys. Shiori stared in horror, her mouth agape. She wanted to scream and yell and run over, but she couldn't even move. She was petrified.

And then...

Then the mirror broke. Shattered, into a million pieces. And as it shattered, the girl stared at the pieces, for as the fragments fell, she saw wjhat fate had befallen her friends. In each shard, there was a bit of them... A hand... A foot... An eye... They had been torn apart and cut into as many pieces as the mirror. They were dead. Just like the spanish girl... Except this time, it hadn't been some weird, freaky monster that kiled them - it had been Shiori. She did this? It was her fault? The mirror pulled them in, sure, but it was she who broke it. A moment's lapse in judgement, and she had cost three of her friends their lives... Gone, forever. Never to see them again. The president fell to her knees, mouth still open and eyes staring blankly forward to where the mirror had stood.

She couldn't think. Her mind had gone blank. A safety mechanism? Shutting down to keep her from going insane due to this whole mess? She didn't know. She couldn't think after all.

As she sat there,, on her knees, amidst the thousands upon thousands of shards f broken mirror-glass, she did not notice as the pieces dulled and their reflective properties faded. They turned dull and gray, and no longer could you see either what was inside them, or what they reflected - they just looked like old, broken pieces of discolored glass now. A final, cruel joke? Not even leaving a trace of the victims behind?

"... E... Every.... Ever... y... one..." Shiori muttered this word, over and over, as she stared into nothingness with blank eyes.

[TheWendil]

"Yes. Vampires are indeed weak to garlic. I'm glad you know so much about me considering you claimed to not believe my words a minute ago."

Shizune kept her gaze locked to the front and did not pause in her stride, even to answer Reiko's question. Upon hearing if she had anything left to share to the two girls, the vampire narrowed her eyes, though Reiko could not see so with her in the lead.

"No. Nothing else comes to mind. If I discover anything more, I'll be sure to inform you first, Nagatani-san."

It didn't take very long for the trio of girls to enter the intersection that had separated them all in the first place, and Shizune was relieved that the location didn't decide to change on itself again. Weren't there enough problems for her today? However, the closer she led the group down the second hallway, the more she felt that something was terribly wrong. When she stumbled upon a broken Shiori, all of the vampire's fears were instantly confirmed.

There...right there. Gray, discolored shards of glass layered the floor around the club leader, and it was then that Shizune knew. She understood quite perfectly....bounding over to Shiori, Shizune crouched down and lifted the girl up by the collar of her shirt. Clenching her fists tightly, Shizune's crimson eyes flamed with anger and she bared her fangs for all to see.

"You...y-you idiot! What the hell did you do? Where are the boys? No....no they're all dead, aren't they? Stupid, stupid stupid!"

Shizune's face paled even more so than before, and she swept her line of sight over to Rekio and Shinobu now.

"That creature...let me guess, it was a mirror, right? Listen...that thing is a death trap. It's called a Spectrum. Once someone gets caught inside the other side...there is no way to free them."

She looked back over to Shiori, her grip trembling.

"Someone got caught," she hissed. Her tone was accusatory.

"Someone got caught...then they all got....and then you tried to save them, didn't you? And now they're all dead, right Shiori? Answer me! Why do you always do this! Every time I try to help you...all of you...you just go around and be the hero and...and...ahh!"

Shizune half-threw, half-lowered Shiori back to the ground and closed her eyes to calm herself, taking slow, easy breathes. When she opened them again, her stoic expression was back and reinforced.

"Shiori, I....no, I mean Mizuhana-san...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I'm sure you did everything you could for them...it's my fault again. I shouldn't have left you...it won't happen a second time."

Trying to control the shake in her step, she backed away from Shiori, almost fearful as she cast her eyes downward.

"We should probably find shelter for the next day," she muttered. "I'm not demanding that we do...that's just what I would suggest. That's all."

She refused to look at the club president, afraid of the girl's reaction to not only her outburst, but the eventual reveal of her status as well. It was only a matter of time before she too would discover that a vampire was walking in their midst.

[Skyswimsky]

"You're not serious about bringing that corpse along, are you?"

"Yes I am, she deserves a proper burial and Aito has the right to know!" She defended her righteous corpse-carriage before handing over the Shinai back to her Senpai. With that, the three of them continued to move along silently, until, until... more death news awaited them! Shiori sat there like a little child that just witnessed something she shouldn't have, tons of grey mirrorshards, just what happened?!

"No..." The vampire girl seemed to know what was going on, Shino made a step back. "No..." She had to be wrong, she must have been wrong, because if she was right, that meant. "No..." All of them? Just four left? This was bullshit! She lost strength in her legs and arms, dropping the corp- Aiko forcefully on the ground before falling down on her knees herself. Why? Why? They were four! Four of them were together, but now? Now just only one person! This was just too much for her to handle, she was always positive, maybe even a bit bubbly, but now? People dropped dead left and right, she wasn't able to go home, she couldn't meet her friends, what about her work? Everything was just shit. Why couldn't it simply stop? And thus, the green haired girl cried once again.

[Xaltwind]

Shiori did neither react nor respond when Shizune picked her up and started scolding her. Not even when the vamåiress bared her fangs did the club president flinch, but rather just kept staring off into the distance with a glazed look on her eyes. Whatever she was thinking, it was far more pressing and consuming than the current reality - though, given that she had just been the cause for three deaths, that wasn't exactly hard to understand. However, when she was finaly tossed onto the floor, the sudden bumping against a hard surface brought her back into reality - just in time to hear the wailing cries of Shinobu.

Blinking a few times in silent confusion, it took a moment for her to regain both bearings and realizationb of where she was, who was with her and what had just happened. She felt sick and nauseous, a biig knot was causuing her stomach to hurt and she could feel her heart in her throat. The crying of the green-haired girl didn't help the situation, and it was only then that she noticed it. The body... The lifeless body of somebody not breathing was lying next to Shinobu.

"Ah..." She tried to say something, but shut her mputh almost at once. A frown spread across her face. So someone died over on their end too... was her only thoughts.

No, this wouldn't do. As bad as she felt and as guilty as she was, standing around moping and worrying about it wouuld not do anyone any good. If she was wallowing in despair and anxiety over what she had done, then there would be no moving forward - there'd just be stagnant introspective thoughts, which this maze-like nightmare surely would take advantage off in the end. Shiori shook her head slightly and took a breath - Yes, as much as she was a murderer, even if not intended, and as much as she regretted her actions just a few minutes ago, she was still alive - and so was Shinobu, Reika and shizune.

Their group had dwindled quite fast and they were upon the verge of breaking apart, but then... How would they get out? That's right, they couldn't fall here, they had to keep going, even if it hrt, even if it was tiring, even if it it felt impossible - they had go on, otherwise, they'd all die. And that, that would be the greatest insult to the rest who had died - not being able to escape and inform their loved ones about their demise and ultimate fate. Shiori's eyes regained some focus and she swallowed, just in time to hear Shizune's question.

"Yes... It'd be a good idea to find somewhere we can rest,... And talk." She answered in her calm, although slightly subdued and more quite-than-usual tone."... I'm feeling abit exhausted myself at the moment, and my head could use a breather." Now that was the understatement of the century.

Her head turned to look at Reika and Shinobu.

"What about you two? I'm sure you've seen or gone through something horrible too..." It was easy to guess that they had, given Shinobu's seemingly haviing broken down.

[UnendingEmpire]

"We should probably find shelter for the next day. I'm not demanding that we do...that's just what I would suggest. That's all."

"Yes... It'd be a good idea to find somewhere we can rest,... And talk. I'm feeling abit exhausted myself at the moment, and my head could use a breather. What about you two? I'm sure you've seen or gone through something horrible too..."

"Just another day in nightmare land," Reiko agreed. Between seeing all the crap she'd seen today, learning that the group's guide and greatest hope for salvation was a vampire, and just altogether having a very not-good day, Reiko was about as done here as done could get. Still, she didn't know how to escape. That was why Shizune was here; why she didn't kill the vampire back when she found discovered what Shizune really was. That, and weighing a shinai - even in the hands of an expert - against a vampire assuming the legends of their speed and might were true, and Reiko's odds of winning that fight would be dangerously low. Give her an actual katana on the other hand, with a blade...

But there was nothing that could be done about it. Here was a quartet of girls who once was a group numbering at about eight or so. The fact that two days was all it took for half of them to die was something Reiko would need time to wrap her head around. Then how much longer would the remaining girls be able to survive? How long would be take before there was any chance of escape? Did their chances of survival and their chances of escape have different lifespans? "Nightmare land" indeed

[TheWendil]

Shizune didn't even bother to try and comfort Shinobu's sudden breakdown. Frankly, she was a little jealous of the green-haired optimist; she was the one who was supposed to be crying. She was the one who had failed everyone and revealed her ugly side to them...she needed to...start over again. And again, and again, and again....

"Let's head back to the room we rested in the night before," she said wearily. "Assuming it's not gone from yesterday."

Turning around to lead the group, she made sure to keep her eyes focused only ahead, intentionally straying away from meeting Shiori directly. Thankfully, their salvation from earlier was still present, though it felt like centuries since their last endeavor here. It didn't help that new corpses were strewed about the walls and floors, the bodies of their dead comrades labeled and strew about as if in some cruel joke. If the World of Wasted Dreams had a mind of its own, it would be classified as a cruel bastard.

Sighing in both exhaustion and despair, Shizune took her chair from yesterday and propped it near the door. "I'll take watch again," she announced. Her tone indicated that she wasn't to be argued with. However, just as she made herself comfortable, a familiar pang hit her body.

Tensing, she rested a hand on her abdomen and took easy breathes, sweat beginning to glisten from her body. That damn creature from before....usually she didn't need to feed so soon....was it the World of Wasted Dreams altering her perception of hunger? Whatever the case, she would force herself to wait until tomorrow; she didn't date ask to drink from her comrades. Not after....

She didn't deserve to eat. And if her instincts did take over....then she would kill herself.

[Xaltwind]

Under other circumstances, Shiori would have opposed the idea to go back to the room they had been in before. What with the strange, dead-like child that had scared Shizune away having appeared there, not to mention the girl had said that staying in any one spot for long was a bad idea. However, this was not normal circumstances, even under the duress of them being trapped in this nightmarish hell, Shiori was still struggling with the fact that she had just killed three of her classsmates - unintentional as it may have been, and no matter hw hard she tried to focus on other things - so her ability to think clearly was... Clouded... to put it mildly.

She didn't even pay attention to their stroll back to the room. Following Shizune's lead, the young girl walked as if in a trance, her eyes and face seemingly distant and spaced out. It was only once they had arrived at their destination and Shizune had declared that she would take the watch that Shiori returned. While her classmate seemed determined to have things her way, this was something that even a disoriented and struggling club president couldn't just agree to.

"I think not." She said, standing next to Shizune's chair. "Last time you had the waatch, that child with the black eyes appeared and made you run off." She stated it bluntly and without trying to smoothen it out, then again, she wasn't saying it in an accusing way - just stating the facts of reality. "Besides..." She sighed heavily. "I don't think anyone is going to fall asleep for awhile anyway."

With the death of four of their classmates in a single day, they all had enough things to think about besides sleep. Picking up a chair from the circle of... chairs... at the center of the room, Shiori placed it down a small way away from the door where Shizune sat. She leaned back and crossed her arms over her stomach, staring into the ceiling for a bit.

What do we do now? Where do we go? What can be done?

Thoughts like these flooded her head and ate away at most of her attention.