Yuki contra Yuki

Yuki choked. There was nothing choking her, no one around. Kanji tried moving her clenched hand from her neck.

There’s nothing here. Is that because of that thing? Shit.

He put the hammer in his open bag and dragged her towards the entrance; as he almost reached it, Yuki stopped choking and dropped her arms to her sides. Unconscious.

What should I do? I can’t drag her up the stairs. Can I even lift her? Ah, fuck it.

He picked her up from under her legs and back. His arms stung from his burns, and he was too weak to carry her. But it didn’t matter.

He climbed the stairwell, one heavy step at a time, his arms shaking, his torso burning. I did this to her, I shouldn’t have brought her here. If she’s dead, it’s all because of me. He slipped, but managed to hold her closely enough to prevent her head from hitting the stairs, or so he thought, not hearing a sound in the dark.

Yuki started coughing and inhaling desperately.

“Y-yuki? Are you okay?” Kanji’s heart dropped to his stomach.

“Yes…” she spoke hoarsely, “It stopped.”

“Thank God, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…” Tears flowed in his eyes.

“It’s okay.” she said, struggling to her feet awkwardly on the stairs. He moved to let her lean on him. She was sleepy, there and not there. They climbed the stairs shakily. When they reached the top, the girl was nowhere around. Sollenberg’s corpse still lay motionless. The building has caught fire, the inner rooms now burned, all burned but the way to the entrance. Kanji brought Yuki through the streets to the bus, and eventually the night train.

*****

Kanji and Yuki sat on a train bench. She was sleeping soundly, leaning on his shoulder. Is… Is Yuki the host? But she doesn’t look possessed either… He carefully looked at the hammer in his bag, not wanting to take it out in public. Was this all a trap?

On the bottom of the handle were two distinct bumps. Above them was a small printing, like those of a manufacturer. Kanji took his phone to it, trying to zoom into it inconspicuously. It was written in the game’s language. He could not yet translate it in his head, but he could tell it starts with “Bee.” He was anxious, he wanted to translate it as soon as he got home. But… I am free now. No more ticking clock, The clock disappeared from his palm, back then when he claimed the hammer. If I keep going, people might keep getting hurt.

Yuki’s face was pale, she was in the deepest sleep. Kanji’s eyes were falling shut as well despite his burning chest.

“Well then Kanji. You thought you could kill me and get away with it?” The sorcerer said.

“W-What? You’re alive?” Kanji started shaking.

“I told you, we hate dying. Have you ever seen an immortal man?”

Kanji lifted the revolver from his bag and tried to shoot him. The barrel was empty.

“There’s only one way you can use that thing to get rid of me.” The sorcerer turned the gun to Kanji’s head. “You know what to do.”

Kanji gasped as he opened his eyes, breathing heavily. Yuki was still sleeping soundly. It was a dream… Just a dream…

He sank his head against the window. His nausea returned to him. It will all go away, right? If the house burns, no one will know. Not even one…

It was 01:01 am when Kanji brought Yuki to her house. He wished her a good night, she nodded and went inside. Soon after he was back in his own room; he showered, treated his cuts and burns as well as he could, and went to sleep. Or rather tried to sleep, cuddling his Shiba Inu plushie, which seemed to look at him like a stranger.

*****

Kanji entered the classroom, wearing his suit and tie; he moved to sit in his chair all the way at the back, by the window. He was worried about Yuki, although he had texted her multiple times throughout the weekend, and she had clearly tried very hard to reassure him of her wellbeing.

The class filled with students, all but Yuki. Where is she? She’s usually here first out of everyone.

The homeroom teacher, Mrs. Tsubaki entered. Kanji stood up. All the students greeted her in unison.

After she reached Yuki’s name in the rollcall, a confused look appeared on her face.

“Does anyone know where Hatanaka-san is?” She said soothingly.

Nobody spoke. The teacher had written something in her notebook.

It was only after Mrs. Tsubaki had announced the end of the morning meeting that the door slid open. A student strutted into the room, one Kanji had never seen before. Girls were expected to tie up their hair in school, but her hair was down and flowing, and most strangely, dyed pink. Her eyes stood out to him the most, a blunted light blue, like candy-wrapper plastic.

“Good morning, can I help you?” Mrs. Tsubaki addressed her with a smile, but the student ignored her. She walked until she reached the desk right next to Kanji’s, which Tetsuo was sitting on.

And as she got closer, he recognized her face.

“Y-yuki?” Kanji’s stomach dropped.

“Hey, that’s my seat. Move.” She said, looking at Tetsuo.

“Huh? Who even are you? I’ve been sitting here for six months!” Tetsuo said.

Yuki pulled out the revolver from her backpack, pointing it at Tetsuo’s head. “Move.” Yuki said, and the cocking sound echoed.

Tetsuo screamed and fell back with his chair, crawling away, which caused the nearby girls to fall backwards and scream, running into creaking chairs and tables in the way. Kanji froze. The teacher’s jaw dropped, and quickly the entire class had evacuated in screams. The teacher backed out of the room. Within seconds, the classroom was empty except for Kanji and Yuki.

Yuki smiled, put her revolver on the table, and sat next to Kanji. “Hey!” she smiled at him.

In this moment it dawned on him. She’s possessed. It was a slow-burn.

“Yuki? You brought your gun to school?” Kanji said.

“Yeah? Why wouldn’t I?”

“Are you serious?”

“How have you been, Kanji-kun? I’ve really missed you! It was really lonely over the weekend…”

Her personality is completely off. And why the hell does she look like that? The skirt’s waistband cinched at her waist, and the top button of her uniform was open, missing the red ribbon. He forced himself to look back at her face. How could this possibly be important for that spirit?

“I’ve… I’ve been fine… you dyed your hair?” He dare not comment about anything else.

“No, I just woke up like this. Lucky! I’ve always wanted to be blonde.”

“It’s not blonde though, it’s pink.”

“Same thing! Even better, maybe. You don’t see a lot of people with pink hair nowadays.”

“Yeah…Um…” What the hell is she doing?

She brought the revolver to her mouth and chewed on it absentmindedly. His eyebrows raised.

“Y-yuki-san?”

“Yesh?”

“Do you remember what we did two days ago?”

“What do you mean? Of courshe I remember. Do I look like a goldfish?”

“Can you… can you just tell me? To make sure I remember?”

“Then, Kanji-kun is the goldfish.” She stood up as she tossed the gun on the table. She stretched her arms. “We fought that bald fire guy, we took your hammer, and I choked or whatever. But all is good now, right?” She smiled like a kid.

She remembers it. She has her memories, but her framing is as if she hadn’t experienced it.

Kanji stood up, and stared into her eyes. “You’re not Yuki! Where is she?”

Yuki looked at him, amused, “Eh? But I am Yuki. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You look completely different! And you’re not acting like her at all!”

“So what? People can change, Kanji-kun. You still recognized me as Yuki didn’t you? Who am I if not Yuki?”

Footsteps echoed from the hall. Mr. Tanaka, the principal, arrived.

“H-hatanaka Yuki! Hand over the gun, and come to my office immediately!” He said shakily, leaning through the doorway, “the police are on the way!”

“Just a moment, Sensei!” She smiled at him warmly.

“Please…” Kanji whispered, “Please tell me Yuki is in there somewhere.”

“In there?” Yuki giggled, “I told you, I am Yuki,” she got up and grabbed the revolver as she turned away from him. “Kanji-kun, what exactly do you think a person is?”

She walked away towards Mr. Tanaka, holding the revolver.