The lightning lit up the rotting halls of the elementary school for a split moment. The blood soaked walls, twisted bodies, and decaying ruins of the building were things nightmares were made out of. She clutched the metal holder her candle sat on. The hallways weren't easy to navigate, but with a light, it certainly became easier. Even if the more clear view of the corpses made her feel sick. "We... should probably head to the roof," Ayumi offered an idea as her eyes narrowed. They... had to find the ghost children's tongues, right? They had been walking through the hallways for so long. They may have better luck when they go up. It was a better alternative than going down towards the basement, anyways.

Yoshiki walked closely by her side, his eyes cautiously surveying their surroundings. Though when her voice broke through the silence, he turned his attention to her. The roof... huh? It was a place they hadn't been to, so it was already worth checking out. He nodded lightly, looking ahead as far as his eyes could make out with the candle's dim light. "Sounds like a plan... Better than just wandering around," he commented, verbally confirming that they should make that their next goal. After all, they had no leads as to where the tongues were... but these halls were getting them close to nowhere. If the roof didn't work out... that may only leave the basement... He was certain Ayumi was just as reluctant as him, or more, to go down there... but they probably couldn't avoid it forever...

Ayumi made a small noise of agreement. They seemed to have exhausted what they could for now, so trying to get outside the box may help. She just wanted to go home... It felt like they had been wandering these halls for years, although the reality is it had probably only been a couple of hours. They headed through the hallway and into the stairwell. The door that presumably led to the roof seemed to be locked tight. She grabbed at the handle, jiggling with it. She let out a frustrated huff and looked back at him. "Can you break it open?" she questioned with a skeptical look. Or maybe he knew how to lock-pick... Not that she could approve of him having such a skill, but in this situation it would be great.

When the door came in sight, Yoshiki somehow knew it would be locked... but that meant it had to be important, right? They only came across locked doors when there was something the spirits didn't want them finding. He approached the door to try his hand at it, grasping at the handle and pulling slightly to test it. Yeah, it was pretty jammed... but it also looked relatively weak. He took a deep breath, his eyes glancing to Ayumi. "Hold on... I need to try something... Stand back a little, okay, Shinozaki?" he asked, waving her away as he stepped back a little. This may be unlikely... but it was worth a try. He repeated his deep inhale before letting it out in a long sigh, determined eyes stuck on the door ahead. This had to work... so he'd be closer to getting Ayumi, and everyone else, out of this hellhole. He rushed forward, ramming it hard with his shoulder. There was a loud bang and splitting of wood. It wasn't open... but it was weakened. He couldn't help but let slip a faint smirk before moving back a little and ramming it again. The old wood gave and splinters flew, but at least it was open. He stumbled forward a little, but was able to stop himself easily. He rubbed his shoulder a bit, but didn't give the pain much attention. He turned to Ayumi with a small smile, glad that had actually worked. "Alright, let's keep going."

Ayumi nodded and stepped clear out of his way. She was eager for the door to be broken down so they could continue on. She flinched as he rammed into the door with his shoulder, the method seeming more painful than if he had tried with his foot. She couldn't argue with the decision. After all, the wood was weakening. His second ram secured their ability to get through, meaning they were probably on their way to the first tongue. She smiled lightly back, giving another firm nod. "Right," she agreed, since time was of the essence. Once past the dismantled door, they went through a locker room that attached to the roof. Ayumi pushed the heavy metal door, surprised that this time the door wasn't locked. Rain spit on her head, but she wasn't going to let getting wet scare her from going outside. Once on the roof, a large expanse of water caught her eyes. The pool was a sickly green, with bloated corpses floating in it. Her arms wrapped around herself as she shivered lightly. "Geeze, it's freezing out here," she complained, feeling herself beginning to catch a cold already.

Yoshiki followed her out onto the roof, glancing around. As if it wasn't cold enough, the rain was making impossible for their clothes to keep them warm. He let out a small sigh, watching a cloud escape his mouth. He glanced to Ayumi, her comment triggering a want inside him to somehow keep her warm himself, but of course that urge was quickly swatted away. "It is...," he commented, mostly just to keep out the silence. Even though he couldn't help her warm up, he still had a caring feeling welling up inside him. He didn't want her getting sick or anything... "Do you... want to stay inside while I check this place out?" he asked casually, eyes skimming over their surroundings. Ugh, that pool was disgusting... He'd hate to even touch that water... It resembled something like a swamp, which only made him more nervous about stepping closer. As if the bodies floating inside weren't enough...

Ayumi glanced at Yoshiki as he asked if she wanted to sit this out. She wouldn't deny that getting out of the rain was somewhat tempting, but she found the fear of being alone outweighed that detail. "No, I'll stay out here and help. It'll be quicker that way," she responded after a thoughtful moment. A tongue had to be out here... she just had a feeling. If her feeling was right, getting wet and cold was a very fair trade in order to get a tongue. Her eyes fell back on the pool, since it was the most noticeable thing on the roof. "You don't think the tongue is in there, do you?" she questioned, even though, given their luck, the answer was probably a resounding 'yes.'

Yoshiki watched her as she declined, but he guessed he could see why. No one would really want to be alone for any amount of time in this place... He gave a small hum, to show he understood, before stepping out further to the side of the pool... or whatever it would be called. "With our luck?... Yeah, I do," he admitted, his shoulders slumping as he glared at the murky water. He turned to look at the pool's surroundings, trying to find anything that may help them. "Maybe we can find a drain or something...," he suggested, moving away from the water to get a better look around.

"Yeah, hopefully...," Ayumi muttered, eyes on the water as she felt disgust turn in her stomach. The pool was like a giant soup of death. Between the dead bodies and questionable color, she couldn't imagine anyone would be willing to go into it. But, if they couldn't find a drain for the water, then what? Well, that probably wasn't a good thing to put too much thought into. She began looking around, on the off chance maybe the tongue wasn't even in the water, even if the two basically agreed it had to be.

Yoshiki stepped around, his eyes landing on a door that led to some sort of separate building. He curiously stepped closer, grabbing the handle and attempting to turn it. Ugh, of course it was locked... He wished he could just continue the search, but he knew in the back of his mind that what they needed was probably behind this door."Guess finding a key is our next goal," he mentioned with a soft sigh, his eyes narrowing as his frustration bubbled up. Why couldn't things just be open for once?... Plus, this time, a key was absolutely necessary, given that this door was steel and wouldn't be broken open.

Ayumi peered over to the door. A frown tugged at her lips when he mentioned a key, a similar frustration boiling inside of her. She just wanted to go home! Why did everything in this damn school have to be so hard going? "Alright, I'm going to look over there then," Ayumi said, eyes falling on the other side of the pool. She was careful to walk a few good feet from the pool, nervous that a misstep may have her falling into the disgusting green swamp. On the other side her eyes were peering over the ground for some type of glimmer. It was dark and hard to see, the rain eliminating the usefulness of her candles. She felt the rain soaking her through, and the cold seeped into her bones. Her eyes were traveling along the pavement, and then with a jolt everything around her became a sickly green. Her limbs felt useless, unable to swim against the pressure of the water that flooded around her.

Yoshiki made a small hum to make sure she knew he had heard. He stayed on the side of the door, looking through overgrowth and other abandoned, decrepit objects. With no sign of a key, he was starting to get a bit irritated. If they got stuck here because of a stupid key... A bolt of lightning flashed and made him flinch, but he also noticed a small shine. Could it be-? He went forward to grab it, taking hold of it and pulling it from the tile it was wedged under. He smiled slightly, relieved they wouldn't have to be stuck. He turned, putting the key into his coat pocket."Shinozaki, I-" he called out to inform her she could stop looking, but she wasn't there. Panic immediately struck him as he rushed forward, looking around for any trace of Ayumi. "Shinozaki?! Where did you-" He froze as he saw a larger rippling in the water. She wouldn't have... right?! He didn't think much as he swung over the side to land in the water. It was disgusting, sure, but... his fearful mind didn't pay much attention to it. He took a deep breath before submerging himself, his hands grasping around where he saw the disturbance in the water. He wished he could use his eyes, but the water was so disgusting, it'd probably do a lot more harm without helping. Finally, though, his hand brushed against something. He immediately grasped the fabric and pulled up, dragging the body up with him. Once he got a good gasp of air, he opened his eyes slightly to make sure it was Ayumi. Thankfully, it was... He moved back to the side, resting on it as he pushed Ayumi up. He panted, a bit too tired to pull himself up yet. "Shi...Shino... zaki?" he asked breathlessly with light coughs mixed in, to see if she was conscious or if he should stop catching his breath to get her breathing again. He hoped it was the former... because his energy was almost completely depleted from being .

The water sloshed around Ayumi's lungs, threatening to slowly drown her. Her mind wasn't even aware enough to make the connection that she was slowly dying. All she knew is all she could see was green. Then, suddenly, the barrier seemed to be shattered as the green faded away. For a moment her body laid limp on the ground beside the pool, but after a moment, she began to violently cough. Green water escaped her lungs, leaving her panting desperately for air. She felt nauseated. There was a gross algae taste stuck in her mouth, and she already registered how sticky she felt. She looked up, seeing Yoshiki still in the pool. "W...what happened?" she asked between shaky breaths. How did she end up in the pool?

Yoshiki gave a sigh to calm his nerves after she began to cough, a sign she was okay. It was while she was recovering that his brain caught up with what had just transpired. He had risked his life for her... He was glad he could actually step up to protect her, no matter what... Not that he doubted he would, but at least now, it was very true to himself that he really would give himself for her, or go down trying. He looked up at her question, giving a small shrug. "I don't know... When I looked over, you were already in," he told her, still a bit winded, but he was better off now than he had a few moments before. He pushed up to sit on the side, moving back a little because he really didn't like that water. While still looking at the murky green, he let slip another sigh. He was so exhausted... "It doesn't matter though... You're okay, and that's all I'd worry about." He moved to stand, shoving ah and inside his pocket to retrieve the key. "Anyways... I think I found the key for that building. That's probably where the drain is, so... hopefully there aren't anymore obstacles to getting this tongue," he mentioned, stepping aside to go check the building. He would've helped Ayumi up, but he figured she'd need a little more rest. After all, she had almost drowned...

Ayumi blinked slowly as he gave his side of the story. Unfortunately it didn't shed much light on the situation, but considering they were in Heavenly Host Elementary, that wasn't too unusual. She sat up, her breathing still uneven. She watched him as he got out of the pool and expressed that her being okay was the important thing. It was very upfront, like him, but also touching. She didn't even know how to express gratitude for coming in after her, though as he changed the subject, she figured she was off the hook. "Right," she responded quietly. Talking made her tongue move against the roof of her mouth which has clumps of algae stuck at the top. She kept her eyes on him as he moved towards the building, but she made no movement to follow him. She wanted to give them rain some time to wash this grunge off of her, and maybe spit out the disgusting tasting algae.

Yoshiki approached the door and unlocked. Ugh, thank God that was the right key... He pushed open the rusty door, still meeting some resistance, but at least he was able to manage it open. He walked into the dark room, feeling a bit uneasy without being able to see, but he wouldn't go both Ayumi while she was still probably tired from her near death experience. He could brave this... He took a deep breath, stepping inside and feeling around. There were some machines or tubes, he couldn't really make out what exactly each was. But this definitely was the room, if there was a drain. As he searched, he noticed a sharp pain and had to jerk back his hand. Ugh, he must have been caught on something... but he couldn't pay it any mind. He moved further in, eventually finding a lever, a small green light shining on the machine. This had to be it. He grabbed the handle and pushed it down, hearing the sound of rushing water. Good... They were one step closer to getting out of this school. He hurried back outside, noticing two things in the dim light. One, and most importantly to him, that had indeed drained the pool. It was sickening, because there were a lot more bodies than had been visible at first, but at least now they could move forward. Two, well... What he thought had been a small scratch had actually turned out to be a sizable, bleeding gash. But again, he didn't have the time, patience, or concern to dwell on it. He stepped nearer to the edge, attempting to find something among the shallow water. Eventually, he noticed something that had fallen from a pipe. He pushed off and landed in the bottom of the pool, approaching the small burlap sack. He grabbed it with his uninjured hand, noticing the bottom of the bag was tinged a dark crimson. Written on it was a name. This must be it...

As Ayumi let the rain act as a shower for her, she waited for the water in the pool to react. After some moments, she felt a burst of relief as water began to quickly rush out of into a drain. Although, the sight of piles of corpses twisted her stomach. She could have been one of them, if she had been there alone or if Yoshiki had noticed her disappearance into the pool. Ayumi, after seeing Yoshiki come out and go down into the emptied pool, finally got herself to stand up. "Did you find it!?" she called over to him with a curious expression. She definitely had little interest in climbing down among the corpses to get a closer look at whatever he grabbed.

Yoshiki glanced at Ayumi, coming over to her and lifting himself from the pool. He moved to stand, glad to be out of the ominous, disgusting pool. He lifted the bag, nodding slightly. "Yeah, this is it, for sure. The name is probably one of the children's," he mentioned, glancing at the name. Tsuji Tokiko, huh? He guessed they had to figure out which was which, or else they'd be in trouble...

Ayumi's eyes caught onto the bag that held the tongue. The thought of carrying around a decapitated body part was actually really disgusting, now that she put thought into that detail. Still, it couldn't be helped... at least it had a bag. "That's-" she began to express some relief that they found a tongue when red caught her eyes. Yoshiki's other hand was red, but not in the way that she could assume he just touched someone else's blood. "Did you cut yourself?" she asked with eyes narrowing at his potentially injured hand.

Yoshiki smiled slightly, the feeling of making progress washing away his irritation... a little. When she pointed out his other hand, he gave it a casual glance, before moving it somewhat out of her view. "Uh... yeah, but it's fine. I won't die or anything... Besides, we don't have the time to waste on it," he reminded her, hoping she wouldn't make a big deal out of it. They really did need to find the last two tongues... If what Naho said was right, and getting them would rescue everybody, they had to hurry. And not just for themselves, but for their other friends too, before... Well, he didn't want to think of specifics. He just know they should really focus all they had on getting those tongues and returning them.

Ayumi look at him through narrowed, suspicious eyes as she took little weight in what he said. While time was important, his well-being was as well. He could get dizzy from blood lost or get an infection or... well, a lot of things could happen. She knew when she had fallen on glass during their separation she didn't even consider just letting her hands bleed. "If it isn't that bad, let me see the cut," Ayumi demanded, remaining firm to not just Yoshiki just swish this off. Really, he was too stubborn for his own good. It wasn't like setting aside a little time to wrap his wound would ruin everything.

Yoshiki's expression deflated slightly as she persisted. It was... nice that she cared, but on the other hand, he really didn't want to give it special attention. They were on a time limit. "But-" he began to argue, but got a good look at her eyes. His brows furrowed slightly as his stubborn walls crumbled when faced with her eyes. He glanced away with defeat, a small tinge of red appearing on his cheeks. "Fine...," he muttered, moving his hand back into her vision, holding it closer with his palm up, since he was pretty sure that's where it got cut.

Ayumi was tempted to hit him over the head as he began to argue, but he seemed to realize that it would be a futile effort and relinquished his hand to her. She grimaced at the cut and the blood flowing out of it. "You really are an idiot, Kishinuma," she huffed, shaking her head at him. "Of course this needs to be wrapped! C'mon, let's head to the infirmary... there should be some bandages left," she told him, again leaving no room for discussion. She was worried he may have cut it on metal or something, which means he probably needs a shot... but right now that just wasn't an option. The least she could do was try to sterilize and protect his wound... He did just save her, after all.

Yoshiki looked a bit agitated as Ayumi went on about getting it bandaged. They couldn't take such a detour... He normally wouldn't argue with her, but this was a live or die situation. He would be okay long enough for them to get the other tongues, probably. "Shinozaki, that's too out of our way," he argued, but made sure to keep any anger from his voice. He wouldn't direct his frustration at her, if he could help it. "It's not just our lives riding on those tongues... Ms. Yui, Shinohara, Nakashima, Morishige,... Satoshi... Remember? If Naho was right, then we have to make those tongues top priority... The longer we take, the more likely... something will happen," he told her, his look turning somewhat grim as his eyes went to the ground. Though he was being vague, it was just because he didn't want to outright say that 'they could end up dead'. He also mentioned Satoshi to maybe drive it home more to Ayumi, even though admitting that she had a preference for him was somewhat damaging to his heart. Still... it was the best way he could think of to persuade her.

Ayumi flinched as he named off those whose statuses were unknown. Each name brought another stab of anxiety, fear, worry, heartache, and so many other negative emotions she felt dizzy. "You think I don't know that!?" Ayumi snarled, insulted that he was saying this like she had no idea what was going on. She had seen Mayu's body splattered on the wall... She was aware of the death looming over all their heads. "I do know what's going on here, Kishinuma!" she snapped, her hands clenched in fists at her sides as she resisted the much more prominent urge to hit him. "I also realize that letting yourself bleed out isn't noble in anyway. It's just stupid! Besides, do you even have any clue where the next tongue is?!" she yelled at him, because she was too angry to keep her voice at a calm level. Talking to her like she didn't understand! What an insensitive jerk!

Yoshiki, for some reason, hadn't been expecting anger to be a response. Sure, he expected an argument, but for he foolishly hadn't seen her fury coming. He flinched slightly at each question practically, looking away somewhere in the middle of her tangent. Looking at her brought too much shame to him, since he was realizing that he had probably hurt her feelings and mental state by mentioning their friends. Yeah, he was really stupid... with himself, and her, apparently. He wished he could be more mindful about his words, but it just wasn't a social skill he possessed... He realized he hurt people with some stuff that he said, but it was most painful when he did it with Ayumi. He didn't like hurting or upsetting her... While still looking away, he muttered out a shameful answer. "No... Sorry..."

The boiling in her blood didn't feel like it was going to be coming down soon. At the very least, his answer was short and didn't add more fuel to her internal fire. Ayumi could hardly believe how cold he could be, bringing them all up like that. "Let's just go inside," she said flatly as she walked past him to head towards the doors leading back into the locker room. With no knowledge of where to go next, she was definitely forcing him to get that cut at least wrapped. She hoped he wouldn't raise more of a fuss, since that little tiff cost them time as well. At the very least they need to always be walking and keeping a decent pace.

Yoshiki stayed silent as she moved past him, a somewhat hollow feeling forming in his gut. Ugh, why did he have to be like this? It shouldn't be hard to actually put thought into what you're saying, but he just couldn't... He only made things worse... He wouldn't blame Ayumi if she hated him now... but he did hope to God she wouldn't say it out loud. It'd hurt too much... a lot more than he would like to admit. He turned and followed her quietly, shoving his injured hand into his jacket pocket while the other grasped the fabric, keeping a bit of pressure on the cut. It was the best he could do with what he had currently, which was good enough to stop some blood from seeping out.

Ayumi allowed the thick silence to hang in the air as they silently made their way through the halls. She was seething, but it was from a place of fear. All their friends could be dead. Why the hell she did ever have to pull out that goddamn charm? They could have just gone on their merry way after cleaning the classroom if she hadn't- ... Ugh, why did he have to go pulling that card out? He was truly awful at making points, it seemed. When they approached the hallway of the infirmary, she kept her eyes low. She knew Mayu's splattered corpse painted the wall at the end of the hallway, which was currently hidden in shadows, but just the knowledge it was close made her head heavy. She opened the infirmary door, going to grab a roll of bandages and a bottle of alcohol that still survived in the medical cabinet.

When they made it to the infirmary, their atmosphere only seemed to get worse. But there was nothing Yoshiki could do about it. He had said something awful, and couldn't make up for it. He had already apologized, and it was understandable that she didn't accept it... If she... didn't talk to him at all after this, except for necessary details, he'd... Well, he wouldn't make her. He sat on the bed, pulling his hand out of his jacket pocket and listlessly staring at it. At the moment she came over to bandage it, he'd turn his eyes elsewhere, but for now they just rested on the gash. His hand was dripping blood, and he was certain his jacket had gotten pretty bloodied, but he wasn't too concerned about it. Yeah, school uniform jackets cost a lot, but that was literally the littlest of his worries at this point.

Ayumi couldn't shake her frown as she collected the items. The brown bottle's alcohol sloshed around inside the bottle. She wasn't sure if it would still be capable of sterilizing... She couldn't remember if alcohol had a 'best by' date. Well, hopefully it would clean it out enough that he wouldn't end up hit with infection. She walked over to him, glancing over his appearance. He looked pretty... pitiful, was the word, she guessed. She really laid into him with her anger, but he was the one who triggered it by saying such thoughtless things. Everything would be fine if he just accepted help right away, but no, he had to insist they ignore his gashed hand. "Put your hand out,"she told him stiffly as she uncapped the bottle of alcohol. She was just going to pour the contents on his hand, so he'd probably want to hold it a little farther from his body.

Yoshiki did as ordered, her tone almost solidifying his knowledge that their relationship, at least for a little while, was tarnished. It hurt, for sure, but he had really brought it upon himself. His eyes moved to look towards the door, not for any reason other than avoiding eye contact with Ayumi. The shame still burned hot in his stomach, and any moment spent looking at her only increased the feeling, so he'd rather avoid it as best as he could. He also doubted Ayumi minded the ignorance, since she probably wanted to be left alone as much as possible.

Ayumi poured an even stream of alcohol on his hand, holding it there for multiple seconds. She knew it would probably sting, although it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. She just wanted to make sure he would be fine, despite her anger towards his overwhelming social ineptitude. He really had to be the least emotionally supportive person she could have ended up with. Well, Sakutaro probably tied... Either way, Yoshiki wasn't great to lean on for anything but grunt work. She tied the bandage around his hand, circling his palm multiple times. It was much easier putting this bandage on his hand than it had been managing to wrap both her own hands up. It hardly took over a moment to finish and tie up the bandage securely on his palm."Alright, done," she told him as she stepped away from him.

Yoshiki flinched as the alcohol was poured, but he made no other noise or verbal complaint. Sure, it stung, but it didn't bother him enough for him to whine about it... Then again, not much was. He couldn't actually recall any time he had whined about an injury... or anything, for that matter. Mostly, he just sucked it up, and it's what he was doing now. Once the bandage was completely, he pulled his hand back, keeping his eyes on her work rather than her. "Thanks...," he muttered as he pushed off from the bed to stand. At least, with that done, they could move on...

Ayumi hummed lightly, acknowledging the gratitude. If he had just agreed from the get-go they wouldn't be in such a state. With that done, it seemed it was time to scramble for the next tongue. She opened the infirmary door and headed away from the wall Mayu painted. Time dragged when there wasn't much of a destination or clue as to where to look. As they made their way through a hallway they have before, a crack in the door caught her eyes. 'That had been... sealed before?' she mentally questioned. She was pretty sure the door had been rotted in place, only serving as decoration. Did they shift closed spaces? Ayumi stopped her progression to walk up to it. She tugged hard at the door, but the crack that had slipped open seemed to be the only viable entrance. "I don't think we looked in here," she told Yoshiki, looking back at him.

Yoshiki turned his gaze to Ayumi finally as she spoke to him. He leaned slightly to get a look at the crack, feeling like they had been around before, only that door hadn't been accessible... Probably meant there was something important in there. "I don't either," he commented, staying back a bit so he knew he was a safe distance from her personal bubble. The last thing he should do while she was pissed at him was be too close... "Though... I don't think I can get in," he mentioned with slight concern. If they really were dead set on going in, Ayumi would have to go by herself... That thought was unsettling, but there probably was a tongue in there... If Ayumi was willing, he wouldn't stop her. Just... the thought of her alone was already making him panic.

Ayumi looked at the crack with a furrowed brow. It was true that there was no way Yoshiki would be able to squeeze in, since it looked like a tight fit. Although, she was probably small enough to get in with little trouble. She found herself hesitant to go in. Even with the frustration she had towards Yoshiki, being with him was leagues better than being alone. Still, it had to be done. A tongue may be in there, and there friends lives were hanging on her head. "Okay, I'll just go in then," Ayumi said as she tried to peer into the room. It was too dark to get a decent view, which was too bad. She wanted to know what she may encounter.

Yoshiki felt a small jolt of fear go through him as Ayumi confirmed that she was set on going in. He wanted to stop her... but that would make him a hypocrite, huh? He looked down quietly, dread filling his gut. Unlike at the pool, or anywhere else, if she got into trouble... he wouldn't be able to save her. He would be useless in the one thing that he thought he could do no matter what. But if something happened... he would be helpless but to just watch it unfold. It scared him to death, but he had to let her... though, while admitting that he wouldn't be able to save her hurt badly, he didn't want that to happen and their relationship end in the shambles it was in. With a shaky breath, he stepped closer, grabbing her wrist to both stop her from proceeding and catch her attention. "Sh... Shinozaki... I was... panicked and desperate to get us out, I-... I didn't think over my words... even less than usual. I'm not trying to give an excuse, it's just... I wanted you to know that I didn't mean to hurt you... I'd never-...," he paused as his hard fought eye contact broke slightly when his eyes started going to the floor. It's not that he expected forgiveness... He just didn't want to leave anything unsaid, in case... He refused to think something could go wrong when they were this close, but... it was becoming obvious that anything could go wrong, so he wouldn't take the chance. Well... most would be said, except for that... deeper layer of himself. After what felt like an eternity for him, he continued, moving his eyes back to her. "Just... come back safely, okay?" he asked quietly in concern, letting her wrist go and stepping back a bit.

Ayumi moved to slip into the room when he motions were halted by Yoshiki's hand around her wrist. She froze from a moment before looking back at him. He wasn't going to argue with this too, was he? That thought was quickly wiped out as he started speaking, or rather, apologizing. She watched him carefully. Her heart felt tight in her chest. It almost felt like last words that he was getting out just in case something went wrong. She couldn't blame him for thinking that way, though. It wasn't like they could pretend the chance of either one of them dying wasn't higher in this awful place. She felt herself lost on what she could say. Yoshiki wasn't good with words, or at least, when he didn't give himself time to consider his words, they often came out poorly. It was just a horrible issue he hit this time. It probably wouldn't be right to hold any sort of grudge... She watched his eyes break away, a moment passing as she fought to regain her voice. Then sharp gray eyes met her's once again as he added one last thing. Her arm fell back to her side at the release of her wrist, and she smiled lightly at him. "Okay," she told him, at a lost of saying anything else. It would be fine. She'd go in, get the tongue, come out, and they could continue on. She paused for a moment before turning away from him and slipping into the crack of the door.

Yoshiki nodded a bit after her answer, her smile bringing some sort of relief. He was still in a panic, hiding just how scared he was of losing her, but it maybe meant that she forgave him. He gave her a small smile back, though was unsure of how to feel exactly. She had almost died in the pool only a little before, and when threatened of losing her, he had been terrified. It was the same now, only... magnified ten fold because this time, he couldn't do a thing for her. He felt so useless, just hanging back and watching the light of her candle in the dark room... This was, indeed, the most scared he had ever been... He didn't want to lose Ayumi in plain sight...

Ayumi entered the dark room, loneliness already heavy over her head. Even with Yoshiki so close, he was unable to get to her. It was terrifying to know she was on her own. 'C'mon Ayumi, get it together. The others are counting on you. Just find the tongue and get the hell out,' she said as she pulled out a candle. The small light illuminated the dark classroom. It seemed like every other classroom, with desk thrown about and bodies littered over the floor. She stepped over a middle schooler, cringing at the smell that she would never grow accustomed to. She held her candle out, freezing as her eyes met with the blackboard. Bloody letters covered the canvas with words of agony and rage. It's all your fault, rot in hell, you deserve this, and many other phrases were painted on the board. Ayumi's anxiousness grew worse as she worried how angry the spirits in this room may be. After taking a moment to stare at the wall in horror, her eyes moved up. Over the blackboard, pinned by a nail, was a burlap sack. 'There it is,' she thought in excitement. She was ready to get out of here. Although... she was way too short. She gulped nervously as she did the only thing she could. She grabbed a desk and shuffled over to the board, avoiding a gaping hole of missing floorboards. She put the desk down and climbed on top of it. It definitely wasn't great, she could hear the metal creak in protest to her weight. She just needed to grab the sack and get out. She was closer, but she really had to stretch to get closer. Up on her tiptoes and arm stretched out, she felt the fabric graze her fingers. 'Almost, almost, almost' she thought eagerly. Her fingers wrapped around the sack, 'got it!'

Then the world disappeared under her feet.

The burlap sack ripped off the wall as her hands clutched it tightly, but she couldn't do anything to stop gravity from pulling her down. She had expected to hit the floor behind the desk, but there was no ground to hit. Instead, she kept falling. The darkness of Heavely Host Elementary School swallowed her whole.