Euphoria

Chapter 15

Contains slight manga spoilers

A sharp burst of static rang through the room, jolting the (h/c) girl from her slumber as she yawned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes before glancing around to take in her surroundings, before her mind cleared as she remembered where she was. The room was quiet and devoid of people as the morning announcements broke the silence and she held her arms above her head, stretching them for a moment before the door creaked open to reveal the nonchalant face of Sakura silently gazing at her, beckoning the young girl to rise her feet as she padded to stand beside her lime-haired senpai at the door.

Before she could mutter a word, the slender girl began walking back down the hall, her shoes clicking on the tile as the (h/c) girl hurriedly shut the door and sprinted back to her side. "Where are we going?" Her face was as devoid of emotion as ever as (Y/N) looked around to realize they had arrived at the entrance to the gym. "There's an assembly and I wanted to make sure you were awake to attend." The green-haired girl kept her gaze forward as she pushed the screeching door open and padded away to her own classmates gathered at the other end of the busy room.

Feeling exposed and awkward standing by herself, the (h/c) girl frantically raked her gaze around the vast room before spotting her own class gathered in a dim corner by one of the fire exits and breathed a sigh of relief before pushing her way through the throng of gathered students as the microphone sputtered to life and the sea of noise died.

The first-year joined her classmates just as the lean figure of Akane Aoi strode up to the podium and addressed the gathered students as the last few murmurs dissipated. "Good morning everyone, since Minamoto-Senpai is absent today I will be taking his place as student council president for the time being until he is well enough to return to school."

Several alarmed whispers wove through the crowd and she struggled to keep her unfazed demeanour as the brunette continued, hushing the noise with a wave of his hand before speaking. A hint of anger seeped into his voice and she could've sworn he dug his fingers into the dark wood forming the podium as he continued. "He will be fine, the council is already searching for the culprit who will be punished severely, now onto other matters." She felt a pang of apprehension mixed with frustration at his words before tuning out the rest of his speech, furrowing her brows slightly as she kept her gaze locked on the Vice President. "Do they know? I let him live and this is what I get? What a pain." She took a breath, quelling the rage rising in her as she listened in patient silence, trying to suppress a yawn before the assembly was finally dismissed and the students broke into small groups, murmuring amongst themselves as she kept to the wall as the cold seeped into her shoulder before a familiar figure slunk up to her and uncomfortable awkwardness fizzed to life in the pit of her stomach.

An apprehensive Yashiro gave her a small wave as the (h/c) girl hesitantly returned it before the girl strode up to her and stared her straight in the eyes. Her voice however quivered with nervousness as the (h/c) girl folded her hands behind her back and stared at Yashiro expectantly, before the first-years meek voice came out as a hushed whisper barely reaching her ears. "Could we talk?" (Y/N) hesitantly nodded and followed the girl out of the gym up to the sun-baked rooftop, sitting next to her on one of the benches littering the wide open space.

"What did you need?" The apprehension in her stomach grew as silence filled the space and she stared at the pale-haired girl. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay (Y/N), we haven't talked in a while.." She looked distraught and a pang of sympathy hit her as she replied softly. "I'm doing fine, how are Kou and Hanako?" Her mood brightned and a brief smile glossed her lips as she turned to gaze at (Y/N), before hardening to a worried one. "Their fine, Kou-kun has been really worried about Minamoto-senpai." She stared down at her hands in uncomfortable silence for a moment before grasping the (h/c) girl's hands and squeezing tightly, a determined look in her eye. "Do you know what happened to him (Y/N)?" The sudden question took her off guard, while her face gave litte away, her muscles tightened slightly and the short girl gave her a look mixed with anger and concern before releasing her hands. "You do know something don't you!" The girl fiddled with her bracelet as the radish girl gave her a dissaproving look, concern giving way to anger. "He could have been killed (Y/N)! Why don't you get that?" The last of her patience shattered like glass at the acusation as she silently rose to her feet before staring back over her shoulder at the fuming girl, a blood-chilling emptiness fillling her gaze like floodwater as she held her hands limply at her sides and cocked her head to stare at the now-pale Yashiro as she shrank back, pressing her back into the stone wall behind the bench as much as possible. "Why does it matter, Yashiro." The girl remained speechless, her throat bone-dry as the shell of her former friend spoke. "He would have killed me if Tsukasa hadn't interfered, why should I care what happens to him?" Her tone sounded genuinely curious, there was no malice or fear in her voice. Yashiro felt her heartbeat thump in her chest as the girl took a step closer and leaned over her, a shadow falling over her face as empty insanity swirled in her eyes. "You think Tsukasa is a monster yet the one you idolize has murdered countless apparitions." A note of twisted satisfaction wormed its way into her voice as she leaned down to whisper in her ear. "He's lucky I was merciful and left him alive." Yashiro's heartbeat pounded in her ears as the (h/c) girl stepped back to smile at the horrified look displayed on her face as she raised a shaking hand to point at the girl. "It was you... why?" The (h/c) girl merely folded her hands behind her back as she thought for a moment before responding. "Well I couldn't just let him go unpunished could I? He wouldn't learn anything that way." Yashiro's skin was pale like snow as she sprang up and raced from the rooftop, stopping at the entrance to the stairwell before looking back at the girl, the cold emptiness still dancing in her gaze before she resumed her frantic run and dissapeared into the shadows of the stairwell.

(Y/N) simply stared at the place where she dissapeared before turning back to lean her hands on the railing, staring down at the students tending to the garden before puzzling quietly to herself. "What's her problem, at least I didn't lie." She listened to the soft noise of chatter below before hearing a small giggle across the roof, breaking her gaze away from the busy students to see Tsukasa sitting cross-legged on top of the roof shadowing the door leading to the stairwell. "I was wondering if something happened yesterday." He drifted to stand by her side while giving her a wide grin. "Great job scaring Amane's assistant." She muttered a curt "thanks" before leaning her arms back on the railing and staring down at a group of girls walking by, laughing and chatting as a small feeling of bitterness and sorrow sat like a stone  in the pit of her stomach as the group disappeared around the side of the building. She glanced over shoulder for a moment at the ghost boy with a questioning look on her face. "Did you need something?" He simply stared back at her silently for a moment before smirking and stepping to stand beside her at the railing with a strange look in his eyes. "No I just wanted to see you~" The same foreign feeling from the previous night resurfaced as she gave a small smile, ignoring the way her hands tightened over the metal bars before she spoke. "Do you think the student council will find out about who attacked Teru?" Her voice was laced with worried paranoia as he thought before slowly shaking his head. "I doubt it, most people can't see me anyway." His voice cut off as an idea formed in his head and an elated look lit up his face, he suddenly gripped her hands tightly, ignoring the nervous look on her face as he smiled widely. "But if you died and became an apparition, they would never be able to find you! And you could stay here with me!" Paralyzing shock shot through her veins as his wide golden eyes bore into hers, hundreds of questions poured into her head as her limbs stiffened like a deer caught in headlights.

"If I died?"
Her gut writhed with unease at the idea. "I'd be bound here forever..." He finally took notice of the conflicted feelings flashing across her face and frowned slightly before gently squeezing her hand as another thought struck him and his mood brightened once more, twisting into a menacing smile as bloodlust rose in his amber gaze. "Or I could kill them first, I want to see if number one is all he's cracked up to be." Her fear subsided as it was replaced with confusion. "There's no apparitions on the student council." He simply gave a small laugh and let go of her hand as the violent air around him grew, she resisted the urge to back away as he continued. "Your half right, but it's no fun if I just tell you who it is when you can find out on your own." She took a deep breath to push down the stress in her stomach and placed her hands on either side of his face, forcing him to look at her as her gaze flickered between unease and an indifference replicating Sakura's. "No killing anyone." He pouted and gave her a frustrated look. "Your no fun (Y/N)." She gave an exasperated sigh and let go of him before the sound of the warning bell bounced off the walls of the stairwell as a disappointed Tsukasa sighed before giving her a pleading look. "Do you have to go?" Her heartbeat sped up as she stared at him for a moment before feeling warmth spread over her face as her voice wavered. "Y-yes I do." He looked disappointed as she turned to the stairwell, before turning back and beaming a sweet smile. "I'll be back soon, don't worry." The shadow of the stairwell engulfed her from view as she turned and the smile fell from her face as a chill settled on her skin and his words repeated over and over inside her head. Anxiety wormed in her belly as the thought of death sat on her shoulders like a weight, her skin pricked and the hair on her arms stood up as she began her descent, fear and intrigue swirling inside her head.

"What should I do?"