The sun has descended well away from sight. The sky is now a vast expanse of crystal-clear black, with a sprinkle of twinkling illuminations; all held off from the ground by streetlights and billboards.

Kyoya was on a train carriage. Not an express train, a normal one this time. For he is going to work, and there was plenty time until midnight. He had already informed his mother of his new working schedule, so he didn`t need to worry about anything but the upcoming fight.

Walking into the ring, Kyoya felt too familiar with the atmosphere of this place: loud, exaggerated, and melancholic. Well, he had become a regular fighter in the arena already. As soon as the match started, his kick slammed the opponent`s head onto the mat and the round ended, less than ten seconds. There was nothing worth learning from this fight, nor was there anything worth noticing.

The payment wasn`t much better this time. Thirty thousand yen, or three express train tickets. Kyoya sighed, not knowing what to do with the remaining time. He fled from the bustling poker tables and slot machines, to the parking lot basement. There, in the dim light, he stood alone.

A good while later, footsteps casually approached him.

“I see you have some free time on your hand, Kyoya-kun.” Kyoya heard Celes` voice.

He turned, not showing much interest.

“Are you still short on money?”

He looked on the ground. How can someone like him answer that.

“Ah… I`m sorry… Still, how about becoming an employee here? We`re needing people at the pub on weekday night shifts.”

Kyoya`s gaze wavered.

“The payment would be a lot more consistent… And you get the chance to be promoted too… Our business here is quite flourishing, you know.” She avoided eye contact.

He swallowed.

“W-What kind of job is it?”

“Ah… Well a waiter of course. You also help with the bar.”

“…”

“Can I ask how much is the starting salary?”

“50.000¥. Payment comes at the end of each month. You only need to clean drinking glasses and serve them. Night shifts start from 7:00 [or 19:00] and ends at 11:00. You have more than enough time to get back home before twelve. As a bonus for being a regular fighter, the bartender there will teach you how to be a bartender too.”

“I-I will take the job. When do I start?” He became assertive.

“Well how about tomorrow, since it`s the beginning of the month, and you will be done with your semester exams, right?”

“H-How do you… Well… Thank you.” He bowed.

“No need. Ah and the bartender is the ring commentator too. You two will get along well…”

She left after a few more words. Kyoya stared at her back until Celes was out of sight. Then he inhaled, and walked to the train station.

The next day, Takumi woke up early. Knowing that the spring break has come once again, he felt refreshed.

Takumi went to the train station and bought a ticket to somewhere special. It`s been one year and three months since the last time he got there.

Once he got off the train, Takumi started hiking into the woods near the station. This place, untouched by industrialists, was pristine and sparsely populated. However, there was a reason for that. In 2003, more than 100 dead bodies were found in the forest. This place, thriving on 30 square kilometers of hardened volcanic materials erupted from Mt Fuji, was Aokigahara forest, otherwise known as the suicide forest.

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His perfect memory quickly led him through the thick overgrowth. He held the large combat knife in his hand, yet refrained from hacking at the bushes. After walking for about an hour, the dense vegetations opened up to a small plot of ground. Grass and moss have grown plenty over the years, but a slab of stone was still visible if one paid attention.

“Hey there… it`s been awhile.” Takumi spoke.

Nothing else was heard but the sounds of wild animals traveling alongside with the bristling wind.

“Sorry for not visiting you often…”

He was still talking alone.

“Haa… You aren`t here anymore right… Of course…”

He cleared the plants, brightening up the place. In the center of the small plot, a shrine was built by who knows whom. Takumi didn`t believe in ghosts, and even less so in gods. But his life was saved, not once, but twice by whatever inhabited this shrine. He then set the offerings onto the slab and lit up the candles. Then, he caressed the gravestone, as if it was the silky pink hair of hers.

Takumi stared at the shrine, his expression unchanging.

All of a sudden, rustling sounds resounded from afar. Takumi frowned, and stood up to investigate. Getting closer, he realized that it was the struggling sounds from a human.

“A suicide?” He immediately thought.

The noise brought him to the same place he attempted to kill himself that day.

At that secluded spot, Ichiko Ayase was writhing as her neck was being squeezed by a rope. Tears came out from the corner of her eyes, while her hands frantically clawed the rope and her feet thrashed like frenzy in mid air.

Takumi eyed the range in a split of a second, before the knife came spinning at her direction.

The flash of steel sliced clean through the rope before embedding itself onto a tree, its blade bit deep into the wood. Ichiko fell on her bottom with a thud, but still suffocating. With haste, Takumi`s muscular arms tore the loop open, barely saving him from having to do CPR for the girl. She coughed and trembled, as Takumi stood back. She needed more space to breathe easily.

“*Cough* Why….*Cough Cough* Why do you always poke your nose in my business!” She retorted at him, still trying to catch her breath.

Takumi retrieved his knife and checked for damage. Nothing was rattling, nor were there any scratches.

“Don`t ignore me you bastard!”

Takumi turned to her and calmly replied:

“You shouldn`t scream. Breathe slowly until you feel normal again.”

“I never asked you to save me!” She shrieked.

“You consider my action as “saving you”. And you are very angry. That means your body wants to live.”

“Wha-I`m… not… “ Ichiko piped down a tad.

He then led her to the shrine. There, he set up his camping tent while she watched in silence. After a few minutes, the tent was nicely erected, and Takumi rummaged through his bag.

“Here.” He handed Ichiko a cold Pocari sweat bottle.

She looked away, so Takumi placed it in front of her. The pile of branches and wood he had gathered quickly turned into a campfire.

Night was falling, and the two youth squeezed themselves close to the fire. The wood crackled, as yellow light flickered on their face. It was the only source of light, since the thick trees covered them from any star or moon light.

When the faint blue on the sky turned black, darkness quickly surrounded them. Sounds Ichiko has never heard of echoed through the whole forest. She suddenly felt a chill up her spine.

Something rustled in the bushes behind her, and a black shadow jumped out. She yelled, and held onto Takumi. The fire showed a squirrel, before it swiftly dashed back into the darkness.

“You`ve never gone camping?”

With teary eyes, she shook her head. Ichiko wasn`t letting go of him.

“Well… I think you should stay closer to the fire, not me. Since… Uhm we`re right in front of a shrine…”

The girl sniffed, and inched away. Takumi gave her a jacket.

They sat still. The fire was still burning. Ichiko spoke:

“Nishimura-kun… Do you have data connection on your phone?”

“Uh… Yea…” He handed her the phone.

She gave the phone back:

“Watch.”

It was a clip filmed by a spy camera, showing the woman`s bathroom in the most obscene angle. Takumi turned away when Ichiko walked into the booth, taking off her panties in front of the toilet.

“Do you need me to help you find who did this?” His voice became sharp.

“No…” Ichiko took the phone again. After a few taps, she handed it to Takumi. “This is him.”

It was another video on the underground forum. Takumi saw the preview, and frowned:

“Are you sure you want me to see all this? You can just tell me.”

“Watch it.”

Takumi cringed at the 1 hour and thirty minutes clip. It was not what he expected. The silence was replaced with screams and cries. In the video, Ichiko was assaulted by five masked men, all of whom went on to gang rape her for over an hour. In the end, with fluids oozing out of her nostrils and tears running down her cheeks, she was forced to lick clean anything they spilled on the floor. He couldn`t imagine what she felt to have five men on her, violating every hole on her body at once. Even her hands weren`t spared, because when she refused to stroke, they forced their urine down her throat.

“Yea… You seeing that is nothing compared to what I`ve been through.” Said Ichiko, when she saw Takumi`s expression.

“Why didn`t you tell the police?!”

“They`re yakuzas.”