"With You Again" ☆ Saiouma Halloween Special 2021

"Goodbye, Angie Yonaga."

The third hour

I remember Kaede mentioning that the bedrooms upstairs were soundproof. That's probably why nobody has come downstairs yet. But that's good for me. I can use that to my advantage.

I can imagine the look on Kaede and Angie's faces when they realize what I've done. Their expressions full of fear, but their eyes full of disgust. They'd be afraid of me, but they'd still judge me. Wait, what am I even saying... I'm too far down this road to worry about what others think. I mean, I never have, so why now? Why am I worried about the way they'll see me? Won't everyone see me that way now? As a heartless murderer... a deranged killer.

That what everyone will think. Everyone but Shuichi.

Shuichi... he's helping me. I can only depend on him now. Everyone else is bad. They want to hurt me. I won't let them. I won't let them I won't let them I won't let them I-

"Kokichi, we're here." Shuichi gestures to the room that he's stopped in front of. A wet painting is on the ground right beside the door. This is Angie's room.

I slowly open the door and look inside. Angie is still awake, sketching away in a notebook busily. She has her headphones on, so she didn't hear me open the door. Perfect... a perfect chance.

I slip inside of the room, trying to limit my movements so she won't notice me. Shuichi goes in through the door as well. That's odd... he would usually just go through the walls. Why didn't he do that this time?

"K-Kokichi, look ou-"

When I hear Shuichi's voice I snap out of my thoughts, only to trip on a dry easel moments later. I hit the floor with a loud "BANG!" that brings Angie out of the world in her head.

Thanks a lot, I think to myself, glaring at Shuichi.

"Oh, hello Kokichi! I didn't notice you there!" she chirps. "Hm? What's this? Why are you covered in red? Have you been doing some painting?"

"U-um... yeah, exactly..." I stutter.

"Marvelous! Angie will join you with that!" the artist jumps up from the bed and skips over to me gleefully. "Hm... what are we painting?"

"Good question," I say, glancing around the room. I didn't bring the bloody scissors upstairs with me for... obvious reasons... so I needed something else to use on Angie. "I got it! Let's paint some inanimate objects!"

"Still life! Nice choice," Angie laughs.

"Mhm! I'll go get some things for us to use. Stay right here!" I jump up and run to the door before Angie can object. Shuichi looks like he's about to follow me, but I turn to face him before leaving.

"Keep an eye on her," I whisper. "Tell me if she's coming down, okay?"

Shuichi blinks in surprise before his face falls back into his strangely calm expression. "Okay, I'll do it."

I smile at him before rushing out of the room. I head down the stairs, stepping over Kiibo's dismembered body and Miu's rotting corpse. I bound past Rantaro's room, where I can smell the strong metallic scent of blood. I don't look back in there.

I soon find myself in the basement of the large house. There's a whole lot of junk in this dimly lot room... the clutter is almost eerie. But before the ambiance of the room scares me away, I see a glint in the corner of my eye. I look to see a collection of sports equipment stuffed in a corner. I approach the pile and sort through it, finding a large basketball, a racket, and a heavy metal bat.

I pick up the smooth bat and hold it in my hands. The metal is cold to the touch. It's the coldest thing I've felt all day. Ever since the sun set, warm, red blood has covered my hands. Touching something cold like this brings me back to reality for a bit...

No. I can't get distracted. I have a job to do. I can't keep Shuichi waiting. I drag the bat with me back up to the main floor. I pass through the oil-covered living room once more before bolting up the stairs, stopping right at Angie's door. I take a long, deep breath before twisting the knob.

"Ah, Kokichi! You were taking so long! I was getting worried!" the white-haired girl runs up to me and gives me a tight hug. Her hugs are... comforting.

"I'm fine, I'm fine..." I tell her, lightly pushing her off of me. "I got what we needed."

"Is that a bat?" Angie inspects the object in my hand closely. "Angie knows! You chose it because it was shiny! I love adding some shine to my art!" she snatches the bat from me and places it on her desk. "Beautiful! Let's get started!"

Angie hurries to her easel and starts to search for many different shades of grey paint. I stand there awkwardly, not knowing where to go from there.

"Actually, I had something... different... in mind." I say, picking the bat up and raising it above my head.

Angie turns to face me. "What is it, Koki-"

WHAM!

Angie falls to the ground, head gushing blood. It's everywhere... painting the room in a bright red color. I set the bat down, thinking the job was done, but...

"W...what...." Angie slowly sits up in her spot, looking around frantically. She should be dead... what happened?!

"I guess... Atua is on... my s-side..." she starts to stand and stumbles towards the door. I grab the bat and run behind her.

"I h-have... to w-warn every...one..." the painter gasps between breaths. She fumbles at the doorknob but manages to open the door. On the other side, Kaede stands there with a carefree smile. "Hey, Angie! I was just..." her eyes widen as she notices Angie's wounds. She peers into the room, only to be met face-to-face with me, holding a bloody bat in hand... and covered from head to toe in red. She covers her mouth.

"H-hey... what is-"

She's cut off after hearing a blood-curdling scream from the girl in front of her. I bring the bat down on top of her head. Once... twice... three times... all while laughing hysterically. Kaede, frozen in fear, stands and watches.

"K-Koki...chi..." Kaede backs up, tripping over her feet. She gasps as she looks behind me. "Who..."

I turn to see where's she pointing, and she's looking directly behind me... right at Shuichi. How... how can she see him? Wait, that doesn't matter right now.... I can't let Kaede get away.

The blonde turns and runs down the stairs, only to stop in her tracks at the sight of Miu and Kiibo.

"I... w-what..." she tears up as she looks over the robot's body. She then moves over to Miu. "No... M-Miu... you said... that you'd be with me forever..."

She fell to her knees, mourning and sobbing over the corpse of her dead girlfriend. What she didn't know was that Shuichi and I were approaching her from behind, stepping closer slowly and quietly. I raise the metal bat above my head, hopefully for the last time,

and swing.