✎        ▪ ▪ ▪

         TO: GASAI YUNO

         FROM: YUKKI

✎        ▪ ▪ ▪

      _{Hello, Yuno. I haven’t really written a letter in a while, so there might be a few mistakes. Sorry about that… Seems like even this much is difficult for me. I’m here to apologize…for, you know, being a wimp. In almost everything I do. You’ve helped me a lot over the past few months. Even before then, I think. You might not remember this — I probably seem super lame for clinging to such a memory, but a few years ago, we had those “Dreams for the Future” worksheets. And I was going to embarrass myself by writing something dumb. Going to the planetarium, but I really shouldn’t remind you of that. Just forget about it. But you helped me a lot then.}

      _{I’m not too good at expressing feelings. I guess that’s why I chose a letter. Because socializing isn’t really my thing. I might seem scared of you, and that’s because I am. I can’t lie to you, sorry. It’s creepy how you always seem to know what I’m doing, how I’m feeling. It’s weird. But that’s how you’ve helped me a lot throughout this Game.}

      _{You saved my life more times than I can count. The first kill should have been me, but you saved me. You told me that I could live. That I wasn’t garbage. That I had some power of my own. And I believed you. We won, remember? The dart and Third? Yeah… That really was all you. I didn’t do anything. I’m weak, okay. I don’t get how you could always romanticize everything I do, I’m so weak and pathetic and stupid. I don’t have any real talents besides criticizing everything in life. I deserved to die first in the Game. But I didn’t. Because of you. Maybe that’s why I’m so rude to you. Because you believe in the strength that I’ve always dismissed as nonexistent. I’m sorry for being so mean. You’re a great person, Yuno. A bit creepy at times. And I can’t say I’m happy with how you limit my freedom. But you’ve kept me alive and you gave me a reason to be alive.}

     _{I have a proper future now. I know I do. After all this is over and done, I’ll because the God of the new world. And you’ll become my little bride. I promise.}

_{PS. （ つ﹏╰）That sounded really lame, didn’t it? I’m sorry.}

✎        ▪ ▪ ▪

_{Lame. Upon rereading the message, he promptly crumples it into a little ball and tosses it into the garbage, his only regret being that the rest of the waste in there would be contaminated by its stupidity. He will not be able to sleep properly tonight. The embarrassment will haunt him forever. How gross. Perhaps sending it would be easier…? NEVER.}

gαмвℓє

Ashley?!:

Yuno:

               _{The impact against the concrete is no minor collision. Even the counter attack made its way to triumph from the sharp burning sensation it marked on flesh, reddening and throbbing. Ached, as if the past occasions were repeated in one hit. For all that, it was sturdy enough for defense, but not sufficient to cause any damage on her; which fairly states as a good thing. On the other hand, now does it actually contribute that Ashley was an onerous opponent to mess with. But the mind is not exactly yet subdued from flashy combat that were performed in opposition to her threatening. Surely, it stings badly enough for her to limit deadly actions. However…}

               _{Name that is exceedingly mundane rang throughout the enclosed compartment. A title that usually swept from her taste buds is promptly bouncing to her eardrums, ringing as if repetition was required to stir her reflection awake. A label that only is supposes to use by close friends and relatives; clear enough that Ashley is forbidden to use such honorifics. [ Yukiteru ], one whom her heart jumps for prowled in the scene, the customary manner that rose on intensity of fear and ..guilt?}

               _{Unforeseen sequence of occurrences started to connect the dots itself. Movements of self-defense did remained unpredicted, but nevertheless was an adding benefit to persuade Yukiteru on escorting himself to precisely, Ashley’s house – also incorporating the commotion that arose suspiciously. Which ended up with a victorious(?) result. In spite of that, future can surely be change. Yuno and Yukiteru were indeed to be assumed as capable of using the ability, as both are diary holders competing in a survival game. Kill or be killed, a rule that horrified the contestants, and { Amano Yukiteru } is one of them. Could it be used as an advantage for her very own inconsiderate justification?}

               _{Already did her [ Yukiteru Diary ] notified the prediction, of course; progressing equivalent to what the device has already written. But after this event will be something essential to revise for the sake of her very own future., for the sake of her sanity. According to her useful diary; Amano, First diary holder would preferably aid the enemy that held neither physical bruises nor scars, instead the ally who protected him so dearly. Wasn’t it so unfair—? More of a motive to simply alter the cause-and-effects, indeed.}

               _{Master of deceit she is, expeditious transition of scheming intonation to a defeated and perplexed expression of sorts placed upon air. Not to forget the position of hands caressing the painful area from where the hit took place, displaying the utmost agony.  It was realistic enough, and possibly expected from the attack Ashley has done; doubtless is it to know that First would plainly be convinced with the naturalistic act she was executing. Surely Yukki would believe her lover, right?}

               _{”Yukki!” Vocals expressed hoarse, nonetheless adequate to attain the attention of her beloved. “Yukki..! H—Help!” Eyelids that used to flutter endearingly, now convulsed in desperation of help (clearly she appeared to be extremely hurt). “A—Ashley is not supposedly to be trusted!” Uttering in a roaring manner yet raspy to reveal entire distress, hopefully Amano would understand. “SHE’S AN ACCOMPLICE OF THE 8TH DIARY OWNER YUKKI! SHE HAS BEEN DECEIVING YOU THE WHOLE TIME! ALL SHE WANTED WAS TO KILL YOU WHILE YOU GROW CLOSE TO HER – TO MAKE YOU VULNERABLE! ALL SHE DID WAS LIE TO YOU YUKKI!” Digits started to quiver in extreme despair, holding the teal flip phone up to confront the direction of where he idly stood.}

    »  [09/XX/13] - XX:40 
Yukki is scratched with a knife by Ashley! 
I’m going to protect you, Yukki!

    »  [09/XX/13] - XX:50
Yukki is stabbed on his shoulder by Ashley!
I’M GOING TO KILL HER!

               _{Dilating pupils that subliminally crept a devious air was so unnoticeably perfect, however what overlaid the shifty expression was the torment from the futuristic diary entries. Fraud encouragement clashing with flawless anguish; yet despair took over most of her features. Believable, is it? What truthfully lies on cynical text was simply the main prediction. Although not obvious enough, as it really did appear on her Future Diary. Nevertheless, they were a pretend  record. What’s really written is the unwanted listing, Yukiteru backing with this stupid girl. After all, all she had done was deceive Yukiteru – slowly poisoning him with this woman’s venom. That is something she won’t let happen.}

               _{“YUKKI—!” Fingers laced on the location of the hit, flinching as if in extreme pain. “YOU’LL DIE IF YOU STAY WITH HER! SHE’S OUR ENEMY YUKKI!” With that stated in a rough tonality, warped hiss signaled the revised fate, emitting from the stalking gadget. If her diary had changed, Yukiteru’s would too, correct? Would that indicate that he finally realized his ‘mistakes’? Or perhaps an undesired outcome—? Really though, confident is she with the aftermath of her accusation, and her dear would sincerely believe what she had said; summing with the fraud entries in her [ Yukiteru Diary ].}

                                                                                   _{…   She loves Yukki, she trusts Yukki.   …}

                                       _{…   ¿ʇɥƃıɹ ‘ɹǝɥ sʇsnɹʇ ǝɥ puɐ ‘ɹǝɥ sǝʌol nɹǝʇıʞnʎ   …}

               _{“A—All she wanted is to kill you! That was her reason for befriending you!” Trust no one, beyond everything. “She’ll keep lying until she dies, Yukki! Be—Be careful Yukki!” Legs strived to assist whole composure, however failed to do so from the counter-attack that has been done. But if needed to be, exaggeration would be through.}

                                      _{Persuading Amano Yukiteru to go against Ashley was fairly easy. (?)}

{❀} _{Everything felt as if it was going in both fast and slow motion at the same time, blood pounded and pumped around her veins and her entire system, heightening her senses, shutting off the senses that recognized pain if it were such inflicted on like say such a nick to the flesh of her skin.}

                             _{That’s if Yuno was anywhere close to her.}

_{She wouldn’t let the bubblegum haired psychopath within a foot or two of her body, though on the inside her blood was heated, mind a buzz with a thousand tactics - the high I.Q that was never put at use was now on the highest gear and plans, millions of them swirled into her mind; how the three of them could get out of this alive, without more harm and pain———— But then, there was that voice, ticking and whispering in her mind that one might get hurt, that maybe one wouldn’t make it out of here alive. She feared it were Yukkiteru that wouldn’t live, that she would die perhaps? Killed in the worst, most painful way possible!!}

              _{Hell hath no fury like a woman’s wrath as they say.}

_{And Yuno’s wrath? Lucifer, the king of hell it self may shudder from how she was; love, love was a vile thing that slipped into ones mind and controlled one - it caused so many emotions in humans - joy, sorrow, anger, sadness and ＩＮＳＡＮＩＴＹ.}

_{And yet with all of these voices and thoughts in her mind, the worker was utterly emotionless on the outside, having put up a facade, a mask to hide just how scared she was in such a situation. She could cry and scream when she got out of this ALIVE. But, for now she needed that old mask, the one she wore when her brother would touch her, when her father would hit hit her when he drunk, when the kids at school cut off her hair or called her rotten names.}

_{However, words were caught by her ears, odd words hat made no sense, that didn’t fit at all into what the girls had originally started this scuffle and fight for life over—— Diary? She didn’t have one, she didn’t own one or knew a person who did at all - The closest thing which she had a to a diary was her work roster!!!}

                    “Dairy owner—-?” She repeated in a low tone,

_{Grip tightened on the military blade, the metal refracted moon light from behind the boy as her jaw clenched, this girl spoke nonsense! Lies! Deceit! Anything to turn the other boy against her—- As if as soon as he turned that it were permission to kill her. That was it!}

_{If Yukkiteru didn’t want the worker to be killed, if he would be sad or angry with Yuno for doing such— it all fell into place in that moment, since her mind was falling and putting the pieces together one at a time.}

                                      _{Yuno couldn’t live without Yukkiteru.}

_{But there was still the big issue in her mind, so thus forth she spoke out, tone emotionless and as cod as ice, scared that if emotion were to let slip through, if she begged for her life—— That it’d be used against her.}

_{“Dairy owner?” She asked once more. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Yuno, but,” A quick glance to Yukki and back to the girl in case she decided to pounce in for the kill. “Whatever that is, it’s got nothing to do with why you’re acting this way,” Facial expression changed for a flicker, the more she stood there, without fighting back - R E L A X I N G - Her body slowed, the emotions trying to seep out due to who she really was; kind, soft, gentle and not wanting to hurt a soul.}

 

_{Not wanting to hurt a F̸̪̪̠͔̺̯̋̉ͣͩͣ̉̉̂̚͞͝r͈̝͙̲̟̼͍̺̥̆̓̀i̡̮͍̟̒͝ḛͤͧ̏ͪͬ̏̊̚ņ̲̗ͥ́͠d̈́͒͌҉͈̱̳̳!̰̤͌ͮ̈͂}

_{“Yuno…please,” There it was, that emotion, that crack in the old, aged mask that was there and showing like a big wound. If words were said, the right ones, the button pressing ones - She might take her own life, give up if she were to be damaged enough by the other; to come so far and fall so hard because of a misunderstanding?}

_{“I-I told you, I don’t love Yukkiteru, I love my boyfriend.” She said, trying once more to plead with her, emotions getting the better of her, controlling her thoughts. Curse humans and their nature to be driven by heart rather than head. “YUNO  PLEASE!” She yelled out, trying, hoping and praying to some God that she’d snap out of it.}

_{“I DON’T KNOW WHAT A DAIRY OWNER IS! I CAN’ KILL YUKKITERU AND I HAVE A BOYFRIEND THAT I LOVE AND WANT TO MARRY ONE DAY IF HE DOESN’T EVER LEAVE ME!” The mask had cracked, shattered so fast…}

          _{“ＰＬＥＡＳＥ ＳＴＯＰ ＴＨＥ ＩＮＳＡＮＩＴＹ！”}

— {♟}  _{No word, not even one bolded in Satan’s dictionary, could describe this madness. Both girls were considered his friend, both girls appeared to be equally innocent, equally devastated by the turn of events. But how could one differentiate between the aggressor and the victim? How could one find the truth in such a tangled web of lies?}

      _{– She’s allied with Eighth!}

                _{– YUNO PLEASE!}

                                  _{S̢̩̻͉̹̜̹̖̝̿̓̈́́͑̉̌͌̚͘͜H̹̝͚̱̬̼͇͉͖̻̓̉́́͊̉̀͒͂̌E̢̮͈̹͇̻̭̮̯̓̇̍̆̏͑̄̀͛̅͜'̡̛̛͕̺̝͕͕̤̻̦͗̄̈́͒̀̅͌̚͜S̨̻̟̠̯͉̮̲̩̥̒͗͌̌͊́̍̉͌̂ ̫͓̻̰̝̱̹̺͈͐͐̈͑̈́̾͗̀̊͜͝Ớ͕͓͈̜̪͇͇̮̯̓̽͑̇̀̒̓̔ͅÚ̝̙͔̬̞̖̮̙̞̟̋͌́͂̃̆̇̓͝R͓̭̤͎̩̤͚̖̙̤̍̿͛̓̆͌̉͗̕̚ ̞̙̘̥̫͓̤͎͓̝͑̄̅̍͑̋̀͂́̇Ẽ̢̧̺̗͙̭̗͍͎̼̌̀̂͂̆͒̄͝͝N̘̭̦̣̤̤̘͕̲̻̍̈́̽̋͛͋̂̕͠͝È̢̢̦̼̲̼̥͍̥̦̽͛͛̃̔̓̂̀̑M̢̘̙͇͇̯͍͈̲̃͒̋͂̄̈͒̃͠͝ͅY͉̻͎̻͔̦̭̱̮͔̑͋̔͒̐͗̈́̋̈̚,̘̩̤̩̼̝̠̬̥͉͆̐͒̑̓̂̋͆̈̕ ̜̠͔̰̰̗̺͇̎̓̀̊̀̿͐͛̌͛͜ͅŶ̛͎͚͖̲̦̹͈̩̣́̾̀̌̎͐͆̄͜Ủ̢̡̧̠̺̲̥̖͓̝͋̉͂̽̆̅̕̚͝K̖̘̻̯̻̻̱̖̗̃̓̾̅̌͆̎̓͑̚͜Ķ͕̺̖̖̖̦̺͎̜̾̏̾́̈́̈́̎̊̀̂I͓̺͇̤͍͉͉͈̙͑͛̒́̈́̔̓̔̆̕ͅ!͍̼̫̫͙̯̦̹͖̼̅̑̎͊́̈́͆̓̈͘}

_{What was he supposed to believe? Gut feeling suggested running away from both parties, returning to a life of solitude and tears in the security of his own home; the code of the bystander. But to see both of his friends, suffering so much… He must choose one to save. Pupils instinctively darted over to the pinkette, her eyes pleading with him. There was so much pain, so much desperation… Such emotions could not be feigned, could they? She was the Gasai Yuno. For her to look so…so defeated… He would not forgive whoever left those bruises upon her body. His alliance, his trust, his loyalty… Was that not all dedicated exclusively to the pinkette?}

      _{{ Ashley… I’m sorry. }}

      _{Eyes widened with such a proposition. How could he even think such? To kill Ashley, oh God, what gruesome images just flashed through his mind?! There was no proof, no evidence, nothing… How could he act on such?}

      _{“BOTH OF YOU, JUST PLEASE–”}

                        _{“STOP IT!”}

      _{Chest heaves with fear as his fist makes way through the glass of the window. It took two attempts to crack the glass; strength was indeed lacking. Awkward stumbles preceded his entry, shirt getting cut with the broken shards. He could worry about such later, the pain did not sting as badly as it could have. Yuno and Ashley were suffering far more than him. Why…? Why am I not still watching? Why am I doing this? I-I’m just a bystander!}

      _{Because it is the right thing to do. He was already selfish enough for not interfering before. Delayed reactions most likely further provoked the fight. Would this perhaps count as redemption?}

      _{Blood spurts from his knuckles – perhaps smashing the window was not the best idea? – but he still moved forward, kneeling down between the two. Surreal surroundings were foreign. Was…was this the right thing to do? Nothing felt real, it all confused him. The nonstop vibrating of his phone, message after message… It all appeared worthless. Mind over matter, matter over mind – the world was not as gentle as it seemed.}

      _{“Yuno…Ashley…” Feeble smile now, knowing that the name said first would be considered evidence of where his faith lay. “What happened? Yuno… Are you alright?”}

      _{Eyes darting over her wounds; he placed a hand over hers, hoping she would not mind the blood. Cringing as palms came in contact, he somehow managed to stretch his lips further. It was a peaceful gesture, despite its falsehood; anything to soothe her would be helpful. He directed his gaze to Ashley now. Nausea rose at the sight of her in this condition. How… How did it come to this? “Ashley… What about you? You… You don’t happen to be a diary owner, do you?”}

      _{Interrogating the said-to-be enemy might just be the most foolish move in the book. But her confusion seemed just as genuine as his. She had always appeared loyal to her boyfriend, her words seemingly the embodiment of sincerity. But if she wasn’t, if Yuno was right about the girl’s intentions… Heart raced at the possibility, beads of sweat rapidly falling.}

      _{| P l e a s e   b e   i n n o c e n t ,   A s h l e y !   |}