The Sacrifice of Ichirou by d_Galloway

Ichirou soon tired of walking, and sat down in a room by the lake. He sighed heavily, and once again looked at his yellowed hands. The flesh was peeling slightly. The undead were never known for having especially tough skin. He pulled down his hat, itself torn and ragged with age, and looked around the room. The entire roof here had collapsed; it took a miracle for anyone to walk through here. Then again, few ever made it here.

Suddenly, a sound was heard from behind some rubble. "Come on, Emi!"

Ichirou stood up and turned toward the source of the sound. He slowly sneaked toward the origin, making sure to keep himeself hidden. He looked around the rubble. What he saw astounded him; some survived! He lowered his hat so his face would be shaded; he didn't want to be seen as nothing more that another zombie. Then he stepped forward.

The voice belonged to a young man, no more than 20, carrying a video camera. His hand was holding that of a teenage girl. Both of them showed signs of being in the house. Their clothes were dirty and torn, their faces were full of bruises and cuts, and the small knife the girl was carrying was covered with dry blood. The two met eyes with Ichirou.

The young man was the first to talk. "Who are you, old man?"

Ichirou thought quickly. He couldn't possible tell them what his real name was; they would definately know if he did. He suddenly thought of a name. "Yamamura." The young man and the girl both stifled a laugh-barely.

The young man walked forward. "My name is Taro, and this is Emi. We're kinda lost in here, and we got separated from our friends, and we were wondering if you..." Ichirou knew what he was going to ask. "No, Taro. I don't know a way out. But I could show you a passageway, if you're interested." Taro's eyes lite up instantly.

"Very well then," said Ichirou, "follow me."

Ichirou led the two to a corner in an adjoining room. He pointed to the floor. "There's a tool nearby. Use it here, and..." Just as he was about to finish his sentence, a spirit flew into the room and ran into Ichirou. His undead body was no match for this, and he was slamed into a wall. Emi rushed forward, but Ichirou stopped her, saying, "Forget about me! Go, now!" The two ran without a word.

Ichirou pushed with all his strength against the spirit, and was finally able to force it away. He then ran up the nearby stairs, making sure to keep some distance from himself and the other two.

"Now," he thought, "just who are these friends of theirs?" And once again, Ichirou began to wander around the house.

Eventually, he found his way to his old study. He was hopeing to get some rest. Instead, he found three people in there already. First was a man in his mid-30's, dressed in a business suit and wielding an Axe. Then there was a rather, well, large woman carrying a vaccum and a spear. And finally, there was a nurse of some kind wielding a dagger. The three turned and looked at Ichirou. Once again, he used the name "Yamamura". He then spied the two rings in their possession.

"Good," he said, "You need those rings to enter Mamiya's room. Show them to Ichirou's gaurd in the hallway." With that, he left yet again. This time, though, he went straight towards Mamiya's room. He knew it was almost done.

Using a secret back entrance, he was able to reach the room before the others. That's when he saw Mamiya's next line of defense: a death barrier, a magic wall that would kill whoever touched it. The only way to destroy one was to go straight into it. Ichirou sighed heavily. It was once again hopeless. Suddenly, all five of the people he had met appeared.

"A barrier?!" shouted Taro. "We came all this way only to be stopped by a barrier?!!" Everyone let out a collective sigh. Suddenly, a thought entered Ichirou's mind. He would still be able to help stop Mamiya. He knew it was time to pay the price.

Ichirou charged into the barrier.

What happened next was sickening to the core. Ichirou's flesh began to tear straight off the body. Muscles exploded, showering everything with blood. What was left of Ichirou continued deeper into the barrier, eventually reaching the very center of it. Suddenly, the entire barrier flashed brightly. The five covered their eyes. When they opened them again, the barrier and Ichirou were gone.

One month later...

Kazuo was distant now more than he had ever been in his life. He had no idea about what to say; all he knew was that he had to do this. He had to put Ichirou's spirit to rest at last.

Akiko put her hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, we hardly know who Ichirou is."

Kazuo looked almost amused by her words. "Maybe we do know him. We may know him a lot more than we think we do."

Akiko puzzled over his words, but finally put them aside for the moment. "Kazuo, good luck."

Kazuo walked up to the podium. He saw Taro, Asuka, and Emi sitting in the front, their heads bowed. Kazuo felt the same pain they did. This would indeed be a sad good-bye. Kazuo cleared his throat and said, "The funeral was over".

THE END