Hey. It's me, Swagnarok. If this story piqued your curiosity enough that you decided to go ahead and give it a try, then I would like to take this opportunity to just say thanks. It's readers like you that keep me motivated to write.
That being said, this fic isn't like the other ones that I've written. This one is set in a place called Aokigahara Forest, better known in the West as the "Suicide Forest". Indeed: every year about 100 people who enter this forest succeed in killing themselves. Scores of others do come here to make an attempt but are dissuaded, stopped, or otherwise change their minds. It is surpassed in the annual death toll perhaps only by the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
In writing about this place, I am giving it unneeded publicity. Whenever there is an uptick in public interest in or attention towards the forest, this is correlated with an uptick in the number of suicides that happen here. Thus, the act of writing a story like this and posting it on a website which can be accessed by just about anyone with Wi-Fi around the world is a morally questionable one.
Nonetheless, my stories tend to have few readers. The overwhelming majority of these readers are not from Japan. I do not expect for this story to be any different in that regard. The odds that this story will have a tangible negative impact on the world are quite small. Therefore I do proceed, albeit with caution.
I would be remiss, however, if in writing about a real-life suicide site I did not make some exceedingly small contribution to the cause of suicide prevention.
Therefore, if you are having seriously contemplating taking your own life, here are some resources that I recommend checking out.
US: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
Japan: 810352869090
Australia: Lifeline: 13-11-14
China: 85223820000
UK: Samaritans: 116 123
France: 0145394000
Russia: 0078202577577
Indonesia: HOTLINE 500-454
South Africa: Suicide Crisis Line: 0800 567 567
Note: Some of the above numbers may be defunct at the time that you are reading this and/or you may be charged a rate for calling.
Once you're dead, you're dead. No takebacks. We humans have a tendency to interpret the past and future through the lens of the present. But present conditions are no guarantee of what your future will look like. The battles you face and hopelessness you feel now are, in all likelihood, only temporary. In all likelihood, things will eventually get better. But suicide is an irreversible act based on fears of a future that you cannot possibly predict. So please think before you act.
Should you ever pay a visit to Aokigahara Forest as a tourist, always remember to be respectful, don't litter, and don't venture off the trail. Getting lost in those woods can be fatal even to those who don't want to die.
With all of the above having been stated, this story will now begin.
X
X
X
X
The schoolbus came to a stop at the Narusawa Ice Cave parking lot.
The principal stood in the front of the bus.
"Before any of us leaves this bus, I'd like to re-iterate that we will not be behaving like hooligans here," the principal said. "No joking about dead bodies, no leaving your trash on the ground. And no 'taking a whizz' off the trail. I assume there are bathrooms in the visitor center, so use that as your opportunity to go instead of doing so inside of the forest. Let's all stay as a group so nobody gets lost. This forest is very dense so you ought not to leave the trail at any time. Any questions?"
One student raised his hand. "So, like, are scientists going to dig this out of the ground in one hundred years?"
The Principal sighed. "No, for the last time we are here to bury a time capsule which we'll be unearthing in 5 years. Each of you will write something on a slip of paper and put it in the box, and a group photo of this class will be included."
Why we have to do this in a suicide forest is beyond me, he thought. "Alright, let's be getting out now, in an orderly fashion. Chop chop!"
They got out of the bus and walked across the parking lot. A very poorly parked light green 2015 Toyota Prius caught Heiji's eye.
One Hour and Twenty Five Minutes Later
They were now leaving the Saiko Iyashi no Sato Nenba, a reconstructed "samurai village" near Lake Sai, and therefore back on the Aokigahara walking trail.
As they were walking, Heiji just stared blankly at Kazuha, who was talking with two of her friends.
"Psst, Heiji," one of his classmates, Toyomitsu, said. "So whadya think? You in or are you too chicken?"
"Hmph, whodya take me for?" Heiji retorted. "I'm not scared of nuffin! I'll show ya!"
The Principal came to a stop. He nodded to the class president, who stepped forward and handed him the shoebox.
The Principal opened the box and put the class photo that they had taken roughly five minutes earlier in it.
"Alright," the Principal said. "There are twelve of you here, so there are twelve slips of paper in this box. You'll all now line up single file and each take one paper. Be sure to write something on it. You can either use your own pen or you can ask to borrow one from the class president. Once you're done, head to the back of the line and place your slip back in the box once it's your turn. Do not leave your paper blank, don't write anything obscene on there, and be sure to include your name somewhere on the paper, either on the front or back."
Heiji took his and took out a pen from his backpack.
He pressed his paper against a tree. He looked back at Toyomitsu, who just grinned and gave him a mischievous thumbs up signal.
Heiji sighed and then nervously wrote the words that he didn't mean:
"I love you Kazuha".
His heart racing, he folded the paper neatly and went to the back of the line.
Kazuha then also went to the back of the line, and stood directly behind him.
"Psst, Heiji," she whispered, "what'd you write on yours?"
"W-Why are you asking me?" he responded.
"I'm just curious," she said.
"I, uh, I just wrote 'Heiji was here'. This whole time capsule thing is dumb, so I'm not taking myself too seriously."
"Oh..."
"And how about you?" Heiji asked. "What'd you write?"
"The same," Kazuha said.
Is she...blushing? Heiji wondered, observing her facial expression.
"...Can I see yours?" Heiji asked.
"No way!" Kazuha said, shaking her head adamantly.
There was a pause.
"Can I see yours?" Kazuha asked.
"There's nothing to see!" Heiji responded.
"If there's nothing to see then you can show me, right?" Kazuha said.
"By that logic, you should be able to show me yours!" Heiji said.
"Next," the Principal said impatiently.
Realizing that he was up, Heiji breathed a sigh of relief.
He put his paper in the shoebox and walked away whistling.
"And remember, class," the Principal interjected suddenly, "five years from now all of these papers will be read out loud."
Upon hearing this, Heiji immediately ran back towards the Principal.
"Hey, sir, can I have my slip back?" Heiji asked. "I'd like to write something else instead."
"No, you had your chance," the Principal said.
"Please!"
"No," the Principal said, more forcefully this time. "Don't ask again."
Heiji felt sick to his stomach. Like he had just made one of the biggest mistakes of his life.
A few yards away, Toyomitsu gave one of his friends a high five and they were both laughing, presumably at Heiji.
It's all that son of a b***h's fault, Heiji thought angrily.
He began to walk towards Toyomitsu to give him a piece of his mind when-
"Come quick!"
One local police officer had said this to another.
"What happened?"
"There's a body hanging from a tree. A woman, early to mid 20s. Looks like she might still have a chance. Help me get her down!"
And with that, the whole class watched as Heiji stopped what he was doing and ran off the path, following after the two officers. Kazuha, in turn, ran after him.
Scene Transition
Present Day
They'd departed from the Hattori household after breakfast and taken a car to Aokigahara Forest in Yamanashi Prefecture.
Also known as Kuroi Jukai (lit. "Black Sea of Trees"), this was a one-of-a-kind place on earth where the boundary between earth and the netherworld was unclear. Visitors to the forest were often awestruck at both its scenic beauty and its eerie silence. This was an old-growth forest, given shape by the eruption of the nearby Mount Fuji in 864 AD. Wildlife was scarce and moss-covered rocks formed over a thousand years ago from hardened lava littered the forest grounds. Paradoxically, this place which was associated with death was lush and green all year round. There was an unusually large number of evergreen plants, and many of the trees found here were more than 300 years old.
But Heiji, Kazuha, Conan and Nancy were not here as tourists. Their business here was nothing short of serious.
A week and a half ago, Heiji received a letter, signed by the woman who had died hanging from a tree two years ago in this forest on the day that he and his class had come here for a field trip. The letter invited him to return here on this day...
To face her judgment.
OPENING
(White Sails by Maroon Festival)
(No pain, no gain! In the course of exposing the flaws in others you'll often uncover unwanted truths about yourself! X marks the spot! The race is on between Heiji and Kazuha to find the buried treasure in which lies the heart's desire! Perceiving the one and only truth! With the body of a child but the mind of an adult, my name is DETECTIVE CONAN!)
If you look now you can see them departing from the docks
Bravely embarking beyond the horizon visible from the shore
Venturing into the endless deep-blue expanse we call the earth
Filled with anticipation and the realization there's no turning back
A trail blazed by the trade winds, overhead, blowing on their hair
Their time-worn wooden craft dipping into the crashing waves
The furthest out of the land-based seagulls seeing them off at last
As they boldly tread where none of their kin have gone before
"Isn't it great to be alive in these times?" the captain says, leaning against the deck
"Our forefathers made the way for this glorious day: let's not let them down, eh?"
White sails unfurled, capturing the wind, our time is here and now
We are the human race, the inheritors of a momentous undertaking
Today we write the next chapter in the timeless story of the proud
So they'll say of us, "They pushed the boundary to the next level."
Time Capsule Buried in Hades! Part One!
"You did WHAT?!"
Before arriving Heiji and Kazuha had briefed Conan and Nancy on the threatening letter. As the information contained within was scarce, Heiji decided that the best course of action was to simply show up at the appointed time and wait to see what happened.
Being acquainted with the local chief of police, and with his dad vouching for him, Heiji received permission to camp for the night off-trail (a lot of suicidal people just did this anyway, often taking several days to decide on whether or not they wanted to follow through with killing themselves, as did some tourists; Heiji, being a good law-abiding citizen, sought permission beforehand) on the condition that from his campsite the trail should be readily visible, and that he should be careful not to set off a forest fire. Accordingly, they brought two tents and a fire extinguisher with them.
They walked across the forest to near the samurai village, at roughly the point where Heiji and Kazuha's class was two years ago when the High School Detective of the West heard the news of the body and ran off.
Or, at least, that's where they thought it was. If their memories served them right.
"Oi, ya wanna repeat that any louder now?" Heiji scolded.
They'd split up, ostensibly for the purpose of gathering firewood.
"But why would you do something like that?" Conan demanded, a lot quieter this time. "You couldn't have realized your feelings for Kazuha before that magic show case, right?"
(Author's Note: Episodes 406-408)
"You're half-right," Heiji said. "I've entertained the thought every now and then for a while, but it was never anything serious. But what happened here two years ago was, whaddya call it...catalyst. That's the right word, no?"
"Catalyst? I think so, yeah."
"Yeah. The confession on paper was a catalyst. I could hardly look her in the eye for the next week or so. And as hard as I tried to forget about it, it's sorta been lingering in my mind ever since."
"So this is like your deep dark secret, huh," Conan said teasingly.
"Yer the one ta talk, Mr. 'I shot one guy in the head and set another on fire'."
"I'm not proud of what I did," Conan said, suddenly very sober. "And in any case you know as well as I that both of those people are alive and well today. I am not a murderer. I'm not like the people we put away..."
Realizing that he'd stepped over a line, Heiji mulled over his next few words carefully.
"...Sorry," he mustered. "I didn't think before I spoke."
There was a very uncomfortable pause.
"This one will do nicely," Conan said, straining to pick up a large stick.
"Yeah, I got 'bout all I can carry too," Heiji said. "Let's head back."
And so, they began to walk back towards the camp site.
"There's one thing that's bugging me though," Heiji said.
"Let me guess, it's that Kazuha wanted to tag along?" Conan said.
Heiji nodded. "This is a freakin' suicide forest. I dunno why she'd ever volunteer to come to a place like this. I figured she would've jumped at the first chance to sit this one out."
"Isn't that obvious?" Conan said. "She's curious about what you wrote two years ago."
Heiji stopped in his tracks. "You're right. Man, how could I've not noticed something like this? I gotta find the box before she does!"
"I think you're being ridiculous."
"Eh? And how's that, huh?"
"Look, you've wanted to confess your feelings to her for quite some time now, right?" Conan asked. "So how's it a big deal if she finds out this way?"
"Cause I didn't mean it back then," Heiji said with great resolve. "Just words on paper. I wanted to prove that I wasn't chicken. It was a matter of my pride, however misguided and foolhardy. Pride and love are two very different things. No, it's gotta be from my own mouth, from my heart of hearts, on my own terms. I can't let the foundation of our relationship be some stinkin' lie! Ya hearin me, Kudo?"
"Just saying, you've been trying to set the terms for your big confession, like there's gonna be this magical moment when all the stars are in alignment or something. If you keep putting it off, one day it's gonna be too late. You only live once, right? And you don't know how long that life's gonna be, for you or for Kazuha. We're all a bunch of d*mned fools, thinking we've got plenty of time to do all the important things...where did we get the notion that we're promised another fifty minutes? Much less another fifty years? It's absurdity. We're all gonna lose everything one day, no exceptions..."
Kudo, Heiji thought with concern, seeing that this wasn't so much about him any more.
Heiji looked up.
It's those whole dang forest I bet, he thought. Exertin' a pressure on us, stirrin' up our negative emotions. I'd hate to think what kind of effect this environment would have on a person who's already teetering on the brink of self-harm. This is definitely not a healthy place for human beings. We oughta make our business here short as possible.
Scene Transition
"...This is nice," Kazuha said, walking through the forest. "It's been a long time since we've been able to spend time with each other like this. Eh, Ran?"
Nancy sighed. "Out with it already. Who told you? Was it Sonoko?"
"Heiji, actually," Kazuha said. "When he heard it from Kudo that Sonoko knew, he felt it safe to tell me."
"So you know about Conan also?"
Kazuha nodded. "He's Kudo. But more on point: I don't get is why you didn't call me as soon as Sonoko found-
"I wanted to, believe me!" Nancy said. "But Shinichi warned me I couldn't just go around telling my friends. He said it was too risky. Sonoko finding out wasn't even supposed to happen. I, uh, I kinda let it slip. On purpose. I knew I wasn't supposed to, and I second-guessed my actions immediately, but I just couldn't stand seeing her like that any longer."
"I can understand that, I suppose," Kazuha said.
"So, what'd you write on the paper?" Nancy suddenly blurted out.
(Author's Note: They'd told Conan and Nancy about the time capsule on the car ride here.)
"Heeeeh?!" Kazuha protested. "Why wouldya ask me that?"
"I knew it!" Nancy said gleefully. "You wrote something like 'I love you Heiji', am I wrong?"
"K-Keep your voice down!" Kazuha said.
She turned her head around to make sure nobody was in earshot. Then she bent down, and whispered in Nancy's ear:
"Yes. As a matter of fact, that is exactly what I wrote. I figured five years was a long time, that I'd probably confess to him before them. But it was really stupid thing to do, I know now. Just wish I knew then."
"And that's why you drummed up the nerve to come to this suicide forest," Nancy conjectured excitedly (but in a loud whisper). "You can't risk Heiji finding the time capsule and unearthing it."
Kazuha nodded. "If I can get to it first, I can take my note out and put it back."
"Aww, how boring," Nancy said. "If I were you I'd also be looking to read Heiji's note."
"Huh? Why? He told me he just wrote 'Heiji was here'. Not anything to get excited about."
"And did he let you see what he wrote?" Nancy prodded.
"Come to think of it, no," Kazuha said, stopping in her tracks. "He refused to show me."
Okay, now I really wanna see what the big stinking deal was with him, she thought. I gotta get my hands on his note.
Her face turned away, Nancy used her hand to cover her mouth and stifle laughter.
This is gonna be a good trip, I just know it, she thought.
Scene Transition
They put their sticks in a pile and Heiji set it ablaze with a lighter.
"Not too much now," Kazuha warned.
Satisfied with the little fire he got going, Heiji stood upright.
He opened up his backpack and took out two cans of baked beans, and a hand-cranked can opener.
Kazuha went inside her (and Nancy's) tent and retrieved the skillet and some paper plates.
Five Minutes Later
They sat in front of the fire and ate.
"Hey, what are we gonna do with the plates?" Kazuha asked.
Heiji shrugged. "Just put it in the fire, I guess. It's paper, so I don't think it'll hurt anything."
"Hey. You're that kid from two years ago, right?"
They had company.
Four people (three guys and one girl) walked up to them and their campfire.
Heiji stood up. "H-Hey, you guys didn't get a letter too, didya?!"
The four people looked at each other.
"As a matter of fact, we did," one of them said.
Scene Transition
The names of the four people were as following:
-Yohei Takeuchi, age 23, male (a muscular man)
-Tsurugi Shimozono, age 22, male (a skinny man)
-Ayase Fujibayashi, age 23, female (with long hair dyed blonde and a black leather jacket)
-Masaya Tobita, AKA "Toby", age 24, male (a fat man)
With the exception of Tsurugi (who was currently a senior) and Toby (who dropped out), they were all graduates of Gifu University. Two years ago they, along with their now deceased classmate, Shouko Isehara (age 22), were part of the Gifu University Photography Club.
Two years ago, Yohei and Ayase had come to the forest with Shouko to take some black and white pictures of these woods with a high-end analog camera from the late 80s. Tsurugi and Toby were not present on that day, for the simple reason that Shouko suggested that they split up to find ideal shooting locations. About a half hour later Yohei and Ayase regrouped, and within seconds were approached by the local police, who were able to identify them as Shouko's friends via footage taken from security cameras at the entrance to the forest. It was then that they were informed that Shouko had hung herself from a tree (she was taken by paramedics to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead thirty five minutes later); present at the scene of the hanging was a local police captain on duty and Heiji Hattori, an Osakan teen who apparently had some history working with the Osakan police on various cases and whose father was a cop.
They stood around the fire enjoying the snacks that Tsurugi had brought.
"After what happened, we all left the club," Ayase said. "We did give it a try, but in the end none of us were really willing to go back to business as usual without Shouko-chan. So that was it."
"She was the bedrock of the group," Tsurugi said. "She put in untold thankless hours behind the scenes for us. And without her and the club, we just kind of lost touch with each other afterwards."
"You two are the exception though, right?" Toby said, pointing to Yohei and Ayase. "I heard on FaceBuck that you two are engaged now?"
The two of them nodded.
"Congratulations, then," Kazuha said.
"But still," Yohei said. "One of us had the audacity to send a letter like that."
The same thought apparently popped into all their heads, because they glanced not too subtly at Toby.
Toby stood up. "Oh I see what this is. You think I'm behind this, huh? Well newsflash, I'm not! I got a letter same as everyone else. Look!"
He showed his. "Alright, your turn. If one of us doesn't have a letter, we'll know who it is."
Accordingly Yohei, Tsurugi, Ayase, and Heiji pulled out theirs and displayed them.
"Hmph, I don't imagine the sender would be stupid enough to not make HIMself a letter also," Yohei said.
"What are you insinuating?!" Toby demanded.
"Why don't we all just take a deep breath and chill?" Ayase said, stepping between the two of them. "There's no reason to us to turn on each other like animals. We're all friends, right?"
"There was once a time when I thought we were," Toby said. "But now I'm not so sure. You were certainly no friend of Shouko's. That much is obvious."
He turned and walked away from the campfire and the group.
"Alright, could somebody please tell me what the heck he meant by that?" Heiji asked.
Tsurugi shrugged. "None of us except Toby attended Shouko's funeral. He sees that as a betrayal of her memory."
For whatever reason they all glanced at Kazuha uncomfortably.
Meanwhile, Conan and Nancy were conversing about twenty yards away.
"...No way!" Conan said in a loud whisper. "They're both here for the same reason? You're serious?"
"I am," Nancy said.
"Do you think we should just tell them so they can move forward with their relationship?"
"I wouldn't recommend it," Nancy said. "Like you said, Heiji really doesn't want his confession to be under these circumstances."
"But that's just dumb," Conan said. "Maybe he wasn't sincere two years ago. He's sincere now. So what's it matter whether he meant it at the time?"
"But you and I respect his wishes though," Nancy said. "As much as I hate to say this, I think what's best is that we find the box before either of them and destroy both confessions."
"Huuuh?!" Conan protested.
"Look, whoever finds the box first, there's a chance that the other person will perceive that the feelings expressed within were not reciprocated. They might respond by panic, doubling down on their denials, or otherwise doing something really, really stupid like breaking off all contact between the two of them. Even if the other person were to state that the feeling was mutual, they might just interpret it as being something the other person was pressured into saying by the circumstances at hand, something that they didn't really mean. We don't have the right to gamble with whatever relationship they have presently. Privacy of thought is one of our most precious and important rights, and to take that away from our friends would not only be cruel but also an unforgivable breach of their trust."
Conan smirked. "When did you get to be so wise?"
"Nah, it's something I learned on an episode of Boywatch."
"...You mean Baywatch, right? I assume you're just doing that thing where we deliberately butcher the names of copyrighted brands and franchises?"
"Huh?"
"Please just tell me you mean Baywatch, for the love of Gott."
"What's Baywatch?"
Conan did a facepalm and began to walk back towards the campfire without saying a word.
Scene Transition
Yohei and Tsurugi had brought tents, so the four of them set them up.
Shortly afterwards, it became dark, and shortly after that the fire went out.
"800..." Heiji mumbled, sitting upright in his sleeping bag.
"Oi, are you really counting down from 1000?" Conan, his tentmate for the night, asked.
Instead of answering Heiji just kept on mentally reciting numbers.
"Grab the flashlight," Heiji said quickly so as to not lose rhythm.
Conan turned it on.
"This light's kind of pitiful," Conan said, turning it back off again.
"That's deliberate," Heiji said quickly. "...So I don't lose count."
"Huh?"
"...So I don't lose wake Kazuha sorry."
Conan very slowly began to undo the tent zipper.
"We're gonna find it," Heiji said quickly.
After a little while:
"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four three, two..."
Heiji stood up in the tent.
The two of them stepped outside.
Suddenly, they heard an unzipping sound coming from Kazuha and Nancy's tent. The two teenage girls stepped out, and...
They were left facing each other awkwardly, dim flashlights in hand.
"Heiji?" Kazuha wondered. "What are you doing up?"
"I could ask you the same thing," the dark skinned boy countered.
"Me and Ran were heading out to relieve ourselves in private," Kazuha said.
"Same with me an' Kudo," Heiji said.
And so they split up again.
"You could've just told her we were going to investigate these woods," Conan said. "Then we'd have an excuse for being out here all night if necessary."
"Sorry, I wasn't thinking. Anyways, looks like I'm gonna hafta ask you for a yuge favor."
"Huh?"
"Kazuha's definitely gonna get suspicious if she catches me out again. So I need you to stay out here while I return to the tent-
"And get a good night's sleep while I'm left scrounging around for a cardboard box hidden somewhere in the dirt all night long?"
"You got it," Heiji said with a sheepish grin. "Real sorry about this, pal. I'll be sure to return the favor one day."
"Can I cash in now and get out of having to do this?" Conan retorted.
"Nope. Doesn't work that way. I got an extra pair of batteries in my pocket. Here. In between these that flashlight should last you a couple of hours. If you don't find it before they both run out, then you can just call it a night. Well, goodnight and happy hunting."
A few minutes later, Conan caught up with Nancy.
"Did Kazuha also have you stay out to look?" he asked.
She nodded.
Conan sighed. "Alright then. Everyone else is asleep, let's go find that time capsule."
Scene Transition
The Next Day
Having his face flicked repeatedly was enough to get Conan to open his eyes.
"Good morning sleepyheads," Kazuha said gleefully.
She and Heiji were staring at Conan and Nancy, who apparently had fallen asleep leaning against a tree...and each other.
Now that their relationship had sort of been established, neither one of them really minded being caught in this situation.
"What time is it?" Conan asked.
"About 9:30 in the morning," Kazuha said, checking her phone.
"Yo, can I talk to you?" Heiji asked Conan.
They went a few yards off by themselves.
"What the flip happened?" Heiji whispered. "Why was Ran out here with you?"
"She just happened to be out also," Conan lied. "I couldn't help it. Not like I could conduct my search while she was watching me."
Well, we didn't find anything, he thought. Maybe that's for the best...
Yohei, being the last to wake up, got out of his tent.
"Hey, has anyone seen Ayase?" he asked.
Tsurugi, after taking a sip of bottled water, shook his head. "I haven't seen her since last night."
"Well, if I recall she's a light sleeper," Toby said, staring at something in his hand. "I'm sure she got up before any of us, perhaps went on a hike or did some yoga."
Yohei went up to him. "What's that?"
"Huh? N-Nothing," Toby said.
"Come on, let me see," Yohei said.
"No, it's none of your-
Yohei snatched it from him. Tsurugi came up behind him and took a look at it also.
Yohei angrily threw it to the ground. "You're sick, man! Packing a picture like this around with you?! Really? Do you get your thrills from this?"
"Hey, get off my case, man!" Toby countered. "What's it to you? Not like you gave a crap about her anyway."
Instead of continuing this heated exchange Yohei walked away and began to take deep breaths. Tsurugi followed him.
Curious, Heiji and Conan walked over and picked it up off the ground. They examined it.
It was a postmortem photograph of Shouko taken by the police from a cellphone, just seconds before taking her down from the tree to get her rushed to the hospital.
This photo, Conan thought. Why was the body like that...?
They then noticed that Kazuha and Ran were looking over their shoulders to look at the picture also.
"You're too nosy," Heiji said, walking over to Toby to hand the photo back to him.
Toby accepted it gratefully.
*wush* *wush*
Hmm? Nancy thought, in response to the sound.
Toby put the picture in his pocket and went back inside his tent.
Conan looked down at his feet. "Heh, it's kind of foggy right now, isn't it?"
"Yeah, and it's almost like there's a chill in the air," Heiji said.
"YAAAAAAHHHHH!"
All seven of them ran in the direction of the scream, which led them deep into the woods.
As they ran, the fog on the ground just got thicker and thicker, until it was like a blanket-esque cloud had descended from the sky.
They ran past a big tree, and-
Three of them (Conan, Heiji, and Yohei) stopped in their tracks.
It had been only as long as a blink, but in that blink they could've sworn that they saw-
"I'm not the only one...right?" Conan asked, uncertain.
Heiji shook his head.
There was a pause.
Toby caught up with them, panting. "Oi, what are you guys doing? Did you find Ayas-
"AAAAAAAAAHH!"
And with that they ran up ahead, until they caught up with Kazuha and Nancy, who had let out that second scream just then.
Ayase was hanging from a tree, her neck suspended in mid-air by a noose, her lifeless body swinging gently.
Panicking, Yohei turned to Tsurugi and Heiji. "Help me get her down!"
As they were doing so, they noticed the piece of paper on the ground. They picked it up and read it:
"Shouko's spirit cannot rest until she has exacted vengeance on all of us. I was her first victim. Leave these woods NOW!"
Ending
(Hikari by Hikaru Utada, main theme to the 2002 video game Kingdom Hearts)
Donna toki datte
Tada hitori de
Unmei wasurete
Ikite kita no ni
Totsuzen no hikari no naka me ga sameru
Mayonaka ni
Shizuka ni deguchi ni tatte
Kurayami ni hikari o ute
Imadoki yakusoku nante fuan ni saseru dake kana
Negai o kuchi ni shitai dake sa
Kazoku ni mo shoukai suru yo
Kitto umaku iku yo
Donna toki datte
Zutto futari de
Donna toki datte
Soba ni iru kara
Kimi to iu hikari ga watashi o mitsukeru
Mayonaka ni
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