Yuurei: Ritual of the Crimson Moon
Chapter One: The Beginning of the ending.
Hideki's POV
"Since everyone has passed their exam with a B+ or higher, we can do a more interesting assignment." I groaned at the thought of doing more work, even though we have finished the entire curriculum. Mrs. Motosoua handed out some papers. "Here is your assignment. You are to read a ghost story, an old legend or strange disappearance and do a report on it. This sheet tells you what information needs to be included in your report." I looked at the sheet and sighed. Great, more work. "The due date is also included on the sheet. You are dismissed." I gathered my things and decided to head down to the library since I had a free period. "Hi Hideki!" I turned as I saw Kyoko coming down the hall dragging Itsuki to their next class. I laughed at Itsuki and waved to them before heading to the library. I walked in and waved to the librarian before walking to the computers and putting my stuff down. I sat down and logged in while thinking if there were any legends I'd want to know more about. I'd always thought the Mexican legend of the Chupacabra was interesting, so I decided to choose that one. I typed in Chupacabra and waited to see what popped up. The first website had a title saying "The Chupacabra: A creature from hell." It seemed interesting enough so I clicked on it. The website contained facts about the chupacabra, but nothing that really seemed that interesting or relevant to my project. I scrolled down and noticed a link at the bottom. It didn't have anything to do with a Chupacabra, but it had legends in Japan, my home country. I went to it and it had listed multiple legends of Japan. I scrolled down glancing at them, until one caught my eye. The Legend of Tsuki Hospital. That place was just a few blocks from where I lived. I clicked on it, and was taken to another website. A picture of the old hospital appeared and under it, the legend. Tsuki hospital is said to be the location above the gates of hell; which open once every ten years on the crimson moon, also known as the blood moon. Every ten years a ritual must be performed on the crimson moon to prevent the gates from opening and allowing its inhabitants to enter our world… Already intrigued, I kept reading. The ritual has annually been performed every ten years preventing this; however, a large earthquake occurs as a result of the gates trying to open. Millions of dollars in damage has been done in Japan due to this. That was a brief summary. At the top there were a few buttons. One said The Ritual. I clicked on it and began to read. There are two rituals that can be performed on the crimson/blood moon. One is traditional and one is the alternate which is there in case the first is done incorrectly or cannot be performed. Traditional: An odd number of people must be present (3, 5 or 7) an even number must stand with their backs to each other while a last member surrounds them with a salt circle. The ones inside must then join hands and chant the words… I couldn't understand or read the following words, so I skipped over them. If that ritual fails, then the alternate must be performed. Two people must hold one down and they must drive a knife through the sacrifice's heart together. Creepy. They must then move the body into direct moonlight and allow it to stay there until 3 AM (time of the dead) has passed. I wrote down the website and clicked off of it. I logged off and went to go find Kyoko and Itsuki. We're gonna have quite an adventure tonight.