Chapter One: The Question Of "Where Are We"
Tears filled her eyes and threatened to pour down her face as she helplessly watched the events in front of her unfold. Voices were yelling, screaming, crying all around her, but it she couldn't seem to find her own feeble voice. She backed away from this... thing her friend had turned into. Why? Why was this happening? Stop, she mentally pleaded, stop this, please! She turned to run, but as she did so, the malicious person causing this terror grabbed her wrist with a devious smirk.
"Goodbye," he hissed in her ear.
The girl tensed up and waited for her inevitable fate, unanswered questions of "why" echoing in her head.
*A few weeks earlier...*
A girl with long light brown hair sighed as she gazed up at the school she would attend one day. Eiko Fukuda, age thirteen, soon-to-be eighth-grader, was this girl.
"Eiko-chan~!"
She turned at toward the familiar voice, only to see a girl with medium-length dark brown hair running toward her. This girl, Jitsumi Anzai, age thirteen, also an almost-eighth-grader, was Eiko's best friend since they began middle school.
"Sorry I'm late, Eiko," Jitsumi apologized with a slight laugh once she reached her friend.
"Don't worry about it, I've only been here for what? Five minutes, maybe?" Eiko responded offhandedly.
"Well, let's go in," Jitsumi suggested.
The two friends entered the high school they would attend after eighth grade and began to explore. They chattered excitedly about what they had been doing throughout summer, how they wondered if they'd have classes together this year as well, and other common things for conversation.
"Where are your parents, Jitsumi-chan?" Eiko asked.
"They're with my cousin, since he's going into his second year here," Jitsumi explained. "What about yours?"
Eiko shrugged. "I walked here, you know, because I live like ten minutes away. I told them I'd be back before dinner."
"I wish I had easy-going parents like yours," Jitsumi pouted.
"Trust me, they're not 'easy-going'. It took me all day to convince them to let me go by myself," Eiko objected.
They both laughed a little at this. It was true, both of them had somewhat-strict parents, though Eiko's were known to be at least a bit less uptight.
"Hey, what's over there?" Eiko pointed over to a door hidden beneath a staircase.
"Hmm? I've never seen that before," Jitsumi commented.
The two girls approached the door with curiosity, only to find a sign saying "off-limits, do not enter" plastered on it.
"I think we should listen to the sign..." Jitsumi muttered, but her friend had other plans.
Eiko, who was already pushing open the surprisingly unlocked door, glanced over at her. "You're such a scaredy-cat, Sumi. C'mon, where's your sense of adventure?"
Jitsumi sighed after hearing the nickname that only Eiko called her, and, with much reluctance, she followed her best friend inside. It was dark, to say the least, and there were stairs leading down to who-knows-where.
"Eiko, this is a bad idea. What if someone finds us and we get in serious trouble?" Jitsumi whispered through the darkness.
"We'll be fine! Stop worrying about every little thing, Sumi!" Eiko chirped while skipping down the steps.
Yes, skipping. She's treating this like we're on a walk through the park, Jitsumi thought with a slight frown. Though, she had no choice but to follow her friend. There was no turning back now, right? When they finally reached the bottom of the steps, it was an understatement to say they were surprised by what they found.
"What is this place?!" Eiko exclaimed.
They were standing in what appeared to be a maze of corridors and halls that shone a polished, pristine white like they were from a hospital. Jitsumi tugged on the sleeve of Eiko's white T-shirt with a slightly frightened expression.
"This is weird, I've never seen a school with something like this! C'mon, Eiko, let's get out of here," she stated.
"No, this is interesting! You can leave, but I'm not," Eiko replied, shaking her friend off.
Jitsumi frowned. "I don't trust you by yourself."
"Same goes for you," Eiko chuckled before dashing off toward one of the hall's entrances.
"Eiko, wait up!" Jitsumi called, quickly dashing in the direction her friend had gone.
Loud, pounding footsteps resonated throughout the corridors, along with the bubbly laughter of Eiko and the nervous chuckles of Jitsumi. After a while of running through the halls, they stumbled upon a place that appeared to be a laboratory. They stopped in their tracks and stared at the strange equipment around them, eyes wide with curiosity and some apprehension.
"E-Eiko," Jitsumi began timidly.
"I have no idea," Eiko answered the unasked question of "where are we".
"Now I really think we should go," Jitsumi pointed out.
Eiko nodded slowly. "Yeah... That might be a good idea."
Though, before they could even turn around to head back, a masculine voice rang out.
"You shouldn't be down here, children," the voice snickered with a dark undertone.
Eiko froze in fear, and Jitsumi clutched to her best friend as if she were her lifeline. Suddenly, that vice grip on her arm vanished, and Eiko was filled with more worry than fear. Mustering enough courage to speak, she called out a shaky, "Jitsumi?" Slowly, she turned around, yet she never even caught a glimpse of who the mysterious person was before her vision turned to black.
A/N: Hi everyone! This is my first multi-chapter fanfic for this fandom, so please let me know what you think! Did I do a good job with the OCs? Is it overall okay? PLEASE let me know, I love both compliments and constructive criticism! Thanks for reading and...
Have an amazing day/night/whatever~
