Knock Three Times
oneshot - 2400 words
Sixteen-year-old Ayako is invited to a test of courage. Hunting for Hanako-san will be child's play, right?
For the Ghost Hunt Challenge 4: Mythology & Folklore on AO3. My prompt was: Bloody Mary: A spirit who is believed to show the future.
...
Ayako knew when she was being judged. She did enough of it, after all. The girl across from Ayako looked older than her, which put Ayako at the disadvantage with her freshman status. Should she address the girl as the older of the two, and if she isn't, already prove that Ayako saw herself as below her? Or should she assume the girl is the same age, but if she is older, ruin all chance of respect for the entirety of their school life together?
If only they had met on a more balanced field, where Ayako could have proved her worth by the clothes she wore. Not these strict and rigid uniforms which hugged every wrong curve if you weren't perfect like an idol. Ayako's skirt had been riding up all day and the blouse strained at the buttons when she bent over. The girl didn't seem to have that problem. The clothes clung to her just right.
"Matsuzaki?" the girl said, hands on hips.
"Yes, senpai?" Ayako asked. The girl towered over her and she had to raise her chin.
The girl grinned. Like a cat who knew she has the mouse in her sights. She came closer and Ayako resisted the urge to step back. The girl's hair looked like she had been to a stylist that morning. Ayako had cut hers short last week in her bathroom just to irritate her mother. It had been stupid to do so right before the school year started. It made her face look round to her. And she didn't like the color. It wasn't really black and it wasn't really brown. She wanted to dye it. Her mother said after she graduated. Ayako thought that was way too far away.
"The name's Yumiko Ikeda. I heard you were never backed down from a test of courage last year. Are you in for one tonight?" Ikeda asked.
"Of course, senpai," Ayako said.
Ikeda's eyes narrowed. "Just like that? You don't want to hear the terms first?"
"I'm not afraid to prove myself, Ikeda-san."
Ikeda nodded, a short decisive jerk. "All right. Fine. Elementary school down the way. My boyfriend's brother is a janitor there and will accidentally leave a back door open for the group. Nine o'clock in the evening. Latecomers automatically forfeit their place."
Ayako didn't know if they were supposed to shake on it, or something. The bell broke them up and sent them scattering in opposite directions.
...
Ayako slipped through her front door and closed it gently behind her. Nothing squeaked in this house. Not even a floorboard. Sometimes she found herself walking heavily just so the house noticed her presence, but not today. Today she intended to arrive at her room without attracting attention.
"How was school?" her mother's voice drifted from the home office. Ayako cringed. Her mother must have heard her breathing.
"It was fine," Ayako said as she poked her head around the door jamb. Her mother sat at the large desk, a hefty medical textbook in front of her and tea cup raised to her lips. Ayako wished she could catch her mother reading a romance novel occasionally. Or even just a true crime fiction.
Her mother set her tea cup down without a clink, eyes focused on the words in front of her.
Ayako forced her words to sound suave and bored. Like her mother. "I was invited to a party tonight—"
Her mother cut her off. "I thought you were coming to the fundraiser."
"I was, but the invitation was sudden. Can I go?"
Her mother finally looked up. "Will there be a chaperone?"
Ayako nodded, the lie hidden behind her teeth.
"Will there be alcohol?"
Ayako shook her head. At least this was the truth.
"Fine."
Ayako took that as a dismissal. She took the stairs two at a time to her room, uncaring if she made noise. She knew her mother would be so pissed if she knew Ayako was going to a ghost hunt. It made Ayako smile.
...
Ayako had expected to be alone when she arrived at eight forty that evening. To her surprise, twelve other girls were milling around. Most were paired off in twos or threes to prevent anyone from looking lost or desperate. Ayako only knew Ikeda, the girl who had invited - demanded - her to come, and Ikeda already had four girls fawning over her. Ayako crossed her arms over her breasts and leaned against the building. She had taken the time to change into jeans before coming, but most of the girls were still in their uniforms as if they actually liked the outfits. It was unexpected, but Ayako didn't mind using it to her advantage. She was in her element here. Tests of courage didn't scare her. She felt outright comfortable in them. If Ikeda had wanted to scare her, she should have made her go up to a senior boy and try to form two coherent sentences without embarrassing herself.
Time passed slowly. Eventually a couple gravitated too close to Ayako and they accidentally absorbed her into their magnetic field.
"Do you know what we're actually doing?" one whispered.
"Ikeda-san said we're going to summon Hanako-san," the other replied.
Ayako rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, I did that in elementary school."
The girls turned to her as one.
"Oh, a dare devil," one said.
"Good, I don't have to be in the front!" the other exclaimed. The outburst drew the attention of the rest of the group.
As soon as Ikeda realized she had lost the focus, she clapped her hands and called for attention again.
"Hanako-san has been sighted in the third floor girls' bathroom," Ikeda said, finger pointed above them. Many pairs of eyes raised involuntarily, as if they would see the ghost hanging out of the window.
"When, senpai?" Ayako asked. "This decade?"
"Know your place, freshman," Ikeda snapped. "Through this door everyone."
Flashlights and penlights of varying sizes were clicked on. The hallway became partially illuminated before them. The lights bounced as each person focused on a dark corner that caught their imagination. Crazed, mutant fireflies came to Ayako's mind. Ayako pointed her small light at Ikeda, catching her eye just enough for her to blink and duck her head without realizing why.
"Follow me," Ikeda said. "Don't fall behind."
"Yeah, or something much worse might find you," Ayako whispered to the girl next to her. "Like Teke-Teke."
The girl shuddered. "Oh god, don't do that. I've been fearful of falling off the subway platform since I was a little kid."
"Matsuzaki, come up front with me," Ikeda said. "Before we don't have anyone left in the group thanks to your scare tactics."
"Just setting the mood, Ikeda-san," Ayako said.
As they got farther into the deserted building, the talk did become muted. Their footsteps echoed strangely. Ayako had to agree she never liked a school after dark. Any negative emotions the children and teachers left behind seemed to stagnate in the corners, swirling like dust around their ankles as they shuffled by. Ayako wondered if the stories of Hanako-san emerged from the dust, or if an actual spirit resided here.
They were all winded by the third floor landing, For most of them it was because of the fear constricting their lungs than the actual exercise. With the sign for the restroom in sight, Ikeda did a head count — good, all there. Ayako wondered what she would have done if someone had actually disappeared.
Ayako was right behind her as they went into the bathroom, and Ikeda put a hand out and stopped her.
"You stay here and hold the door open," she said. Ayako opened her mouth to protest, but when she realized it was her punishment for being so outspoken, closed it again. Fine, she didn't have to prove anything, really. All the girls were shaking of varying degrees already thanks to her.
The problem was she had actually been excited. She found a doorstop and wedged the door open. By that point the rest of the girls had passed her and crowded around the third stall. The lights hit the mirrors by the row of sinks off to the side. Ayako jumped as her image flickered between being visible and in complete darkness. She scurried to the back of the group.
After much dissent, Ikeda ended up being the one who knocked on the stall door. Ayako was pretty sure by her body language she wasn't happy about it.
She knocked again. Ayako found herself being shuffled closer to the door as girls started backing away.
She knocked the third time. Ayako found herself standing right besides Ikeda, the rest of the group behind them.
"Are you there, Hanako-san?" Ikeda said. Her voice wavered.
"Yes, I am here," a childish voice said.
A ripple of panic went through the group.
"Open the door, Ikeda-san," Ayako said in Ikeda's ear. "You have to open the door!"
When there was no response, Ayako pushed it. The door swung wide open to reveal a little girl. Her skin was too white; her bobbed black hair blended into the shadows. She wore a red skirt and a wide grin.
Ayako knew she gasped, but it was drowned out by Ikeda's scream. A chorus of shrieks rose up behind them. Ayako was dragged back as hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled her bodily from the restroom. She was taken down the hall with the wave of people, all the way back to the landing before the group collapsed in various states of discomposure. Some gasped for air, one was openly sobbing, repeating over and over something about the little girl in the bathroom stall.
Ikeda was eerily silent. Ayako couldn't decide if she should attempt to comfort her. She awkwardly reached to Ikeda's shoulder, then jerked her hand back when the Ikeda suddenly turned to her.
"I want to go back," Ikeda said. "Will you go with me?"
The group groaned and shuddered as one at the proposal, but Ayako knew the question was only for her.
"Yes."
...
Ikeda announced that the rest of them were to all stay here. Do not follow them for their own safety. They protested halfheartedly. Ayako followed her as she marched back to the restroom. Ayako saw the light was on, a thin line visible from beneath the door. Stories of other dimensions came to mind, but Ayako shook them off. Who had ever heard of a portal to another dimension in a restroom?
Ikeda shoved the door open. Hanako was out in the open, talking with a tall boy. They both jumped when the door whacked against the wall.
"Oh hey, Yumiko," the boy said.
"How dare you," Ikeda exclaimed. "Why wasn't I in on this? Do you think it was funny?"
"Yes," Hanako said, before she was consumed by giggles. Under the bright light, her face and hands were clearly powdered with flour.
"Did you…" Ayako drifted off. "Recognize her?"
"This is my boyfriend," Ikeda said with a curled lip. "And his little sister."
Hanako—well, Ayako didn't know if that was her real name, but it was stuck now—ran up and pulled at Ikeda's shirt. "Don't be mad, Yumi-chan. Didn't I do a good job? Was I scary?"
When Ikeda didn't respond, Ayako nodded. "Very scary."
Hanako grinned. "Now let's do the mirror game," she said. She pulled a step stool out from beneath the row of sinks and climbed up on it. She stared intently into the mirror.
"Bloody Mary," Hanako said. "Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary!"
"No, no," her brother said as he lifted her up. "That is way too much excitement for today. What movies have you been watching?"
Ikeda looked deflated as her boyfriend carried his little sister out. Ayako clicked her flashlight back on as Ikeda turned off the light too soon. Just to see her squirm, Ayako assumed. The light caught the mirror, drawing Ayako's eye like earlier. Perhaps against her best interest she turned towards it.
An older woman stared at her. The face was thin, skin preternaturally white. Her long black hair faded into the edges of the glass. Her lips were so, so red. Ayako whipped her head over her shoulder. No one was behind her. Ikeda was still at the door, saying something about leaving her behind.
"Are you here for your future?"
"Am I?" Ayako said. Her tongue stumbled over the words.
"Come here, girl," the woman demanded. "And I will show you your future partner. Come, look into my eyes."
Ayako took a step closer. Was there someone in her future? Could this woman show her who would actually pay attention to her one day?
She stepped forward as the woman reached for her. Long fingers caressed down Ayako's cheek, then wrapped around her throat and dragged her forward. The woman's lips were tinted with blood—
"Ayako!" Ikeda gasped.
The switch was flipped and light flooded the room. The shadows retreated to the corners and the pressure was released from Ayako's neck. Ayako turned away from the mirror and sank to the floor. She didn't think her knees would support her for any longer. A lump in her throat and a vise around her chest stopped her from taking deep breaths.
Ikeda grasped Ayako's limp hands.
"Did you see her, did you, Matsuzaki?" Ikeda said.
Ayako stared at her. Her words sounded far away. She wondered if she imagined Ikeda using her first name a moment before.
Ikeda continued, "That, that was real, wasn't it?"
"I…don't know, Ikeda-san," Ayako said. She pulled her hands away and rubbed her neck. The pain had rapidly faded but a phantom feeling of it remained. Ayako hoped there wouldn't be any bruises on her neck. It would be hard to explain to her mother. "I…don't know what it was."
"Should we tell the group?"
"I don't think so," Ayako said. She tried to put on a smile but the slight tremors going through her body shook it off her face. "They couldn't even handle fake Hanako-san."
Ikeda half laughed, half sobbed as she pulled Ayako up.
They removed the doorstop, and stepped outside of the restroom. Ayako reached in and flicked off the light, avoiding eye contact with the mirrors. It took effort, though. Deep down…she had really wanted to see the face of a future lover.
She stepped back, and the door swung shut.