"What might this be about?" Morishige questions, prodding the crinkled sheet of paper. The class rep swats his hand away and she smiles, shushing him.
"You'll find out, Morishige, don't worry." Ayumi steps onto the podium, a prop that was left over from the cultural festival a few weeks ago. Miss Yui let it stay, as long as it wouldn't cause disturbances during class.
The dark blue haired girl creates a fake official announcer voice, and it gains everyone's attention. "This is an announcement for all who are in classroom 2-9. Shinozaki Ayumi will be having a sleepover party tonight, with a surprise along the side. All are welcome," she says, pretending to speak through the microphone.
Mayu raises her hand. The class rep points at her. "Suzumoto, question."
"What time will it be?"
"You may attend any time, but don't come in too late," she winks, making the brown haired girl giggle.
Satoshi partly lifts his hand up, but to place it down. "Mochida."
"What is this 'surprise?'"
"Come and find out." This answer gives Satoshi the chills, and Naomi, sitting at the desk next to him, furrows her brows. Seiko grins and Yoshiki gives a half smile to his classmate. The bell rings, and the students get seated. Satoshi slowly feels hypnotized by staring at the clock, constantly ticking. Gym felt like a haze, along with the other classes as well. It wasn't about two thirty in the afternoon when everyone was dismissed, except for everyone in classroom 2-9.
Miss Yui peeks her head through the doorway. "Hey, what're you still doing here? It's a Friday. You better get home before your parents worry." She steps inside the classroom and Ayumi apologizes and grabs her umbrella and bag. Yoshiki grabs out his cellphone and presses the digits to his dad's phone, but to be left on voicemail. He sighs, and the class rep looks over her shoulder.
"Hey, Kishinuma, we could walk back together," she offers, standing in the doorway. Yoshiki shakes his head.
"I don't have an umbrella… "
"Well, uh, we could share! Sorry if mine is too small, though." The blonde considers it, and he reluctantly nods and takes her hand. The corners of his mouth slightly raise when Shinozaki gives a comforting squeeze, and they walk out in the rain.
The girl with blue hair unfolds her umbrella, and she quickly gets under it, pulling Yoshiki to her side. It wasn't that small, but small enough for the two high schoolers to touch shoulders. They walked in silence, aside from the taller male sniffling more often. Ayumi worriedly looks up, and his face is almost flushed, and his voice is nasally. "We should hurry."
"Yeah." She huffs and picks up the pace, and Yoshiki was back home in a few minutes. Ayumi lived across the street from him, so she just had to walk across the black road, with water droplets splashing off of it. A car zoomed by when she reaches her house, and she begins to search her socks, a place that her keys were hidden. Her eyes light up when she feels a familiar shape between her fingers, the material of metal and ridges. She opens the door with a creak, and there wasn't a trace of her mother and father. Work.
Ayumi wastes at least an hour lounging around by divulging herself in a bag of chips and a really interesting paranormal movie. She checks her favorite blog, labeled "Naho's Nods to the Netherworld." Ayumi feels a tingly sensation throughout her body when she scrolls through it, the kind that sends chills through her spine. The doorbell rings and the blue eyed girl jumps up and almost stumbles rushing down the stairs and opening the doorknob. There stood Satoshi and Yuka, hand in hand and both wearing pajamas. Satoshi wore a white tank top with blue pajama pants. There was a darker blue penguin silhouette pattern continuously placed on the fabric. Yuka was wearing something similar to her older brother, but with a magenta top and penguin patterned bottoms. Over the older brother's shoulder was a bag, filled with essentials and other things.
Ayumi smiles and welcomes them, although she wasn't really expecting Yuka to arrive. Satoshi sits down on the couch, placing the bag on the floor next to him. "Sorry I had to bring her along. Mom's going to pick her up soon." The blue haired girl nods and sits down next to him, reaching for the remote. Yuka hesitantly sits down, but a bit more fidgety than usual.
The cartoon displayed on the screen kept Yuka entertained, but the older students were about to have a snooze fest. "Big brother… I want to go home," she wails. The girl shifts her weight so it would be on her brother's hand, to earn a grunt from him.
"Yuka—"
Three quick raps came from the door and Ayumi hops up from the couch cushion to open it. "Mochida, it's your mom!" She calls, and Yuka walks up to the door and she quivers, looking up at the hazy figure. Mochida's mother drags her outside into the grimy environment.
Ayumi claps her hands together and swings her arm around Satoshi's neck, and looks at the time display, flashing on the clock. It was around six o'clock, almost getting dark for the middle of Autumn. The brunette stares blankly at the table placed between the couch and the television, breathing steady and beginning to zone out. "You want something to eat? Drink?"
He snaps, shuddering. "Yeah, sure." The class rep slides into the kitchen with her socks and grabs a bowl, popcorn, and a few juice boxes. She microwaves the bag of kernels and places the bowl on the counter and juice at the coffee table. A few uneven knocks came from the door, and two muffled female voices could be heard through it. Satoshi answers it, and he greets Nakashima Naomi and Shinohara Seiko.
Seiko wore her orange hair clips, a baggy black t-shirt with a neon logo and grey sweat pants. Her hair was combed thoroughly, twirls still in place. Naomi wore a lacy, light blue tank top and matching basketball shorts. A partly zipped up jacket covered most of her top. The two girls were smiling meekly, linking arms with Shinohara giving a thumbs up.
Ayumi takes a quick glance from the kitchen doorway and says hello to the two. Naomi politely puts her hands to her sides and Seiko plops her tush down on the couch, grabbing a juice box and slurping. The blue haired girl giggles and checks up on the popcorn, pouring it in the bowl and putting a little bit of butter and extra salt on it. She places it on the coffee table and bounces, eagerly awaiting for the next visitor.
Morishige Sakutaro was next to arrive. He packs light, with only a plastic bag in hand. After him was Suzumoto and eventually Yoshiki came, cheeks and nose a bit flushed and pale lips quivering. The students chattered and ate popcorn upstairs in Ayumi's room, and she stands up, list that Morishige was so curious about in her grasp. "Who wants to play a few games?" She offers, cheekily looking off to the side. Nobody raises their hand or speaks out, so she shrugs and grabs a hat, filled with tiny slips of paper.
"Alright, everyone pick two slips. No looking while digging, okay?" The hat was sent around, and back to Ayumi again. She unfolds the paper and sighs, getting her act together.
"If one of your slips' says 'Hide and Seek,' then raise your hand." Morishige swallows and he lifts his arm up, crumpling the slip of paper in his other hand. Everyone turns to look at him, and Ayumi taps her chin.
"Okay. Everyone get up and get a pouch filled with uncooked rice, a needle and thread, a sharp knife, and a cup of salt." She orders, watching everyone scramble to get the items. Ayumi digs through her drawer and finds a rag doll that she remembers deliberately placing in there. Next, she checks the closet. It's spotless, aside from a few hangers.
The objects were piled up at Ayumi's feet, and she kneels down and places the doll down. "I need your nail clippings, Morishige," she juts a nail clipper at him, and he reluctantly grabs it and begins to clip. Clip, clip, clip. He hands the clippings to her in disgust. Satoshi cringes.
"Thank you." Ayumi starts to slit the doll open with the knife, stuffing beginning to puff out. She grabs a handful of the cotton and puts it along to the side. Morishige's shadow hovers over her, cold blank stare examining her actions.
Mayu hands her the rice pouch and she fills up the doll, making it seem bloated. The class rep then drops in the spectacled boy's nail clippings, sealing up the cut area with a needle and thread. The thread was a crimson red, and Ayumi makes sure not to poke herself through the doll's fabric.
"Everyone, hide someplace that you won't be seen. Morishige, come with me." All of the students sprawl to find a hiding spot. Sakutaro gets up and shuffles towards the blue haired girl, crossing his arms. They head to the bathroom, Ayumi walking towards the bathtub and turning on the faucet. Cloudy, warm water filled the tub up halfway, and the tap squeaks to a halt. Ayumi shoves the knife into Morishige's hand, and his grip is tight around the handle. She places the rag doll on the marble sink counter, drooping low as it sits. Her blue eyes bore into his green ones, and her lips begin to move. The drama club member listens intently.
"The doll's name is Yokai, she will be out to get you. Hold the doll and chant, 'Sakutaro Morishige, is the first it,' three times."
"Drop Yokai in the water, and she'll come alive, slowly creeping out of the water, soaked. As you leave the bathroom, you need to keep the knife with you. Turn off all the lights and change the television's channel to a static. Hide. Count to ten."
"Return to the bathroom, Yokai will be waiting. Chant, 'I have found you, Yokai,' three times, and stab her. Then say, 'Now, Yokai is it,' another three times. Put the knife and Yokai back in the bathtub. She will slowly crawl out to find you after you've been hidden."
"You know she's close if you can hear the television's static change. From your hiding place you might hear the quick taps of small feet."
"If you want to end the game, keep a mouthful of salt water and keep it there. Start to search for the doll. Remember, Morishige, she isn't always going to be in the bathroom. She could be anywhere. When you find her, pour the salt water over her, along with spitting the water from your mouth. Be very loud when you say, "I win," three times, and cut the crimson thread. Her spirit will be moving on, and the ritual ends."
The blue haired boy nods and he grabs the doll and looks up at it, black button eyes glaring back at his green ones. Ayumi leaves the bathroom to go hide, as he takes a deep breath and toes curling when the first words escape his lips. "Sakutaro Morishige, is the first it… Sakutaro Morishige, is the first it. Sakutaro Morishige is the first it!" The doll returns to the water with a plop noise, and Morishige rushes back to Ayumi's bedroom. He checks the closet, and it seems perfectly spotless. The door clicks behind him and he shuts the door with a quiet creak. He counts to ten and his eyelids are shut. The knife is still in his grasp, while breaths are harsh and voice coarse.
He gets out of the closet and walks to the bathroom, and there the rag doll lay, soggy with her stitched up smile. He digs the knife deep through her outer fabric material and cotton stuffing, and she lays there, smiling emptily. The green eyed boy mutters, "I have found you, Yokai. I have found you, Yokai. I have found you." His voice is soft but echoes within the four bare bathroom walls, and he places the knife and Yokai back in the tub.
"Now, Yokai is it. Now, Yokai is it. Now, Yokai is it," says he, and Morishige walks downstairs to the living room to change the channel. Cartoons were still playing, but that changed when all he could see and hear were fuzzy static, black and white dots moving around. On his way back up, he switches off all the lights and closes the door to Ayumi's bedroom when he enters it. It makes a reassuring click and he slides himself back into the closet.
The pitter patter of feet were heard from behind the bedroom door, and they stop. Rapid, light taps came from it, but they stop and the footstep noises fade out. The static of the television changes to a different rigid, yet fuzzy noise. Morishige's cheeks feel like they're burning up, but his hands are living in the ice age, almost pale white as they shook.
A stench reaches the drama club member's nostrils, and he pinches his nose in disgust. It was unidentifiable, but it was gruesome, possibly something rotten and decaying. Sakutaro's back feels like fingers gliding themselves over the ridge of his spine, skin on his hips and arms being stretched and pulled on. He smacks his arm softly through his sleeve but it feels like the skin was pinched, nails digging into the flesh.
He looks to his side, and there was a cup of salt water next to him, gratuitously placed by the class rep. 'Very charitable of her…' he thinks, and his ears perk up, hearing the static noise return to normal but a few notches louder. It begins to get softer, more fuzzier, and then it just flashes off, blacking out entirely.
He keeps the salt water in his mouth, swishing it around in between his cheeks. His steps against the wooden floor are quiet, but the boards creak softly as the weight of his heel is pressed on top of them.
She was waiting on the couch, slumped over and sharp blade under her arm. His shadow hovers over the doll, and he pours the salt water in the cup over it, staining the couch. He spits out the remaining water, right on the doll's face. "I win," he says monotonously.
"I win," he gets louder, "I win!"
The students come out of their hiding places, Satoshi and Seiko from the kitchen, Yoshiki coming from the guest room, Mayu, Ayumi, and Naomi jumping up from behind the television.
"Nice job, Shig!" Mayu pats his back and he smiles triumphantly, sitting on the couch next to the water stain. Ayumi gestures the knife towards him.
"You forgot to cut the thread."
The crimson thread gets sliced, revealing the fingernails and stuffing within. Yoshiki pinches the soggy doll with his index finger and thumb, and lifts it up. It dangles, as he walks outside in the backyard to throw it away.
The rain had passed away, but dew drops were still fresh and windows felt cool when the bleached blonde felt them with the back of his hand.
www . scaryforkids / hide-and-seek if u want to read the how to and a bit of the backstory. this is going to be a series where the students of kisaragi academy have a big sleepover party and they play weird occult/ritual type games and get the heebie jeebies.
next up (probably): fortune, with the host, shinozaki ayumi
constructive criticism is welcome, and please let me know if the characters get ooc.