Hi! MJ-san's here! I want to try something new and this chapter is somewhat horror... I guess. I don't know if I could make this but I hope that it would turn out fine… This is my first horror story... please have mercy... ;p... Domo…
I would like to thank 'DearestELFriend' for making this fic easier to be posted than my original plan. I owe this idea to you... ^_^
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Prince of Tennis and never will.
Chapter 1: Story-Telling Time
Chapter Summary: The regulars got bored while they were waiting for their coach to arrive. Momo got an idea while they were waiting. What wondered her was she and her friend were involved in their ideas.
7 Pm:
The regulars that night just stopped doing something 'productive' after their practice. Yep, their practice had ended two hours ago and they were just waiting for their coach to arrive in that court. Sumire promised them that if they would wait for her, they would be spared for Inui's juice for a week, even though you were the last in the line. With that promise, they did wait for her to arrive back.
Sumire was having a three hours meeting at that time for the upcoming Christmas festival and the exam week before that.
No one dared to go home for the winning prize was the freedom from Inui's juice for a week. Inui was indeed gloomy for he could sense that all of them were planning to stay. What wondered everyone was Sakuno and Tomoka were also there.
They could understand Sakuno for she was going to wait for her grandmother but Tomoka was different. The latter only said that she wanted to accompany her best friend while she was waiting for her grandmother.
They tried everything to make themselves busy but the time seemed so slow for them. They still need one hour until Sumire finally returned to them.
"I am awfully bored now," Eiji said as he slumped on the bench, "Is there anything that we can do more?"
"We played cards, we raced, we played tennis, we did hide and clap, we played Sudoku, we played tennis, and we played tag…" Oishi counted everything, "What else would you like to play?"
The rest decided to shut their mouth. From the looked of it, they knew that they were being childish once again. They were doing things what a kid did.
"I know!" Eiji suddenly said getting their attention, "Why don't we play tennis?"
Everyone sweat dropped at his words. They had been playing tennis all the time and they thought that they should take a break even for a while. Sakuno and Tomoka were just watching them. They had also joining their little games so that they wouldn't be bored while they were waiting for their coach. They were sitting on a bench near the regulars and like it was a miracle, Ryoma was sitting before Tomoka feeling already bored and had the expression of wanting of going home.
"Eiji, we played tennis all day." Fuji said tapping his shoulder.
"But what should we do then? Sensei will be here until later." Eiji said shrugging his shoulder afterwards.
"I know!"
"Momo-senpai, no more lame ideas…" Ryoma suddenly butted in.
Momo looked at him and grinned, "It's not Echizen," He started before he looked at everyone, "Let's tell ghost stories tonight!"
Upon hearing that, a certain braided-pigtailed girl flinched from her seat.
"Let's do it, nya!" Eiji agreed.
"That's a little exciting, I guess," Oishi hesitantly agreed but still looked at Tezuka, "What do you think, Tezuka?"
Tezuka pushed his glasses to his eyes before he replied, "I don't mind." He sat on a bench next to Fuji. Their bench was next to what Ryoma and the girls were sitting.
"Then let's get started," Inui said walking towards the two benches, "Sit around the floor, teammates."
The other regulars along with the freshmen trio gathered around and sat on the floor. Kaidoh was just standing near the Captain refusing to sit on the ground.
"Who'll start first…?" Momo said eyeing everyone.
"U-umm, I—"
"Me!" Eiji raised his hand ignoring Sakuno's words.
Sakuno looked down when they agreed. She stared at her hands as she gripped them. W-what to do? I—I haven't told them… She was worried—no she was scared.
They never knew that she was actually scared of ghosts. Tomoka knew this but her best friend loved ghost stories. Tomoka just tapped her shoulder telling her that it would be all right. She couldn't stop them when Eiji finally started.
"Years ago, there was a high school girl who was lost in the forest and she couldn't find her way home. Then she met an old lady with a very creepy and dark look. The old lady said 'are you lost my child?' The high school girl said 'yes' with a little hesitation. The old lady suddenly leaned forward to the girl making her flinch in the process. The old lady said 'I can help you get out of here if you want'."
Sakuno tried not to listen but she still could hear Eiji telling his story to everyone. She looked at Tomoka. Her best friend was so eager to know what would happen next. And then to Ryoma who was next to her best friend. He was just laid back from the bench and looked bored there.
Ryoma wasn't interested? She didn't know.
"And then in the end the high school girl was able to exit the forest. The end."
The place was silent after that except for the owl that was making weird sounds around the court.
"What. Was. That. Eiji-senpai?" Momo deadpanned.
She heard Momo said. She didn't notice that Eiji was done telling his scary story to them. She safely breathed after that.
"That wasn't scary at all, Eiji." Oishi sweat dropped as he tapped his doubles partner's back.
"Eeeh…" Eiji made face to them, "It wasn't scary at all? I thought it was though."
"Nice try, Kikumaru-senpai." Ryoma smirked.
"Ochibi, you meanie!" Eiji pouted, "Why don't you tell us some ghost stories instead?"
"Why me?" He draped his hands over his head, "I don't know anything."
"What about the urban legends in America? Don't you have one?" Fuji asked him.
"Not interested," Ryoma closed his eyes and then opened them again, "I only know Sadako Yamamura and Bloody Mary," He narrowed his eyes to them, "Which I knew that you already know their stories."
"That's beyond your country, Echizen." Inui said as he wrote something in his notebook, "Since Echizen couldn't tell us a story, let me tell you one."
All eyes darted towards the data analyst.
"Let me tell you about the seven mysteries of Seishun Academy…"
Sakuno flinched when she heard that. Well, she never heard the seven mysteries of the school until now. And that moment, she really didn't want to hear them.
"I-Inui-senpai—"
"Let us hear it!" Momo and Eiji chorused blocking Sakuno's words in the process."
Inui's glasses sparked as he pushed it to his nose, "A lot of unexplainable things are happening inside the campus but the seven mysteries are the famous among them."
Sakuno closed her eyes when she heard that.
"The first mystery is the flying books in the library, the second is a running thief, the third is a walking dissection mannequin, the fourth is the girl in the music room, the fifth is the school head that comes out of its frame, and the sixth is the woman in the long red dress."
"Wait! That is only six. What is the seventh mystery?" Oishi said when Inui stopped from the sixth mystery.
"The last mystery is rumored that the person who will see it will be abducted to the strange world. So no one knew that last mystery."
"Hmmm… weird…"
Everyone looked at Momo who was propping his hand to his chin.
"What's the matter, senpai?" Ryoma asked him.
"I actually heard a different version of that… from a classmate of mine."
"Really?" Eiji said this time, "What is it then?"
Momo thought hard as he tried to remember, "I think the first mystery is the piano that plays by itself, the second is the man-eating book in the library, the third is the mannequin that count its own body parts, the fourth is the living locker, the fifth is the talking painting, and the sixth is the running samurai."
"That means the seventh mystery is also a mystery?" Kawamura said this time.
"Yeah," Momo nodded. His face became gloomy, "Rumor says that the person who has seen the seventh one has died."
"DIED?!" They said in unison except Sakuno who was trying to calm herself, "SERIOUSLY?!"
Momo shrugged still keeping the gloomy yet creepy expression to his face, "No life could tell yet so the last mystery is still a mystery."
"Chances that there are other versions of Seigaku's seven mysteries are seventy-five percent." Inui said while scribbling something in his notebook.
"Why don't we discover these mysteries ourselves?" Fuji suggested.
"Let's do it!" Momo, Eiji, Inui, the freshmen Trio and Tomoka said at the same time while the rest sweat dropped.
"T-Tomoka-chan…" Sakuno whispered as she grabbed her best friend's arm.
Tomoka looked at her and whisperingly replied, "Don't worry Sakuno, it'll be fine."
"B-but…" She was trembling. Didn't Tomoka know how scared she was at that moment? She looked down trying to calm her panicky heart.
Unbeknownst to her, Ryoma had a peek of her to his side and saw her reaction.
"Guys, we only have less than an hour before Ryuzaki-sensei arrives," Oishi said trying to kill their excitement down, "We can't leave the court and then lost track of time."
"Oishi… you're a killjoy!" Eiji said.
"I sort of agree with Oishi, guys," Kawamura said scratching his head, a little embarrassed too, "We can do that some other time where sensei will not be worried about her finding us inside this large campus."
"But…" Eiji pouted.
"I agree too," Tezuka said getting their attention, "Stop testing your courage over such mysteries."
"Why Tezuka, are you scared?" Fuji dared.
The other looked at their Captain and observed his expression. The latter was showing no emotion at all.
"What is it then?"
Tezuka just stared at the tensai before he finally decided to speak, "Tomorrow exactly midnight."
"Saa," Fuji said before he looked at the others, "Tezuka is all set what about you?"
They all said the same thing except the quiet ones;
"COUNT US IN!"
Sakuno was able to breathe when they decided to postpone their plans about exploring the school. It was after dinner already but yet far from midnight. There was no way she would go with them tomorrow midnight.
No way in hell.
"So let's continue the story-telling!" Momo said much to Sakuno's shock, "Who's next!"
Mou! I thought it was over. Sakuno thought as she was getting pale. She wanted to get out of there but she didn't want to be alone. Obaa-chan, come back now! Hurry!
"Alright! Alright, I have at least one okay!"
She heard the viper said. It seemed that Kaidoh was forced to tell a ghost story to them. She also guessed that Momo provoked him of doing so. Their eyes went to the viper
"This is actually a legend from a lake in Tokyo," Kaidoh said swinging his own body as he grabbed the leaning seat of the bench, "There is a place that people called a 'cursed park'. Some says that in that park, there is a beautiful lake that is very common for people to visit by. But they don't know that this lake is a cursed one until they experienced it."
"A cursed one?" Inui asked him.
Kaidoh looked at him and nodded and then continued his story, "They say that if a couple rides a boat in that lake. They will be separated. In what way, no one knows about it. It is believed that the legend is connected to a local shrine dedicated to a maiden that is believed to be very jealous resulting to break-ups who'll ride the boats."
"…A cursed lake that separates a couple?" Eiji said thinking, "Nice story but not scare enough if you ask me."
"Yeh, yeh," Momo agreed as he grinned at him, "Mada mada dane, Mamushi."
Kaidoh twitched when he heard that, "I tried my best, okay! And it was better than the stupid mysteries of yours."
"What did you say?!" He leaned at him.
Kaidoh leaned his own forehead to him, "Mine is real while yours is make-believe!"
"You take that back! Let's see who's telling the truth tomorrow night!"
"I'd like to see you try!"
"Maa, maa, stop arguing guys," Fuji said raising his hands, "We will know that tomorrow."
Ryoma smirked at their little fight especially when Momo mimicked his favorite phrase to his senpai. He then looked to his side once again. He saw her pale face and thought hard. Is she scared or something? Why won't she say anything? He was about to ask her when Fuji interlude him;
"But that lake is pretty interesting."
Everyone looked at him even the frenemies. They remained silent before Horio decided to break it;
"What do you mean by that, senpai?"
"They say that a couple would break up if they ride the boat, right?" Fuji said and then looked at the other bench, "Why don't we try to other way around?"
Ryoma, Tomoka and the not so paying attention Sakuno were pretty oblivious about it but the first two were looking at the tensai. Before they could ask, Momo answered for them.
"You mean, we will let Echizen and Ryuzaki-chan ride the boat in that park?"
"E-eh? What?" Sakuno caught that word and looked at Momo.
Ryoma was surprised too but he didn't show it, "What do you mean by that?"
"That's right!" Eiji shouted a little, "Maybe these two will break the curse."
"I don't get what you mean." Ryoma said as he leaned back on the bench.
"I—don't think—"
"We will go there too and let them ride the boat!" Momo and Eiji said at the same time.
"Momoshiro, Eiji lower your voice down," Tezuks ordered, "Ten laps tomorrow morning!"
"Gack?!" The two of them sweat dropped. No matter how they wanted to retort, they just couldn't. Tezuka would only add the laps if they did. The rest snickered after that.
Sakuno didn't know how many heart attacks she could get that night. All she wanted was the telling ghost stories would end as soon as possible.
"Let me tell you a story this time."
And she knew that her wish would be for a while… a little later.
Oishi and Eiji gulped when he suggested and made weird reactions. The other noticed this.
"What's the matter, Senpai? Why are you sweating like that?" Tomoka asked them, "We haven't heard Fuji-senpai's story yet."
"That's the problem," Eiji answered her question, "You don't want to hear his story, right Oishi?"
"I couldn't agree more," Oishi said as he looked at Tezuka, "You've heard some of his stories before right, Tezuka?"
Tezuka didn't say anything but he nodded as confirmation. Everyone remained silent as they didn't know what to say. Fuji smiled and used that chance to tell his story.
"On a night like this…"
"Senpai!" Some of them panicked but Fuji continued;
"Children walking alone at night may encounter a woman with a surgical mask on her face. It is an unusual sight for the mask is only to protect others from their colds and sickness. If you see someone like this which is very odd, you have to think twice."
Fuji stopped for a while and looked at them. Some were already pale and some were sort of interested like Inui and Tezuka. He smiled as he continued;
"If a child sees this woman, she will stop and ask you. 'Am I beautiful?' That's her question and you have to answer. If you say no, she kills the person with a pair of scissors that she always carries. Most children answer yes, then the woman will remove her mask and ask them again, 'How about now?' that time, the children will see the woman's mouth slits from ear to ear. No matter what the children answer, they will still die regardless of the answer. If they say no, they will be cut into two and if they say yes, she will cut their mouths exactly like hers."
"Senpai… that's creepy indeed," Horio said shivering at his location, hugging Kachiro who was just beside him, "We are still children you know."
"Chicken…" Tomoka said whispering at him.
"Oh yeah," Horio said glaring at her, "Then why are you hugging Echizen now?"
"Wha—" Tomoka flinched. She was indeed hugging Echizen's arm now but the tennis prodigy didn't do anything to let go from her grasp so she thought that it was okay, "Because he's not scared at all."
"Then you are a chicken."
The others ignored them. Momo gulped as he prickly asked the tensai;
"Senpai, is there a way to save yourself from the woman or not answering the question at all?"
"Saa… even if you don't answer she will still cut you," Fuji said making everyone shiver, "She's really impatient you know."
"Man, that's scary…" Eiji said hugging Oishi's arm at that moment.
"But there's a way to escape from her."
"Really!" They said in unison.
Fuji nodded making everyone lean at him.
"In order to receive her second question, of course you have to answer yes."
They were pretty curious what to answer to the woman. Fuji continued;
"She'll ask you a second question after that and you can answer her second question with…"
"With…" They repeated. The place became silent after that anticipating Fuji's next words.
"What are you doing…?"
"KYAAAA! ! !"
The others shouted as well when Sakuno suddenly screamed. Ryoma, Tezuka and Fuji were the only people who remained calm but shocked on their faces were quite visible.
They looked at her who was already crouching on the ground and then were surprised to see someone behind their bench;
"RYUZAKI-SENSEI!"
Oishi brought a hand to his chest and approached her, "Please don't scare us like that."
"Why are you so shocked to see me?" Sumire raised an eyebrow as she looked at them.
"W-well, we were telling ghost-stories you see." Kawamura answered as he scratched his head.
"Ghost stories?" She was a little surprised when she heard that and looked at her granddaughter, "No wonder that she was really terrified hearing my voice from behind."
Who wouldn't... They thought at the same time.
Sakuno was still crouching on the ground. Sumire crouched as well as she tapped her shoulder. Sakuno flinched a little, "Hey, gomen. I didn't know that you were talking about ghosts. Why are you listening to them anyway?"
Sakuno looked at her grandmother, "O-Obaa-chan…"
They saw her reaction. Her face was a combination of pale and red and her eyes were fluffy like it was close to crying. Her body was trembling.
"Ryuzaki-chan, don't tell me…" Oishi thought as realization dawn at him.
Sumire nodded, "Sakuno's afraid of ghosts."
"Eehhh!" They reacted. Inui wrote that information in his notebook.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Eiji said, "We should've stopped you know."
"Yeah," Momo said, "It was my suggestion."
Sakuno hugged her grandmother as she didn't answer. I tried but you didn't listen. She thought instead.
"Sorry, Ryuzaki-chan. We didn't know." Kawamura said a little worried of her.
"I-it's okay…" She said blushing in the process, "D-don't worry about it."
"Well, I guess it's time to go home," Sumire said calling their attention, "Thank you for waiting for me tonight."
"Hai!"
"Good job," Tezuka said as he stood up, "Practice will resume tomorrow. Don't be late."
"Hai!" They said in unison.
"Sensei…"
Sumire looked at Ryoma, "What is it?"
"Remember your promise." Ryoma smirked.
Sumire blinked twice before she pinned his hat down, "I know Echizen. You don't have to remind me," She looked at the data analyst and said, "Spare them your juice for a week."
Inui hesitatingly replied, "Hai."
The others snickered behind their backs. At least they were safe for a week's concoctions of the data analyst.
Later on:
"Why didn't you tell them that you were afraid of ghosts, Sakuno?" Sumire said while they were walking on their way home.
"T-they were so excited about it," She said as she sweat dropped. She was still trembling as her hands were really cold, "I couldn't stop them."
"Geez," Sumire shook her head, "You let yourself scare then. Don't ask me to sleep together with you tonight."
"Mou," Sakuno pouted, "I am not that scared anymore!"
Sumire just snickered and then they continued walking. They were already a few blocks away when Sumire's phone rang. She yanked it and talked to the other line. Sakuno watched her grandmother frown and seem like having a fight with someone else there. She knew that it wasn't a good one.
And she was right.
"Sakuno, I am very sorry, I need to go back to the school right away," She said clapping her hands in front of her, "There is a problem with the committee about the exams two weeks later and that needs to be fixed soon."
"What?" Her eyes widened.
"Our home is close by, you go on ahead," She said walking away from her, "Just make a late dinner when you get home."
"O-Obaa-chan…" She reached out for her but she was fast. Sumire was far away from her now, "She's gone." Then she looked ahead of her and noticed the dark place that she was in.
On a night like this… where children walk alone at night.
Fuji's words brought chills down to her spine. Why was she remembering the tensai's story now? She shook her head and slapped her cheek twice to compose herself;
"Come on, there's no such thing as like that woman. Time to go home." She said to herself as she continued walking home. Another problem was she had no sense of directions. It wasn't like she didn't know her way home. The dark was just confusing her. She felt relieved when she saw someone ahead of her. Shaking off her shyness, she approached the lady and tugged her white shirt;
"A-anou… do you know where—" She stopped asking her question when the lady faced her. She was utterly shocked as her eyes widened.
The lady had a surgical mask on her face and her eyes were dilated. Sakuno was speechless as she didn't know what to do at that very moment;
"Am I beautiful?"
The lady suddenly asked her.
She gasped as she heard that. No way in hell that it was happening to her right now, was it? Fuji's story wasn't happening at that very moment. But why was the lady in front of her, with a surgical mask asking her if she was beautiful?
"Am I beautiful?" The lady repeated a little louder this time.
She almost jumped from her creepy voice. She remembered what Fuji said so she thought that she could follow it, "Y-yes!"
The lady then removed her mask and revealed her slit-mouthed face in front of her.
Just exactly what Fuji told the group a while ago.
"How about now?"
She knew she was trembling. The lady's voice was like coming from six feet under. It was really creepy when she started asking questions to her. She wanted to get away but her feet weren't cooperating with her. The lady revealed a pair of scissors in her hands and was about to use it on her.
"Ne…"
Both of them looked at the last person. Sakuno was relieved to see who it was, "R-R-ryoma-kun." She didn't know how she was able to speak despite the fear that she was feeling but seeing the boy near them was a relief for her.
"Can I answer your question instead?" Ryoma casually walked closer between them. He stopped just beside her. The lady looked at him before she repeated her question.
"Am I beautiful?"
Ryoma stared at her for a while thinking of what to answer. The place was silent and awfully quiet. He then decided to answer her question;
"What do you think?"
The lady frowned when he asked that. Trying to think what he had answered to her. Ryoma used that chance and secretly inserted his hand to her trembling hand making the girl flinch.
"Run." He whispered to her ear.
"W-what?" Before she could say another word, Ryoma dragged her away from the lady. They ran as fast as they could so that she wouldn't be following them.
The lady was confused at the question that he asked back to her.
Minutes later, they were already at their front porch… very far away from the lady…. Whoever she was. Sakuno was catching her breath as she rested on her knees. Ryoma was just staring at her for a while.
"A-arigatou, Ryoma-kun," She was able to thank the boy despite that she was still trembling, "Honto ni arigatou," She tried to stand straight but her knees were wobbling. Ryoma supported her by holding her elbows, "G-gomen, I… I wasn't really expecting that."
"You're pale."
She wasn't able to stare at his eyes. Even though they were pretty close to each other, she was not focusing at that. She still remembered the lady's face in her mind. She was scared, really scared. Her tears started to fall without her noticing it.
"W-was she real? I… I thought that it was only a legend?" Sakuno unconsciously asked, "H-how did you know what to answer to her question? A-and what were you doing there in the first place?"
"Don't know if she's real, I don't believe her," He said yanking his handkerchief and wiped her tears himself, "I actually didn't know how. When I saw her confuse with my answer I used that chance for us to escape. I saw Ryuzaki-sensei on the way and asked me to take you home."
She understood his answers but she never noticed that he answered all of her questions. She grabbed his handkerchief from his hand and gripped it, "T-that was scary… really scary," She bent her head down as she couldn't stop crying, "Gomen, Ryoma-kun… for seeing me as coward like this."
Ryoma just stared at her and let her cry there. One thing she knew that, Ryoma was giving her a comforting hug, just to calm herself down.
"Relax," He said tapping her back, "She's gone now. I'll stay until Ryuzaki-sensei comes back."
Despite the fear that she had, her blush was also present… for another reason. Ryoma was comforting her… with the hug that he was giving her. It wasn't tight but it was enough for her to know that he was there.
She was very thankful that he was really there.
"Thank you, Ryoma-kun," She said as she sniffed, "And I am sorry for troubling you."
"You are not," He said breaking the hug but he never let go of her hand, "Let's go inside."
Sakuno nodded. Ryoma was being nice of her that night. Even it was her house; he was the one who opened the door for them. After all the things that happened today, something good happened in the end.
Done! How was this chapter? This was my first horror fic so I didn't know if this was good. This is going to be a multi-chaptered fic. The story will continue will different events thus, the meaning of the title fic.
The first chapter was for the Halloween event despite that it was already late. Sorry about that. Expect for a different genre next chapter. Domo…
Vocab:
Sadako Yamamura– A fictional character portrayed in different movies and films. She is known as a shadowy young woman whose face is hidden behind long black hair. She is often seen crawling out of a television screen, usually just after a depiction of her crawling out of a well. (See Sadako Yamamura's more info at Wikipedia)
Bloody Mary – is a folklore legend consisting of spirits and ghosts conjured to reveal the future– it is said that if you repeat her names for several times in front of the mirror in a darkened room, you can see the face of your future husband there. For more info… please look at Wikipedia. Thank you.
Seven Mysteries – I got the idea from the 'Another story II: Ano Toki no Nokura (The Times we Shared)' episode where Momoshiro told the others about the seven mysteries of the Seigaku. I also got those two versions of seven mysteries from that episode as well. (I sort of switched it. Inui said his version before Momo's)
Inokashira Park – It is a park in Tokyo where visitors can rent rowing boats. It is believed that if a couple rides a boat, their relationship will end. The legend is connected to a local shrine called Banzaiten. She is believed to be very jealous and causes the break-ups of those who will ride the boats.
Kuchisake-onna (slit-mouthed woman) – A woman with a surgical mask will stop a child from walking at night and ask if she's beautiful. Whether the child answers yes or no, the woman will still kill the child. To escape her, you can answer her second question with 'you're average' or 'so-so'. She will be confused at that and then the child will run. You can also throw fruits or sweets at her. She will pick it up and the child will use that chance to run. To confuse her, you can tell her that she is pretty. With that she will just leave you there. (Ryoma used another tactic which is a little similar to this. I want to change that part but that is all I could think.)
I only invented Eiji's story by the way.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own all the ghost-stories being mentioned here, even the Another Story II episode. NEVER ever will. I just love sharing them. Domo…
Happy Halloween Guys ! ! !
Review please… tell me what you think. Thank you very much… ^_^
Next chapter: Outsmarting the Legend