I do no own Corpse Party

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Meet the Wall

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My grand entrance to Heavenly Host elementary school started with me landing face first into a urinal.

I should have expected that, in all honesty. I have the worst luck compared to normal people. I try to do something nice like give chocolates on Valentine's Day then suddenly a bird attacks me and I drop my sweets down a sewer (true story). Bad luck wasn't something new to me. That didn't mean I wasn't exactly fond of it.

"Gross." I repeated for the hundredth time. My jacket was a poor wash rag, but at least it was getting off whatever that stuff was. The smell of piss I'd just have to deal with.

I was still going to complain about it.

"What idiot does this?" I grumped, eyeing the decaying restrooms distastefully, "Who makes a damn haunted house for, ugh, for fucks sake just don't do it. Nothing good ever comes out of creepy shit."

The little ghost girl in the corner slowly blinked, "Um…"

"Trust me." I nodded to myself, "I watch scary movies all the time. This is breaking all the clichés, you have no idea."

At this point, she looked like she didn't know whether to be exasperated or amused, "Onee-chan…"

I grumbled to myself, still vainly scrubbing at my hair. You'd think with it being boyishly short I'd have an easy time. No, pee in this dimensional haunted house likes to stick to hair apparently, as my new companion had explained rather cheerfully. She'd also helped my head out of the hole when it seemed I was going to struggle like a dumb fish the entire time.

"Listen." I ran a hand through my hair, grimacing at the sticky feeling it gave, "Your story is kind of hard to believe, you know…? Closed spaces? Ghosts? Inevitable death?"

She frowned in one of those painfully worried ways. She bit her lip, glancing down sadly, "I died…"

Which said a lot, because she was glowing. She was practically a blue glow stick all curled up in the corner. Of course, her missing right arm kind of killed the image. I didn't like looking at the stump too long and she didn't seem to like it seen with the way she huddled it close to her chest. Her hair was tied into a low ponytail and she was wearing her dirtied school uniform.

She said her name was Tasume Haru.

I affectionately nicknamed her twig. She was overjoyed.

"Okay, okay…" I eased, seeing as she was about to go all ghostly tears on me, "I'll believe it. I mean, I just fell through a hole and into, well, another hole. Hole-ception, heh? I'll believe anything at this point."

She giggled, wiping her eyes. She looked better smiling instead of grimacing in pain all the time. I nodded in satisfaction, brushing off my cargo pants. I grimaced at the stains over my grey t-shirt, hoping they weren't something weird. My jacket already smelled like a dead wet cat. Drenched in piss.

I cringed at the image before offering Haru a hand, "Hey, I don't want to be in this place any longer. It smells almost as bad as me."

She laughed again, taking my hand in her left. I think I surprised her by actually lifting her up. Who knows? Maybe she thought ghosts were transparent and untouchable.

"Be my tour guide?" I sheepishly scratched the back of my head, "I suck at directions…"

"Mm." She nodded, eyes crinkling happily, "Onee-chan is special. Haru knows. Haru will help her out!"

I couldn't help but feel relieved to know I at least had a direction now, "Thanks a bunch, twig."

She did this funny wiggle, some sort of full body laugh. She usually did that whenever I used her nickname. Makes me wonder how socially deprived she was. I mean, she did talk in third person…not that I'm complaining. It's freaking adorable.

Outside the bathrooms didn't look much better. The floorboards were falling apart and it still smelled of piss. There was a bucket against the wall and, surprise surprise, it smelled of piss too.

"Twig," I pinched my nose, "I vote right here and now Heavenly Host be newly dubbed pissy host elementary school."

She laughed, "Onee-chan's funny, but weird. Haru wonders if she's going insane…?"

I blinked. Huh. Actually, I don't think I've really reacted towards this whole…thing. Whatever this thing was. I mean, one moment I was at my schools festival. The next I'm in a janitor's closet with three of my closest friends ripping apart a doll like the cryptic twelve year olds we are.

And then here. In the urinal. I shivered. Of all the places…

"If I'm going crazy, I'll give you a heads up." I promised, peering out of the bathroom hallway, backpack thrown over my shoulder. It was dark and dreary and just plain screamed horror movie scene. Haru seemed unaffected, cheerfully humming with a light prance in her step. Something told me she was cracked in the head. I wasn't too worried. She was the type to be scared of her own shadow.

"What would Onee-chan like to do first?" Haru spoke, twirling around to face me expectantly.

I furrowed my eyebrows. My best bet is finding the others, but we're supposedly closed off…

I sighed in exasperation, "Why is the world so difficult…? I suppose we can start off with trying to cross spaces, or whatever."

"Okay!" She nodded, turning to face the corridor in front of us. I wasn't sure it was possible for a ghost to get paler, but she proved me wrong, "Eh…why doesn't Onee-chan go first?"

"What?" I blinked, "That kind of ruins the whole 'tour guide' idea…"

"Haru doesn't like the dark!" She whimpered, ducking her head with a trembling lip, "Haru died alone in the dark."

I bit my lip. I wonder what she's going through, coping with her death…

"No choice then," I ran a hand through my hair, eyeing the dark corridor warily, "Just got to keep moving forward…"

I didn't move. Haru peered up at me with her wide unseeing eyes, "Onee-chan?"

"Um…twig….I might need to use that bathroom."

"Eh? Does Onee-chan have to piss?"

I winced. Was I teaching her this bad vocabulary? I shook my head, offering a sheepish smile, "Well, I kind of forgot about my bladder when I was back there…"

She pouted, "I'll wait right here, Onee-chan."

I pouted back. But you're such a good light source…

She didn't move and I resigned myself to my fate. I sighed, "Okay, just stay safe, okay? If I scream, you run, got it?"

She looked startled, "Eh?! But what if Onee-chan is hurt!"

It was possible, but I laughed like it was the silliest thing she could ever say, "I'm more worried about you, all alone like this…sure you can handle it?"

"Haru is dead, dummy." She lowered her head in a pitiful way, "Haru can't die anymore."

"…but other ghosts can hurt you, right?" I asked. I didn't know. Maybe they couldn't. By Haru's look, she'd apparently never thought that either.

"Hurry up Onee-chan!" She complained, shoving me forward and I nearly fell forward with my backpacks weight, "Haru will wait patiently, so piss fast! If Haru counts to one hundred and Onee-chan is not back, Haru will…Haru will be sad!"

I wilted at her watery stare. "Alright, twig. I'll be right back."

Re-entering the bathrooms, I was confronted with another problem. I mean, I'd landed in the boy's bathroom and that was more drama then I'd want to deal with in one day. But the girl's bathroom looked boarded in. At least, I think. It looked like someone took a sledgehammer to it.

With slumped shoulders, I chose the boy's bathroom, my nose wrinkling at the smell. I set my backpack by the sinks before going about my business in a stall. Of course, right as I was walking out, the ground decided to start shaking. My arms pin wheeled as I lost my balance, nearly taking a tumble into one of the holes. The earthquake was short though and only a small tremor. It gave me a bit of relief.

Not like the one that sent us here, then. I surmised. Good. I don't want to fall through the floor again.

A shriek tore through the air. It scared me so badly I jumped. For a moment I panicked, before realizing I couldn't recognize it. It sounded older than anyone I knew that was currently here (and Haru was a year younger than me). I frowned as it went abruptly quiet, cautiously picking up my backpack.

So now this school screams? I didn't really like the thought of that. And whimpers too?

Wait.

Whimpering?

I trotted out of the bathroom, curiously following the noise. It led me to the girl's bathroom. I hesitated, a million clichés running through my head, before steeling myself. With one swift movement, I grabbed the handle and swung it open with a clang.

I wasn't expecting what I saw.

I thought Haru looked bad, but this girl was an absolute mess. She looked intact, well, as much as a glowing ghost teenager could be. She just looked…really messed up. She was kneeling on the floor, clutching at her chest like her heart was about to burst. She was sobbing hysterically, wailing with all her might at the floor. Her neck, barely seen through her brunette curls, was blackened and bloody. It was a little sickening to look at too long so I focused back on her face. It was pale, almost deathly purple. Her eyes were bloodshot and dead black blood crusted from her lids over her cheeks.

I swallowed nervously.

Hello there obvious dead person. No need to panic, just enjoying the scenery and then I'll leave to go find my other obvious dead person.

Despite that, I cleared my throat loudly, "Um, hello…?"

She hiccupped, scrubbing at her face with her sleeve and peering up at me pathetically. She looked so afraid and confused that I found myself taking a seat next to her.

"You okay?" I ask though I know that's probably the stupidest thing to say to her of all people.

She sniffles, shuffling away from me a bit, "…I…I can't…"

My eyebrows furrowed as she gave another sob. Really, how do you confront a dead person? Haru made it easy. All she did was grab my hood and yank me out of a hole. She instantly had a conversation starter, even if she did freak out when I started thanking her repetitively. But what about this person?

I awkwardly scratched my arm, finding a nearby hole interesting, "I, uh, don't know how much help I can be, but…you're really brave."

She blinked, swiping at her nose and looking at me, "W-What?"

I grinned, "I'm not sure if this helps…but I've only been here fifteen minutes and I feel like everyone I met has been through a dozen wars. You're the veterans with kick ass stories to tell and really pulled through."

She frowned, clenching her fists in her (I pointedly ignored the obvious urine stain on her skirt) lap, "I d-didn't pull through…I'm dead, you idiot."

I laughed, feeling slightly nervous, "You're not the first one to say that to me. But I can't help but worry, right? Even ghosts are scared or feel pain, so someone has to look out for them. You guys are still alive, maybe a bit banged up, but still kicking."

She finally raised her head, pursing her lips and giving me an assessing look. I felt uncomfortable under her dead gaze, but it seemed a small spark of life had entered them, "What are you saying…?"

"I'm saying you're totally amazing." I gave her a thumb up. "Seriously, when the dead are, well, dead they usually stay dead, right? But here you are, standing strong and ready for round two!"

She gave a soft, very weak snicker. It sounded more of a huff them anything. At least she wasn't crying anymore. "Y-you're weird. Who are you?"

"Oh!" I stood, brushing off my cargo pants and gave an exaggerated bow, "Okura Kaoru, at your service! Black belt, been here for not even half an hour and I've seen some shit, and currently covered in piss."

She outright laughed. I couldn't help but smile, seeing something lighten up about her. It almost seemed a minuscule amount of stress had been relieved from her shoulders. She stood, albeit shakily, before bowing.

"Shinohara Seiko, at your service." She returned with a wink, "I'm sixteen years old, I've been dead for maybe an hour now, and booty."

I blinked, "…Booty?"

"Yes." She nodded slyly, "Booty."

I nodded, deciding to leave it at that because Haru was a little insane too. I offered her a hand which she stared weirdly at. I didn't budge so she reluctantly put her hand in mind. I found it odd how her reaction practically mirrored Haru's. She seemed surprised I could touch her.

"This might be out of the blue," I piped up, "But do you mind joining me? I could use a friend."

She hesitated, "I…last time…"

I inwardly cringed. I didn't even want to know how she died or what caused it. Just looking at Haru alone made me nauseous. I waved her off, smiling easily, "It's alright. If you're not feeling up to it, I'll be fine on my own. I'm just worried about you being all holed up in this bathroom."

"No," She glanced nervously at the stalls, "I'll go. I'm just…"

I shrugged. "It's fine. I have someone waiting for us outside. Want to meet her?"

Seiko perked up. "Someone else…?"

"She's a ghost." She faltered and I hastily added, "But that's okay. She's okay, I mean. A little strange, but aren't we all? She's harmless."

She shook her head, "I-I'm fine…just wishful thinking…"

I raised an eyebrow but decided to not pry. She followed me out, pointedly giving the rusted pee bucket a wide berth. I frowned at this but shrugged it away as we left the bathrooms. Haru was standing where I left her, tapping her foot impatiently me and sending me an unimpressed look.

"Onee-chan, Haru counted to 213 and you didn't come back." She puffed up, "Haru was getting impatient."

"Sorry." I inclined my head sheepishly before gesturing to the older girl behind me, "Twig, this is-"

"Shinohara Seiko." She introduced, bowing slightly, "Please to meet you."

Haru blinked in astonishment before hastily bowing, "Uh, Haru is Tasume Haru! Nice to meet you!"

"Aww~" Seiko cooed, getting into Haru's personal space. Her eyes widened as the teenager shoved her cheek against hers, "You're so cute~!"

"L-Let go of Haru! Haru does not appreciate this! Onee-chan, help!"

I suppressed a chuckle, watching her flail in the brunette's arms, "Sorry, twig. I'm staying away from that minefield."

"Traitor!"

I waited for Seiko to stop smothering my friend before turning to the corridor, "Right. Operation: Escape this school with all of us intact is a go!"

My ghost friends blinked. Haru spoke up, "Onee-chan, have you gone insane?"

"No." I huffed, crossing my arms, "But there's no way I want to stay here and I doubt either of you two want to either. So, let's all get out of here, yeah?"

"I'm dead." They both deadpanned.

I sighed, "Yeah, yeah, you're both such downers. I'm thinking about the paranormal shit."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Seiko murmured, examining the hallway closely.

"It means that, if this school has the power to take lives, then why shouldn't it have to power to give lives?"

"Onee-chan," Haru said patiently, "Schools do not give birth."

Seiko laughed and I rolled my eyes, "I know, twig. What I'm trying to say is, if this school took your life away, it could easily give it back, right?"

They paused and glanced at each other.

"That is a theory," Seiko began slowly, "But it doesn't always work like that…"

"It doesn't hurt to hope," I shrugged before starting down the hall. Seiko and Haru followed beside me, peering out the windows. "Besides, I've seen way too many scary movies to fall for any clichés here."

"Oh really?" Seiko drawled with a sinister smile, "You'd get along well with class pres-"

She abruptly cut herself off, frowning painfully at the ground. Her hand was massaging her throat. I winced sympathetically, knowing Haru had witnessed it too. "Well, c'mon, the exit isn't going to find us. Better go find the damn thing."

They nodded and followed. I couldn't help but wonder if I was the only living person here…


Fun fact: Kaoru shares the same name as my protagonist from Tokyo Ghoul.