Seven Sachiko Challenges

by JLCHailstorm71

Sachiko's birthday has finally come, and she wants to celebrate with the inhabitants of Heavenly Host, including the Nine of Kisaragi Academy and a certain green-haired Knight of the Covenant. However, when she challenges Packer to her Seven Deadly Challenges, can the young Knight rise up and accept the challenge?

1. Chapter 1: Challenge 1 - Obstacle Course

DISCLAIMER: CORPSE PARTY AND ITS CHARACTERS ARE OWNED BY TEAM GRISGRIS/GRINDHOUSE. MY ORIGINAL CHARACTER, PACKER, IS OWNED BY ME.

Author's Note: Welcome everyone to my second story. This time, we're going to be delving into the world of the Hysteric Birthday storyline, which really hasn't been covered much on the site, which is a real shame, considering the game is funny as all hell. XD Well, it's high time I changed all of that, so here we go.

This introductory chapter is kind of long, since I combined all of the original first five chapters into one, but hopefully, it will wet your whistle for what is about to come. Enjoy.

---

CHAPTER 1: THE FIRST CHALLENGE - OBSTACLE COURSE

There exists an organization, deep within the Presidio in the heart of San Francisco, which is said to house the best warriors in the world, warriors imbued with supernatural powers. An organization known as the Covenant.

Among these warriors, known as the Knights of the Covenant, is a young man known only as Packer, considered by his peers as the best Knight of the Covenant. He never knew who his parents were, as he was orphaned as a child. After many orphanages took him in, he was eventually taken in by the Covenant at a young age when it was discovered he possessed supernatural powers, which wasn't so unusual for the Covenant. What was unusual was the fact that the young boy seemed to be able to wield several different elements. A majority of the Knights each had one element they specialized in, but Packer was able to wield the powers of all eight elements: fire, ice, lightning, wind, earth, water, darkness and light, which no other Knight could do. In fact, Packer's supernatural abilities were so unusually powerful, he was given the nickname 'The Anomaly Among Anomalies'.

It was a rainy night in early August, when Packer had a very lucid dream, or so he thought. In this so-called dream, he witnessed a group of people, what he assumed to be Japanese high school students, become trapped in what appeared to be a rundown elementary school. There were nine people in all: seven high-schoolers, a junior high student, and a teacher's assistant. He watched as most of the group met with violent, gruesome deaths. In the end, only two students managed to escape the school, but had suffered severe trauma from the excursion.

After experiencing this dream several times over, he learned that the reason the people in his dream, which he dubbed "the Nine", were sent to the Hellacious school was because they had failed some kind of ritual, but the details were still kind of vague. Eventually, he would bring up the matter to the head of the Knights of the Covenant, High Master Jericho. It was then he learned the true nature of his dreams.

According to Jericho, he was not experiencing dreams, like he first thought, but were in fact premonitions of the future, stemming from his Future Sight ability. Packer relayed that he also knew the name of the school that the Nine had been sent to after piecing together various portions of his dreams. Known as Heavenly Host Elementary, it was torn down several decades ago after many unfortunate accidents occurred there. Packer also informed Jericho that if the events he had been dreaming of were left unchecked, it could cause irreparable damage to the space-time continuum. Packer's mission was to get all the members of the Nine out alive.

In due time, he would become fast friends with the Nine, before eventually, they all plummeted into the Hell known as Heavenly Host Elementary, due to failing to properly execute the charm known as 'Sachiko Ever After'. During the ordeal, Packer would call upon his supernatural powers to help the Nine escape from the school, and ultimately sacrificed his powers to revive Seiko, whom had been killed by her best friend Naomi while under the possession of the Darkening. Ultimately, Packer had successfully completed his mission, and the Nine were free to live their lives in the manner they should have.

But what if a different scenario happened, a scenario that happened on a very particular day for Heavenly Host's ultimate master? This is where the Hysteric Birthday Chronicles begin. This is the telling of those stories…

---

As thunder flashed in the sky, inside Heavenly Host Elementary's Infirmary, a girl in a red dress stared blankly up at a clock on the wall.

"Soon… soon…" she mumbled to herself. "Five more seconds… 4… 3… 2… 1…"

Suddenly, there was another flash of lightning, and the girl grunted as a sharp pain shot through her. Falling to her knees, she tumbled forward into darkness.

After a few minutes, the three accursed children who had been killed by the girl in the red dress, Ryou, Tokiko and Yuki, surrounded the girl, a look of worry in her their eyes. Yuki reaches down and touches the girl, trying to wake her, when suddenly, the girl's arm snakes out and grabs Yuki's arm in a firm grip. Yuki gasps as she notices the girl now staring at her with bloodshot eyes. Yuki whimpers in fear, but then, she notices an unusual change in the girl in the red dress. Her face softens, and she gives a Yuki a big smile.

"Yuki-Chan, good morning!" the girl exclaims. Yuki lets out a small giggle. Ryou and Tokiko give a smile back to the girl.

"Good morning to you as well, Sachiko-sama," Yuki replied.

As they looked up at the calendar, the paper showing the old date fell off onto the floor, revealing the new date: July 19th. Sachiko let out a hearty laugh.

"Hooray! My birthday is here again!" she yelled with glee.

"Congratulations!" the cursed children exclaimed, although in Tokiko's case, it came out as a series of gurgling sounds due to not having her head past her jaw-line. Sachiko let out a small giggle.

"Thank you, everyone," she thanked them.

Just then, a series of happy moans sounded behind them. The children turned to see the towering form of Yoshikazu, Sachiko's attack dog, as she calls him.

"Hey, big dumb! Is everything ready to go?" Sachiko asked. Yoshikazu let out a confirmatory moan. "Great! This day is gonna be so much fun!"

Just then, the spirit of Sachiko's mother, Yoshie, appeared beside her.

"Sacchaaaaaaaaaaannnn… Congratulaaaaaaaatiooooooooooonnnnssss…" Yoshie said in a moaning voice. Sachiko ran up to her with her arms outstretched.

"Mum, hug!" Sachiko said, wrapping her arms around her mother's waist. At this, Yoshie suddenly transformed, looking as if she was alive once more. She giggled as she pet her daughter's head comfortingly.

"Good girl," Yoshie cooed. "Just today, let's all happily play together."

"Yeah," Sachiko agreed. "What do you call that again, Mum? When you forgive someone that you've captured?"

"Amnesty?" Yoshie guessed.

"Yeah, that!" Sachiko exclaimed. "Today, I'm going to give amnesty to everyone! I'm going to transport all of the people who are still alive to the auditorium. We're going to have lots of fun today, with all sorts of fun stuff to do!" She let out an excited giggle at the thought. "Well, I'm off, Mum!" With that, she ran out of the Infirmary toward the auditorium. Yoshie let out a small giggle.

"I hope you enjoy your birthday today, Sacchan…" she said.

---

"...shi… …toshi… Oy, Satoshi! Wake up!"

Satoshi groaned as he heard a familiar voice call out to him. Awaking from his slumber, he slowly opened his eyes, and saw a familiar face staring back at him, complete with green hair, chinstrap beard and green eyes.

"Packer?" Satoshi mumbled. "What's… going on?"

---

KNIGHT OF THE COVENANT PROFILE

NAME: Packer

AGE: 17

HEIGHT: 6' 1''

COVENANT RANK: Elite Knight

ELEMENT: All

MARTIAL ARTS STYLES: Shaolin Fist, Praying Mantis Kung Fu

WEAPON: Shiden

KNOWN SPELLS: Fire – Immolation, Pyro Punch, Sacred Fire

Ice – Ice Spreader, Zero Punch, Ice Beam

Earth – Earthquake, Fissure, Solarblast

Darkness – Dark Outburst, Arcane Punch, Bloody Lance

Lightning – Thunderbolt, Thunderpunch, Astraea Lightning

Wind – Vortex Shield, Shining Sprint

Water – Tidal Barrier, Hydroblast

Light – Aurora Punch, Angel Spark, Shining Helix

KNOWN WEAPON TECHNIQUES: FireSlash, IceSlash, BoltSlash, EvilSlash, VacuSlash, Shining Slash, Whirlwind, Climhazzard, Ultima Slash

---

Packer held out a hand to Satoshi, who took it and stood up as Packer pulled him to his feet.

"I'm not really sure," Packer explained. "One minute, I was with Naomi and Seiko in the halls of this Godforsaken school, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up here." Satoshi shook the cobwebs from his head and glanced at his surroundings.

"Where are we?" Satoshi asked.

"Looks like some kind of auditorium," Packer replied. The ceiling to the auditorium rose about 10 meters high, and the lines were aligned nice and neatly, and the floor was varnished, with a shiny look to it. In front of them was a stage with red curtains on either side. On top of the stage was a podium that was often used for speeches.

"This is… an auditorium?" Satoshi inquired with a puzzled look. The strong rain slams against the roof, and small splatters resonate throughout the entire room. On both sides of the building, there were two basketball goals hanging from the ceiling.

"It's a gymnasium and an auditorium," Satoshi realized. "They used to use these designs back in the 50's, early 60's."

Packer nodded in response.

"And we're not the only ones here. Look around you," the green-haired boy said.

Standing around the room was a large crowd of students, wearing different school uniforms.

"It's almost like a Monday morning school assembly, except we're trapped in Heavenly Host," Satoshi said darkly.

Like Packer and Satoshi, they were each regaining their senses and looking around the room in confusion.

"They look about as confused as we are," Packer said, before turning to Satoshi. "Satoshi, what's the last thing you remember before you were brought here?"

"Well, we were brought to the school and… I remember up to leaving classroom 1-A with Yuka," Satoshi explained.

"Huh, that's weird. Naomi and Seiko told me that's the room they ended up in when they were brought here as well," Packer surmised. "That must mean this school exists in multiple dimensions."

"I guess so," Satoshi replied, before looking around once more. "But… where's everyone? Everyone from Kisaragi…"

"I'm not sure," Packer said. "I haven't seen anyone else from our group yet…"

Suddenly, from the other side of the room…

"Satoshi! Are you alright?!"

They heard a very familiar voice, which they turned toward immediately.

"Naomi?!" Satoshi exclaimed. Then, another familiar voice rang out.

"Mochida-kun! Packer!" Packer let out a small gasp.

"Seiko?!" he shouted, still not seeing any sign of his girlfriend or Naomi.

Finally, the boys spotted Naomi and Seiko emerge from the crowd and ran toward them. Without thinking, Satoshi ran up to Naomi and embraced her in a warm hug, while Seiko did the same with Packer.

"Naomi…" Satoshi whispered, holding Naomi in his arms. Naomi had unshed tears in her brown eyes as she wound her arms around his neck.

"Geez… I was so worried about you, you know!" Naomi cried.

'I guess, like Yuka and I, up until a couple of minutes ago, she was in this school possibly facing frightening experiences,' Satoshi thought.

"You okay? Are you hurt anywhere?" he asked, concerned. Naomi let out a small sniffle.

"I'm okay," she assured.

As they continued to embrace, Packer and Seiko walked up to them, an arm around each other's waist. Seiko let out a small giggle as Satoshi glanced up at her.

"Shinohara, are you alright?" Satoshi asked.

"Yeah," Seiko replied, before glancing at Naomi with a sly look. "Geez, Naomi, don't let go, alright?"

At her teasing question, Satoshi and Naomi suddenly realized that they had been hugging this whole time. They let out a panicked yelp and quickly moved away from each other.

"S-Sorry about that, Naomi," Satoshi stuttered, face red. Naomi let out a nervous laugh.

"It's alright," she replied. Seiko wells up a tear as she looks at Naomi with a smile. Then…

"Onii-Chan!"

"Mochida-kun!"

The four of them turn to see Yuka and their teacher, Yui, running toward them.

"Yuka! Yui-sensei!" Satoshi exclaimed.

"Onii-Chan! Are you okay?" Yuka asked with a worried expression.

"Yeah, for the most part," Satoshi replied.

"Satoshi!"

"Mochida-kun!"

"Guys!"

Just then, Yoshiki, Ayumi, Morishige and Mayu emerged from the crowd and joined them.

"Yoshiki! Shinozaki! Suzumoto! Even Morishige, too!" Satoshi exclaimed happily.

"Well, looks like we're all okay, for the most part," Packer observed with a smile. Satoshi desperately tried to hold back a sob.

"All of you… you're all safe…" he whispered. Naomi let out a small chuckle.

"You idiot, Satoshi, what are you crying about?" Naomi asked, close to tears herself. Yoshiki let out a hearty laugh.

"Your face is a mess, you know, Satoshi?" Yoshiki laughed.

"Come on, you're all no different," Satoshi laughed back. "Damn, I wanted to see you guys so much!"

"Mochida-kun…" Mayu cooed.

As the group shared the joy of being reunited with one another, Packer stood back, observing all of this with a small, yet concerned smile.

'Well, the group is back together again, so this mission might be easier than I thought. But I thought I had transformed BEFORE we came here to Heavenly Host, yet I'm back in my school uniform. What the heck happened?' he thought silently to himself.

From every direction, Packer heard the cries of reunion from the other students. There were students from Byakudan Senior High School, Paulownia Academy High School, and Musashigawa Girls' Middle School standing around.

'Hm, seems like everyone else is in the same boat as us. But why were all of us brought here to the auditorium?' Packer thought.

"So, what exactly is going on?" Satoshi asked.

"Unless someone brought us here for some reason while we were unconscious, there is no way this kind of reunion should be happening," Morishige replied.

"True. Although we got to reunite with each other, we're still inside Heavenly Host Elementary, so we're not in a situation where we can celebrate just yet," Yui surmised. "Keep on your guard, everyone."

Packer let out a small chuckle.

'As a Knight of the Covenant, being on guard at all times is a requirement for us,' he thought.

"Yuka-Chi?"

Yuka let out a small gasp as she recognized the voice calling out to her. She turned around, and her eyes widened in shock. Standing behind her was her friend and classmate, Satsuki Mizuhara. She wore the same outfit as Yuka, and had short brown hair and blue-green eyes. She was holding a small bag of potato chips in her hand.

"Satsuki-Chan! Why are you here?!" Yuka exclaimed. Satsuki grabbed a chip from the bag and popped it in her mouth.

"I'm not really sure," the little brown haired girl replied, talking with her mouth full. "I was eating snacks at home… and then I was here, wherever here is." She swallowed the chip in her mouth before wiping it with her arm. "What is this place?"

"You're inside Heavenly Host Elementary," Packer explained. "But I don't recall you doing the Sachiko Ever After charm with us, so why has she been brought here? None of this is making any sense."

Suddenly, there was some loud feedback from the megaphones that were secured to the corners of the wall high up off the ground, causing everyone to grunt in pain from the screeching noise.

"What the Hell was that?!" Yoshiki shouted.

Turning around, everyone glanced up at the stage, and noticed that there was something being covered by a red cloth next to the teacher's podium.

"Huh? Was that there before?" Satoshi wondered.

Suddenly, a young voice called out to them from somewhere in the room.

"Please quiet down, everybody. Haven't you all realized yet?"

Everybody glanced around, but there was still nobody to be seen.

"W-Who is it?" Emi Urabe, one of the girls from Byakudan Senior High School, called out.

"Where is that voice coming from?" Fukuroi Masato, one of Emi's classmates, asked.

"Okay, quiet everyone. Quiet now. Face forward properly. Look at the person who is talking."

"Look at the person who is talking…? There isn't even anyone there!" Yoshiki shouted.

Suddenly, from the direction of the stage, a large metal hammer comes flying toward Yoshiki.

"YOSHIKI!" Packer shouted, rushing forward and pulling Yoshiki back by the collar just in time. It smashed into the ground right where Yoshiki had been standing. Yoshiki gasped in horror, wondering what might might've happened had Packer not reacted when he did.

"W-Where the Hell did that come from?" Yoshiki asked in a trembling voice.

For an answer, a loud, angry roar came from the direction of the stage. Everyone present gasped in horror as they saw the tall, monstrous form of Yoshikazu Yanagihori standing on the stage. His blood red eyes were fixed directly on Yoshiki, an angry look on his face.

Packer suddenly gasped as his Future Sight ability activated, revealing to him the many battles he had with the giant in a previous time loop. Shaking his head as his Future Sight ended, an enraged look appeared on Packer's face as he looked up at Yoshikazu.

"You know, it's not nice to throw dangerous objects at people," Packer growled. Running up, he pulled the sledgehammer out of the floor, before turning and facing the brute. "Hey, screw, fetch!"

Spinning around a few times, Packer launched the sledgehammer back at Yoshikazu, who was too slow to react before the hammer cracked him in the side of the head with a loud THUNK! He groaned as he swayed on his feet, stars in his eyes, before he fell backward and landed on the ground, causing the entire room to shake slightly. Stars swirled around Yoshikazu's head as he laid unconscious on the stage of the auditorium.

Everyone was stunned by Packer's incredible feat, including Packer himself, who was equally as confused.

"Ummmmm… ooooookay…" he mumbled in confusion. "I don't think that was supposed to happen."

"Hahaha, that was a nice shot, Packer-kun!"

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a little girl in a red dress appeared on stage, next to the fallen Yoshikazu. Seeing the little girl suddenly activated Packer's Future Sight once again, and the memories of the previous time loop came pouring back to him.

When it finally ended, he glanced up at the little girl, now recognizing her.

"You're Sachiko," Packer said.

Everyone glanced at him, wondering how this boy knew who the girl was. Sachiko gave Packer a wide smile.

"I'm glad you recognize me, Packer-kun," she exclaimed, before she kicked Yoshikazu in the side of the head. "Hey, big dumb, wake up! Pick yourself back up and stand next to the podium."

Rising to his feet, Yoshikazu let out a confirmatory moan and walked over to the podium. Sachiko jumped up onto his arm and sat down on it, glancing at everyone in the room. Yoshikazu let out a loud roar and slammed his foot against the floor. The entire room fell silent, although Packer crossed his arms and smirked at the giant.

"Everyone, thanks for joining me today," Sachiko explained. "For those that have repeated the same day a number of times, I'm glad you're still here. I've transported you all here to this time, on this day, July 19th. After today, everything will be returned to normal and it will be like nothing ever happened."

"So why exactly have we been brought here?" Packer inquired.

"This time is something that hardly happens," Sachiko replied, before scratching her chin in thought. "What was it called…? A special? No… wait, a separation? Anthology? Well, something like that. Anyways, there are some people here that we'll probably never see again, so enjoy to your heart's content, okay?"

'That's what you think, Sachiko…' Packer thought.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Satoshi, Yoshiki & Morishige yelled. Packer scratched his head in confusion.

"That still doesn't explain why we're here today," he interjected. Sachiko let out a small giggle.

"Well, you see, today is my birthday, so I want everybody to have a fun day today," she explained.

Packer's eyes lit up in surprise.

"Your birthday, huh? I guess that explains why your demeanor is a little… different from what I remember," Packer surmised.

"What exactly do you mean by… enjoy?" Naomi asked.

"Yeah, I kind of want to know what that means, too," Mayu said. From her spot in the Paulownia group, Naho Saenoki tilted her head in confusion.

"Have fun?" she said quizzically.

Everyone started talking amongst themselves. Sachiko cleared her throat, drawing everyone's attention back to her.

"Today, we're gonna have a little Cultural Festival, much like you do at your schools," Sachiko said. Satsuki shook her head, utterly confused.

"What the Hell?" she mumbled.

"Mizuhara! Stop talking, please," Sachiko commanded. She throws a chalk piece at Satsuki, hitting her in the forehead. Satsuki yelps in pain at the contact and collapses to the floor.

"Satsuki-Chan!" Yuka yelled, rushing over to check on her friend, who was shaking the cobwebs from her head. As she did so, Packer knelt down and picked up the piece of chalk that Sachiko threw. Glaring at the young girl, he crushed the chalk with his fist and blew the dust out of his hand. Sachiko just smirked at the green-haired young man.

"Um, excuse me," a young, energy filled, red-haired girl from the Paulownia group said as she raised her hand.

"Yes, Paulownia Academy High School Class 2-1, Ooue Sayaka-san?" Sachiko asked, motioning her to continue.

"She seems to know all of the names of the students that she trapped here…" Naomi whispered.

"Um, I kind of want to go home!" Sayaka blurted out. Sachiko maintained the smile on her face.

"No can do," she declared. Sayaka moaned in defeat. Then, a young man from the Byakudan group stepped forward. The name on his tag read 'Kai Shimada'.

"Who gives a shit about your birthday?! Let us go home!" Shimada yelled. Several more of the groups of students began to get rowdy. "What are you, anyway?! You're just a kid! Don't you think you can make fun of us!"

Sachiko simply smiles, raises her hand, and swings it out toward Shimada. Suddenly, one of the ceiling lights becomes dislodged, falls to the floor and shatters on impact, skinning past Shimada's cheek on the way down. Shimada grunted in pain as he held a hand to his bleeding cheek. He crumbles to the floor in shock, sweat beading his forehead as he stares up at Sachiko, wondering how she just did that. Everyone began laughing at him in response.

Letting out a small sigh, Packer swiped some glass shards off his uniform and looked to the group of students.

"Everyone, could you please stop interrupting so we can see what the fuck Sachiko wants to do for her birthday, please and thank you," Packer declared.

"Thank you, Packer-kun," Sachiko replied with a smile. "During an assembly, raise your hand before you open your mouth… unless your name is Packer-kun." Packer gave her a lopsided smile. Everybody falls silent once again. Then, another girl from the Musashigawa group raises her hand. She had short brown hair and wore a light brown outfit.

"Excuse me."

"Hm? Yes, Musashigawa Girls' Middle School Year 1-4, Ogasawara Nana-san?" Sachiko asked.

"What are we supposed to do for this Cultural Festival?" Nana asked.

"Good question," Sachiko replied, letting out a small giggle. "Sensei loves her docile students."

"Did she just call herself 'Sensei'?" Satoshi whispered to himself.

Sachiko raises her hand. Suddenly, the cloth covering the board next to the podium falls off, revealing a school map, which appeared to be color coded, indicating different activities for the festival.

"I call it… 'Heavenly Host Sachiko Full Bite Bloody Rotten Flesh Smelling Ultra Confinement Summer Festival!'" Sachiko yelled.

The sound of crickets could be audibly heard as the room fell completely silent once more, as everyone could not believe what they just heard.

"Uhhhhh... yeeeeaaahhh, let's go with that, I... guess," Packer mumbled. Sachiko's face drooped in response.

"Well, I thought it was a good name…" she said sadly. Slamming his foot down on the ground once again, Yoshikazu roared in anger. The ground shook, and the ceiling lights let out a creaking noise, causing everyone to look up in worry. Packer let out an irritated sigh.

"You can get mad all you want, Big Ug-Ass, but it doesn't change the fact that the name is kind of… weird, convoluted and redundant," he said. Yoshikazu and Sachiko glared in Packer's direction, but the green-haired boy was unfazed by their stink eyes. "But that doesn't mean that we can't improve on it. We can come up with a better name than that."

"How do you propose we do that?" Sachiko asked. Packer jumped up onto the stage and leaned against the podium, arms crossed.

"Well, we need to come up with a name that's A: a helluva lot shorter, and B: something that doesn't sound like it comes out of a low budget horror movie," Packer replied. Sachiko scratched her chin as she digested Packer's response. Just then, Mayu raised her hand.

"Excuse me," she called out. Sachiko glanced over at her.

"Yes, Kisaragi Academy Year 2-9, Suzumoto Mayu-san?" Sachiko asked.

"Um, Sachiko-san, I agree with Packer-kun," Mayu said. "Since it's such a momentous occasion, I think we should put a lighter and more fun title on it."

"What do you propose?" Sachiko inquired.

"Hmmm… let's see," Mayu said, thinking to herself, before suddenly, the light bulb went off in her head. "Oh, I have one! How about… Sachiko's Hysteric Birthday?"

Everyone oohed at Mayu's suggestion, before breaking into applause. Mayu giggled in response. Packer chuckled to himself.

"Leave it to the Drama Club expert to come up with a name like that," he said with a smile.

Sachiko had a frown on her face at first, as she considered Mayu's suggestion, and then, a smile gradually returns to her face.

"That's great! I'm gonna change the festival's name to that!" Sachiko exclaimed. "From this point forward, today will be known as 'Sachiko's Hysteric Birthday'! Thank you for the suggestion, Mayu-san!"

Mayu giggled in response.

"You're welcome, Sachiko-san," she replied. Just then, Morishige tapped her on the shoulder.

"Mayu, what are you thinking? She's the one that trapped us here in the first place, remember?" Morishige inquired.

"I know," Mayu replied. "I'm scared, as well, but you know… she kind of seems so lonely."

"Well, they say you shouldn't sympathize with a spirit," Morishige retorted. "Don't get swallowed by the atmosphere."

"Hmmm…" Mayu mumbled. Ayumi crossed her arms and sighed.

"I don't think you get it, Morishige," she said, going into class rep mode. "There's always the choice of pretending to follow the orders of a spirit to find a weak spot. If that's what it takes to get us out of here, then I'll do it."

Morishige fell silent at Ayumi's suggestion.

Jumping off of Yoshikazu's arm, Sachiko moves and sits on top of the podium. Grabbing a conductor's stick, she points at the board.

"As you can see, I've worked long and hard to create a fun and exciting recreation menu of activities," Sachiko said. "I've already decided beforehand as to which students are going to participate in what events. Whether or not you participate… will be entirely up to you. Just be warned that there will be consequences for not participating in an event."

Everybody looked at each other with worry in their eyes.

'Maybe the recreation activities aren't going to be as fun as we first thought…' Naomi thought worriedly.

"Each activity is in its own time frame, so the connection may be a little off, but you don't have to worry too much about that," Sachiko continued. "Also, everybody came here with the charm, right?" Everybody padded their pockets, feeling for their piece of the Sachiko Ever After charm. "And for today only, I've invited some special guests! They're people that some of you may have a connection to!"

Satsuki and Yuka looked at each other, now realizing why Satsuki was there in the first place.

"I'm unable to connect to the souls of those people, so they'll be here for today only. Once the date changes, they'll be sent back to the real world," Sachiko continued. "But if they die before then, they'll be left behind here at Heavenly Host, so be careful, 'kay?"

"Shi... Shishido, is that you?"

A young boy with spiky brown hair suddenly came toward the Kisaragi group, wearing a similar outfit to the one the other boys were wearing. Yui let out a shocked gasp.

"Tsu… Tsukasa-kun?!" she gasped as Tsukasa Mikuni, her childhood crush, was now standing in front of her, only he looked like he did back in her high school days.

"Shishido, how are you an adult?" Tsukasa asked, confused.

"Um… well, that's… kind of hard to explain…" Yui stuttered.

Sachiko clapped her hands together, drawing everyone's attention back to her.

"Well, then… let's begin… my Hysteric Birthday!" she yelled, blowing a kazoo loudly. Standing up on the podium, she turned around to where she was facing the activity board. "I'll pick the first activity! Hmmm… let's see…" She tossed the scissors in her hand over and over again as she glances up and down the board. Suddenly, she stops, and turns back toward the waiting students, a wide smile on her face. Packer arched an eyebrow.

"Ruh-roh, Scooby," he chuckled. Sachiko let out a small giggle.

"Sachiko… wants to see a love comedy…" she declared.

Silence gripped the auditorium once again. Sachiko tilted her head in confusion.

"Huh? Didn't you guys hear me?" Sachiko inquired. "I said I want to see a love comedy."

"I think they heard you, Sachiko. They're just too busy trying to pick their jaws up off the floor," Packer laughed.

The auditorium remained bathed in silence as everyone absorbed Sachiko's request. A request to see… a love comedy… it was certainly a request that came from far out of left field.

Yoshiki's mouth opened and closed a few times, until he finally regained his ability to speak.

"A love comedy?!" the blonde exclaimed.

"Yeah, a love comedy!" Sachiko replied excitedly. "School love comedies are really popular right now, right?"

"Well… yeah, I guess so," Yoshiki answered, feeling uncertain.

'What the Hell does love comedies have to do with me?!' he thought. 'Well, if Shinozaki and I were to be the main roles, then I guess I'd be cool with it…'

Yoshiki stole a sideways glance at Ayumi, who seemed to be deep in thought. When she looked up at him, he suddenly looked away, his face red from being caught staring.

'Aw, who am I kidding?! There's no way I can do something that fucking embarrassing!' the blonde thought fervently.

Ayumi tilted her head at him in confusion.

'Did Kishinuma-kun just look this way?' Ayumi thought. 'Hm, must be my imagination…' She took a second look at him, noticing the conflicting emotions on his face. 'Hm? Is Kishinuma-kun angry about something?'

"Well? If it's popular, then… that means it's really fun, right?" Sachiko asked.

"I guess," Yoshiki answered with a shrug.

"Then you'll show it to me, right?" Sachiko asked.

"Well… I guess it depends on the script, right?" Yoshiki inquired. "But I'm no expert on love comedies, so I wouldn't really know where to begin."

Sachiko snapped her fingers.

"Igor, hand them the goods," she commanded to Yoshikazu. The giant obediently walks into the back of the stage. When he returned, he held a book in his hands. He passed it on to Yoshiki without saying a word, before returning to his spot next to the podium.

Yoshiki looked at the book in his hands. It was clean-looking, and had a vibrant title with a lot of decorations on the cover.

"…the Hell is this? Is this… a script?" Yoshiki asked with a puzzled look. He read the title, and his eyes widened in shock. "Heavenly Host Elementary Harem School Days, the Love Operation?"

"Yeah! It's an interesting sounding title, right?" Sachiko asked vibrantly. Yoshiki stared blankly at Sachiko for a moment before letting out a small sigh.

"Like I said, I'm not an expert on love comedies, but I know for certain that it's a shitty title," he mumbled to himself.

Packer jumped down from the stage and walked over to Yoshiki, while Satoshi walked over to the both of them.

"Well, open it, Yoshiki," Packer said. "Let's see what it's about."

"Alright," Yoshiki replied. Opening the book to the first page, it listed the people who would play which roles in the story. Satoshi let out a surprised gasp.

"Wha…? I'm… the main character?" Satoshi said, his mouth dropping open. Yoshiki looked up at Satoshi, arching an eyebrow.

"Yeah, it seems so," the blonde replied. Packer let out a small chuckle.

"Yeah, this will certainly end well," he laughed, causing Satoshi to glare at him.

"Well, I don't mind that," Yoshiki retorted with a shrug. "It probably would've been weird if I was the main role, anyway."

"Who else is playing roles in this thing?" Packer asked. Yoshiki glanced back down at the page.

"Other roles include Nakashima, Shinozaki…" Yoshiki began, before stopping at Ayumi's name, his eyes wide. "Shinozaki is in this as well? Wait, does that mean… she's a harem member?!"

"Uh-oh. Danger, Will Robinson," Packer chuckled, noticing the change in Yoshiki's demeanor. Yoshiki let out an aggravated sigh.

"I can't say I feel good about the prospect of Shinozaki being involved in something like that," the blonde replied.

"You probably wouldn't mind that if you were in the main role, right, Kishinuma?" Packer asked teasingly. Yoshiki's cheeks flared red momentarily before he cleared his throat.

"Anyways, let's continue…" he mumbled, continuing to look at the cast. "Huh, Yui-sensei and Yuka are in here as well. Seems like there's all sorts of people in this story. But who's Kirisaki Tohko? And Mizuhara Satsuki is… Yuka's friend, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Packer replied. "Kirisaki Tohko must be from one of the other schools, I'd guess."

"Well, whatever," Yoshiki scoffed. "Let's see what the story is like…"

"I've got a bad feeling already," Satoshi muttered.

The next several minutes saw Yoshiki flipping through the pages of the script, with Satoshi and Packer looking over his shoulder. Yoshiki let out several different sounds, from confused grunts to horrified gasps. Packer had to keep his hand over his mouth to prevent a few snickers from escaping.

Closing the book, Yoshiki whirled around to face Sachiko, an angry look on his face.

"Hey, this just comprises of Satoshi getting the girls for no particular reason!" he shouted indignantly. Packer was beginning to find it more and more difficult to keep his laughter in, while Satoshi scratches the back of his head with embarrassment, his cheeks flaring red.

"But, isn't that what a love comedy is?" Sachiko inquired. "It's just about the protagonist getting popular for no apparent reason, right?"

"She seems to know what she's talking about, that's for sure," Seiko laughed.

"Well… maybe you're right, but I can't allow Shinozaki to be a part of this!" Yoshiki exclaimed.

"I don't really mind," Ayumi answered. Yoshiki slowly turned toward the bluenette, eyes wide at her answer.

"You've got to be kidding me, Shinozaki!" Yoshiki shouted, exasperated. "It's a harem, Shinozaki. A HAREM!"

"He kind of has a point," Packer said. "You do know what a harem is, don't you, Ayumi?"

"Yes, I know what a harem is, Packer-kun, but there's not much we can do about it," Ayumi responded.

Yoshiki glanced over at Naomi, gauging her reaction to the whole thing.

"Then, what about you, Nakashima?" the blonde asked.

"Well, I don't mind, as long as the protagonist is Satoshi," Naomi replied with a red face. "Ah, it's nothing like that, you know. It's just, it'd be kind of scary if it was someone I don't know." She glanced over at Seiko and Packer, who was looking at her with skepticism on their faces. "What?"

Packer and Seiko looked at each other, and then back at Naomi, a sly smile on their faces.

"Yeeeeeaaaahhhh… I'm calling major bullshit on that, Naomi," Packer chuckled.

"Yeah, she definitely wants the D," Seiko said evilly. Naomi's face turned beet red at Seiko's words.

"N-N-No, it's nothing like that, Seiko!" Naomi shouted. "Stop being so damn perverted!" Seiko just giggled slyly.

Yoshiki then turned his attention to Yuka.

"…You too, Yuka?" he asked.

"Eh? Well, I haven't read the script yet, but… I don't mind if it's with Onii-Chan, so…" she admitted with embarrassment.

Yoshiki whirled around and glanced at Yui, who was standing several feet away.

"Not you, too, Yui-sensei!" Yoshiki groaned. Yui looked at him with a confused expression.

"Eh? Kishinuma-kun, why are you getting angry when I haven't even said anything?" Yui asked.

"Sorry, but seriously, are you okay with this, Sensei?" Yoshiki asked.

"Well, I don't mean to jump on the bandwagon, but… it beats doing something scary, right?" Yui replied.

Yoshiki let out an exasperated sigh and face palmed at her response.

"Well, what do you say now?" Sachiko asked. Yoshiki turned and glared at the girl, an intensely angry look on his face.

"S-Shut up! Even if Shinozaki and the others say it's okay, I'll never allow it!" he roared. Packer continued to try to hold back his laughter.

"Displeased Yoshiki is displeased," he chuckled.

Sachiko stared up at the blonde young man with a blank look on his face.

"Kishinuma, that's not what you said before," she replied.

"Yeah, Kishinuma-kun, what are you getting so hot-headed about?" Ayumi interjected. Packer chuckled while shaking his head.

"Ayumi, you really need to get a clue…" he muttered to himself.

Yoshiki turned back to the bluenette, now feeling totally exasperated.

"C-Come on, Shinozaki, listen to reason here…!" he pleaded with her.

'I don't want to be thought of as a possessive person… but I really don't want to see you getting friendly with Satoshi in front of me…' he thought. He let out a sigh and turned back to Sachiko.

"Anyways, I'll have no part in this whatsoever!" he declared.

"You know you don't even have a role in this, right?" Sachiko replied matter-of-factly.

"Even so, I'm still against this!" Yoshiki yelled.

"Ruh-roh. Shit's about to go down and I'm about to yell timber," Packer laughed.

Just then, Shimada stepped forward, a scowl on his face.

"I'm not down for it, either," he declared. "If you're gonna make someone the protagonist, then you should pick someone with characteristics, like me."

The girls glanced over at him like he was from another planet.

"Who is this douchebag?" Seiko asked. Packer just shrugged.

"I don't know, but I do know that he's full of more shit than a port-a-potty," the green-haired boy said with a chuckle. Seiko let out a small laugh at that.

Satoshi glared over at the red-haired young man.

"What do you mean?! I don't have any characteristics?!" he shouted. "Wait, we weren't even talking about that just now, were we?!"

"If you didn't hear me, then I'll say it again: If you're gonna make someone the protagonist, then you should pick someone with characteristics, like me, and not this… puny looking thing," Shimada said, an air of cockiness about him.

"You don't have to say it again, okay?!" Satoshi screamed. "I heard you just fine, you know?! That's not what I meant! And who are you calling 'puny'?!

"I'm calling you puny, that's who," Shimada replied with an evil chuckle. Suddenly, a fist connected with Shimada's jaw, knocking him off his feet and onto his back. As he sat up, rubbing his aching jaw, he glanced up at the person who struck him.

"Do one of those characteristics involve getting knocked on your arrogant ass? Because that's exactly what just happened," Packer said, flexing his wrist from where he had struck Shimada. Letting a triumphant smile grace his lips, he turned and walked back over to where Yoshiki was standing, while the girls from the Byakudan group were letting out small giggles at Shimada's predicament. Shimada let out a defeated sigh and got back to his feet.

Morishige adjusted his glasses and walked over to Satoshi.

"Well, whether or not Mochida does have any characteristics, I'm also not keen for this crap," the cobalt-haired boy said. He let a small smile grace his features. "Besides, if someone were to do it, it would be best to have someone with acting experience, such as myself."

"Oh, boy. The jealousy is so thick in this room, you could cut it with a knife," Packer mumbled.

"What?!" Satoshi exclaimed, surprised at Morishige's response. "You're not gonna back me up either, Morishige?!"

"If you didn't hear me, then I'll say it again," Morishige replied, causing Packer to face palm.

"Oh, Christ," he moaned. "I really hate it when people repeat themselves."

"No, I didn't say I didn't hear you, did I?" Satoshi retorted. "I'm just lamenting about the fact that you didn't back me up!"

"Whether or not Mochida does have any characteristics, I'm also not keen for this crap. Besides, if someone were to do it, it would be best to have someone with acting experience, such as myself," Morishige repeated. Satoshi growled in irritation.

"I just said you don't have to repeat yourself! Why do you keep saying unnecessary things?!" Satoshi shouted.

"Well, this is certainly going downhill in a hurry," Packer mumbled.

"Besides questioning your characteristics, Satoshi, you're against participating in this idea, too, aren't you?" Yoshiki asked. Satoshi's face drooped in response.

"Damn, not even Yoshiki is backing me up…" he mumbled forlornly.

"If you didn't hear me, then I'll say it again," Yoshiki replied, causing Packer to throw his arms up in aggravation.

"For the love of Pete…" he muttered.

"You don't have to, damn it!" Satoshi roared, just as fed up with everybody repeating themselves. "I'm not whining about not being able to hear you, alright?!"

"WHO GIVES A FUCK, GOD DAMN IT!" Yoshiki roared back. "What I'm talking about is whether you're going to do the love comedy thing or not!"

Satoshi suddenly fell silent, conflicting emotions spread across his features.

"I know, but…" Satoshi began, still uncertain about what he wanted to do.

"See? It's much more serious than whether you have characteristics or not, right?" Yoshiki inquired. Satoshi let out a small sigh.

"Y-Yeah, you're right, that's true," Satoshi conceded. "But I'm still concerned about it. Hey, Yoshiki, do you think so, too?"

Yoshiki stared blankly at Satoshi. Satoshi looked up, concerned that Yoshiki hadn't answered him.

"Y-Yoshiki?" Satoshi questioned. Yoshiki continued to remain silent, staring at Satoshi with a stone-faced look. "Hello? Yoshiki-saaaan?"

"…Do I really have to answer that?" Yoshiki asked bluntly. Satoshi glared at his blonde friend in irritation.

"What?! Was it that much of a heavy question?!" he shouted. "Is it that difficult to answer whether I have characteristics or not?!"

All the while, Packer was silently chuckling to himself, trying not to laugh out loud.

"I really wish I had a bag of popcorn for this," he said to himself.

"Onii-Chan…" Yuka whispered.

"Hey, Yuka-Chi, is it that maybe your brother has no characteristics whatsoever?" Satsuki asked.

"Sa-Satsuki-Chan," Yuka gasped, not believing that her best friend would say such a thing about her brother.

"But, everybody is saying so, and nobody is denying it, right?" Satsuki asked.

"But… I feel sorry for Onii-Chan when you say that in such a way," Yuka answered. Satoshi let out a sad sigh.

"Yuka… don't tell me that you think that, too…" he muttered sadly. Yuka let out a small gasp.

"N-No, Onii-Chan! You're really protagonist-like!" she retorted hastily. "You're cool, and you do things when they need to be done! And in the end, there's always Onii-Chan!" Satoshi gave her a sweet smile upon hearing that.

"Does that equate to characteristics, though?" he asked.

"Well… it does to me," Yuka replied with a smile.

"Well, it sounds to me like you pretty much don't have any characteristics," Satsuki interjected. "You just seem like a normal sub-character."

"Sa-Satsuki-Chan," Yuka gasped at Satsuki's opinion.

"Huh? But hey, Yuka-Chi, being a protagonist is a good thing, but it pretty much means you're fairly normal, right?" Satsuki inquired.

"T-That's true…" Satoshi mumbled in a deflated voice.

"Who gives a shit about that, Satoshi?!" Yoshiki suddenly shouted, drawing the brown-haired boy's attention back to him.

"Y-You're right!" he agreed. "Right now is not the time to question my characteristics!"

"Satoshi, you're not behind this idea, right?" Yoshiki asked.

"Well, I-I…" Satoshi stuttered.

"Of course you're against it, right, Satoshi?" Yoshiki asked again. Satoshi remained silent for a few seconds, thinking about whether to go with the idea or not. Yoshiki tilted his head in confusion, wondering why Satoshi was taking so long to answer.

Finally, Satoshi raised his head, his mind made up.

"I'm going with the idea," he declared.

"Uh-oh," Packer chuckled. "Get out your umbrellas, ladies and gents, because there's a shitstorm heading this way."

Yoshiki, Shimada and Morishige all gasped in surprise, not quite believing what Satoshi just said.

"It's a rare occasion where nothing scary is going to happen, so I think we should calmly… go with the idea," Satoshi explained. Yoshiki face palmed hard enough to put an indentation in his forehead.

"I'm disappointed, Satoshi!" he exclaimed. "You don't care about Shinozaki or me, as long as you get to play the best part, huh?!"

"You're wrong, Yoshiki!" Satoshi interjected. "I just don't want to go against Sachiko, that's all."

"Bullshit," Packer said with a fake cough.

"Besides, Shinozaki doesn't have any problems with it," Satoshi continued. "Hey, Shinozaki, you agree with me, right?"

"Yeah, I do," Ayumi replied with a smile.

"Of course you would," Packer whispered.

"A-Are you serious, Shinozaki?!" Yoshiki gasped.

"Huh? I said before that I was cool with it, remember?" Ayumi inquired.

"But… Satoshi is the protagonist and… well, it's a freaking harem!" Yoshiki exclaimed.

"I told you that I'm cool with it being Mochida-kun," Ayumi replied. "Kishinuma-kun, were you even listening at all?"

Yoshiki let out a series of small groans, pulling on his hair in great aggravation. Packer shook his head at the sight in front of him.

"Damn, Ayumi really is clueless," he said to himself.

Satoshi glanced at Yoshiki with a worried expression.

"Yoshiki, you alright?" he asked his blonde-haired friend. "You look shocked for some reason. You're not even on the script, so it shouldn't have anything to do with you, right?"

Yoshiki slowly turned and glared at Satoshi, a look of distain on his face.

'You just don't get it, do you, Mochida?' he thought. He took a deep breath and exhaled. "…Satoshi…"

"Hm?" Satoshi mumbled. Yoshiki's face contorted in frustration.

"Satoshi! I don't consider you a friend anymore!" he yelled. Satoshi was shocked by his friend's outburst.

"Yoshiki, why are you so mad? Why don't you understand that it'd be better if we did the love comedy?" Satoshi asked.

"You're the one that doesn't understand, Satoshi!" Yoshiki growled. Satoshi threw his hands up in the air, completely exasperated by the situation.

"I have no idea what you're going on about, Yoshiki!" he fired back.

"Either way, I'm against the idea!" Yoshiki yelled back.

"Why…?"

All eyes in the room turned toward Sachiko, whom had spoken the inquiratory word.

"I thought I would just have a fun day with everyone, so why is everyone fighting?" Sachiko asked forlornly.

Packer let out a small laugh and wrapped both arms around Yoshiki and Satoshi, bringing them in close.

"Oh, don't worry about these two getting into an argument," Packer explained. "They do this pretty much every day. This is just par for the course for these guys."

Yoshiki glanced down at the girl in the red dress.

"Have a fun day with everyone?" Yoshiki inquired quizzically. "But I thought you were just screwing around with us?" Sachiko's face twisted into a frown.

"You're mean, mister!" Sachiko whined. "Fine, I'm not going to invite you anymore, then!"

"Huh?" Yoshiki muttered in confusion. He gulped as he noticed the peeved look that Sachiko was giving him. 'Hm, maybe I went a little overboard…' he thought to himself. "I-I'm sorry, Sachiko. I guess I… overreacted a little bit to the whole situation. Maybe I'm just looking too much into this… love comedy thing... I guess. That, and being in this place seems to have frazzled my nerves quite a bit."

Sachiko's face softened at Yoshiki's explanation.

"Is that so?" Sachiko asked. "Well, if that's the case, then I have an idea for what our first event will be!"

"And what might that be?" Packer asked, curiosity peaked.

"Simple," Sachiko explained. "I'll give those of you that want to escape from here a chance to do so. Of course, it's not going to be that easy, though."

Sachiko snaps her fingers, and the doors to the auditorium suddenly swung open.

"On the other side of those doors is what I'm gonna call an 'escape game'," Sachiko continued. "An obstacle course, so to speak. If you can make it to the goal, I'll let the victors take one other person with them to escape. It won't be so lonely then, would it?"

Yoshiki let out a small, yet hopeful gasp.

"Are you serious?!" he exclaimed.

"Dead serious," Sachiko answered, before looking up at Yoshiki with a smirk. "But that's IF you can escape…"

---

Out in the hallways of Heavenly Host, two girls were running, trying to find their way through the school. One of them is a teenage girl of above average height and below average weight. She has straight blonde hair with side swept bangs that cover her left eye, and blue eyes with a beauty mark underneath her left lip. She is wearing the uniform of St. Cruz Girls' High School: a white single-breasted jacket with red edges, a pleated white skirt with red edges, black stockings, brown loafers and a white beret with red edges. Her name tag read 'Azusa Takai'.

The other one with her is a teenage girl with short purple hair and green eyes. She wears a bunny hair clip on the left side of her head. Like Azusa, she wears the uniform of St. Cruz Girls' High School. Her name tag read 'Ran Kobayashi'.

Both girls finally came to a halt, trying to catch their breath.

"Are you okay, Ran?" Azusa asked. Ran could only nod. Azusa brought out her necklace, which was in the shape of a cross, and held it out in front of her. "My Lord… with your cleansing light, full of forgiveness… please watch over and protect us…" Her praying words slowly faded into the cold darkness of the school.

"You think the prayer will work? Even in a place like this?" Ran asked.

"Yes, the Lord will protect, no matter when or where we are," Azusa replied with a smile. "The prayer will definitely be heard."

"You're so pious, my wife," Ran replied wistfully. "Just by standing next to you, I can feel my heart being cleansed."

"Ran, don't let your guard down, lest you be taken over by the darkness," Azusa warned. Ran glanced at Azusa with a concerned look.

"What's 'darkness'? Is it something bad?" the purple haired girl asked.

"In some ways, yes," Azusa replied. "It's a power that is flowing through this building right now."

"Right now?" Ran murmured.

"You know when you go to a church, you feel holy power," Azusa explained.

"Yeah, the air in a church definitely feels a lot cleaner," Ran realized.

"Well, this place is the exact opposite," Azusa continued.

"Now that you mention it, it is rather difficult to breathe in here," Ran replied.

"Stagnant space is created by stagnant power. And in this space, there is some entity that is concentrating its power into this one space," Azusa concluded.

"Could it be… an evil spirit?" Ran asked with worry. Azusa glanced up at Ran.

"It may be," the blonde said. "Not to mention the fact that the entity isn't too far away."

Both girls let out a small shudder at the thought. Then, Ran put on her best brave face and smiled at Azusa.

"It's alright! There's nothing to fear!" Ran proclaimed. Azusa arched an eyebrow at her purple-haired friend.

"How so?" Azusa inquired.

"Because my love for my wife will lead us!" Ran replied with confidence. Azusa let out a small chuckle.

"Ran's love will lead us," Azusa replied.

"Is there anything stronger in this world than my love?" Ran asked.

"I don't think there is anything stronger in this world than the Lord's love," Azusa replied.

"Much like the Lord's love, my love for my wife will protect and guide us!" Ran declared once again. Azusa let out another small chuckle at her friend's antics.

"Well, isn't that reassuring," she said with a smile.

"Right!" Ran replied, beaming at Azusa. Azusa's smile disappeared as she glanced at the door they had stopped at.

"By the way, that evil presence… seems to be coming from the other side of that door," Azusa warned.

"How big could it be?" Ran asked.

"I'm not certain," Azusa replied. "But it is immensely powerful, from what I can tell. However, I sense another powerful entity behind this door, only this one seems to have all of its elements in alignment."

"A being that can use the power of all the elements?" Ran asked. "Who on Earth can do that?"

"Again, I'm uncertain… but there's one way to find out," Azusa declared. "My Lord… please protect us."

She reached forward and grabbed the handle to the door.

"Wait, my wife!" Ran suddenly blurted out. Azusa stopped and looked back at Ran.

"What is it?" she asked. Ran had a slight blush on her face.

"Before we go in, can I smell your hair?" Ran asked. Azusa arched an eyebrow.

"Why?" the blonde asked.

"For good luck," Ran replied. Azusa rolled her eyes, but smiled back at her purple-haired friend.

"Well, alright," she agreed.

Stepping up to Azusa, Ran stood on her tiptoes and inhaled the heavenly scent of Azusa's hair.

"Ahhhhh… what a wondrous smell," Ran murmured contentedly. "Alright, wife, let's head inside."

"Alright," Azusa agreed. She reached over and grabbed the handle of the door once more…

---

Meanwhile, Yoshiki was pondering the challenge that had been presented to him by Sachiko: an obstacle course that if he was successful in clearing, he would get to leave Heavenly Host with one other person.

'If I can reach the goal, then I can get Shinozaki out of this creepy place with me…' Yoshiki thought. With a look of determination, he turned back to Sachiko, his mind made up.

"Alright, Sachiko, I'll play your game!" he declared, earning a surprised gasp from Satoshi.

"Yoshiki, are you serious?" Satoshi inquired.

"Considering the look on his face, I'd say he is," Packer quipped.

"Damn right, I'm serious," Yoshiki replied. "I can get out of here if I reach the goal, right? Not to mention that I'd get to leave with a person of my choice. With that kind of prize up for grabs, there's no way I can refuse."

"Sounds logical to me," Packer said.

"That's true, but…" Satoshi began, but he stopped midsentence, a concerned look on his face. "No, you can't! It's not right to participate in this game!"

Yoshiki and Packer looked at each other, confusion etched on their faces.

"What's wrong with you, Satoshi, suddenly getting angry like that?" Yoshiki inquired.

"Look, this game might be dangerous!" Satoshi replied. "You might be risking your own life in this game!"

At that, Packer looked to Yoshiki, a look of concern on his face.

"He has a point, Yoshiki," Packer interjected. "Are you sure you want to risk your life for this?"

"I'm sure," Yoshiki replied, before looking at Satoshi with a wary eye. "Or are you just saying that so you can do the love comedy crap, aren't you, Satoshi?"

"Oh, jeez, here we go with that again…" Packer moaned.

"No! Stop screwing arou…" Satoshi began, but was cut off by Yoshiki.

"Then who the fuck is gonna save Shinozaki?!" Yoshiki yelled, surprising both Satoshi and Packer.

"Wha…?" Satoshi mumbled in confusion. Yoshiki's breathing was heavy as he focused on Satoshi.

"You're not fit for that job!" Yoshiki declared. "I'm gonna save Shinozaki and that's final! You got that, Satoshi?!"

Satoshi was silent for several moments, as he finally realized why Yoshiki was so passionate about competing in the obstacle course. He gave his blonde-haired friend a nod.

"Yoshiki, I understand," Satoshi replied with a smile. "If this is what you want to do, then I understand your reasons for doing so. Good luck, Yoshiki!"

Yoshiki gave Satoshi a grateful smile.

"Thanks, Satoshi," he said. Packer wrapped an arm around Yoshiki's neck playfully.

"Well, if you're gonna enter, I might as well do the same thing," Packer said. "Because why the hell not at this point?"

Yoshiki laughed at Packer's comment.

"Yeah, I heard that," Yoshiki replied, causing Packer to chuckle in response.

'Of course, I have a different reason for entering this challenge…' the green-haired boy thought to himself.

At this moment, Ayumi walked up to the boys, her arms crossed and a scowl on her features.

"Kishinuma-kun, what are you saying?" Ayumi asked. "It's not like I ever wanted you to save me or anything like that."

Yoshiki's eyes shot toward the bluenette, a look of shock registering within his grey orbs.

"Eh?" he muttered in confusion.

"Or didn't you realize that I was going to follow along with Sachiko-san for now, and find a way out of here for all of us?! Seriously, Kishinuma-kun, you really need to learn to keep your tongue in check," Ayumi scolded.

Yoshiki let out a small gasp, feeling his heart being torn in half at Ayumi's words. He gazed down at the floor, all of his confidence completely obliterated.

"Is… that so…" Yoshiki muttered sadly. He had been put down by Ayumi on numerous occasions, but this time, he really felt like he had lost his mojo.

Packer crossed his arms and scowled at Ayumi, an angry look on his face.

"You're really something, you know that, Ayumi?" Packer inquired, causing Ayumi to look at him in confusion.

"Eh? What do you mean?" Ayumi asked. Packer sighed and shook his head in frustration.

"Wow, you really are clueless," Packer bit back. "What I mean is that Yoshiki here is willing to risk his life to get you out of here, and that was your response to that? To put him down like you've always done?"

Ayumi was stunned into silence by Packer's angry words. She opened her mouth to retort, but nothing would come out.

"Absolutely ridiculous," Packer finished, before turning and wrapping an arm around Yoshiki's neck, leading him away from Ayumi. "Yoshiki, honestly, what do you see in that girl? All she ever does is treat you like crap, and it's getting absurd, to tell you the truth."

"I know," Yoshiki replied with a sigh. "But I wouldn't still be in school if it wasn't for her, and I probably wouldn't have met Satoshi and the others if it wasn't for her, so… I can't really help feeling the way I do."

Packer gazed at his blonde-haired friend for a moment before letting out a long sigh.

"Yoshiki, I know exactly how you feel," he replied. "I just wish she'd show you a little more gratitude for what you're doing. But we'll worry about that later. For now, let's focus on beating Sachiko's obstacle course."

"Right, let's do it!" Yoshiki agreed, regaining his confidence a bit.

With that, both boys walked up to Sachiko.

"Sachiko, I'm entering the escape game of yours!" Yoshiki declared.

"Really…" Sachiko replied, gazing up at Yoshiki with a smile on her face. "I'm happy to hear that."

---

While Yoshiki was speaking to Sachiko, Nana watched him from some distance away, a small blush on her face.

"I wonder why whenever I see that Kishinuma guy, my heart skips a beat…" Nana murmured to herself.

"What's wrong, Nana? Something on your mind?"

Nana spun around toward the person asking the question. She is a young teenage girl of above average height and slightly below average weight. She has short chestnut-colored hair, a silver hairpin with a red sphere on it and purple eyes. She wears the Musashigawa Girls' Middle School uniform, which consists of a white shirt, a beige blazer, a skirt, a blue bow tied around her neck, black shoes and white crew length socks. Her name tag red 'Nari Amatoya'.

Standing next to her was another girl from Musashigawa Girls' Middle School. She is a teenage girl of below average height, with turquoise eyes and medium-short gray hair cut horizontally in the front. Her name tag read 'Chihaya Yamase'.

"Huh? Oh… yeah. Kind of…" Nana replied. "Are you having any feelings of déjà vu?"

"Not really…" Nari retorted.

"Oh… I guess it's just my imagination," Nana murmured.

"Nana-Chan, I…" Chihaya began, but stopped midsentence.

"Hm? What's wrong, Chihaya-Chan?" Nana asked. Chihaya blushed in response.

"Well, um…" she stuttered.

"Chihaya, if you want to say something, then just say it," Nari blurted out. Chihaya continued to stutter, however, earning an irritated sigh from Nari. "Jeez, seriously, what is it?!"

"Nari-Chan, if you rush her like that, then it's going to be more difficult to get her to talk," Nana scolded Nari, before turning to Chihaya and smiling. "Isn't that right, Chihaya-Chan?"

"Y-Yeah, you're right," Chihaya agreed. Nari sighed irritably.

"Well, sorry," she bit back. "Guess it's all my fault for being so impatient!"

"Don't you do sulking now, too," Nana retorted. Nari rolled her eyes in response. Nana turned back to Chihaya. "Anyway, Chihaya-Chan, you were trying to say that you've seen or remember this place from somewhere, right?"

"Y-Yeah, although I don't really remember clearly," Chihaya replied.

"Do you remember that Kishinuma guy over there, Chihaya-Chan?" Nana asked. Chihaya glanced over at the blonde-haired young man before shaking her head.

"Nope. I've never seen that guy before," the grey-haired girl replied.

"Hm… that green-haired boy seems familiar to me, too," Nana murmured, glancing over at Packer. "Have I met them somewhere before?"

"But, I've seen the person with the glasses over there before," Chihaya interjected, pointing at Morishige.

"You mean the guy in glasses with the black school uniform?" Nari inquired.

"Yeah. Do you remember him, too, Nari-Chan?" Chihaya asked. Nari shook her head.

"I don't remember him at all," she replied. "Where did you meet him, Chihaya?"

"I don't really know where," Chihaya said, a look of confusion on her face. "But I kind of remember meeting him somewhere before."

"Wow, kind of strange, if you ask me," Nari surmised.

"I even remember his name," Chihaya replied. "Morishige Sakutaro is his name."

"Morishige Sakutaro?" Nari mumbled in confusion.

"I'm fairly certain that we've met him before," Chihaya said. "I just can't remember where for the life of me." Nari snapped her fingers.

"Now that you mention it, I do have this feeling of déjà vu…" Nari replied.

"Just like the déjà vu I have with Kishinuma and the green-haired boy," Nana said. "Does that mean that all three of us have some memories of this place that were just wiped away for whatever reason?"

"Maybe," Nari replied.

---

Meanwhile, Morishige was standing by himself with his arms crossed, watching as Yoshiki conversed with Sachiko about the obstacle course. Just then, Mayu walked up to him.

"Hey, Shige-nii, are you going to join as well?" she asked. Morishige pushed his glasses up his nose and nodded.

"Yeah," he replied. "Although, if only one of us was going to make it out, I probably wouldn't have, but…" He paused for a moment. "The one who will save Mayu is me!" he muttered under his breath.

"Well, I won't try to stop you," Mayu said. Morishige arched an eyebrow.

"What is it? Something bothering you?" he asked with concern. Mayu looked up at him, concern etched on her face.

"Shige-nii, you'll definitely come back, right?" she asked, hope in her voice.

"Yeah, of course," Morishige replied with a smile. "I won't go anywhere and leave Mayu behind."

"Yeah, you're right," Mayu giggled. "Shige-nii, good luck!" However, there was a lingering fear in the back of her mind.

'What is this feeling? This feeling… that I'll never see him again…' she thought.

After a few moments, Sachiko clapped her hands to get everyone's attention.

"Alright, it's time for anyone to announce their intentions on entering the escape game," Sachiko declared. "I already know that Packer-kun, Kishinuma and Morishige will be entering. Anyone else?"

At that moment, Shimada stepped forward.

"Of course, I'm the top batter!" he boasted. "And nobody isn't going to say shit about it!"

"So, Shimada, you want to go first?" Sachiko inquired, giving him a small smile. "Well, since going first is a bit disadvantageous, if you can somehow make it to the goal, I might give you a little bonus. That is, of course, IF you can reach the goal."

"A bonus, huh?" Shimada chuckled. "Not sure what she meant by that, but this is getting interesting!" He glanced over at one of the girls from his school. "Hey, Kirisaki!"

The girl glared over at him. She is a teenage girl of average height and below average weight. She has medium long brown hair with a tint of green tied into a ponytail, with a white bow and desaturated turquoise eyes. She wears the Byakudan Senior High uniform, a white sailor fuku with a green collar and a red bow, a green pleated skirt, white crew-cut socks and brown shoes. Her name tag read 'Tohko Kirisaki'.

"What?!" Tohko yelled.

"If I make it to the goal, I'll save you, you know?" Shimada declared.

"Eh?" Tohko muttered in confusion. A greasy smile flashed across Shimada's face.

"Well, you'll have to pay me back in a certain way if I do, though," he said, licking his lips. Tohko growled in aggravation.

"Pay him back a certain way… there's NO WAY IN HELL he's thinking with his head right now," she muttered under her breath.

"What's up? You don't look too well."

Tohko turned toward the sound of the voice. It came from a teenage boy of above average height and build. He has dark colored eyes and short, black hair. He wears the standard Byakudan Senior High School uniform. However, he keeps his blazer on his right shoulder, and he has his shirt partly unbuttoned and untucked with his sleeves rolled up. He also has a silver chain looped on to his pants. His name tag read 'Yuuya Kizami'.

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine," Tohko replied. "Yuuya, you're actually worrying about me?" She muttered under her breath. She had always had a crush on Kizami, and she could feel herself blush at the thought of Kizami worrying about her well-being. Kizami remained silent as he gazed down at her.

"You're not gonna join in, Yuuya?" Tohko asked. Kizami just shrugged.

"I'm not really interested in it, honestly," he replied. Tohko giggled.

"You're different from the other boys, being more mature and all," she replied. Kizami arched an eyebrow.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he inquired.

"Don't worry about it," Tohko giggled.

'I wonder if I made him worry. But… seeing Yuuya get worried is kind of cute…' she thought silently to herself. 'Seriously, I'd rather reward Yuuya instead of Shimada…' Stopping her train of thought, Tohko could feel herself blush a violent red at what she just thought. 'Wait… what the hell am I thinking?!'

Kizami stared at Tohko with a confused look on his face.

"You sure you're okay, Kirisaki? Your face is going bright red…" Kizami observed.

"Oh, it's nothing! Don't worry about it!" Tohko said hurriedly.

"I see," Kizami murmured.

Just then, one of their classmates walked up to them. He is a teenage male with below average height and average weight. He has purple eyes and short slate purple hair. He wears the Byakudan Senior High School male uniform, consisting of a white shirt, a Byzantium purple blazer, black pants, and brown shoes. His name tag read 'Kensuke Kurosaki'.

"Hey, it looks like Shimada's about to start," Kurosaki said.

"Huh? But I didn't hear a start signal," Tohko observed.

Running ahead, Shimada headed toward the door.

"I can't wait any longer! I'm gonna pop over to the goal, then take Kirisaki with me out of this place!" Shimada laughed. "I guess it won't hurt if I start without the others!"

Shimada runs out into the hallway, but as soon as he stepped outside, a trap door suddenly opened underneath of him, causing him to fall into the abyss within.

"Wha… A pitfall so soon… AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Shimada screamed as he plummeted into the abyss.

"SHIMADA!" Kurosaki yelled.

"Shimada, didn't you learn in school that false starts get you disqualified?" Sachiko said, letting out a creepy giggle.

"Well… that certainly came out of left field," Packer said with a blank look.

"Shimada… is he dead?" Tohko asked fearfully.

One of her friends grabs onto her arm. She is a teenage girl of below average height and above average weight. She has medium long brown hair with a tint of green and green eyes. She wears pink glasses. She wears the Byakudan Senior High uniform, a white sailor fuku with a green collar and a red bow, a green pleated skirt, white crew-cut socks and brown shoes. Her name tag read 'Emi Urabe'.

"I… think so…" Emi shuddered.

Standing next to her was another one of their female classmates. She is a teenage girl of average height and below average weight. She has desaturated turquoise eyes and medium short curly brown hair. She wears two pink hair accessories on both sides of her head. Her name tag read 'Mitsuki Yamamoto'. She is clearly shaking after witnessing what happened to Shimada.

Standing next to Kurosaki was one of their male classmates. He is a teenage male with average height and weight. He has short, semi-spiky tan brown hair and brown eyes. He wears the Byakudan Senior High School male uniform. He is also wearing round eyeglasses. His name tag read 'Masato Fukuroi'.

"I thought we couldn't die this time around?!" Tohko yelled indignantly.

"It seems that those who oppose Sachiko are shown no mercy," Kizami observed.

"Even if we oppose her or not, after today is over, we're gonna go back to what it was before, where it's that easy to die, right?" Kurosaki asked.

"Kurosaki, don't tell me that you're gonna join in this challenge as well," Kizami said. Kurosaki crossed his arms, a serious look on his face.

"Well, if we're gonna return to that messed up reality either way, then this obstacle course may be our only chance to survive. Am I wrong?" Kurosaki inquired.

"I guess so," Kizami agreed, albeit reluctantly. "But you saw what happened to Shimada. I say don't do it."

"No, I agree with Kurosaki," Fukuroi piped in. "Not only does the person who makes it to the goal get to leave this lace, but another person of their choice gets to leave with them. I have a feeling that another chance like this won't be coming around again, so we might want to take advantage of the opportunity while the going's good."

"You have a feeling?" Kizami asked. "That reason is unlike you."

"Yeah, I know it is," Fukuroi agreed. "But I have a feeling that terrible things will happen if we stay here any longer. But if any of us make it to the goal, we can save another student of ours… well, other than Shimada."

"So, I'm guessing that you want me to participate as well?" Kizami inquired.

"Kizami, if you join us, then we have a chance to save up to six lives, you know?" Kurosaki replied. Kizami scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"I don't know. It seems too risky," he retorted. "We don't know what kind of traps besides pitfalls are out there."

"I know there's no way to prepare for it," Kurosaki sighed. "But still, we can't let an opportunity like this just slip through our fingers. Like Fukuroi said, this may be our only chance to escape from this school."

'And I won't give up a chance to save Mitsuki-san!' he thought to himself. His concerned eyes glanced over at Mitsuki. 'I want to save her.'

However, Mitsuki had other ideas.

"I think it's worth a shot," Mitsuki said. "If Kizami-kun isn't going to go, then I'll go!"

Kurosaki and Fukuroi let out a surprised gasp at Mitsuki's declaration. Mitsuki crossed her arms and scowled at the boys.

"What's up with you two?" she inquired. "Don't you think I'll be of way more help than Kizami-kun over there with zero motivation?"

"Well… y-yeah," Kurosaki reluctantly agreed.

'But if that happens, then I can't save Mitsuki-san…' he thought sadly to himself.

"Well, it is true that Mitsuki is more fit for the job, but…" Fukuroi interjected.

"What is it? You got a problem with something?" Mitsuki asked with an annoyed tone in her voice.

"No, not at all!" Kurosaki replied, knowing what kind of temper Mitsuki had. "I think that Mitsuki-san being with us will be reassuring, right, Fukuroi?"

Fukuroi nodded in response.

"Y-Yeah, you're right!" he agreed. "I have a feeling that Mitsuki will be useful in certain situations, as well."

"Then it's settled!" Mitsuki declared with a smile. "Let's all get outta here together! Byakudan Academy for the win!"

"Yeah!" Fukuroi and Kurosaki yelled, throwing their fists in the air.

---

Yoshikazu grunted as he carried a television into the auditorium and set it down on a table near the stage. Sayaka let out a small shudder as she stared at the brute.

'This guy is way beyond terrifying…' she thought silently to herself.

Sachiko walked up and stood beside the television.

"For those of you that aren't participating, you can watch what happens in the race using this TV," she said.

Standing next to Sachiko was a teenage girl of above average height and below average weight. She has long, black hair with light blue highlights. Two blue ribbons are tied in her hair. The girl seemed to have an interesting fashion sense, wearing a gold necklace with a pink gem, and a short purple yukata with a red skirt underneath. She wears a geta with long stockings tied with light blue ribbons.

"Geez, talk about spoiled milk," the girl said. "Getting disqualified for a false start. All the information I gathered is wasted now."

Sayaka let out a small gasp, recognizing the girl.

"Naho-tan, the person standing next to Sachiko is…" she began.

"Aiko Niwa, the paranormal item collector who's really stingy with money," Naho finished. "Does that mean Aiko did the Sachiko Ever After charm as well?"

Aiko glanced over at Naho with a small smile.

"Oh, my, that's rather rude of you, Naho-Chan," she replied. Naho crossed her arms and walked up to Aiko, a scowl on her face.

"Well, the fact that you're a paranormal item collector, or the fact that you're stingy with money isn't a lie, though," Naho retorted.

"Well, that's true," Aiko said. "But if you say it all together, it creates a rather unsavory impression, no?"

"I don't think it makes a difference either way," Naho replied.

"Well, now that you say that, I guess you're right," Aiko agreed. "So, I guess you want an answer as to why I'm here right now."

"You read my mind," Naho replied. At that moment, Sachiko walked up to them.

"I actually called her here to become a commentator for the race," Sachiko explained.

"Well, there's your answer," Aiko chuckled.

"That doesn't answer my question at all!" Naho protested. "Do you have any idea what this place is?"

Aiko gave Naho a flat stare.

"That's my line," Aiko interjected. "It was you who stepped into this world without solid knowledge of what you were facing, you know. Not to mention, you got Sayaka-Chan involved in the process." Naho let out a small sigh of frustration, knowing that Aiko was right in what she was saying. "I can't help you guys since I was only temporarily called to this plane, but even though I don't look it, I am worried for all of you, you know?"

"I do wonder sometimes," Naho replied with a frown.

"Oh, my," Aiko sighed. "Even after all the times I've saved you from countless perils, you're still rather cold towards me."

"And you don't think I know that every time you supposedly did, you got your hands on some rare paranormal item with it?" Naho shot back.

"Oh, my," Aiko sighed again.

"Stop fighting, you two," Sachiko interjected. "Aiko, can you tell me about that Shimada guy who fell in the hole just now? What kind of person was he?"

"Well, time to do my job, I guess," Aiko chuckled. Naho glared at the raven-haired girl.

"So, you DID get some paranormal items!" she yelled.

"Well, I am a pro at what I do after all," Aiko replied with a wink. "Anyway, that kid's name was Kai Shimada, but if you look at him characteristics wise, he's more discomforting than anything else."

"Lame," Naho sighed.

"Class 2-4 at Byakudan High School," Aiko continued. "While being feared by many students for being rude and obnoxious, he seemed to have a charismatic charm with other delinquents and some female students."

"Soooo, he was a bad guy?" Sachiko asked.

"Indeed," Aiko agreed. "He had an astounding ten girlfriends. And to all of them, he would spurt out words like 'I'll only care for you' or some kind of crap like that."

"In other words, he was a grade-A douchebag," Packer interjected, walking up to them.

"Wow, that's horrible!" Sachiko replied.

"His favorite survival knife is actually something he bought online, and it's pretty crappy looking if you ask me," Aiko concluded.

"Wow, you really don't have any sense of being a data collector by blathering about people's privacy like that," Naho retorted, shaking her head in disgust.

"But he was kind of a douche, so a little bit wouldn't hurt, would it?" Sayaka asked.

"Well, I'll allow it to stop an 11th victim from appearing," Naho conceded.

Just then, a teenage boy of somewhat above average height and average build walked up to them. He has short, light brown hair and dark brown eyes. He wears the standard male Paulownia Academy uniform, a light blue blazer with a white shirt, purple tie and dark blue pants. His name tag read 'Haruyuki Inumaru'.

"Well, as a male myself, I find him repulsive," Inumaru said. "But I know that my Sayaka would never fall for a guy like that."

Sayaka gasped in horror at the person that now stood in front of her.

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! Where did you come from, you baka dog?!" Sayaka roared. Jumping at him, she hit him in the stomach with a corkscrew punch, sending him sprawling on the ground and rolling around in agony.

"Damn, that was a nice corkscrew punch," Packer admired. Naho sighed.

"I know you got surprised by him suddenly appearing and all, but come on, Sayaka," Naho scolded. "A corkscrew punch in the stomach is a bit too much, isn't it?"

"It's fine, because it's him," Sayaka retorted.

"I can't really talk, but I think Sayaka is a bit too rough on Inumaru-kun," Naho sighed.

"I'm guessing there's a bit of history between you two?" Packer inquired.

"Unfortunately, yes," Sayaka bit out. "He clings onto me just because we live next to each other and we're childhood friends, you know?! Being this rough with him is just right! Ugggggghhhh, it was so disgusting, Naho-tan!"

"I think Inumaru-kun is trying really hard, though," Naho replied. "You know, I think he was desperately looking for you after you disappeared."

Sayaka let a disgusted sound escape from her diaphragm.

"God, just imagining Inumaru running around looking for me gives me chills!" she retorted. "Naho-tan, don't say such disturbing things!"

"I'm glad Seiko doesn't treat me the same way Sayaka treats Inumaru," Packer chuckled to himself.

Inumaru finally got to his feet after the pain from Sayaka's fist subsided.

"Come on, Sayaka. No need to be so embarrassed," he said. "If it's for you, then I'll travel to the depths of Hell and back to search for you!"

"Whatever," Sayaka snorted, crossing her arms. "By the way, what the heck are you doing here anyway? Nobody who reads this story is gonna know who you are anyways!"

(Author's Note: Fourth wall breaking for the win. :P)

Inumaru lets out a small chuckle at Sayaka's comment.

"What are you talking about, Sayaka?" Inumaru inquired. "Is there a person on this planet who doesn't know how much of a steady connection we have with each other?"

"Steady connection, my ass!" Sayaka roared. "And I doubt a single person knows that!"

Inumaru let out another small chuckle.

"You know, you're really cute when you blush," he said with a smile. Sayaka's eyes blazed red at Inumaru's words.

"I'm not your possession!" she yelled. Running at him, she hit him with her corkscrew punch yet again, drilling him in the stomach. However, this time around, he let out a small grunt as he absorbed the punch. Naho, Sayaka and Packer were surprised by this.

"Whoa, he took it," Packer admired.

"He actually survived this time!" Naho observed. Inumaru let out another chuckle.

"Sayaka, you underestimate my learning abilities," he said. "It's common sense that the same attacks do not work twice on someone such as myself!"

"Since when did that ever become common sense?!" Sayaka shouted. "And how do you expect me to value somebody's learning ability when they can't even understand that I have no feelings for them?!"

Inumaru laughed once again.

"Come on now," he replied. "If you don't have any feelings for me, then who else could you have any feelings for?"

Sayaka glanced at Naho with a smile.

"I have feelings for Naho-tan, of course!" she said. Naho glanced away, an embarrassed look on her face.

"I don't exactly know how I feel about that," Naho said.

"Whaaaaaaat?!" Sayaka moaned. "Naho-tan, you're so mean!"

"By the way, don't you have something else to ask?" Naho asked.

"That's right!" Sayaka realized. "Inumaru, what the heck are you doing here?!"

"Well, it's the miracle of love," Inumaru replied wistfully. Packer let out a small chuckle.

"How did I know that something like that was gonna come out of his mouth?" Packer said. Sayaka face palmed in frustration.

"I'm an idiot for asking," she muttered to herself.

"Yep," Packer agreed.

"Seriously, though, it's not like you did the Sachiko Ever after charm, right?" Naho asked.

"Well, I don't have any friends, so I can't say that I have," Inumaru replied.

"That's because you have no interest in anyone besides Sayaka, after all," Naho surmised.

"If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say Inumaru was invited as a 'special guest' by Sachiko for her birthday today," Packer interjected.

"Sounds about right," Naho agreed, before looking around. "By the way, I wonder where Taguchi-san ran off to. He was here a second ago and now he's gone."

"Yeah, I saw him too," Sayaka replied. "I don't know where he is now, but he did have a video camera in his hand, so…"

"Seriously, I wonder about that guy sometimes," Naho sighed.

"Worried about him?" Sayaka asked.

"I'm not really sure," Naho answered.

"Well, I did see him talking with Niwa-san before he left," Inumaru interjected. "Her and Sachiko, to be exact."

"I have a bad feeling about this," Naho moaned.

"You baka!" Sayaka yelled. "Aiko is fine, but if someone is talking to Sachiko, then you could've at least tried and stopped them or something!"

"Would you have praised me if I did, my Sayaka?" Inumaru asked with a smile.

"As if I would!" Sayaka shouted. "And who're you calling 'my Sayaka'?!"

Inumaru chuckled once more.

"You really are a blushing beauty, my Sayaka," he replied.

Meanwhile, Sachiko and Aiko were watching the two of them argue back and forth.

"You know, I just kind of brought along people who had some connection to the main cast but… hey, Aiko, who is the pitiful guy there?" Sachiko asked.

"To sum it up, he Sayaka-Chan's… dog, in a sense," Aiko replied.

"I see," Sachiko said. "Alright, it's almost time for the race to begin!"

Packer cracked his knuckles as he walked up to the starting line.

"Time to win this thing," Packer said to himself.

"Packer-kun! Hold up!" Sachiko shouted, causing Packer to glance back at her.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Packer asked, confused.

"I want you to wait until after everyone has taken their shot at the obstacle course," Sachiko said.

"Why?" Packer inquired. Sachiko gave him a knowing smile.

"Because I know your secret," she replied with a giggle. Packer let out a small sigh. He knew she had to be referring to his occupation as a Knight of the Covenant and his supernatural powers, which the others did not know about yet.

"Very well," Packer sighed, moving to stand next to Sachiko. Naomi walked up to him.

"Hey, Packer, what did Sachiko mean by 'your secret'?" she asked. Packer glanced over at her briefly.

"You'll find out soon enough," he replied.

Meanwhile, the rest of the participants lined up at the starting line. Sachiko raised her hand into the air.

"Contestants on your mark… get set… and… GO!" she shouted, starting the race. In a flash, all of the competitors ran out of the auditorium.

The race was on.

---

The participants raced out of the auditorium and down the hallway. After a few seconds, Seiko, now wearing her gym clothes, burst ahead of the pack and took the early lead.

"It appears that Shinohara Seiko has taken the lead early on in this race!" Aiko commentated.

"Seiko, so fast!" Sachiko exclaimed.

"Shinohara was slow at the start, but has risen to the top spot and is setting an incredible pace!" Aiko continued. "It's as if she's got teleportation powers!"

"Teleport! Teleport!" Sachiko yelled.

Packer crossed his arms and nodded his approval as he watched his girlfriend lead the race. Naomi was standing next him, watching Seiko on the television as well.

"You think Seiko can win this, Packer?" Naomi asked.

"Of course she can," Packer replied. "I just hope she's careful, because not only is this a race, this is supposed to be an obstacle course, so there's no telling what Sachiko might throw her way."

"Yeah," Naomi murmured.

Meanwhile, Seiko continued to run along, maintaining a solid gap to the pack behind her.

"I'm nailing it right now, Naomi!" Seiko shouted. All around her, various spirits were watching her with hungry eyes.

"Trip over! Hahahahaha!"

"You can do it!"

"Give your organs! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"What a terrible scene," Seiko murmured to herself. "But there's no way that my current self will be flattered by such things, and that's because in my heart burns my love for Naomi… and Packer!"

The spirits continued to taunt her as she ran past them.

"Fall in a hooooole! HAHAHAHAHA!"

"I don't care what the voices say! All I can hear are the encouraging cheers of Naomi and Packer!" Seiko shouted with encouragement. She further increased her pace, opening her lead on the rest of her competitors even more.

"I'm gonna get this race over with in a flash! And then, I'm gonna escape from this place with Naomi and Packer! But I can only take one of them with me…" she murmured with confliction as she thought back to the conversation she had with Naomi moments before the race began.

---

A FEW MINUTES EARLIER…

"What? What did you just say, Seiko?" Naomi inquired.

"I'm gonna enter this race!" Seiko replied.

"But it could be dangerous, Seiko," Naomi warned. "You saw what happened to that red-haired guy, right?"

"Yeah, but if we stand here twiddling our thumbs, then I feel like something even more terrible might happen to us," Seiko retorted. Naomi remained silent, knowing that her friend spoke the truth. "Naomi, you have that feeling too, right? You know that something terrible is going to happen to us."

"Yeah," Naomi agreed. "I don't remember exactly, but I feel like we've faced many terrible happenings in this place."

"Which is why you can leave it to me!" Seiko declared.

"But, Seiko…" Naomi began, but stopped when she saw a brief vision of Seiko hanging from a noose. Seiko became worried as she gazed into Naomi's terrified eyes.

"What's wrong, Naomi?" the amber-eyed girl inquired.

"I thought I just saw you hang yourself just now…" Naomi murmured. Seiko sucked in a breath at her words. "Sorry, Seiko. It's probably just my imagination."

"I don't think so," Seiko replied. "I probably died in that fashion one of the previous times we were here."

Naomi gasped in surprise.

"Then, you remember it, too?" she asked.

"No," Seiko replied, shaking her head. "But if what Sachiko told us is true, then we've been killed and revived multiple times before. Which is all the more reason for me to overcome my fate by reaching that goal!"

"Is that for my sake?" Naomi asked.

"Yep," Seiko replied. "Because Naomi is… my best friend."

'Best friends…' Seiko thought to herself. 'To Naomi, we're best friends. To me, though, she's something even more than that, or at least she was, but…' She stole a glance at Packer, who was standing next to Sachiko with his arms crossed. 'Packer-kun managed to find his way into my heart, so… I want to reach the goal… for both of them!'

"Because we're best friends," Seiko continued. "I want to escape from here with you… and Packer-kun. The both of you mean a lot to me, and I don't want to see anything happen to either of you."

"Seiko…" Naomi murmured, a small smile on her face. Seiko's cat-like grin appeared on her face.

"Well, I'm sure Naomi would prefer Mochida-kun, though," she said in a teasing voice. Naomi's cheeks flushed red at Seiko's teasing.

"Seiko!" Naomi whined.

"I'm just kidding!" Seiko giggled, before turning toward the starting line. "Well, on that note, I, Seiko Shinohara, will be off!"

Before Seiko could walk off, Naomi ran up to her and grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"Seiko, wait a minute!" she said.

"Don't stop me, Naomi," Seiko declared.

"I know. I won't stop you anymore. But let me give you something before you go," Naomi replied. Then, before Seiko could even react, Naomi wraps her arms around Seiko, giving her a warm hug. A happy screech erupted from Seiko's diaphragm.

"Naomi, hugging me like that all of a sudden!" Seiko giggled. "You do know everyone's watching us, right?"

"Don't make fun of it," Naomi retorted. "This is the best encouragement that I can give to you."

"Sorry," Seiko apologized. She glanced into Naomi's brown eyes and smiled. "And thank you, Naomi."

"Seiko, I won't stop you anymore," Naomi replied, returning the smile. "But just promise me that you'll get to the goal safe and sound."

Seiko gave Naomi a small nod.

"You got it," she replied.

---

BACK IN THE PRESENT…

Seiko broke from her thoughts as she continued to run down the hallway.

"I feel so light," she murmured to herself, brimming with confidence. "I think this is the first time I've ran feeling so happy. I need to win this race… for Naomi's sake, and Packer's as well… because I'm not alone in this world anymore!"

As she continued to run, the spirits watching the race continued to taunt her.

"You suuuure about that? You just might be a clown! Cloooown, cloooown, CLOOOOWN!"

Suddenly, Seiko came to a stop. A massive hole in the floor was blocking her path.

"Crap, there's a hole in the ground and I can't go any farther," Seiko muttered to herself. "Did I take a wrong turn or something?"

Looking around, she spots a slightly open door into a classroom.

"Hm, that door is open," she said. "Maybe that's the way I need to go."

Cautiously, she approaches the door and slowly pushes it open. Stepping into the classroom, she notices several round objects hanging from the ceiling. They appeared to be bread rolls.

"Lots of bread… hanging from a ceiling?" Seiko wondered out loud.

"It's a bread-eating contest, Seiko Onee-Chan," Sachiko said over the loudspeaker. The light bulb then came on in Seiko's head.

"Ah, I see," she murmured. "You go to each classroom along the path, and you have to clear each little minigame in the classroom in order to pass." She glanced up at the loudspeaker. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm gonna finish this, right… now!" She leaps up and grabs the first piece of bread and begins gobbling it down.

Meanwhile, Naomi stares at the television with worried eyes, watching the courageous form of Seiko on it. But with each passing second, the bad feeling inside gradually gains strength.

"Come on, Seiko. Do your best…" she silently urged her friend. Sachiko chuckled in delight.

"Seiko, you're trying hard," she said. "But didn't I tell you that this is a bread eating contest?"

"Huh? What does she mean by that?" Naomi asked.

Packer let out a gasp as he realized what Sachiko was emphasizing. Whirling around to face Sachiko, he could see the evil look on the girl's face.

"It looks like Packer-kun realized what I meant," she gloated. "But Seiko can't hear you anymore. I've cut the audio off on that side."

"What?!" Packer shouted. Even Aiko looked surprised.

"Wow, Sachiko-Chan, you're so evil!" Aiko commented. Sachiko let out a small giggle. Packer turned back toward the television. Seiko was about to grab the last bread roll in her line.

"Yes! All that's left is one more!" Seiko yelled. Packer gasped in horror.

"Seiko, stop! Don't touch that bread!" Packer shouted.

"Now for the finisher… PERO FINALE!" Seiko shouted as she ran toward the last bread roll.

"Seiko! Not that last piece of bread!" Naomi yelled. But she was too late.

As Seiko looked up, she gasped as the bread transformed in front of her. It eyed her with a hungry look.

"A bread monster?!" she shouted. She tried to dodge, but was not quick enough. In one bite, the monster enveloped her head. She hung lifelessly in its mouth.

"SEIKOOOOOOOOO!" Naomi screamed.

"The bread eating is not about bread eating, but a competition about being eaten by bread!" Sachiko laughed. Packer whirled around to face her once again, rage building up inside him, as he was tempted to power up one of his spells. Sachiko noticed this and shot him a small, knowing grin. "I wouldn't do anything if I were you, Packer-kun, unless you want to lose a chance to save her." Packer growled in response.

Suddenly, the string holding up Seiko and the bread monster snapped, dropping her back to the floor. Sachiko stared at the television in disbelief.

"What?! The string broke…." Sachiko muttered in disbelief. Naomi glanced back up at the monitor, hope rekindled once again.

"Seiko! You're still alive!" she shouted. Packer turned his attention back to the television, and gasped as he noticed that while Seiko was struggling to get the monster off her head, she didn't notice that she was stumbling backwards toward one of the large holes in the floor.

"Seiko! The floor!" Packer shouted, but he was too late. Seiko slipped on the edge, and she tumbled into the hole, as her friends watched in disbelief.

"SEIKO!" Naomi sobbed, collapsing onto the floor in tears. "I should've stopped her by force! I knew this was going to happen after all! I'm sorry, Seiko… all because I couldn't believe myself…"

As Naomi continued to sob, Yui tried her best to hold back her own tears as she knelt down beside her student in an attempt to comfort her.

"Nakashima-san, it's not your fault," Yui said.

"No, it's all my fault!" Naomi shouted. "I knew all along that Seiko… wasn't going to live! It's all my fault! Seiko… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…" Yui rubbed Naomi's back, continuing to comfort her.

"Nakashima-san… No, it's not your fault," Yui replied. "I should've been a good teacher and protected my students from getting into harm's way."

Sachiko continued to chuckle at her handiwork.

"Oh, I forgot to release the Facto!" she said. "And that means that Seiko is definitely going to die." Sachiko continued to laugh as Aiko looked on.

"Oh my, Sachiko-Chan, you're such a klutz," she said. Naho shook her head in response.

"I think the situation is a lot more serious than you know, Aiko," Naho murmured.

Packer continued to stare at the monitor in shock, tears coming to his own eyes, and fire raging in his heart, until suddenly, his Future Sight activated. His eyes went wide, and his mind was filled with a vivid image, causing him to gasp in response…

Much like he was doing at the present time, he was standing in the auditorium. Over by the wall, sitting on the ground, was everyone whom had participated in the race, including Seiko. All of them looked like they had just woken up from a long nap…

Packer grunted as he came out of Future Sight. Remembering what he had been shown, a confused look came across his features.

"Strange…" he murmured. "We just lost Seiko, and yet, my Future Sight tells me that she's still alive. This doesn't make any sense at all…"

---

Meanwhile, the participating members of Byakudan, Kurosaki, Fukuroi and Mitsuki, had finished their portion of the bread-eating contest and were now back in the hallway, having taken the lead.

"After a bread-eating contest is… a regular hallway!" Kurosaki exclaimed, before a frown appeared on his face. "Nah, no way in hell." Just as he said this, the group ran across a gap in the floor. Stretched across the gap was a wooden plank, just wide enough for someone to step on. "What is this long, thin wooden board? Wait a minute. I think I saw this is a manga once!" He stepped up to the edge of the hole and peered down into it. A shudder ran up and down his spine. "Geez, that's some drop, and I can't really see because it's so dark, but it's probably death if we fall down there. Maybe there's other traps here that we don't see!"

"What are you doing, Kurosaki?" Mitsuki asked, arms crossed. Kurosaki scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Well… I mean, this place looks like a place where there could be traps," Kurosaki replied. "So… it's kind of dangerous to cross without checking first, right?"

Mitsuki's eyes widened with worry.

"So, did you find anything?" she inquired. Kurosaki took another look around, but couldn't really see anything out of the ordinary.

"Hm, there doesn't seem to be any other traps that I'm aware of," Kurosaki replied.

"So there's really no point in standing around, is there?" Mitsuki asked.

"I… guess so," Kurosaki answered, but he still felt a growing uneasiness.

"Let's get going then," Mitsuki declared, stepping onto the suspended wooden board. Kurosaki gasped in surprise.

"Mi-Mitsuki-san?!" he gasped. Mitsuki carefully balanced herself on the plank of wood.

"It's… a bit thin, but it's fairly stable," she said. "It should be okay if we don't rush things too much."

"It's fine now, but it gets thinner the further you go! It's too risky!" Kurosaki retorted. Mitsuki glanced back at him with a confused look.

"Huh? It's too dark to see, but how do you know?" she inquired.

"This is very similar to that manga I once read!" Kurosaki replied.

"Even still, we have no other choice but to cross, right?" Mitsuki answered. "Otherwise, we'll never reach the goal, and if we reach the goal, we can get ourselves and every one of our friends out of this place." Fukuroi nodded his approval.

"True. If you're not gonna go, Kurosaki, then I'll take the liberty of going next," he said, stepping onto the plank.

"Fu-Fukuroi… you, too?" Kurosaki gasped.

"It's fine to be cautious, but being overly worried isn't gonna help matters much," Fukuroi replied. "Oh, and try to leave some space if you're coming along. It's better for one of us to survive than for all of us to go to hell."

"I… I know," Kurosaki conceded as he followed Fukuroi onto the wooden platform. 'Even as we say that, I'm still worried…' he thought. Suddenly, Sachiko's voice boomed over the loudspeaker.

"Kurosaki, do you think that I'm going to do something to guys here?" she inquired.

"Of… of course I do," came Kurosaki's reply. "Anyone would in this situation."

"But in terms of this situation, I really won't do anything," Sachiko retorted. Kurosaki's eyes widened in surprise.

"What? You serious?" he asked.

"Yeah," Sachiko replied. "It's up to you to decide whether or not to trust me, but I think you should trust me this time around."

"Sachiko-Chan has no reason to keep promises, though," Aiko's voice boomed through the loudspeaker.

"That's right," Sachiko agreed. "If I wanted to, I could easily get rid of Kurosaki, just like that."

After considering his options, Kurosaki let out a small sigh.

"You're right. There's no point to be suspicious about her here," he decided. "And even Mitsuki-san said that if you don't know after thinking about it, then just go for it, so let's keep going."

Taking a deep breath, he begins to walk on the plank, following Mitsuki and Fukuroi's lead.

"Whoa… it's thin, but it's definitely walkable," he surmised. "All I have to do is just concentrate on where I place the center of my feet and slowly… slowly walk… Looks like I'll be able to do it…" His voice trailed off as he glanced in front of him, past Mitsuki and Fukuroi. "Wait, what the hell?!"

Mitsuki and Fukuroi also came to a stop, letting out a small gasp. Standing on the other side of the gap was Yoshikazu, his trademark sledgehammer in his hands.

"Don't tell me…" Kurosaki began, before Yoshikazu let out a loud growl and slammed the sledgehammer down on the plank, causing it to shake. Kurosaki began to lose his balance.

"H-Hey, stop! I'm gonna fall!" Kurosaki yelled. Yoshikazu just growled and continued to slam the plank with his hammer. "You said you weren't gonna do anything, Sachiko!"

"Yeah, I did," came Sachiko's response over the loudspeaker. "I said that I wouldn't do anything. I didn't say anything about the big imbecile over there, did I?"

"Oh, you clever little bitch," Kurosaki mumbled under his breath. As the shaking intensified, he began to lose more control over his balance. "Crap, I'm gonna fall!"

Yoshikazu continued to growl louder and louder with each subsequent strike.

"This board is just being smashed. Each time he hits it, it makes the shaking stronger!" Kurosaki yelled.

"Kurosaki, it's constructive waves!" Fukuroi shouted. "By hitting the hammer to the same frequency as the waves passing through the plank, it's creating an even larger amplitude with every hit!"

"If this keeps up, we're gonna be shaken off!" Mitsuki yelled. "What are we gonna do?!"

In a panic, Kurosaki could think of only one way to save himself.

"I give up! I give up, Sachiko!" he yelled. Yoshikazu let out an inhuman moan and continued striking the wooden plank. "I said I give up, damn it! I give! Stop with the damn hitting!"

Just then, Yoshikazu finally stopped striking. Letting out a small moan, he turned and walked back down the hallway.

"Well, I can't believe I actually got through to that brute," Kurosaki sighed. At that moment, a large shadow appeared behind him.

"Give up, my ass. You think such bullshit is gonna pass here?"

Kurosaki turned around at the sound of the familiar voice.

"Huh? Kizami?" he asked. Kizami chuckled.

"Sorry, Kurosaki," he replied, before lashing out with a kick, knocking Kurosaki off the platform.

"KIZAMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" Kurosaki screamed as he was swallowed up by the abyss, followed by the sound of him impacting the ground far below. Kizami closed his eyes and sighed.

'To feel anger at my pitiful friends… to think that I still had such emotions within me…' Kizami thought. 'Friends? A friend? I actually thought that Kurosaki was my friend? Hmph… what a stupid distraction.'

He began to laugh in a psychotic matter, as Mitsuki and Fukuroi watched him with horrified eyes, shocked by what they had just witnessed.

"Kizami-kun, what… did you just do…?" Mitsuki gasped. Kizami glanced up at her with a twisted smile on his face.

"If you were watching, then why ask?" Kizami inquired. "I kicked Kurosaki off the platform, of course!"

"You… you murderer!" Mitsuki shouted, rage flowing through her.

"Murderer? I believe you're wrong," Kizami replied. Mitsuki glared at him, not believing what she was hearing.

"What am I wrong about?!" she roared. "Kurosaki was trying so hard not to fall, and you just… kicked him off and killed him!"

"Kurosaki had already failed," Kizami retorted. "Thus, he would've been dead either way. All I did was just speed up the inevitable."

"That's what society calls a murderer!" Mitsuki yelled. Kizami sighed at her.

"Yamamoto, why do you not understand such simple matters? It hurts my brain," he said. Mitsuki clinched her hands into fists.

"Not only did you disagree to participate in the race that could've possible saved everybody from Byakudan, but you even killed Kurosaki! Kurosaki was your friend, wasn't he?!" she roared, tears coming to her eyes.

"Friends… friends, huh?" Kizami mumbled. "To think… I still had such things in my life…"

"Kurosaki truly believed you were his friend," Mitsuki continued. "He'd say things like, 'He's a little strange, but he's not a bad guy,' and he truly meant it!"

Kizami remained silent for a moment, pondering Mitsuki's words, before looking back up at her.

"I'm not the type of person that Kurosaki believed me to be," he answered. "Simply put, Kurosaki didn't understand me at all."

"You're certainly right about that!" Mitsuki shouted, glaring at Kizami with enraged eyes. "If Kurosaki had known, then he would've…"

"Mitsuki, calm down!" Fukuroi chimed in, trying to calm his enraged friend. Mitsuki turned and glared at Fukuroi, not believing what she was hearing.

"Calm down?!" she balked. "Fukuroi, are you being serious?! This guy just… killed Kurosaki right in front of our eyes!"

"I know! I saw it with my own two eyes!" Fukuroi exclaimed. "But now's not the time to be arguing!"

"It seems Fukuroi is far more superior when it comes to reading the situation," Kizami observed.

"Kizami, I want to ask you something," Fukuroi said. "You weren't up to participating in this race, so why are you here?"

"Why, you ask?" Kizami replied. "The answer is simple."

"Simple? Why does…" Fukuroi began, but Kizami cut him off.

"Fine then," he said, glaring at both of them. "I'll show you my meaning in a simple way, and then beat you down to despair."

Then, he revealed a belt wrapped around his waist that seemed transformable. He flicks the switch, and a machine-like noise starts to emanate from the belt.

"Countdown!" Kizami shouted. "1… 2… 3… 4… 5… 6… 7… 8… 9… 10… 11… 12…!"

"I think the countdown might be a bit too long," Fukuroi said, a confused look on his face. Suddenly, the area around Kizami became bathed in darkness.

"Don't fret, Fukuroi," Kizami replied. "Think of it as a countdown to your death, then it wouldn't feel so long, would it?"

"Um… how is it a countdown when the numbers are increasing?" Fukuroi asked, his confusion deepening.

Meanwhile, Packer was watching this unfold on the television. He shook his head in disbelief at Kizami's antics.

"Because Kizami is a fucking moron," Packer said in response, even though Fukuroi couldn't hear him.

Mitsuki tried to see through the black smog, but it was too dark.

"What the heck is going on? What's happening to Kizami?" she wondered out loud.

Sachiko laughed over the loudspeaker.

"It's a dark transformation!" she yelled with glee.

"Dark… transformation?" Fukuroi stuttered, still as confused as ever. Meanwhile, Kizami continued to count.

"39… 40!" he yelled. "TRANSFORM!"

Suddenly, the darkness around him lifted, and Mitsuki and Fukuroi were shocked at Kizami's new appearance. It appeared that he was garbed in a mannequin costume, with a white piece of cloth attached to a belt that was wrapped around his waist.

"Mannequin form, yeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" Kizami shouted.

Packer face palmed at what he was seeing.

"Just when you think you've seen everything," he mumbled.

"Mannequin… form?!" Fukuroi shouted, his confusion at a fever pitch. Kizami let out a small chuckle.

"You better watch out," he declared. "Now that I'm in this form, I'm no longer Mr. Nice Guy."

"You never were nice," Mitsuki retorted. "And you said transform, but you're just wearing a mannequin costume, right? I saw the whole thing. Where did you get that, anyway? Some science room display or something?"

Kizami glared at Mitsuki.

"Yamamoto, it seems you want to die first, then," he said.

"Not particularly, no," Mitsuki bit back.

"I'll kill you anyway," Kizami retorted. "LIMIT BREAK…" He suddenly leaped into the air toward them.

"MANNEQUIN KICK!"

"Mitsuki!" Fukuroi shouted as he stepped in front of the attack to protect Mitsuki. The kick catches Fukuroi in the chest and sends him flying off the platform. "Mitsuki, you have to… you have to surviveeeeeeeeeee!" Mere seconds later, the sound of an impact far into the hole could be heard.

"FUKUROI!" Mitsuki screamed. Kizami just chuckled.

"Fukuroi, what an idiot, blocking me like that," he said. "Thanks to that, I got an easy kill on him."

"Kizami-kun, just what are you?" Mitsuki whispered, tears in her eyes. Kizami let out a confused grunt at her inquiry. "How can you just kill a companion that we've spent so long together with like that? Does life even have a value to you?! Do you really not feel anything?!"

"You… you say the same things as my idiot sister did," Kizami growled. A confused look spread across Mitsuki's face. "Whatever. To answer your question from before… my answer is yes. I feel no value in another one's life."

"And you call yourself a human?" Mitsuki inquired incredulously.

"I've wondered that myself," Kizami replied. "At the very least… I don't find any amusement from dicking around with you lot day in and day out."

"And so that's why you're trying to kill us?" Mitsuki asked.

"I'm… only allowing every life to be fair, and shine for as long as they can before I light them up," Kizami declared, letting an evil chuckle escape from his lips. "Hey, Yamamoto. You'll show it to me, right? The brightness that sets fire to my eyes! Show it to me!" After letting out an evil laugh, he locks eyes with Mitsuki. "Ah, yes. I'll give you my fiery embrace as a gift, although mine is… quite hot."

Mitsuki gasped in horror as Kizami suddenly lights himself on fire. The entire costume he was wearing was now ablaze.

"This is my so-called Fire State!" Kizami shouted, letting out a psychotic laugh. Mitsuki gasped again. "It's hot! It's hot! I'm gonna die, it's so hot! Goddamn, it's hot! Yamamoto, I'll share this scorching heat with you!" He laughs psychotically once again.

"Screw that shit!" Mitsuki roared. "You can just go and burn to death by yourself!"

She tried to launch a kick at Kizami, but he catches it in his hands, much to Mitsuki's surprise.

"Well, that was a poorly misjudged kick, Yamamoto," Kizami said. "Trying to kick me while I'm in this state, not to mention a middle kick, too. A nice attempt, I must say."

Mitsuki gasped as she could feel the scorching heat on her foot.

"However, it seems there was hardly any power behind it," Kizami continued. Tears came to Mitsuki's eyes as the pain intensified. She tried to shake him loose, but wasn't strong enough to do so. "Whoa, whoa. I know you're scared, but try not to shake too much! Otherwise, I might fall as well, you know?"

Realizing what Kizami said, and seeing no other choice, Mitsuki came to a decision.

"Then you die, too!" she yelled, causing Kizami to gasp in response. "If I'm not gonna survive this, then I can at least take you with me!"

"I-Impossible! This woman… what manliness!" Kizami gasped.

"Well, sorry for being so masculine!" Mitsuki shouted. "NOW DIE!"

Kizami yelled as Mitsuki twisted her body, causing both of them to lost their balance and fall off the platform into the abyss below.

"I was underestimating this woman's willpower!" Kizami said as he continued to fall. "To think that a human with such dedication still existed!"

"I'm not particularly happy about you praising me!" Mitsuki shouted. "I just wanted to take revenge on you for Kurosaki and Fukuroi's sake, that's all!"

"To put another's life above your own… I really don't understand humans after all," Kizami mumbled.

"I don't understand, either," Mitsuki replied. "But you want to try and understand because you don't, right?"

"Hm…" was all Kizami could utter, before the both of them crashed into the ground, killing them both instantly.

---

"MITSUKI!" Tohko and Emi screamed. They collapsed to the floor, sobbing. The two other boys from Byakudan, Ryosuke Katayama and Tomohiro Ohkawa, stared at the television, shock registered on their faces.

"I don't believe it," Ryosuke gasped. "Yamamoto, Fukuroi, Kizami, Kurosaki… all gone, in an instant…"

At that moment, Packer's Future Sight activated once again. It showed him the same image as before, but it was much stronger this time around. He blinked his eyes as it ended, overwhelmed by the intensity of the image.

"Same as before, but it was stronger this time. What the hell does it mean?" Packer wondered to himself, confused.

Just then, the door to the auditorium opened, catching Packer's attention. He noticed two girls he had never seen before walk in. Both were wearing the uniform of St. Cruz Girls' High School: a white single-breasted jacket with red edges, a pleated white skirt with red edges, black stockings, brown loafers and a white beret with red edges. Both girls let out a confused grunt as they noticed the group of students gathered around a small television set, and a little girl in a red dress.

"What's going on, wife?" Ran asked.

"I have no idea," Azusa replied.

"Ah, St. Cruz Girl's High School, Year 2-3 Takai Azusa, Year 2-1 Kobayashi Ran, you're a little late, but welcome," Sachiko greeted them.

Ran felt a chill run up her spine at the young girl's words.

"W-w-w-wife! That girl! Those clothes!" Ran exclaimed.

"Step back, Ran. She could be dangerous," Azusa warned. Ran quickly stepped back, and Sachiko glanced at Azusa with a curious look, arms crossed.

"What? You want to fight?" Sachiko challenged.

"Red clothes… you're the girl that was on the murder mystery newspapers scattered around the school, correct?" Azusa inquired. Sachiko rolled her eyes.

"I hate you," she growled.

"Trapping so many innocent people, and you…!" Azusa continued, but was cut off by Aiko.

"Oh, sorry, we're gonna have none of that today," she interjected, stepping between Sachiko and Azusa.

"Eh? What do you mean?" Azusa asked.

"Today is the Heavenly Host Cultural Festival, you see," Aiko explained. "Think of it as a school carnival right now."

"Really?" Ran spoke up. "Then, what event is going on right now?"

"We are currently watching an obstacle course race. You're welcome to join us if you like," Aiko replied. Ran glanced over at the television and recognized one of the competitors.

"Hey, I kind of remember that guy walking on those planks," the purple-haired girl said, pointing at the blonde male on the television screen. Azusa smiled.

"Oh, it's Knight-kun. He looks like he's doing well," Azusa replied, causing Packer to turn his attention toward her.

'Did she just call Yoshiki Knight-kun? What exactly is she implying?' Packer thought.

"That's right! It's Kishinuma-kun! I'm glad he's doing alright!" Ran exclaimed.

"Well, those Knight-kun's, as you call them, are actually in the middle of an escape race. If you make it to the goal, then you can escape from here with one other person," Aiko explained. "Do either of you want to give it a try?"

"Does that mean we can both escape?" Ran asked. Azusa, however, had other ideas.

"I'm going to pass on that offer," she declared. "I just can't bring myself to leave Sachiko-Chan like this."

"Well, that's my wife for you!" Ran yelled gleefully.

"Then you'll have to be patient for now," Aiko said. "We don't want to lay to waste the troubles Knight-kun and the others are going through now, would we?"

"You're right," Azusa agreed. "I never had any intentions to do so myself."

"Then I'm gonna be patient with my wife, too," Ran spoke up. Azusa smiled down at her young friend.

"Thank you, Ran," she said.

"It's only obvious," Ran giggled.

As Ran and Azusa continued to talk with Aiko, Ayumi was staring over at them with a curious expression on her face. She glanced back at Satoshi.

"Mochida-kun, do you recognize those girls over there at all?" she asked. Satoshi glanced over at the white-clad girls.

"Not really," he replied. "You'd think I'd remember such girls with unique personalities like such, but I can't say I've met them."

"Hm, maybe it's just my imagination…" Ayumi murmured. "But I get the feeling that I've met them somewhere before. But where?"

---

Meanwhile, Yoshiki managed to cross the planks and continued down the hallway toward another classroom.

"Great. Another classroom, with another challenge lined up, I bet," he murmured to himself. "Well, no use standing around." He slid the door open and walked inside. On the desks inside the classroom were several mysterious cardboard boxes. "What kind of traps are there in store for me?" Then, he glanced off to the side and noticed a familiar compatriot kneeling over one of the boxes. "Morishige, what are you doing?"

"Oh, Kishinuma," Morishige acknowledged, looking up from his spot.

"So, are you stuck here or something?" Yoshiki asked. "What exactly are we supposed to do in this room?"

"Well, I'd say this is more of a mental challenge than physical, because… well, take a look," Morishige replied, motioning him over to one of the boxes. Yoshiki looked down inside… and his eyes widened in surprise, not to mention horror.

"What the…?" he stuttered. Lying inside the box was a maid outfit. "Is this a maid outfit? It's even got cat ears…" He gave Morishige a weird look. "Morishige, I didn't know you were into this sort of thing."

"Like hell I do!" Morishige yelled angrily. "This is why I'm stuck here!"

"Wait, don't tell me…" Yoshiki gasped. "Does that mean that we have to choose a box with an outfit like this and…"

"And wear it for the rest of the race," Morishige finished. "Otherwise, we'll be stuck in this room with no way out. According to Sachiko's instructions, that is."

"That's it," Sachiko announced over the loudspeaker. "Come on, Kishinuma, hurry up and choose a box so you can hurry along to the next room."

Yoshiki let out an exasperated sigh.

"Well, shit," he growled. "Knowing her, I'm guessing these outfits aren't going to be the prettiest for my eyes to see."

"Most likely yes," Morishige replied.

"Do we really have to wear this crap?" Yoshiki asked.

"I tried to open the door before, but it wouldn't budge," Morishige explained. Yoshiki let out another exasperated sigh.

"Fucking figures," Yoshiki mumbled. "I really don't want to wear those embarrassing clothes, but it is for Shinozaki's sake, so… I guess I'll have to do it."

Yoshiki opened one of the boxes nearest him… and immediately wished he didn't.

"Oh, you've got to be shitting me," he groaned. He reached into the box and pulled out a pure white wedding dress. "Fuck if I'm gonna wear this!"

"I thought maybe those are here because of the chance of a girl coming through here, but it seems it's just to piss us men off," Morishige surmised. Yoshiki glared up at his cobalt-haired companion.

"What are you calmly analyzing the situation for?!" he yelled. Morishige just shrugged.

"Well, which do you prefer? The wedding dress or the maid outfit?" Morishige asked. Yoshiki stared blankly at him.

"Do I really have to answer that?" he inquired.

"Well, I think the wedding dress is better off in this situation, but it's entirely up to you," Morishige explained.

"I don't know…" Yoshiki murmured, feeling unsure about the whole situation.

"Well, we could trade outfits if you want," Morishige offered. "We're still in a disadvantageous situation either way, but at least we'll both be in outfits that we both prefer."

After considering his options, Yoshiki let out a small sigh.

"Yeah, you're right," he said. "That one would be better."

"Then let's do it," Morishige replied, handing the maid outfit to Yoshiki while Yoshiki gave the dress to Morishige.

After several minutes of fumbling about, both had their, for a lack of a better term, outfits on and ready to go. Morishige pulled up on the zipper on Yoshiki's outfit, fastening it in place.

"That should do it," Morishige said.

"Thanks, man," Yoshiki replied. "There's no way I could get this thing on by myself. How do girls wear this crap, anyways?"

"Beats me," Morishige retorted with a shrug. Yoshiki stared down at the cat ears left on the desk.

"Are these cat ears part of the costume?" Yoshiki asked. "Ah, whatever."

The two began walking toward the exit. Morishige glanced back at the cat ears.

"You sure you don't want to put those on?" he inquired. "You might need them to advance, you know."

"I'll worry about it when the time comes," Yoshiki replied.

"I guess so, but I think it's a good idea to take them just in case," Morishige suggested. Yoshiki scratched his chin as he pondered Morishige's suggestion, before nodding in response.

"You're right. Hold on a minute," the blonde said, turning around and walking back toward the table which the cat ears were resting on.

"No, I'll go on ahead," Morishige replied. "You'll catch up anyway. I'm sure the next stage of this race will have more traps and…" Before he could finish his sentence, a faint 'tink' could be heard, and he felt a searing pain shoot through his abdomen. He began gagging and choking before he fell forward into darkness.

Yoshiki stopped as he heard Morishige's grunts of pain, and then he heard two impacts of the ground.

"Morishige?" he said, turning around. What he saw next nearly made his eyes bug out of his head. Stretched across the room was a thin strand of what appeared to be piano wire, and it was dripping with blood. And lying on the floor in a pool of blood… was Morishige, his body completely severed in half at the torso. He was lying face down, his glasses lying near him.

"Mo-Morishige?!" Yoshiki yelled, as he screamed in anguish. "Why?! You're lying! No… more… Why… Why do we have to be subjugated to this?! Why did I have to see your dying face?!"

Suddenly, another little 'chink' could be heard, and Yoshiki gasped as he felt the same searing pain roar through his body as well. He coughed a bit of blood as his vision began to darken.

"Damn… it…" he gasped, losing consciousness as his body split in two, the two halves falling away from each other.

---

Meanwhile, in the auditorium, the horrifying sight of Yoshiki and Morishige's body being split in two via the piano wire trap was being broadcasted on the television. Chihaya let out a scream at the sight, as did Nana.

"No… Kishinuma-san!" Nana screamed.

"Nana, don't look!" Nari commanded. "Chihaya, you too!" Both girls looked away as Nari focuses her gaze upon Sachiko. "This is… this is horrible! Why did you show this to us?!"

Nana finally broke down completely, sobs wracking her body. Chihaya stared at Nari with a terrified look.

"Nari-Chan, is everyone… is everyone going to die?!" she screamed.

"Don't say such negative things at a time like this!" Nari yelled.

"But…!" Chihaya began, but Nari cut her off.

"There's no point in saying something like that at this time!" Nari continued. "Can't you see that Nana is in more shock than you are right now?"

"I-I'm sorry," Chihaya apologized, close to tears herself.

"Thanks, Nari-Chan," Nana said, letting a few sniffles escape. "And you too, Chihaya-Chan." She let out a soft sigh. "I'm in shock, but… I'd say Morishige and Kishinuma's close friends are more in shock than I am right now."

"Yeah," Nari and Chihaya said at the same time.

Satoshi stared down at the screen, tears building up in his eyes.

"Yoshiki… Morishige…" he mumbled, tears spilling out of his eyes.

"This is just horrible," Naomi shuddered.

"You're kidding…" Ayumi gasped, her voice choked with sobs.

"Shige-nii… SHIGE-NII!" Mayu screamed as she collapsed to her knees, sobbing her eyes out. Sachiko stared at them, a blank look on her face.

"Sachiko believes that rules must be followed," she declared.

"Onii-Chan," Yuka sobbed, burying her face in her brother's chest.

"Don't worry, Yuka. I won't die on you," Satoshi replied, trying to reassure his sister.

"I didn't like Kishinuma and Morishige because they didn't listen to me," Sachiko continued.

"And… that's why… you killed them?" Satoshi asked, stumbling over the words.

"I gave them a chance, you know?" Sachiko continued. "But Kishinuma and Morishige didn't follow along. They should've just obediently had a good time."

"Yeah… I guess so," Satoshi conceded.

"I like Satoshi because you're obedient," Sachiko giggled.

"Thank you," Satoshi said.

"You'll show me, right, Satoshi?" Sachiko asked. Satoshi looked at her oddly. "Sachiko… wants to see romcom."

"That again, huh?" Satoshi said.

"And how do you expect to have a romcom, or even a Hysteric Birthday for that matter, when you've killed almost half the people here?" Packer interjected, walking up to them. "Didn't stop to think that one through, did you, Sachiko?"

Sachiko stared up at the green-haired boy with a blank look on her face.

"No, I suppose I didn't," she replied. Packer knelt down in front of her, a knowing look on his face.

"But that can be easily fixed by you, can it?" Packer inquired. "Being the ultimate creator of this place, you have the power to bring everyone back to life." Everyone present gasped at Packer's inquiry. "Am I not correct?"

Sachiko slowly let a small smile appear on her features.

"I suppose your Future Sight told you this, didn't it?" Sachiko replied. All of the Kisaragi members glanced at Packer, wondering what Sachiko was insinuating about their green-haired companion.

"Yeah… I guess you could say that," Packer answered. "So, how about it?"

"Well… if it means I get to see a romantic comedy, then so be it," Sachiko declared. Mayu let out a surprised gasp.

"Does that mean Shige-nii is going to be back to normal?" she asked with hope in her voice.

"Sure," Sachiko replied. "I mean, you guys have died here countless times. If you leave it to me, then it's rather easy to do."

"Sachiko-Chan, you're rather amazing, aren't you?" Aiko asked with admiration.

"I'm pretty much a god-like existence in here," Sachiko explained. "All I have to do is snap my fingers and Presto! Everything is back to the way it was before."

"Amazing," Aiko admired again. A few feet away, Naho let out an exasperated sigh.

"What is Aiko thinking?" Naho mumbled. "Well, at any rate, it looks like we'll have to follow Sachiko's words for now."

"Do you think we can do anything about Sachiko-Chan right now?" Sayaka inquired.

"I want to try my exorcism abilities on her, but she doesn't seem to show any of her blind spots so easily, so there's not much we can do right now," Naho explained, crossing her arms and showing a serious look on her face. "We haven't met up with Kibiki-sensei, so I don't want to die quite yet, if at all."

"She's pretty much an omnipotent being in this school," Sayaka said. "She's at a totally different level from the other spirits here, it seems."

"Yeah," Naho agreed. "Sachiko is the engine that powers this dimension, an omnipotent being, as you said. Fighting her head on will just spell disaster for us."

"So, does that mean that those guys are going to do stuff according to what Sachiko has laid out?" Sayaka asked.

"I'm sure they are," Naho replied.

After a few moments of thinking, Satoshi came to a decision and walked up to Sachiko.

"Alright, Sachiko," he began. "We'll do the romcom. So…"

Suddenly, from out of nowhere…

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!"

Everybody looked around, wondering who made that shout. Packer arched an eyebrow.

"Goal? What, are we playing soccer all of a sudden?" he wondered out loud.

Sachiko's mouth dropped open as she stared at the television screen. Naho and Sayaka's eyes widened as they recognized the voice.

"That voice… is that Inumaru?" Sayaka asked.

"Seems so," Naho agreed.

All eyes in the room shot toward the television, and everyone's mouths collective dropped open when they saw what was on it. Shown on the TV was Yuki and Ryou, holding a piece of long tape, signifying the finish line, and crossing it, holding both hands up in a victory pose, was none other than Inumaru.

"Sayaka! Did you see my accomplishment?" Inumaru said into the camera.

"Not in the least…" Sayaka replied, but her voice trailed off as she recognized the clothes that he was wearing, and could feel her blood boiling once again. "Hey, what are you wearing?!"

"It's Sayaka's favorite clothes," Inumaru said matter-of-factly. "Why do you ask?"

"Why are you saying that like it's common sense?!" Sayaka shouted.

"It came out in the dress-changing part of the race, so there wasn't much I could do," Inumaru explained. "Don't worry. When I get out of them, I'll wash them and put them back in your dresser for you."

"Don't put it back without my permission, you pervert!" Sayaka shot back.

"Does that mean I get to keep it?" Inumaru asked innocently. Sayaka could feel her blood coming to a boil, and Naho had to hold a hand over her mouth to keep from snickering out loud.

"Throw it out!" Sayaka roared. "Actually, burn it to a crisp!"

"What?!" Inumaru shouted. "Isn't it a very precious set of clothing that you got on your birthday from your mom last year?" Sayaka's eyes widened in shock, wondering how he knew of such an event.

"Why the Hell do you know all the details?!" Sayaka shouted. "I don't need it! I'll even apologize to my mom about it!"

"Okay, I'll take the responsibility and apologize for you," Inumaru conceded. "After all, it is all my fault. I can't allow you to apologize for something that you weren't a part of in the first place."

Sayaka gritted her teeth as her frustration reached a fever pitch.

"I want to hit him!" she growled, fists clenched tightly. "I want to hit Inumaru so badly right now!"

"Now, now, calm down, Sayaka," Naho said, trying to cool her friend down a bit. Sayaka glanced at her with a confused look. "Thanks to Inumaru-kun, the topic we had been discussing has been completely ruined."

Sayaka continued to stare at her friend in confusion, before realizing what she meant.

"Of course!" she realized. "Because he won the race, he wins Sachiko's prize!"

"Exactly," Naho replied.

Sachiko stared blankly at the TV screen. Inumaru's survival instincts were unexpected even for her, it seemed.

"How did a mortal human make it to the goal?" Sachiko muttered incredulously. "How… how…?"

"Hm, it may be because Haruyuki-kun has never died in this dimension," Aiko explained. "His bloodline may have something to do with it, as well." Sachiko remained silent, obviously still in shock. "But it's okay, Sachiko-Chan."

"Eh? What do you mean?" Sachiko inquired curiously.

"If you keep your promise and send him back to the real world, I'm sure you'll be rather pleased with the result," Aiko replied.

"Really?" Sachiko asked.

"Indeed. I'll guarantee it," Aiko retorted. "If it doesn't go according to plan, then I'll return the paranormal items you gave me."

"Hm… I'm not quite sure what you mean, but I guess if you say so…" Sachiko mumbled. She reached over and reluctantly grabs the microphone. "Inumaru, congratulations on finishing the obstacle course."

"Thank you," Inumaru said, bowing in respect.

"As promised, I'll send you back to your world," Sachiko replied. "Return to the auditorium so you can choose who you wish to take with you."

"Right away," Inumaru said, running into the hallway. The screen went black, and Sachiko turned back to Aiko.

"We'll deal with that momentarily," the little girl said. "But back to the business we had before… Ah, that's right. We were talking about the romcom. Is everyone else okay with that?"

Ayumi stepped forward.

"I was going to do it to begin with," the bluenette replied.

"If I do the romcom, then Seiko will come back, right?" Naomi inquired.

"Yes, indeed!" Sachiko said.

"Then, I'll do it," Naomi replied.

"I will do it, too," Mayu spoke up.

"Mayu isn't appearing in the play, though," Sachiko said.

"But if it means that Shige-nii will come back, then I'll do it," Mayu offered.

"I'll participate, as well," Yui said.

"Sensei will do it too, huh?" Sachiko said. "What about you, Yuka?"

"I-I'll do it, too," Yuka replied. "I'm not too sure what I have to do, but…"

"Oh, I'll do it too!" Satsuki shouted enthusiastically.

"I'll do it, too," Tohko said.

"I will, too," Emi joined in.

"I'm not too sure, but if my name is up, then I guess I'll do it as well," Azusa said.

"H-Hey, wife! Don't go barging into dangerous situations!" Ran shouted worriedly.

"It's not dangerous. I just want to see a romcom," Sachiko said.

"Romcom?" Ran repeated. "That means my wife is going to get friendly with someone other than me? No freaking way!"

"Ran, please read the current situation," Azusa pleaded.

"No way! My wife is my property!" Ran shouted indignantly.

"Azusa isn't a member of the harem, either," Sachiko said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, I see," Ran realized. "Then I forgive."

"So, does that mean that nobody has any objections?" Sachiko asked everyone.

"It seems so, Sachiko-Chan," Aiko replied.

"You see, Sachiko? Everyone is willing to do this romantic comedy for you," Packer said. "So, how about living up to your end of the bargain and bring the others back?"

"Very well. Everything is back to normal… now!" Sachiko said, snapping her fingers. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light, and then, everyone whom had participated in the race were now back in the auditorium.

Seiko looked around, a confused look on her face.

"Huh? Where am I?" she wondered out loud.

"SEIKO!" Naomi shouted, running up to Seiko and hugging her with all her might, tears running down her cheeks.

"What's wrong, Naomi?" Seiko asked.

"Don't 'what's wrong' me," Naomi replied. "You promised that you'd make it to the goal, and yet… I was about to lose Seiko because of me…"

Naomi let out a few sniffles, feeling tears come to her eyes once again. Seiko's face drooped as she realized what Naomi meant.

"Oh… so I died again, huh?" she said solemnly. "Sorry for making you worry, Naomi."

Finally, a smile appears on Naomi's face.

"You're back. That's all that matters," Naomi said happily. Packer walked up to the both of them, a broad smile on his face.

"That's just like you to make us worry, Seiko," he said teasingly. "Where are your manners?"

Seiko looked over at him with a pout.

"Hey!" she said, before noticing the grin on his face, causing her to break into a small giggle as well. "I'll have to get you back for that later, Packer-kun." Packer just shrugged.

"If you say so," he replied with a laugh.

Mitsuki, Fukuroi and Kurosaki were also reunited with their Byakudan classmates, as well as Shimada and Kizami, who still had no idea what was going, as it appeared they couldn't remember what had happened to them in the race.

An unconscious Morishige also came to, sitting next to the wall. Shaking his head to clear the cobwebs, he shakily stood up, glancing around in confusion.

"This is… the auditorium…" he mumbled. Just then, Mayu ran up to him, tears in her eyes.

"Shige-nii!" she shouted with joy.

"What's wrong, Mayu?" Morishige asked in confusion.

"Um… I'm just happy that Shige-nii is back, that's all," Mayu replied.

"Came back?" Morishige repeated, his confusion deepening. "What was I doing up until now? It was as if I was experiencing a bad dream or something."

"Y-Yeah, it was probably just a bad dream," Mayu agreed nervously.

'I wonder of Shige-nii would lose it again if he remembers what happened…' she thought to herself.

Yoshiki, who was lying face down on the ground, also regains consciousness. Bringing himself up to one knee, he takes in his surroundings.

"Huh? This is the auditorium," he muttered, confusion etched on his features.

"Yoshiki!" Satoshi shouted, running up to him. "Yoshiki, you're really alive?"

"Well… yeah, I'm alive," Yoshiki replied matter-of-factly. Packer walked over to him as well.

"How do you feel, Yoshiki?" the green-haired young man asked. Yoshiki held a hand to his head, a throbbing headache beginning to form.

"Like hammered shit," the blonde replied, inciting a chuckle out of both Satoshi and Packer. Ayumi walked over to him as well, a scowl on her face.

"Geez, even you caused us trouble, Kishinuma-kun!" she scolded. Yoshiki looked at his friends in confusion, before realization him like a bolt of lightning.

"Wait… does that mean…?" he inquired.

"Yeah… you didn't make it to the goal, Yoshiki," Packer answered. Yoshiki sighed in frustration.

"Damn it," he muttered to himself. "Figures. I have a chance to do some good for once, and I completely blow it. Shows what good I am…"

Ayumi's face softened as she noticed the dejected look on Yoshiki's face.

"Don't worry, Kishinuma-kun," she encouraged. "We'll find another way out of here."

Yoshiki glanced over at the bluenette, a small smile appearing on his face at her encouragement.

"Yeah, you're right, Shinozaki," he agreed. Just then, Azusa walked over, a small smile on her face as well.

"How thoughtless of you, making a girl worry like that," she said teasingly. Yoshiki glared over at her.

"Huh? Who are you calling thoughtless?" he inquired.

"You, of course," Azusa replied. "Your name will go to vain, Knight-kun." Packer arched his eyebrow at the last comment.

"I told you, I'm Kishinuma, and it has nothing to do with me being a knight and…" Yoshiki began, before stopping himself short, thinking about what he just said. "Wait, what? What is this memory…?"

"Oh, so you finally remember what happened between us?" Azusa asked.

"Don't put it in such a weird way!" Yoshiki shouted. "What do you mean 'between us'?"

"Knight-kun? Yoshiki, do you know this girl?" Packer asked.

"I… feel like I do, but my memories are all jumbled right now," Yoshiki replied. All the while, Ayumi had been observing the conversation between Yoshiki and Azusa.

"Between us? What does that mean?" she said to herself. "Come to think of it, is Kishinuma-kun acquaintances with that pretty girl?"

Azusa glanced over at Ayumi, who had been observing her.

"Do you want something from me, Shinozaki-san?" the blonde girl asked. Ayumi jolted out of her reverie.

"Eh? Oh, um… Nothing," Ayumi said hurriedly, before her face twisted in confusion.

'Huh? This girl knows my name? What is this? Does this mean Kishinuma-kun and I have met this girl before…?' she thought.

Sachiko claps her hands together to get everyone's attention.

"And so, Sachiko has returned everything back to normal," she declared.

"Yeah, now it's our turn to keep our promise," Satoshi said. "We'll follow your script and show you a romcom. You'd better burn it into your memory!"

"Yeah!" Sachiko replied. "Sachiko is really looking forward to the romcom! Show me all sorts of romcoms, okay?"

"You bet," Satoshi replied.

"I think you're being a little too enthusiastic, Satoshi," Naomi said.

"You think so?" Satoshi asked.

Packer walked up to Sachiko and kneeled down in front of her so that they were eye to eye.

"Aren't you forgetting something, little girl?" Packer inquired. Sachiko stared at the green-haired boy in confusion. "You never gave me my shot at the obstacle course, remember?"

"Oh… Right, I forgot," Sachiko replied with a giggle. "That reminds me… Are there any other challengers? If so, we'll end the race as it currently is."

"Well, I doubt there is anyone here that is brave enough to say they will in this situation," Aiko spoke up.

Everyone remained silent.

"Very well, then," Sachiko said, snapping her fingers. "All right, Packer-kun, time to see if you can survive my new and improved obstacle course. These are the challenges that lie before you. Take a look at the TV…"

Appearing on the television was the obstacles now set up specifically for Packer. The entire layout had been switched around. Now, the first obstacle had not one, but three bread monsters waiting for him. The second obstacle was the room with the boxes of clothes, now completely crisscrossed with sharpened piano wire. The third obstacle was the gap everyone had to cross on a thin plank, but now, the plank was nowhere to be found, and the gap had been lengthened significantly. The fourth and final obstacle was a series of trap doors opening and closing, and just past that, was the finish line, marked by two of the child spirits, Ryou and Yuki.

(Shadow Hearts FTNW's Great Ghost Dance begins playing in the background)

"You've got to be kidding me!" Seiko shouted. "This is insane! Nobody can survive an obstacle course like this!"

"But Packer-kun will," Sachiko retorted, before glancing at him with a knowing look. "Won't you?"

"Absolutely," Packer replied, turning to face the door leading out into the hallway that will take him through the obstacle course. Seiko's eyes widened in shock.

"But, Packer…!" Seiko shouted worriedly.

"Just trust me, Seiko," Packer replied. "I can do this."

"Just to clarify, you don't have to do any of the things the other competitors had to do in each of the rooms," Sachiko explained. "The only thing you have to do is survive and reach the goal. Nothing else matters."

"Understood," Packer acknowledged.

"Well, Packer-kun," Sachiko finished. "Good luck."

Packer nodded and turned back toward the door to the auditorium. He remained silent for a few moments, thinking about the challenge that was now lying in wait for him. Letting out a small sigh, he brought his hands together, as if in prayer. Suddenly, a light filled his palms before disappearing. Opening them, a sapphire badge with lighter blue stripes crisscrossing each other on the right side and an insignia of the Covenant on the left now rested in his hands.

"Time to show what I can do," Packer said softly to himself.

Muttering a small incantation, he attached the badge to his uniform. The Kisaragi group was staring at him with interest.

"What exactly is he doing?" Yoshiki asked.

"I have no idea," Ayumi replied.

After several moments, light began to encompass the badge, revealing the hidden power within. Everyone let out a surprised gasp at what they were seeing, and Seiko's eyes were wide as saucers. After several seconds, the light emanating from the badge suddenly exploded outward, encompassing Packer's body within its aura. From seemingly out of nowhere, new clothing began to appear on Packer's body. When the light finally faded, everyone present minus Sachiko let out another shocked gasp, and Seiko stared in admiration at what her eyes were gazing upon.

(Shadow Hearts FTNW's From the New World begins playing in the background)

Packer now wore a dark green heavy jacket, with the badge showing the Covenant logo attached on the upper right portion of his jacket, near the base of his neck. The jacket had green glass-like armor attached to both sides of the jacket, on either side of the zipper that ran up the middle of his jacket. He wore dark green gloves with the glass-like armor attached from the wrist to the back of his hands, and also donned the Covenant logo on the back. He also wore dark green pants with the same type of armor as the gloves attached to his thighs, with a gold belt around his waist, with a belt buckle that also donned the Covenant logo. He was also wearing shoulder pads that looked to be made out of pure emerald, connected to a cape that extended down to his waist. Four gold shield emblems were attached to the collar of his jacket, signifying his rank as an Elite Knight of the Covenant. He also wore knee pads and shin-high boots that also looked like they were made out of emerald. His trusty long sword, Shiden, was strapped to his back.

"So, he's the one whose elements are all in balance," Azusa remarked. "He's a Knight of the Covenant!"

"Knight of the Covenant?" Seiko repeated, the words sounding very familiar to her. "Why do I get the feeling I've heard that before? Maybe from the last time we were here?"

"It's possible," Naomi replied. "I'm getting a feeling a déjà vu from this as well."

"But what exactly are the Knights of the Covenant?" Yoshiki asked.

"They are humans with supernatural powers, each using powers representing one of the eight elements that make up the universe: Fire, Ice, Earth, Wind, Lightning, Water, Darkness, and Light," Azusa explained. "Each of the Knights typically only have one element they can control, but from what I've been feeling, this Knight can utilize all eight of the elements. In essence, it makes him the most powerful Knight I've ever heard of. And each of the Knights uses these powers in the name of all that is good."

"Incredible," Seiko admired.

Packer cracked his neck, and prepared to summon his powers for the first time. Suddenly, he became bathed in a bright white light, and he growled as the energy within him built up. Shooting his eyes forward, he shouted the name of his intended spell.

"SHINING SPRINT!"

Utilizing the energy within him, Packer suddenly exploded into a superfast sprint, shooting out the door and down the hallway at breakneck speed, leaving a spectral trail behind him. As everyone continued to gape at the sight, Sachiko turned her attention back to the TV.

"Gather around, everyone! We can watch him on the television," Sachiko said.

Everyone crowded around the small screen, wondering if Packer could somehow make it past the obstacle course.

Within a matter of moments, Packer had already reached the room to the first obstacle. Sensing the attack coming, Packer quickly unsheathed Shiden just as he entered the room. Letting out a roar, the three bread monsters jumped at Packer, but the emerald-clad warrior was ready for them. Quickly powering up a spell, his sword suddenly blazed with fire.

"FIRESLASH!"

With lightning quick reflexes, he slashed the monsters with the fire-covered blade, taking all three out in one fell swoop. Not stopping his momentum, he flashed out of the room and down the hall.

The next room was crisscrossed with sharpened strands of piano wire. With his sword at the ready and still blazing with fire, Packer leaped into a somersault while holding the blade out in front of him, performing a flaming somersault slash, easily slicing through the piano wire in his path. And because he was still in Shining Sprint, he covered the length of the room in no time at all. Landing on his feet near the door, he shot out of it and exploded down the hall once again, never once losing his momentum.

He had some ground to cover before reaching the next obstacle, the massive gap in the floor. As he raced along, papers were being blown all over the place as he raced by. As he neared the gap, he put his head down and tried to squeeze every ounce of speed he could out of his Shining Sprint. Right before he reached the edge, he leaped into the air, the momentum from his sprint carrying him safely over the gap and to the other side. He sped down the hallway and down the stairs toward his final obstacle.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs, Packer could see the finish line in front of him, but in order to reach it, he had to cross the trap doors that were littered throughout the hallway leading up to the finish line. Increasing his momentum, he sped over the trap doors as they opened up, barely reaching solid ground with each step he took. As he neared the finish, he leaped into the air once more, and with the momentum he had built up, managed to jump over the rest of the trap doors and landed safely past the finish line, kicking up a large cloud of dust around him. When the smoke finally cleared, Packer stood triumphantly in the winner's circle, having successfully completed the obstacle course.

"He did it!" Seiko shouted as the rest of the Kisaragi group erupted into cheers.

"I figured as much," Sachiko said, although she was not really disappointed that Packer had completed her challenge. She grabbed the microphone and spoke into it. "Congratulations, Packer-kun, on completing my special obstacle course."

"Thank you, Sachiko," Packer replied.

"Return to the auditorium and you can receive your prize," Sachiko said.

"I'll be there soon," Packer answered, sheathing his sword and beginning his walk back toward the auditorium.

---

As Packer returned to the auditorium, he noticed that Inumaru had returned as well. Sachiko was now sitting on the podium on top of the stage.

"Congratulations, Inumaru and Packer-kun," Sachiko said. "As promised, I'll send the both of you back to your world. Inumaru, since you finished first, I'll give you the first choice. Packer-kun, could you wait for one moment, please?"

"Very well," Packer replied, unsheathing Shiden and jamming the blade into the floor. Crossing his arms, he leaned against the sword and waited patiently. Sachiko nodded and turned her attention back to Inumaru.

"All right, Inumaru," she said. "Who would you like to take with you?"

"Gee, I wonder…" Yoshiki muttered.

"Of course, I'll be returning with my Sayaka!" Inumaru proudly boasted. "Come on, let's go, Sayaka!"

"No way!" Sayaka shouted, causing Inumaru to grunt in confusion. "I had no intention of going back with you to begin with!"

"Eh?!" Inumaru gasped loudly, not believing what he was hearing.

"There's no point in going back without Naho-tan, anyway!" Sayaka continued. Her comment struck a nerve with Packer.

'Hm, she has a point,' he thought. 'I could go back with Seiko, but that would leave the rest trapped here, and I have to get the Nine out alive. But… maybe if I use my victory as leverage, I could offer Sachiko something so that I could get EVERYBODY out of here, and not just the ones from my group…'

"Wait, what are you saying, Sayaka?" Inumaru inquired. "I thought you wanted to go back home! You didn't want to wait until tomorrow, right?"

Sayaka let out a frustrated sigh.

"You don't understand," she said. "It's none of your business! It's not happening! I can't take it!"

"What?!" Inumaru shouted.

All this time, Sachiko was laughing with glee as she watched the two of them argue.

"Didn't I tell you, Sachiko-Chan?" Aiko asked.

"Yeah! I'm so happy right now!" Sachiko shouted with glee. "And on that note, looks like you'll be going home by yourself, Inumaru Onii-Chan. Bye-bye!"

She snapped her fingers, and a portal opened up beneath Inumaru, pulling him down into it.

"What?!" Inumaru shouted as he disappeared into the shimmering portal. "W-Wait! Then I prefer to stay! AAAAAHHHHHHH!"

As the portal disappeared, Sayaka let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank God," she said. Naho shook her head in disbelief.

"Poor Inumaru," Naho muttered, causing Sayaka to throw a small glare her way.

"Just leave that guy," Sayaka said. "Or are you saying that you would rather I leave here without taking you with me?"

"I wouldn't say that," Naho said with a sigh.

'But I think it would've been better for Sayaka to leave this place, but if I say that to her, I'm sure she'd get mad at me…' she thought.

(Shadow Hearts FTNW's Moon Shine begins playing in the background)

"All right, then," Sachiko said, turning her attention to Packer. "Packer-kun, who would you like to take with you?"

Seiko glanced at Packer, knowing who he would want to take with him, but what came out of his mouth was a bit of a shock to her.

"Actually, Sachiko, there's a proposal I wish to talk to you about, one I think you'll find very interesting," Packer said. Sachiko scratched her chin for a moment before nodding her head.

"Okay, come on up to the stage and we can talk about it," she replied.

Packer gave her a nod, before turning and pulling Shiden out of the floor. Sheathing his diamond-edged blade, he turned and began walking toward the stage. All the while, everyone present watched him, still not believing what they had seen out of him, and they began wondering what other abilities he possessed.

Stopping at the stage, Packer glanced over at Seiko and gave her a wink before climbing up onto the stage. Seiko could feel herself blushing, but her signature cat-like smile began appearing on her face as well.

Packer walked up to Sachiko, who was still seated on the podium.

"So, what is it you wanted to talk about, Packer-kun?" Sachiko asked.

"Well, it would be easy for me to leave this place with Seiko, since I rightfully earned it," Packer explained. "But Sayaka brought up a good point. It's completely pointless for us to leave without taking the others with us as well, and on top of that, I also don't want the other students from all the other schools to suffer as well. So, I'm willing to give up the prize I just earned… for an opportunity to get everyone… and I mean EVERYONE… in this room, out of Heavenly Host alive."

Everyone let out a shocked and surprised gasp at Packer's words. Even Sachiko was surprised by Packer's answer.

"So, you are willing to risk your freedom and the freedom of the person you love for a chance to free everyone from this school?" Sachiko asked.

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting," Packer replied. "So, what do you say?"

After thinking it over for a few moments, a smile graced Sachiko's lips as she nodded in affirmation.

"Very well," Sachiko answered. "Then, we'll do this. You want to get everyone out alive, including your friends? Then you must complete seven different challenges chosen by me, and they could be literally anything I can think of, and with varying degrees of difficulty. Here's where it gets interesting, though. If you fail any one of the challenges, then everybody will remain in Heavenly Host for all eternity… and that includes the guests who are here temporarily."

Everyone gasped in horror at that.

"Everyone?" Tsukasa asked.

"Everyone," Sachiko replied. "Henceforth, these will be known as the SEVEN DEADLY CHALLENGES. But, if Packer-kun manages to complete all seven of my challenges, then everybody will be freed from Heavenly Host… forever."

For Packer, it was the ultimate all-or-nothing scenario: lose and be trapped for eternity, or win, and be free to return back to the real world.

"So, what do you say, Packer-kun?" Sachiko asked. "Do you accept my proposal?"

After thinking about it for several tense moments, Packer slowly looked up at her, a determined look on his face.

"Challenge accepted," Packer announced, eliciting a gasp from everyone in the room.

"It's a huge gamble he's taking," Aiko commented. "But based on what I've seen, I believe he can pull it off."

"Let's hope so, because it's all of our butts on the line here," Yoshiki retorted.

"The challenge has been accepted," Sachiko declared, shaking hands with Packer to seal the contract between them. "And since you were able to complete my enhanced obstacle course, we can consider that your first challenge. So, it's one down, six to go." She turned to the rest of the students. "It'll be a while before I can think up what challenges to lay out for Packer-kun, so until that time comes, let's get started with our first event of my Hysteric Birthday!"

"Very well," Packer agreed, before letting out a small sigh. "The gauntlet has been thrown. I just hope I know what I've gotten myself into…"

---

Author's Note: Epic re-writing FTW!