Chapter One:
"It was a rainy evening after school, just like this one. Running down the stairs, the kindly teacher lost her footing. She tumbled, and she fell…and she died.
You've probably heard about this story before – The tragedy that happened in the Heavenly Host Elementary School." The dark haired boy paused as he peered through the faint candle-lit room at his friends before continuing,
"The principal was completely devastated. You see, he cared for the school almost as if it were his own child. But after that incident, it was one thing after another. Many more tragedies occurred over and over again. Ultimately, a decision was reached; the school was to be shut down.
"The principal was so stricken with grief over losing his precious child that on the day of its closure, he climbed up to its roof and threw himself to his death. It was said that he just could not live on without his beloved child.
"People thought Heavenly Host was cursed.
"The souls that died in that place were said to be wandering, attached to the world due to having no closure. As an example, they say the teacher who fell down the stairs still has no idea that she was dead…even to this very day.
"On a rainy evening like this, after the school day has come to an end, some claim she roams the darkened hallways of the school built over the demolished Heavenly Host…still believing them to be her own.
"Just after seven o'clock, after a sudden blackout that leaves the entire building dark as night, you will hear the sound of footsteps, echoing the halls."
Clearing his throat, the dark-haired boy straightened his dark blazer and then fixed the others with a dead-serious expression, "And that very school was torn down, only to be rebuilt into a High school a few decades later."
"Let me guess, could that very high school be this one?" Drawled a male with dark brown hair an equally dark brown eyes. He was wearing the same uniform as the dark-haired male's.
"Actually, Kanji, it is."
The male named Kanji rose an eyebrow at this, "Okay then?"
The dark-haired male let out an aggravated growl as he rolled his eyes at the other, "Oh shut it. Like you have a better scary story."
"Well-"
"No one cares." He snapped as he now turned his attention on the other brunette and the three females that had joined them only minutes before.
The females weren't wearing the same uniform as the male's did, that was because they went to a different high school. They went to St. Cruz Girls' High School, while they males went to Minazuki Academy High School.
One of the girls who had sky-blue hair, glared at him as if he had done something wrong, "Ren! Don't be mean to Kanji!"
He visibly shrunk back a bit. Hell, he couldn't help it. Aya was scary when she was angry.
"Aya, calm down, they can't help it that their brains aren't as well-developed as us girls." Another girl, but this time with dark-hair teased lightly as she grinned at the males.
Nobody laughed. They were to busy scowling at each other and bickering.
"If only Kabuto were here, he would understand my jokes." She sighed as she shook her head in shame.
"Yuki, If Kabuto were here, then you would be all over him." A brunette-haired male with glasses pointed out.
The girl named Yuki nodded in acceptance of this fact, "Like you wouldn't fanboy over a character from Naruto, Hideyoshi."
Hideyoshi gave her a pointedly weird look, "I barely watch that show."
"Oh! Yuki just got burned!" The youngest of the three females chortled as she played with her caramel-colored hair.
"Suzume, shut up." Yuki growled as she glared at her younger sibling.
Rolling his eyes at his friends, Ren then proceeded to take a small paper doll out of his book-bag.
Kanji, having just sat there boredly, watched this in confusion, "What is that? Is that a doll?"
This grabbed the other's attention and they quieted down some as they tried to get a glimpse of what Ren was holding.
"Yes, it's a paper doll. Since we're leaving this year to go to college, I wanted us to perform a charm that would make sure that we would all always be together. The charm is called Sachiko After-Ever." He replied fondly as he examined the doll briefly with an analyzing gaze.
Suzume was the first to speak up, "A charm? What's a charm?"
"Ren, I swear, if this another one of your occult things-" Aya began.
"No, no!" He waved his hands frantically out in front of him, "It'll be okay, I promise! Nothing bad will happen! It's just a charm. And Suzume, a charm is like a spell of some sort."
Yuki considered this for a moment, "Well, it depends, what do we have to do?"
"All we need to do is hold on to a piece of this paper and gather around in circle, chanting 'Sachiko, we beg of you' in our heads, the number depends on how many people are participating in it. Then we just tear off a slip of paper and hold onto it forever," He explained in a cool voice with a small smile displaying on his pale features, "Easy peasy."
"Well, I guess it couldn't hurt." Kanji shrugged, as he got up and strolled over to where Ren was and firmly gripped his index and thumb onto a piece of paper.
Yuki and Hideyoshi took ahold of different parts of paper next. And then Suzume. This left Aya as the last one to take ahold of piece of paper.
"Okay. Now chant, 'Sachiko, we beg of you', six times." Ren instructed as he met with each of his friends' eyes.
They all nodded in comprehension.
As soon as they were all done chanting, they ripped off a piece of the doll and stuck the paper somewhere safe where they wouldn't lose it.
"See that wasn't so bad, now was it?" Ren asked teasingly, as he placed his piece of paper in his wallet.
"Wait, what happens if we lose the paper?" Hideyoshi asked curiously as he placed his own in his pocket.
Ren gave him a weird look, "I'm not sure. I would guess that the spell would cancel or you'd just not be connected to us anymore. Either way don't lose it or the Big, Bad, Aya will rip you to shreds." He joked with a smirk as he looked to Aya to see her reaction.
"Oh shu-" Aya was cut off as the tiled floor underneath of them began to shake violently, "What the fuck?"
Hideyoshi's eyes widened and he quickly made to hop up onto the teacher's desk, "Nope! Nope! So much nope!"
"It's just an earth-quake, calm down." Kanji rolled his eyes, laughing at Hideyoshi. Well, that was until glass began to fall off the walls.
Aya immediately shifted into higher authority mode, "Everyone! Get under the desks!" She yelled over the roar of the earthquake.
Before they could even begin to head over to the desks, a huge crack appeared in the floor and the floor began to dissolve into nothingness.
"Oh shit!" Ren yelled as he scrambled to move away from the falling floor, only to get accidentally shoved by Kanji towards the now gaping crack in the floor. "Shit, Shit, Shit!" He cursed as he went spiraling backwards and down into the crack. Just in time, however, he grabbed onto an edge of the flooring and dangled there for a few minutes before Yuki hurried over to help pull him back up. Unfortunately, with the floor shaking as violently as it was, she was unable to pull him up, instead, she accidentally stepped on his hands, making him let go of the flooring. Since Yuki was still holding onto him, they both tumbled down into the crack.
"Yuki! Ren!" Aya's voice was the last thing they heard before blacking-out.