Ayumi's eyes slowly opened as she forced herself to sit up. Her body felt sore, which she couldn't really figure out why. What had happened? An earthquake? This wasn't Kisaragi... She looked around frantically, panic beginning to grip her heart. Where were the others? Her eyes caught onto two other shapes that landed in the foreign classroom with her. "Ms. Yui! Kishinuma!" Ayumi yelled out, her breathing feeling uneven as the familiar edge of a panic attack settled into her lungs.
Yoshiki flinched at his name, being snapped out of his daze. Ayumi? What had happened...? He turned on his side, feeling a bit sore, but was mostly concerned about the voice he had heard. His eyes scanned the dark room, landing on a figure he assumed to be Ayumi. With a grunt, he pushed himself up to sit, rubbing the sore spot on the back of his head. "Shinozaki... You okay?" he asked the darkness, her well being his first concern. The other figure, Ms. Yui, was already standing. She approached her two students, glad that they both woke up okay, and didn't seem injured.
Ms. Yui, now that she was assured her two students were well, walked carefully through the strange classroom they had been dropped in, approaching the old doors and opening them. She leaned out to get a glance around, but it was mostly just pitch blackness. She sighed lightly, worried about the situation they had been stuck in. This place had an awful vibe, and it definitely wasn't Kisaragi Academy anymore...
Ayumi kept taking deep breaths, but that only fed her panic attacks. She knew she should be breathing through her nose to cut down on the oxygen getting down in her lungs, but the overabundance of oxygen just made her feel like she needed air. Her lungs were burning as her wheezing began. She heard Yoshiki, relieved to hear his voice, but she was still terrified for so many reasons. "S...sort of..." she got out between trembling breaths. Physically she didn't feel like the fall resulted in much damage, but mentally she felt herself spiraling.
Yoshiki kept his eyes on Ayumi, noting her heavy breaths. He moved a bit closer, enough to be able to place a hand on her back. It didn't make him nervous, since it was a pretty platonic gesture. "Calm down, Shinozaki... You're not alone," he reminded her. He knew the unfamiliar place was probably breaking her psychologically, but she had to keep her breaths in check. Plus, maybe solidifying the fact that he and Ms. Yui were here with her would help. At least... he hoped. He had no other cards in his hand to help bring her down from her panic attack. It wasn't like he was her boyfriend or anything close to it... He was stuck with saying and doing things as a friend, which could only go so far.
Ayumi could only find so much relief in the two's presence, as the location of all the others still hung in the air. "B...but where are the others? And... where are we!?" she panicked as the question weighed too much on her fragile mind. This wasn't right... They had been having fun until that earthquake hit. The last thing they had done was make that friendship pact. Ugh, what if one of them were hurt? This place looked dangerous, at least what she could see through the darkness looked dangerous. She felt sick as the fear for her friends and everyone else overwhelmed her. Her breathing could hardly begin to find a steady rhythm. She needed a paper bag to breath into or something. She felt so nauseated and faint from the pressure building in her head.
Yoshiki fell silent, but didn't move his hand... It was true, that they didn't know where the others were, or even what this place was... But being panicked wouldn't help the situation. "I... don't know, but we'll figure this out," he assured her, having nothing else in mind. It was then that Ms. Yui stepped closer, a hand on her waist.
"That's right, Ayumi. And we'll find everybody else, safe and sound!" she encouraged, putting on her best smile. Her students had to make it out okay! It was her duty as a teacher, in her eyes, to make sure her students were safe.
There were tears welling in the corner of Ayumi's eyes as she tried to gain the same control Ms. Yui and Yoshiki were showing. "R...right," she whimpered quietly. The panic attack was strangling her lungs, but it would pass... She had to get control of herself so they could begin to search for the others. 'We'll figure this out. Everyone is going to be fine,' she assured herself, a blaze of determination starting in her chest.
A flash of lightning illuminated the rotting halls of Heavenly Host Elementary. It exposed the broken school in an instant, showing decaying flesh and bleach bones. The thunder that followed the flash sent a chill down Ayumi's back. "I guess we should head for the basement next..." she voiced aloud, her tone clearly showing hesitation with the suggestion. Basements were bad enough in a non-haunted school... but Heavenly Host's basement just spelled out bad luck. They didn't have much of a choice, though. They had to collect those tongues to appease the three spirits.
Yoshiki was uneasy at her suggestion, but... it did sound like a pretty suspect place. He couldn't argue with the fact that what they were looking for was probably down there. "I guess so...," he muttered, his tone similar to her's, but they had to at some point. After all, it sounded like a pretty important place. "But... how do we get there?" he asked, mostly to put the thought in her head as well as his. He didn't think she would have an answer, but it was better for that to be on two minds rather than just one, admittedly, dull one.
Ayumi's arms crossed under her chest as her brows furrowed at his question. How should they get to the basement? The stair wells don't seem to lead them to it... Did the school even have a basement? It must. "Uh... I don't really have any idea..." she admitted with a grimace. "I guess we'll have to find a way... Maybe a trash chute or something..." she mumbled thoughtfully. The last thing she wanted to do was try a trash chute, but she didn't have the luxury of being picky here. Whatever way they found to get downstairs would have to be grasped. It seemed like they would be searching a bit for a way down...
Yoshiki went silent for a small moment, considering their options. It seemed... the best thing they could do is roam around a little more to see if they missed something. "Then I guess... finding a way to go down is our next step," he said with a tired sigh, continuing down the hall. It was best to check the places they were unfamiliar with, he guessed...
Ayumi nodded weakly in agreement, not looking forward to their wandering. Even if they had searched an area, the school had a mind of its own and could shift anything around on them. They'd have to be thorough and persistent if they wanted to ever get home. The searching wore down on her. Her legs felt sore, her stomach empty, and her eyes heavy. When they were finally able to find new ground, she began to perk up a bit. After examining the new classroom, they left through the other door and into more new terrain. Although, it was only a short bit of a hallway, but against the wall there was something completely new. "An... incinerator?" Ayumi questioned as she stared at it. Could this be what they were looking for?
Yoshiki looked at the machine with suspicion, knelling down to look inside. "Yeah, maybe... It looks like it goes pretty far back... Want to check it out?" he asked curiously, sitting back a small ways and looking up at her questioningly. Sure, he'd like to keep her out of danger, but... her being alone was probably worse than coming with him.
Ayumi moved to look into it as well. Instantly she felt her entire mind go: 'Nonononononono,' in a quick string of rejection of the idea. What if it was turned on? She didn't want to burn to death. Or what if they got caught in the tight space? She fidgeted a little, eyes narrowed into the dark unknown of the incinerator. "I don't have much of a choice..." she sighed, extremely weary of all of this. "Let's just move quickly... Hopefully this will lead us where we need to go," she said, something in her gut telling her this was the correct path.
Yoshiki nodded, understanding where her reluctance was coming from, but it probably was where they needed to go. He sighed nervously before moving into the contraption, feeling pretty fearful, but he'd stay calm in case Ayumi started to panic.
Ayumi hesitated for a moment before getting down to begin to travel through the incinerator. The close quarters were making her heart pick up to a wild degree. 'Don't turn on, don't turn on, please don't turn on,' Ayumi mentally pleaded with whatever may or may not have the power to control this thing. Burning to death wasn't something she wanted to experience at all.
Yoshiki felt like they had been travelling forever, until a voice broke the silence. He paused, trying to keep his breaths even after this exercising. "TURN BACK. TURN BACK." yelled a female voice. It was threatening, but... they had nowhere else to go, and they had already come so far. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves before continuing on. He hoped he didn't get them killed... but if they turned back, what were they supposed to do? The thoughts were running through his mind as he continued, giving small, tired grunts and pants. Though, in an instant, it felt like the ground disappeared beneath him. He fell into the darkness, and landed, but he was unsure about where he was... exactly.
He was still in darkness, and his mind was completely disoriented. He attempted to move, but there was something pinning him. That, and... he must have landed on his arm wrong... It hurt like hell, but finding Ayumi was his top priority. He shifted to push off what was trapping his leg before attempting to stand. He was a little dizzy, but other than that, he could walk fine. He grabbed his injured arm, flinching at the pressure, but it was better than doing nothing. He attempted to call out for Ayumi, but his voice was lost, and his sight was a little blurry. Ugh, if his head could just find its bearings, he probably wouldn't have such a hard time finding her... He wanted to have the relief of knowing she was okay!
The skin on Ayumi's knee was being rubbed raw from crawling through this place. Every ounce of her hated every moment in it, so when the voice came booming through at them, she was tempted to do as it said. 'No, we have nowhere else to go,' she scolded herself for being so willing to give in. Plus, Yoshiki seemed willing to keep going, so she couldn't back down either. The shuffling took its toll on her. Her breathing was heavy and small noises of complaint and exhaustion kept slipping out. When the ground disappeared under her, she let out a sharp cry before she hit the ground. She felt disoriented for a moment, shuffling to pull a candle out to get a better view of where she landed. When the match flicked to life, her eyes caught onto the sight of piles of corpses.
She had to light another match, the one before dropped in fright when she had been met with the many bodies. She couldn't adjust to the mindset of being cold towards the dead. The presence of them would always make her sick, no matter how many she found. After assuring her candle was lit, she looked around the room she landed in. It was filled with the dead, and the smell was atrocious. "Kishinuma!?" she called out, unable to find his figure in the darkness.
Yoshiki felt like he wasn't getting anywhere, stumbling over things and such. But then, his eyes caught onto a faint light, and a voice. It was Ayumi, for sure. He let out a sigh of relief, moving towards the light. Once he was close enough for the candle to be recognizable, Ayumi was visible too. He smiled slightly, his eyes moving from the flame to her face. Good... she was okay. "Shinozaki!" he responded finally, slowing down a bit. Though, with the new light and his eyes adjusting to it, he finally noticed what he had been tripping on and trapped under. Bodies... He felt a wave of sickness, but Ayumi was probably in a panic, so he'd keep his nerves in check. He had to be the strong one for her to lean on...
Ayumi relaxed a little when she saw and heard Yoshiki. For a moment there, she had been scared they may have lost each other in the incinerator. Her eyes quickly moved onto his arm, noticing the odd detail that he was holding it. "Are you okay?" she asked, eyes narrowing in concern that he may have injured his arm. That wasn't good... she didn't know what they could possibly do to fix it. If it was sprained or dislocated that was one thing... but if it was broken, there wasn't much that could be done beyond a makeshift sling.
Yoshiki smiled lightly at her, but it vanished to a more blank expression as she expressed concern for his arm. He glanced at his arm, moving his hand to see if there was any blood. No... Well, that at least meant he hadn't broken it badly enough for a bone to be sticking out. But that's all he could learn from looking at the outside. "I dunno... I don't think it's broken, so I should be okay... at least until we find a way out," he assured her, looking back at her with a small, unsure smile. "I just... landed on it weird... It's probably nothing, so don't worry over it," he insisted, letting his hands go into his pockets. His arm hurt in protest at the movement, but not in a way that made him think it may be broken. It was probably fine...
Ayumi gave him a strange look, tilting her head at him as she tried to measure his actual discomfort and the amount he was showing. She knew he always put up a strong front, though she never knew how genuine of a front it was. "You should probably still put it in a sling," Ayumi argued flatly. The scent of rotten flesh was heavy in the air, and she was finding it hard to stay in this room. "Ugh, let's get out of here first and then deal with this," she suddenly cut off before he could input anything else. She needed out of this room... it had more corpses in it than a typical Heavenly Host area, which was saying something.
Yoshiki was about to respond when she insisted they leave. He silently agreed with a nod, leading the way to some faint light he assumed to be a door way. Once they were out, he breathed a sigh of relief. It was musty, but at least it wasn't so thick with blood and death. Still, though... this place was darker than normal, and somehow had a more ominous feel to it. Yeah... he could bet they were in the basement... He was both thankful that they found it, but fearful because this felt like a place they really shouldn't be. He turned to Ayumi, guessing he'd pick up where they left off. If he didn't, she would... "Exactly... where would we get a sling down here?" he asked her curiously, not really speaking against her, but genuinely lost on how they'd manage that without an Infirmary to go to.
Ayumi took a heavy breath when they got out of the room. Even if her lungs still felt heavy, the air of thick musk was better than rotting flesh. She looked at Yoshiki as he picked up the conversation. She raised an eyebrow at him, figuring he never paid attention in health class and what to do in emergencies. "We'll use your jacket," she told him simply, as if the answer was obvious. "Or do you need all three layers?" she teased lightly with a soft smirk. In this instance, it paid off that he wore more than one, honestly. She probably wouldn't have insisted on anything if it meant he'd be taking off his only top layer.
Yoshiki felt a little silly at her answer. Oh yeah, he sort of... forgot about utilizing stuff like that. He then gave her a flat look, taking his hand out of his pocket to move his jacket off. "You seem to think I do," he noted, reminded of the time she refused his jacket, claiming he needed it instead. He had been too embarrassed by her shooting him down to argue with the idea that she only had one layer and was wearing a skirt. He would have... if his offer had been totally platonic. He finished pulling his jacket off his other arm, looking at her questioningly. But he doubted he needed to ask... After all, she probably already knew how hopeless he was with stuff like this.
Ayumi paused for a moment, unsure of what that statement meant. Then she remembered him offering her his jacket. Ehehe...he... whoops, she had completely forgotten about that. She probably would have kept the jibe to herself if she had remembered. It would've been just too weird to have been wearing his jacket. It was an action that only fit couples... She had no good reply, so she settled to just taking his jacket from him. She was testing her memory, but after a couple minutes of messing around with it, she was pretty sure she got it down. "Kneel down a bit, I need to tie this around you," she directed him. She was too short to be able to easily reach around his head and tie this all together.
Yoshiki took her silence as a small win on the teasing scale, even though he was probably more embarrassed by the actual event than Ayumi was just remembering it. When she finally spoke up after seemingly figuring out the whole sling thing, he did as ordered, moving down a little. It reminded him how much taller he was than her... Or, maybe more like how shorter she was? It may be a quality she loathed, but he found it quite cute...
Ayumi stepped closer as he lowered himself. First, she put the cupping part of the sling under his injured arm, and then moved the sleeves behind his neck. The entire thing was putting her uncomfortably close to him as she tied the sling behind him, blind. She could feel the warmth ebbing off of him. She tried to ignore the detail, because it wasn't important, and it was just making it harder to tie the damn knot. After tying the sling and double-knotting for security, she took a step back. "How does it feel?" she asked, unsure that the location she tied was the best spot to hold his arm up.
Yoshiki felt a familiar embarrassment drift over him as she moved closer. His heart was beating uncomfortable in his chest... Ugh, he hated this sometimes... He just hoped she never noticed. He flinched as his arm was moved, but after the small moment of discomfort, it felt better. When she finished, he straightened, glancing at her work, then moved his eyes back on her. "Good... Thanks, Shinozaki," he said with a small smile.
"You're welcome," Ayumi replied as she returned the smile lightly. After the moment, her eyes flickered back to a focused gaze. "Now I guess we have to search down here..." she mumbled. She pulled the doll out that had failed to appease the ghost children, resulting in Mayu's death. The unsettling toy had remained quiet, but it was supposed to key them into where the tongues were. There were definitely less doors to examine, but she had no idea where the hallways would lead them.
Yoshiki nodded, his expression also turning more determined, now that they were on the track to finding those tongues again. He turned to look down the hall, but he didn't know where they should start. "Which... way should we go?" he wondered aloud, since the way they had come in left two directions to go. Same hallway, but neither way was a place they had been before... Ugh, he hated being lost in this place.
Ayumi looked into both unending stretches of darkness. They were equally not tempting, but she knew they wouldn't get anything done just standing around. "Let's just go this way," Ayumi decided on the fly, choosing to go right. The hallway stretched for a while, until they came to a fork. 'Great, another choice,' Ayumi frowned. At this rate, it was going to take forever to find these tongues. She looked at the doll for a moment, almost expecting the creepy voice to come chiming out with directions, but it remained eerily silent. She sighed lightly before just choosing to head down. The hallway seemed to stretch endlessly, but finally there was a door visible in the basement walls. She froze for a second, something in her gut telling her to not go through it.
Yoshiki followed her quietly, letting her lead the way, since she held the candle. He paused at the door at her side, his brows furrowing as he felt a powerful uneasiness. He gulped quietly, trying to shake away the nervousness. "You... have a bad feeling too?" he asked Ayumi curiously, eyes glancing to the side at her, "The doll isn't reacting... Should we... skip it?" True, he sounded like more of a coward than he liked to let on normally, but it was more in concern for Ayumi's safety. Sure, he would try everything to protect her, but that didn't mean he was willing to put her in danger's way in the first place if it wasn't necessary.
Ayumi looked at Yoshiki, torn between taking the out and rejecting it. They both felt bad vibes coming from the room, and if Yoshiki was getting a bad enough feeling to be willing to skip it, there must be something wrong. "I think... we'll be setting ourselves back," Ayumi mumbled, eyes averted to the side. "We should at least take a quick look," she finally decided as her hand reached for the doorknob. She couldn't let herself think the decision out... She swallowed thickly before pushing the door open. Her mind froze as red filled her vision. Blood streaked on the ceilings, wall, floor... Parts of humans littered the room that seemed to be set aside for torture. There were buckets filled with syrupy blood. The pungent smell of death was unyielding. A sharp gasp escaped Ayumi as her reaction was to instantly back out of the room.
'DIG DIG DIG.
WHAT YOU SEEK IS BURIED
UNDER FLESH AND BLOOD'
The doll's high-pitched voice rang out. Ayumi's hand clutched it in a vice, and bile rose in her throat at the instructions. A wail escaped her as fresh tears began to spill in disgust and fear. This room was worse than all of Heavenly Host so far with its blood covered walls. "Nonononono," she began to mutter, dropping the doll and candle as her hands clutched her head.
Yoshiki was anxious at her answer, but he didn't argue with her. He followed her, tense as she began to open the door. The smell, and sight, of the room that was revealed after it was opened rivaled even the one they had just been in earlier. He fought the reaction to gag and turn away from the room. He glanced at the doll, his expression darkening at its words. That's-... How revolting... He looked worriedly at Ayumi as she seemed to break down, his brows furrowing. He definitely didn't want her to have to do this... but he didn't want to do it either, dammit!... But, he couldn't give in... they needed that tongue. He took in a deep, shaky breath, pressing his palm against his forehead as he tried to convince himself to do this. "... Sh-Shinozaki... You should go back in the hall, to calm down..," he told her as calmly as he could manage, letting his hand slip down back to his side. He wasn't saying outright that he was going to take on this gruesome task... He didn't want to. But he hoped she caught on to the deeper meaning of why he was suggesting she leave.
Ayumi's breathing was coming out in raspy gasps, the room smothering her. Heavenly Host as a whole was able to wear away at her mind, but being in this room with all its evil vibes was eating away the edges of her mind. She was pretty sure she was going to vomit... Putting her hands in what used to be people? No, no, no. She couldn't do it. Her thoughts derailed at Yoshiki's voice. She looked at him, brow furrowing as her rational side grasped the unsaid words. Was it right to leave him to this task? It wasn't, but she also couldn't stay in this death-soaked room. "O...okay..." she replied in a small voice. She felt ashamed of herself, leaving the disturbing goal set by the doll to Yoshiki. She couldn't begin to muster the stomach to dig through human remains, though. With only a brief second of hesitation, she slipped out of the room and retreated to the darkness of the hallway.
The nauseated feeling sloshing around in her stomach and throat didn't feel much better. She was almost sure the smell of death was clinging to her. "I'm sorry Kishinuma," she mumbled quietly to the empty hallway as her heart beat painfully that he was being forced to slosh through the many piles of death. She could have helped... cut the time down... taken some of the responsibility off his shoulder... but she couldn't get herself to go back into the room. The saliva in her mouth came heavily as she felt the possibility of vomit increase. Her body broke into a heat flash, sweat dripping down her face. 'W...what's wrong with me?' she questioned as she pressed a hand against her forehead. Her vision turned fuzzy, the sharp shapes of the hallway becoming an unidentifiable blur. She opened her mouth to call for Yoshiki in alarm, something feeling overwhelmingly wrong with her. She had no voice to call for him, though. Instead, her vision depleted into darkness, and her body fell to the ground.
