Chapter 2 is already out! W00T!
To avoid confusion, this is chapter 2, but because the first one was a prologue, I called this one Act 1, because this is where the story really starts.
Also, be warned, because it might get a little disturbing near the end of this chapter. That's why I added horror to the story's genres. But there's also some funny stuff, and it should lighten up in the next chapter.
Anyway, that's all I had to say, so enjoy!
Act 1 : The Bet
Funny how the bulk of the stories start off by saying something like "it was a beautiful and warm day, the sun was shining, the birds were singing and there was no cloud to be seen in the sky".
Not this one though! Because the weather wasn't all that great. It wasn't bad; temperatures were okay, there were many clouds, but it wasn't raining, and there was a nice breeze. In short, the weather was adequate. Not great, just okay.
Anyway, after searching the streets of Tokyo, we come across two of our "heroines". They were two girls. One of them was slightly taller than the average Japanese woman, with long, brown hair, mildly chubby and a pair of rather big glasses resting on her nosebridge. She was, on first sight, the nerd, the brainiac, the bookworm of the duo, but she would kick the crap outta you if agitated. So in a way, she was alot more badass than most people expected. She was none other than Koyomi Mizuhara. But the other was her polar opposite; quite a short girl, with medium hair length, bordering somewhere between black and dark brown, and with an impossible haircut; several thick strands of hair sticking out like spikes at the end, resting right below her neck. If Tokyo were a village, she would be the village idiot. She was the unlimited source of energy, and the whino of the duo, Tomo Takino, self dubbed as "The Wildcat".
The sailor uniforms betrayed the fact that both teenagers were on their way to school. Tomo swung her briefcase back and forth excited while constantly bumping into her taller friend, much to her annoyance.
"Dammit Tomo, knock it off!" Yomi yelled. "Why can't you just be calm in the morning, if just for once!"
"Hahahaha," Tomo laughed out loud before bumping into her again. "Why? What's wrong? Been cramming the whole night again?"
"Yes," Yomi grunted. "But that's just because I have to catch up to compensate for that week I was sick, remember?"
"Yeah yeah, I remember," Tomo smiled as she brought her hand to the back of her head. "That's too bad, cause I slept like a rose last night! This morning, I had a huge breakfast, and I feel great! I feel like I could take on Japan, nay, the whole world! Whoooo!"
"Really...good for you," Yomi said while yawning. She really hated it when Tomo was this hyperactive; you'd figure she'd get used to it after a while, but no.
"Oh, that's right! We've got gym class today! 100 meter dash, right? Oh man, what luck! I'm ready for it today, no way I'll lose to you! I might even beat Sakaki, no, I WILL!"
Yomi just wished she could put a cork in Tomo's mouth or something. Constantly yapping and yapping without ever stopping. Besides, she didn't even come close to beating her last time, and the time before, and before. What made her think she might even beat Sakaki, who was the fastest of the whole school. Yomi just responded with a "yeah, yeah" and brushed it off her. Suddenly, Tomo stuck her arm out and Yomi bumped into it.
"Hey, now what?"
"What's that?"
Yomi looked at where Tomo was pointing at. By the side of the road, in the gutter was a green cilindrical object. Something was written on it with green and red letters. Tomo crept up to the edge of the sidewalk, crouched down and picked it up. It was a can, kind of resembling a Sprite can. Tomo stood up and read the name out loud.
"Scum Soda? Eeew!" was her reaction.
"Are you serious?" Yomi laughed, and looked over her shoulder. "Wow, you are serious... Scum Soda. Who in God's name would call their soda that? It sounds totally disgusting!"
"Yeah," Tomo said. "But then again, who would call their drink Pocari Sweat?"
"Touché..."
Tomo laughed and gave Yomi a high five, and then turned back to the can. "But this is interesting... I've never heard of Scum Soda before, and I know alot about sodas."
"Really?" Yomi asked surprised.
"Yeah, sure! Have you tried that new Jelly drink?"
"Jelly drink?"
"Yeah, it's pretty much a can of jelly, with the little chunks in it and such."
"That's disgusting, Tomo."
"Really? It's become my favorite."
Tomo kept staring at the strange soda can, kind of curious, but also a bit revolted. "You think this fell off a truck or something? I dunno but, maybe we should try it."
"Tomo, do you really plan to drink something called SCUM Soda?" she said, and accentuated the Scum part so Tomo would surely get it. "I'm sure as hell not, and to be frank, neither should you."
Tomo frowned and sighed. "Okay, you got me, I don't. But, maybe it's just the name! Maybe it's a Halloween drink or something."
"It's summer!" Yomi exclaimed. "Just throw the damn thing away, will you? I don't trust it at all."
"Fine, I will."
Tomo walked up to the nearest dumpster and opened it up. She was holding the can above it and was about drop it, but before she did, she got an idea. A diabolical idea! A mean grin formed on her face and she pulled her hand away.
"Hang on a second. I got it!" she chuckled.
"Got what? Just get rid of it already!"
Tomo continued to chuckle and held the can firmly in her hand. "I won't. I changed my mind and I'm keeping it."
"Tomo, c'mon..." Yomi tried to reason with her. "You don't seriously want to drink it, do you?"
Tomo shook her head. "Nope, not at all. But how about a little wager?"
Yomi cornered her eyes and sighed. "Forget about it."
"No no, let me finish. Today, at gym, I will challenge you to the 100 meter dash. The person who loses the race..."
Tomo built in a long pause. Useless, because Yomi already knew what was coming. Yet for some reason, she tensely waited for the rest. Tomo squinted her eyes and grinned, and held the can up and shook it side to side.
"...has to drink this!"
Yomi facepalmed. "You're an idiot, Tomo."
"Huh? How so?"
"Because you've never won from me before. There's no way I'll lose to you now either."
"So you accept then?" Tomo said slyly.
Yomi choked on her words, and then huffed. "Fine, have it your way then. But if that's how is gonna be, let's make it a bit more interesting! The person who loses has to drink the whole thing, so not just a bit, but the whole can! But you'd better not complain when it's nasty and you get sick afterwards!"
"That's more like it!" Tomo cheered. "You're on!"
"Good, now let's get going already. We're gonna be late."
Tomo placed the mysterious can in her briefcase and they both continued their journey to school. On their way, Yomi wondered if maybe she pushed it too far. She was confident that she would win the bet, so it wasn't that. But what if something were to happen to Tomo if she'd drink that? She could end up in the hospital, or even worse. But maybe Tomo was right, maybe it was just an intentionally silly name. It was still a soda after all. Maybe it was foreign or something.
After a few hours of regular schooltime, the hour of reckoning dawned upon the two girls. It was time for gym class. Who had to drink the soda with the nasty name? It would be decided in just a few minutes. At the sidelines stood a bunch of their friends. The quiet and shy, yet incredibly athletic (and well endowed) girl who was mentioned before, Sakaki. Runner up in both the athletism and boob department, but not exactly the brightest of the bunch, and we're not talking about her tan, Kagura. The one who forms the notorious Knucklehead gang with both the latter girl and Tomo, the slow and dimwitted, yet surprisingly sharp at times, Ayumu Kasuga, better known as "Osaka". And last but not least, the youngest of the bunch, the genius midget with the supernatural pigtails, and the girl who seemed most out of place, Chiyo Mihama. The rest really wasn't that important. Yomi and Tomo, well, mostly Tomo, already showed them the odd soda can and told them about the details. Everyone seemed to agree that this wasn't exactly their best idea, judging from the name of the soda, but Yomi told them to...just let it go. As both Tomo and Yomi were getting ready for the moment of truth, the others were discussing the outcome of the race.
"So, whaddaya guys think?" Kagura asked, "besides that this is the dumbest idea ever?"
"Well, Idaknow, but Yomi-san looks awful tired, and Tomo-chan seems ta be on top o' the world," said Osaka. "Maybe Tomo-chan could win this."
"But Yomi-san has never lost to Tomo-chan before. She's a pretty fast runner, after all," young Chiyo argued.
"Yeah, my money's on Yomi-san all the way. To be brutally honest, I'd never bet on Tomo, for anything," said Kagura. "What do you think, Sakaki-san?" she asked as she turned to her.
Sakaki just hummed and nodded in agreement.
Kagura crossed her arms and smiled. "As I thought."
Finally, Minamo "Nyamo" Kurosawa made it to the scene. She was one of the school's few gym teachers, and a pretty damn fine one at that, as most male students would agree *wink wink*. She walked towards the race track, armed with her trademark clipboard and whistle.
"Okay, by request of both of you, the first race will be Yomi-san versus Tomo-chan. I don't know what this is about, but I'm fine with that. So both contestants, get ready."
Yomi and Tomo were holding a good old fasion staredown before the match. Both were throwing death glares at eachother and taunting one another.
"Hope you'll be enjoying your Scum Soda soon, Tomo," Yomi grinned maniacally.
"Be sure to hold your nose as you chug it all down, Ko-yo-mi-kun," the other chanted.
"Ahem," Nyamo coughed. "Get ready please!"
Both Tomo and Yomi took place in the starting blocks, right next to eachother and looked at eachother one more time.
"Alright! Get set! Three, two, one!"
Nyamo blew her whistle and signalled the start of the race. With this, both Yomi and Tomo launched forward, and much to everyone's surprise...
"Whoa, Tomo's takin' the lead!" Osaka gasped.
"Yeah, her acceleration is really good, I'll give her that," said Kagura. "But..."
Tomo could already smell victory. Yomi wasn't even in her field of vision, so she wasn't even close, she figured.
"Hahahaha! Alright, I got this," she said between panting.
"What are you talking about?"
Much to her shock, Yomi had already caught up with her and was running right beside her.
"Wh...WHA?" Tomo exclaimed.
Tomo ran with everything she had, but she couldn't prevent Yomi from passing her by quickly. Before she even knew it, she had crossed the finish line.
"NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooo! This can't be happening!"
"Ouch, poor Tomo-chan," Osaka uttered. "She really tried her best, didn't she?"
"Yeah, she ran gracefully, but she was just no match for Yomi-san in the end. But, then again, she was the one who proposed the whole bet, so..." Kagura reasoned.
"I guess she will be the one drinking that weird soda," Chiyo said.
As Tomo layed collapsed behind the finish line, gasping for air, Yomi was looking at her victoriously. Yet, she was a bit worried about what was going to happen now. Maybe she should just blow the whole thing off. Meanwhile, Tomo was approached by Nyamo, who was holding a stopwatch in her hand.
"My my my, great job, Tomo!" she smiled.
"Great job? Whaddaya mean? I lost," Tomo panted.
"Yes, but you completely pulverised your old record by nearly 2 seconds! That's quite an improvement, so you should be proud of yourself!"
Tomo layed her head down on the ground again and sighed long and hard. "Awesome," she muttered sarcastically.
As Nyamo announced the next race, Tomo slowly got up and walked towards the dressing room, where her briefcase was. Yomi saw her walking away and caught up with her.
"H-hey, Tomo, wait... Maybe we should just...forget about it, ya know..."
Tomo turned her head at her and Yomi blushed awkwardly.
"W-well, y-you see," she stammered. "I don't trust that stuff, and I don't want you drinking it. What if something happens to you?"
Tomo laughed softly and shook her head. "I see. But, I made the bet, and I lost it. Tough luck, but I gotta do it. Besides... I'm really desperate for a drink!" she wailed while looking at Yomi with big eyes.
Yomi looked down at the ground as Tomo walked away again, but she grabbed her by the arm before she could get away.
"Hey, ehm, how about this? At least spit it out if it tastes bad, okay?" she pleaded.
"Okay, fine."
Yomi accompanied Tomo to the dressing room, where they now sat on the bench together. Tomo had the can of Scum Soda in her hand.
"It's warm, damn..." she cursed.
Tomo opened the lid. A pssht sound was heard as the gas escaped the can. Carefully, Tomo brought her nose to the opening and she sniffed it.
"Doesn't smell too bad," she said optimistically.
Yomi watched her in tension as she slowly brought the can to her mouth. Tomo doubted for a second, and then took a sip. As soon as the liquid touched her tongue, her eyes went wide open. This made Yomi totally worried, and she quickly asked how it was.
Tomo swallowed and looked at the can again. "It's...good...! It's actually really good!" she said excited.
"Seriously?" Yomi said amazed.
"Yeah!" Tomo took another big gulp and gasped in satisfaction. "It kinda tastes like Sprite, but richer and without that stinging sensation in your troath."
Yomi sighed in relief and calmed her heart down. She wanted to give it a try herself, but decided to let her have it all. It was part of the bet after all. But she had barely made the decision, when Tomo crushed the can in her hand.
"What? You finished it already?" she exclaimed.
"Yeah!" Tomo cheered. "It just went down so easily! Screw that jelly drink, this one's my new favorite!"
"I see... Well, let's just go back outside before Nyamo notices," said Yomi.
"Not too sore about winning the bet, are you?" Tomo teased her on their way out.
"Nah, I'm cool. At least I got to beat you."
A half an hour passed and gym class was now over. Everyone was waiting in the classroom for the next session. It was Yukari Tanizaki's class, their insane homeroom teacher. Undependable, and totally psycho, everyone agreed that Yukari could be more annoying than Tomo, and a lot more intimidating. Unfortunately, or fortunately, she wasn't there yet, again. Probably ventured out into the city to buy something, and was running late. How she didn't get herself fired yet was a mystery to many.
"So, that soda you found turned out to be pretty good?" Kagura said.
"Yeah, Tomo drank the whole thing in a few seconds, in fact," Yomi answered. "Right, Tomo?"
Tomo was laying with her head down on the desk, totally still and quiet, not taking part in the conversation. "Ehh, yeah," she croaked.
"Cool, so what was it called again? Scum Soda? I gotta check that out!" the tanned girl replied, her head resting on her crossed arms. "Say, Tomo-chan, you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah... urgh... I'm fine..."
She didn't sound fine, that was for sure. Her voice was weak and cracking, and the usually energetic Wildcat now looked like she had gotten smacked over the head by a hammer. And that little "urgh" in her sentence didn't predict much good. Yomi got up and ran to her desk. She didn't look good either. She was sweating all over, her face was pale, and her eyes, which were wide open, had turned bloodshot. Actually, they weren't really bloodshot. The white of her eyes was actually turning deep red.
"Tomo? Hey, Tomo! What's the matter?" she asked concerned.
"I'm okay," she gulped. "I just feel a bit nauseous. I think I drank too fast."
Yomi moved her hair up and placed her hand on her forehead. "Nonsense, you're burning up! You're seriously sick! Come on, let's go see the school nurse so they can send you home."
Tomo didn't protest and slowly pushed herself up, but as she tried to stand, she lost her balance and fell over. Luckily, Yomi could catch her just in time.
"Damn, don't faint on me here. If Yukari-sensei shows up, tell her what happened, okay?" she said to the others. They nodded, and Yomi supported Tomo and her way out.
"You know, I've reconsidered what I said about that soda..." Kagura said.
All the others nodded in agreement.
Yomi and Tomo stumbled through the school hallway, heading for the nurse's office.
"I told you we should've just left that soda alone," Yomi scolded her. "Look at you!"
Then Tomo uttered something nearly uncomprehensive. Yomi leaned in closer to hear what she was saying. "I need...bathroom... Gotta...throw up...," is what she understood.
"Oh no, no no no, don't do that here!" she panicked. "Hang on, there's one around the corner!"
Yomi could literally feel Tomo's heartbeat against her arm, and her whole body was shaking in a fever attack. She hurried to drag Tomo, weak as a dishrag, across the corridor. But Tomo couldn't hold it in anymore. Without another warning, she vomited on the floor.
"Ah shit!" Yomi cursed. She noticed that Tomo's breathing grew unnaturally heavy, and her eyes turned more red by the second. She looked absolutely miserable; the content of her stomach dripping from her pale and dry lips. She had a feeling that she was dying on her. "Somebody help!" Yomi yelled in pure panic.
Her call was heeded seconds later by an unknown male student who stormed out of his classroom.
"What's the matter?" he asked.
"G...get somebody to call an ambulance, quickly! This girl's very sick!" she rambled.
The boy obeyed and warned some of his classmates to call the hospital so they could send help.
"You, come with me," Yomi said to the boy. "We'll take her to the bathroom. Then, I'll go get the school nurse, and you keep an eye on her!"
The boy nodded and helped to support the sickly Tomo and carry her to the bathroom. Once there, they placed her into a toilet stall, where she continued to throw up.
"Her name's Tomo," Yomi explained in a rushed manner, "keep talking to her so she stays conscious. I'll be right back!"
Yomi ran out of the bathroom and to the school nurse as fast as she could. Adrenaline pumping through her blood, she ran and ran, cursing inside herself. "Damn Damn Damn!"
Meanwhile, the male student could hear Tomo hurling behind the stall door, gagging and emitting strange grunts. He did what Yomi told him to do; talk to her.
"Ehm, Tomo-san, are you okay? Don't worry, help is on the way. Your friend is hurrying to the nurse, and we've called for an ambulance. Tomo-san? Can you hear me?"
Tomo could hear him, a bit all too well. In fact, his talking hurt her ears. But she was completely out of breath, so she couldn't say anything back to him. She used what little strength she had left to lean on the toilet seat with her elbow, but her head was still hanging almost completely in the toilet bowl. And after another dose of vomit left her esophagus, she brought her shaking hand to her face to wipe off her mouth. She stopped moving. There was something on her face, right next to her nose. It was something stiff, yet thin, and bendable. Suspiciously, she bended it so she could see what it was.
"What the hell...?"
A hair? Yes, it was! There were whiskers growing on her face! What in the world was going on? Suddenly, she convulsed, and a sharp pain struck her all over her body. She grabbed the toilet seat so tightly that it shattered, and she saw parts of her arms and hands bulging and moving. Black fur like hairs started showing on her skin, and she could feel the teeth in her mouth growing with her tongue.
"Tomo-san? Tomo-san! What's happening in there?" the boy panicked at all this commotion. Suddenly, he could hear her screaming in there. Frightened at this unnatural sounding yelp, the boy stepped backwards until his back hit the sink. The whole room was shaking now, and the screaming turned into heavy growling. Then, everything in the room broke, and the boy screamed at the top of his lungs, for the very last time.
Yomi had made it to the nurse's office and did all the explanations to the woman. But when they were about to go back to the bathroom, there was this incredibly loud bang. The whole building vibrated and scared Yomi out of her wits.
"What was that?"
"An explosion?" the nurse guessed.
What followed was an eerie screech that sounded all across the school. After that, the building shook several more times, and more growls and hisses could be heard.
"And what was that?" Yomi asked rethorically. "Didn't sound like an explosion to me. My God, Tomo!"
Yomi once again ran back to the bathroom as fast as she could. But when she arrived there, she couldn't believe her eyes. The whole room was in ruins; completely destroyed. All the stalls were leveled, the sinks and toilets were broken, water spilled onto the floor richly and all the lights flickered eratically. Furthermore, there was now a gigantic hole leading outside where one of the stalls was before. The same stall as where they left Tomo. And what was more unsettling was that both Tomo and that boy were gone. Yomi stood there with eyes and mouth wide open for several seconds.
"What in the name of..."
She carefully walked towards the hole in the wall and part of the ceiling. Next to the demolished toilet bowl, she found the shredded sailor uniform that Tomo was wearing, as well as several stains of blood. She crouched down and picked up the remains of the uniform, only to drop it again right after. On the walls of the stall, now laying on the floor, there were more blood stains, and gigantic claw marks all over them.
Yomi didn't know what to think. She stared out of the hole at the city, that was well visible from there. Meanwhile, the nurse and several other people were in the destroyed bathroom too.
"W-we should call the police...," she said to them in a stuttering fashion.
Tomo...what the hell happened here?