Ritsu: Aaaaand next chapter! Remember first POV is Kizami! (Yes, you get Kizami this chapter. It's not a spoiler, it's a warning XD. And you get a lot of it next chapter as well.)
Sachiko: Hehehehehe…
Naho: Ritsu doesn't own Corpse Party…
Ritsu: I went back to get all the bad endings on BOS… I think my soul died. Kizami, you're a twisted asshole that deserves brutal torture, but I love you. WHY?
You had remained propped up against the wall for what seemed like hours. Your ankle had started to go numb which you figured wasn't a good sign, but it did ease the pain. You let out a sigh, staring at the ceiling, a tired look on your face.
"I was the one who told him to go, but now I really miss having the company… Dammit," you muttered in slight frustration, a sour look now set on your face. You couldn't get the bitter taste out of your mouth. As if your conflicted feelings weren't enough, your throat was dry and your stomach empty. While you weren't rich, you certainly had never gone without food for this long, which your body didn't like at all.
"If I just had my bag… I'm sure I left a snack or two in it…"
So you set a goal. You were going to find your bag. Without a goal, you were worried you'd lose yourself. You didn't know if you'd see Kizami again, but you sincerely hoped you'd get a chance to apologize. While you didn't believe that your fight was entirely your fault, someone would have to be the better person and apologize first. With a sigh you slowly raised yourself up to your feet, being careful not to put too much pressure on your wounded ankle.
"All this walking around is just making the injury worse… "
As you didn't want to head upstairs again in fear of meeting the ghost once more, you decided to head back to where you first woke up. Or you were going to try, anyway. If you got lucky then maybe you'd actually succeed in finding where you woke up to begin with.
"Alright… I know that I wasn't in the second building, so at least I've got that right… I ran through a corridor… and I met- …" you trailed off, letting out a sigh. iI wonder if he's still angry… I hope not… It's hard to apologize to people when they're mad…/i
You continued retracing your steps. Before you had gone running from whatever the giant had been you had just recovered from seeing one of your friends' corpses.
"I was… in here, I think… And then there was a stairway…" you paused, thinking back on your 'adventure' as some smartass would no doubt call it. You had seen another dead friend in the west stairway leading to the second floor.
"Then I was… I woke up on the third floor…? Maybe? Or did I..? I think there were bookshelves… but the school doesn't have a library, so it must've been a smaller room…"
You tried desperately to remember as much of the layout as possible. A vague image came to you and you realized that you definitely woke up on the third floor.
"Because Lia-Chan's corpse was in the hallway outside the ireference room/i!" you shouted, almost feeling victorious. You quickly covered your mouth when you realized you'd spoken out loud and glanced nervously around the halls.
"A-alright… Now how the hell do I get past that ghost..?" your tone lowered into a mutter, and you bit your lip. 'Kokoro' was a problem. She seemed to have it out for you, and you didn't even know why. Kishinuma had mentioned something about appeasing the child spirits to get out, you remembered. You couldn't help but wonder if that would work for you too.
"Then that means I need to find her journal… Okay, one was in the second wing, one on the second floor… a pattern, maybe? Then next would be either the… second bathroom stall or the second classroom? The second shoe locker? Or the second hallway… but there's a lot of hallways… It could be just about anywhere…" you deduced, a shred of confidence in your voice as you reasoned out loud. Riddles and puzzles were one of the things you felt that you were actually pretty good at. Reading people, you mused, was something you needed to work on.
"Okay, better start looking…"
~ Meanwhile… ~
I let out a dry chuckle. [Name] sure took her time. Of course, I hadn't planned on that ghost to get in the way. But then again neither had I planned for that damn guy to meet her either. I wasn't surprised, however. The school seemed to enjoy teasing and changing on a whim, just to please the murderous spirits.
Of course, if one of them actually tried to do anything to [Name] I'd have to step in… After all, her test isn't done yet. Besides, if some bratty kid thinks they got a right to kill her, I'll just have to prove them wrong.
Letting out another chuckle I pulled the zipper all the way down, rustling the bag in my arms with some interest.
"I suppose there's no harm in looking. You are taking quite a lot of time, after all…" I mumbled before sticking my hand inside of the bag.
"And behind door number one we have… A dream catcher? Don't you put these above your bed?" I shook my head, sighing at [Name]'s cluelessness.
Did she believe it was some sort of good luck charm, perhaps?
I proceeded to pull out another item.
"… Tsk, tsk… [Name]-Chan, you can't bring snacks to the classroom without offering some to your classmates."
Taking a bite of the somewhat stale chocolate, I pulled out another item, unable to keep the grin off of my face this time.
"So I iwas/i right after all… Prepared for ianything/i it seems…" I spoke with amusement in my tone, slipping the item into my pocket. Searching through her bag more thoroughly I found her student ID, her cellphone, a bottle of pepper spray (Which didn't surprise me.) a soda (That I proceeded to drink. [Name] wasn't exactly here to complain.), a pencil case full of pens and erasers (An orderly girl, how cute.), a photo of [Name] with an older woman (Her mother, most likely.) and lastly what appeared to be… a small knife.
"Now why would you keep a knife in your bag, [Name]-Chan~? Did your mother send it with you? Or maybe we share the same hobbies… hahahah, that'd be something, wouldn't it [Name]-Chan?" I spoke before throwing the knife back into her bag along with the rest of her things.
An interesting discovery, to say the least…
~ First Floor, Classroom 4-A ~
With a sigh you sat down, a paper in your hand. You had found the last part of Kokoro's memoir, but it was stained in so much blood you couldn't make out a single word from it.
"If I could just find the third page. Maybe it'll give me SOMETHING to go on. I've looked everywhere… I mean, I found this in one of the cubbyholes at the exit… The second one from the left, of course, so I must have gotten the pattern right," you mumbled to yourself, trying to solve the mystery of the last page. Or rather, the third page, the one you were missing. You had worried it would be on the second floor, but realized that since you'd already found one page there, it was unlikely. Or so you hoped.
"Okay, there's been two in this building and one in the second wing… but then… UGH, this is so frustrating!" you yelled out in exasperation, throwing your hands into the air. Your ankle was still numb and you were certain all the walking was only making it worse. In fact, you were sure that if you were to untie Kizami's shirt scraps and check, your ankle would probably be swollen and red.
"I'm going to have to amputate this damn thing if I don't stop straining it…" you muttered with a shudder. You liked having both of your feet. You loved it, in fact.
"What did I miss… There's got to be isomething/i."
And then it hit you. Literally.
A bloodstained paper rustled before promptly hitting you in the face. You hadn't noticed any wind, but the school didn't exactly obey the laws of physics.
"… The chair… the chair by the second desk! I'm an idiot," you ground out, clearly annoyed with yourself. You had assumed it was about the classrooms themselves, not the desks.
"Would it have been there in the other classrooms though? Or just this one? Ah, whatever! It doesn't matter right now!"
[Kokoro's Memoir ¾]
iI did it… I.. I killed her. I killed Toriko.
He's crying.
Why?
Harada-San didn't cry. He didn't even look upset.
WHY IS HE CRYING?!
Why… why doesn't he understand?!
/i
You stared at the note in wonder. It seemed like it ended so sudden. It didn't give you any clarity at all as to why she was wandering around, trying to kill people. But you soon understood you'd get your closure. The last page was slowly becoming readable, the letters starting to glow, ignoring the blood completely.
With a shuddering breath you brought up the last page.
[Kokoro's Memoir 4/4]
i
I took them away, his eyes, I mean. He's not crying anymore. I'm happy. Harada-San hasn't said anything about it. I'm glad. The kids taught me how to take his tongue.
I can be with him now. Forever and ever!
Or so I thought.
He's gone.
Dead. Never moving. A corpse.
I killed him.
I'm a monster.
Why? WhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhyWHY?!
I WANT TO DIE! KILL ME! KILL ME! KILL MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
/i
You slammed the note down onto the desk in front of you, grabbing hold of your head, covering your ears. They wouldn't stop ringing and it felt like someone was tearing your head apart. You took several deep breaths, trying to calm down and refrain from hyperventilating. You felt dizzy and yet your head had never felt clearer.
"She wants to be killed. But… How can you kill a ghost? Maybe if I tell her..?"
But before you had time to further ponder your options, the room suddenly got colder, startling you out of your thoughts. You stood up without thinking, stumbling before steadying yourself against a chair. You turned around, your eyes widening slightly.
But you had expected her to come.
"Kokoro…"
"…"
"I.. I understand that you're angry. But… You're already dead."
"…"
She hovered closer, her head tilted to the side in an awkward angle, indicating her neck was most likely broken.
"The school is already punishing you… making you suffer like this, feeling guilty about the boy you like! You need to stop! If you stop being so angry, the school will get bored and will let you go!"
You kept hoping your words would get through to her, but instead found yourself thrown to the floor. Kokoro's face hovered above yours.
"A…aa….k..k…eee…l…ii…mm…" she groaned out, her words slurred and barely audible. You figured speaking when your neck was broken was normally impossible, so being able to even make sounds was a miracle.
"Y-yes… You killed him, but it is okay… You can meet him, on the other side. I'm sure he'll forgive you," you spoke after a moment, flinching when a few droplets of blood hit your face, dripping off of her chin. She let out a groan and a tear trailed down her cheek, colored red by the blood.
"C'mon Kokoro, you'll be okay. I promise. I read that… that if you die here, you can't get out, but I'm sure your feelings of love will guide you on the right path. I just know it," you spoke, a small smile tugging at your lips. You had started crying as well, the tears trailing down the sides of your face.
"O….o…kk…..a….y…" she spoke slowly, her head twitching. She slowly seemed to fade away, her face becoming clearer by the second. Her long dark hair tickled your face and her deep brown eyes met yours. Her eyes gave you the thanks her lips couldn't give and as she faded away completely you let out a sigh of relief.
"… That's one problem solved… Good luck, Kokoro," you mumbled, slowly getting up. "I'll go to the third floor… check that room, and then… Then I'll take care of my ankle."
Ritsu: Well, I hope you liked the chapter c: I gave you a glimpse of Kizami too, which I hope you like! I once again found myself unsure if he was in character or not, but then realized he's batshit insane and that his character is the most complicated thing I have ever tried to grasp.
Kizami: …
