Night continues to fall, as Yui, Nodoka, Mio, Ritsu, Ricka, & Myu escaped the abandoned haunted school, at least for until tomorrow. Yamabuki & Cy remain inside the building, as well as Enju and Lily, down in the basement. They have lost five people in the process, during the hunt for a ghost, which turns out to be two ghosts: one ghost who is an old lady, and another who is an innocent high school girl, with a torn past.
Yamabuki was in the building, as she laid a motionless Cy on the wall, like a doll. Yamabuki sighed, "I wonder if she's broken… Cy-Cy… I know you're an android, but… That mean lady had no right to possess you. I'll protect you, just as Lady Lily does for Enju. And who knows? I can use you as my dress-up doll for cosplay! I just need your measurements… You look good as a maid…"
She slapped herself and huffed, "No! Fix Cy first, and…"
She grumbled, as she was confused, "Wait… How do I repair her? I'm usually good at resetting the time on my DVD player… but…"
She groaned, "AAGH! I can't carry her on my back, again! Cy's heavy… even if she's a robot…"
She sighed, "It can't be helped… Cy's under my watch now, and with the ofudas in my side, I'm going to protect her from any ghost that is possessing her… again…"
She picked Cy up and said, "Now… to find Lily. She's an expert at machines, more than me… And damned that Lady Zina… Where the hell is she, right now? She created Cy!"
She walked off, as she was looking for Lily and Enju. Enju and Lily were down in the basement, as they saw a huge light. Lily sighed, "It's too dark… We better send a signal to find us…"
Enju said, "No, I see broad nightsky… We could be near the exit…"
She looked up, as Yamabuki was walking down the aisle. But stopped, as she trembled, "What the hell? Why's the floor destroyed?"
Enju called, "Suou-san?"
Lily called out, "Suou! Down here!"
Yamabuki placed Cy down, and then went to the hole, "Enju? Lily? What are you guys doing down there?"
Enju huffed, "YOU SHOULD TALK! You and your pranks!"
Yamabuki pouted, "No… No pranks… This is serious…"
Enju sobbed, "Suou-san… Bad news…"
Yamabuki cried, "Never mind that! Cy's broken!"
Enju asked, "Huh?"
Yamabuki said, "I'll explain! But first, lemme try something!"
She held up a scroll and said, "Stand back! I think I can lead us to the exit. We'll regroup, afterwards."
She waved her scroll out, as Enju transformed into a beautiful nurse in pink and white outfit. Enju roared, "SUOU-SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"
CRACK! BOOM!
She shot lightning from herself, as she was angry. Yamabuki dodged it and cried, "EEYOUCH!"
Lily cried out, "IDIOT! HOW'S NURSE OUTFITS GOING TO HELP US?!"
Yamabuki gasped, "OOPS! Wrong scroll… Sorry about that…"
She reached for another scroll and flicked it. Out popped a huge rope ladder, from the first floor to the basement. Enju sighed and said, "Great… Finally, you got it right."
Enju climbed up first, as she snarled, "When I get my hands on you…"
Yamabuki tittered, "Uh, I can explain… Sorry for the nurse's outfit… and I didn't have one for Lily, without her measurements…"
Lily giggled nervously, "Uh, no, thank you…" and climbed up the rope ladder.
Enju and Lily climbed up, as Yamabuki said, "Good… As soon as I heard you guys, I had to rush in. Did you find anything juicy, down there?"
Lily sighed, "No… No luck…" as the rope ladder vanished.
Enju sniffled, "Oh, Suou-san… It's been a terrible night… Akari… She's dead…"
Yamabuki gasped, "NO! Oh, poor Akari… If we survive, we should inform the bad news to her mother…"
Lily bowed her head and said, "Yes. Akari Hanao, may she rest in peace…"
Yamabuki barked, "But now's not the time to grief!"
She grinned, "Do any of you know how to repair an android?"
Enju asked, "Oh! What happened to Cy?"
Yamabuki said, "Well… It's this way…"
She explained to Enju and Lily what happened, as they carried Cy away, leaving the haunted school.
The next morning, the others were waking up, as Yui yawned from her sleeping bag. She moaned, "Morning, already?"
Her stomach was growling, as she whined, "Ui… I'm hungry… Make me breakfast…"
She looked around, "Ui?"
"You're finally awake…" Yui heard a voice. It was Fuu.
Yui gasped, as she smiled, "YES! AW, A CUTE BUNNY!"
She asked, "Can I pet you?"
She clutched Fuu tight, as Myu gasped, "Hau?"
Yui said, "He's so cute, and he talks, too…"
Myu said, "It's alright… Fuu-Senpai likes it."
Fuu cried, as he was being squeezed, "Myu-Myu! Help me!"
Myu told Yui to let go of Fuu, as Yui sobbed, "Sorry…"
"It's okay." Myu said, "You're having a bad day…"
Yui asked, "Ui… Where's Ui?"
Myu sniffled, as she pouted, "She's dead… Ui… Jun… Azusa… They're dead… Akari-senpai died, too…"
Yui whimpered, "No… Azu-nyan, too?"
She was crying, as Mio said, "It's alright… It was a horrible moment…"
Yui sobbed, "Ui… My sister…"
Ritsu said, "So did Mugi… and by Cy, too! Your short friend in the short hair!"
Myu gasped, "HAU?!"
Lily said, "No… Suou said that Cy was possessed."
Yui asked, "Where is she now?"
Lily said nothing. Cy was lying by the tree, still motionless and alone. Lily didn't have time to repair Cy, since she was possessed by a ghost. Technically, she is dead now, until the ordeal is over. Once they find out what's going on, the Ninja Seeking Club would return home with Cy, and fix her, not after telling Mrs. Hanao the bad news about Akari.
Lily thought, "For now, we'll leave Cy out here, until we return home, so Lady Zina can fix her… I hope it's not serious…"
Mio said, "Poor Cy. She had it rough… She didn't have to kill Mugi…"
Yamabuki said, "It was an accident. Cy-Cy didn't mean to…"
Yui wept, as she was crying for three important people: Mugi, Azusa, and her sister, Ui. Ritsu held her, as Nodoka said, "It's alright, Yui…"
Yui cried on Nodoka's shoulder, as Lily signaled to Myu. She said, "We should talk."
The ninjas leave the girls alone, as they were saddened by the deaths of their friends.
XXXXX
Far away from the others, the remaining ninja girls regrouped, talking about what went on, last night, thanks to Yamabuki's discovery and Myu's chat with the ghost.
Ricka said, "Ghost girl… sad… Ghost lady… evil…"
Enju said, "So, these two are the ghosts of a student and teacher…"
Lily said, "Even worse… The girl ghost, according to Myu-Myu, was abused by her teacher…"
Myu explained, "Well, I got her word on it, since she was miserable, thanks to an abusive teacher."
Enju asked, "An abusive teacher? Then why is this place haunted?"
Myu said, "I don't know…"
Fuu explained, "The ghost told her everything… She was once a student in that particular school, fifteen years ago. The portrait that Miss Suou holds… which Ritsu was holding…"
Yamabuki said, "I found it buried in the flowerbed, up in the roof. The woman on the left of this class photo is their teacher… while the 3rd girl on the left, in the middle aisle, is the same girl…"
The ghost said to Myu and Ricka, "My name is Haruna Akemi… I am from this school… Shunjiro Municipal High School… I happen to be a 3rd year student in my class, Class 3-E… I'm a straight A student, and a popular girl in my class, and I'm hoping I get into a decent college… But one day, as the new semester rolled along, in September… my grades were slipping… And it was there, my teacher, Mrs. Zenigawa, scold me for getting lower grades… My grades went from up to 100, down to 85, and then 75, then 60… until finally… I ended up at going up to only 30 points in my exams… Mrs. Zenigawa scolded me, after school, saying that I should be able to study hard. I have, but… something inside me started to feel… … …uneasy…"
Ricka asked, "Zenigawa-sensei… Mean woman?"
Haruna nodded, "Yes. And I was her target… She came here to my school, in the start of the semester, after Mr. Fujinara quit, so he can teach in a University. She was a nice teacher, and always lecture on studying real hard, so that one day… we can have a bright future in Japan… However, she had one scowl on one student…"
Myu said, "That student was you, wasn't it?"
Haruna sobbed, "Yes… She resents me, because I am a good student… Saying that my perfection is repulsing. That is because I'm not always perfect… But she told me, in this classroom, that one day, if you trot yourself as the big star of your classroom, chances are that your future will be bleak and grim. She was right. I am only studying to go to college, and get a bright future… like be a scientist, a librarian, or a doctor… But… Time went on… and my grades… they suddenly dropped… By the time it was November, my teacher… She…"
She wept, as she screamed, "SHE SLAPPED ME HARD! When I got a Zero… in my exam papers… She struck me, after school…"
Mrs. Zenigawa, a woman in gray hair, in a dark blue dress, slapped Haruna, a girl in red hair, done in pigtails, wearing her brown blazer and red skirt, in the face. Haruna was crying, as she yelled at her, "Miss Akemi, I will not let you tolerate your failure in this school! You have a bright future ahead of you, but you're throwing it all away with that trashy cheerful smile of yours! You study hard, but your grades, for the past couple of weeks are despicable! YOU'RE A JOKE, MISS AKEMI! WHAT KIND OF STUDENT I TEACH THAT IS TOO FOCUSED ON STUDYING, AND FAILING, TIME AND TIME AGAIN?"
Haruna tried to plead, but the teacher slapped her in the face and yelled at her, "I am SICK and TIRED of you FAILING in your grades! If you want to graduate, you study right, and NOT act like some primadonna brat! Understand me? You won't graduate, at this rate!"
Haruna was crying, feeling abused by her teacher. Mrs. Zenigawa then told her to stay after class, for afterschool classes. Haruna sobbed, as she went to her seat. The teacher returned to her desk, as she glared at her, in an ice cold look.
Myu yelled, "She… SHE HIT YOU?"
Ricka roared, "EVIL TEACHER, ZENIGATA!"
Myu said, "Uh, no… Zenigawa…"
Ricka barked, "Makes no difference! Cruel! Barbaric!"
Ricka was in tears, as she said, "Not study well, either, but get good grades…"
Myu said quietly, "Yeah… Enju-Senpai worries about you…"
Ricka usually spends her time, mostly on video games and ninja training. She hardly has time to study, at all, on occasions.
Haruna said, "Then you understand me… Miss Momochi… Miss Machiyuki… Zenigawa is a cruel teacher, only to me… The only reason my grades dropped is because she's distracting. She's a mean woman, and would do anything to hurt me…"
Fuu said, "Well, we're glad it wasn't rap-."
Myu covered Fuu's mouth and barked, "FUU-SENPAI! COME NOW! Mrs. Zenigawa would NEVER resort to molesting her own students!"
Myu asked, "Would she?"
Haruna shook her head and said, "No… She isn't like that… I was afraid to go talk to my parents about it, but… They just looked at me, like… like I was being stupid… They scold at me about my grades, and I couldn't bring up to what I was about to say… Even so, I couldn't go to parties, I couldn't go shopping, I couldn't see my friends… I'm like… the miserable 3rd-year student in my class!"
Myu said, "It's okay, Haruna-senpai… We know how you feel…"
Ricka replied, "You… don't cry…"
Myu asked, "What happened next?"
Haruna said, "Well, after that, December came around, only for Mrs. Zenigawa to threaten to call my parents on my bad grades… She did… and we had a parent-teacher conference… The principal said that I am close to repeating the third-year… if I don't keep up… But… Mrs. Zenigawa said that I am a failure… But that was when… That was when… I couldn't take anymore! Just as my parents were about to ground me, I just can't take it! I told my teacher to shut up!"
At the teacher's longue, Haruna yelled at her teacher, "SHUT UP! SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU OLD HAG! THE ONLY REASON YOU MAKE ME HAVE BAD GRADES, IS BECAUSE OF YOU! YOU ABUSE ME, YOU HIT ME, AND YOU MAKE ME STAY AFTERSCHOOL!"
Mrs. Zenigawa barked, "DO NOT RAISE YOUR VOICE AT ME, MISS AKEMI!"
Her father then asked, "Yeah! I was wondering that, too! When she came home, feeling unhappy, I noticed, last week, that she had a bruise on her face…"
Haruna cried, as she said, "She hit me… I was too scared that you wouldn't believe me, but…"
Her mother hugged her and said, "Oh, come now, Haruna… We're your parents… You can tell us… We would've helped you, and we wouldn't be mad…"
Haruna sobbed, "Yes, Mama…"
Mrs. Zenigawa roared, "LIES! Miss Akemi is a liar! I would never-!"
Her parents stepped in, as Haruna explained the story to the Principal, all those months, as the Principal said to her, "I've heard enough. In light of this, I'm going to have Miss Akemi take a retest on all the lessons she had taken, since the current semester started, and that she must complete it, during detention, until it's all finished… One week, and to retest yourself, alone…"
Mrs. Zenigawa yelled, "Sir, please! You can't be serious!"
The Principal barked, "I AM serious. I don't know what that makes her a wreck, being abused, and dropping grades, but I will NOT have the teachers abuse students into making them study harder, by force!"
"But, sir-!"
"NO BUTS! Miss Akemi is one of our prized students, and I can't have you make her frightened, by your strict rules! Now, since I have very little proof, I'm letting you off with a warning. Understand?"
The teacher growled, as Haruna was comforted by her parents. Mrs. Zenigawa felt upset, as she apologized to the Akemi Family.
What happened next, the following day, Haruna's was ready to retest herself. But… Mrs. Zenigawa gave her an "Automatic Zero" on her first test. She glared at her and said, "I can't be at your watchful eyes, when you study to redeem yourself… But if you dare tell anyone that I struck you, again, I'm going to see to it you repeat the Senior Year… FOREVER!"
She walked out of the classroom, as Haruna was upset.
Mrs. Zenigawa left the classroom, the next day, afterschool, as the Principal appeared to her. He said to her, "Mrs. Zenigawa, I checked over the first day of tests… And I believe that you gave Miss Akemi an automatic zero."
She smirked, "That is because I was only testing her… Maybe now, she'll think twice about snitching to a teacher."
She walked away, leaving the building. The Principal yelled, "NO! Mrs. Zenigawa, you're fired!"
She stopped, as she asked, "What?"
He lectured her, "I know that your strict teaching methods are one thing, but giving an Automatic Zero to one of our students isn't to motivate them! That is abusive of morale!"
"I'll have you know that I had nothing to do with Haruna's beating! I was watching over her, during the supplementary classes, every day, after school!"
"I may have no conclusive proof that it was you, but your teaching methods in my school have gone too far! GET OUT!"
She walked off, as she snarled to the doors.
Fuu said, "So… Mrs. Zenigawa's bad days came, when she was reprimanded by the Principal… and then was fired, because of an "Automatic Zero"."
Haruna smiled, "I was relieved… when Mrs. Zenigawa was fired… And my grades came back up, and I can focus on going to college~!"
She frowned, "But… She came back, when I was finishing up cleaning the classroom, afterschool, one day…"
Ricka and Myu were shocked, as Haruna told them what happened.
"And that's when Zenigawa, the teacher came in and killed her… Zenigawa somehow entered the school, and beat her senseless… She left the school, and her body was found on the floor… with no weapon, no prints, and no evidence…" Myu concluded, "After that, because of that incident, the school closed down, and Mrs. Zenigawa was sent to trial for murder… since she was spotted in the school grounds."
Enju said, "I remember that case… That mean teacher was found Not Guilty. She got away with it…"
Ricka said, "But… Evil teacher haunts school… this very day…"
Myu said, "Haruna-senpai never finished… The minute we heard the girls' screams, we dashed out… We have to finish the story, tonight… When we meet her, before the teacher ghost returns…"
Lily said, "But is the teacher responsible for Akari's death, too?"
Yamabuki said, "Wow… This is tough to muster… We have to tell the other girls what goes on."
Enju barked, "WE CAN'T! If we tell them what is going on, without further information, we may have doomed them! We have no idea why Zenigawa haunts the school…"
Lily added, "Or… how she died, making the school close down, permanently… It doesn't seem right…"
Enju said, "It's not the right time. Unless we hear the whole story, we keep it between us. And we're not going home, until we hear the full truth!"
Ricka said, "For Akari… and for the others' friends…"
Yamabuki sniffled, "And for Cy-Cy…"
Enju glared at her, "Uh… You do know she can be fixed…"
Yamabuki giggled, "I knew that…"
Lily said, "Let's return to the others, and relax. We have a full day to go to…"
Myu was worried, as she explained, "They must be hungry… Their friend, Mugi… She died in Cy's hands, possessed by a ghost… And the Yui girl said that she enjoyed her tea…"
Enju smiled, "That's where you come in, Myu-Myu. You have your bento boxes packed in?"
"Yep!" Myu smiled.
Enju said, "Give the Hirasawa girl Akari's bento. Akari's dead… so…"
Myu nodded, "Akari-senpai will understand… She will be missed."
Enju said, "Great. Let's rejoin the others. Leave Cy here, until this is over… I'm sure she'll be alright… Just make sure that none of us dies, like Akari…"
Yamabuki said, "Right!"
Ricka nodded, "Hm."
Lily said, "Understood."
They left the spot of the forest, to rejoin Yui and the others.
Cy Tokakushi – Death (for time being)
