DISCLAIMER: CORPSE PARTY AND ITS CHARACTERS BELONG TO TEAM GRISGRIS/GRINDHOUSE. THE ORIGINAL CHARACTER, PACKER, BELONGS TO ME.
Author's Note: Happy New Year, everybody! I apologize for taking so long, as it's been three months since the last chapter, and I know some of you were worried about whether or not the story was continuing. Rest assured, the story will continue for a long time to come, as I plan on taking this story past the events of Blood Drive. I just haven't had any free time to devote to the story in the last three months because of lots and lots of overtime at work. But things are beginning to settle back down, which means that new chapters will be coming in at a more consistent rate... at least, I hope so. XD
Enough of my rambling. It's time for Chapter 25, and I hope this long chapter was worth the long wait. Enjoy. ;D
CHAPTER 25: BURNING AMBITION
(Corpse Party's Chapter 4 Theme begins playing in the background)
Packer could feel the hairs on the back of his neck begin to stand up as his group walked down the hallway toward the Infirmary. Seiko had merged with him shortly before, and she could feel the tension that seemed to be running through his body.
"You okay, Packer-kun? You seem a little nervous," she inquired worriedly. Packer let out a sigh.
"The last time we faced Yoshie's spirit, it almost got us killed. I just hope she listens to us…" he murmured.
"Well, we've got to at least try," Satoshi replied. "She may hold the key to figuring out how to appeal to Sachiko's humanity."
"Satoshi's right, Packer… as much as I hate to admit it, because I don't want to go back into that room, either," Naomi said, letting out a shudder at the memory of the last time she was in the Infirmary.
"I know the feeling, Naomi," Packer replied.
After a few more minutes of walking, they finally arrived at the Infirmary. Packer tried to slide the doors open, but they wouldn't budge.
"That's weird. The doors won't open," Packer said, confused.
"And we don't have the key anymore, either, so how are we gonna be able to get inside?" Naomi asked. Packer scratched his chin thoughtfully.
"Let me try something," he replied. He walked back up to the doors and knocked on it a few times.
"It's open. Come inside."
Everyone gasped in surprise as the eerie voice sounded from within the Infirmary. There was a click as the doors were unlocked. Packer let out a small chuckle.
"Didn't think that'd actually work…" he said.
He slid the doors open, and as they walked into the Infirmary, they could hear a female voice echo throughout the room. It sounded as if she was humming to herself.
"Hello? Is anyone here?" Packer called out. He stopped as he gazed forward, noticing that the lamp on the desk was glowing. A curtain was in front of the desk, and with the light from the lamp, they were able to see a silhouette of the person in question in the curtain.
"When summer comes, let's all take a trip together!"
Suddenly, the voices of many little children echoed throughout the room, causing the group to gasp once again.
"Yes!"
Dozens of footsteps echoed in the hallway outside. The female voice giggled as she continued writing in her diary.
"Sacchan is my pride and joy! She'll do anything for me!"
The group walked around the curtain, only to find that no one was sitting at the desk. The pen itself seemed to be alive as it continued writing in the diary that was lying on top of the desk. And then, the pen stopped writing, and fell onto the desk, as if someone had let it drop.
The group glanced at each other, perturbed by what they had just seen.
"Yeah… I'm just gonna nod and move on," Packer joked.
"Not exactly something you see every day, is it?" Satoshi asked.
"Onii-Chan, I'm scared…" Yuka cried, clutching her brother's arm. Satoshi glanced down at Yuka.
"Don't worry, Yuka. I'll protect you," Satoshi replied.
"Packer-kun, maybe that diary has something that could shed some light on this whole thing," Seiko suggested. Packer nodded and walked over to the desk, picking up the diary. Naomi arched an eyebrow.
"That's weird. When I tried to pick it up earlier, it was fixated to the desk, like a decoration," Naomi observed.
"Hmm…" Packer mumbled as he began reading the contents of the diary.
"What's it say?" Tohko asked. Packer turned the page and began reading aloud.
Today is Sachiko's 7th birthday. We decided to go out to eat after school is over. I hope she likes the stuffed cat I brought for her. Before the school day was over, I had to sort out some documents. That's when the principal showed up.
As Packer tried to turn the page, he noticed that two pages were stuck together with blood.
"What the… the pages are stuck together, and they aren't coming off, either," Packer grumbled. He skipped over the pages and continued reading.
Sacchan is my pride and joy. She'll do anything for me. In order to keep me from being lonely, she'd kill dozens. She'd bring several children here. How did it come to this? She kills children and sends their souls to me. Something like that won't make me happy. Sachiko, come here and listen to what I have to say. Sachiko has already killed so many. What's worse, traces of those who were spirited away are completely erased. There's no way she could kidnap and kill those children herself. She uses that man to kidnap them for her.
Sachiko, stop.
"So, the one who wrote this was Sachiko's mother after all," Naomi said.
"So, in order to keep her mother from being lonely, Sachiko kills children and sends their spirits here," Satoshi replied.
"And her heart must've broken down, and she ended up in that state that we saw her as…" Seiko finished.
"What bothers me is the fact that those who are killed here are not only subject to the pain of their death for eternity, but their existence in the real world is totally wiped out," Packer said.
"That's terrible," Tohko shuddered. Packer glanced back down at the diary.
"The page I couldn't flip to before," he began. "What was written there?"
"It was just after she ran into the principal, so I wonder if something happened then…" Naomi replied. Packer glanced up at her.
"Hmm… could the principal have something to do with what happened to Yoshie?" Packer thought out loud. He turned back to where the stuck pages were, and using his enhanced strength, forcefully pried them apart. Packer smiled triumphantly as he read the contents of the pages.
July 19, 1953… It seems like I died.
"It seems like I died."
(Corpse Party's Health Room begins playing in the background)
Suddenly, the same eerie voice they had been hearing spoke at the exact same time as Packer. The group looked to their right and gasped in horror. Standing a few feet away was the spirit of a young woman, with her black hair tied in a bun and black eyes. She wore a ragged white shirt, a black skirt and white shoes, and her head was tilted to one side as a result of a broken neck. Her form was shrouded in a dark purplish mist.
"It's her… Yoshie Shinozaki," Packer whispered.
"I won't forgive you. I won't forgive you. I'll kill you."
Suddenly, the whole room began to shake, almost as if her anger was causing it. Then, she glanced up at the group, and Satoshi, Naomi, Tohko and Yuka gasped as they were caught in her paralyzing glare.
"What the… I can't move!" Satoshi gasped.
"Oh, no… this is the same thing she did last time!" Naomi yelled.
"Onii-Chan!" Yuka cried.
"I won't forgive you. I won't forgive you. I'll kill you."
Yoshie continued to repeat those words over and over as she began to walk slowly toward the group. Fortunately, Packer was still able to move.
"Huh? Why am I not paralyzed?" he wondered out loud.
"It has to be because of me. My spirit is protecting your body from her glare," Seiko replied.
"But how do we stop her?" Tohko asked. Packer scratched his chin before glancing up at Yoshie.
"Yoshie Shinozaki!" he shouted, causing the spirit to stop in her tracks and causing her to let out a small gasp as she gazed up at him.
"You know who I am?" she inquired.
Packer nodded.
"And why you're here," he replied.
(The Raiden Project theme begins playing in the background)
Suddenly, Packer's body was bathed in light. The others closed their eyes to shield them from the intense light, and when it finally faded, Angel Knight Packer stood before them. His light-filled eyes gazed at the spirit of Yoshie Shinozaki with a sad look.
"I can't imagine what it's been like to be trapped here all these years, suffering like you have, with no way to relieve the pain," Packer said softly. "But now, I can relieve you of that pain, suffering, and torment."
He extended his right hand and placed it on Yoshie's shoulder. All at once, she was bathed in light, and the darkness that had consumed her screamed in agony as it was banished from her spirit. Naomi, Satoshi, Tohko and Yuka were released from the paralyzing grip that Yoshie had previously held on them, and let out a small gasp as they took in Yoshie's changed appearance. Her neck was no longer broken, her clothes had been mended, and her skin looked vibrant and full of color.
(Corpse Party's Light begins playing in the background)
The light gradually receded from Packer's body as he returned to normal. Seiko let out a small gasp as well.
"Wow. That felt incredible," she exclaimed. Packer only let out a small chuckle. Yoshie gave them a small smile and bowed before them in appreciation.
"Young children, thank you for purifying my soul," Yoshie said gratefully. "It has been far too long since my spirit has felt this free."
"Fifty years does seem like a long time, especially in a place where time has no meaning," Packer replied.
"Indeed," Yoshie agreed, before glancing at Packer with apologetic eyes. "I recognize you and the short-haired girl. I must apologize for attacking you earlier. I was… not in my right frame of mind."
"We know. Being under the influence of the Darkening is a frightening experience," Packer said. "The name is Packer, by the way."
"My name is Naomi Nakashima. Nice to meet you," Naomi said.
"I'm Tohko Kirisaki. It's refreshing to meet a friendly face in here," Tohko said.
"I'm Satoshi Mochida, and this is my little sister Yuka," Satoshi said, introducing himself and his sister.
"Um… hi," Yuka said shyly. Seiko disconnected from Packer's body and rematerialized beside him.
"I'm Seiko Shinohara. Pleased to meet you," she said.
"Ah, you are the other person I saw. So, you have died here as well," Yoshie observed.
"Yes, but that won't stop me from helping my friends escape this place," Seiko declared. Yoshie nodded in approval.
"Is there a reason you have come to see me, children?" Yoshie asked.
"Yes, actually," Packer replied. "It concerns your daughter, Sachiko."
"I see…" Yoshie whispered softly. "What is it you need to know?"
"Your daughter has created a barrier between this place and the real world," Packer explained. "In order for us to get back home, we must find a way to get Sachiko to exhibit remorse, and we thought you knew how to accomplish that, considering you know her better than anyone else."
Yoshie glanced over at a photograph sitting on her desk. It was a framed picture of herself, with Sachiko in her arms. She let out a sad sigh.
"Before I do, I must explain how this all began in the first place," Yoshie said. Packer nodded in affirmation.
"We're listening," Packer replied. Yoshie sighed once more as she began to explain her story to Packer and the others.
"It was late on the evening of Sacchan's birthday," Yoshie explained. "I was finishing up my paperwork for the day when I heard a knock on the door. Turned out it was the principal, Takamine Yanagihori. We talked for a bit, until he asked me to follow him up to his office, because he said he had 'something important to talk about.' We entered his office, and then…" She closed her eyes, trying to fight back the tears as the memory of that day washed over her. "Suddenly, without warning, he slammed me down on the desk, and proceeded to try to take my skirt off."
Everyone in Packer's group gasped in surprise.
"He tried to rape you?!" Packer shouted. Yoshie nodded sullenly.
"I somehow managed to kick him in the shin, releasing his hold on me momentarily," Yoshie continued. "I ran out the door, running down the hallway toward the stairwell to escape, but he was much faster than me. Just as I was about to reach the stairwell, he pushed me from behind." She shook her head in disgust. "He had intended to push me to the ground so that he could proceed to rape me, but instead, I was pushed down the stairs. I tumbled down the stairs and landed awkwardly on my head, snapping my neck and killing me instantly."
Pausing for a moment, Yoshie walked over and sat down in her chair.
"Unfortunately, Sachiko saw the whole thing unfold in front of her. She tried to escape, but Yanagihori caught her and strangled her to prevent her from telling anybody about him murdering me," she continued. "As a result, the local newspaper only reported my death as an accident, and Sachiko was reported missing."
"What did the principal do with her body?" Satoshi asked.
"He buried her… somewhere within this school," Yoshie said. "But even I have no idea where her resting place could be."
"So, how are we supposed to appeal to her humanity?" Seiko asked.
"In the years after our deaths, Yanagihori began experiencing hallucinations, and became extremely paranoid, afraid that Sachiko would still be able to tell someone about the murders he committed, so one night, he went to Sachiko's burial ground, dug up her body, and proceeded to remove her tongue with a pair of sewing scissors," Yoshie explained.
"So that's where she gets cutting off other people's tongues," Packer realized. Yoshie nodded.
"When I realized what he had done, I placed a curse upon his family," she continued. "He eventually began to go insane, while his son, Yoshikazu, gradually began reverting to a child-like state, eventually losing his ability to speak. I imagine that it was because of this child-like nature that allowed Sachiko to manipulate him into doing her bidding in the first place."
"Makes sense to me," Packer replied. "So what's the plan?"
"In order to appeal to Sachiko's humanity and get her to exhibit remorse for killing those three children, you will need two items of great importance to Sachiko," Yoshie continued. "One is her tongue. I imagine that Yanagihori kept it hidden up in his office. Unfortunately, the door uses a special key that only the principal has on him, so you'll have to find him if you want to get into his office."
"What's the second item?" Naomi asked. Yoshie opened one of the desk drawers and pulled out a black and white cat plushy.
"This," Yoshie replied. "This is her cat plushy I gave to her on her birthday. She loves it more than anything else in the world. If you are able to present these two items to her, you may be able to break the dark spell that has her under its control, and she will express her remorse to you."
Naomi walked over and took the doll into her arms. Packer nodded and smiled.
"Thank you, Yoshie. You've helped us immensely. Now we just need to get back to the others and…" Packer began, before suddenly stopping midsentence. His eyes went wide as his Future Sight activated.
After a few seconds, the Future Sight ended, with Packer shaking his head to clear the cobwebs. The others stared at him with concerned looks.
"What did you see, Packer?" Seiko asked. Packer glanced up at his group with wide eyes.
"Yoshiki and the others… they're in trouble!" Packer gasped. "We've got to help them!"
"Then we'd better get our asses in gear!" Seiko shouted, merging with Packer's body. Packer glanced at Naomi, Yuka, Tohko and Satoshi as his body began to glow.
"We'll run ahead, so follow our trail and don't fall too far behind!" he shouted, before bursting into a Shining Sprint, zooming out the door and down the hall. Naomi turned to Yoshie and bowed to her.
"Thank you for your help, Ms. Shinozaki," she said. Yoshie bowed to her as well.
"Your welcome, child," she replied. "You'd best be on your way if you're gonna catch up with your friend."
"Let's go, Naomi!" Satoshi shouted. He grabbed Yuka and Naomi's hand, and together, they raced out of the Infirmary, following the trail that Packer and Seiko left behind, with Tohko right on their heels.
Now all alone in the Infirmary, Yoshie closed her eyes and chuckled to herself.
"Good luck, Packer-kun…" she whispered.
(Corpse Party's Chapter 4 theme begins playing in the background)
Similar to what Packer had been feeling about the Infirmary, Yoshiki was feeling the same jitters as his group approached the door to the Science Lab. He let out a long sigh, which was just loud enough to reach Ayumi's ears. She glanced over at him with interest.
"Is something wrong, Kishinuma-kun?" she asked. Yoshiki gazed over at the bluenette.
"It's nothing," Yoshiki replied. "It's just… the last time few times we were here, we almost died. Had it not been for Packer, the both of us wouldn't be standing here right now. The trouble is, Packer isn't with us at the moment… and that really bothers me."
"Packer-kun does seem to be our safety net, doesn't he?" Mayu asked with a giggle. Morishige nodded in approval.
"Indeed. Without Packer's intervention, I think we'd all be dead right now," Morishige interjected. "We owe him a lot, that's for sure."
The group finally arrived at the door to the Science Lab. Yoshiki took a deep breath and slid it open. He slowly walked inside, with the others in his group right on his heels.
As soon as they walked in, something in the room caught their eye. Sitting near the teacher's podium was something covered in a white sheet.
"What's that thing?" Yui wondered out loud. Yoshiki scratched his chin thoughtfully.
"It looks like a really big dude with a sheet over his head, but…" Yoshiki began, before stopping himself when he realized what he was saying. "It couldn't be… could it?"
Ayumi glared over at the blonde boy.
"Don't even joke about that!" she exclaimed. Yoshiki scratched his head as he continued to stare at the sheet-covered object.
"Sorry. Maybe I should… take a look under the sheet…" Yoshiki began. Ayumi ran up and grabbed Yoshiki's jacket by the collar.
"Don't you dare!" the bluenette shouted, causing the blonde to turn pale at her actions.
"Ayumi-Chan, maybe it is best if Kishinuma-kun takes a peek, just to be sure it isn't a real person. It'd make me feel better, at least," Mayu interjected.
"Exactly. I'll just take a quick peek from below. You'll feel better knowing it's not who we're thinking it is, won't you?" Yoshiki inquired. Ayumi let out a few ragged gasps before nodding her approval. Yoshiki turned toward whatever the sheet was covering and let out a small sigh.
"Be careful, Kishinuma," Yui warned. Tentatively lifting up the sheet to see what was underneath, his eyes widened and he let out a shocked gasp at what he saw.
"What is it?!" Ayumi gasped. After a moment, Yoshiki let out a sigh of relief.
"Jeez, I scared the crap out of myself for nothing," he said. "It's just an anatomical model. Exactly the sort of thing you'd expect to find in a science lab."
Ayumi let out a few ragged gasps before coughing a few times. Mayu gently rubbed Ayumi's back to try to relieve some of her anxiety. Yoshiki glanced at her worriedly.
"Ah, sorry, Shinozaki," he apologized. "Guess I let my curiosity get the best of me."
"It's fine," Ayumi assured, still trying to catch her breath. "Just please, don't do anything scary from here on out unless it's absolutely necessary, okay?"
"N-No problem," Yoshiki agreed. Morishige eyed the anatomical model suspiciously.
"Curious," he remarked. "I don't recall there being an anatomical model in the Science Lab the last time we were here…"
"Yeah, but things were so crazy the last time, we probably didn't even notice it, to be honest," Yoshiki replied. Morishige hummed in agreement, but still wasn't completely convinced. Yoshiki turned his eyes toward the back of the room. "Anyways, let's find what we came here for and get out of here. I really don't feel comfortable being in this room at all."
"Agreed. Where do you think you dropped your scrap?" Ayumi asked.
"Looking for this?"
Everyone turned toward the sound of the voice coming from the back of the room. Leaning against the wall, with Yoshiki's charm scrap in hand, was Naho.
"Naho-san!" Ayumi exclaimed as the group ran up to the dark-haired girl. Naho smiled back at them as she passed the scrap to Yoshiki, who let out a sigh of relief as he slipped it into his ID holder. Naho set her gaze back upon Ayumi.
"Well, if it isn't Ayumi Shinozaki. How are you and your group holding up?" Naho asked.
"Fine so far," Ayumi replied. "Naho, I'd like to share with you some information I've gathered."
Naho's eyes lit up.
"You have my attention. What did you find?" Naho inquired.
Ayumi spent the next several minutes explaining the truth about Sachiko to Naho. Naho scratched her chin thoughtfully as she digested this new information.
"So Sachiko was the real perpetrator? I had no idea…" she murmured. She gazed over at Ayumi with a grateful smile. "Very interesting indeed. Thank you for providing me with this valuable data. However, you've only solved half the mystery. You have yet to determine who, exactly, Sachiko is. There's still a lot of ground left to cover before we've learned all there is to know about this school…"
The group was silent as Naho began to walk past them toward the door.
"At any rate, there's someone I need to find. If you'll please excuse me…" she said, continuing to walk toward the exit. Gathering up her courage, Ayumi set her blue eyes upon Naho's departing frame.
"I'm not done talking to you yet," she said firmly. Naho stopped and turned around to face Ayumi, an uninterested look on her face.
"But I've lost interest in what you have to say," she replied with a bored tone. Ayumi's eyes flared with anger, to which Naho just smiled and let out a small giggle. "By the way, who was that boy in the staff room, I wonder? Was he a classmate of yours? A brother, perhaps?" She cast a knowing glance toward Ayumi. "There's a bond of love between you. It's what keeps you going."
Ayumi let out a small gasp.
'Is she talking about Mochida-kun?' she thought.
"I would enjoy it if more people like that came around for me to watch. It's quite entertaining," Naho finished, before letting out a few amused giggles. Ayumi sighed in frustration.
"Naho-san, I'm disappointed in you," she retorted, causing Naho to look up at her with curiosity.
"Now, why would that be?" Naho inquired. "Weren't you a veritable fangirl of mine?" Ayumi stomped over to her, an angry look on her face.
"It's because of… THIS!" Ayumi shouted, holding up a piece of paper, one that Naho recognized immediately.
Before the group had left the custodian's closet, Kibiki had approached Ayumi and presented her with some of Naho's notes, including notes on the Sachiko Ever After charm and some information about a possible relation to Sachiko.
"What is this 'Sachiko in the Ever After' crap?! And what are the ruins of the Shinozaki estate?!" Ayumi shouted, before reading the notes aloud for everyone to hear.
Notes Page 3:
Herein, I will detail the proper observance of Sachiko Shinozaki's charm, as well as a means of reversing its effects and returning home.
-Procedure for Proper Observance-
The spell trigger is the phrase, 'Sachiko, we beg of thee.' It must be chanted once for each participant, then one additional time for Sachiko. Following this, the proxy doll is to be torn apart. Should the proxy doll recovered from the ruins of the old Shinozaki estate be unavailable, a printed facsimile will suffice for the purposes of this ritual. If everything is performed as indicated, the spirit will pass by harmlessly, and nothing of note should occur. If any part of this ritual is performed incorrectly, however, then Sachiko herself will descend upon any viable spirit medium in the vicinity, and all present will be afflicted with her curse and spirited away to the sacred ground.
-Procedure for Reversal-
If you've angered Sachiko, you may atone by redoing the ritual properly, but in reverse. First, produce your remnant of the proxy doll…
Ayumi stopped reading and glared up at Naho, anger in her blue orbs.
"You intentionally put the wrong directions on your blog! You wanted the ritual to fail!" Ayumi roared. "Did you do it for him?! Your 'beloved'?! Your mentor, Mr. Kibiki? Were you trying to make sure he had a large sample size to study for his article?!"
At Ayumi's heated inquiry, Naho began cackling loudly. Ayumi's eyes narrowed in response.
"What the Hell is so funny?!" she spat out. Naho stopped cackling and shot an evil glare at Ayumi.
"You think you're so smart, huh? Well, you're not… so, go fish!" Naho shouted.
"Go fish? What the Hell does that mean?!" Yoshiki asked, confused.
"She's saying it's a lie," Ayumi responded. Naho crossed her arms and sneered at the bluenette.
"Anyone who takes stuff posted on the net and swallows it wholesale is a fucking dumbass. A total retard," she growled, her body quivering as she spoke.
"You're shaking," Ayumi observed. "You can't tell me that you didn't have the slightest inkling… that it never crossed your mind something like this might happen! How many people did your little whim send to a slow, painful death, huh?! You're the one who spread Sachiko's curse across the entire country! YOU!"
"Don't you think I know that?" Naho said matter-of-factly, causing Ayumi and the others to gasp. "But Kibiki… my dear Kibiki smiles at me when I do right by him." A seductive smile crossed her features as she thought about her mentor. "Oh, Kibiki, my sweet, succulent mentor… I would do anything for you… anything at all…" Then, the smile was replaced by her sneer once more as she set her gaze back on the group in front of her. "But you occult freaks… you can all go rot in a corner, for all I care!"
Naho's words hit Ayumi like a ton of bricks. Tears filled her eyes, the words of her former idol crushing her heart.
"You're a horrible person! Horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE! God, how could you?!" Ayumi roared indignantly. Yoshiki growled at the short-haired girl, anger rising in his own body.
"You evil little bitch," Yoshiki growled. "I should've known trusting you was a bad idea." Naho smugly smiled at the blonde-haired young man.
"It's my duty to protect my dear mentor's job, and I won't let anyone get in my way!" she shouted at him. All of a sudden, Morishige stepped forward, arms crossed.
"Saenoki-san, you died here," he said calmly, causing both Ayumi and Naho to gaze in his direction.
"Yeah, and…?" Naho retorted.
"Do you remember what you were thinking when you died? What you were looking at?" Morishige asked. Naho's face twisted into a frown at his question.
"I don't, actually," she answered. "That's the one moment I just can't recall, in fact. No matter how much I try, it won't come to me." Ayumi let out a soft sigh as she prepared to tell Naho the truth.
"Your selfish egotism cost you the person you loved the most," Ayumi said. Her words instantly caused Naho to shoot her gaze up toward the bluenette-haired girl.
"Wha… What do you mean?" Naho asked worriedly. A sympathetic look crossed Ayumi's features at that moment.
"You really don't remember, do you?" Ayumi asked, to which Naho responded by shaking her head. Ayumi reached into her pocket and pulled out her cellphone. "Your very last actions as a human being, after you lost all hope… but before you died… You weren't swallowed up by the school, probably because of your abilities, but you did succumb to the Darkening."
"But… that's not possible…" Naho gasped.
"I'm afraid it is, Naho-san," Ayumi declared, as she flipped her cellphone open and opened up a picture file. She presented it to Naho, and Naho's fish-colored eyes widened in shock as she stared at the picture before her…
The one showing her dead body next to the corpse of her mentor… Kou Kibiki.
A strangled gasp began to erupt from Naho's diaphragm, a gasp that steadily grew louder with each passing second.
"Do you get it now?! You killed him!" Ayumi shouted. "You killed the man you loved! You killed Mr. Kibiki! You took his life with your own bare hands!"
Naho gasped as the memories of that fateful moment began to rush back to her. When she realized that Ayumi had been speaking the truth, she began screaming and wailing loudly, the guilt overwhelming her conscience. Tears began streaming down her face as she continued to wail loudly.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" she screamed. "This… this wasn't supposed to happen! Nothing is worth losing the love of my life over! Kibiki… Kibiki… I'm so sorry…"
Naho collapsed onto her knees and buried her face into her hands, sobbing loudly. The Kisaragi group watched her pour her emotions out, and they couldn't help but feel a little bit sympathetic for her, even though she had committed some fairly devious deeds. Ayumi knelt down and placed a hand on Naho's shoulder, before letting out a small sigh.
"Naho-san…" Ayumi softly whispered. "I don't think Kibiki-sensei is mad at you." Naho slowly glanced up at Ayumi, her eyes red with tears.
"H-He's not?" she hiccupped.
"That's right," Mayu interjected. "The spirit of Kibiki-sensei came to us in the custodian's closet and basically gave us the scoop on what happened. He doesn't blame you for what happened, Saenoki-san. In fact, he seemed to be blaming himself for what happened."
Naho let out a small gasp as she let out a few sniffles.
"B-B-B-But it's not his fault," Naho replied sadly. "All he wanted was to write a damn article, and I decided to be selfish and follow him here… and now look at us. We've lost more than our lives." Naho sighed sadly. "We've lost each other. He might've forgiven me, but… I'm not sure I can forgive myself at this point…"
She looked up into Ayumi's eyes, regret flowing through every vein in her body.
"Perhaps… you were right all along, Shinozaki. I was selfish… and it cost me everything. I've not only put Japan in danger, but I might've put the entire planet at risk…" She gazed down at her notes with contempt. "…all for a fool's errand."
"Well," Ayumi began. "You can probably tell him yourself when we get back to the custodian's closet. I imagine he's still there, waiting for us."
Naho wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up, letting out a small sigh.
"Yeah, you're right. I have to atone for everything I've done, no matter what," she declared. "If it's all right with you, I'd like to accompany you back to Kibiki-sensei… if you'll still have me, that is."
Ayumi glanced over at the others, who glanced at each other and then back at Ayumi, giving her a small nod. Ayumi nodded back and gazed back at Naho.
"Yeah, you can come with us," Ayumi replied. Naho gave her a gracious smile.
"Thank you, Ayumi-san," she said, bowing to her. "Well, let's get going, shall we?"
As the group began walking back toward the entrance, Yoshiki suddenly stopped as he noticed something… off.
"What the Hell?" Yoshiki muttered.
"What's wrong, Kishinuma?" Yui asked.
"That… anatomical model…" Yoshiki began, confusion spreading over his features. The model was standing near the left side of the teacher's podium, opposite of where it was when they first entered the room.
"What about it?" Mayu asked. Yoshiki glanced back at the group with a confused expression.
"Maybe it's just me, but wasn't it standing over there when we came in?" he asked, pointing toward the right side of the podium. Ayumi glared over at the blonde-haired boy.
"Oh, shut up!" she shouted. Feeling a rush of irritation, Ayumi turned and punched Yoshiki in the face, knocking him to the ground. Everyone gasped at Ayumi's actions, including Naho. Yoshiki sat up, holding the left side of his face, which had a sizable bruise forming on it from where Ayumi socked him, a stunned look on his face.
"Shinozaki, what's your deal?" he asked incredulously.
"How many times do I have to tell you… Don't joke around like that! God!" Ayumi shouted. "Why do you insist on scaring me at every turn?! Do you get a laugh out of it?!"
"Shinozaki…" Yui began.
"What are you talking about?!" Yoshiki exclaimed. "I'm not trying to scare you, Shinozaki! I seriously think…"
"Don't even say it. Don't even think it!" Ayumi yelled, cutting him off. "I hate you! I HATE YOU!"
"Sh-Shinozaki…" Yoshiki stuttered, feeling his heart being completely ripped in half at her words. Morishige glanced over at Ayumi with a disapproving look.
"Class rep, if I may," he began, pushing his glasses up his nose. "He's not the only one who thinks that anatomical model may have moved. I also observed it standing near the right side of the podium, which leads me to believe that it was either moved… or it moved on its own."
"B-But… that's just not possible! I refuse to believe that an anatomical model can come to life!" Ayumi shouted.
(Corpse Party's Fear 4: Anatomical Model begins playing in the background)
BOSS FIGHT: ANATOMICAL MODEL
Suddenly, without warning and seemingly to defy her beliefs, the model walked toward Ayumi and raised its hands to grab her by the neck. Yoshiki gasped as he watched the model stomp toward Ayumi.
"Shinozaki, look out!" he shouted, springing to his feet and running toward her. Thinking fast, he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her out of the way, right before the model could grab her. The others gasped, not quite believing that the model was actually… alive. Ayumi's breathing became ragged as she realized how close she came to being in the model's grasp. A chill went down her spine as the model let out a spine-tingling howl.
"My God…" Ayumi gasped. The model began stomping toward the group with hostile intentions.
"Oh, shit! Everybody run!" Yoshiki shouted.
The group ran for the exit, with the model hot on their heels. Before they could reach the exit, the door suddenly slammed shut, locking them inside. Yoshiki ran up to it and tried to open it, but the door would not budge.
"Damn it, it's locked!" he shouted.
Suddenly, he heard a roar behind him. He turned just in time to see the model barreling toward them. He slammed into the group, knocking them all to the ground and knocking them senseless for a moment. Letting out a growl, he reached down and picked up Ayumi by the neck. Ayumi struggled to break free from its grasp, but just didn't have the strength. Then, in one motion, the model tossed her like a rag doll across the room, landing on the edge of one of the tables. She went sliding off and landed hard on the floor, while the table tipped over and landed hard on her right leg, essentially pinning her to the ground. She screamed as she felt a jolt of pain run up and down her leg as she tried to push the table off of her leg, but it was too heavy for her.
The model growled as it began stalking toward her, intent on finishing her off. Ayumi whimpered in fear as the model continued to close in.
Yoshiki sat up, trying to shake the cobwebs from his head. He looked up and noticed that Ayumi was trapped underneath the heavy table, with the model closing in on her. In a flash, Yoshiki jumped to his feet and ran toward the anatomical model.
"Stay away from her, you bastard!" he roared, leaping onto the model's back. Letting out an anguished roar, the model easily unwrapped Yoshiki's arms from around its neck and tossed Yoshiki to the ground. Yoshiki was quickly back on his feet as he noticed that the model now had its attention focused on him.
"Shinozaki, hang on!" he shouted. He ran at the model, but the model responded by kicking him in the gut, knocking him off his feet and onto his back. Ayumi could do nothing but watch with tear-filled eyes.
"Kishinuma-kun!" she cried. Yoshiki picked himself back up and got into a fighting stance.
"Out of my way, you asshole!" he shouted. He rushed the model again and tried to throw a punch, but to his surprise, the model blocked it with ease and pushed Yoshiki off once again. Not giving up, Yoshiki tried to throw a haymaker, but the model blocked it as well, and answered with a strong left hook, catching Yoshiki in the side of the head and knocking him back to the ground.
"STOP IT!" Ayumi shouted, trying to get Yoshiki to stop attacking the model, seeing as how his attacks were fruitless against it. Yoshiki was down on all fours, panting and wheezing, as a stream of blood ran down the side of his head from a fresh cut where the model had struck him. His eyes held a glazed look within them as he struggled to get back onto one knee.
"Stop it, please!" Ayumi begged tearfully. "Just leave me! Run! Get the others out of here!"
"Don't… worry… Shinozaki…" Yoshiki softly, as he slowly got back onto his feet, a new determination and burning ambition in his steel grey eyes. "I'm going to save you."
"You're just going to die! Look at you! You're bleeding, badly!" Ayumi shouted. "This is an order from your class representative! Leave me! Get everyone else out of here!"
Yui, Morishige, Mayu, and Naho had regained consciousness and were watching the scene unfold in front of them with shocked looks on their faces. Yoshiki growled as he glared at the anatomical model in front of him.
"I'm sorry, Shinozaki, but that's one order I cannot follow," the blonde declared. "I'm not Satoshi, and I'm sure as Hell not Packer… but I'm going to protect you anyway!"
Yoshiki's bold declaration elicited a surprised gasp from Ayumi. The model let out another howl as it stomped toward Yoshiki. Yoshiki looked around for something to fight back with. His eyes settled upon one of the heavy tables, where he spied upon something that might give him a chance.
"The gas burner… That's it!" he shouted. Thinking fast, he ripped the gas line from the burner, grabbed a long-handle lighter and pointed it at the model. "Eat THIS!"
The model gasped as the gas erupted, turning the ruptured line into a makeshift flamethrower. The model howled as it was consumed by the flames. It collapsed to the ground as the sheet covering it was burned away.
Yoshiki turned the gas off, and once the fire was out, ran by the burning model and rushed over to where Ayumi was. He tried to lift the table off of Ayumi's leg, but the table was still too heavy.
"Morishige, give me a hand here!" he yelled over. Morishige nodded and rushed over to Yoshiki and Ayumi. Together, they were able to lift the table off of Ayumi's leg, allowing her to free herself. Once she was out, they let the table crash back to the ground.
Yoshiki sat down on the ground, completely exhausted. He glanced over at Ayumi, who was inspecting her leg. A bruise was forming near her shin, but she didn't look seriously injured.
"You okay, Shinozaki?" Yoshiki asked worriedly. Ayumi glared up at him, causing him to gulp in response. She crawled over to him and began beating on his chest with her fist.
"You jerk, you dumbass!" she shouted, continuing to hit him over and over.
"Shinozaki… glad to see you're still in one piece," Yoshiki murmured softly.
"You… stupid… Ugh! I hate you so much!" Ayumi yelled, tears streaming down her face.
"I'm sorry, Shinozaki," Yoshiki apologized. Then, to his surprise, Ayumi wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his chest, sobbing loudly. Yoshiki's face felt like it was on fire. Whether it was from the beating he just took or from the feeling of Ayumi in his arms, he couldn't tell. Smiling softly, he slowly wrapped his arms around her, bringing her in close for a much-needed hug as she continued to sob into his chest.
"Sounds like a happy cry to me. Guess that means you're okay," Yoshiki said.
"Don't die!" Ayumi cried. "Please don't die, Yoshiki-kun!"
"Alright, I won't…" Yoshiki began, before he realized with a start that Ayumi had used his first name. "Wait… Y-You called me by my first name…"
Ayumi slowly looked up into his eyes, eyes red with tears, but she had a small smile on her face.
"Yeah, I guess I did," she chuckled softly, causing Yoshiki to do the same, albeit with a red face. Morishige cleared his throat, causing the both of them to look up at him.
"I really do hate to break this up, but I think it's time we headed back. The others are probably waiting for us," he said. Ayumi and Yoshiki glanced at each other before Ayumi got off of him. Dusting herself off, she offered a hand to Yoshiki, to which he accepted. Together, they walked back over to the rest of the group.
"Kishinuma, are you alright?" Yui asked worriedly. Yoshiki nodded.
"I'm okay. Just a scratch," he replied. "Packer can heal it when we rendezvous with him and the others."
"Then we should make our way back there quickly," Naho remarked, opening the door. But as they were about to leave, Mayu looked past Ayumi and Yoshiki and screeched in horror.
"LOOK OUT!" she screamed. Yoshiki looked over his shoulder and gasped in horror. The anatomical model, which was still on fire and somehow still alive, had made it back to its feet and was rushing toward Ayumi and Yoshiki. Thinking fast, Yoshiki pushed Ayumi out of the way, but was not fast enough for his own sake. The model grabbed Yoshiki, draping itself over his back. Yoshiki's eyes widened as the intense heat from the flames could be felt burning through his school uniform.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" he screamed in pain as he could begin to feel the flames burning the skin all over his back. He stumbled toward the middle of the room, trying to shake the model off of him, but the model held tight, intent on bringing Yoshiki down with it. Ayumi watched in horror as Yoshiki was slowly beginning to burn to death.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ayumi screamed.
Thinking fast, Naho reached into her pocket and grabbed a bottle of holy water. Quickly popping the cap off the bottle, she splashed the water onto the burning forms of Yoshiki and the model. Within seconds, the flames had been put out. The model groaned in confusion, while Yoshiki took the opportunity to break free from its grasp. He jabbed his elbow into its gut, causing the model to gasp in pain. Not stopping there, Yoshiki jabbed his elbow into the model's face, causing it to stumble backwards. Despite the intense pain in his back, Yoshiki focused on his surroundings and noticed a piece of wood lying on the floor. Picking it up, he spun around and swung the wood like a baseball bat, catching the model in the side of the head. With a low groan, the model collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Dropping the wood, Yoshiki collapsed onto one knee, the searing pain in his back difficult to ignore. The pain was so intense, he didn't notice the impending doom that was approaching him from the side…
Naho placed the cap back onto her bottle and placed it back into her pocket. Morishige helped Ayumi back to her feet, and the blue-haired girl walked over to Naho and bowed to her in appreciation.
"Thank you, Naho, for saving Kishinuma's life," Ayumi said gratefully.
"Like I said, I want to try to atone for what I've done, so I'd say this was a good start," Naho said with a smile. "Now that that's over with, I suggest we try to find something to help with his burns…" Her voice trailed off as she glanced in Yoshiki's direction, or rather, what was past Yoshiki. Her eyes widened at what she saw. "Oh, no…"
Yui, Morishige and Mayu looked over at Yoshiki and would utter the same horrified gasp as Naho did.
Confused, Ayumi looked over toward Yoshiki… and her face became contorted with terror as she realized what Naho and the others had been looking at.
"YOSHIKI-KUN!" she screamed.
Hearing her shout, Yoshiki painfully glanced in her direction, until he heard a familiar moan that made every nerve in his spine tingle. He looked up to where the moan had come from…
…and his face went white upon staring into the blood-red eyes of Yoshikazu. With another angry moan, he raised his sledgehammer into the air, ready to bring it down onto Yoshiki's head.
Yoshiki was frozen in place as the sledgehammer rushed toward him. He closed his eyes, preparing for the blow that would ultimately end his life…
Author's Note: Ooooh, cliffhanger... XD