Hello everyone to the new story! This time, we will return to the past of my main OC, when he didn't have any of his power. Although, it's not entirely focus on his POV, instead it's of the others.
And to not be confused:
"Japanese"
"English"
"SHOUTING IN JAPANESE"
"SHOUTING IN ENGLISH"
'Thinking, both languages depends on who's thinking'
Important details.
I think that's enough for now. Let's get to the first chapter of the new story!
"N…No…NO!" The girl shouts in desperation, as the bucket in her hand drops to the ground, giving out a sickening echo in the girl's lavatory. What presents in front of her is the worst nightmare of her life: her closest friend, Seiko Shinohara, is swinging back and forth slowly in her noose, with her eyes devoid of life. Stepping two steps back, Naomi Nakashima falls on her knees, her hands hugging her head as she shakes it left and right, disbelieving the scene before her. "NOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"WHY? *SOB* WHY WOULD YOU HANG YOURSELF!? YOU WERE SMILING AND LAUGHING ALL THIS TIME, AND YOU SAID WE WOULD FIND A WAY OUT OF THIS PLACE TOGETHER! DON'T LEAVE ME LIKE THAT!"
The girl screams from the bottom of her lung, unable to do anything else but crying over her friend's suicide. Everything they have done so far, everything they have promised each other, now turns into oblivion. All she could see now, is death. Death, of her friend.
"THIS…THIS CAN'T BE… THIS IS JUST A NIGHTMARE… PLEASE, TALK TO ME…" The girl whimpers loudly, not daring to look again into her friend…
Then, a burning sensation appears in her throat, causing her to cough violently. She grabs her neck with both her hands, trying to throw up, thinking something just caught into her mouth. However, nothing comes out, and the sensation gets worse and worse. She screams for help, but no one is around. She pushes herself back, stopped at the wall while throwing her legs up, feeling helpless at the moment. She shouts one last time: "SOMEBODY, PLEASE! HELP…"
"WOULD YOU SHUT UP PLEASE?" Suddenly, a force hit her forehead, render her unconscious.
…
"…"
"SHE DIDN'T KNOW!"
"HOW COULD YOU SAY SO? SHE MUST KNOW SOMETHING!"
"…"
"I HAVE THE ANSWER! JUST WAIT!"
"HERE SHE COMES!"
"Urgh…" Naomi grunts, as she opens her eyes to see a broken ceiling. A familiar broken ceiling. "Wha… am I… in the infirmary?" She sits up and looks down, to see a red hoodie covering her body, as she's lying on the infirmary bed. "When… did I return here?"
"NAOMI!" Someone shouts and runs to her, as she turns to her left, and the person just hugs her tightly, gripping her like she's going to run away. "I'm so scared, Naomi! I thought… I thought… you are… WOAH!" The girl starts crying on her shoulder, and she feels the tears dropping on her uniform.
And hers start flowing out as well, when she hears the voice of the person. She slowly pushes the person out just a little bit just to see who is talking to her. "… S… SEIKO?"
"YOU RECOGNIZED ME!" The person she saw dead is now hugging her again. "YOU RECOGNIZED ME! YOU RECOGNIZED ME…" She repeats, again and again, both in fear and relief.
"S…SEIKO!" Naomi returns the hug and shouts her friend's name, both are crying in each other's arms, as they don't want to leave each other again… not again…
After a few minutes, Seiko releases the hug, as she wipes out the tears with her right arm. "I… I was so scared, Naomi! You suddenly did that to me, and I thought I was a goner!"
"…" The girl before Naomi is pretty much alive, although her skin is a bit paler. And she notices a line around Seiko's neck… and the memory returns. "…S…Seiko?"
"Uh huh?" Seiko asks back, her smile flashes before her.
"…I… I saw you… I… you were… dead…" Naomi's words is stuck in her throat, as she can't comprehend what she just saw.
"…So he really told the truth. You didn't know at all." Seiko's smile drops.
"…What… He?" He? Who is she talking about?
"Naomi… you didn't remember… remember that you hang me up?"
"!" WHY DID SHE ASK SUCH QUESTION? "I WOULD NEVER DO THAT! WHY WOULD I DO THAT?"
"…" Seiko bites her lower lip, as she registers her words… then, she says: "It's best to show you. Can you stand?"
Leaving Seiko's arms, Naomi grabs the hoodie and puts her feet on the cold floor, making her shiver a bit. The pain in her ankle somehow has been lessened. Then, she notices her shoes, and she grabs it and starts wearing them on. Seiko has left the beds and walks to a clear space in the infirmary, and Naomi follows her out. Once the curtain's out of her view, she could see the main area of the infirmary, with the candle from before being moved to the middle of the room, with a guy sitting next to it while examining his camera. He then notices Seiko and Naomi exiting from the beds as he greets: "Hey, miss Shinohara. Your friend is awake, I see."
"Yeah. Oh and Naomi, the hoodie is his." Seiko says, gesturing to the hoodie in her hand.
"Oh?" Naomi walks towards him and return his item. "Thanks for giving it to me, mister…"
"Shougo Taguchi, a cameraman… Pleasure to meet you… you didn't look so scary now…" The guy nervously says, clearly not wanting to speak much to her.
"Hey, Taguchi." Seiko asks. "Can you open that video again?"
That sends him over the edge. "What? Are you sure?"
She sighs. "Sorry, but only after that, could we explain about what she remembered."
"…If…If you insist." The cameraman starts pressing on his camera, and gives it to Seiko. The girl then shows the clip to her friend, when… Naomi tried to hang Seiko up.
"!" Naomi backs away from the camera. "NO….NO!"
"Naomi!" Dropping the camera down, quickly but carefully, Seiko grabs on Naomi's arms, preventing her from running away. "Listen! That wasn't you back then! You were possessed by the ghosts there!"
"I… I tried to…" Seiko's words haven't managed to reach to her ears, and Naomi's mind is starting to shut down, unexpected at the clip.
"NAOMI!" Seiko starts to shake the girl violently, and after about ten seconds, she succeeds in snapping Naomi out of her shocked state. "I didn't blame you! That was the ghosts' faults, not yours!"
"…" Naomi is still surprised at that. Her eyes are showing fear.
"It's true." Taguchi catches Naomi's attention. "I thought you were doing so as well. But with how you're acting right now, I guess you really didn't know what you have done… well, what you were being controlled to do."
"… So you know that?"
"Well, I don't. But he does." Taguchi points his thumb towards the exit of the infirmary as he grabs his camera and puts it in his pocket.
Naomi walks slowly to the candle and turns her head to the right… Right at a wall next to the exit door, a person is sitting on the floor, leaning on the wall with his head hanging down, his knees are blocking the face. Because of that, she could only see his short black hair, and parts of his clothes being a black coat that's designed to wear in winter, black trousers and shoes. His arms are putting on the knees, and Naomi could see his right hand being covered in blood. She then notices a pair of scissors in his right, and a bloody bag in his left.
"He's the one saving us all, you know." Taguchi says. "Against that zombie man and the ghost lady…"
"Zombie man? Ghost lady?" Naomi asks, unaware of the mentioned.
"Yeah, you wouldn't know." Seiko says. "He managed to protect me before that ghost lady killed me and you… and he knows what's going on in this place."
"…He does?" Naomi asks in surprise.
"Well… at least, that's from Taguchi translating his words."
"Huh?" Naomi is confused.
Taguchi replies: "Unfortunately he doesn't know Japanese. But, it's lucky he could spell our names right, and pick up some words to use."
Naomi turns back to the person, to see his head slightly move up and down, but only because of the steady breathing. Then she asks: "Do you know his name?"
"Eh… that's the thing. He refused to say his name." Seiko answers.
"… He's not from Japan, right?"
"He is not." Now that makes sense.
"Have you asked him anything yet?" Naomi asks in wonder.
"It seems he didn't want to talk, yet." Taguchi confirms. "Foul mood, maybe."
"…Was there anyone with him?" That's a good question.
"…Now you say it…" Taguchi remembers. "The first thing he asked me was to help him saving you girls. He didn't ask anything else after that. And even before the Ghost lady appeared, he just told me to wait here and… *gulp* himself going out and examining the corpse on the wall."
"EW!" Naomi cringes in disgust. "Why did he do so?"
"Well it's…" A knocking sound interrupts their conversation, as they turn to see the person, who has awaken, raising his left index finger before his lips, signaling to stop speaking, and now Naomi could see him wearing glasses. Grabbing the scissors with his bloody hand and the bag with his other, the person slowly kneels on his knee and reaches the doorknob before standing up… and pulling it out quickly as he braces himself. A few seconds later, nothing happens. The person then slowly pokes his head out and looks left-to-right… then gestures them to follow him. The group nods reluctantly and does as he says.
When everyone's out, the person closes the door of the infirmary slowly, before placing his left hand on the ground and kneels again. Taguchi asks in English: "What are you doing?"
"Making sure nobody is around, or…" Suddenly, an earthquake happens, making everyone drop to the floor. A few seconds later, it stops. "That." The person finishes his sentence.
"You could have warned us." Taguchi scowls.
"What did he say, mister Taguchi?" Seiko asks as she massages her butt.
"Well, he already prepared for the earthquake." The cameraman answers.
Naomi pouts. "He could have told us."
"With his language?" With that question, the girl can't really answer.
The person then stands up as he heads to the right… only for a few steps before he returns back to the group and then releases a sigh of relief. Taguchi immediately asks: "What is it?"
"…" However, instead of answering, the person slowly takes careful steps towards the stairs, as he raises the scissors up, preparing for anyone to come.
… Then, a couple of running steps echo, causing the girls to hide behind the cameraman, and Kuro tightens his grip on the scissors, with the bloody bag already in his coat pocket. After a few seconds later, a girl and a boy run up the stairs and reveal their faces…
"K…Kishinuma?" Seiko asks in surprise.
"Class rep?" Naomi follows in surprise. Seeing who they are, the person immediately drops his guard towards the two, but turns his head towards the other way and his grip on the scissors is not loosen.
"Shinohara! Nakashima!" Ayumi Shinozaki says their names in happiness. However, it's dropped instantly as she tells: "Suzumoto is in danger!"
The moment he hears the name, the person turns to look at the class rep, or rather her hands, and sees a doll in them. His eyes widen in terror, and the person immediately runs towards the infirmary door and opens it harshly…
And everyone looks inside and sees Mayu Suzumoto floating in the air, with two ghosts being right next to her, rendering the girl unconscious. They immediately run inside, and Ayumi shouts towards Mayu: "Suzumoto! Open your eyes, please!"
Everyone, except the person, sees the door behind them close, but they pay it no more than a second as they return their focuses on the ghosts. Yoshiki Kishinuma shouts in anger: "Haven't you ghosts done enough already?! I don't know what happened to you, and I can guess it's horrible, but you are cursing…" Any more words that could come out of his mouth can't be heard anymore as the person has already covered his mouth with the left hand. "MMHH!"
However, that's enough to anger the ghosts, as their roar shakes the room. The class rep shouts: "Stop! If you make them mad, they will shut us out!" She then turns to the ghosts and says slowly: "…Come on, you two… I have something you need to…"
"NO!" That shout surprises Ayumi, as she turns to the person who just said that, and the ghosts do so as well. "That doll is not what they're after!"
Thankfully, Ayumi does know the language, as she asks: "What do you mean? The teacher has confessed…"
"That one didn't kill the kids!" The person answers, and with Taguchi translating, everyone widens their eyes in surprise.
"That huge guy didn't kill them?" Yoshiki asks after managing to pry the hand off his mouth. "But that girl, Naho, she told us to find the killer…"
"And you're assuming the wrong guy!" The person shouts back. "And Naho is a liar!"
"…What? You know Naho?" Ayumi asks again.
"I… uh…" He plans to answers, but his focus turns to the two ghosts, who are staring straight at him. "Um… do they… understand…me?" And to his surprise, they nod. "That's… unexpected…"
"…Y…kn…som…" The girl with the missing eye starts speaking, however, she couldn't say a word.
"… I hope this is correct… Yuki, am I correct?" The ghost widens her remain eye in surprise. The person then lowers the scissors to the ground to show that he's unarmed, then he pulls out the bloody bag from his coat and gives it to the ghost girl. "I believe this is yours."
"…" The bag's content suddenly vanishes. The girl starts crying a bit… then she says: "… Thank you… very much…"
Everyone doesn't dare to say a word. Kuro turns and looks at Ayumi for a translation, and she complies: "She's thanking you."
"I see… you're welcome…" He then looks at the headless girl. "Tokiko…" That gains her attention. "We could help finding what you want. However, we can't do so with you trying to kill us. Can you and Ryou not attack anyone during the time we search for them… please?" The headless girl looks at Yuki, who then nods. The girl moves what left of her head, signaling that she agrees. The two ghosts then disappear, leaving Mayu to slowly descend and lie on the floor. The person then drops on the floor on his legs and hands, panting heavily. "… Too… close…"
Everyone starts gathering around Mayu, as Ayumi nudges the girl trying to wake her up. "Suzumoto?"
"Um…" The girl's eyes slowly open up, and the first one she sees is Ayumi. "Class rep? Is that you?"
"Thank the heaven!" Ayumi cries and hugs the girl. "You have no idea how we're so scared! I thought…"
Seiko grins up. "Cheer up, class rep. Suzumoto is safe now, and that's what matters, right?"
Ayumi nods slowly. "But it's so scary…"
Naomi says in relief: "We managed to reach the others now… the people who are left are: miss Yui, Mochida siblings and Morishige."
Yoshiki then says: "We should give him a proper thank. After all, who knows what could happen to Suzumoto if we used that doll?"
Ayumi nods and helps Mayu standing up, then bows to the person and says: "Thank you very much for saving my friends."
"It's… no big… deal…" The person says between his breathes.
"You should sit down properly." Taguchi suggests.
"…Yeah…" The person does so, then looks up to Ayumi and Mayu as he asks: "Is she okay now?"
"Yes." Ayumi then introduces. "I think it's time for us to introduce ourselves. My name is Ayumi Shinozaki…" That name makes both Taguchi and the person shiver. "What's wrong?"
"It's…nothing." The person answers back.
Ayumi decides to continue: "The white hair guy here is Yoshiki Kishinuma, and the one you just saved is Mayu Suzumoto. You might have heard of Shinohara and Nakashima, right?" Gains a nod from the person. "May I ask for your name?"
"…" After his breath turns back to normal, the person answers: "I can't tell you my real name. However, you can call me Kuro."
Chapter 1 end!
And that's it, for now. Anything mysterious about this new person will be explained in further chapters. Goodbye, for now!