Damn, that's way too long for my own liking.
Sorry about the HUGE delay. IRL works drained a lot of my energy and imagination, so I couldn't really write any good chapters for the moment. And no, I'm not giving up writing, I just need some times to make sure I didn't break any stories apart.
Enough ranting, let's get to chapter 10!
"So… she wanted to be… what?" Kuro rubs his left temple in confusion. "I think the translation spell didn't work then."
After the cooking competition, everyone has returned back into the school. Then, Sachiko has called out what she wanted to do next. And thanks to her influence, the non-Japanese boy in the group can understand what she said. However…
"She wanted to be a Hollywood star." Morishige reminds him, as they watch the ghost girl shouting at Yoshiki for shooting her dream down harshly. He then gives him a magazine and explains: "Someone dropped this, and she read it. It's covered with scandalous stories about movie stars."
"And I really like it!" Sachiko then stops bickering Yoshiki and joins the conversation. "They all look innocent and perfect on the outside, but so sloppy and messed up on the inside!"
"She… is so easy to be influenced…" Ayumi says in worry.
"She's just a child after all." Tsukasa comments.
"…Well… for one thing, I do have to agree with Yoshiki about giving up that dream." Kuro tries to say something that makes him stay in the neutral. "You are… well, kinda stuck here. Also, to be a movie star, you need to participate in one, and I don't believe we have any good cameras or directors to…"
"That's why I already have made preparations for that!" The girl smiles, completely shutting the boy down. "I have invited a special guest just for this occasion!"
The moment she ends the sentence, the whole school shakes up, causing the others to kneel down and hug their heads in surprise. Except Kuro who just sighs and pinches his nose bridge with his bandaged hand. "Em co the dung lam may cai tro dau tim nay duoc khong?"
Her response is a playful giggle. "What's wrong, Kuro-nii? Can't handle something like that?"
"At some points, yes." The earthquake then stops, as the others regain their composures. "If I'm correct, you just teleported this 'guest' into this dimension, correct?"
Instead of answering, Sachiko points her thumb towards a direction. Kuro turns his face towards where the door of the room is, and he sees it getting knocked hard. Then, with one more knock (punch), the door falls down, revealing a zombie standing behind it with a camera in its right hand.
The others immediately have their guards up, but Sachiko explains who the zombie is. Upon knowing who it 'was', Morishige starts fanboying over him while the others question his sanity.
"Any questions?" Sachiko asks Kuro with a smirk, which he replies by shaking his head in defeat. "Great! Then let's make the movie!"
"Sorry to interrupt. I'm not exactly the expert here, but…" Kizami asks doubtfully. "Is it even possible to take a movie with just one handy camera like that?"
"Technically, it's possible." Morishige replies. "It's not about the number of cameras, but the quality of one. The one the director is holding is a professional standard."
"And good angles would make a non-pretty scene pretty." Kuro adds. He then asks: "So which type of movie is it going to be then?"
"Obviously, it's about…"
"A high school love story!"
…
"…" Kuro takes a look outside of the window in 3-A's classroom. Currently most of the group has been waiting here (under Sachiko's order) as they're chatting with each other. He feels a bit off so he decides to stand a bit far away from them, letting himself fall in his own world…
'So, how are you doing?' His own voice asks him in his mind.
'…Hoi cau hoi thua do. What happened to the 'present'?'
'Still there. Though, they knew.'
'Sooner or later.'
"Hey, Kuro." He turns to his right to see Naho standing next to him while looking at the window. "Between the events, we couldn't really ask anything from you… Where did you get that chocolate from?"
"…Isn't it obvious?" Kuro asks, both knowing the answer.
"Then why is still she still having one in her pocket?"
"…Time paradox. That's all I could answer you."
"Why?"
"…Things."
Before Naho could ask more, Sachiko with the rest enter into the room, drawing everyone's attention. "Hey, we're back!"
"That took a long t… what the heck is that?!" Yoshiki comments at the clothes the ghost girl is wearing.
"Hehe, does it suit me? Are you getting excited?"
"NO WAY IT IS!"
That little conversation causes Kuro to face-palm, while Naho smiles nervously. "I guess she's still a child… well, somewhat."
"I guess…" Kuro replies uncertainly.
"Hey, Kuro-nii." The 'ringmaster' then walks up to the person and orders: "You are going to participate too!"
"…Ha?" He asks back, his voice filled with surprised. "I mean, there are many better actors here…"
"You are the best one around here, you know?" The girl's smile doesn't falter. "I mean, you managed to…"
"Stop, please." Kuro immediately says, preventing her from revealing the truth. "…Alright. But, if you are serious about…"
"Of course I am. Besides, thanks to you, I have a new idea for the movie!"
He, and the others, doesn't like what she's going to say.
However, instead of saying more, she turns to the zombie director and says: "Mister, give them the new script!"
The director grunts in return as he gives Morishige some of the scripts, and they start spreading them out. Kuro takes one and reads (thankfully the spell also works on words) the title.
It says: Mysterious Transfer Student During Love Season
"…I…" Kuro has no words to describe how baffled he is right now. "…Ah…Eh…"
"This one again?" Shimada shouts in displeasure. "Do you have any better ideas?"
"What? You guys didn't do it before, remember? Also, he's more entertaining than you." Sachiko reminds them of their 'disobedience'.
"I do have to agree with her." Kuro nearly jumps up in surprise as he turns back to see Aiko Niwa with the smirk on her face. "If what Sachiko said is true, then you haven't died once in this place. Most people would die within hours, and yet…"
"…I think I DID die when I saw his eyes…" Kuro says, not directly mentioning whom. He then scratches his head as he reads the title again. "…I don't really have THAT kind of mysterious looking, do I?"
"You can act like one." Sachiko chirps. She points her index finger towards Kizami and says: "Remember that?"
"…You win." Kuro sighs in defeat. "Don't blame me if I do not meet your expectations."
…
Time skip
'…Toi van song a?'
'Yeah, you are still alive.'
Imagine the whole event by yourself. At least not that extreme compared to Yoshiki x Kizami.
Everyone has retreated back into the classroom and taken a small break, and Kuro simply sits on one of the chairs and face-plants into a table, indicating how mind-numbingly tired he is after… whatever he just did.
"See? I told you that you would do great!" Sachiko speaks with a bright smile on her face. "I didn't expect that you knew that much about Triangle Love though…"
"No, just…no, Sachiko." That's obviously a teasing. "Being teased is one thing, misunderstanding it is another different one."
"Which one is yours?"
"Obviously the first one."
"I'm a little surprised that a person like you haven't gotten a girlfriend yet…" Azusa says in wonder. "You seem to be even more of a knight than Knight-kun here…"
"Hey, I told you to stop call me that."
"Believe it or not, I'm more of an introvert person. And being teased by others, mostly girls, during the whole education time made me…a bit numb about it."
"…I don't really see anything of you that could be used for teasing." Naho asks curiously.
"Chubby, too white as a boy to the natives, too shy and too 'scaredy cat', too forgiving, too innocent. All of that, and I was given the nickname 'Princess'." Kuro lists off everything that people has thought of him, and he didn't bother to try to argue since he knew it himself.
That list makes most of the girls "EH!?" in surprise, with the guys having their eyes widen to express the same feeling. Even Sachiko is a little shocked at the revelation, but then she giggles and says: "Ah, don't be so down about it. I mean, it's in the past…"
Kuro lets out a chuckle, interrupting her. "Hey, I never said that I felt bad about it. Though, because of that, I was able to speak freely with the girls… and maybe because of that I didn't think much about finding a girlfriend."
"That…sounds a little depressing." Satoshi comments, feeling a little uneasy at how Kuro spoke about his own situation.
"Yeah, I know." Kuro chuckles again. He then sits straight up and asks: "So what's next Sachiko?"
"Hm… The next scene wouldn't have your role, so you can just stay there." Sachiko knows that he would just try to keep up with the others to keep her entertained, but she knows that he needs the energy for the future.
"Hm… if you say so." Kuro shrugs, then stands up much to the others' confusion. "A little stretch would be better than sitting down, though." After saying his brief goodbye to the others, Kuro leaves the room and heads to one of the stairs in the school…
'Where are you going? The next event would be…'
'Something… is calling me.'
'…I see. Be careful.'
'Chac la cho nay roi…' Kuro thinks to himself as he stands in the middle of the forest, where a clear ground is spotted. Something, or someone, wants him to get into this location, by tugging his heart constantly. Though it took him about half an hour to find the place, so his legs are a bit numb. "…Queen, you can just give an invitation or something. You don't have to pull me constantly."
"…" A few steps away from him, the pale witch emerges out of nowhere, her blank eyes staring at him.
That makes Kuro sigh and shake his head. He then walks to her and kneels down so their eyes could meet. "I suppose I have to say my thanks to you. Without you taking me here, maybe I would have died after saving Azusa's group."
"…" She doesn't reply at his gratitude to her. Though he can notice that her lips do curl up very slightly up.
He then remembers a bar of chocolate he asked the girls to make (in case he couldn't find food in the long run). He pulls it out and gives it to the Queen. "Here's something from the cooking competition. It's not much, but…"
"Keep." The Queen pushes back the bar before disappears, leaving Kuro behind.
"…Ha?" He's surprised at the way the girl acts. "…So… why did she call me again?" Scratching his head with his left hand, he puts back the chocolate into the inner pocket of his coat with the other hand. "That's… is that one of Japanese cultures that I'm unaware of?"
'You REALLY think that's a culture?'
'Obviously not.'
Shaking his head in confusion, he then turns his head around… and finds a nearby mansion. "…That's… what was it again?"
"Kuro?" He then notices Azusa and her 'girlfriend' running towards him. "Why are you out here? Shouldn't you be in the school?"
"Well… things happened." Not lie, but not truth. "Why are you two here, though? Another of Sachiko's pranks?"
"That scary-looking zombie suddenly raged up and tried to kill us!" Ran explains. "We have separated from each other! Thankfully I still have my wife here!"
Ignoring the tone, Kuro understands what happened. Though… he decides not to say anything. He then turns to the mansion and says: "Returning back there might be a bit too reckless. Let's just stay in there for a moment. Maybe the others will try to find us soon."
…
A few minutes later
"Hm… not bad for a haunted mansion." Kuro comments as he observes the hallway. "Still need some more decorations though."
"Aren't you scared, mister Kuro?" Azusa asks, worried about the person's mentality. "In here, anything could kill you."
"You did try once." Kuro chuckles, though that causes the girl to grimace. "I'm not blaming you, by the way."
"Can't we just stay in one place?" Ran whines. "Wandering aimlessly would do us nothing! And the others are probably trying to find us now."
"…Well, if you say so." Kuro shrugs. "Though, I will keep going. If I think right, the second floor could have some guest rooms. That's the safest bet."
"I thought you like going with a group, being safe and all."
"But I can't sit still either. And… well, I won't say anything further. Try to rest first, then I will return and find you later."
With that, the girls stop following Kuro and say their goodbye as they head towards the stairs and go up a floor. Kuro then goes different way and heads to a different stair that leads to the basement.
'Wasn't that a bit too easy?'
'Are you sure you want to be with them? A Yandere and a girl who could betray you for her benefits?'
'Hm… you have a point there.'
After a couple more steps, Kuro reaches the deepest part of the mansion. He heads further inside while trying to hold his breath as many times as possible because of the smell. "Urgh, I hope there are no corpses down here."
*SPLASH*
"?" Kuro turns back to see if something falls behind him, but finds nothing. He looks at the small water puddles on the floor and sees also nothing in them. Shrugging his shoulders, Kuro continues forward…
*SPLASH*
"…" It couldn't be his own footsteps. Based on the others saying to him, usually he walks so slow and quiet that they do not notice his presence until he's too close. And that's something he could use well in this place.
Taking a small glance back this time, he finds nothing again. Gritting his teeth, he slowly pulls out his phone and opens his camera up, then points it backward over his left shoulder and takes a picture.
*SNAP!*
"…When did I turn on my flash?" Kuro asks himself when he retracts his phone and opens the photo to look at it…
…
"Hm… where is Kuro?" Morishige asks Sachiko as he looks through the cameras. "We saw the others already. Kizami, Yuka and Satsuki are in the main hall for now… What are the places where there are no cameras?"
"The basement is one." The ghost girl replies. "Some of the locked rooms like where Ayumi and Yoshiki entered as well. Other than that…"
The zombie director suddenly grunts.
"…Something is in this place?" Sachiko deciphers his words.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Like I said before, Morishige. This place is connected to hell. Even I can't control this place, so expect anything could happen here."
The zombie grunts again.
"Then… Kuro, Azusa and Ran are in danger!" Morishige exclaims. "If this 'thing' is not in your plan and could be dangerous…"
"…There is nothing I could do for that." Sachiko's face doesn't change her expression. "…Doesn't mean I'm not worried about Kuro, though. He's the only one who hasn't actually died yet, unlike you all...I hope whoever is with him could help him out of the problems."
Chapter 10 end!
I was planning to end the 2U arc here, but... I feel like it's going to be too long, so...
Sorry for the quality. Regaining my writing skills back.
Will see you guys again soon!