Chapter 1: Getting the Ropes: Part 2: Calamity Avoided! Not…
Seiko's POV…
I have been having bad nightmares lately about me dying, and the one I had last night… well, it was… different somehow, but still plenty horrible at the end. Here's how it went:
Basically, Naomi was my girlfriend and we went to school together, linking arms, giving each other occasional pecks on the cheek. And Naomi had slightly longer hair. My hair was just the same as it had always been, just a bit longer so the curls were slightly bigger. I told Naomi she looked lovely today because she had a small, yellow ribbon on the side of her head. And since she's a tomboy, I never expected her to wear a ribbon.
"What do ya say after school we go out for ice cream?" I offered, giving her a smirk.
"Yep! And I'll even give you a favor afterwards.~" Naomi said in a whisper.
I blushed and kissed her cheek.
When we got to school, Ayumi announced that she had a game for us. It was very faint I remember it involving a paper doll and we had to rip it into nine pieces. I was all ready to play it, but then I felt a hand grab mine from behind. It was Naomi's.
"N-Naomi?" I stuttered.
"Seiko…" Naomi whispered.
Her head was hung slightly low, and I couldn't see her eyes. Something was really bothering my beloved Naomi… And I wanted to know what. Because I hate it when Naomi is like this.
"Seiko… No matter what, I want you be safe…" she whispered, bringing her head up at the last part.
Her brown eyes seemed devoid any light. She seemed scared and desensitized about something. What was going on with my Naomi?
"Seiko-chan! Naomi-san! Come on over!"
We looked over at the group of people who were gathered around, holding the paper doll. I had to worry about Naomi later…
Naomi and I grabbed our ends of the paper.
"Alright, is everyone ready?" Ayumi asked.
We all nodded.
"Alright, then, let's do it on the count of three! One… two…"
"Three!"
Just as we all ripped the paper doll, a terrible thing happened! It was all a mess, but the school started to shake! We all started screaming in fear and tried scrambling away! Then, a large hole broke loose in the floor! There were sharp spikes at the bottom, and I ran to where the floor wasn't breaking.
However, I'd forgotten about Naomi!
I looked around for her and saw her standing in one place. She wasn't moving and the crack was headed straight for her!
"N-Naomi! Move!" I yelled across the room. Naomi looked down, then back up at me.
"Seiko… please forgive me!" my girlfriend cried out.
"Naomi?! What are you-?!"
But before I could finish, I saw Naomi jump down into the pit! What was she thinking?!
"NAOMI!~"
I reached out for her but I couldn't reach that far and I was too late… Naomi had fallen into the pit and her body got punctured by the spikes! There was blood splattered all over the spikes and I could see that Naomi's heart had gotten skewered straight out of her chest along with her brain! It looked disgusting, but I didn't care. My Naomi is now dead! I let out a cry and fell to my death along with my Naomi…
"Seiko!"
I opened my eyes in shock and saw Naomi on top of me! Personally, I would've expected me to wake her up like this. Now, she seems to have this completely reversed…
"N-Naomi?" I stuttered.
"Seiko, what's wrong?" she asked.
"Oh… it was just a bad dream, that's all…" I answered, sighing.
"Ah… Well, it's still nighttime, so let's try and get back to sleep." Naomi said, getting off me and laying down next to me.
I sighed and closed my eyes. I didn't feel so tired anymore. The dream was still stuck in my head, and it made me feel scared. What if that really happened? No! If Naomi died, I'd never be able to smile ever again! That, and I'd never… get to tell her…
"Seiko?"
I gasped and looked over at Naomi who had an indescribable expression on her face. She looked like she could've been surprised, as depicted by her wide brown eyes. But she also seemed to have a normal, generic expression, as depicted by her straight mouth. Or, she could be sad, as depicted by her downturned eyebrows. What was wrong with Naomi?
"What was your nightmare about?" Naomi asked me.
I was a bit shocked at this question because just talking about nightmares makes even me scared. Especially if the nightmare involves… dying…
I told Naomi my dream, excluding the part where she was my girlfriend, and when I was done, she looked down with her eyes half-lidded. It was very heart-wrenching to see Naomi like this. Especially since she was generally a happy person. At least that's what I remember… Call me crazy, but I feel like this has all happened before… Except I was sleeping at Naomi's house, and a lot of different things occurred. But that's impossible, right? Or… is it?
Well, either way…
"N-Naomi… we'd better get to sleep. Or else we'll be too tired for school." I said to my blackette friend.
Naomi gave off a hesitant nod to this. I wanted to go to sleep, but I was still scared.
"Hey, Naomi?" I spoke up.
Naomi turned back to me. "Yeah, what is it Seiko?" she asked.
I sighed and felt some blood rush to my face. I squirmed in place for awhile, not sure what to say. In my heart, I knew what I wanted to say, it was so easy. As was it in my head. But I couldn't get those words out to Naomi. I felt so shy and embarrassed that it just wasn't easy to speak to Naomi right now. Which is weird because usually I can say anything or do anything I want to her with few hesitations. So, why is this time any different? Did my dream weaken me? I didn't know… I just didn't know…
"N-Nevermind… Let's just go to sleep." I stammered, turned away from Naomi.
I closed my eyes and shuffled a bit. It was gonna be an even longer night… I blushed as I felt movement next to me. The next thing I knew, Naomi had moved closer to me and she had wrapped her arm around me.
(A/N: Insert "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri here.)
I blushed and felt shivers go up my side. I turned my head back. I saw Naomi looking at me with half-lidded eyes.
"Seiko…" she whispered.
"Naomi?" I said back.
"It was just a nightmare… don't worry…" Naomi told me, gripping me tighter.
I half-lidded my eyes and felt a lump form in my throat. It started to hurt a little, but that meant I was gonna cry… Naomi was such an awesome friend… I turned completely around so I was facing her. We stared at each other for what seemed like forever until Naomi and I moved closer together in sync. We then cuddled each other for comfort. Naomi was so warm… I wonder if she thought I was really warm as well? I certainly felt warm now that Naomi was close to me. But, was I really as warm as I thought? All of these feelings and talkings about warmth started to make me sleepy all over again. Before I could try object to it, my amber eyes slid closed and I started to breath softly in and out.
Even though my eyes were closed, I could feel someone or something smiling at me. Was it Naomi? I then felt a warm hand pet my brown hair.
And a soft, familiar voice whisper, "Goodnight… Seiko…"
I couldn't help but give off a small smile.
'Goodnight… Naomi…'
The next day… Naomi's POV…
Seiko's dream, to me, was a sign that she was remembering. I don't recall there being spikes in the holes in the floor when the school turns into a death trap, though. Then again, I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to jump down at check. But I knew that Seiko was getting closer to finding out the truth of the constant time loop. Maybe she'll never learn about it, maybe she will. All I'm hoping for is for this world to be one with a happy ending. Luckily, I have some tools and plans in mind. I don't know if they'll work, but it's worth a shot! I'd do anything to save Seiko!
*beep, beep, beep*
I slowly opened my brown eyes and yawned. I looked over and saw Seiko still cuddled close to me. I smiled at the innocent girl and petted her hair. When Seiko goes to bed, she takes the curls out of her hair and lets it fall out. Her hair is actually quite long. Not like, Rapunzel long, but it's up there somewhere. I sat up slightly and saw it was Seiko's clock beeping. It was now 6:30 a.m., and school starts at 8:00 a.m. I looked back down at Seiko who was still asleep. Now I know this world is different. Seiko had warned me in a previous world that she always gets up before anyone in her house does. But she's still sleeping… Well, we have to get up and get ready for school. I got up out of Seiko's bed and stood by the side of her bed. My legs were still sore and tired, but I knew that going back to sleep wasn't an option. No matter what, fate will happen one way or another… However, I'm hoping to beat fate into a fucking pulp! Sorry for my language, but you get the point.
I looked down at the still sleeping Seiko. I decided to wake her up. I put my hands in her and shook her gently.
"Seiko, wake up!" I whisper-yelled, so I wouldn't wake up the rest of the house.
Seiko didn't wake up. I tried again, but nothing was working.
"Seiko!" I snapped quietly.
Still nothing. I sighed and groaned.
'Seiko needs to get up… But how?' I wondered.
I thought about ideas for a little bit until I came to the idea to not kiss her. Or, at least threaten to not kiss her unless she doesn't wake up.
I bent down to Seiko's head and whispered in her ear, "Seiko, if you get up, I'll kiss you.~"
I leaned up and watched for movements.
Sure enough, Seiko's amber coloured eyes shot open and she shot up from her bed.
"You will?!" I giggled at my friend's reaction.
Seiko is really cheerful when it comes to stuff like this, and that's one of the things I like about her.
After letting her down on the fact that I wouldn't kiss her again, she whined and said, "Damn it, Naomi! You and your stupid tricks."
I laughed as I got on my uniform.
"And you fell for it, too. That makes you stupid." I joked, pulling up my skirt.
Seiko blushed at me.
"Stop stealing my personality!" Seiko snapped.
"Yeah, maybe I should leave the cheerfulness to you, Seiko." I admitted.
Seiko smiled and nodded. I smiled back and turned around to button up my uniform.
Seiko stayed unusually quiet for a while and I assumed she was gonna wait to get her uniform on so she could watch me dress. Seiko's really weird… Good weird, but weird…
"Na-o-mi!~"
I gasped and felt blood rush to my face as I felt Seiko's rough hands play with my boobs.
"Ah! S-Seiko! Stop!" I pleaded, flailing around.
"Never!~ This is what Naomi gets for tricking Seiko Shinohara!" she said in a demented tone.
Now I know Seiko is back to… weird…
(A/N: Get it, back to normal/back to weird?)
I elbowed Seiko's boobs and that made her jump back and yelp in pain.
"And that's what Seiko gets for messing with Naomi Nakashima!" I retorted.
"You little elbow-er!" Seiko whimpered, holding her chest.
I sighed and handed Seiko her uniform. She hesitantly took it from my hands while still holding her boob where I elbowed her.
After changing into our school uniforms, we went downstairs and saw Seiko's mom making us breakfast.
"Good morning, okasan!" Seiko sang, waving to her mom.
"Good morning, Mrs. Shinohara," I greeted.
"Morning Seiko, and Naomi." Mrs. Shinohara said cheerfully, putting some eggs on a plate.
The food smelled really good, kind of like how Seiko's cooking did. I guess her mom taught her quite a bit. It kinda makes me happy knowing that Seiko's mom is here in this world. In most of the past worlds, her mom went missing. But now, she's here… Maybe that's a good sign. I really hope this world turns out good… If not, Seiko will die. Can't let that happen…
After we ate breakfast, we started to walk to school. I wanted to link arms with Seiko, so I did. When I did, she gasped in surprise.
"Naomi? This is a shock…" she muttered.
I lowered my brown eyes in shame and a red blush line appeared on my face.
"I know, it's just… I have a bad feeling and wanna…" I whispered, unable to find the right words to use without scaring her.
Seiko leaned her head to try and look at me. I tried to avoid her but she's very persistent. She was able to look in my eyes and see me crying.
"Naomi, what is it? This isn't like you…" she asked in a very sincere voice.
I wasn't able to answer her with my words, but my eyes were saying everything. I could tell how much Seiko worried about me. But I'm pretty sure she was more worried about me than I was about her. Seiko…
"Seiko… Just please try and be safe…"
Seiko tilted her head questioningly at me and was about to ask what I meant. But then I took her by the hand and dragged her to school with me. Seiko tried objecting, but I didn't hear it. Actually, I did hear but I pretended I didn't. I might have been making Seiko feel ignored and I felt bad about it; but I have some important things to do before I can get back to normal. Or as normal as my life could get…
When we got to school, we saw Ayumi and she was with Satoshi. She appeared to be linking arms with him and he looked like he was kind of happy and kind of embarrassed. Ayumi was a little smiley, but when Satoshi looked at her, she wiped it off of her face.
'Ayumi is such a tsundere…' I thought, sighing.
"Hey, Naomi!"
I looked up and saw Ayumi waving at me, and Satoshi saw me as well. He appeared to panic and made sure he and Ayumi weren't linking arms. When Ayumi ran up to me and Seiko, she seemed to be giggling excitedly. Ayumi was actually very pretty and quite nice, but she could be a bit of a teaser when trying to scare Seiko, me, Satoshi, and the other students. She had shoulder length navy blue hair and eyes of the same colour. Her hair was also tied into two down pigtails that fell neatly over her shoulders.
"You'll never guess what happened last night?!" Ayumi said in excitement.
"What?" Seiko asked, leaning in closer to Ayumi's chatter circle.
"Satoshi and I told stories last night, and he was so tired afterwards, he fell asleep on my lap! He looked so cute when he was asleep!" she told us.
Seiko was practically fangirling out with her.
"Ah! That's so nice, Ayumi!" my brunette friend squealed.
Then Seiko stood back up and looked at me. I guess she caught my unreadable expression and took it in a way that made it so she panicked a little bit.
"Oh, sorry, Naomi. I know how you feel about Mochida-kun and all." she assured me.
I smiled a little at her to let her know I was fine.
"Hey, don't worry about it, Seiko." I told her, nudging her in the side a little bit.
Ayumi gasped dramatically at this.
"Doth my ear deceive me?!" she asked in her dramatic, Shakespeare tone of voice, "Did Naomi Nakashima just say she doesn't mind if I, Ayumi Shinozaki, am getting close to Satoshi Mochida?"
I groaned and made Ayumi 'talk to the hand'.
"First of all, what's with all the name dropping? Second, no, I don't mind, Ayumi. Third, I don't have time for this. Let's just go to class." I answered in a very flat tone.
Before anyone could say anything, I took Seiko's hand and dragged her towards the school, where other students were heading.
I was sitting in my desk with head down. I was expecting Mrs. Yui to come in and tell us she was gonna leave this school and then Ayumi would pull out the paper doll as a token to send her off. She was running a few minutes late, considering her perfect time record in previous worlds. Like I said, this world seems to be operating differently than the previous ones. But I'm keeping my guard up no matter what! I heard footsteps approach my desk and I lifted my head up to see who it was. It was in fact, Ms. Yui. She was a very nice teacher, and she regarded all of us as her friends and not just as our teacher. She had medium length brown hair and purple eyes, and she was wearing her usual teacher's uniform and holding her clipboard. I'd never seen what was written on it, but I don't think it matters. Even though I had a melancholic feeling right now, I had to let Ms. Yui know that I was fine at least somewhat.
"Morning, Yui-sensei…" I greeted as cheerfully as I could force myself to be.
Luckily, she bought it and greeted me back as cheerfully as she really seemed to be.
"Yui-sensei!"
I looked up and saw a small girl with medium brown hair styled into a small ponytail and pale green eyes. I knew this girl, this is Mayu Suzumoto, a friend of mine. She was the same grade as me, but also very short. In a way, she's like a brunette Kagamine Rin. She seems to be the closest to Ms. Yui in these worlds, and she still is because she's looking really happy because she's standing so close to her.
"What are we gonna do today, Sensei?~" Mayu asked in her usual cheerful tone of voice.
"Well, I think Ayumi has something for all of us to do, right, Shinozaki?" Ms. Yui answered, turning to her.
Ayumi nodded and reached into her bag. I knew what she was going to pull out, and that made my feet and legs act on their own. I found myself rushing over to Ayumi and jumping on her! There were shrieks from everyone in the classroom, and from myself, because I landed on Ayumi's bag and there were textbooks in it. The corners of the books poked my ribcage and it really freaking hurt! But, it was worth it to stop Ayumi from getting out that paper doll, because not only would Seiko die, we'd all probably die.
"Naomi! What the hell are you doing?!" Ayumi demanded to me very angrily.
I turned around and held Ayumi's bag in my arms tightly.
"Don't you dare take out a paper doll and say we have to rip it into nine pieces!" I blurted out of nowhere.
Ayumi watched me with her wide, dark blue eyes as I stood up cautiously. Thinking about it for a short time, I opened up the bag and shuffled around inside of it. Ayumi kept asking me what I was doing but I didn't answer her. I soon found what I was looking for amidst a bunch of Ayumi's things. I took out the paper doll which was surprisingly not crumpled up in the mess of books and other miscellaneous items.
"How did you know that that was in my bag?!" Ayumi demanded to me.
"Shut up, Ayumi! Don't you dare make us do this!"
Everyone was shocked at me, and I saw Seiko's amber eyes widening and her hands covering her mouth. Seeing Seiko this shocked and surprised at me made me soften up a bit but I still remembered the doll in my hand.
"Ayumi, please, I'm begging you, don't make us use this!" I begged to her.
"Why not?! It's a ritual that-"
I cut her off.
"I know what it is, Ayumi! And it won't make us be friends forever; it'll only get us all killed!"
I heard everyone in the classroom gasp and murmur in response to what I had just said. They were very confused, I could tell, but how could I explain to them what was at stake without them thinking I'm crazy? Because if I told them the truth, they probably wouldn't believe me at all. I'm surprised if you'd even believe me! You do, right? Well, anyway, what should I say or do?
"Killed? Naomi, are you sure you're not sick?" I heard Satoshi asked me as he took a few steps closer towards me.
I gripped the paper doll tightly for some odd reason and took in a deep breath. As I let it out, I decided what to say.
"Everyone, this here, it's a voodoo charm, right?"
Everyone was silent but they somehow told me yes by either shuffling or nodding.
"Right? And I don't know if any of you remember from sci-fi/supernatural movies, but voodoo items like Ouija boards, dolls, cards, evil chants, and other items like this and those things I mentioned, are dangerous!" I explained as I turned to face Ayumi.
"Ayumi, I know you like this stuff, I can understand that. But here's the thing: Playing with Ouija boards, chants, and dolls like these are playing with supernatural fire! And that therefore puts others that are involved in serious, mortal danger! If we do this charm, something bad will happen, I'm 1,000% sure of it!"
Everyone had wide eyes and gaped mouths at me. We all stayed silent for what seemed like a long time, which it was.
"So, it might summon a demon or something?" Mayu spoke up, taking a step forwards.
I breathed in and breathed out at this.
"In a way, yes. But it's also different in some ways… The school would change and become a dangerous maze, Mayu." I answered seriously.
I looked at Seiko who looked to be shocked and confused at the same time. Then I looked at Satoshi who looked the same way. Then, finally, I looked at Ayumi. She was different… She appeared to look like she felt guilty for some reason. It's like my words got through to her and made her realize that her creepy voodoo items may have put the lives of her friends in terrible danger. I was happy that she most likely understood, but also sad that I made her feel bad about what she could've unleashed if I hadn't stopped her. I needed to do something… I scanned my eyes around until I came to see Satoshi looking at Ayumi with sympathy. I cleared my throat towards him and that caught his attention, so, he looked at me. I gestured my eyes towards the still sad Ayumi, telling him to help her. Satoshi's brown eyes widened and his cheeks turned red slightly. He looked around then at me again.
"Me?" he mouthed.
"Yes, you!" I mouthed back, "Now go!"
Satoshi gulped silently and shuffled towards Ayumi nervously.
"Um, hey, Ayumi-chan?" he stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck.
Ayumi looked up at him slightly with her big, navy blue eyes.
"Huh?" she wondered.
Satoshi shuffled in place for a bit and stammered under his breath as if his tongue was covered in a thick coating which prevented him from talking clearly.
"Well, th-thanks for listening to Naomi… I guess that technically means you helped in preventing a possible supernatural disaster?" he said in a nervous tone.
Ayumi's eyes and mouth widened slightly and she appeared to be blushing a bit. I should feel really jealous right now, but I'm not for some reason. In fact, I feel kind of happy. And Ayumi looks like she is too.
"Thanks, Mochida-kun," Ayumi said to Satoshi.
She then wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest. Satoshi was shocked, I could tell, but he seemed to fall victim to the hug as he returned it by wrapped his arms around her and resting his head on hers.
"Hmp…" I muttered with a smile.
I heard footsteps and they stopped when I felt a presence right beside me. I looked to my side and saw Seiko was the one standing next to me.
"Naomi, aren't you angry that they're hugging?" my brunette friend inquired.
I shook my head.
"No, Ayumi's happy, so, why should I be angry right now?" I pointed out.
Seiko was quiet for a second before chuckling.
"You've been acting really strange lately, Naomi… I like it." she added to the chuckle.
I smirked at Seiko and crossed my arms.
"Well, don't get used to it, because I'm still me, Seiko." I told her in a smart tone.
Seiko looked at me and lightly punched my shoulder. I giggled in happiness, because that's what I was feeling right now. The crisis has been averted, and now Seiko is safe… Now everyone is safe! Mayu, Ayumi, Satoshi, myself, Yoshiki, Ms. Yui, Sakutaro, everyone! Crisis… averted!
Or… so I thought…
Just when we were about to proceed with something, we heard a chipper voice call, "Onii-chan! You forgot your lunch!" and a little girl ran in the room.
She was short, with medium short brown and purple hued hair held by a pink hairband and light blue eyes. This is Yuka Mochida, Satoshi's younger sister I mentioned earlier. She was carrying a lunch box that was most definitely Satoshi's.
"Yuka, careful, don't run!" Satoshi warned his sister.
"Huh?" Yuka asked, turning her head back to see her brother.
"Look out!" I screamed.
But it was too late… Yuka tripped forwards, dropping the lunch, and falling towards me. It was like in slow-motion as Yuka's fall shocked me into dropping the doll on the floor. When it hit the floor, Yuka's feet landed on it and she continued to fall, making her feet pull apart. And when they did, there was an audible rrrriiiipp!
Yuka fell on top of my stomach and we both made an "Oof!" sound from our mouths.
Suddenly, the whole room started to shake!
I pulled Yuka up and set her down beside me to see what had happened. And when I did, I was horrified! The paper doll was now split in two halves… I shrieked in shock as I crawled over to the doll rapidly. But before I could grab it however, it caught a small fire and was instantly turned to ash!
"No! No! NO!" I screamed.
Then the floorboards below us started splintering up and cracking. Seiko had been pushed further away from me when Yuka tripped and was now by the teachers desk. Everyone started clamoring in fear while Ms. Yui tried calming them down.
"Stay away from the middle floor!" I yelled extra loudly so everyone could hear, "There's gonna be a pit!"
Ms. Yui seemed to hear me as she pulled everyone, starting with Mayu, away from the center. Debris started falling from the ceiling and almost hitting us, but I grabbed Yuka and rolled away from with her. This must've shocked her so much because now she's about to go! I panted in fear as I looked around for Satoshi.
Soon, I saw him helping Ayumi getting her foot uncaught from the floorboards. Ayumi was crying and struggling to get free, but then Satoshi finally ripped the floorboard up, freeing her.
"Run!" he told her.
"Satoshi!" I called out to him.
He looked up and his brown eyes widened when he saw Yuka in my arms.
"Catch!" I yelled, rearing my arms back.
Satoshi held his arms out and I tossed Yuka across the forming gap in the floor. He caught her and held her tightly in his arms.
"Onii-chan!" she cried, throwing herself up to hug him.
The place was still shaking and there was a large gap between me and the rest of the class. Seiko was waving to me and calling out my name.
"Seiko, get away from there!" I called back, because she was at the very edge of the gap.
But the board beneath her gave away and she started to wobble forwards towards the pit full of spikes.
"No!~" I cried.
I don't know what I was thinking, but I jumped across the gap with great force to save her. And before Seiko could fall forwards in the pit, I was able to tackle her backwards away from it. I must be either the craziest girl or the bravest by doing that. But either way, Seiko's safe and I'm across the gap!
"Everyone hold on!" I yelled over the thundering shaking and crumbling of the building.
"This is gonna be catastrophic!"
Done! I know it's been a long time, but these do take a lot of time and thought. Also, during the scene where Naomi tosses Yuka to Satoshi and where she also saves Seiko, I had "Holding Out For a Hero" from Shrek 2 in mind. I think it'd make it so epic!
Shadow: Maybe you should make an audio drama, when you learn how to, of course, and use that song during this scene.
I so will!
R&R!