Chapter 6: Solving the mystery of the great beast
"Mommy…"
She heard a faint voice, her fogged mind still trying to wake up.
"Mommy…"
The voice became clearer as she drifted out of unconsciousness, her eyes fluttered open slowly.
"Mommy! Daddy, mommy's awake!" The voice called over to somebody else. As her vision cleared, she realized somebody was looking down at her, a smile on their face. She immediately recognized them.
"Ami?" She murmured, her voice cracked. Last, she could remember, she was fighting against that creature. Another figure came over to her. Relief flooded through her as she saw him.
"Ayumi… how do you feel?" He asked, smiling softly. He looked… relieved.
"My neck… hurts," She murmured. An intense burning was around her neck.
"Ah… I'm sorry I couldn't save you sooner," He muttered, his eyes going downcast. Ayumi blinked, frowning as she sat up; her body was sore, but she fought against it.
"Don't be so apologetic. You saved me nonetheless… isn't that what matters?" She raised an arm, one of her hands resting on his cheek. He leaned into her touch, glancing at her.
"I'm just glad we're all together again," She added, and he smiled. Ami crawled over and hugged her mother's arm; she was so happy to see her mother again. After a few moments of silence between the family, Ayumi broke away suddenly remembering of their location.
Looking around, she realized they weren't in a hallway; they were in a classroom. Nevertheless, the condition of the room seemed better than any of the others she had been in.
"W-Where are we?" She turned to Yoshiki.
"Not sure. It seems something brought us here…" He replied, glancing around as well. A flash of lightning and a crack of thunder crossed the skies outside, the room being lit. Ami let out a small squeak of fear and hugged her mother's arm tighter. Ayumi reached over and held the girl closer to her as she pressed a hand at the back of Ami's head.
"It's alright sweetie, it's just thunder," Ayumi reassured.
"I-It's not that! There's people in here, mommy!" Ami looked at her mother with wide eyes. Ayumi blinked, looking around again. Yoshiki grew tense next to her, clenching his teeth as he became alert.
"There's no need to be afraid," A voice spoke out, and the small family turned to the source. Ayumi swore she heard this voice before… from long ago. Suddenly, before the family, three blue flames appeared. Ami whimpered and hid her face in her mother's arm. Ayumi quickly wrapped her arm around the girl, before looking back at the flames.
"Who are you?" Se asked, and the flames flickered.
"We are from your past… We tried to warn you of the future…" The flames spoke, and Ayumi blinked. Her eyes widened when she realized what they meant. Her dream, they were the voices in her dream.
"What do they mean Ayumi?" Yoshiki turned to her, confused.
"That nightmare… I had last night… It was a vision… from them," She gazed at the flames. Yoshiki blinked, turning back to the flames.
Suddenly the flames pulsed, as the light around them grew brighter. When the light dimmed, three children stood, a faint transparent glow to their bodies. Yoshiki and Ayumi immediately recognized them, Ami peeking back to see the three spirits.
"Yuki?" Ayumi inquired, and the twin-tailed girl nodded. Last time the two adults had seen them, all three were vengeful spirits, being the slaved killers of the school as they attacked those that entered. But here, before them, the children looked healthy; as if they never died.
"Alright you three. What is going on? Why are we here again?!" Yoshiki hissed as he rose to his feet. The three ghost children stayed silent, their eyes downcast.
"Yoshiki! Quit it! Demanding answers like that isn't going to help our situation!" Ayumi scolded the blonde, and he gaped. He let out a sigh before sitting back down, staying silent.
"Yuki…" Ayumi started, catching the young child's attention.
"What's going on?" Ayumi only figured to start simple. Yuki paused before glancing back up.
"Three nights ago… that creature entered the school through force. When the different spaces were disturbed by his presence, I was awoken from my deep slumber as the core. The three of us encountered him, willing to stop him from his intrusion… but we underestimated his power…" Yuki explained, the other two children looking down as if they were at fault.
"His ability to use magic to his liking was what caused me to lose my title as the core… Not only has he ripped away the school's abilities… but he brought back the original core," Yuki frowned, closing her eyes.
"W-Wait… that means… Sachiko is back as well…" Ayumi muttered. Now, she was even more confused than before.
"Yuki, how did he bring her back? Wasn't she appeased for her misdoings?" Ayumi asked.
"His powers are beyond the spirits of the school. At this moment, he has control over the school. The curse that traps the dimension has been suppressed, the darkening effects and spaces having been cleared away," Yuki replied. Ayumi blinked.
"All of you are up against something much more powerful than anything you have ever encountered," The ghost child added, and Ayumi glanced away.
"W-Wait…" Yoshiki spoke up, catching their attention.
"If you say he's so powerful… than why did the sword I use easily drive him away?" He asked, and the children stayed silent.
"Wait, what sword?" Ayumi turned to him.
"The sword I hav- Huh? W-Where is it? I just had it with me!" Yoshiki frantically looked around the room for the long blade.
"This sword…" Yuki spoke up, catching the older male's attention. She held out the long blade, shining brightly as ever, even with the lack of light in the room. Ayumi blinked, her eyes widened as her eyes set on the sword. Yoshiki wasted no time to receive it back, taking it by the handle.
"W-Where did you find that?" Ayumi demanded.
"Ami and I came across the custodian's closet to rest in. I started exploring around and found it hidden inside a cabinet," Yoshiki replied.
"Yoshiki… What you are holding is the most priceless treasure in the Shinozaki family," Ayumi acknowledged, and the dirty blonde looked at the blade.
"I've heard so many rumors of the sword existing, its blade soaked in a magic so powerful that it can cut through any surface in the universe. I've read that the blade slaughtered a creature that wreaked havoc on a kingdom centuries ago. My early grandfather slaughtered the beast with this sword… and ever since, my family name has been cursed because of it," Ayumi muttered, her eyes focusing on the sword.
"That reminds me," Yoshiki interrupted, digging into his jacket for the papers. Bringing out the folded articles he had collected, he handed them to his wife.
"I found a huge stack of newspapers with the sword. Their in a bunch of different languages, the dates varying from hundreds of years ago to just a few years back," He explained as Ayumi unfolded the papers, overlooking each one.
"I'm not exactly fluent in some of these languages, but I can definitely make out what's its trying to get across," She spoke, overlooking one article.
"A creature… this picture… looks like that creature we encountered earlier," Ayumi scanned over more articles, before placing them down.
"I think there's something much deeper going on here… and Heavenly Host just happened to be in the way," Ayumi spoke, looking up at Yoshiki and the three ghost children…
In the infirmary…
Naomi was busy cleaning Aya's knee wound while the child hugged her father's stomach, the pain unbearable. The family of four had arrived in the infirmary, and Naomi was quick to work at her daughter's wound; setting the child on one of the beds before going to the cabinets.
The mother really wished there was a cleaner way to stitch up the wound, but she didn't want anything being infected. This would just make it worse for Aya, and she definitely didn't want to cause more pain to the young girl. Aya was in a fit of sobs and whimpers each time a stitch penetrated the skin; her hold on her father's shirt would tighten, her knuckles turning white. Satoshi couldn't do much but hold her, trying his best to console her.
"There. That's the best it's going to get until we escape from here," Naomi spoke as she finished the bandaging on Aya's knee.
"But, it's best if we rest for a while. Aya won't be moving anytime soon," Naomi spoke again, and Satoshi frowned.
"What about Koji?" He looked to his wife, and her eyes went downcast. Satoshi knew it was only a matter of time before the infant starved. He wanted to continue searching, but he didn't want to separate from the rest of them. This school could play tricks on those that were alone.
"We'll find him Naomi, don't worry," He walked over and embraced her gently.
"I just hope it's not too late…" She muttered, only loud enough for his to hear. He closed his eyes, tightening his hold on her. Breaking away, he rose back up and looked to his two children. Aya was already starting to doze off, Shigeru however was standing at the bedside.
"Why don't you rest for a bit?" Satoshi asked his son and the young boy seemed hesitant on such things.
"But… what about tha montas…" He mumbled, and Satoshi smiled sadly at the boy. Leaning down to the boy's level, he patted Shigeru's head.
"Mommy and Daddy will be here to protect you from the monsters, I promise," He replied, and Shigeru nodded. The boy turned and climbed up the bed, crawling next to his sister to nap. Smiling at his children, he looked back to Naomi.
"We should rest too. You need to stay off that ankle as much as you can," He replied as he walked up to her. She didn't speak, she simply nodded and rose to her feet. Both adults walked over to the other bed, sitting on it as their backs pressed against the wall. Satoshi looked to Aya and Shigeru, both children having fallen asleep.
"I hope we can find Koji…" Naomi broke the silence of the moment, feeling tears swell in her eyes. Satoshi looked over to her, and frowned. Leaning over, he wrapped one arm over her shoulders, bringing her closer to him.
"We'll find him. I promise you that he'll be okay," Satoshi whispered to her, their heads pressing together gently.
"I hope you're right," She muttered back, her eyes closing…
In a hallway on the second floor…
Yuka had given up the search for the rest of her family, and sat down against a wall in the hallway. Koji was still wailing, his aching stomach causing him to cry more.
"Oh Koji… I know you're so hungry… but I just can't seem to find anybody else…" She sighed, holding the infant against her chest as she rubbed his back. She wouldn't forgive herself if her nephew had fallen to the school's cursed hallways and classrooms. Her brother and sister-in-law would never forgive her.
Letting out a determined huff, she rose to her feet. She had to continue her search… for Koji. The baby wouldn't last much longer, and she shouldn't give up so easily. Walking down the hallway, another flash of lightning lit up the walls…
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