A boy and a girl in high school uniform ran down the corridors of Heavenly Host Elementary in terror, the girl coughing hysterically out of fear and exhaustion.

"Enough!" she whined as she collapsed onto her knees and the boy stopped to look down at her "What's up with this place?! Bodies everywhere and that man! Did you see that hammer he was dragging behind him?!"

She broke down into a fit of pitiful sobs as the boy crouched before her.

"Where's Momomiya-kun?" she cried

"There's no need to be afraid," the boy comforted her "I'm sure he's somewhere. We'll run into him soon enough, I'm sure of it."

The girl whined more and threw her fists down on the floor in a fit of rage.

"I can't take this anymore!" she screamed "I don't want to die! I…I…"

She began hiccupping violently and looked around.

"Aya-chan…" she whimpered "He got Aya-chan! How can you be so calm?! He completely broke her body and we just ran away! We should have done something!

"We couldn't do anything," the boy hissed "We have no weapons, we would have ended up just like her!"

The girl just wept more, hiccupping violently with her sobs. The boy sighed through his nose as he helped her up to her feet.

"God damn it, where is everyone?" he muttered as the girl turned around to brush some dust off the back of her skirt.

"Ah!" she froze and stared back down the corridor at the sound of a large heavy stone weight being slowly dragged across the wooden floorboards "Aizawa! He's coming, he's coming!"

The boy looked up and cursed, grabbing the girl's hand and dragging her down the corridor.

"We're going to die, we're going to die," the girl whimpered "I'm scared, Aizawa! I don't want to get killed like Aya-chan! I don't want to! I'm scared!"

"Keep it together!" the boy snapped as they turned the corner.

"No, not that way!" the girl shrieked "We'll get lost!"

"Rather get lost than be on the other end of that fucking hammer! Keep up!"

They stumbled to a halt as a little girl in a red dress appeared in front of them and held up a pair of rusted and bloody scissors. She let out a spine-chilling cackle as she plunged them straight into the boy's stomach. The girl shrieked as she ran the other way blindly. A massive stone block swung into her head, cracking her skull and she knew no more.

Grace rocked back and forth as she pressed her phone to her ear after trying to call her uncle for what seemed like the millionth time. Daichi and Zack didn't bother telling her it was useless as they themselves were tasked with the futile job of finding a way out.

"Hello?" Grace murmured uncertainly "Uncle? Are you there?"

Zack winced as he hurt his arm more and Daichi shoved him onto a desk chair, sternly telling him to rest for a bit.

"Uncle, please pick up, I know the signal here is awry but I know you'll be able to hear me."

Daichi slammed his fists into the cool glass windows in frustration.

"Please, Uncle! I wanna hear your voice! Please, just pick up the phone!"

"Inoue-san," Daichi interrupted her "It's no use, it's like we're purposely trapped here."

Grace lowered her phone after giving up the call and heaved a heavy sigh.

"Can I at least try calling Anna-chan?" she asked.

"No, Anne left her phone in her bag with mine," Zack shook his head "She isn't as enthusiastic with them as you."

Grace whimpered as she pushed her mobile, which she kept on her at all times, into Hiroki's blazer pocket and sniffled.

"I wonder if she's OK…" she sniffed and rubbed her tears away "Anna-chan…"

"She'll be alright," Zack grinned "My Anne is always sound of mind!"

"Heh, your Anna-chan?" Grace sneered and sniffed snootily "Don't be so selfish!"

"Hmph, I'll say it out loud, I'll shout it with all my lungs and to my heart's content!" Zack grinned wider.

"Please don't," Daichi sighed as Zack jumped onto one of the desks.

"Anne Murakami is mine and I will save her from this place so we can be together forever!"

Vincent darkly glared at the spot where Zack's voice was coming from, Anne's head resting in his lap with the blanket over her as a blue spirit hovered behind him.

"Now! Onward! She'll probably be crying and begging for me to come and save her right now!"

"You said that she is always sound of mind earlier," Vincent sneered as he combed Anne's hair back out of her face.

"Be careful."

Vincent glanced at the spirit beside him.

"Such thoughts will bring you down," the spirit warned him "In order to survive this curse, you must avoid those dark thoughts that currently shroud your mind."

Vincent's eyes narrowed.

"Who are you to say that?" he asked "I am satisfied enough that he will merely wander around blindly, looking for Anne but will never succeed."

He glanced down at the young girl sleeping and smiled softly at her serene features.

"But will that alone give you satisfaction?"

Vincent threw an unsavoury glare at the spirit, making it vanish. As soon as it faded away completely, Vincent felt Anne stir in his lap, her eyes slowly opening.

"What in the world…?" she murmured and looked up at him "Akiyama-senpai? Where are we?"

"Take it easy," Vincent said soothingly as he supported her back as she sat up "Are you hurt anywhere?"

Anne rubbed her eyes tiredly as she looked around before glancing at the blanket that covered her.

"Um…ah!" she gasped and threw the blanket off "My journal!"

"It's here, it's safe," Vincent said as he picked the red leather journal next to him and handed it to her.

Anne sighed in relief as she took it and hugged it to her chest. She relaxed with a smile as she glanced at the cover then opened it to look through the pages, nodding when she saw everything was in order. She closed it and looked around with a concerned frown.

"What is this place?" she asked "Why are we in a school? And in our pyjamas no less!"

Vincent chuckled as he ruffled her hair.

"I don't quite know but it seems like we've been cursed," he said as she pouted briefly before straightening up "We should get moving, see if there are any others around."

"Oh, um, sure," Anne nodded uncertainly as she got up and yelped, jumping up and down "The floor is cold!"

Vincent chuckled again as he got up, wrapping the blanket around her.

"You'll get used to it," he said "Come. The others can't be too far."

"Others? Oh!"

Anne gasped as she covered her mouth.

"Grace-chan! And Zack!"

Vincent took her hand and led her out of the classroom. They wandered through the maze of school corridors until stumbling across a classroom that had a strong scent of rotting flesh and blood.

"Urck, smells awful," Anne covered her nose "What the-?!"

Vincent stared at the dead corpse in alarm then covered Anne's eyes.

"Don't look, don't look," he whispered.

"Is that what's giving off this awful stench?" Anne exclaimed as she pushed Vincent's hand away to take another look "Is it really…a real body?!"

"Don't look, come on, let's go," Vincent soothed as he pulled her away.

"Just a second," Anne swallowed as she approached the body carefully and poked it.

"Anna-san!" Vincent hissed.

"Huh, I always wanted to know what they felt like."

Anne stood up, opened her book, took her pen out from her breast pocket and began scribbling notes down. Vincent stared at her incredulously.

"Anna-san, this isn't the time or place…" he said slowly as Anne closed her book.

"I know, I know," Anne said as she scurried over to Vincent with her blanket still around her shoulders "Come on, let's leave before I get sick."

"Let me out of here!" an eerie voice echoed through the classroom.

Anne gasped as she grabbed Vincent's arm in fright as Vincent braced himself for any kind of assault. There was none and Vincent closed the classroom door once they were out in the hallway.

"What is this place?" Anne murmured and looked up at Vincent "Akiyama-senpai, where are we exactly?"

"Heavenly Host Elementary," Vincent replied "One of the spirits of the deceased told me about this place."

"Ah! Spirits?! Deceased?!" Anne exclaimed "And you're only telling me this now?!"

"Slipped my mind, now come on, let's go."

Anne jumped as Vincent brought an arm around her and moved her forward in the school. She nervously fiddled with her thumbs, used to the assertive behaviour. Vincent was always like that but it never bothered her because it meant he knew what he was doing. And if he knew what he was doing, she could relax. They'll be able to get out of this place and find all their friends. Anne smiled happily at the thought.

"(She's tame now, good,)" Vincent thought as he watched her smile softly "(I can't lose control over her, otherwise who knows what would happen? Right now, we need to get the bearings of this school, look for ways out and see if any of the others are in this space.)"

Anne let out a startled scream and Vincent grabbed her by the shoulders and hugged her tightly as the place began to shake.

"St-stupid earthquakes!" Anne whimpered as she hugged Vincent just as tightly as he was.

Once the earthquake calmed, Anne sighed as Vincent smiled down at her. He took her hand again and continued leading her through the corridors. Anne gasped and froze on the spot after a few steps and Vincent saw a little boy huddled in the corner.

"Why ihh you kihh me?"

The muffled tone of the boy's voice had Anne tearing up as Vincent held her close and they trekked past him.

"Youhh pay…"

"Akiyama-senpai…" Anne whimpered.

"We can't do anything, he's dead, leave him be," Vincent murmured to her.

But as he glanced over to the little boy, their eyes met.

"(What the fuck?!)" Vincent thought "(My body's paralysed, I can't move!)"

"Akiyama-senpai, what's wrong?" Anne asked as she looked up at him.

"(I can't speak!)" Vincent felt frustrated as the boy began hissing "(Anna-san! Run!)"

"Come…wihh…me…"

"Akiyama-senpai, why are you just standing here like this?!" Anne shrieked as she shook him "He seems angry, what do we do?!"

"(Run, Anna-san!)"

Anne just stared at the approaching boy in horror before gasping and grabbing her hair and smelling it. She nodded then hissed as she began plucking several strands out then dropping them in front of the little boy.

"(What?!)" Vincent thought in confusion.

"…?"

The boy stopped and stooped down, picking up the hair as Anne massaged her scalp. He began to sniff it curiously.

"Mmn…"

Vincent felt his body loosen somewhat and Anne grabbed him by the arm, dragging him down the hallway.

"Anna-san, what?"

"I ran out of conditioner so Yumi-chan lent me some of hers," Anne explained as they ran upstairs "It was caramel scented and she told me it would help ward off evil spirits."

They reached the top of the stairs and Anne sighed, sliding down to a sitting position against the wall.

"That really scared me," she whispered as her arms trembled lightly.

"(Anna-san saved me?)" Vincent thought as he watched her curl her knees up to her chest and shake uncertainly "(Anna-san…sacrificed her hair for me…)"

"Akiyama-senpai?"

"Ah, yes?"

Anne glared at him.

"Don't you dare get into any more trouble, I'll be damned if I have to go bald for you!"

Vincent stepped back in surprise then smiled.

"I promise," he said as she pulled the blanket around her more.

"Ah! Akiyama-senpai! Anna-chan!"

Anne turned to the source of the voice and gasped.

"Yumi-chan!"

Vincent stepped back as the girls ran towards each other, hugging one another tightly.

"Am I glad to see you two!" Yumi sighed as Anne wrapped her blanket around her shoulders.

"Glad to see you unharmed," Vincent nodded.

"Oh, Yumi-chan, the conditioner worked actually!" Anne laughed as she rubbed her scalp "We had a run in with this boy and I managed to use my hair to distract him."

"So it's true," Yumi murmured "There are ghosts and spirits here, I knew I could feel them!"

"Is there anything down there?" Vincent asked as he walked up to the girls.

"Just the toilets and locked rooms," Yumi shook her head with a shrug.

"Shall we chance going back down, Akiyama-senpai?" Anne asked.

"I don't know…" Vincent frowned.

"Let me go! Seito-san!"

Anne and Yumi jumped as they heard Ruka's voice by the infirmary doors.

"Oi, Ruka!" came Seito's voice next "Ruka, come back!"

"What is this?" Anne asked softly "Does this mean they're dead?"

"Not necessarily."

Anne and Yumi looked up at Vincent who grimaced.

"They're probably in another version of this school as it has different spaces so to say."

"So unless we can cross over, we probably can't find the others," Yumi concluded as Anne glared at Vincent.

"Is there anything else I need to know, Akiyama-senpai?" she asked warily.

"No," Vincent said dismissively "(Not yet anyway.) Let's check downstairs, we can always use your hair to distract that boy if he's still there."

"Oh enough with that!" Anne hissed as she tossed her hair and strode past him.

Yumi smiled as she followed after her, Vincent keeping an eye on them both as they went downstairs.

"(As long as she's kept in the dark, it'll be alright.)"

Seito's eyes slowly cracked open as he saw the ceiling above him. His head throbbed with pain and he winced as he tried to sit up.

"What…happened?"

He winced again as he tried to move his legs.

"Feels kind of cold here…"

He froze up as three children surrounded him, laughing and pointing at him.

"You! You brought me here! Where is this?"

The children continued laughing and pointing, as if he were a child who had just tripped over and landed in the mud.

"Ruka!" Seito gasped "Where's Ruka?!"

The giggling slowed down as footsteps were heard and the children disappeared. Seito's blood ran cold at the sound of a heavy stone object being dragged across the floor.

"Damn it, I can't move much!" Seito hissed as he saw a hulking figure approach him "Come on!"

The figure raised his hammer and Seito's eyes widened in terror.

Vincent sighed softly as Yumi and Anne sat next to each other, reading the newspaper article they found.

"Can we go now, we can take that with us," Vincent said.

"Akiyama-senpai, look!"

Vincent glanced at the picture lazily at the four children.

"So?"

"The boy, he was the one we saw!"

Vincent took the article and studied it closer.

"So he's a victim here, doesn't give much of an excuse to torment us."

"It's sad," Anne's eyes watered as she bowed her head.

"Very sad," Yumi bowed her head too.

Vincent looked down at the girls and helped Anne up to her feet.

"Come on, let's keep moving," he said.

"Ah, right!" Anne nodded as Yumi stood.

A scream cut through the hallway.

"Big brother!" Riku's voice wailed "Where are you?!"

"Riku-chan!" Anne whispered as she ran towards the scream.

"Anna-san, wait!" Vincent said as he and Yumi chased after her.

Anne gasped as she fell over when another earthquake shook. Vincent grabbed Yumi to keep her balance until it passed and Anne sat up with wide eyes.

"This hallway…" she murmured as a set of doors appeared in the wall opposite her "It got bigger!"

"What kind of place is this?" Yumi murmured "It's like Harry Potter, everything's moving and changing."

"Anna-san, careful!" Vincent barked as Anne got up and ran over to open the doors.

"Ah, this leads outside!"

"Outside?" Yumi gasped as she ran over to the doors.

"(I need leashes for these girls,)" Vincent grumbled in his mind as he ran after them.

The sound of rain was soothing as Anne leaned over the rail of the sheltered pathway, eyes wide as she stared out at the dark forest.

"No…" she murmured as several bodies lay out before her, mutilated and killed after trying to escape into the forest.

"So that way isn't available either," Vincent grumbled as he ran a hand through his hair.

"That's…not fair…" Anne fell to her knees and sighed "No…"

"There has to be another way," Yumi said determinedly "Come on, let's explore this other part of the school!"

"Right!" Vincent nodded "Come on."

Anne looked up at them before nodding uncertainly and taking Vincent's hand to get up to her feet. Yumi opened the doors to the other wing then stumbled back in terror.

"What's the matter, Maki-san?" Vincent asked as he came up behind her.

"This air is so thick with evil intent and spirits," Yumi breathed as Anne stumbled slightly when she felt it too.

"I don't like this one bit," she whispered as she shivered from the cold "My head feels like it'll split open…"

"My ears are ringing too," Vincent muttered.

"Still, we must press on," Yumi nodded as she entered the building, cuddling the blanket around her.

Vincent took hold of Anne's hand and nodded to her before leading her inside. It wasn't long until another earthquake struck and the floorboards beneath Yumi creaked.

"Wha-?" Yumi looked down in shock before falling through.

"Yumi-chan!" Anne shrieked as Vincent held her close until the earthquake stopped and the hole sealed up "No!"

"Anna-san, calm down, it's alright," Vincent soothed.

"Oh."

The two looked up as a taller boy in school uniform, staring down at them curiously.

"I didn't realise there were other people here," he smiled as he walked up to them "Nice to meet you, my name is Kizami Yuuya."

"M-Murakami A-Anne…" Anne stuttered, clutching the book to her chest.

"Akiyama Vincent," Vincent narrowed his eyes at Yuuya.

"Oh? You're not brother and sister?"

They shook their heads, Vincent gritting his teeth softly. Yuuya crouched down and chuckled.

"Funny, you look like brother and sister," he observed.

"Looks aren't everything," Vincent said slowly as he helped Anne up.

"Akiyama-senpai," Anne tugged on Vincent's sleeve "There has to be a way down to where Yumi-chan fell…"

"Ah, yes, of course, let's go."

"You won't find anything," Yuuya smirked ominously at Vincent.

"You never know unless you try," Vincent said sternly as Anne completely missed the spooky aura.

Anne stumbled as Vincent dragged her up the stairs and blinked with an innocent look. Vincent continued to lead the way through the corridors. She stopped and anchored him to the spot after crossing one hallway. Vincent stopped and looked at her.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I got blood on my book from being close to that body from earlier," Anne said shyly as she pointed to the drying blood stain "Can I wash it in those bathrooms?"

"What? Anna-san, this isn't the time!"

"It just makes me annoyed to see it like this!" Anne snapped "Please, I want to just get it cleaned!"

"Fine, fine," Vincent sighed resignedly as he let her go and nodded to the bathroom "I'll wait here."

Anne nodded as she ran into the toilets and to the sink.

"(Why is he acting like this all of a sudden?)" she thought as she turned the taps "(It's starting to unnerve me.) Hm? Wah!"

Anne jumped back as blood splashed out from the taps and onto the porcelain sinks. She stepped back with wide eyes before dashing out in fright. She froze as she saw Vincent wasn't there anymore.

"A-Akiyama-senpai?" she whimpered "Akiyama-senpai?!"

She looked around before feeling a surge of pain through her head. She winced and shook her head, tears brimming her eyes.

"(Need to get out of here,)" she thought "(I can't take this anymore!)"

She ran down the stairs and crashed into the boy from earlier.

"Ah, sorry!" she gasped as she looked up at Yuuya.

"Hm? Back already?" Yuuya blinked "Where's your friend?"

"I don't know!" Anne exclaimed "I wasn't even gone for that long and he wasn't there even though he said he'd wait!"

She winced and held her head, whining and sobbing.

"Ow…" she whimpered.

"Are you OK?" Yuuya asked as he knelt to her level.

"My head hurts," Anne sobbed "This whole thing is a headache! It's cold, Akiyama-senpai and Yumi-chan just disappeared and…and…I want my mom…I want to see Zack, my boyfriend! It's all too much."

Yuuya looked down at Anne before hugging her gently.

"Ssh, it's alright," he whispered as Anne hiccupped and sobbed "I'm here, it's all going to be just fine."

Anne just stood there being comforted as Yuuya smirked darkly whilst he brandished his knife.