Chapter Seventeen – Ghost Stories
Miyako sighed. "We have no choice, do we?"
"No." Tezuka replied.
"And just wait until we start – Kaidou won't survive the evening." Fuji stated from her other side, his eyes opening as he grinned evilly.
"Why?" Miyako asked, searching for information from Tezuka this time – no longer trusting the word of Fuji.
"He's had troubles with Ghost Stories in the past." Tezuka replied simply, eyeing the horrendous drink as Inui pulled a clear bottle from the bag – the ugly drink visible within.
Miyako looked over at Kaidou, who appeared to be shaking already; Yori had a hand on his arm, worriedly asking if he was okay. He was none responsive. "You guys seem to care for one another, but you're just horrible to each other as well."
"That's what friends are for." Fuji replied, smiling sweetly.
"You lot scare me sometimes."
"Are the girls exempt?" Oishi asked. "I don't think it would be nice to make them drink it."
"If they want to participate then they are free to do so – I won't make them drink it. Oshiro-sensei would have me for dinner if I did." Inui admitted, looking highly upset.
The girls rejoiced.
"Damn." Fuji whispered.
Miyako shifted away from him worriedly.
"Do we remember the rules?" Inui asked. "Each of those on the male Regular's team tells a story. If you produce fright, you don't drink – those who are frightened drink. But if you don't produce fright then you drink." He explained. "So who's first?"
"I'll go." Momo said, grinning evilly. "You're all gonna piss your pants."
"Try us." Fuji urged.
Momo cleared his throat before he began. "One day, a sixteen year old boy was home alone and a parcel was left at the door. He opened it to find that inside were hundreds of puzzle pieces. He thought nothing of the puzzle and simply left it in the cupboard of his room." He explained. "Later that night he heard strange noises coming from outside his window and as a result he couldn't sleep. So he decided to solve the strange puzzle to pass the time and hopefully be able to sleep. As he was solving the puzzle he began to notice that the image was very familiar. It was of his bedroom."
Kaidou made a small, horrified sound, but was holding it in. Most of the boys were unaffected, but Sakuno was clinging desperately to Echizen and the other girls looked like they were about to run for the hills. Miyako however just leaned back against Tezuka casually, waiting for the ending – the only kind of tingling she felt was the kind when one desperately wanted to know what was going to happen.
"He was curious, so although he was a little scared, he continued to solve the puzzle." Momo continued. "But then, he realised that in the window of the image there was a tall dark man standing there, holding a large knife. Cautiously, he looked up at his own window and there was the man!"
Girls screamed and suddenly a member of the circle was gone – Yori followed Kaidou back towards the hall as he sprinted to sanctuary.
Momo cackled. "And then the kid woke up. The end."
"Looks like Kaidou is drinking when he returns." Inui muttered. "Now, who is next?"
"I'll go~!" Eiji exclaimed. "Many years ago, there was a school bus transporting twenty primary students home from school. It came by some train tracks, but was travelling too fast to stop as a train was heading right for them. All of the children on the bus died – the bus driver barely survived. It was great tragedy."
Several of the girls looked highly shocked, but not frightened.
"These tracks were situated on a small hill that meant that cars had to go up and over this hill to get over." Eiji explained. "Ever since that day any car that has stalled or stopped on those tracks have been said to be pushed off the tracks by an unknown force. After wide speculation there was a camera set up and a car placed directly on the middle of the tracks – they wiped the bumper clean of finger prints and left it there. As they all watched from a hidden place the car slowly began to move on its own, moving forwards to the other side of the train tracks."
"That's easy. It was gravity." Anne contradicted.
"Ahh, but you see, Harris-san~." Eiji said. "They dusted the bumper of the car and found twenty different kinds of finger and hand prints. Proving to many that there had been little ghost children protecting others from suffering the same fate as themselves." He crossed his arms, proud of himself.
"Eiji-senpai, was that supposed to be scary?" Echizen asked.
Eiji pouted a little. "Well, I don't know. I thought it was a cool story."
A glass, filled with green and pink steaming juice appeared before him. "My pleasure." Inui said.
Eiji gulped. "Kuso…" He whispered and quickly downed the drink. He splattered and reached for the water bottle Oishi offered and downed that too.
"Well, who's next?" Momo asked, looking for some kind of scary story.
"I-I'll go." Taka-san said nervously. "I hope it will be scary."
"Here, Taka-san." Fuji said, handing Taka-san a torch. "Maybe this will help."
Taka-san gladly reached out for the torch – and the transformation occurred after he switched it on and held the light up under his face. "Greeeeeeeat-oh! Once upon a time, on a dark and stormy night a couple are travelling to the city when their car breaks down!"
Miyako had to contain her giggles, unable to take the story seriously as Taka-san told it in such an enthusiastic way.
"They managed to push the car in the rain and came by an apparently abandoned hotel." As Taka-san mentioned the hotel his voice turned sinister and low. It even sent a shiver down Miyako's spine. "The sign was falling down, but there was a light on in the lobby. The couple ran in and found that there was a person there – the owner. He offered them a room for cheaper than usual due to their predicament and gave them the key." He explained. "The couple went to the room and after drying off and settling down they decided that they should watch something on the old television in the room. But there was no reception – however, they found an old video tape. There was nothing to lose so they put it into the old video player and pressed play. They sat on the bed and watched as the scrambled screen then flickered to show an image that looked oddly familiar. And after looking around themselves they realised that the image was their own room."
"This sounds like a copy of mine." Momo muttered, bored.
"No, it's not." Taka-san said, turning to him. "For then the door on the video opened, the couple realised that it was a recording. They watched as a couple entered on the video and settled themselves almost as they had and then after they turned the light off and went to bed there was darkness and nothing could be seen on the screen. Until, after ten minutes of darkness the light turned on and a man was advancing on the couple in the bed, an axe raised. Horrified the couple watched as they witnessed the deaths of two people – who had been in the same room as theirs. Panicked they pulled the blankets off the bed and discovered that the sheets were covered in blood – which was still damp."
The remaining girls were shaking, aside from Anne and Miyako who were still mildly indifferent – but interested in the story.
"Then the lights turned off. The couple were still panicked and tried to find the door, but instead, all they heard was the mechanical cackle of the Hotel owner." Taka-san finished. "And neither of them noticed the camera placed noticeably on the top of the television – which was recording everything." As he finished off, Taka-san put the torch down and his nervous self returned. "So, how did you like it?"
Other than the girls, no one had been terribly frightened, except Oishi, who was shaking notably, staring into the fire.
"Oishi." Inui said, startling the vice Captain. "My pleasure." He said, handing over a glass of juice.
Hesitantly, Oishi drank the juice and the and then promptly fainted.
Miyako sighed. "Poor Oishi-senpai." She then glared at Inui. "What about you, Inui-senpai? Why don't you tell a story next?"
Inui grinned. "Gladly, Miyako-san."
Miyako's eyes widened a little and she shifted again, seeking some protection from Tezuka.
"Have you ever had the feeling of butterflies in your stomach?" Inui began sinisterly. "Well, a young Turkish girl had been having constant stomach pains for nearly five years. She used to be so happy before hand, but she became a quiet and tormented girl who always held her stomach in pain. Eventually her family were shunned from their village and soon had to flee as they were going to be prosecuted by those who were highly superstitious. Soon enough her symptoms worsened and her family took her to the hospital. Her stomach was x-rayed and then the Doctors went to talk to her parents. They told them that it would be no problem to remove the snakes from her stomach."
Everyone around the fire cringed – though all at different levels. Miyako only knew Tezuka responded as she was right beside him.
"'What snakes?' the parents exclaimed." Inui continued. "The x-rays had revealed that there were three snakes living in the girl's stomach. Water snakes that she had apparently swallowed as eggs when she had been drinking from a stream. They had been in there for five years before they had been discovered. They were very thin, only a little thicker than string, but were around a foot long. After they were removed she was perfectly healthy for the rest of her days."
Eiji shuddered. "That's disgusting."
"Frightened?" Inui asked.
Eiji blanched. "No. It's just gross."
"I have one." Echizen suddenly spoke up, raising a hand, looking a little bored.
"Then please tell it." Fuji urged.
Echizen cleared his throat and began. "Well, has anyone ever wondered if the food we eat will ever seek revenge on the human race for eating them? Well, from a story of a friend of a friend of mine says, that one day the relatives of all crabs who had been eaten decided to seek revenge."
Miyako froze. It was such a slight movement that only Tezuka and Fuji noticed it.
"They slowly began to rise onto the land, scuttling across the sands of beaches and into anything they could find. Firstly they sought out sushi restaurants and fish stores – slowly destroying them and driving their owners out of business. And then they went into homes and took over the cities."
Fuji grinned a little as he noticed Miyako's reaction. Her eyes were wide and she was on the brink of cowering against Tezuka's side, clenching her fists tightly and biting her bottom lip. Slowly so that he wasn't caught out, Fuji reached along the sands surface, looking for that tree branch he'd found earlier and carefully took the stem in his hand, looking down at the leafless twigs on it.
"And then, even though the humans tried as hard as they could they couldn't find a way to defeat the crabs, and in the end they were – "
Miyako screeched, leaping from the sand and tripping over the log behind her, landing flat on her back on the other side – but she didn't stay there for long, she stood up in panic, brushing at her legs.
"Syusuke." Tezuka accused.
"What?" Fuji asked, innocently throwing the branch away.
"That wasn't fair, Fuji-senpai." Miyako whimpered, feeling tears prickle in her eyes from the shock. "Crab's are a serious fear for me." She admitted, hugging her arms around her middle.
"Why is that?" Oishi asked, having recovered.
"When I was little, Mum and Dad took me to the beach for a weekend during Summer." Miyako explained, taking a seat on the other side of Tezuka where she could pet Kiba. "And I fell asleep on the sand one day – and when I woke up I was surrounded and covered in crabs. I had several recurring nightmares after that and now I just can't stand the sight of them. I can't even eat crabs."
"Fuji-senpai, you're so cruel." Sakuno stated angrily as Echizen ran off after having to drink Inui's juice – he hadn't frightened Miyako, it was been Fuji.
"Oh, you think so, Sakuno-chan?" Fuji asked. "Well, I have a story that will prove you wrong. For there is one being who is crueller than I."
Tezuka scoffed. "I find that hard to believe."
Sakuno didn't hang around though, she ran off after Echizen to provide her aid.
"There is a legend in America that tells of a woman who haunts the areas around candlelit mirrors. Her name is the Bloody Mary."
Anne scoffed and stood to walk away. "As if I haven't heard this one a million times."
"Party pooper." Eiji said quietly, poking his tongue out at her retreating back.
"Well, anyway." Fuji continued.
Anne was grinning though. She had something marvellous to plan and all it would take was a simple call to her Father.
. : . : . : .
Miyako giggled as she met Sakuno in their cabin. "Tezuka got him right back." She said, changing into her modest nightgown and lying on her futon. "He pulled out a vial of Aozu. I don't think I've ever seen Fuji-senpai run that fast. And worse, Tezuka also told him that he had plenty more and that Fuji-senpai would never find it."
"You've got a good one, haven't you, Miya-chan?" Sakuno asked.
Miyako smiled as the nickname escaped Sakuno's lips. "I guess. Once he is actually mine then I'll agree completely with you."
"He still hasn't asked you out?" Sakuno asked.
Miyako nodded. "I know he has his reasons, and I respect him for being such a man about it for protecting me and stuff. But I just wish that he would just ask me already. I'm sick of waiting."
"I don't think you have long to wait. I mean, Harris-senpai has been suspended from the Tennis Club so she doesn't have the reason of being the Captain to continue interfering."
"She'll still be at school though and I think that that's the problem that Tezuka is trying to deal with now." Miyako explained. She sighed. "I just…hate knowing that he cares for me so much but he's hurting the both of us by holding back."
Kiba suddenly made a sound.
"Kiba?" Miyako asked, worriedly jumping up and running to the cabin door, sliding it open. Kiba only looked up at her, not troubled at all.
Miyako frowned and slid the door shut.
. : . : . : .
Tezuka rolled slightly on his futon, a continuous sound disturbing him from a far distance. He assumed it was the waves on the beach and tried to find sleep again. But then the sound was joined with another oddly familiar one. A scream.
Tezuka sat up, reaching for his glasses and stood up. Not caring for the noise he made he ran to the cabin door and slid it open. He could hear Kiba barking madly as Miyako's scream reached his ears from across the campsite.
"What's going on?" Echizen mumbled – his futon was closest to the door.
"Something's happening over at Miyako and Sakuno's cabin." Tezuka replied, pulling on his shoes.
At the sound of his girlfriend's name, Echizen woke up and pulled on his own shoes. Fuji appeared beside them as well and behind them they could hear the other Regular's waking up. As fast as they could, they sprinted across the field, coming ever closer to the screaming and barking. And as they arrived they discovered the problem.
Kiba was stepping annoyingly over the hundreds of crabs that had surrounded the cabin, barking and biting at them. Within both Miyako and Sakuno were screaming. The girl's Regular cabin began to stir and several of them appeared at their door and then they began to fetch their shoes to investigate. Tezuka, Fuji and Echizen carefully made their way through the crabs and to the cabin, stepping up onto the infested veranda and sliding the door open.
The girls were standing together on the chair in the corner, hugging each other. The floor was carpeted with hundreds more crabs. Sakuno was frightened, but Miyako was completely terrified, her eyes tightly shut with tears streaming down her cheeks as she clung desperately to Sakuno.
"Ryoma-kun!" Sakuno cried.
Tezuka flew into action. "Echizen, go and get Kiba away from the crabs. Syusuke and I will get the girls."
"But – "
"Sakuno will be fine." Tezuka said. "But you may have trouble carrying her – let Syusuke and I take care of it."
Hesitantly, Echizen nodded and jumped off the veranda to try and deal with Kiba.
Tezuka and Fuji slowly entered the cabin, stepping around the crabs until finally they reached the girls. Sakuno reached out for them, Miyako was too distracted to even realise that anyone had arrived.
Fuji picked Sakuno up while Tezuka picked Miyako up. Miyako shrieked in fright, but when she opened her eyes she came face to face with Tezuka and she gasped. Soothingly he placed his forehead against hers. "It's okay, Miya. I'm here." He whispered as he followed Fuji's lead and carried her out of the cabin.
The girl Regular's had arrived along with the rest of the boy Regulars and the coaches. Kaidou and Yori were dealing with Kiba and when Fuji put Sakuno to her feet on the crab free grass, Echizen embraced her tightly as she began to cry.
"What is going on?" Oshiro asked, looking frustrated with a dressing gown held tightly around herself.
Sakuno sniffled, looking up from Echizen's chest. "Kiba woke us up but…then there were just crabs everywhere. Miya-chan was hysterical – I've never seen her like that before."
The coach looked at Miyako who was still clinging to Tezuka, her whole body shaking.
"Three guesses who did it." Momo stated angrily, as he noticed the only person who hadn't shown up.
"But she couldn't have." Rika said, catching on quickly. "Anne was in our cabin all night. In fact she's still there."
"And this many crabs?" Oshiro added. "That's unlikely for only one person."
Kikuchi sighed. "I'll go and wake the camp manager to see what can be done."
"For the time being, everyone go to the hall." Oshiro instructed. "I'll organise for some spare futons."
Tezuka sighed and fixed his hold on Miyako as he carried her towards the hall with the rest of the group. He hated to feel her body shaking in such terror against his and tears leaking through the t-shirt he wore.
"At least Miya-chan and I had already packed our bags, they're all zipped up and everything so there won't be crabs in our bags." Sakuno said, sitting beside Echizen as he settled against a wall.
Tezuka sat down, Miyako sitting in his lap, still shaking terribly. "It's highly improbable that they appeared from nothing – and they certainly don't migrate at this time of year."
"Tezuka, is Miyako-chan okay?" Oishi asked softly.
"She will be." Tezuka replied. "I think she just needs something to eat to counteract the shock."
"I'll go see if there are any fruit left in the bowl." Fuji said, standing up in a flash.
"Kiba." Miyako whispered. "I need Kiba."
"Kaidou!" Tezuka called. "Bring Kiba over here."
Kaidou let Kiba's collar go and Miyako whistled slightly. The puppy leapt over to her owner and nudged her elbow worriedly, lying along Tezuka's legs.
"I'm okay, girl." Miyako whispered tearfully, letting one hand go from Tezuka's neck to pet the puppy.
Tezuka sighed, lying his head back against the wall behind him.
"Tezuka?"
He opened his eyes at Miyako's oddly calmed voice.
She leaned up to kiss the underside of his jaw. "Thank you." She whispered, lying her head on his shoulder.
The Ghost Stories were picked out from stories on the internet and a horror movie - I don't own them. Except for the crab story, that was my own.