Morishige`s POV
It`d been around ten minutes since Satoshi`s group left and it had gotten even darker; the sun was fully down so the only light was coming from the house behind us and the moon. Surely it was time to leave now. Yoshiki put his phone back in his pocket and turned to Seiko.
"Is it time to leave yet?" he asked. He must`ve had the same idea as me. Seiko looked up at the moon.
"Yes, I would say so." And with that we all walked off into the forest. After a few minutes of walking the light from the house had vanished leaving us the moon as our only source of bright light. We had our flashlights as well but they weren't great. It was also nearly silent, aside from the occasional bird and the wind rustling the tree`s. The sound of leaves crunching and twigs snapping beneath my shoes; it was like something out of a horror movie.
"It`s kind of creepy isn't it?" said Seiko. I had an idea. I stopped walking. Yoshiki and Seiko did the same.
"What`re you waiting for?" he asked. I put my finger to my lips.
"Ssshh." They went quiet. The wind dropped. Everything was still. Silence. I turned to Yoshiki.
"Call Ayumi." I ordered.
"Why?" he asked.
"Just do it." he got out of his phone and dialled Ayumi. Silence. The phone went to voice mail and he put it back in his pocket.
"What was the point of that?" he asked. Seiko shuddered. She must`ve got it.
"Why didn't we hear it?" she said. "You thought we would`ve heard her phone ring or at least heard the voices of them talking but there was nothing." She glanced around at the dark abyss around her. "Just how big is this place?" The wind picked up again and we were hit by an icy wind. We continued our search in silence.
"Guy`s I`m scared." said Seiko. She started to cry. I felt awful. I didn't know how to help her. I looked at Yoshiki and I could tell he felt exactly the same way. "I want Naomi." She was really starting to bawl now.
I crouched down next to her and put my arm round her.
"Oh please don't cry, Seiko." I said in the most calming voice I could muster. "We`ll meet up with Naomi soon. I`m sure of it." She looked up at me, her eyes bloodshot and her nose red, her warm breath curling up in front of me; visible in the cold air.
"R-really?" she asked in between sobs.
"Yes Seiko, really." I said, as I helped her back to her feet. "Now come on, let`s go find Naomi." I looked over to Yoshiki and he gave me a thumbs up. I wondered how Mayu was doing.
Mayu POV
It was cold. Very cold. I rubbed my hands together and I watched my breath rise up in front of me. I hope Shig was okay. I hoped they were all okay. Satoshi ran his hand through his hair and sighed as he looked around.
"Satoshi, if we`re lost….." threated Ayumi.
"We`re not lost. We`re just….not found." replied Satoshi.
"For fucks sake." mumbled Naomi. I`d kept quiet throughout most of our walk in fear of this happening.
"Look, just stay calm, I-" he was interrupted by Ayumi.
"You`ll what? Fucking magic us out of here?!" shouted Ayumi. I tried to step in.
"Guys, please-"
"I think we should split up." suggested Ayumi. I tried again.
"No please, I really don't think-"
"I agree." said Naomi. They weren't listening to me.
"Can I go with you Ayumi." I asked meekly.
"Yes of course you can Mayu. I look after my friends." She said.
"I do look after my friends." said Naomi. Ayumi scoffed.
"I guess I`m with you then Naomi." said Satoshi.
"You`re just saying that so you can get at her 'buns'." snapped Ayumi.
"I`m pretty sure her 'buns' are reserved for Seiko." replied Satoshi. This was getting ridiculous.
"My buns are reserved for no one." said Naomi. I felt myself start to get angry. They weren't focusing.
"So you`re buns are free for everyone?" asked Satoshi.
"No!" shouted Naomi. Ayumi coughed and said "Slut" under her breath. I snapped.
"Will you lot shut up!" I screamed. They all went silence and froze. "Just shut up! We`re lost in the middle of nowhere, at night, in a dark as hell forest. We have no idea where the rest of our friends are and you lot are stood here bickering like toddlers!" I turned to Ayumi. "If you wanna split up then fine, but I`m coming with you." She nodded at me. I turned to the others two.
"Satoshi, if you still think you know where the cloth is then fine, go look for it but for now me and Ayumi are going to go find it ourselves." He nodded.
"All right then. Keep your cell phones on so we can contact you." said Satoshi.
"We will, and good luck." I said.
"You too." They said, as they made their way off into the dark. It was no just me and my best friend. It was now just me and Ayumi.
"Wow." She said, as we set of walking in the opposite way that Satoshi and Naomi left in. "I didn't know you had that sort of voice in you."
"I very rarely try to shout. I don't like doing it but sometimes you`ve got to in order to get your point across." I replied.
We walked for about 10 minutes and we`d come across no one.
"You know, I would`ve thought we would`ve come across someone else by now." said Ayumi.
"Yeah, I was just thinking that." I laughed. "Maybe they got transported to an alternate dimension that looks almost identical to ours but is slightly different and so they`ll never find us." Ayumi laughed to.
"Sounds pretty creepy. Actually, I think I read a manga about that the other we-" She was interrupted by a blood curdling scream from somewhere in the forest. We both stopped instantly in our tracks. I felt a wave of fear wash over me as my breathing deepened. I slowly turned to Ayumi. I shone my flashlight in her face. She was sheet white with fear.
"What the hell was that?" I whispered. Ayumi didn't even move. She didn't even blink.
"Ayumi," I whispered again. She slowly moved her head to look at me.
"I don't know Mayu." she replied. My mind started to panic. Who was that? Was it Shig? Maybe? But it sounded more like a girl? Seiko perhaps? Or maybe it was Naomi and Satoshi? It was impossible to tell, we had virtually no sense of direction out here. Wait, which way was the house. M palms grew sweaty and I dropped my torch. I bent down and picked it up.
"Mayu, I wanna go back now." said Ayumi.
"So do I, but which way is the house?" I asked.
"That way." She pointed behind her.
"How do you know?" I asked.
"Because it`s where the suns going to rise." She replied. I hoped she was right.
"Okay then, let`s go."
Morishige`s POV
After consoling Seiko, we continued our way off into the forest. Seiko was still a big of nerves and occasionally gave a small sob and a sniffle. It was heart breaking to see someone as joyful and as happy as Seiko in this way. Me and Yoshiki were a few paces behind her so we could keep an eye on her.
"Do you think we should turn around and leave?" I whispered to Yoshiki. "I don't think she`s enjoying it anymore." He nodded understandingly.
"I was considering it. We know the way back so as long as we keep in straight line we can get back to the house, blow the horn and then we go back inside."
"Are you frightened?" I asked. He scoffed.
"Of course not." he said, with a small laugh. But he was lying. I know he was. "But I am worried about Ayumi." I knew how I felt. I was worried about Mayu. I knew it was a stupid idea to do this game. I knew it, but they didn't listen to me.
"So are we gonna head back?" I asked him again. He nodded.
"Yeah let`s." he replied. Suddenly there was the sound of glass shattering and a bone chilling scream. It was Seiko. She was gone.
"Seiko!" we both shouted, charging forward to find her. There was another scream much quieter than the first but still loud enough to locate her with. We ran into a small clearing and found Seiko down on her knee`s with her head buried in her hands crying. In front of her was a small wooden building with four windows, two on each side and a door at the front. One of the windows was broken. I ran over to her and fell to my knee`s next to her.
"Seiko! Seiko are you okay?" I asked.
"Gahhhhhhhhhhhh Gahhhhhhhhhhh The window!" she continued to cry uncontrollably. "It just broke. I didn't do anything-hic- it just broke on its own!" I looked at Yoshiki. He looked very uneasy. He came over to us and whispered in my ear.
"Stay with her. I`ll check it out." I nodded. I rubbed Seiko`s back to try and soothe her in some way, in any way.
"I want Naoomiiiiiiiiiii." She wailed.
"I know Seiko, I know." Yoshiki had made his way into the hut. I could see him through the windows. It wasn't very big and you could see into it but it was still undoubtedly `s arm went around my body. What was it doing in the middle of the forest? I saw him look down at the floor and freeze.
"Morishige! Bud! I think you`re gonna wanna see this!" he shouted. I turned to Seiko.
"Seiko, I`m gonna be right back, I promise." She snivelled out a meagre "okay" and I got up and went to investigate. I entered the hut. It was more like a large garden shed then an actual hut or building. I looked down to where Yoshiki was pointing. In front of him was what looked like a trap door. I felt my hairs stand on end.
"I think we should leave." I said.
"Yeah." He replied. I turned around and called out to Seiko. But Seiko was gone.
"Seiko!" I screamed. "Seiko!" I started to panic. Where was she? How did she vanish without making such a noise? No…..she couldn't have been…..was she….taken? I grabbed Yoshiki by the shoulders.
"We have to find her!" I shouted. He took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair.
"All right. You go left, I`ll go right. Call me if you find her." I nodded and he bolted out the door. I took off after him but in the opposite direction. The trees and bushes were a blur as I stormed through the forest. I keep calling out her name
"Seiko! Seikooooooo!" I could hear Yoshiki in the distance doing the same thing. I heard a stick snap and the crunch of leaves. I stopped shouting and listened a bit closer. The faint sound of crying became clearer. I shone my torch in the direction it was coming from. It was coming from behind a bush.
"Seiko? Is that you?" I asked, hoping it was. The leaves rustled as something moved behind it and the crying figure emerged from the bushes. It was Mayu. She wiped a tear from her eye and saw it was me.
"S-shig?" I ran towards her and pulled her into my arms.
"Oh my god Mayu. I`m glad to see you." I said, my voice filled with relief. She continued to cry. "Mayu? Are you okay? What happened?" I asked.
"Ayumi l-left me." she responded. I felt my stomach twist with anger. That bitch! How the hell could she just leave all by herself in the middle of a dark forest?
"Well don't worry Mayu. I`m here." I said, sitting down against a tree with her. "Why did she leave you?"
"She heard people shouting for Mayu and she went to help look for her." Mayu replied. She must`ve heard me and Yoshiki. "She told me to wait by the bush but she didn't come back." I pulled her closer and lightly kissed her on the forehead. She looked up at me and smiled through the tears.
"Heh, that was our first kiss." She said with a smile on her face. She was right.
"W-well, it wasn't a proper kiss…" I corrected, looking down at her. I could see her looking back and forth between my lips and my eyes. That was the sign. I`d read in a book that was what girls did when they wanted you to kiss them. I took the hint and slowly moved in closer to her. She did the same. My face was so close to hers. My lips were about to come into contact with hers… and then my phone rang.
"Sorry, let me get that." I coughed. I took my phone from my pocket. It was Yoshiki.
"Hello?" I said.
"Yeah bud, it`s me. You found her yet?" he asked.
"No not yet sorry." I replied. He sighed.
"Damn."
"But I did find Mayu and Ayumi`s walking around not too far from here." I replied.
"Yeah I know. She`s here with me." he said. Mayu took the phone from me.
"Put her on." She said. "Are you okay?...yes, yes I`m fine. Shig`s looking after me….No I haven't found him. I assume he`s still walking around with Naomi." There was another scream. Was that Seiko?
"Put it on speaker." I whispered to Mayu. She pressed a button and put down the phone in front of us. Ayumi`s voice came through.
"Oh my god! What was that? Was that Seiko?"
"Ayumi, put the phone on speaker." Yoshiki`s voice came through as well.
"Morishige did you hear that?" he asked.
"Yeah, I did. Do you think it was Seiko?" I said.
"I hope not." He replied. "Right, here`s what I think we should do. You take Mayu back to the house. I`ll bring Ayumi back. Once we`ve all reassembled, I`ll go back out and try and find Seiko."
"Alright that sounds good." I said.
"What about Naomi and Satoshi?" asked Mayu. Yoshiki paused for a moment.
"I-I`ll try and find them too. Do you know if they`re together?" he asked.
"Yeah they should be." answered Mayu.
"Okay good. That means they`re probably okay. I`m sure Satoshi can look after her but the priority has to be Seiko. She`s all alone out there." He said.
"Yes okay then, I`ll see you by the house. Good luck." I said.
"Good luck bud." The call dropped. I pocked my phone and turned back to Mayu.
"Come on, let`s get going." I said. I noticed her face drop for a second but I didn't say anything.
"Yeah, let`s go." she agreed.
Mayu`s POV
Using Ayumi`s moon theory I managed to show Shig the way back to the house. I was really worrying about Seiko.
"Is Seiko gonna be okay?" I asked.
"Yeah, I`m sure he`s gonna be fine. I`m gonna go out with Yoshiki again to look for her after we get you and Ayumi back." He said reassuringly. I loved this side of Shig; this caring and protective side. I loved that I felt protected by him.
"Shig?"
"Yeah?" he replied.
"Thank you for saving me." I said in the cutest voice I could muster. He coughed and looked away.
"Oh, it`s…errr..nothing. Your..err. welcome." He stammered. How cute. Not long after we arrived back at where we started. I tossed my flash light to the ground and sat back against a tree. I was tired. No longer frightened but tired. Shig got his phone out, presumably to call Yoshiki.
"Don't bother doing that." A voice said. Yoshiki and emerged out of the darkness.
"Mayu!" shouted Ayumi in joy, running over to me. I stood up and she pulled me into a hug. I looked over her shoulder; Shig and Yoshiki were talking about something. "Mayu I`m so sorry for leaving you. I`ll never do it again." she said.
"Don't worry. It`s okay. I understand. You had to try and find Seiko." I replied.
"Okay Ayumi. I`m going off with Morishige." said Yoshiki.
"Be careful. And bring her back safe." said Ayumi.
"Good luck boys." I said. They smiled as they made their way off into the dark abyss. I slid back against the tree and Ayumi sat next down next to me. We sat in a silence for a few minutes. My mind kept wandering back to Seiko. I hope she was okay. I couldn't even begin to imagine how she was feeling. Alone, scared and cold in a dark forest in the middle of the night; it must be hellish. Ayumi broke the silence.
"Thank goodness for those two, right?" she said with a small uneasy laugh.
"Yeah." I replied, slowly. But she was right. I don't think I would`ve been able to go out there again, even to find one of my best friends. I was sure Ayumi felt the same way.
"I never knew Morishige could be so caring." She said.
"Yeah he can be. He might cool and stoic at school but trust me, I`ve known him for years, you put him in the right situation and he will go through hell and back again to help those he cares about." I replied.
"Wow, strong words." She replied. "Do you…..you know…..love him?" I decided to answer her with a question of my own.
"Do you love Yoshiki?" I asked. She sighed and looked up at the stars.
"I don't know. He can be as cold as Morishige when we wants but sometimes he can be really sweat and genuine. Like…..he makes me feel safe, you know? Like he`s my knight in shining in armour. Like whenever I need him, I know I count on him to come and sa-" She was interrupted by a shout from the darkness.
"Airhorn! Blow the airhorn!" shouted he boy himself as him and Shig came sprinting out the darkness "Blow the airhorn!" He sprinted over to the table and grabbed the air horn. He raised it to the sky and pushed the button. The loud 'toot' noise filled the air. He gave it a couple quick blasts and set it back down on the table. Shig was panting a few feet away, trying to get his breath back.
"What made you think of that?" I asked.
"I dunno." replied Yoshiki. "It suddenly just dawned on us." Shig walked over to the table and leant back against it. Ayumi started to laugh. We looked at her as if was an alien.
"What`s so funny?" I asked.
"This." She said. "This is. This is insane." She looked down at her watch. "You know what I was doing this time yesterday?" I shrugged. "I was tucked up all nice and warm in bed and now here I am in the middle of a dark forest, cold, hungry, pretty scared and in the middle of a manhunt for my missing friend." She laughed again. "It`s insane." She was right. Today, and I guess technically yesterday had been mad. I laughed a little too. Shig and Yoshiki both started smiling. They must`ve been thinking the same thing too. It has been insane, but it was brilliant and it was going to be something we would never forget.
"What`cha all laughing at?" said a voice. It was Seiko! And Naomi was there too! The two girls appeared from the darkness.
"Seiko!" we all shouted. Me and Ayumi jumped up and hugged her, knocking her to the floor. Seiko started to laugh too.
"Hey guys. I`m still alive." It must`ve been these words specifically but I felt myself lose control and I started crying. Ayumi did too. I pulled Seiko close to me. Never before had I been so glad to hear her voice and just know that she was okay.
"I found her wandering around by herself." said Naomi, smiling. Seiko looked up at Shig and Yoshiki. She winked at them.
"Missed me boys?" she said, jokingly.
"More than you`d know." said Yoshiki.
"It`s good to see you`re alright." said Shig. We got up off the floor and brushed ourselves off. Ayumi had let go of her but I wasn't budging, I was still clung to Seiko`s arm.
"Please don't cry over me Mayu." said Seiko, trying not to well up herself. "Or you`re gonna make me cry."
"How did you find her?" asked Ayumi.
"I just found her wandering around by herself. She was pretty upset when I first found her but now she`s calmed down." replied Shig.
"Do you know what spooked her?" asked Shig. Naomi shook her said.
"She wouldn't say." she said.
"Seiko? What was it that frightened you?" I asked in the most soothing voice I could muster. She smiled and ruffled my hair.
"Don't worry Mayu. It`s gone now." She said. That spooked me even more. Why wasn't she telling us.
"That`s all she says." mouthed Naomi. I pulled Seiko closer.
"I love you." I whispered.
"I love you too Mayu." she said. She turned to look at Naomi. "But not as much as I love my knight in shining armour." I let Seiko go and she walked over to Naomi and hugged her arm.
"I loooooooooove you, Naomi." Naomi giggled and gently tried to shake Seiko off. She looked at the boys.
"Where`s Satoshi?" she asked. Their faces went serious.
"Ahhh. We don't know." answered Yoshiki.
"What do you mean 'we don't know'? Why not?" snapped Naomi. Her voice had grown stern.
"We don't know where he is." said Shig. "We thought he was with you."
"Well clearly he isn't!" shouted Naomi. "You just left him there? How could you?"
"Please Naomi. Calm down." said Yoshiki. Naomi wasn't calming down. She was far from calm.
"Don't tell me to calm down. He`s still out there and-"
"Runnnnnnnnnnnnnn!" screamed Satoshi and he came hurtling towards us. "Get in garden! Go now!" We did as he commanded. Yoshiki and Shig vaulted over the table as ran with the girls to the open gate. We ran into the safety of the garden. Satoshi crashed his way through and slammed the gate closed behind him and collapsed onto floor. We were stunned and silent. The only sound was Satoshi`s heavy breathing. He peered timidly through the gate.
"It`s gone." he said. He looked from person to person.
"Hey guys. How`ve you lot been." he asked.
"On a wild goose chase for me." said Seiko. She sounded almost proud.
"Why? What happened?" he asked.
"I`ll tell you what happened." said Ayumi. "Everything was going fine until you got us lost so me and Mayu went off to find the red cloth. Soon after we heard a scream and it freaked us out. I ended up leaving poor Mayu all by herself to go find Seiko because I heard Morishige and Yoshiki shouting like mad men trying to find her."
"Seiko got spooked by something and she ran off. Me and Yoshiki split up to find her." continued Shig.
"And then he ran into me." I explained. "Ayumi met up with Yoshiki and they brought us back to the table."
"I was found by Naomi and we heard the air horn so we went back the table too." said Seiko.
"How`d you get split up from Naomi?" asked Ayumi.
"We just decided to split up because we thought we`d find the cloth quicker." explained Naomi.
"And then you came running back here." I finished.
"Speaking of which, what where you running from?" asked Yoshiki. I moved closer to Shig.
"The monster." replied Satoshi, his voice deadly serious. Yoshiki scoffed.
"Monsters aren't real." he said.
" me. This monster was real. It chased me through the forest." Satoshi stated.
"What did it look like?" asked Seiko, she too had gone very serious.
"I don't know. But it was tall and-" Seiko interrupted him.
"And had long arms?" she said. Satoshi nodded. They both went very pale. This monster talking was really starting to freak me out. I lightly tugged on Shig`s sleeve. He must`ve got my message.
"Guys please. Stop it." said Shig.
"Yeah." said Ayumi. "You`re freaking us out."
"Let`s just go inside." I suggested. Everyone murmured and nodded in agreement so we made our way back into Satoshi`s house.
Morishige`s POV
Seiko launched herself face first onto the sofa and groaned loudly.
"Boy is it good to back indoors." she said. I knew how she felt. I sat back down in my original seat at the table and Mayu joined me. Satoshi fell back down onto his bean bag and the other three girls returned to their originally places on the sofa. But Yoshiki was the only one yet to sit down; instead he stood looming menacingly over Satoshi. Satoshi looked up at him.
"What?" he asked dumbly.
"You. Your stupid game has caused so much stress and worry it`s unbelievable." said Yoshiki.
"You voted for it." replied Satoshi. I stuck my hand in the air.
"I didn't. I voted against it." I said.
"Put him on trial!" shouted Seiko. Yoshiki paused and thought for a moment.
"Yeah. No yeah. Let`s do it." Yoshiki said. He pointed at Mayu.
"You be judge." he ordered. He turned to the three girls on the sofa. "You lot and Morishige are the jury." We nodded. Yoshiki picked up Satoshi by the arms and placed him in the seat in front of Mayu at the table. Satoshi didn't even try to resist. I sat on the arm of the sofa.
"Do I get a hammer?" asked Mayu. Naomi handed her a rolled up magazine. Mayu banged the magazine on the table.
"The court is now in session." she said. "Yoshiki, you have the floor."
"Thank you, your honour." he said as he strolled around the room. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, today I am going to present evidence to you that will prove Satoshi is guilty of ruining everyone`s night."
"Satoshi, how do you plead?" asked Mayu.
"Not guilty." he said. Seiko pretended to fate.
"Your honour, I would like to call up a witness." Yoshiki said. He pointed to Ayumi.
"Ayumi please tell us about what happened to you this night."
"Well, I was alone and frightened and I was worried about my friend." said Ayumi. Yoshiki turned back to Mayu.
"Sounds guilty to me." he said. Mayu folded her hands.
"Satoshi, in spite of new evidence, how do you plead?"
"Guilty." he said.
"Guilty, your honour. He said guilty." repeated Yoshiki.
"Yes I heard him. What`s the verdict of the jury?" she asked. I looked at the three girls and they all nodded. I stood up.
"Guilty, your honour." I said sitting back down. Mayu banged her magazine on the table.
"Satoshi. You have been found guilty of ruining everyone`s night and so my sentence is….we get to decide what we do next." Mayu said.
"Fine." Satoshi said. Something told me he really didn't care. "What do you want to do?" he asked.
"We could go in your pool?" suggested Yoshiki. Seiko practically exploded.
"Yes! Yes! Pool! Pool! Pool! Pool! I vote pool!" she shouted. Satoshi looked at Mayu.
"Judge?"
"Pool it is." said Mayu. Satoshi stood up from his seat.
"Girls you can get changed in Yuka`s room if you want. It`s the first on the right." The girls all made their way towards the door but I quickly stopped Seiko. I needed to speak to her.
"Seiko."
"Yeah?" she asked.
"Are you okay now? You were pretty badly scared out there." I asked. Her eyes glistened and she smiled brightly at me.
"Oh don't worry about me Shig. I`m fine now. You were really kind to me out there. I won`t forget that." She tapped my arm lightly. "You`re a real good friend Shig." She left the room and skipped upstairs to join the other girls. I`d noticed she called me 'Shig' which was supposedly reserved for Mayu but I let it slide. Seiko was nice; a true friend.
A/N: Wow. What a chapter. I had so much fun writing that one. A lot of questions though. What scared Seiko? What about the monster? What`s beneath that trapdoor? And what was that last scene between Seiko and Shig? Well that one I can answer. They`re just friends. There`s no secret Morishige x Seiko plot line. They`re just real good friends because I want to make Seiko Shig`s best friend aside from Mayu (of course) because in the future they`re going to need each other. I hoped you like the longer chapter, if so leave me a review and let me know what you think. Once again, thank you very much for reading, goodnight.