Chapter 12: The Time Spell

Disclaimer: I Don't Own Corpse Party

Yoshiki

Yoshiki heard his alarm go off and got up, after letting out a groan. He shut off his alarm clock and walked out of his room, to the kitchen to make breakfast. He let out a sigh as he made a package of noodles. He ate his breakfast and then proceeded to get dressed. I really don't want to go to school today. But I should, since Satoshi wants to talk to me. He walked into his room and put on his pants from yesterday, grabbed his phone off of the charger and before going to the bathroom, to check on his bandages, he unlocked his door, as he always left it unlocked in the mornings, in case any of his friends decided to drop by, which it happened from time to time. He walked into the bathroom, shirtless and started to slowly and gently pull the bandages off. He saw that there was no blood, he was in perfectly good condition, minus the scabs that had covered the cuts. They would eventually heal to the extent that they could get, leaving scars. Scars. An ugly reminder of what he had went through, to allow his friends' escape. He let out a sigh, as he realized he would never be able to forget about what had happened a couple days ago.

He couldn't help but into deep thought about how bad it would be if one day, he was engaging in intimate activities with a future partner, and they noticed the scar, and then he would have to come up with a bullshit story, about what happened. Unless Ayumi would one day be his partner. However, he felt like that was unlikely. A knock at the door brought him out of his thoughts. "It's open!" he called from the bathroom. He heard the door open and then close a few seconds later. "Hey, Satoshi!" he called out, assuming that's who it was. "What brings you here this morning?" He waited for an answer, but never got it. "Hello?" he called out. He turned to his left, to see Ayumi standing in his bathroom doorway. "Oh. Hey, Shinozaki." he said, as he reached for his dress shirt. "What brings you here?" He thought he saw her blush, before she spoke. "I wanted to check in on you and see how you were doing." she said. "Well, I'm doing ok, I suppose. Thanks for checking in." Ayumi stepped a little more into the room. "You're welcome." she said. "Um, I know it may sound weird, but can I see how the cuts are doing?" Yoshiki looked at Ayumi. "Um, sure. I guess." He turned in her direction, so she could see the cuts that ran from about his belly button, up to his right pectoral muscle. She looked at the scabbed cuts and actually put her fingers on his abs, and ran her fingers down the scabs. "Do they hurt?" she asked, as he tried not to make sound toward the heavenly feeling of her soft fingers on him.

"Not anymore. They hurt like hell yesterday morning." he said, after she took her fingers away. "They hurt to touch them, well, not anymore that is." She nodded, as he put his shirt on, buttoned it up and redid the collar of the shirt. He let out a sigh, as he walked out of the bathroom, as Ayumi moved out of the way and he shut off the light. "Well, what are you going to do today?" Ayumi asked. "Well, I think I'm going to come back to school." he said. "I need to talk to Satoshi anyway." Ayumi looked at him as he walked into his room and put on his jacket. "What about?" Yoshiki looked back at her as he slipped his phone into his pocket and his key into his school bag. "Just guy stuff." he said. "Nothing too important." Ayumi laughed. "Oh, ok." she said. "Yeah, just ok. Nothing to say about it." Ayumi didn't speak for a few seconds as Yoshiki thought to himself. "Hey, what's in the room to the right of your bedroom?" Ayumi asked him. "Oh, that room?" he asked. "Nothing really intersting. That's just where I play my guitar and where I have my morning drinks. The drinks consist of water, coffee or liquor really." Ayumi looked at him, with a look of surprise on her face. "You play the guitar?" she asked. He shook his head. "Well, I guess I used to. I used to find the inspiration to play by smoking pot." I said. She looked at him with a look of disgust. "You smoke pot. Why are we friends?" He shook his head. "I haven't smoked a single thing since that night." he said. "And I haven't drank any alcohol since that night either."

Ayumi looked back at him. "Well, are you going to smoke anymore? Or drink anymore?" He shook his head. "Never again. Well, maybe I'll have one drink after school today, but then, that's it. No more. No more smoking or drinking." She smiled at him. Well, I'm proud of you Kishinuma. You're giving up alcoholism." He nodded. "Yes, I am." he said. He started walking towards the door and she followed. "So, you are heading to school today?" she asked, as they left the apartment. "Might as well. I have to talk to Satoshi anyway. About, guy stuff." he said, as he walked down the stairs, Shinozaki right behind him. "Guy stuff. Right." Ayumi said in a quite tone. As they walked out of his apartment building, Yoshiki pulled out his phone. He opened messages and shot Satoshi a quick text.

Me - Mochida, it's Kishinuma. I decided to come to school today. Be ready to talk!

He slipped his phone back in his pocket and continued walking with Shinozaki. He couldn't believe himself. This girl, whom he had convinced himself he was not in love with weeks ago, he'd found out that he loved this girl now. He felt so weird about it. Because of the fact that he was a rebel and she was a perfect straight A student. But it felt right at the same time. "Do you think I- I mean we will be able to resurrect Shinohara-San?" Ayumi asked him. The question stopped Yoshiki in his path. "Shinozaki, I have full faith that we can do it. If there is anyone in the world that can pull it off, it is you." he said. She didn't respond at first. "You really mean it?" she asked. He turned around to face her. "I mean every word." he said. "I'm not going to sugar coat things. It will probably be hard. It just might be a fucking shit show. I was skeptical at first, but I believe we can do it now." She looked at him once more, before smiling at him. What she did next surprised him. She took his hand into her smaller hand. He looked down at her and she looked up at him. Their moment seemed so perfect, impossible to pull them away from their "embrace" of sorts. Something else might have been coming for them. Something that even Ayumi hadn't seen coming. Would you have kissed her right here and now? Or would you pull back? Yoshiki shook his head, as he pulled away from Ayumi's warm hand. "Yoshiki, what's wrong?" Ayumi asked. "I don't know." Yoshiki said. "I heard a voice. It sounded like Sachiko, I think!" Ayumi frowned. "She must be trying to get into the real world. We have to hurry if we are to resurrect Shinohara. We are running out of time." I have been watching you. I know who you are. And I know when and where you are. Sounds ominous doesn't it? Good, 'cause it fucking is! Yoshiki shook his head once more and continued to walk with Shinozaki.

Kisagari Academy

Half An Hour Later...

"So, how do you plan on winning her over?" Satoshi asked. "I don't know, man. I think I'm going to sing a song dedicated to her in the upcoming talent show. I feel that this is the best way to get her to notice me." He nodded. "Sounds like it." he said. Yoshiki thought to himself for a minute. "If you attempt to help me with this problem, perhaps I could help you." Satoshi looked confused. "Help me? With what?" Yoshiki moved a bit closer to his friend, getting a bit over the library's table they were sitting at. "Come on, Satoshi. It's quite obvious. You can't say that you don't like Nakashima-San." he whispered. Satoshi turned as red as a tomato. "Ok, I won't deny it." he whispered back to his friend. "She's a nice girl. She is very pretty. Her beautiful, slender legs, her br-" Yoshiki stopped Satoshi right there. "Ok, we're talking about girls. Let's try to keep it clean here." he whispered. "Sorry." Satoshi said. "If you want to win Naomi over, you should sing in the talent show with me." Satoshi made a disgusted face. "What? Like a duet? You're joking." he said. Yoshiki laughed. "Look, this isn't meant to be a gay thing. We are both in it for our own benefits." he said. "Fine. I'll play in the talent show with you." Satoshi grumbled. "But just for Naomi." Yoshiki smiled. "Done."

"So, what are we talking about over here?" Ayumi asked, as she walked over with Naomi. Yoshiki stayed as casual as he could. "Oh, nothing much really. Mochida here is just setting up times so he can tutor me." Ayumi just looked Yoshiki. "What?" she asked, in a confused, surprised and sort of angry tone. "I know! It's crazy right? Who knew Kishinuma would come to me for help?" Satoshi said. "Are fucking kidding me?" Ayumi asked. "You need help with school and you go to him? I'm the one with the straight A's, not him! If anyone can help you, it's me!" Yoshiki shrugged. "I'm sorry! I just didn't think about coming to you! You know, on the account of our rocky relationship?" he said. Ayumi held her temples, as she hissed in frusteration. "It's fine. Just think about asking me for help in the future, before you go asking teens who get average grades. No offense Mochida-San." she said. "None taken." Satoshi said in a glum tone. Naomi and Ayumi sat down at the table with their friends, as Ayumi took off her bag and opened it. She pulled out the Book of Shadows and placed it on the table. "Um, is it safe to have that thing here at School, Shinozaki-San?" Satoshi asked. She shook her head. "No, it's not. But with the situation we are in being dire, we have no choice." Naomi exchanged confused glances with Satoshi. "Um, why? What's happened?" Satoshi asked.

"Yoshiki told me this morning that he thinks that he has been hearing Sachiko's voice. So, either that means she is attempting to brainwash him again, or it's a warning that she is getting ready to invade our world." Ayumi said. "Well, that's no good." Naomi said, as they watched Ayumi undo the clip that kept the book closed. "No, it's not." she said. "If we are to resurrect our friend, we must make haste!" I have been watching. I have seen each and every one of your sins. You do not belong in your "perfect" world. You belong here, in hell. "I don't belong in hell you bitch. I am no sinner." Yoshiki whispered. "What?" Satoshi asked. "I'm hearing her again." Yoshiki asked. "What did she say?" Ayumi asked. "She said that she has seen every one of my sins. That I do not belong in this world, that instead I belong in hell." Ayumi shook her head. "Don't listen Kishinuma-San. You do indeed belong here with us." She went back to the Book of Shadows and began to flip through it. Yoshiki looked closer, to see that the book was written in a different language. In fact, a language he had never seen before. "How can you even read that?" Satoshi asked. "I stayed up last night translating and learning how to read this language." Naomi looked at her. "Aren't you tired?" she asked. Ayumi shook her head. "Well, maybe a little. But I've had several cups of coffee." she said. "When did you go to bed last night?" Yoshiki asked. "I never did." Ayumi said.

"Wait, what?" Naomi asked. "I never went to bed last night." Ayumi said. "Aren't you're parents worried?" Naomi asked another question. "Not really, every time they came into my room, I just told them I was studying for the Japanese Government exam that was today." Yoshiki was confused. "But, there isn't an exam today." he said. "Precisely." Ayumi said, with a small grin on her face. She continued to flip through the pages of the book and eventually stopped at the back of the book. "Guys, we have a problem." Ayumi replied, in a grim tone. "Oh no. What is it?" Satoshi asked. Ayumi had a grim look on her face. "The section of the book with spells and charms associated with raising the dead? It's been ripped out." Yoshiki looked at Ayumi in horror. "How will we resurrect Shinohara-San now?!" he asked. "There's only one thing to do." Ayumi said, as she closed the book, locked it and put it back in her bag. "And what's that?" Naomi asked. "We need to go back to Heavenly Host." Ayumi said. "We need to talk to Naho." Did you really think that you could succeed? Did you really think that Naho would tell you the truth? You are all stupid! You are all so gullible! You will never amount to anything!

Yoshiki Kishinuma's Apartment

After School...

"So, when are we heading back to Heavenly Host?" Satoshi asked as Yoshiki rummaged through his cabinets, looking for his old shot glasses. "Whenever Ayumi says we will." Yoshiki said, as he brought out a shot glass. "Are you seriously going to start drinking?" Satoshi asked. "I'm only having one shot. I'm dumping the rest." Yoshiki said. "It's time for me to get a new lease on my life. The first incident in that purgatory proved that to me." he said. He grabbed the only alcoholic drink that he still had from his fridge and opened it up. He poured just enough for the shot glass and then moved to the sink and tipped the bottle over a little, watching the alcohol slowly go into the sink. "Wait!" Satoshi said. Yoshiki stopped pouring it down the drain and lifted the bottle back up. "What?" he asked in confusion, as well as annoyance. "C-can I have a d-drink of that?" Satoshi asked, in a cowardly tone. Yoshiki raised an eyebrow. "Mochida, your life wasn't corrupted by drugs and alcohol. Don't start that now." he said. "I don't care. I may never have a drink of alcohol in my life and you are the only guy I know who drinks." Satoshi said. "I don't drink. Not anymore." Yoshiki said. "Please? Just one drink is all I'm asking! Just one!" Satoshi asked. Yoshiki let out a sigh. "I can't believe you are convincing me of this." he said, as he went to get another shot glass. He came back and poored Satoshi a drink, then went to the sink and poured the rest down the drain, throwing the bottle in the trash. He grabbed his and Satoshi's shot glass and handed it to him.

"Here." Yoshiki said, as he took it. "We'll drink it together." Satoshi nodded. "On three." Yoshiki said. "Cheers." Satoshi said after a couple seconds. "Here's to hoping that I can win her over." Yoshiki said, as he and Satoshi drank. And here's to hoping that we can resurrect Shinohara-San. Just then the door opened and Ayumi walked in with Naomi, who had Seiko's spirit floating beside her. "Hey, we're ready to go!" Ayumi said. "Let's get moving." Yoshiki said, tossing his glass towards the counter. He heard it make a clattering sound as it hit. He and Satoshi walked out of his apartment behind the girls. "Hey Mochida? I just noticed something." Yoshiki said. "Yeah? What's that?" Satoshi asked. "Have you ever noticed how Seiko's spirit sort of looks like an AI?" he asked. Satoshi stopped walking and looked at his friend in confusion. "What do you mean?" He thought about it. "Well, have you ever seen the web series Red Vs. Blue?" he asked. "Never heard of it." Satoshi said. "Well, anyway, I haven't seen the whole series, I just saw Season 9 I think it was, and these soldiers had these Artificial Intelligence programs installed to their armor to help them in battle. And whenever these AI wanted to speak with their handlers, they'd be holographically projected from their armor. And they looked about the same size as Seiko's spirit." Yoshiki said. Satoshi just stared at him. "What?" he asked. Satoshi just frowned, as well as trying to maintain a confused look. "You're full of shit, you know that?" he said, before walking back to the group. "Oh, ok." Yoshiki said with a sigh, as he shoved his hands deep into his pockets and slowly folloed them. Your own best friend hates you. You must realize it. You waste your time with your so called friends. Why do you do the things you do? Why do you get up every day, when you know in the end you are nothing but a failure? "It's all because of her. She keeps me going." Yoshiki said under his breath.

Heavenly Host Elementary School

Sometime Later...

Satoshi

After they had gone through the portal at the school and they had woken up in Heavenly Host, Yoshiki was the first to speak. Or do anything, related to making sounds. He threw up all over the floor and then after whiping his mouth off with his jacket sleeve, said, "Man, I hate going through that thing. And I hate this place. Plus it makes me nauseous." Satoshi nodded. "You're not kidding are you?" he said. "Maybe you had to much liquor, huh?" Yoshiki shook his head. "I only had one shot of it and you know it. And there won't be anymore liquor going down my throat anytime soon. I don't want to see another bottle of it in my apartment." Naomi let out a sigh. "Well, this is all very good." she said. "But we need to get moving. Who knows how long we have until Sachiko plans to assault the real world." Satoshi nodded. "We should get moving, I agree with Naomi. Let's go." Yoshiki turned on his phone's flashlight. "Well, let's go then. Where do we find Naho?" he asked. "We should probably start in the Reference Room. On the account of that's where we saw her during our last visit." Ayumi said. "Then let's go then." Satoshi asked, before they walked out of the classroom they had spawned in. I'll be damned. You really are going to do it, aren't you? You really plan on resurrecting that girl aren't you? Very interesting. Perhaps there is hope for you after all. Or not. I'll tell you what. Since I'm so eager to see what you have in mind, I'll give you this one for free.

Satoshi shook his head, shaking off the voice that he heard within his head. They eventually reached the Reference Room and walked in cautiously, unaware of what could possibly happen. Fortunately, luck was on their side this time. "It appears you are back already." Naho said a few seconds after they walked into the room. She turned around to look at the four of them and the spirit. "The humans and Seiko the ghost, right?" she said, slowly hovering over to them. Seiko's spirit gave a nod, being in her full size, instead of her mini-spirit form, as Naomi couldn't summon Seiko to her side while inside Heavenly Host. "Always nice to meet another spirit." Naho said. "I won't be a spirit much longer." Seiko's spirit replied. "Yes, yes. I suppose that is correct." Naho said, before turning around and hovering across the room. "I assume you have brought me the Book of Shadows as I requested?" Ayumi stepped forward, removing her bag from her back. "Yes, we did Naho. But, we've run into a small complication." she said. Naho turned around. "Well? Don't keep me in suspense. What is this 'small' complication?" Naho asked. "The section on raising the dead has been ripped out of the book." Ayumi replied, in a nervous tone. "Hmm. I see. I'm glad I have the exact spell memorized." Naho said, turning their back to them. "What?" Naomi asked in an angry tone. "Then why did you ask that we go after the Book of Shadows? Not to mention risking our lives-" Yoshiki started to speak, but Satoshi chimed in. "And our sanity!" he said. "And our sanity," Yoshiki agreed. "for a book that we don't even need?!"

Naho said nothing. "Naho?" Ayumi asked in worry. Naho continued to be silent for several more seconds. "It appears you don't understand just how complicated resurrection is. Especially in this case." she finally spoke. "Why?" Satoshi asked. "How complicated?" You don't know how complicated it is? You truely are stupid, aren't you? The body is the key thing here, you stupid! The body is key! Satoshi let out as sigh as he shook off Sachiko's words. "We need your friend's body. It is the problem here." Seiko's spirit sighed. "She is right. My body was taken by that big guy with the sledge hammer. Who knows what he did with it? He could have cut it up, or hid it in a secret mass grave somewhere in this-" Naho rudely interrupted. "Which is why it is imperative that we find the body." she said. "Hey!" Naomi shouted. "Shh, Naomi-San!" All three teenagers said. "We're not alone in here." Ayumi said. Naomi had started to blush a bright red shade. "Sorry." she said, in a small tone, before raising her voice again. "Don't interrupt my friend!" Seiko's spirit started laughing. "You go girl!" she said. "I highly recommend you don't scream at me. You are making me lose my patience." Naho said. "How are we making you lose your patience?" Yoshiki asked. "You were supposed to help us!" Naho spun around, her eyes a shade of bright red. "And you think I am not?! I am wasting my time trying to help you! I should just let you rot! But, I have some amount of good in me! You should be thankful that I'm trying to help you!" she screamed, in a demonic tone.

Satoshi set foot in front of Naomi, willing to do anything to protect her, even if it meant his death. "But, alas. I am a good person." Naho said, as the redness in her eyes died down. "Hand over the Book of Shadows and let's get to work." Satoshi was confused. Naho had just acted all threatening and now she was all happy and willing to help? "But..." Satoshi started, but Naomi beat him to it. "Why do we need the Book of Shadows?" she asked. "Your friend's body is most likely gone. I cannot tell you that you can get it back, as it would be cut up, rotting or just plain gone." Naho said. "So, how does the Book of Shadows play into this?" Satoshi asked. "I'm getting to that." Naho said, as Ayumi placed the book on a table. "Since I cannot turn the pages, I need you to do that for me Shinozaki-San." Ayumi nodded. "Of course." she said. "I will tell you when to begin." she said, as she hovered over to Naomi. "Nakashima, isn't it?" Naomi nodded. "Ok, are you willing to go back to the night when this all started? The night your friend died?" Naho asked. "Will it mean seeing Seiko again?" Naomi asked. "I can promise you that it will." Naho said. Naomi sighed, before nodding slowly a few seconds later. "Ok, then it's settled. Shinozaki-San, start turning pages!" Ayumi nodded and opened the book and started flipping through it. After about five seconds, Naho spoke. "Stop! Right there!" she said, pointing her finger at the writing. "Why do we need this?" Satoshi asked, as he looked at the writing, even though he couldn't understand it. "You need to secure your friend's body. And you cannot secure in this timeline." Naho said. "No, you don't mean-" Yoshiki started to speak, but Ayumi interrupted him. "You mean we have to travel back in time. Don't you?" she asked Naho. After a few seconds, Naho spoke. "Yes, that is exactly what I mean." she said.

A/N: So, there is the chapter. In order to resurrect Seiko, they must first secure Seiko's body in the past and bring it back to the present, where they can begin a ritual of sorts. Also, our four characters will start to hear Sachiko's voice in their heads, a means of her tormenting, torturing and/or antaganizing them. The next chapter will focus on the past of the Corpse Party franchise, so look forward to reliving Seiko's death, I guess? No, don't look forward to it. That was terrible of me to say. How, about look forward to them accomplishing something? That sounds better. Until next time!