Chapter 4: The Storm Breaks
The atmosphere was lighthearted as the class of 1998 enjoyed their picnic. They discussed their careers, families, and other details of their lives while eating the food Naoya had brought. As the day went on, the sky became cloudier, but no one seemed to notice. Everyone was calm and having fun, except for one person. Yuuya couldn't shake the bad feeling he had, as Noboru still hadn't arrived yet. Everyone else assumed he had gotten stuck in traffic or fallen ill, and avoided worrying about it. As lunch was finishing up, Yuuya couldn't stand it anymore.
"That's it. It's not like him to fail to show up, and then not send a message telling us. I'm calling him," Yuuya said standing up.
"If that will make you feel better," Naoya replied, "but I think you're overreacting."
Yuuya walked off and pulled out his cell phone. He talked in the distance as the rest of the group packed their things. He returned a minute later, his face pale.
"I just spoke to Noboru's wife. She was hysterical. She said she had just gotten word that Noboru was killed in a car crash just inside the town borders," Yuuya said grimly.
At this, everyone froze. Then the silence was broken by the roar of thunder in the distance. Rain fell as fear creeped into every person present. Daisuke panickedly whipped out his inhaler and put it to use. Sayuri began having flashbacks of that terrifying night at the inn. "No, no no!," she screamed, completely losing her cool, "I can't do this again! We were supposed to be safe!" Sayuri then bolted to her car while opening an umbrella she brought in case of a storm.
San attempted to chase after her while calling, "Wait, Sayuri, it could just be a coincidence! It might not be the curse!" As if to debunk her reassurance, lightning came down and struck the metal tip of Sayuri's umbrella. With a final scream, the petite girl collapsed dead. Now all the remaining people were in a panic. The rest of the group began to make a run for their cars, presumably to flee the city.
"Everyone, STOP!" Kouichi yelled out, and to his surprise, everyone did. "We can't lose our minds. That's how so many of us died years ago. Remember how everyone who tried to leave the city during the calamity was killed? We need to stay calm and think this through."
"What are you saying, that we should just hang around until we've all been killed off?" Matsuko asked loudly.
"No I'm just saying. . ." Kouichi started, only for Mei to firmly grab his arm.
"Kouichi, I. . ." she started, worrying about the fluid that had just started leaking from her womb, "I think my water just broke."
Kouichi's jaw dropped. "But we had three weeks!"
"Kouichi, I need to get to a hospital, NOW!"
Kouichi took Mei by the hand went to his car, with the other group members staying with Sayuri's body while Yukito called an ambulance. Yuuya and Naoya followed the Sakakibaras. They all drove to the city's hospital. Despite the heavy rain, everyone made it without accident. Kouichi parked in the emergency lot as Mei finished calling her doctor in Tokyo asking her to send all relevant information to the hospital. After being admitted, Mei was rushed in a wheelchair to the Labor and Delivery section of the hospital. Mei was lying down, surrounded by doctors and her husband.
"Be honest, will my wife and child be alright?" asked Kouichi.
"Given no further abnormalities, your wife should be fine. As for your baby, well that's a little harder to predict. Premature birth is the most common killer of newborns and children under five. However, most of those deaths are babies born over a month too early. The fact that your child is only three weeks too soon means that most likely he or she will survive with minimal long term complications."
Kouichi responded by nodding. He then prayed to the Seven Gods of Fortune for his family's safety. "Benzaiten, Bishamonten, Daikokuten, Ebisu, Fukurokuju, Hotei, Jurōjin, please hear my prayer. I beg you, save my wife and child," he said over and over again in his heart.
Meanwhile outside the room, Yuuya and Naoya discussed the day's events. "I don't understand, we've done this for years and the calamity never got us like this," Naoya said. "Two of us, dead, in one day. It couldn't be anything other than the curse."
Yuuya stood deep in thought for a moment. "I get it now!" he said. "Sensei Chibiki died at the beginning of the school year, right? That means he couldn't show the instructional tape to the incoming class. They couldn't have worked to find the 'extra' person to end the curse. The calamity occurred as usual, with the current 9th grade having no way to stop it."
"So what are we supposed to do? Hunt down this random mystery kid and kill him?" Naoya asked bewildered.
"Of course not, it's summer vacation. We have no easy way of finding all of class 3, let alone finding out who the dead one is."
"We have to do something. The calamity has to be what caused Mei to go into labor three weeks early, that can't be a coincidence. If we don't do something, Mei and her baby might die."
"The only way to stop this permanently is too. . ." Yuuya stopped for a moment, wondering if he was seriously going to suggest this. It was crazy, but it just might work.
"Is to what? How do we save Mei and the baby?!"
"This happens every year because of one class's actions. Actions that made the school 'close to death.' We have to remove the thing that attracts death, and everything will go back to normal."
"But the administration refuses to cut the ninth grade down to only two classes."
"I know," Yuuya says glumly, "which is why we'll have to remove the whole junior high."
"Wait, so you're saying we have to blow up the. . ." Naoya was then cut off by Yuuya placing his hand over the athlete's mouth.
"Don't say that so loud, we're in public!"
"Sorry," Naoya apologized, though it was impossible to understand through the painter's hand.
Yuuya took Naoya outside to the parking lot, where their cars were. The rain and winds were heavy and loud, louder than the occasional thunder. Perfect for covering a conversation. Yuuya looked over his shoulder to make sure there was noone to hear him before shouting through the storm. "Listen, I think I know of a way to destroy the school. We need to light a gas leak, that's the fastest way to blow up a whole building."
"But won't that require someone to be inside the school to light it?"
"Not if we create a trail of gasoline that leads from the gas leak to the outside. We simply need to light one end and run like hell."
"But what if there are people working inside? Just because it's summer doesn't mean it will be abandoned."
"It's getting late, and this storm keeps getting worse. Between the pouring rain and strong winds, I'm sure everyone will be dismissed."
"This plan of yours is pretty risky, Yuuya. It needs a lot of things to go perfectly, plus, you know what will happen if we're caught."
"Look, Kouichi and Mei are our friends. Right now one of them is in danger along with their baby. I'm willing to take risks to save them. Are you?"
Naoya nodded and replied, "Alright, let's do this. I got a big ass gas can at home. You go get the things we'll need to break into the school. We'll meet there."
And so, the two young men left to execute either their best plan or their worst.