"Doesn't this story seem quite familiar to you?"
"Ah, that's right, I did tell it before, didn't I?"
"Yeah... I'm sure you did!"
"So then... why don't I tell another one?"
"A different story?"
"Yeah! A different story, for sure!"
"Well... sure, I don't see the harm in that."
It's a rather familiar sight, isn't it? 7 familiar people, sitting in a circle around a candle, looking on as one familiar blue-haired girl told an all-too-familiar story. Things seemed to be going all about the same...
"Have you heard the story? It was a rainy evening after school, just like this one... Running down the stairs, the kindly teacher lost her footing. She tumbled, and she fell... and she died."
"...You've all heard the stories, no? Before Kisaragi Academy was built here, there was another school on the property. Heavenly Host Elementary School, it was called."
"Such a horrible thing to happen... The principal was completely devastated. He cared for the school almost as if it were his own child, you see. But one thing led to another after the incident...and ultimately, a decision was reached. The school was to be shut down."
"The principal was so stricken with grief over losing his precious child that on the day of its closure... he climbed up to its roof and threw himself to his death. Or so the story goes... "
"People thought Heavenly Host was cursed, you see. This was just the latest of many deaths to occur there. That's why it was torn down... However! They say the teacher who fell down the stairs still has no idea she's dead, even to this very day... And on rainy evenings like this, after our school days come to an end... Some claim she roams these darkened hallways, still believing them to be her own..."
" In fact, it's almost time for her to make her rounds! Just after seven o'clock... That's when she appears, always accompanied by a sudden blackout that leaves the entire building dark as night... *Knock knock,* you'll hear from the blackness...followed by the sound of the classroom door ssslowly sssliding open... As her pale white face cuts through the stillness, her soft voice always echoes the same question: " ?" And then..."
And then the candles in the room went out, along with a rather conveniently placed strike of thunder!
"Ahh!"
There were shrieks across the room, but one boy in specific seemed to be the center of attention. This is Satoshi Mochida, who is commonly known as the main protagonist of this story. He's a kind boy who has a bit of a cowardly side, although he will do anything to protect his friends. As for right now, he is currently holding rather tightly onto one of his fellow student's arm.
"S-Satoshi, what the hell is wrong with you?! Let go of me!" She exclaimed. This is Naomi Nakashima, another familiar figure in the story. She is a bright and cheerful, although often stubborn, tomboyish girl.
"Huh? O-Oh, Sorry!" He quickly let go of her. "It-it was just scary, okay?"
"I don't like this... this shouldn't be happening..." The storytelling blue-haired girl stated. This is Ayumi Shinozaki, a kind girl with a great interest in the occult. She has become quite popular within the student body for constantly scaring her friends with her ghost stories.
"Seriously? Are you sure you're not just fucking with the lights, Shinozaki?" said a blonde-haired boy. This is Yoshiki Kishinuma, he gives off the aura of a delinquent, although he does mean well towards his friends.
"I-I've been sitting here all this time, how could I possibly have done that Kishinuma!?" Shinozaki replied, a bit annoyed.
"Right, right, let's all relax here." said a boy with glasses. This is Sakutaro Morishige. He is a quiet, stoic, and well-collected boy. Although there have been some theories that there's a little more than he displays, that he's a more 'card close to his chest' type of guy. Then again, these are just theories.
"Relax? How can we possibly relax?" Satoshi exclaimed, seems he really was on the nervous side, bordering full-on panic.
"To be honest, I am feeling rather scared, too..." said another girl. This was Mayu Suzumoto, she's a kind and energetic girl who's rather popular amongst the student body. As a member of the theater club, she is quite known for being able to put on one hell of a good show. Because of this, Satoshi wonders if she's actually scared or if she's just putting on an act...
"Ah, cheer up, Satoshi." said one last girl in the room. This is Seiko Shinohara. An extremely cheerful and even more energetic girl, she is well known for being very outspoken to the extent that she comes off as crass and immature. Despite this, it quite adds to her charm, so her friends don't really say much about it. "Hey, Ayumi, mind lighting that candle back up?"
"W-Well, I'm trying, but I don't remember where I put my matches..." Ayumi said it was quite dark, after all. Searching around her pockets, she finally was able to find them. She would quickly light up a match, then just as quickly light up the candle. "There we go..."
"See? Satoshi, you damn right near pissed yourself over nothing." Yoshiki said with a cheeky grin.
"That's cold, man." Satoshi replied, giving his friend a look of annoyance.
The students start to reconvene, talking amongst themselves.
"Hey, Mochida-kun, care to turn the lights back on?" Ayumi asked, handing him another candle she had lit up. "This is so you can see."
"Oh, it's over?" Satoshi said. "There wasn't anything more to the story?"
"Mmm... well, I WAS going to scare you afterward, but then the candle went off and that really freaked me out. So I'll spare you just this once." Ayumi said a little devious smile on her face. "Come on, get those lights back on so we can all clean up and head back home."
"Of course, Shinozaki..." Satoshi replied, taking the candle. It didn't really come as a surprise that, of course, Shinozaki DID have intentions of scaring him herself. She always did like doing that, and it didn't really help that his friends also found it quite funny. But he doesn't really blame them, he is quite easy to make fun of. And they always make it up to him later anyways.
Walking over to the light switch, he would let out a hefty sight as he put his fingers on it. But then, suddenly, he heard a knock on the door. Turning to face it, fear struck him. The door started to slowly slide open, a hand poking out. Backing away slowly, all he could do was watch as he heard a spine-chilling voice call out.
"Is anyone still there?"
Then, the door slammed wide open, and Satoshi basically flew back, screaming all the way as he landed on the ground. But then, at that very moment, a very familiar person emerged from the darkness. And as the lights turned on, Satoshi realized that he got got.
"Heehee, did I scare you?" Said the person. This is Yui Shishido, the assistant homeroom teacher of the class. She is a very friendly teacher who gets along well with all her students, although she feels a bit insecure about her role as one.
"Oh hey, teach," Ayumi said, approaching the teacher and giving her a high five. "I guess you could say that was a rousing success!"
"W-Wha... S-Sensei, you got involved in this, too?" Satoshi asked, a look of betrayal apparent on his face.
"Sorry, I just couldn't resist!" The teacher exclaims, obviously happy with what she had just done. "After all, I was a student here back then, you know? I'm quite well-versed in the 'seven wonders of Kisaragi High'!"
"R-Right..." Satoshi said, getting up from the floor, and patting himself down.
"Satoshi, that was great!" Naomi said. "A masterclass, really!"
"I honestly thought Shig's reaction was pretty good, but then you up and took the cake." Mayu said as well, still laughing a bit to herself.
"I must admit... it's quite a shame you aren't part of our theater club. You have quite the flare for the dramatics." Sakutaro stated.
Just hearing these comments started to embarrass Satoshi, but then a certain someone gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Cheer up! Some day, you'll get us all back, haha." said Seiko, who was doing her best to comfort Satoshi.
"Ah... thank you, Shinohara." Satoshi replied, giving her a smile. Afterwards, he would look at Ayumi and cross his arms. "Who's ever heard of a class rep with such a sadistic streak, anyways?"
"Ahh, you see, it's part of my charm~" Ayumi replied with another devious smirk. This just prompted Satoshi to sigh, and he then looked over to Yui and spoke up. "I'm glad you're feeling better."
"Oh, yes, thank you, Mochida," Yui said. "I really am happy to be back with everyone!"
"Oh, that's right, I totally forgot you were feeling sick this past week," Seiko said. "Class just wasn't the same without ya!"
"Glad you're back, sensei." Sakutaro said.
Then, suddenly, Yui remembered something. "Oh! Mochida, someone is waiting for you outside, actually! I-It slipped my mind, haha."
"Oh?"
The teacher would then look into the hallway. "Come on in! He's here, you don't need to stand around out there!" With that, a young girl would enter the classroom. This is Yuka Mochida, Satoshi's little sister. Growing up, she leaned a bit on the spoiled side, but as she entered Kisaragi Junior High she started to wisen up and become somewhat of a reliable figure to her fellow classmates. A previous incident about a year ago could also be credited to her change, although she doesn't mention that much.
"U-Um... hello, everyone." Yuka greeted the others, in her hands was an umbrella. She would look at her older brother, then slowly offered the umbrella to him. "Satoshi... you forgot your umbrella."
"Ah, did I?" Satoshi was actually confused, he could have sworn he took it when he left. Hmm, seems like he must have forgotten. Regardless, he took the umbrella from Yuka. "Thank you, Yuka."
"Ohhh! Mochida-kun, is this your sister?" Seiko said, running up to the little girl. "She's so cute!"
"Ahaha, Yuka is quite adorable, isn't she?" Naomi stated, putting a hand on her hip as she look at Seiko.
"Guys, don't crowd her too much, okay?" Satoshi came in defense of his sister. "She's a bit shy."
"Right, right, but that makes her even cuter!" Naomi teased, giving the young girl a pat on the head. Yoshiki would approach Yuka, who would give him a kind wave.
"Glad to see you're doing okay, Yuka," Yoshiki replied. "Ah, how's Satsuki?"
"Energetic as usual..." The younger girl would say.
"So, still the same, I see."
"Energetic, hmm? Sounds like someone I know." Naomi replied, bumping Seiko's shoulder. The other would give her a small smile, and a little blush appeared on her face.
"It's going to get quite rainy..." Yuka said, then she looked at the rain-covered windows in the classroom. "I-I think you already know that though..."
"Haha, I appreciate the thought, Yuka." The older Mochida sibling would say. "It's getting quite late, anyways. Should we head home already?"
"Not after we clean up," Yui said. "You wouldn't want to disappoint Yamazaki, after all."
"Right, right," Ayumi said. "Then let's clean up, shall we?"
Although the other seemed ready to go on and clean the classroom, two students seemed quite gloomy. It wasn't until Ayumi looked at them that she realized exactly why they were.
"Suzumoto..." Ayumi said, then this brought everyone's attention back to the girl at hand.
"What's going on...?" Yuka said she was confused by the sudden gloomy atmosphere of everyone who were just cheerful mere moments ago. Satoshi would approach her, then the two would face Mayu.
"Today's Suzumoto's last day here," Satoshi said. "She's transferring over to another school."
"Oh... that sucks..." Yuka stated rather bluntly.
"Suzumoto... I know how hard it is to say goodbye..." Yui said. "...but I wish you the best of luck at your new school. I know you'll do just fine."
"We'll really miss you, Suzumoto," Ayumi said. "But, you'll be fine! You'll make new friends in no time, you're our Suzumoto, after all! So, don't be so glum, okay? We're friends forever!"
Mayu would then tear up a bit but would be quick to give the others a genuine smile. "Thank you guys, so much... I will never forget any of you! You'll be in my heart, always and forever!"
"Hey, Mayu, let's take a picture of your smile, okay?" Sakutaro said.
"O-Okay... but how about we include everyone? I want to look back and remember this moment always." Mayu replied.
"Sure, let's do that." Sakutaro said, he then motioned for everyone to stand next to Suzumoto, which they all did. After some careful positioning on his end, he took the photo.
"Oh, let me see, let me see!" Seiko said, trying to take the phone from Sakutaro, but he was quick on the defense, keeping it out of her reach.
"Shinohara, you'll get to see when everyone else does. I'll send it all to your phones." Sakutaro said rather bluntly, then he would scroll through his contacts and start slowly but surely sending it to everyone.
"Hmm... now that I think about it, it's past seven, isn't it?" Yui asked. "We can just put off cleaning the room until tomorrow morning, I think."
"So, in that case, we should all head home, then?" Ayumi asked.
"Yes, you kids really should get some rest." Yui replied.
"H-Hold on, before we go... can we do something together? All of us, I mean... it's called 'Sachiko Ever After'." The class rep said, pulling out a paper doll.
"I recognize that thing, isn't that what you were printing last night when I met up with you?" Yoshiki asked.
"Hmmm? Oh, right, it is!" Ayumi replied.
"So, it's like an occult thing, then, isn't it..."
"Got a problem with that?"
"Nope, not at all."
"Good." Ayumi would say, then she would look towards everyone. "It's a charm. A charm I found on the internet, if we do it then all of us will be together forever! Or, like, stay friends always, I-I'm not sure, that's the gist of it."
"That sounds awesome! I totally wanna do it!" Mayu stated.
"Hmmm... is everyone okay with this?" Yui asked.
"Sure, why not?" Yoshiki said, along with the other students nodding in agreement.
"Alright, alright, everyone! Gather around the paper doll, I'll hold it out for us all." Ayumi said. "So, what we're going to do is, um, we're going to repeat 'Sachiko, we beg of you', um... eight... no, nine! Nine times, we're going to repeat 'Sachiko, we beg of you' nine times, okay?!"
"Seems easy enough." Seiko said excitedly.
"Well, yes, definitely! Buttt, there's a catch, we have to say it exactly nine times for everyone in here! We can't say any more, or any less, otherwise the charm will fail." The class rep explained.
"So... what happens if we fail?" Satoshi asked, prompting the blue-haired girl to give him a dismissive wave.
"Huh? Failure isn't an option, Mochida!"
"This feels kinda sketchy," Yoshiki stated. "But, whatever..."
"Anyways, let's all get started, okay! Everyone, close your eyes, then say 'Sachiko, we beg of you' nine times in your head!"
With that, there was a moment of silence between all nine occupants in the room, each person saying 'Sachiko, we beg of you' in their minds. After a couple more beats, Shinozaki spoke up.
"Everyone said it nine times?" Ayumi asked.
"Yes, yes, let's get this on with before I accidentally say it a tenth time." Yoshiki remarked.
"Yes, all done!" Seiko said.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Alright, alright! Now, you all need to do is grab a piece of the doll, it doesn't matter which part of it, just grab any piece!" Following her instructions, everyone was gripping on to a piece of the paper doll. "Hold on to it tightly! And then, on the count of three, we're all going to pull on it, until it rips apart, okay? Hold on tight! One... two... three!"
The paper doll was then ripped apart into nine separate pieces, one piece for one person.
"And it's over, just like that!" Ayumi stated. "Make sure to keep your scrap of paper safe, okay? Keep it in your student ID, or even your wallet, just anywhere where it's safe!"
"So... the paper doll scrap has a meaning to it?" Yoshiki asked.
"Yeah! As long as we keep the piece of the doll with us, we'll always be together as friends! That's the purpose of the charm."
"That's actually quite cool." Naomi said, prompting Seiko to hug her from behind as spoke up. "Quite cool? More like SUPER cool! I'm going to keep my scrap with me forever!"
"Thank you, Shinozaki, I'll never lose this." Mayu replied.
"Of course, Suzumoto." Ayumi gave her a warm smile. "Consider this a promise that we'll definitely hang out again!"
Then, the teacher stands behind the podium, giving her students (and Yuka) a bright smile.
"Well, with that, consider this class dismissed! Be sure to get some good night's rest, okay?" Yui said to the group.
"Yes, ma'am!-"
But, right before the group could continue in their harmony, the room started to shake.
"W-What the fuck?" Yoshiki said.
"Is this an earthquake?" Satoshi asked.
But the earthquake started to intensify, getting more violent, knocking some of the students off their balance. Seiko tripped, almost falling flat on her face until Satoshi caught her. Naomi immediately went for Yuka, keeping her safe from any falling debris. Ayumi and Yoshiki stuck together, along with Yui who kept close to them. Sakutaro also lost his balance, falling in front of the three. Mayu quickly ran over to Satoshi and Seiko, holding tight onto Seiko's arm.
"This is like, big. Like, HOLY FUCK BIG!" Yoshiki called.
Lightbulbs started to fall from the ceiling, and the floor started to crack!?
"E-Everyone, j-just keep calm!" Yui said. "T-Try to get under your desk!"
"I'm not the only one who sees the floor cracking, right?" Sakutaro asked.
Then, the crack started to expand and get more violent. It wasn't long until the entire floor was falling apart.
"H-Hold on to something!"
Any effort to hold onto something was all for naught, as the floor started to rapidly crumble away. Everyone started to lose all their balances, until...
Until the floor fell completely apart, and everyone fell into the void below...
Satoshi opened his eyes, first.
"Ow... my head hurts..." Satoshi would say, he noticed he was lying flat on his back. Sitting up, he would rub his head, slowly gathering his bearings. "...Huh?"
Then... something immediately didn't seem right to him. No, not seem. Something WASN'T right. He looked around the location he was in. This... this wasn't Kisaragi. The floorboards were different, and the overall atmosphere of the classroom felt suffocating to him. Standing up, he would decide to start taking a look around.
"Where am I? What is this place?" Satoshi asked, then he would notice a very familiar figure lying on the teacher's podium. "S-Shinohara!"
Running over to the unconscious girl, he would get on his knees and slowly shake her, trying to bring her back into the land of consciousness. "S-Shinohara! Shinohara! Wake up, Shinohara!" Although, she wasn't budging. Quick to action, he would check for a pulse, although this quickly failed him as he realized he didn't exactly know how to do that. So, instead, he started shaking her again. "SHI-NO-HARA!"
Then, the girl would open her eyes, looking up at him.
"Oh... good morning." Seiko said.
"D-Don't good morning me, Shinohara! I thought you were dead!" Satoshi said, hugging the girl out of relief.
"Me? Dead? Aw, come on, Mochida! You know I can't die!"
"Don't joke around, Shinohara, this is serious."
Seiko would then take a moment to look around, then she actually realized it was quite serious. More serious than she anticipated, in all honesty.
"Um... so, I've either like, become totally colorblind, or we are not in Kisaragi right now." Seiko stated, then she would look at her shirt. "Nope, the collar's still blue! Where are we!?"
"I don't know..." Satoshi replied, letting go of Seiko and standing up. "Can you stand up?"
"Yeah, of cou-" Seiko would say, but as soon as she put pressure on her foot, she would wince in pain. "Ow!"
"Shinohara?"
"Uh... would it bother you to carry me around?"
"What?"
"So... my ankle's sprained, I think. All I know is that it really hurts."
Satoshi would then offer the girl a hand. "Let me help you up. Just don't put pressure on it, okay?"
"Oh, you're such a gentleman." Seiko would reply, taking hold of his hand and helping herself up. "There we go."
"So... you really don't know where we're at, Shinohara?" Satoshi asked.
"Wish I could say I did, but I don't." Seiko replied. "Trust me, this ain't like, some elaborate prank on you or anything!"
"...I didn't even think of that until you mentioned it."
"Oh, did you? Teehee, nevermind me."
Seiko would slowly make her way to a window in the classroom, then she would start pulling on it, although to no avail. She would then pull on it with more effort, still to no avail.
"Windows are sealed tight. And it's super dark out there. I don't know what's going on." Seiko stated, then she would notice Satoshi was looking at something in the classroom, deep in thought. "Eh... Mochida?"
"Oh, sorry..." Satoshi said. "It's just... don't these desks look too small for you?"
"Do they?" Seiko tilted her head in thought. "Ah... they do... like an elementary school."
Satoshi would walk over to a paper on the wall, reading it out loud. "Heavenly Host Elementary, notice to all faculty and... stu...dents..."
"H-Heavenly Host?" Seiko said. "T-The heavenly host? The one that was shut down and demolished? The one that, the one... K-Kisaragi was built on top of..."
Almost immediately, it seemed like a switch flipped in Seiko's brain, as she quickly started to hyperventilate, sounds of fear escaping her.
"W-What the hell is going on? W-WHERE ARE WE? W-w-where are our friends?"
"S-Shinohara!" Satoshi would run over to her. "C-Calm down, please!"
He wasn't really good at comforting people, especially someone like Seiko, who he's never seen freak out before. His only vivid memory was after their parents passed, how he held Yuka's hand until she stopped crying. Until she felt brave enough to walk on her own. So, he did what he did back then, and took Seiko's hand into his own.
"Shinohara, I need you here, okay? W-We can deal with this together." Satoshi said he wasn't sure if it was working, but judging by the look on Seiko's face, it did seem like he was getting to her somewhat. Only silence would linger as he continued to hold her hand, and Seiko slowly but surely started to take deep breaths. The silence would break with the girl giving him a smile, prompting him to let go.
"Thank you, Mochida." Seiko replied. "I didn't mean to freak out like that, it's just... it's scary. It's honestly so scary..."
"Don't worry, Shinohara." Satoshi said. "I understand you... this situation freaks me out, too. But... it's better if we don't stay here like sitting ducks. We need to look for a way out."
"A way out...? But, these windows are like, decorations, really. They don't even classify as windows..."
Satoshi would take a couple moments to think, then he would reply. "Well, even if these windows are fake, there's still certainly a door or an entranceway out of here, you know? Besides, we're likely to succeed if we try!"
Seiko looked down sadly, it seemed like he couldn't exactly convince her of it.
"Don't lose hope, Shinohara. If I had given up at the slightest hint of a negative outcome, I doubt I'd be in Kisaragi." Satoshi said. "It took me a lot of grit to get into the school, you know? And besides... there's no chance we're the only ones in here."
"Huh?"
"Well, think about it! If we ended up here, then that means everyone else did, as well! So, let's find the others, and together we can escape!"
Seiko would look up at him, then after some internal deliberation... she would nod.
"Together." Seiko said. "Let's get out of here, together, Mochida!"
And with that, the two then made their way out of the classroom, ready to explore the school and hopefully find the others. Although, as they took a look around the hallway they were in, one thing stood out to the two.
"This hallway is in shambles," Satoshi said. "Not good... Shinohara, watch your step, okay?"
The other will just nod at him, and together the two started to carefully navigate the hallway. Although there were a couple spots where they almost cut it close, the two did manage to make their way through. There, they hit a crossroad of an open doorway and another classroom, and upon inspection, Seiko realized something.
"You know, I think we might be on the second floor." She said.
"You do? I was thinking so as well... so, we just need to get downstairs, that's where the entrance hall is." Satoshi replied, giving the other an encouraging thumbs up. "I'm sure once we meet up with the others, everything will make a lot of sense."
"That's true. But the question stands that... where is the staircase?" Seiko said. "Wait, actually, that might be a staircase." The girl would approach it, and then look inside. "Stairs! But... oh, they head up."
"The stairs head up?" Satoshi asked. "Unfortunate..."
"Not what we're looking for, so let's not go in there!" The girl said, leaving the doorway and heading back over to Satoshi. "You see that classroom? It seems the hallway has crumbled, so we have no choice but to go inside the classroom."
"Ugh, that last classroom we were in felt so suffocating..." The Mochida boy would say, reluctantly looking at the other classroom door. "But... let's go on ahead, I suppose." With that, the two would enter the classroom.
The ambiance was somehow even more unfriendly than the previous one, and the two found themselves wanting to run out as soon as they entered. But, they persevered, making their way to the other side of the classroom. But Seiko could have sworn she saw something in the corner of her eyes, but she opted to ignore it. After all, her mind could be playing tricks on her. As they exited the classroom, Satoshi making note of it being classroom '2-A', the two started to exhale, not even realizing they were holding their breaths in the first place.
"Creepy..." Seiko remarked, looking back inside the classroom one last time as she closed the door shut. She'd rather not want to go back in there unless it was absolutely necessary. And she could see that Satoshi was thinking the same, anyways.
As the two looked onward, they could see another classroom labeled '3-A', but luckily for them, the hallway was intact, so they didn't need to enter. So, they walked past it and found themselves at another crossroads. On the left was another stairwell, and on the right was another hallway. But as Seiko turned left to the stairwell, a part of the floor gave out.
"Ahh!" Seiko shouted in fear, but Satoshi was quick to pull her back into safety as a part of the floor collapsed under, now leaving a big gap where there used to be a floor.
"Shinohara, are you okay?" Satoshi asked, looking at her with concern on his face. The girl just nodded, although it was quite obvious she was shaken up from almost falling to her death. Regardless, the two took a moment to gather their bearings, then they decide to head to the hallway on their right.
"Hey... Mochida..." Seiko asked as the two were walking. "How is it like taking care of your little sister?"
"Huh?" Satoshi was a little taken aback by this question, but he quickly composed himself again. "Well, it's been alright. We have our off days sometimes, but most of the time we're doing okay. Why do you ask?"
"It's just... I do worry for you. I know it's hard to approach this subject... but taking care of her, all on your own... it seems quite hard."
"Well, don't you take care of your siblings, too?"
"That's different, my father is still alive and he can make the money for us. Y-You... you have to do all that on your own... I really, really respect that about you, Mochida."
"Shinohara..."
"Sorry... I don't mean to get us both emotional, it's just being in here reminded me of my siblings, and... yeah."
"It's okay. I really appreciate your words, Shinohara."
As the two made their way past a sign labeled "Science Lab", they encounter a turn they needed to make. But as they turned around, something startled the two a bit. On the other wall, there was a black outline on it. As if something is supposed to be there, but it isn't. Not yet, anyway.
"Um... what is that?" Seiko asked, but she knew it was a useless question.
"Let's just ignore it..." Satoshi said, eyes shifting away from it as the two turned past the wall into another hallway. As they walked, they noticed another sign in front of a door, labeled 'Infirmary'. "Hey, Shinohara, how is your ankle?"
"Well, could be better." The other girl would reply. "Ooo, infirmary. I gotcha."
Satoshi checked on the door, and much to his pleasure, it was unlocked. Opening the door, he and Seiko entered the infirmary. Unlike the previous classrooms they were in, the infirmary's atmosphere wasn't too bad. Although, it makes sense to them, since it's like, a place of healing or whatever. Surely nothing bad will happen in an infirmary, right?
Looking around, Seiko would immediately notice the quality of the beds. "Oh, look! They aren't dusty at all!" She would take a seat on one of them, stretching a bit. "Seems like this is a good place to rest for a bit."
"Well, sure, you can do that." Satoshi said. "I should go look for something to help with that sprain of yours." As he said this, he started to search the cabinets for something useful. "Hey, Shinohara... I feel like I've already said this, but... isn't there something about this place that really freaks you out?" The girl would tilt her head curiously, indicating he needed to elaborate a bit more. "Just... I don't know, something isn't right."
"Hmm... we've walked around quite a bit, but you are right, something is sort of freaky about this place," Seiko said. "When we passed that classroom earlier, I could have sworn I saw something in the corner."
"You did? Why didn't you mention it?"
"Well, I kinda thought I was seeing things, but now I'm not so sure about that."
As he would start making something of a splint for Seiko, Satoshi pondered this situation a bit more. There was something that bothered him a bit more than the creepy classrooms or the run-down building. The place feels so empty. Sure, they've only wandered around a bit, but the school isn't honestly all that big. There should have been someone by now. But... there hasn't been anyone. It was freaky. As he was finished with the splint, he would walk over to Seiko.
"I hope this will help. I got some bandages too." Satoshi said, then he would administer some treatment to Seiko's ankle.
"Thanks, Mochida!" Seiko would exclaim happily, giving him a thumbs up. "So... should we head downstairs now? I think I saw another staircase past the infirmary."
Satoshi would look at her, then he would give a reassuring nod. "If you feel ready to go. Although, I do think you need a moment. You were walking on that sprained ankle quite a bit."
"Hmm... I suppose you're right." Seiko said, adjusting herself on the bed to be comfortable lying on it. She would look up at the ceiling, also taking a moment to think to herself. She's also come to the same conclusion that Satoshi has, wondering to herself why the school was so empty. Could it be that they're dead and they're in the afterlife? No, that can't be it. She sure feels alive.
And then, another part of her started to wonder why she was in here with Satoshi of all people. Sure, she's quite fond of him, he's very nice and he makes her feel comfortable. But he's not her best friend, that's Naomi. A part of her wonders if this is like some relationship-testing exercise or something, maybe she'll get paired up with someone like Ayumi or Sakutaro next. Like, this could be a house of horror type of deal!
But then something happened. Something that sent chills down both Seiko and Satoshi's spines.
"AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
A blood-curling scream rang out, sounding like it was coming from outside the infirmary. But, what followed was even more sickening. A loud slamming noise rang across the school, followed by the sounds of something squishy. The two could only look at each other, fear apparent in their eyes, but both were too stunned to say something or even stand up.
This standstill felt suffocating to the both of them, looking at each other like a deer in headlights wasn't gonna help anyone. So, Satoshi gulped nervously, and slowly stood up.
"M-Mochida... what was that...?" Seiko asked, she knew it was a useless question but it brought some sort of comfort, no matter how small, to ask. Satoshi held out his index finger, motioning for her to stay in bed.
"I'll... I'll check it out." Satoshi stated. "You stay in here, and try to rest up."
"No!" was the immediate response of the girl. "D-Don't leave me by myself! I'll go with you...!"
"B-But your ankle..."
"I-It's okay, I'm feeling better, it doesn't hurt, please. Just... don't leave me here."
Seiko started to get off the bed, prompting Satoshi to help her off. Together, the two would try to reassure each other with nods, and then they made their way out of the infirmary. Satoshi would look to the right, and immediately he could see something at the far end, right where the wall was. He felt a cold chill on his neck as he started to walk towards, Seiko right behind him.
But then...
A putrid smell overwhelmed both their sense, and before they could even gather their bearings, they immediately realized what they were looking at. The previously outlined spot was now covered in a sickening red, along with splatters of... something fleshy. Flesh. Human flesh.
Eyes widening, the two couldn't help but stand in fear and shock at the human remains in front of them. It didn't even look human anymore, but they both knew it was a human. Organs falling onto the floor, the sounds of the squishy organs bringing a slight gag to Seiko, who couldn't help but turn away almost immediately. Holding back the bile that threatened to escape, the girl ran back into the infirmary.
It felt like ages, and Satoshi couldn't bring himself to move. Just... what kind of place are they in? What is going on? Are they going to die? Are they going to die like that person? Who would do this? WHY?
As these thoughts invaded his mind, he didn't even realize he was running until he found himself stopping in... an entrance hall? His mind coming back to him, Satoshi would look around, confusion even more apparent. He must have blacked out mentally and just did anything he could to get away from that. But it seemed like it was one thing after another, as before he could take another step, he heard a noise that caused him to immediately tense up.
There was crying. It was the sound of a younger girl crying. It reminded him of Yuka. He wondered... did he find her? Was Yuka in the entrance hall all along?
"Y-Yuka?" Satoshi called out. He didn't mean to call out, but it just came to him naturally. The crying didn't stop though, so he started to search the entrance hall. He started to close in on the source of the crying, and in the corner where it was coming from he found...
"M-Mochida...?"
Mayu looked up at him. The girl was crouching in a corner, crying to herself. She was alone and afraid, and when she reached the entrance hall she couldn't keep herself together anymore.
"S-Suzumoto!" Satoshi said, running up to her. "Are you okay?"
"I-It really is you... I'm glad." Mayu said, standing up and immediately hugging Satoshi. "I-I was so scared..." She would then cry a bit more into his shoulder, despite the relief she felt from seeing him, she still couldn't shake off the feeling of dread she had from being inside this building. He would pat her back, trying his best to comfort her.
After a couple moments of letting Mayu gather herself, she pulled away from him and wiped her tears away with her sleeve.
"Suzumoto..." Satoshi said. "I... I take it you know what's happening?"
"We're in Heavenly Host..." Mayu sighed to herself. "I woke up on the first floor by myself. I-I wanted to find Shig, but... I got scared. This whole building is just so scary..." This prompted the boy to sigh to himself, and as he turned around to face the entry door, Mayu spoke up once more. "It won't open... I already tried it."
"What?" Satoshi found himself shocked, that was his and Seiko's only plan. "But, that doesn't any sense, can't we force it open or something?"
"No..." Mayu said. "We're trapped in here..."
"T-Trapped...?" Satoshi asked.
On the second floor, Seiko finally gathered her bearings. Although she didn't want to go out there and see... that, again, she had to go out and look for Satoshi. She felt foolish, she shouldn't have run away like that. Taking a couple deep breaths to steel her nerves, Seiko exited the infirmary.
"Mochida?" Seiko called out. "Are you..."
She would look over to her right, and she would see the... mess... again. Covering her nose and hyping herself up, she would quickly run past it and take a right. Running past the science lab, she would run down the hallway. Entering classroom 2-A, her suspicions were confirmed. In the corner of the room... lied a pile of human bones.
"G-God... n-no..." was all that could escape from Seiko's mouth, the girl falling to her knees in horror. This... made everything make sense. The place wasn't empty. The girl was just denying reality. This place.. this school... it's a graveyard. But before she could accept her thought a bit more, a blue flame appeared out of nowhere, startling her. She would shout out of fear, backing away from the flame a bit.
"You... You're a new victim, aren't you?" A voice would call out. The voice was coming from the flame. Seiko would look at it, eyes widening in fear, until something of a "yes" escaped from her mouth.
"Hmm... that's unfortunate. I'm a victim just like you, I was brought here against my will and confined."
"C-Confined...?"
"You really don't know? This school exists in a reality of its own, cut off from the outside world... there is no escape, no matter how hard you may try."
"W-Why... were we...?"
"Why were you brought here? ...They brought you here. They're always bringing others into this school, victims, one after another. This is a cursed, multidimensional nexus. Multiple planes of existence, all piled on top of one another. Created by powerful, vengeful spirits. Closed spaces."
Seiko took a moment to breathe, this was all too overwhelming to her.
"Hmm... but you are not alone, it seems. I sense others were pulled into these spaces at the same time as you."
"H-Huh? You mean... all of my friends are in here?" That brought some energy back to Seiko, who looked up at the blue flame.
"Perhaps... but you will not be able to meet them. They are in this school, but the space they occupy is different from the space you occupy. If you wish to see them, you must find some means of entering their space or bringing them to this space. But even if you do... escape is nigh impossible."
"I-Is that really so...?"
"It is, but being able to die with your friends is still a fate worth fighting for. And maybe, just maybe... if you're all together, you can find something else that I, and my friends, have failed to find. Newer arrivals mean newer opportunities, and I wouldn't waste it."
Just then, a girl dressed in red covered in a blue light appeared in the corner of the room as well.
"N-No!" The blue flame said, right before extinguishing. Seiko would look over at the girl, but something about her immediately brought chills down her spine. Not wanting to deal with... whatever malice that girl might bring, she got up and ran out into the hallway.
Just then though, as she shut the door behind her, an earthquake started to occur.
"W-What? No!" Seiko said, holding on to the door frame as the earthquake started to subside. It was a brief, but still violent, earthquake. After regaining her composture, the girl then made her way to the other hallway and finally noticed the other staircase on the other end of the hallway. "This one must lead downstairs..."
"Closed spaces..." Satoshi would say, he got an explanation of his own from Mayu.
"I didn't want to believe it at first... but... it makes a lot of sense." Mayu sighed to herself. And just then, there was a short but violent earthquake. The two would look around after it ended and looked at each other rather confusedly.
"Another earthquake? Even this school gets them?" Satoshi questioned out loud.
"That didn't happen when I woke up..." Mayu asked.
"Oh god, I hope Shinohara is okay." Satoshi stated, looking towards the hallway of the first floor.
"You were with Shinohara?" Mayu questioned.
"Yes, I was. Let's go find her together."
And together, the two went back into the school, looking around the first-floor hallway.
"Shinohara and I were on the second floor, we meant to get down here but we got sidetracked," Satoshi explained. "I don't believe I would have gotten far from her."
"T-That's good. I'll be happy to see her too." Mayu said, and together they turned left from the entranceway and made their way to the staircase. As they started to walk up, something – no, someone – barreled into the two, but they were able to regain their balance before they could fall down the stairs. Taking a moment to look who it was, the person in question started to wail loudly.
"MOCHIDA! I'M SO HAPPY I FOUND YOU! I GOT SO SCARED THAT WE WOULD BE SEPARATED AND, AND- WAAHHHH."
It was Seiko, who was now tightly hugging Satoshi as she cried out loud to him. Seemed like their time separated, no matter how short, really did frighten her. He could give her a small hug back, rubbing her back to comfort her.
"It's okay, Shinohara. I'm still here." Satoshi said. "Look who I found!"
Seiko would pull away from him and then would do a double take as she saw Mayu, who was standing there awkwardly.
"H-Hi, Shinohara." Mayu would wave, but then was met with a tight hug from Seiko instead!
"S-SUZUMOTO! I'M SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU!" Seiko said, still crying out loud in relief.
"I'm happy to see you too, Shinohara!" The other girl would reply, giving her a hug back.
As Seiko allowed herself to destress from the situation she was just in, Satoshi would take a moment to look around the staircase. After a couple moments of silence, Seiko would pull away from Mayu, then she would face Satoshi.
"Oh, oh goodness, um... there's something I need to tell you two..." Seiko said. "M-Maybe we should find somewhere to sit..."
"What's wrong, Shinohara?" Satoshi asked.
"I-It's... um..." Seiko couldn't find the words to explain..
"Shinohara?" Mayu asked. "If it's something really concerning, we can head to the infirmary-"
"NO!"
"NOPE!"
Mayu was startled by the two sudden outbursts, both Satoshi and Seiko even taking a moment to look at each other. Satoshi just let out an awkward "ahem", facing Mayu.
"Suzumoto... um..." Satoshi sighed. "Y-You already know that... this place... it's not exactly a... a safe place."
Mayu would just look away, the corpses scattered all over the school were definitely signal enough of that. After all, that's all she could see until Satoshi found her. So, she didn't need them to baby her, especially when she was already scared out of her mind as it is.
"It's okay." Mayu replied. "It's... it's probably nothing I haven't seen already."
"Suzumoto... how much have you seen?" Seiko asked.
"The first floor... it's full of bodies..." The other girl would just sigh to herself, then she would start walking up the stairs.
"Um..." Satoshi and Seiko would just look at each other, but ultimately they would relent and follow Mayu. As the three cautiously traversed the second floor, Seiko would find herself mentally preparing for what they would see. Mayu would take quick notice of the two's silence, stopping right before the turn towards the science lab.
"Is it really that bad...?" Mayu asked, she was starting to second guess her confidence now, cautiously looking back at the two.
"Suzumoto..." Satoshi would sigh to himself, approaching her. "It's... it's just... it's so vile... I don't think you should see it."
"What is 'it'?" The girl would ask, she didn't really like how vague the two were being. Although, she understood why they would be hesitant. After all, this is a very stressful situation for everyone involved.
"It's human remains, just... splattered on the wall." Seiko would, although recalling it would cause her to hold back a gag, she definitely didn't want to think too much about it.
"...what?" Now this was a shock to Mayu, how could that possibly even happen? In a school like this? She knows there are spirits around, she did meet one after all, but... could a spirit really have done that? Actually, she didn't want to think about it at all. "I... I don't know what to say about that... that sounds... horrible."
"It's probably better if we just don't go there at all." Satoshi said. "Come on, there's surely somewhere else we can-"
The three suddenly heard loud footsteps and a door slamming, coming from where the infirmary should be.
"...what was that?" Seiko asked, she was rather startled by that.
"Suzumoto, was there anyone else with you?" Satoshi asked.
"No, I already told you it was just me, and then you and Shinohara were upstairs..." The other girl replied.
"If so... then who just made that sound?"
The three looked at each other, internal deliberations on what to do. They could just leave and not check out the noise, because in all honesty checking out a suspicious noise is pretty dumb and that's how you get yourself killed in horror films. At the same time, if it's another survivor in the building... then maybe they could chat with them, maybe that person will know what's up more than them.
Ultimately relenting, Satoshi would just sigh, then he would step in front of the two girls.
"Stay behind me, we'll check it out together." He said, putting on his best brave face and giving the girls a reassuring nod.
"Okay." Mayu would say.
"Let's be careful..."
With that, the trio made their way to the hall, and the first thing they would see as they made the turn were the human remains splattered on the wall. Satoshi and Seiko would pick up their pace, quickly walking past it because if they were to pay even a semblance of attention it, they both know they would lose their cool. Although, Mayu walked past much slower, taking a proper look at the remains.
"What an awful way to go..." Mayu would say to herself, before promptly following the other two. As the three approached the door to the infirmary, they would hear sobbing coming from inside.
"Um..." Seiko would look around the hallway, and then sigh to herself. "I feel like we're going to die."
"Don't say that." Satoshi replied. "I found Suzumoto and she was crying too. Maybe this is someone we know! We have to check it out."
With that, Satoshi would walk into the infirmary, with Mayu and Seiko not far behind him. As he entered, the infirmary looked just as they left it. Well, with one exception. In the corner of the infirmary, stood a girl dressed in a white sailor fuku and a green pleated skirt. She had her hair tied in a ponytail, with a white bow standing nicely on top. It goes without saying, but they did not know this girl.
Although, seeing the shaken-up state she was in definitely did make Satoshi feel some pain, so he would slowly approach her. He didn't want to startle her, so he spoke up in a calm tone.
"Um... hello there, are you okay?" Satoshi would ask.
Although, this really didn't seem to work, as immediately the girl would turn around and then back away in fear.
"L-LEAVE ME ALONE!" She would scream in fear.
"Whoa! It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you!" Satoshi would respond, and the girl would properly look at him. Upon seeing his unfamiliar face, she would look around the infirmary with her eyes, also seeing Seiko and Mayu.
"Um, hello!" Mayu would wave to her, approaching the unfamiliar girl. "My name is Suzumoto Mayu. I'm from Kisaragi Academy, I'm in class 2-9. It's nice to meet you."
"S-Suzu... moto... Mayu..." The other girl would say out loud. Although she seemed quite frightened, something about Mayu brought the girl some sort of calm. She wasn't sure what it is about her... but surely... she doesn't seem like she would hurt her.
"Mochida..." Seiko would whisper to him, and he would lean towards her. "Did you notice? One of her front teeth is missing... and she looks really beaten..."
"That's right..." Satoshi would reply, he didn't pay much attention to the girl's face initially, but now that he was made aware of the details, he couldn't unsee it. There was a gap where a front tooth should be and a red mark on her cheek was very vividly there. He wonders what happened to her.
"Do you feel comfortable telling me who you are?" Mayu would ask the girl, ignoring the two talking behind her.
"K-Kirisaki... Tohko." The girl would introduce herself. "B-Byakudan Senior High... c-class 2-4."
"Kirisaki Tohko. That's a pretty name." Mayu would say, giving the girl a calming smile. She would step closer to her, but Tohko would step back a bit. "It's okay, Kirisaki-san, I'm not going to hurt you."
Tohko seemed a bit unsure of this, although a part of her wants to trust Mayu, she just... didn't know if she had it in her. After all... she thought she could trust him, too. But the way Mayu looked at her with so much kindness in her eyes, and the way the girl spoke so calmly and soothing... she found herself really wanting to believe in her.
"How did you end up in here?" Mayu asked.
"U-Um... m-my friends and I... w-we wanted to try this c-charm we found o-online..." Tohko would let out a sob. "A-And... we w-were all brought h-here... w-we all said, t-that w-we'd get out of here together... b-b-but t-t-then..."
"It's okay, Kirisaki-san, just take small, deep breaths okay?" The Kisaragi girl would reply. "It's absolutely important that you breathe, okay?"
This girl... she's so calming... maybe Tohko can trust her... Not everyone is so bad. And besides, she still needs to find Mitsuki... Although it did take a while, Tohko eventually found herself in a relatively sane state of mind. All she can do now is put her trust in this girl in front of her, and maybe they will find Mitsuki together.
"U-um..." Tohko would go quiet, although the memories of what she went through were still fresh in her mind, wallowing in her own self-despair wasn't going to help Mitsuki. "Um... how did you guys end u-up in here?"
"Same situation as you," Mayu said. "We..."
A sudden pang in Mayu's heart, recalling how this all started brought her some horror. After all, it was just a silly little charm for her sake, right? But now look at where they're all at. Something like this ended up being so much more serious than she had anticipated.
"This was Suzumoto's last day at our school," Seiko spoke up for her. "We... we wanted to do that charm to symbolize our friendship, I guess. But then... this happened."
"I-It's evil." Tohko said. "That charm... and that website... it's pure evil..."
"I hope the others are okay..." Mayu would say out loud. "Oh, god... Shig..."
"Shig?" Tohko asked. "S-So... you're also looking for someone?"
"Our other classmates we did the charm with." Satoshi would reply. "We all got separated..."
"Um..." Tohko would go quiet, deciding on whether or not she really should divulge this info with others, but ultimately she would go on ahead. "I-I'm also looking for someone... Y-Yamamoto Mitsuki."
"Is she one of your classmates?" Mayu asked.
"Y-Yes... she should still be alive. We weren't together... initially..." Tohko would shiver a bit, thinking about her initial group. She would hope the others are okay... hope that he didn't get to them.
"How many of your classmates went with you?" Seiko asked.
"T-There was nine... nine of us in total... b-but... y-you d-d-don't w-w-want to f-find Yuuya..." Tohko said.
"What did Yuuya do?" Seiko asked.
"H-He killed s-s-some of my friends..."
"Oh my god."
"That's horrible..."
Just upon hearing Tohko's words, it really started to sink in for the three just how deep in the shit they were. All this... because they did a charm? Now they're trapped with corpses, roaming spirits, and a murderer? Not to mention those remains on the wall... oh, how they wished this was just a bad dream. But this is reality, unfortunately for them.
"I-I just s-say... w-we should f-find Mitsuki... s-she wasn't with us, s-she s-should be safe." Tohko still seemed quite frightened, but Mayu move closer to her once more. And this time, Tohko didn't move. Instead, Tohko moved closer and just pulled Mayu into a hug. Yes, it was extremely awkward, but she didn't care. Someone as calm and relaxing as Mayu was a much-needed relief from the craziness she experienced.
In the meanwhile, Seiko and Satoshi were a little away from the others, talking among themselves.
"I really, really want to go home now..." Seiko would sigh, Tohko's story really spooked her. "I'm scared, Mochida."
"So am I, Shinohara..." Satoshi replied. "B-But, let's not worry too much, okay? Things only seem bad now, but it's like I said! If we can get everyone together, we can all escape together. And you heard Kirisaki, her other friends might still be alive! It's very possible that everyone can escape."
Seiko would look at him, she really admired how much effort he was putting into reassuring her. She was seeing a different side of him, one she's never quite seen before. It really does show how some people, when put to the test, can show who they really are.
"You know..." Seiko would say with a little smirk on her face. "You really know how to rally the troops, Mochida. You'd make for a great leader!"
"H-Huh? What are you talking about, Shinohara?" Satoshi would get flustered, cheeks a hint of red as he looks away from her. "I-I just want to make sure you, and everyone else, will be fine!"
"Hehehe, of course, of course!" Even though he's putting up a brave front, Seiko wouldn't help but tease him just a bit. After all, he's still the same Satoshi Mochida.
Mayu and Tohko would approach the two, the latter in a much better mental state than she was previously when the trio walked in. Tohko would wave quietly at the other two, and they would wave back. Mayu would look at them, then at Tohko, who gave her a bit of a confused look, then she would sigh.
"She wants to know your names." Mayu stated, crossing her arms.
"OH, that's right..." Satoshi would laugh awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "I'm Mochida Satoshi, I'm in the same class as Suzumoto."
"And I'm Shinohara Seiko, ditto." Seiko would bow before Tohko in a friendly manner, prompting a small smile from the other girl.
As the four would make their way toward the infirmary door, Satoshi stopped and looked at Tohko. Seeing the bruise on her face, made him wonder... shouldn't they do something about that?
"Shouldn't we do something about Kirisaki's injuries?" Satoshi would ask out loud, prompting the other girl's eyes to widen before looking away from them.
"N-No, i-it's okay..." Tohko would say.
"It's certainly not," Seiko stated. "We have to make sure you're a-okay before we go anywhere! Besides, your friend would certainly not trust us if she saw you all beat up!"
Tohko would fall silent, but then she would just let out a small defeated sigh. "Okay... just don't take too long..."
In the meanwhile, in some unknown classroom, where four people. Yoshiki, Ayumi, Sakutaro, and Yui. Ayumi was on the floor, crying out of fear, while Yoshiki was doing his best to comfort her. Meanwhile, Sakutaro and Yui were at the doorway, looking out into the hallway.
"That scream we heard... who do you think it was, sensei?" Sakutaro would ask the teacher. Yui would take a couple moments to think, before sighing deeply.
"I'm not so sure, Morishige-kun. I think it sounded like Nakashima..."
"Really? I hope she's okay..."
"I'm going to go look for her."
"Nooo! Don't leave!" Ayumi would call out tearfully to the teacher.
"Hey, hey, Shinozaki, it's okay, really," Kishinuma said. "Sensei, are you sure about this?"
"I can't just sit by and do nothing if one of my students is in danger," Yui stated. "When I became a teacher, I swore I'd do anything and everything for each and every one of you. I won't take too long." She would look at Morishige. "Morishige-kun, I will place all my trust in you that you will keep Shinozaki and Kishinuma safe, alright?"
"You can count on me, Sensei." Sakutaro would nod his head. "Be safe."
And with that, Yui would step outside the classroom, into the dark and scary hallways of Heavenly Host Elementary...
Sakutaro would watch as she walked off, then he would close the door and look at his two classmates. He's used to having responsibility put onto him, after all, it's what he wants. Always calm, always stoic, always reliable. Sakutaro Morishige, that's what he wants the others to see him as. And it's not like he's putting on an act, he is reliable. But right now? He sure isn't calm, and he sure can't be stoic.
There was one person on his mind right. Mayu. He can only hope and pray to whatever God is out there that Mayu is safe and sound. If anything were to happen to her in here... he would never forgive himself. He didn't even notice when it happened at first, but Yoshiki helped Ayumi up from the ground. It seemed the two had moved some chairs so they could sit together.
"Alright, you heard Sensei," Morishige said. "Let's just all sit here and wait until she brings back Nakashima."
"Yeah, that's what we're trying to do," Yoshiki replied. "I'm just a bit more worried for Shinozaki here."
"K-Kishinuma..." Squeaked the girl, looking away from him with a slight blush on her face. "Y-You really should worry about Yui-Sensei and N-Nakashima more than me..."
"He's not in the wrong for caring about you, you know," Sakutaro stated. "We all have someone we care for in this place."
Sakutaro would sit next to the teacher's podium, then he would take out his phone. Browsing toward the latest addition to the gallery, of the picture he took right before the earthquake, he would look at Mayu.
"Mayu... I sure hope you're okay..."
After doing the best they could with what little supplies they have, the four at the infirmary were finally ready to head out. Tohko looked much better, her injuries having been treated.
"Oh, um... fair warning..." Satoshi would turn to face Tohko. "H-Have you seen... what's out there?"
"T-That thing on the wall..." Tohko would look away. "L-Let's not pay much attention to it, okay..."
"Sure, that works." Satoshi would reply, and together the four would walk out. They turned to the right, and once again walked briskly past the human remains on the wall. As they then turn to their left past the science lab, Satoshi and Seiko both notice something different about the stairway at the end of the hallway.
"Hey... Mochida..." Seiko would say. "Doesn't that look weird to you?"
"Yeah... didn't the floor collapse?" Satoshi questioned, as the group stopped right in front of the stairway. "But now we can cross it..."
"Well, we know we can't get out through ordinary means... maybe we can see what's up there, now?"
"...I guess it wouldn't hurt to check." Satoshi would say, and he turned to the other two girls. Tohko just shrugged while Mayu gave a quick nod. With that, they would walk up the stairs, to the third floor. As they reached the third floor, they then realized where they're at.
"Heyy... this is the restrooms!" Seiko would say, a strange sort of excitement emitting from her. "So... like... to be totally honest... I've been kinda holding it in all this time."
"W-What!?" Satoshi would exclaim in shock, but mostly due to just how open Seiko was being. It was... quite strange for him to hear a girl talk about her potty business. Mayu would be slightly flustered.
"S-Should you really say this out loud? Especially in front of a boy!" Mayu would scold Seiko, but Seiko didn't seem like she cared.
"Ah, whatever! I really need to go relieve myself, so like, wait for me out here, kay?" With that, the Shinohara girl would quickly run towards the girl's restroom.
"H-Hey! Don't just go off by yourself!" Mayu would exclaim, running after her. This would leave Satoshi and Tohko by themselves. The Byakudan girl would look awkwardly at him, she was still a bit nervous to be in front of a boy after what she had experienced with Yuuya. But Suzumoto seemed trusting of him, so maybe she should give Mochida a chance.
"U-Um... so... Kirisaki..." Satoshi would nervously face her, after all, he had just met this girl. But if they just stood there in suffocating silence, he was sure he would lose his mind. "What do you normally like to do in your free time?"
Tohko would look at him, pondering to herself for a bit. "Um... I love fortune-telling... i-it's really a lot of fun. Mitsuki, Emi and I would do that all the time in our class."
"Fortune telling, huh? That does sound quite cool." Satoshi would reply, he was genuinely interested in what Tohko had to say about fortune-telling. The girl would just nod at his response.
"I-If it's possible, I could tell your fortune sometime." She would, although she would look away as a grim feeling set in. "W-Well, hopefully."
"It will happen, for sure! We're going to find your friend, and then we're going to find our friends, and we will escape together!"
"M-Mochida, was it? You seem so... confident..."
"Well, I have to be. Somebody needs to keep their spirits high for their friends, and I want to be the one to step up to the plate. After all, if they're freaking out... then what good would I be if I just freaked out with them?"
Tohko would look away from her, pondering his words for a bit. A part of her wonders if his attitude is because none of his friends have died yet. She starts to think about how he would fare if somebody he knew were to perish... but then she stops herself before her thoughts get too dark. Mitsuki could still be alive, and Emi could still be alive. Not everyone is dead. So... maybe she should be more like him, and try to stay positive for her friends.
"So... can you tell me more about your friends? I can start first." Satoshi would ask, trying his best to change the subject. "My best friend, Yoshiki, he can come off as a bit rough on the edges. Some people think he's too sarcastic or mean, but in all honesty, I know he doesn't mean any harm. He does care for us, all of us. He's just had a bit of a hard time lately, that's all."
The Byakudan girl would look at him, and he would look at her with a small smile on his face.
"Well... Mitsuki is really nice to be with. She can come off as very motherly at times because she's always responsible and likes to keep things neat and organized. She can be a little strict at times too, but only to those who are slackers. Hahaha, it's funny, actually, I think most of the time she's strict towards the boys in our class. If I remember correctly, they call her 'Hellgirl Mitsuki'." Tohko would say with a little smile on her face, it was nice to call back to her times with Mitsuki. "We would go out a lot together, and sometimes she would invite me over to her place for a sleepover. It was always a very warm feeling to wake up to her cooking."
"She does sound quite nice," Satoshi said, although a part of him was thinking to not to get on Mitsuki's bad side... "It's my turn, again. Do you have any siblings? I have one, a sister. Her name is Yuka." But as he tried his best to describe her, a part of him went quiet. As he told Seiko, he and Yuka have good days and bad. But after their parents died, he can't really tell what's been going on with her. She's been much more serious than he ever remembered her being, and as told by Yuka's teacher, she's taken on a lot of responsibility towards her fellow classmates.
"Mochida...?"
"Oh, sorry," Satoshi said. "Um, so Yuka is... Yuka... Huh... I guess I can't really describe her right now. She's changed a lot since the way she used to be."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, Yuka relied on me a lot, back then. There was a lot she couldn't do without her big brother being there with her. I didn't mind it, of course. Lately, though, Yuka has been relying on herself a lot more. Which is good, don't get me wrong, but it also worries me a bit."
"Are you worried that your sister won't need you anymore?"
"What? No, definitely not. I want Yuka to grow and mature into her own person, just like I have. I'm just... worried that I'll miss it all because I've been so busy caring for her and also checking in matters concerning our house, and just... everything."
"Your house? Isn't that your parent's job?"
"My parents..." Satoshi would sigh. "My parents are dead."
"Oh... I-I'm sorry to hear that, Mochida." Tohko would look away awkwardly.
"It's okay, you didn't know." The Mochida boy would sigh to himself. "Sorry, Kirisaki, I really didn't mean to dump this all onto you."
"D-Don't worry at all." The Byakudan girl would try her best to reassure him. "As to answer your question, though... I don't have any siblings, unfortunately. I'm an only child."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah, it is... and in all honesty, my Mom was never around, so really I was raised by my Dad all this time. It can be a bit frustrating at times..." Tohko said. "So... you and I also have family problems, it seems."
"Just like with Shinohara." Satoshi replied.
"Shinohara?"
"She has three siblings, and her mother died a couple years back. It's been her and her Dad all this time, taking care of all these kids. I really admire her tenacity and the role she's taken as the head of household. But at such a young age... I do worry for her."
"You should also worry for yourself, ehh, Mochida? You're not much older than me, ya know?" Seiko would say out of nowhere, startling both Satoshi and Tohko as they both take a couple steps away from her.
"H-How long have you been there!?" Satoshi asked, recovering from the fright he just had.
"We just got out." Mayu would say, walking from behind Seiko. "It's good to see you two getting along well."
"Well, yeah... we're a team now, you know?" Satoshi would reply. "So, it's better if we all get to bond and know each other! Our chances of getting out of here will increase tenfold that way!"
Seiko would let out a small giggle, and a mischievous smirk was apparent on her face. Satoshi knew exactly what this meant.
"D-Don't tease me, Shinohara." Satoshi would say, prompting the girl to just put an arm around his shoulder.
"Me? Tease you? Why, I would never!" Seiko would exclaim, and together two would walk off downstairs. Mayu and Tohko would stay behind a bit, and Tohko would speak up.
"Hey, Suzumoto." Tohko said. "You know... your friends are pretty cool."
"Yeah... they are, aren't they?" Mayu would say, sadly looking away for a bit. She was really going to miss them once she left Kisaragi. But... that was a matter for another time. First, they really needed to focus on escaping this place, whatever it is... "How about your friends, Kirisaki? How are they like?"
"Well, Mitsuki..." Tohko would start talking about her friends, in the meanwhile Mayu was paying close attention to her.
Meanwhile, Satoshi and Seiko were now on the second floor, walking to classroom 3-A. There, Satoshi noticed something different. A piece of paper plastered on the wall.
"Huh? What is this?" Satoshi would say, and he would start reading it. But before he could get closer, another blue flame showed up out of nowhere, startling him and Seiko.
"If you should die here... you'll experience the pain you felt at the moment of death for all eternity... Heaven's completely cut off. No paradise. No nirvana. Just eternal pain... gah... why did I have to die like that...? it hurts... it hurts so much..." Then the flame will disappear.
"Um..." Seiko would look around nervously, then she would just sigh. "That was... very convenient timing... but uh... if we die in here... we'll feel that pain forever?"
"I guess that spirit just wanted to give us a warning..." Satoshi would look down sadly. "But, let's not worry about that. We're going to make it out of here."
And then, they would be rejoined by Mayu and Tohko, who were still chatting amongst each other about their friends. Tohko would give the two a friendly wave before their conversation naturally finished.
"So, what do we do now?" Mayu asked.
"Did you explore all of the first floor, Suzumoto?" Satoshi asked.
"Um... not really. I woke up in the classroom, then there was the thing with that spirit, then I ended up in the entrance hall..."
"Ah, is that so?" He would ask, prompting the other to just nod. "Should we explore it, then?"
With that, the group of four made their way toward the stairway that leads downstairs. Although things still felt shaky for everyone, there was an unspoken sort of confidence between them, as well. After all, it's like that spirit told Seiko and Satoshi. The more people they have, the more opportunities they have as well. Things might not have turned out well for the previous inhabitants of this school, but everyone will make sure they don't follow that same fate.
No matter what it takes, they will escape Heavenly Host!