A/N: Forgot to put the translation notes.
Test of Courage
The next day
"Sawyer!" called Mr. Kobayashi from the bottom of the stairwell, "You still need the bat? To go with your outfit?"
"Yeah! It would be great if you could find it!" I called back as I tried to figure out how to wrap my hands in white cloth while keeping my fingers unwrapped like a pair of makeshift fingerless gloves.
"Damnit," I muttered as I messed up again because my dumbass doesn't know how to wrap a piece of cloth around my hands, "Why the fuck is this harder than I thought?"
A second later, I was interrupted by a ringtone coming from my phone, the case rattling against my wooden desk. Abandoning my task of wrapping my hands, I pick up the phone and held it against my ear. "Hello?" I say into the receiver.
"Hey Sawyer?" asked Sayori, "Are you ready to go?"
"Uh," I said, looking at my unfinished handiwork on my hand, "Almost. Are you? Did you find your hat to go with your outfit?"
"Yep!" she exclaimed, "I'm just waiting for you now! Ehehe!"
"Yeah, well, lemme finish up with this and then we'll be on our way, okay?" I suggested.
"Okay! See you in a bit!" she said before I hung up and plopped my phone onto my bed as I got back to work on my task. I made sure I was still able to feel my hands while making the wrap tight enough for me to grab things firmly.
After five minutes of trying, I was finally able to wrap my hand up, tucking the end of the wrap on the inside. Finally, I thought to myself as I bent over and tied my shoes; an old pair of Adidas cleats that Mr. Kobayashi lent me. The three white stripes on the side of the black shoes were somewhat dirty with old clay that had dried up since the last time Mr. Kobayashi wore them. But they still fit. Surprisingly, they were still in shape. Mr. Kobayashi really was a huge baseball fan, wasn't he?
I ended up dressing up as a character from a video game, mainly because I was just using clothes that I had on me. A plain red T-shirt, brown pants rolled up to below my knees, knee-high white socks, Mr. Kobayashi's old pair of cleats, and a brown hat. Give me a bat and I'll look like Scout from Team Fortress 2. Really, I didn't have anything to wear, so I made do with what I got.
Making my way downstairs, I texted Sayori to meet me outside in a few minutes. When I got to the bottom of the stairs, Mr. Kobayashi was there to greet me. Ms. Kobayashi was still at work, though she's gonna come home later. For some reason, their boss gave Mr. Kobayashi the day off. Apparently, him and his boss were sort of buddy buddy and they were going to drinking with some friends, but Ms. Kobayashi always makes Mr. Kobayashi stay home with her. So the two of them conspired and ended up making themselves available. A rather crude and mean way, but hey, Friday nights are for the boys. Besides, here in Japan, Halloween is catered more to adults rather than kids.
"Hey, Sawyer," said Mr. Kobayashi, "Here's the bat." He handed me a metal baseball bat, the logo on the bat being almost illegible from the wear and tear of the years Mr. Kobayashi played.
"Thanks, sir," I said as I grabbed the bat by the handle, feeling the rough and tattered grip. It felt light in my hands, but still heavy enough to be able to hit a ball far. I could carry this all night.
"Well, I'm gonna run," said Mr. Kobayashi as he grabbed his jacket from the nearby coat rack, "My buddies are gonna meet up in a few minutes and Sena won't be home until seven, so I got a few hours to drink."
"Stay safe then," I said with a smile as I waved back at him, with him leaving through the front door. Oh, when Ms. Kobayashi finds out his boss gave him a free pass to go drinking with the boys, she'll be mad as fuck.
After getting the rest of my stuff, I took my bat and headed out the door only to find Sayori waiting there, already dressed up in her costume, a light pink nurse's gown with white shoes and matching hat, her outfit showing off her bare legs. She had her usual bright smile. "Are you ready, Sawyer?" she asked.
"You betcha, princess," I said in English with the most rowdy Boston accent I could, trying to get into character since the character I'm dressing up as is a massive douchebag from New England. "Say, you're not lookin' too bad yourself!"
"Sawyer, you know I can't speak English," said Sayori, shaking her head. "Besides, I'm gonna guess you're teasing me, aren't you?"
"Are you kidding?" I said in her native language, but still acting in a rowdy manner, "I said you look good."
"Aw, thanks!" she exclaimed as she grinned even brighter than before. Honestly, she could light up the night with those pearly whites. "Shall we get going?" she suggested.
"Alright, little lady," I said, "Whatever you say."
It was about 6 o'clock in the evening when we had set out. The sun had already set, the half-moon peaking through the clouds, surrounded by the few twinkling dots in the sky we call stars. A breeze gently blew in the autumn trees as we walked down the street, which, weirdly for me, was devoid of many kids. Unlike the US's big traditions of trick-or-treating, the act of going door to door for candy is a foreign concept to many Japanese kids. Weirdly enough, Halloween here in Japan is more for adults who love to cosplay (and I guess you could imagine the cosplay culture here) and screw around in drunken antics. Don't expect kids going up to your door for treats here, 'cause it's not common in Japan.
Still, we could still have our fun. I mean, sure, we may not have alcohol, but we certainly could have fun dressing up. Honestly, I grew out of asking for candy anyways. Funnily enough, my brother and his buddies in the Navy didn't. They always went door to door on Halloween dressed up in stupid outfits despite them being grown adults, getting shit like full-sized Snickers bars and loads of M&M's. They're idiots who deserve to have fun.
As we were walking, we passed many houses with a few decorations on them, most notably Jack'o Lanterns. But some of them weren't your traditional lanterns. Rather, some of them were purplish/greenish in color. Not because they were painted a different color, per se, but rather they were made out of Japanese pumpkins, which aren't orange in color. Though, the warm glow of a candle inside the lanterns still gave it that October feeling.
"I wonder what Monika has in store for us," said Sayori, "She didn't tell us why she wanted to meet up at the park. We could've just gone to her house, you know? Have a little house party, just the five of us."
"Yeah, why the park exactly?" I asked as well in the same brash manner I was talking in for the entire night, "I mean, you ain't going trick or treating to some trees or something."
"Weird, huh?" she said, "What, she wants us to run into the forest and get lost or something?"
"Who knows," I said, shrugging my shoulders, "Maybe she's meeting with a ghost at the park. Maybe she wants to summon something in the central fountain."
"Oh, don't scare me like that, Sawyer!" Sayori muttered nervously, sounding frightened to the mention of some old wives tale, "You know I get scared easily."
"Pssh," I mocked her, "You actually think a ghost'll come out and hurt you?" She really is a child at heart, ain't she?
"Y-yeah, I do," she stammered, leaning a little closer to me, "You believe in ghosts too, right?"
"Hah, I don't at all," I said, "Because I'm not a little kid. Besides, even if they were real, what're they gonna do? Stick their transparent hands inside of me?"
"W-well, when you put it like that," she said even quieter, like a child who's being chastised by an adult. Did I come off as too rude? Maybe I should tone down the role playing a bit.
"Whatever," I smirked and shook my head, gently placing my hand on her head and rubbing it, quitting my little impression of Scout for a second, "As long as I'm with you, nothing'll do you harm, alright?"
"Th-thanks, Sawyer!" she said with a bright grin, a sudden spring in her step growing as she picked up the pace. "Let's hurry up!" she cried out when she got ahead of me, "You don't wanna keep Monika waiting!"
When we got to the park, the moon was already high in the air. There was a slight breeze blowing through the oddly empty park. And seriously, there was barely anyone there. I'd expect a bunch of groups of grown-ass men and women dressing up and doing shit tonight, but nope. It was just us for the most part, aside from the occasional crow flying through the trees every once in a while. It was quiet too. Eerily quiet.
The thing was, we didn't know exactly where to meet up. And the park was pretty massive. At least a thousand acres big, and is heavily forested in one side of the park. We'd have to search the entire park trying to find her. And I don't even know what she's wearing. For all we know, she could be wearing a ghillie suit and hiding in some shrubbery like a camping bush wookie. So I just decided to do the smart thing and called her.
"Sawyer?" I heard Monika's voice as I pressed my phone against my ear, "Are you at the park yet?"
"Yeah, I'm at the entrance," I said, "Where are you? We'll come to you."
"Meet me at the pond that's nearest to the forest," she said, "I'll be waiting by the pavilions near the playground over there." I know where that is. Sayori and I go there every now and then just to talk by the water, skipping stones while we chat.
"A'ight," I said, ushering Sayori along, "We're on our way."
A few more minutes of walking and we ended up getting to the pond as quickly as possible. Even if there was lamp posts lighting up the street, the area itself was still pretty dark. I felt like I was watching my step every step of the way. As if one wrong step and I could end up curb stomping a deep pit. Or a Lego brick.
We saw Monika sitting on one of the park benches that was on the shore of the pond, facing the water. If it wasn't for what she was wearing, she would have looked like some girl pondering on life as she stared into the starry sky above. But, well, she was wearing something that didn't make her look like that kind of girl.
"Cheers love!" I cried out to her with an impression of the character I was dressed up as, while quoting the character Monika was dressed up as, "Cavalry's here!"
Don't know how she knew this character (since she wasn't the type of person to play video games), but there was Monika dressed up as a character from a game. Some type of shooter game with cartoony graphics like the game where the character I was dressed up was from. She wore a brown leather bomber jacket with the Union Jack on her shoulders and orange leggings. The only thing she's missing from her outfit is that rig that the character has on her chest. If you could guess what she dressed up as, then congrats.
"Sawyer! Sayori!" she cried out as she stood up from her seat and ran up to us, "Hey guys!"
"Hi, Monika!" waved Sayori, "Where's Yuri and Natsuki?"
"Oh, they just texted," said Monika, "They're still on their way. But you look cute, Sayori!" Monika commented on Sayori's nurse's uniform, which was based off the type of uniforms used in the 40's, before scrubs were used. Their outfits were so brightly colored, it's easy to spot them in the dark. Hell, Monika's wearing a frickin' traffic cone.
"Oh my gosh, same to you, Monika!" Sayori said to the British girl, "Though, what are you dressed up as? A yoga instructor in Antarctica?"
Monika laughed as she heard that description of her outfit. To be honest, it kinda does look like she's dressed like that. I mean, without the rig, it just looks like an amalgamation of two styles of clothing. "No, I'm not!" she exclaimed, "Ask Sawyer. He probably knows since he plays video games."
"Tracer from that one game, right?" I guessed.
"Yep!" smiled Monika, "My brother sent this to me from California a few months ago. He got it from some convention called E3 over there. He plays video games like Sawyer."
"Ah, well," I suggested, "Maybe I'll see him later down the road."
"Yeah, maybe," said Monika.
A few minutes of waiting and soon enough Yuri and Natsuki arrived. Yuri was dressed in some outfit that resembles a witch, the dark purple hues camoflauging her figure in the darkness. Though, she doesn't look like a creepy old hag you think when you see the word witch. Instead, it just makes Yuri more… mysterious, if you will. Conversely, Natsuki was dressed like some character from a magical girl anime. She used her skirt from her school uniform, while wearing a white sailor uniform as her top, her collars a matching color of blue. Guess who she dressed up as.
Monika led us to some pathway that led into the forest. The narrow dirt path led into the oddly dense forest, its trees covering light from the moon and stars. That's not really a problem, though, since I had brought a flashlight because Monika asked, though I don't exactly know what we're doing. So I ended up bringing my brother's old flashlight that I had on me, that being some standard issue tac-light that could be attached to rifles that my brother stole from the armory on the carrier he was stationed on. And besides, if anyone tries to jump us or anything, I got a baseball bat.
"So," I asked Monika, still trying to talk in that Boston accent because why not, "What's the plan?"
"Well," said Monika, "We're gonna be doing what I call a test of courage!" Test of courage? Like, the type of stuff I see in anime?
Basically, what it is is that a party goes down a predetermined path and try to make it through without chickening out. Lots of times, that path is scary, hence the courage part of the game. But really? We're gonna be doing that?
"Uh, I have a question," asked Natsuki, "Are we gonna be going as one group? Or partners?"
"Partners," said Monika, "It's gonna be me and Sayori who heads in first. Five minutes after that, you and Yuri. And then five minutes after, Sawyer's going in last."
"Wait, am I gonna be paired with someone?" I asked, flabbergasted at the notion of leaving me alone in the dark forest. It's not that I'm afraid of the dark. I'm not, okay?
"Well," said Monika as she pointed to the metal object in my hands, "You have a bat." She leaned in. "Or are you scared?"
I looked down at the bat, and back at Monika. Then back at the bat. Then back at Monika. "You make a good point," I said, conceding my case.
"Don't worry, Sawyer," said Yuri with a kind, almost condescending smile. "I'm sure you will be alright. You are a big boy, aren't you?"
"What the-," I said before sighing. "Alright, whatever. I can do this."
"See you in a bit!" cried out Monika as she took Sayori's hand and led her into the forest. Five minutes later, the other two disembarked and I was left on my own.
When it came to my turn, I took out the flashlight and clicked it on, a bright beam that this tiny flashlight that was smaller than my hands had illuminated one chunk of the forest. I got this, I assured myself as I took the first step into the forest.
Trudging through the pathway that was littered with little stones and twigs for me to trip on like a trap, I kept my light shone on the dirt ahead of me. My head was on a swivel, squinting as I tried to see anything familiar in the moonlight, which was mostly obscured by the canopy of leaves above my head.
Judging from the position of the moon and what time it was, I was going south. And this path was relatively straight, so if something happens, the moon should be on my left side should I turn around and run.
I kept my bat in the other hand, my fingers wrapped around the middle of the battered metal bat. I originally brought it along as a prop for my outfit. But hey, if I have to, I could use it as a weapon. But even so, I still felt vulnerable. Is it because of the dark? Because I'm alone? Maybe. Or it may just be my mind playing tricks on me. Like, right now I'm hearing the sound of a girl crying ahead of me. That's just my mind playing tricks on me, right? If I just start thinking about something else, I'll probably stop hearing it.
...Why the hell do I still hear a girl crying?
Suddenly, I could hear my own heart beating as it tries to jump out of my ribcage. My eyes widened as I suddenly got worried. Aren't the girls still ahead of me? They should be at our meeting point now, in fact. I shouldn't be seeing another soul. Am I imagining this? Or is this real? I shouldn't be scared. It's nothing to worry about.
"Fuck it," I muttered as I chose to trudge ahead, hoping that those cries aren't real. I'm not scared, I reminded myself as I suddenly had the urge to watch every step as if I was about to step on a Lego brick. I could feel every fallen leaf crunching and every twig snapping as I set my foot down. I tried to be as silent as possible, but I couldn't stay completely silent.
I couldn't shake the feeling like someone was watching me. As if I was some computer program and someone was watching me on a screen. And the sound of a girl crying did not help at all.
After walking for a couple of minutes, the crying only got louder. Hell, it feels like it was right next to me. Like just right next to me.
"Uh, Sayori?" I asked as I looked over to the girl wearing a nurse outfit as she sat on a tree stump, crying her ass off. Her red bow and white cap is very easy to notice even without the light. She looked up at me all teary eyed. Once she saw me, she sprung up from where she was sitting and embraced me in a tight bear hug.
"Monika left me alone!" she cried into my shoulder, "She took the only flashlight! I turned around for one second and when I look back she was gone!"
"Okay, okay!" I shushed as I tried to wiggle free from her vice-like grip, "You're fine now, you're fine now. You got me."
"Th-thanks Sawyer," she said in between quiet sobs. Huh, so that crying sound was her. I was right. Why should I be scared?
Wait, didn't Sayori and Monika go before Yuri and Natsuki? In this case, the two should've come across Sayori before me. Where did they go? Did they get lost? Did they disappear?
"Sayori," I said, "You didn't happen to see the two other girls, did you?"
"No," said Sayori as she shook her head, "I was waiting for them to come by, but when they didn't, I got scared." Should I be worried?
"Maybe they got lost," I said, "Maybe something happened and they lost the path. Let's backtrack a bit to see if we can find them."
"Okay," said Sayori as she wiped away the last of her tears. "Let's go."
We went back for a couple of minutes, looking for any sign of the lost pair. No idea where Monika went, but I assumed that she had probably made her way to the destination ahead since I didn't pass her. It wouldn't be smart of her to get off the path.
Sayori stayed close to my side. She had clutched and hugged my arm that held the bat, while my other arm held the flashlight, illuminating the forest in a bright light. Because it was the tac-light that my brother took from the armory (seriously, how the hell did no one catch him?), the beam was brighter than any usual flashlight you'll find at Home Depot. I would be able to see farther than if I was using an ordinary plastic torch, which was more than enough.
Needless to say, Sayori was awfully close to me. Close enough that I could hear her heart beating in her chest as she held my arm close. I mean, I'm okay with her doing that, it's perfectly reasonable. But the thing is that Sayori, despite her looks, she has a rather… how should I say this without sounding like a fucking creep? She has a decently sizable rack? Fuck, that sounds weird coming out of my mouth. And it doesn't help that I'm writing this down. I hope she doesn't see this part of the story. That'll be bad.
Enough about the tit-a-tit, let's get back to the story.
We got to some big oak tree where we decided to take a rest. Sayori was complaining that her feet were killing her, so we had to stop. Meanwhile, I was wondering where Monika was. If we do eventually find the two girls, what about Monika? I was still thinking that she had gotten to the meeting point, but I have no idea if she really was there. What if she was missing? We'll have to call the cops, right? But it's gotta be easy to find her, since she's wearing a fucking traffic cone anyways.
A breeze blew past, rustling the leaves of the trees and bushes that flanked us. The gentle yet harsh sound filling our ears. I felt the cool October wind blow past. It felt nice. I've never had this type of weather back home in Hawaii. It was nice to have a change of view.
The breeze soon stopped, but we kept hearing a rustling. "You hear that too, right?" I asked Sayori.
"Y-yeah," said Sayori, "Wh-what's that, Sawyer?" She stood up and grabbed my arm again, clinging to me. I held my flashlight up, searching the forest for any sign of disturb foliage. There's someone here, I told myself.
"I dunno," I murmured as I kept my head on a swivel, suddenly starting to feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins. I didn't see anything, though. Could it be Monika? Or the other two girls? Did they go into the forest by accident? No it can't be them, they wouldn't be able to lose the path.
"F-fellas?" I called out, hoping for an answer. I didn't know where the sounds were coming from because it felt like it was all around us. So I just opted for frantically searching my surroundings.
"Guys?" said a familiar voice behind us. We turned around and saw Yuri and Natsuki walking out of the forest. Natsuki's outfit was dirty, but I guess I would've expected it because they had walked through the foliage. Meanwhile, because Yuri was wearing a dark outfit, I wouldn't expect any dirt to be seen on it. It's weird how we didn't notice the pair, especially Natsuki with her rather bright clothes and hair, but were we glad when we found them.
The two explained to us that they had end up getting lost because their battery lost power and they couldn't see. They ended up finding their way into the forest and couldn't find their way back. Though they had thought that they heard us talking, so they were able to find us that way.
"Well, aren't you two just a lucky couple," I said. "You guys found us before something bad happens."
"Well," said Natsuki, "It was my fault to begin with. I was the one who made the decision to turn around instead of walking forward in a straight line."
"Yes," said Yuri, "I had advised against it, but Natsuki was adamant about that. We ended up finding ourselves in the forest with no light."
"I'm glad you guys are just fine," Sayori commented as she hugged the two girls. "Now, we just have to look for Monika. You guys didn't happen to run into her, right?"
"Nope," said Natsuki, shaking her head, "I thought she was with you."
"N-no, we got separated," Sayori explained. "That means that she's all alone. We have to find her."
All of the sudden, we heard the rustling of leaves again, coming from a bush nearby. The girls immediately cowered by me. Natsuki grabbed one arm (at least I know she's flatter than a board), Sayori grabbed the other, and Yuri grabbed my shoulders from behind. Needless to say, I don't regret going into the forest.
I shone my light on the bush, keeping it steady. I waited for something to come out. And something eventually did. It was a squirrel that jumped out and stared at us for a second before running to the oak tree and clambering up its trunk. I heard the girls take a sigh of relief as they loosened up.
"Y'all got scared of a little squirrel?" I said in a mocking voice with a grin on my face. I laughed as I watched the squirrel dance around in the branches.
"Well, if it's dark, who knows?" cried Natsuki, "It could be a bear or something."
"I don't recall bears being native to where we live, Natsuki," Yuri told Natsuki, who merely just smirked and looked away, her arms crossed as usual.
"W-well something equally scary," said Natsuki, "I didn't say exclusively a bear."
"Pssh, yeah," I mocked her while handing my flashlight to Sayori, "Like I would be scared of something that would be small enough to hide in a bush."
"Y-you never know!" cried Natsuki in a flustered tone, "What about giant man-eating spiders?"
Without breaking Natsuki's gaze, I pushed aside some branches of another bush with my free hand, revealing whatever was hiding behind the bush. "You think I'd be afraid of something behind this bush?"
"Uh, Sawyer?" Sayori said as she pointed at the bush. Following her finger, I looked back at my hand and found out that there was indeed something hiding behind the bush. Crouching behind the bush, dressed in a bomber jacket and orange leggings, there was Monika, hiding in the bush, hidden from plain sight. The thing is, how the hell did I not see her?
"What the fuck?" I cried out as I dropped the bat and stepped away, shocked to see Monika there. Seriously, how did anyone not hear or see her?
"Damnit," I heard her murmur, to which I responded "That's my line. Where the hell did you come from? Damn near scared the shit out of me!"
"Well, at least I scared one person tonight," giggled Monika in a teasing tone as she stood up and approached us. "It was fun while it lasted. Seeing you guys shake in fear."
"Jesus, Monika, how did we not see you?" I asked, "You guys didn't see her, right?" The girls shook their head no.
"I have my ways," said Monika, shrugging her shoulders. "I know when I want to be seen or when I don't want to be seen."
"Remind me never to play hide and seek with you," I commented as I looked on in awe as to how she managed to remain hidden.
"Well, now that we're all together, do you guys want to continue on the trail?" she asked.
"I think I've had enough," I said as I picked up my bat and flashlight, pointing the trail exit with my flashlight beam, "I'm gonna have a heart attack sooner or later."
"Same here," said Sayori, "Although it was frightening, I had fun. But that's enough scary things for me."
Yuri and Natsuki both agreed as well. Monika, after calling me a pussy, decided to go home as well. Quite frankly, that was one of the weirdest nights I've had in Japan so far. But, knowing the antics of the club, I'll probably have weirder nights. Here's to another weird turn of events.
Translation notes:
1. Halloween is different in Japan. Because the idea of Halloween is mainly a Western/US thing, the Japanese haven't totally grasped the customs that someone from the US might have. For example, trick or treating is discouraged because it's rather rude to show up at a random stranger's house and beg for candy. Instead, Halloween is a chance for adults to have fun by dressing up and cosplaying. There would be big costume parties in the middle of the streets, with vendors selling food and alcoholic beverages. Also, pumpkins native to Japan are more greenish/purplish than the orange pumpkins you guys may be used to. Lanterns can be made by using the Japanese pumpkins, but some can be made by pumpkins imported from the US.
Honorifics: (Underlined honorifics are the ones used in current chapter)
-san: Most common, it is an all-purpose suffix that can be used in any situation where politeness is expected. Basically the titles Mr. Ms. etc.
-sama: This suffix is one level higher than "-san" and is used to confer great respect.
-kun: This suffix is commonly used at the end of boys' names to express endearment.
-chan: Feminine version of -kun.
Senpai: Superior/Upperclassmen.
Sensei: Master.
A/N: I fucking rushed the ending on this one too. Oh well. I was just busy with school, so that's why this was delayed and rushed. Also because I've been playing more games recently. Oh well. On the bright side, at least I'm posting this on the 31st of October, which is a coincidence. I was gonna dress up as what Sawyer dressed up as in this chapter, but because of current events, I just decided to have him dress up instead.
Well, I hope y'all are doing alright. Peace!
