Chitose: Lost and Found

I was frightened. Certainly. I thought all my years or training myself to have a doctor's mind would mean I would be ready, ready to face gore and dead bodies, but this wasn't the same, this was like a portal into the mind of someone insane. It was frightening. In the distance, I could hear hard, fast breathing. Hyperventilation. I picked up the pace, turning a corner to see what I could find, but getting there I hadn't prepared myself. I saw someone lying down, not quite dead, but dying, certainly. A pair of scissors stuck from their stomach. Opposite was a girl, curled up tight, blood on her hands and face. It took me a moment to realise her face had stitches on it, and they'd split open. I went over to her, as it was too late for the dying boy.
"He was trying to kill me, it was self-defence!" The girl cried as I examined her injuries.
"It's okay." I told her gently. "It's okay. I understand. Don't worry." It was Kazuyo I was crouched before, I could tell that much, but she was very upset, terrified. No wonder. A boy just attacked her with a knife. She threw her arms around my neck and sobbed. I rubbed her back to calm her. "You're safe now. I'm here. It's safe. We'll find the rest of the class." I helped her stand and she clung to me, sobbing still. I shushed her gently, patting her back, but then something jolted us out of our thoughts.

"Jou!" The voice screamed. We broke apart and stared at one another.
"That was Yurie." Kazuyo stated, going pale. She was best friends with Yurie. "We have to find her."
I wasn't so sure that was a good idea myself if I'm honest. I mean, I'd just found her injured and totally freaked out, and she wasn't exactly in the best frame of mind. I opened my mouth to object, but she ran off, calling for her friend.
"Kazuyo!" I scolded, running after her, but I tripped. I turned to see the boy who'd been stabbed holding tight to my ankle. "Get off!" I yelled, kicking.
"I'm going to enjoy watching you die." He hissed. I screamed.
"Get off! Please! Get off! I haven't done anything wrong, I swear, please get off! There's nothing I can do for you, I'm sorry...I'm just a child..."
"You're dead meat." The boy hissed as I reached down to get his hands off, but he had a vice like grip. It was amazing. He'd been close to death a moment ago.
"Please! My friends are in danger!"
"Your friends are all going to die here, just like me and all my friends. You'll all die horribly and painfully and I'll be watching on, laughing! Laughing!" He started laughing then, a twisted, half-choked sound from within his blood-coated throat. I think I began to hyperventilate again.

I must have passed out then. When I next woke up, I was lying on a bed in an old, beaten infirmary, someone looking over me. "Kazuyo?" I asked blearily, but I quickly realised it was a boy. "W-where am I...?"
He didn't answer.
"Where's Kazuyo? Can you even talk?"
"I can't find Sako..." The boy muttered. "She went to the toilet and there was an earthquake and when I went up there she was gone..."
"Iwase?" I asked blearily, but the boy walked off. "Iwase, stop!" But he was already gone. I think I was alone...

Yurie: Life Saver

When I came to, I was sprawled over something soft and wet and sticky. It was in my hair and under my nails, and oh god, it stank. I kept my eyes shut. Something heavy and warm and soggy was slumped over me. I remembered dragging my brother away from that zombie, and slipping. He screamed in pain as I fell, and he fell too as the zombie struck him, pushing me away down the hole I fell through, shouting for me to go. He was in so much pain. It was horrifying. Finally, I cracked open my eyes, trying to peer through the darkness, and I just about made out a pair of bloodshot blue eyes, or were they purple? They were lifeless, mouth running with blood now dried, tears staining his agonised face. His pale face was framed with blond hair. Fresh dead. With a horrified shriek, I threw the body off me, scrambled to my feet and desperately brushed myself off. Hyperventilating, I burst into hysterical sobs, wishing more than anything for a bath and my best body wash. Slowly, my eyes were drawn back to the mangled remains of the boy that had been lying on me. He was wearing a Sekingessha Academy uniform and his body was...barely a body. Everything below his ribcage was probably still up above. I shrieked in absolute emotional agony.
"Jou! My brother! Jou! No, this can't be real, no, no...Jou..." I collapsed to my knees in tears. I couldn't handle it. I sobbed loudly into my hands before gaining the courage to look at him again. His arms had been torn off. Slowly, shakily, I cuddled him close, sobbing into his shoulder. His head flopped back, no force to keep it up. My precious twin. My beloved brother. I kept screaming and crying and holding his bloody form close until his heat had gone and even then a little longer. How would I ever tell mum and dad? Jou was dead. Horribly killed. I lay him down, whimpering. That monster had killed my brother.

I walked through the hall, fists clenched, anger bulling through me. I would make that foul monster pay with every fibre of my being. I didn't care what it would take, I would find that beast and kill it.

A little walking around and all I found was the infirmary. It was the only door I could get open. Well, that and the boys' bathroom, but all that was in there was a ghost trying to use the facilities in peace. I felt bad when he told me to close the door. Why was I snooping around the boys' loos anyway? Anyway, that wasn't the really important thing. I was shuffling about, hugging myself for a little warmth. Every now and then I would pass the bodies that I had fallen upon, and Jou's body a little along. I'd closed his eyes and laid my blazer over his remains. I didn't care how cold I got, I wasn't moving that blazer. It was decency. It was the best I could do for him until I could get outside.

I suddenly froze. A bone-chilling groan was echoing through these halls. I'd armed myself with a wooden plank. I was ready, or so I thought. Turning, I saw that monster approaching, and I ran at it with a yell of anger. I swung my plank and it splintered on his arm, half flying away. I stared for a moment before trying to stab the monster but it didn't pierce. Something hit the side of my head hard. I stumbled against the wall with a grunt, losing hold of my weapon, and turned and ran on instinct. The monster was following. If I hid, maybe I wouldn't end up like Jou. I bolted into the infirmary and desperately looked for somewhere to hide. There was a body by the door, a girl clutching her throat. I tried to squirm under the mattress of one of the infirmary beds. I tried to calm my breathing. I had to make it out of here...for Jou...for him...

And then the creature slumped in. I heard it for a moment before the door shut and all was silent.

I was safe...

Or so I thought.

His hammer slammed down on the bed. Parts of me fell through the bars of the bed frame. The agony never did fade...

Nijiko: Love Throughout

We waked it together. The long halls of death and destruction, just myself and my Kazufumi. He was a really sweet guy. Took one look at this place and promised to protect me. Unfortunately I know it'll be me who protects him. He's sweet, but weak, in mind and body. It's adorable, really. He's the cutest boy in class and he's all mind, even if he is going through a phase of shaving one side of his head and always has a lunch bag full of sweets hanging off his arm like a lifeline. He loved sweets. I think he loved them more than he loved me. Then again, he doesn't need me to survive.

As we walk, he offers me sweets, and I refuse as I find my eye drawn to each and every body there. I found myself unnerved beyond belief. Everything felt so wrong, and Kazufumi was trying to pretend he was unfazed. I could feel the slick sweat of nerves on his hand. Still I kept a tight hold. I felt like I was the only thing keeping him from breaking down crying, which in all honesty is very unfair to him because while he's a little sensitive, he's not a baby...then again, we are surrounded by corpses, but they couldn't be real...could they? No, this was just some stupid Halloween prank.

Anyway, we stopped for a rest in a classroom. There was a blue flame in the corner.  We sat to rest our legs and he reached into his lunch bag, offering me a bar of chocolate. Though hungry, I refused. I felt sick. This whole place, whole situation, it was sickening. Kazufumi was just trying to calm himself, I decided, although maybe thinking that was in itself me trying to calm myself. I drew my knees to my chest with a sigh. "Where do you think we are?" I asked. Kazufumi shrugged.
"Maybe we died from the fall and this is hell."
"Don't say that!" I smacked his shoulder and he apologised softly. Then a third voice spoke.

"I'd agree that this is hell. You're not dead yet though. It's just a matter of time."

We jumped, looking round for the source of the voice. All that was in here with us was that weird-ass blue flame. We stared a moment before I cleared my throat. "Where are we? Who are you?"
"Heavenly Host Elementary. Hallowed grounds no living thing should enter."
It didn't say anything about who it was. It sounded female, but that was all I could say for certain. "How did we get here?" I asked.
"How should I know? You probably did one of those stupid charms or spells or something to piss off some spiritual something, how should I know? Honestly, stupid people like you, stupid living people, you never stop to think about what you're doing."
We were both stunned into silence by that. I looked below the flame and saw a skeleton in a summer school dress. The uniform wasn't one I recognised. After a while, Kazufumi looked up, spoke up.
"Where are the others?"
"Your friends?" Asked the flame.
"Our friends. They did the charm too...also some other kids I don't like, actually, but yeah, mostly f-" He cut off when I gave him a sharp elbow to the ribs.
"Who knows? They could be in this room right this moment, in a different space. This whole school is a mess of bubble dimensions. I never saw my friends again, and neither will you."
She disappeared with a loud fwoosh, leaving a slight glow behind for a brief moment before we were lost in the cold and the dark. We huddled together for warmth, wondering what to do now. If this was true and we wouldn't see the others again, this whole thing was an absolute disaster. We were going to die here. After a moment I felt something press into my hand. A sweet. I gave my boyfriend a questioning look and he sighed.
"Last one in the box. Who knows how long we'll be here? It's not much, but it's something for you to eat...and where else do we find things?"
"Maybe they have a canteen, who knows?" I stood, pulling him up with me. "Come on, Kaz. I don't care what that glowing bitch says. We're going to find Kazuyo and Nishimoto and Yurie and all the others and we're going to get out of here."

((Hi guys! If I'm a little slow in updates at times, I blame illness, yay!...Seriously, if I hadn't been ill this and so much other stuff would have been done yesterday...))

Jou: First Blood

We're very seldom separated. That's the thing about twins, they like to stick together, even in hell. Even fate smushes us together in hell.

For me, it just makes it all a million times worse.

I hate Yurie! She gets on my nerves, she makes fun of me, never ever leaves me alone! Right now we were right here, in the middle of hell, surrounding by rotting corpses while she freaks out and cries and clings to me. For once, I'm the strong one, but it's still ruined by her constant whining. She's slowing me down as I try and find a door that opens, but none of them do. Every one I tug on doesn't budge an inch. It doesn't even rattle like normal locked doors. It's like they're just pictures. Yurie starts whining again as we reach the stairs and begin to ascend. "This is so not fair. Stupid creepy Kazuyo trapping us all here. I never liked her. I mean, have you seen the way that freak dresses and keeps her hair? I mean, what girl has short, scruffy hair like that? The only other one in the class is the one that thinks she's a boy. AKA weirdoes. God, and Sako even said she was cursing us, why didn't I listen? And now I'm stuck here surrounded by icky bodies and blood and ew and rot and a building where the caretakers have clearly never heard of spring cleaning. Oh god, look, my nail! I broke my nail!"
I forced my arm away from her at that point and walked on. Ugh, she sickened me.
"Jou, wait up you worthless shit!"
"Shut the hell up for five seconds, you stupid bitch!"
She seemed taken aback, but at least had enough brain power to slap me. I just kept walking, as though it didn't bother me. I'd had enough of the petty bullying I got every day. This was inconsequential. I stopped checking the doors as we cross the halls of the third floor, but I hear distant screams like none I had ever heard before, and it feels like ice is enclosing about my heart. I stop, my joints freezing. I'm almost too afraid to take another step, and then Yurie digs her nails into my shoulders, clearly having heard it. Clearly afraid.
"W-what was that?"
"Someone's in trouble." My voice didn't sound like my own. It came out in a terrified hiss, more like the squeak of a mouse than the voice of a grown man. Heck, it was almost like someone else was talking for me. I started to hyperventilate.

Yurie tugged my arm. "Let's go back. Maybe we can break the windows at the front door and get the hell out of here."
I didn't need telling twice, easily allowing myself to walk after her. We walked slowly, afraid running would alert whoever else was there to our presence. The screams continued, ones of pure agony, animalistic cries the likes of which no human should hear or produce. The screams of somebody in unimagineable pain, being brutally treated, close to death. A voice that would haunt every single moment of my life, awake or asleep, for as long as I live. My throat felt like sandpaper, my body tingling as though whatever was happening to her could happen to me at any moment. My knees were shaking, and I was sure I'd collapse any moment now, but for once my sister's vice-like grip was a great comfort. I couldn't even begin to wonder how scared she must have felt, and then we heard it.

The inhuman moaning.

The heavy footfalls.

The drag of something heavy on the rotting wooden floor.

We sped up. No questions asked, we just started walking a little faster. We were both terrified, no doubt about that. I risked a look over my shoulder and oh god I wish I hadn't. Behind us was something akin to the living dead. A large, loping form carrying some form of sharp hammer-like weapon. Not quite an axe, not quite a hammer. It was a grey-skinned man with dark skin and blood oozing from his eyes and mouth, and his lifeless eyes were fixed on Yurie and myself. With a terrified scream, I bolted into a run, forgetting Yurie had hold of me. She was yanked forward by me, I was yanked back by here, and the next thing I knew the whole world was spinning as I hit every piece of my poor body on something hard and sharp. Had I tumbled down the stairs? I stopped and shut my eyes against the pain. I think something was broken. Yurie tried to pull me up, her words coming in a panicked garble. Agonising pain shot through my limbs, but I got to my feet and followed, eyes still shut. I was effectively blind.  I didn't think I could open my eyes against the pain. It was too much, and then I tripped and fell, and Yurie tried to drag me despite my pained objections.
"Come on!" She shrieked tearfully. "We have to go! Jou, we have to-" She broke off with a scream. Or was the scream mine? The pain...a new pain blossomed in my arm. It was like my arm had been sliced into by something big. Like it was hanging on by just a thread. Another hit came down on my leg, and I felt the bones splinter. Tears were streaming down my face and the pain was enough to make me throw up. Now my stomach acid was burning my throat, and the hammer kept coming down, breaking my bones, hacking off limbs, peeling off skin, and all I could do was scream. I could feel things tear and burst and rupture, but the pain became one long river. I could hear the hammer come down and down again. All I could do was wait for the sweet release of death, anything to get me away from this pain. God, please...

Teruhiko: Fear Eternal

I'm not usually that good with emotions and stuff. I'm very close to Sako though. I'll let her touch me. Most people I won't even let rest a hand on my shoulder, but Sako is allowed to hug and kiss me...if she wanted, that is. It's strange. I don't usually make friends. Normally I just sit there quietly and...yeah. I don't understand people and people don't understand me, but my parents were friends with Sako's parents, so they spent a lot of time together and I spent a lot of time around Sako. For some reason she never minded that I was a bit weird. I remember when we were little and the other kids thought I was a weird boy because I didn't play like the rest of them and got really stressed and stuff. One day my routine got disrupted and my morning routine has to be the same, it just has to but my mum made me do other things and told me to stop being so silly and I got to school in a real state in tears and unable to keep still and nobody could touch me I was just in such a state and oh god. And that was the day everyone started turning round and vocalising how weird they thought I was, but before that, Sako was there, doing her best to make things okay. She was such a good friend. She loved me. It was so sweet. In junior school and middle school she always defended me against the bullies and mean people. I was really down that day and Sako came skipping over, hair tied in bunchies with these purple and pink ribbons. She had a peace offering in her hand to try calm me down. It was a pully toy where you pulled the string and it moved its arms and legs up and down. I hesitantly took it and started to fiddle with the arms.
"Are you okay, Teruhiko?" She asked with a sweet smile.
I gave a slight nod, sniffling and focusing my attentions on the arm of that toy in my hands.
"Chikuda and Sawada were being mean and mocking you. I've told them never to do it again and I think they might listen, because I put the fear of Nishihara Sako into them!" She struck a kung-fu pose and I couldn't help but laugh.
"You're really brave, Sako."
"Not really." She assured me with a smile and a giggle.

I'm not sure why I was reminded of that as I stepped out into the cold and wet. I shivered, my school blazer doing little to keep me warm. I looked around, looking at the murky water of what was meant to be a swimming pool. The surface was covered in floating bodies. I didn't really find myself bothered by that, though. I mean, firstly, there were dead bodies everywhere here, and secondly something else caught my attention before I could give the departed a thought. The loud wailing of horrified, traumatised tears. I looked to the corner of the pool fence, and there stood a Sekishingessha girl, curled up on the floor, skirt riding up her waist...I couldn't help but blush. She had green hair, mostly shaved off apart from a mohawk and a thin ponytail at the nape. Her hands were over her face and she was rocking herself, afraid and in tears and I rushed forward. I normally can't tell with most people how they're feeling, but I know Sako so well I know all her emotions. I know everything about her. Well, without sounding creepy. I knelt before her and put my hands on her shoulder but she screamed and struggled and cried some more.
"Sako, calm down, it's me!"
Through the sobbing, she tried to say my name, and she stopped struggling. "Te-Ter-Teru-H-H..."
"It's okay, Sako. It's okay."
"There are dead bodies everywhere!" She grabbed my shoulders, fear evident in her pale eyes. I stroked her hair gently.
"You've been through a lot lately. Just think of this all as a nightmare, and then you'll wake up and we'll be back in detention with Masato-Sensei."
"No, not him!" She whined, shaking her head.
"If we get out of here I promise to hurt him for you." I stood, shrugging her off and offering her my hand. "Come on. You're shivering. We should go inside and find some way to dry up."
She gave a slight nod. "Okay." She took my hand and I helped her up, pulling her along to the locker room. She cuddled up to me and kept crying, and I stopped once we were inside to try and calm her down as she had once done for me.

I don't know how long we were there, but it felt like forever. My watch wasn't working. I turned to her, opening my mouth to explain. "The front door doesn't open."
"Where are we?"
I stayed silent for a moment before sighing. "The notices on the walls say Heavenly Host Elementary, but-"
"But that school isn't around any more!"
I had a totally blank look on my face so she just shook her head and walked on. I would have followed, but something shimmering in the drains caught my attention, so I knelt down to liberate it. Something thick, wet and sticky lingered in there, sticking to my fat fingers as the slim grates dug into my flesh. It was gross and stank of rot and stuck under my nails and it was unpleasant. My fingers were too thick to get through the grates, but I kept trying despite the hopelessness of it all.
"What are you doing?" Sako asked.
"I thought you'd gone." I told her uncertainly.
"I came back. There is no way I'm wandering around a school full of dead bodies alone. Look, half of them have been gutted. One had sewing scissors shoved down her throat. The people here have been murdered and I am not sticking around to get murdered alongside." She stepped closer and peered into the grate. "What is that?"
"I...I'm not sure..."
"Think I could reach it?"
"It's covered in blood."
"Can you get it?"
I pulled, but all that came out was more blood with an unnatural squelch. Sako stepped forward, digging her nails into the side of the grate. The blood was cold and gritty, and she was shutting her eyes, pretending it was something else, and then the grate came away and the dark, cold liquid sprayed out onto Sako's pristine uniform. She took a deep breath and punched the wall, shattering one of the ancient tiles. I reached in again, pulling a face, and pulled out a key. It had a tag to it, and after a little rubbing with my thumb, the muck encrusting it came away. It was a locker key. Sako snatched it off me and put it to the locker, unlocking it and throwing it open in one fluid motion

and screaming when maggots and parts of the dead fell out on her.

Youku: All That I'm Living For

I don't know how long I'd been sat there, my phone open before me. I'm a photographer. I'll make do with anything with a camera on it, as long as I can make something gorgeous.

I'd been wandering around a while, until I'd found some bathrooms. I'd locked myself in one of the stalls, and now I was still here. I'd seen some nasty stuff, but here I was, relieving my tension. Taking it easy. Making myself comfortable. Before me flashed many pictures I'd taken in the past. Mainly of Akino. My love, Akino. Her youthful beauty sending shivers down my spine. It was good I could still find some solace and pleasure with my Akino in such a hellish place. If only she were here with me, someone to hold close and keep warm and safe. Someone to kiss. Someone to protect.

I heard someone come in then. Slowly, I removed my hand from my pants and stood, creeping towards the door and putting my ear to it. Footsteps. Frightened ones. Another person brought here like me? I peeked out a hole in the door and I have to admit I was surprised. A girl was there, back to me, with long blue hair and a Sekishingessha uniform. Very familiar. I unlocked the door. "Nishimoto?"
She spun round with a squeak of fear. I'd honestly never seen her so frightened before. I'd never really seen her with anything more than cold indifference, really. And that was what I showed her now. No relief as I snapped my phone shut. Just a cold look for her tasteless interruption of my special time. Despite this, she hurried over and flung her arms around me. I wanted to push her away, but she was shaking in fear.
"Kiyomizu! Oh god, it's so good to see someone living! I was afraid I would be the only one here!"
I gave her back an awkward pat. "It's okay, Nishimoto."
"But it isn't! There's dead people everywhere! We need to call the police!" She saw my phone in my hand and snatched it from me.
"Hey!"
"The police!" She insisted as she turned off the picture view and dialed 110. "No...nononononono...there's no signal...your stupid phone has no signal!" She threw the phone against the wall and I screamed, running to it. It wouldn't switch on.
"You broke it, you bitch!"
"All it was worth was a few games of cut the rope and some stupid family memories! All you had on there was games and pictures of your sister!" She tugged harshly on my blazer. "Get up, Kiyomizu!"

Reluctantly, I obeyed, desperately pushing the power button of my phone as Nishimoto dragged me along.

Kyouya: Drip, drip, drip...

That was what I heard when I woke up. Dripping. The incessant drip of some liquid there to curse our very beings. Something just seemed so wrong. I couln't help but shudder, and still all I could hear was the drip, drip, drip, right by my ear in a warm puddle. I was almost afraid to open my eyes, but open them I did.

I wasn't in detention any more. The shiny, new ceiling from the academy schoolhouse was replaced with an old, rotting mound of wood with something fresh and meaty pinned to it. Where was this? A slaughter house? Poor cow, I thought as I stood.I reached up to wipe the wetness from my ear, and that was when I realised the dripping liquid was the cow's blood. At least, I preferred to think of it as a cow. It was too small and there was a band of cloth around it, ruined and bloodstained. I shuddered again, not wanting to think what it might be, when something grabbed me from behind. I cried out.
"Kyo! Oh thank goodness, I thought I would be all alone, I was so scared!" I tried to twist to see over my shoulder, but I knew the voice. Tsusumi.
"Rumie, let go!" I snapped, voice cracking. She did as she was told and I breathed a sigh of relief. I turned to face her, and she was crying. "What's wrong?"
"The door still won't open. I want to go home. I don't know where we are. Oh, but at least you're here. My night in shining armour, Kyo. You'll keep me safe like I'm your precious princess!"
She hugged me again and I tensed up. She got pretty weird like this at times, but surely she could tell I only thought of her as a friend. I gently patted her back.
"It's alright. We'll find a way out f here." I promised, glancing uneasily back up to the splattered body above us. I hoped we would find a way out of there before whoever had done that got to us too. For safety I gently took Tsutsumi's hand. She shot me a smile. Strange, I thought as I led her over to the door, trying to slide it open. As she had said before, it wouldn't. Almost as though it were locked. Why would it be locked, though?
Many reasons, replied his rational mind.
"We need to find a way to get the door open, Rumie. See anything we could use?"
She shook her head quickly. I knew she was lying, so I gave her what was simply known as my 'look'. After a moment she let out a high pitched whine.
"Bones and wood, Kyo. We'd need a key."
I gave a nod and sighed, giving one last look to the cow. I went over to a supply closet and tried the door, and it came off the hinges and fell to the floor. Suffice to say I was already thoroughly creeped out by this place, but it wasn't made any better by what I found in the closet.

A bloodied body was crammed up inside. It looked to be a junior high girl. It looked like her flesh had just bubbled and burst. It was horrible. I clamped a hand over my mouth, feeling a wave of nausea wash over me. The girl had something shiny in her hand, but I didn't want to take it. Instead I stumbled back with a scream. It was awful. Worse yet, everyone from school would be here somewhere. This wasn't a good place. How would Kazufumi manage? He wouldn't. He would freak out. I wanted to find him and make sure he was alright. I couldn't take it, I decided as I staggered back further, turning to throw up. I was under the cow again and something wet and solid fell on me...oh god...I knocked it off without half a thought. Rumie was able to force the bony hand away from the key. The fingers opened out with a loud 'crack'. I covered my ears and watched as she went to the door and unlocked it. One side of my head was slick and wet. I hurried after her as she stepped out and she caught me in a tight hug. "It's okay, Kyo...it'll be fine, I swear..."

Kazuyo: Sachiko Ever After

Detention was a thoroughly boring affair. I wasn't up there often, by the way. I'd been caught using the school computers 'inappropriately' for like the eightieth time. So there I sat between Katayama and Nishimoto, drumming my pen off the table top. Why either of them were there, I would never be able to tell.

My name is Kotani Kazuyo, by the way. I should have said that. My friends just call me Kaz. Around me were the 11 students of class 2-9 in Sekishingessha Academy who had managed to land themselves in time out. As I looked at each one, I tried to imagine why each of them was sat here with Matsuno-Sensei staring at them with somewhat unsavoury eyes. I can see him watching Nishihara closely, and she herself is staring at the floor, for once not making a snappy or unpleasant comment. She seemed upset, actually.

I looked around at everyone again. None really friends. None really enemies. In a way, I was just the odd one out. I was really just the weird one, I guess. Then again, everyone has their roles. I'm the weirdo, Chitose is the girly girl, Nishihara is the bully, Teruhiko is the fat one...all sorts. I opened my bag and checked through some files. I had a lot of papers and junk in my bag.

"Matsuno's gone." Teruhiko called out. I turned to see him excitedly tugging at Nishihara's sleeve. They'd known each other since they were little, so they were pretty close. Something like that. I don't even know. Everyone seemed to perk up then. At least the pervert was gone. Things were more fun now. People started talking. And there I sat in the middle, a little paper doll before me on the table.
"Guys?" I asked suddenly. "Mind if I try something?"
"Oh, look out, she's gonna curse us." Nishihara joked.
"It's not deadly, is it?" Asked Kazufumi.
"Do we have to do anything?" asked Rumie.
"It's simple!" I assured them. I presented the doll. "It's a charm to keep friends linked, you see."
"We're not friends." Nishihara muttered, rolling her eyes.
"Shut up. You can sit in the corner and mope if you want. It could be like our secret army against Matsuno-Sensei. Everyone grab hold of the doll."
Everyone reluctantly did as they were told. It seemed like we all liked the idea of being a secret army against the pervert teacher. Everyone took hold of the charm doll, smiling.
"Okay," I said. "Now everyone chant 'Sachiko-San we beg of you', it doesn't have to be out loud, but you have to say it once for everyone here. That's twelve times. Ready?"
"Yes." Everyone said. There was a long silence, and everyone made a small signal when they were done.
"Okay. Hold tight, don't let go, we're going to pull until it tears into twelve pieces. Come on, pull."
And we pulled, and it tore.
"Now what?" Asked Kiyomizu, hands on his hips.
"Put it somewhere safe, keep it on you." I told them.
"Is that it?" Asked Jou.
"I expected more." Teruhiko. admitted softly.
"Whatever." Mumbled class rep Nishimoto as she turned to walk away, but when she got to the door, it wouldn't open. "What the...?" She tried to tug it open to no avail.

That was when the earthquake started. Everyone clung to something or someone in the adrenaline rush of pure fear. I remember clinging to the teacher's podium with a shriek, not understanding what was going on. And then the screaming got louder as the floor began to fall out from underneath us and we all pressed ourselves up against the board.


Reference images for the main characters because why the hell not?