Part 21: Encounter, Part 4

*sigh* Guess I was right. Nobody's home.

My deep sigh echoed through the deathly silent corridor. Ordinarily, the din of other students would drown out noises like this, but every little sound was coming through crystal clear at this late hour.

I need to hurry. It's almost 7.

I quickly beelined toward classroom 3-4.





Kanna: The accident took place on a rainy October day just like this one, and occurred just after 7 at night. And supposedly, Yoshie still appears on days like this. Ever unaware that she died at Heavenly Host these many years ago, she now walks the halls of Kisaragi Academy, believing them to be her own.



(G-Geez... What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I letting this bother me so much? Tsukasa was right, I shouldn't dwell on this!)

Sound Effect: Thunder



Lightning flashed and thunder resounded with impeccable timing. I jumped in spite of myself.

I-I just...need to hurry up these stairs...grab the pen case...and get the hell out of this creepy building!

No ghosts should show up in a well-lit building like this, right? And even if they did, they wouldn't be very scary under all these bright lights.

(I absolutely need that pencil for tomorrow's test. It's my good luck charm, after all. And...it's from Tsukasa...)

I picked up the pace as I continued to head straight from room 3-4.



(And this hallway feels longer today than it ever had before. Was it always like this? Can't imagine I'd ever be on time if it were...)

I continued my brisk walk down the impossibly long hallway toward my goal, jumping every now and again whenever another thunderclap sounded. Kisaragi Academy comprised of both a middle school and a high school, and this evening, it really felt like it was flaunting its massive size. Didn't help that my classroom was in the high school wing, which happened to be past the middle school, making it seem that much farther away.

(When a building that's usually so full of life goes completely quiet, it becomes such a lonely place... I swear I can hear every drop of rain.)



Then, all of a sudden...

Sound Effect: Organ (A)

...!



That...was just my imagination, right? I mean...it had to be!
(There's no way anyone would still be here practicing, right?)

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. It was probably the sounds of the rain, wind and thunder mizing together. It just sounded like an organ, that's all.

I was convinced. I kept walking. But then...

Sound Effect: Organ (B)



*gasp* No... No way!

I was paralyzed with fear. My heart was pounding as if it were struggling to break free of someone's sinister grip.

(I-It's probably just some devoted member of the band, or a teacher who's working late. I'm just being stupid!)

Thinking about it, I vaguely recalled someone mentioning an upcoming performance by the wind instrument club. I guess an organ would qualify... Somebody must've just stayed late to practice, that's all!



I took another deep breath and tried, again, to calm my overly jittery nerves.

(Anything can be scary if you think it is!)

I'd heard that if you let your imagination run too wild, fear can even make you see things that aren't there. And my imagination was most definitely running wild.

(I'm almost there. I might as well sprint the rest of the way!)

I decided to dash toward my classroom so I could get out of this hall as quickly as possible.




All right, I made it! Now I just have to be absolutely certain I don't leave here without that pen case again.

Thanks to all my unexpected pauses to freak out over thunder and lightning, it took me far longer than it should've to get here. It was already well past 7.

(7 o'clock, huh...?)

It was the appointed time, when the ghost of a teacher was supposed to appear...at least, according to the school legend.



I let out a sigh of relief and relaxed my shoulders a bit. The lights were on both inside the classroom and out in the hallway. Sure, it was still dead silent, but the fear I'd been feeling had completely melted away.

(Yeah... There's nothing to be afraid of. The Seven Wonders aren't real.)

I grabbed the pen case I'd come back for and shoved it into my pocket.



With my long ordeal behind me more or less, I looked around the classroom and let out another sigh. I'd only every known this classroom when it was bustling with activity, and thus found its eerie silence and utter stillness to be oddly fascinating.

(Such a strange feeling, being alone in a classroom like this...)

I got the idea in my head to try doing something I normally wouldn't be able to -- like standing at the teacher's podium and writing on the blackboard.

(Chances like this don't come around too often, after all...)



I dreamed of standing there myself one day, and could hardly resist its pull when presented with a rare opportunity like this.

(Well, no one's looking...)

To my classmates, this would seem like such a silly, stupid dilemma, but that didn't change the way I felt at that moment.

(Should I, or shouldn't I?)



Those of you keeping track at home may have noticed that this choice is the first piece of actual gameplay in this chapter. We choose to stand at the podium.



I decided I had to try it. During daily cleanup and such, I'd come and gone from this spot countless times. But this was the first time I'd ever had an opportunity to just stand here and...preside over the classroom.

Music: Memories (A)

(So...this is how it looks to a teacher, huh? It's kind of...awe-inspiring...)

Gaining a teacher point of view, in the most literal sense, was starting to get me really fired up. It may seem silly now, but this was my stage. This was where all my dreams would play out.

Some day...

I began to imagine the future that awaited me. Painstakingly detailing some new piece of knowledge for students sitting attentively at their desks...gliding chalk across the board, filling it with information to aid them in their studies...

Sound Effect: Organ (B)



I was getting so excited that even I began to think my behavior was a little strange. Maybe it was the juxtaposition of these joyous, freeing visions and the prickling dread I'd been feeling up until just a minute or two before. But then, in the blink of an eye, one of these two conflicting emotions completely overpowered the other...

Music: None



Crap... I-Is this a blackout?!

Suddenly, my surroundings were bathed in darkness. Going stiff with shock, I stumbled back a step. My back struck the blackboard with a dull thud.

(What awful timing!)

Sound Effect: Organ (B)

Music: Disquiet

I instinctively grabbed hold of the rail where the erasers sat. I felt chalk dust against my fingertips. My panicked heartbeat was making it difficult to breathe. Was this caused by the thunderstorm? If so, it sure picked a fine time to turn the lights out on me!

(And what's more...I can still hear...the sound of the organ. But...no... It's an electric organ. How is that even possible?!)





That's impossible! She was no fortune teller or psychic, as far as I was aware. How could she possibly have known this would happen? Well, even if she were a fortune teller or a psychic, predicting the future is the stuff of science fiction. I shook my head.

(I need to calm down! Maybe it's just this wing that lost power, and the music room is still okay. That seems plausible, right?)

I curled my chalk-dusted fingers into a fist and silently tried to talk some sense into myself.

I've got to get out of here!

I shouldn't have been playing teacher. I should have been in and out by now. Cursing myself a little, I fumbled my way through the darkened classroom.



I'd spent so much time in here, you'd think I'd be able to find my way out of it "with my eyes closed," as it were. But sadly, that wasn't the case. Smashing loudly into a desk, I knocked it on its side and began tumbling after it, instinctively grabbing at other desks around me for support.

Oof...
(Damn it! Sounds like I knocked a lot of stuff out of that desk.)



Still fumbling around blindly, I gathered up all the scattered notes, textbooks and writing utensils.

(Ugh, I can't tell what's what... This is so embarrassing! What the heck am I doing, anyway? Wasn't I supposed to be hurrying home? I'm such a klutz!)

I let out a sigh. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

Okay... This is a textbook. And this...is a notebook, right?

I was trying to take inventory of all the things I'd knocked out of that desk, then realized, why? I might as well just stand it up and stuff it all back in!



Not that that was a particularly pleasant prospect. Explaining what I'd done wouldn't be easy, and no matter how I sugar-coated it, it would serve as a clear indication of my clumsiness. If I didn't say anything, it's not like I'd be found out...but that would be the same as lying, as far as I'm concerned. And I couldn't do that.

...Okay. I think I got everything.

I placed my hand against the floor and swept it around, feeling for anything I might have missed. And I found something, all right...



I'd clearly brushed my fingers across something, but I had no idea what. It was no notebook or writing implement, though, that's for sure!

(Why would anybody have something like this in their desk?!)

Maybe it had been on the floor all along.

What...is this stuff?

I rubbed my sticky fingertips a bit deeper into the wet spot, then brought my hand close to my face so I could get a better look at what was there. What on earth did I just touch?

Sound Effect: Thunder



There was a flash of lightning almost immediately joined by a roaring thunderclap. And with it, for a split second, the pitch black classroom was lit up bright as day.

Music: None





I shot to my feet, utterly mortified. In that split second, I'd gotten a very good look at my fingers...and it really did seem as if they were covered in blood. But it wasn't just my hand. No, if my peripheral vision were to be trusted, it looked like the entire classroom was stained a deep, dark crimson.

(Crap. It kinda smells like blood in here, too...)

Without thinking, I backed away from where I'd been crouching. I tried rationalizing what I saw. How could a whole classroom become a bloodbath like this? Did something spill? Did someone stumble in here injured?



My whole body was quaking. I fled from the classroom. Or rather, I tried to flee.

Sound Effect: Locked

Music: Despair



(I don't remember locking it. And...it isn't locked! So why can't I get it open?!)

I pulled on the door handle again and again in a frenzy. I was pulling so hard, it felt like my fingernails might tear loose. But it just wouldn't budge.

Why? Why?! Please!



This was a nightmare.

Please... No... What is going on?!

Silence saturated the inky blackness of the room. I took several deep breaths in an effort to restrain my pounding heart.

(Calm down. I have to calm down. I'm probably just panicking because the door won't open! I'm sure I just misidentified...whatever that is on the floor. I mean, it's preposterous, right? There's no way something like that could be...)



(That had to be it. Yeah. I probably just brushed against somebody's paint for art class or something!)

My imagination was just running wild because I was panicking.

(And the door probably just has something caught in it, that's all!)

I decided to check out that hypothesis by feeling my way across the door and determining if anything was jutting out from any of the cracks.



I fumbled around the gaps in the door, but I just couldn't make anything out that way.

Maybe there's another exit...

No, this was the third floor. I couldn't get out of here without exiting into the hallway.

(Let me out. I want out!)

Still at a loss, I noticed a sudden flash of light through the hallway window. But the glass was only translucent, so I couldn't be sure of its source.



Music: None

Then there came the distinctive clomp, clomp, clomp of footsteps.

Oh! Of course... It must be the custodian!

I recalled the existence of a custodian who always patrolled the school grounds. I'm sure he was probably taking a look around after the sudden power outage.

Great! I'm saved!

All at once, my fear-addled legs regained their strength. This nightmare would soon be over!



I shouted to the custodian at the top of my lungs through the window.

Excuse me! I'm trapped in here!

I had to be sure he heard me. I shouted again. Finally, I could see the light out in the hallway again, and it seemed to be getting closer. However...

Music: Disquiet



Perturbed, I took a step away from the window.

(If that's a flashlight, shouldn't it be brighter? It kind of looks like...)

...like the faint, unearthly glow classically attributed to spirits, was what I was thinking. I tried to stop myself from finishing that thought, however. Dullness aside, it also looked like it was wriggling around in a very unnatural, very un-flashlight-like way.

(And these footsteps...)



They were sounding in a fixed rhythm.

(That's no custodian. Nobody walks like that!)
...!

The fear was back, in full force. I had to find somewhere to hide! What if I'd accidentally summoned something inhuman? I mean, whatever that was, I begged it for help... I literally invited it in!

(I need to hide...but where?)



I hurriedly hid myself beneath the teacher's podium. I grabbed my knees, curled up and made myself as small as I could.

(What is this? What's happening?!)

The footsteps continued to draw nearer and nearer.

Clomp... Clomp... Clomp... Clomp...

Little by little, the sound grew louder. Every hair on my body was standing on end.



I held my breath, clasped my hands together and silently prayed.

Clomp... Clomp... Clomp... Clomp...

They were close now. Very, very close.

(Please...God...!)

Why was this happening? I couldn't make any sense of it. I just wanted it to be over. I prayed to God that it would end. Was this what the old woman was trying to warn me about? Was this all happening because I ignored her? Because I didn't take the paper doll from her? Was it because I'd heard the ghost story of Yoshie and allowed it to get to me? Or did the strange events of the day have nothing to do with what was happening to me now?



I was still holding my breath. I didn't dare let even the tiniest of sounds escape and give away my position.

Tap... Tap... Tap... Tap...
Tap... Tap... Tap... Tap...
Tap... Tap... Tap... Tap...
Tap... Tap... Tap... Tap...
Tap... Tap.

Music: None

...?



...!

And it had ended right in front of this very classroom.