Part 32: Shangri-La, Part 3

No luck. Oh, Mayu, where could you be?



(Mayu mustn't be left by herself in a horrible place like this! I hope she's at least with Ms. Yui or Mochida.)

Music: Main Theme 3



Morishige automatically moves to this spot, and then we're placed into control of him.



It's a corpse that's only just started to decay. Seems to be a junior high school girl. And from the looks of it, she was cut completely in half, using some sort of edged instrument.

How awful. To cut someone in two, spine and all... It would take the finest katana to pull that off. Either that or some form of machinery. The blood spray is primarily on this side, so I guess she was attacked from the front. ...Hmm? What's this?



It was one of those cat-themed spiral notebooks that's all the rage with teenagers these days.

(There may be information in here relevant to escaping this hell. I apologize for the intrusion, miss, but I feel I must take a look.)

Music: None



Mr. Goto seems even more anxious than we are. He says he'll make sure we all get home safely, but his temperament just keeps getting worse. He's usually so cool, but lately he's just gotten kind of scary. Hiroko, Arisa and the others are getting really fed up with him.

Mr. Goto is so unfair! He keeps playing favorites with Hiroko. That was the last of our food, too... And I'm the one who stopped Hiroko and Norika from fighting...



Music: Main Theme 3

No help here, it seems. Aren't there any clues to be found? ...Hey, you. Got any information for me?
(Hahahahaha! Talking to corpses! I must be losing my mind... How strange, though, that I can come face to face with the dead now and not bat an eye. Heh... Perhaps my sense of fear has gone numb.)



She has such a pretty face...but before long, that face is just going to rot, and not a soul will ever want to look at her again.

???: Hey, you there. What are you doing?

...! Ah, nothing of substance. Just trying to find clues as to my situation here.

Music: None



Shogo Taguchi's the name. As you can see, I'm a cameraman. Though not the artistic kind who's planning on hitting the indie film circuits or anything. I came here to get footage for a special report, but I got separated from my boss along the way. How about you?
I...got myself lost in this school building, and am presently searching for a friend.
Uh-oh. You don't mean that girl on the ground over there, do you?
Ah, no. I've...never met her before.
Whew. That's good. Well, kinda, I guess... Anyway, may I ask your name? And the name of the friend you're looking for, too, while I'm at it?
I'm Sakutaro Morishige, and the girl I'm looking for is named Mayu Suzumoto. She's short, smiles a lot and...has a generally cheerful countenance, really.
Suzumoto, huh... Su-zu-mo-to...



Umm... What are you doing?
Well, I don't...want to sound crass, but...I'm checking through the footage I've captured since coming here to see if her name comes up at all. I intend to file a police report when I get back, so I've been gathering information on all the dead kids I've found in here. Like, from their name tags.



Ahh...sorry, sorry! If it makes you feel any better, I don't see anyone named Suzumoto in any of my footage. And, may I say...you're really very brave.
Oh?
Well, whether you're looking for a friend or not, you really seemed to put your all into searching that body, you know?
You're the one taking video of corpses.



But if I try to look at them with my bare eyes, I freeze up. There's a famous story about a battlefield cameraman whose camera broke while he was out on the job, and he literally started crying like a baby.
I see. That makes sense.
...You're not too interested in any of this, are you? I do have a tendency to run my mouth off sometimes. Naho is always scolding me for that.



No, I'm sorry. I appreciate the offer, but I'd prefer to search alone for the time being. I'd hate to get in your way, after all.
(Like hell I'm going to tag along with a motormouth like this. Besides, he's my elder, so I'd have to mind my manners...which I'd really rather not do.)
Oh, okay. Well, uh...then how about we arrange to meet again? There must be high EMFs in here or something, 'cause nothing can keep time in this damned place, but what say we try meeting up after...an hour, give or take? I mean, we should both count ourselves lucky to have run into another living being, and I'm sure an exchange of info must sound good to you too, no?
...All right. If that's what you want.



Taguchi leaves us, and we're put back into control.

Music: Main Theme 3



We take another look at the body.

It's a corpse that's only just started to decay. As a result, the name tag is still pristine:

Norika Miharu Age: 13
Seisho Junior High School

Body bisected at torso; died instantly.



It looks like there's something in there, but...no, it's too dangerous to climb down. I'll have to keep an eye out for some kind of rope.

This hole is important. It's very annoying to forget about it (or never notice it in the first place) and then have to come back here later, since it's in a random piece of hallway that you wouldn't revisit when trying to figure out where to go.



We're finished with the hole for now, though. We head west into the locker room.



It's a more recently-deceased corpse. The clothing and general body mass suggests she was a junior high school girl in life. Based on the height of the shower head and the positioning of the body, this appears to have been suicide. The name tage is a bit dirty, but still legible:

Honoka Nanjo Age: 15
Seisho Junior High School

Hanged in locker room shower.

There's a note near the body, neatly folded three times.

Music: None



Now they're dead too, and I'm all alone. There's nothing to eat, and I'm staving, so I tried eating rats and cockroaches. But that just gave me severe diarrhea. My lips have dried out and I've lost a lot of weight. So I've decided to kill myself before the ghost kids or that hammer-wielding man get me.

After all this, I've finally realized... The time I spent with Mr. Goto, Hiroko, and the others was the best of my life. Goodbye Dad, Mom and all my friends from class. Please don't ever forget me.

And then everyone forgot her because she died inside Heavenly Host. I'm sure Morishige would get a kick out of that, if only he knew.

Music: Main Theme 3



We head out to the pool.



It's the skeletal remains of a student. He's not wearing any sort of uniform, per se, but his build suggests he was probably male. What IS he wearing...? At least there's a name tag:

Reiki Negishi Age: 16
Kurashiki Industrial High School

Collapsed while searching for friends; starved to death.



It's an extremely decayed corpse. Based on the uniform and tall stature, this seems to have been a senior high school boy. His name tag is pretty mucked up, but legible:

Kiyomasa Kagei Age: 17
Kurashiki Industrial High School

Skull Pulverised by blunt object.



We re-enter the building and head north at the fork by the entranceway.



We attempt to enter classroom 4-A, but the door is locked.



Instead, we head east and enter room 5-A.



"Aren't you forgetting something? Be careful on your way home."



There are lots of old stationery goods inside, like rusted paper clips and beat-up scissors. Not a one of them seems usable or functional. ...Except perhaps this spool of kite string mixed in with them.

(Maybe I should take this with me.)

Take the kite string
Leave it

Sound Effect: Item



Seems good as new. And it might just come in handy!



The nearby custodian's closet is locked, so we head all the way back down the hall and into the entranceway.



Taguchi isn't here, but there's investigation to be done in here.



Of course.



It's a fairly fresh corpse. Looks to be a junior high school girl. Her eyeballs seem to have been slashed horizontally with a thin, razor-like blade. And as if to complement this, the arteries in her wrist seem to have been slashed vertically with the same blade. That was most likely the cause of death. The name tag on her chest is bloody, but legible:

Arisa Kaida Age: 13
Seisho Junior High School

Died of blood loss from deep external wound.



It's a notebook.

Music: None




Music: Main Theme 3



Finished in the entranceway, we head east, to the second wing.




Well, now this is a surprise! Am I seeing a human spirit, or is this nothing more than pure hallucination?

Upon that musing, the spirit vanishes from sight. But the sense that I was being watched remained. There was a covered walkway beyond this heavy, iron door. A covered walkway that wasn't supposed to be there, evidently. Did I dare challenge it?



Open the door and proceed out into the walkway?

Do it
Turn back

Just as my hand touched the knob...



Music: None

I was sent backwards by some tremendous force. For a split second, I swore I saw a figure...but that could've just been my imagination. The pain from my impact, however, was very real.

Gllgh...! Maybe that...was no illusion after all.

And ultimately, I was unable to open the door.



Touching that door boosts the darkening meter by a whopping 30%! This happens every time you investigate the door, so you can very quickly hit 100% darkening if you stubbornly try and open it repeatedly.

Music: Main Theme 3



Finished with the first floor, we head up the southeast staircase.



The Nurse's office is locked, so we head past it and are stopped on this space.

Music: None



(...? Am I hearing things, now?)

Music: Main Theme 3



There's some sort of stain on the wall here.

(Such a moist, foul impression this simple stain leaves. What could have caused it?)
Pull yourself together, Sakutaro! You need to find Mayu, then escape from this tainted place!



The lab is also locked, and a hole in the floor prevents us from proceeding to the restrooms. We proceed past them and enter room 3-A.



It seems to be a school newsletter of some sort.

[Disaster Training Day]

"To prevent accidents, always be aware of your surroundings. Look before you act."

Next, we investigate the blackboard.



"I won't get mad, so just give it back now."



There's a piece of paper hastily taped onto the glass door:

"RETURN THE CLASS LOGBOOK

I'M GETTING ANGRY

DO YOU WANT TO BE KILLED?"



There's nothing interesting left in 3-A, so we head next door to 2-A.



"A request from Nurse Shinozaki:

We've received new furnishings. Please try to keep them clean. Let's take good care of our school environment!"



There's nothing else of interest in room 2-A, and a pit prevents us from visiting the reference room. We enter room 1-A.



Sound Effect: "Help me!"

Music: Unrest (B)

There's a half-rotted corpse sprawled out on the ground here. Seems to be a junior high school boy, based on size and uniform. His student ID name tag is still fully intact:

Osamu Murada Age: 13
Shobu University Middle School

Ambitious novelist who got separated from his journalist friend. Has known ties to Japanese spiritualism.



Is this one of the class rep's candles? I guess that means she's okay.



It's a class newsletter. Though this particular issue seems to be little more than a rough photocopy of an article from the local newspaper. The only thing to distinguish it from the original printing is a single line at the top that says, "May such tragedy never occur within these walls again."

"It's already been one week since the horrific incident at Heavenly Host Elementary School. After much discussion between school officials and members of the PTA, students are being provisionally requested to return home from school in groups. In addition, PTA volunteers have been asked to take turns keeping watch over all main roads to and from the school during morning and afternoon commutes. Other elementary schools across Japan have begun adopting similar policies, proving just how much this tragedy speaks to us all.

May the three victims of this incident rest in peace, and may their departures help us all realize just how vulnerable we are in this world. If we can learn to better protect our children from harm as a result of this unthinkable crime, then perhaps their deaths will not have been in vain."





The door seems to be busted, so it should be easy enough to pull out...

(You never know when something like this might come in handy. Maybe I should take it with me.)

Take the wire
Leave it

Sound Effect: Item

Yes... It can't hurt to have this on hand.



Continuing our exploration, we head next door to 1-B.



There's a message permanently carved into the blackboard here, as if with a nail:

"Why? What did I do to deserve this? Goddamn it, it's all his fault. He's the one who made us do that ritual. Friends forever? Look where that got us. He's in here somewhere too. And if I see him, I'm going to kill him. I swear I'll do it! I'll make as if I'm hugging him, like I'm oh so happy to see him again, and then I'll wring his filthy neck until I break his trachea."



We're done in this classroom.



We stop in front of the next room down. There's a large hole in the floor, which prevents us from heading any further south than this space.



"Beware the children. You can't reason with them. Don't let your guard down."



It's a largely decomposed corpse. Based on body mass, this actually seems like it may have been an adult male. Probably a phys ed instructor, as he seems to be wearing a jersey and there's a whistle hanging limply around his neck. Looking closely, there appear to be lacerations across his entire body, with a particular concentration along his back. There's no way these could have all been made by a single assailant. Most likely, he was flogged to death by multiple aggressors, all at once.

There's a custom name tag sewn into his jersey:

Itsuya Goto Age: 29
Seisho Junior High School

Seisho Junior High principal. Suffered multiple stab wounds; bled out.

We head into room 1-C after checking out Mr. Goto's body.



"You're being watched."



A message is written here in chalk:

"Here's here. Right behind you. Don't turn around. Because if you do---"

There's nothing in this classroom besides flavor text, so we head out.



We need to get back to the first floor. Because of an inconveniently placed hole, we have to go all the way back to the southeast corner of the map to get down. If we walk across the first floor and go upstairs we can get to the opposite side of that hole, so it doesn't actually prevent us from reaching anything. Its only purpose is to waste time.



Upon reaching the first floor, we return to where Morishige began.

Music: None



It'll take a bit of ingenuity to get whatever that is out of the hole. Maybe I can rig something up with this wire and kite string...

Try fishing it out
Don't do it

If I were to bend this wire into the shape of a fishing hook and attach it to the kite string, I thought...then maybe I'd be able to bring up whatever it was down there, provided it wasn't too heavy.

Well, it's not exactly a professional-grade fishing rod...but here goes nothing.



I quickly but carefully pulled in the line. Damn! Whatever it was, it fell off of the hook before I could bring it back up.

*sigh* Guess I didn't bend it tightly enough. Maybe it would be quicker to lower myself down into the hole after all. Though that would also be a far more reckless course of action... I'm just not sure what to do.

Try fishing it out again
Try going into the hole

The safer alternative is usually the better alternative, even if it is a general annoyance. So, let's give this one more go.



I began pulling up the line, slowly and steadily, trying my hardest not to shake it any more than I had to.

Sound Effect: Item



Ah! It's a student ID book...from Kisaragi Academy! Mayu?! It's Mayu's! No... Did she fall into this pit? Mayu!! Mayu! Are you there?! Mayu! Mayu!!

There was no response. And not a single sound or indication of movement. Maybe she...wasn't down there after all...?



Without even realizing it, I found myself gripping Mayu's student ID tightly, squeezing it in my hands repeatedly as if to verify its existence. It felt like her ID had been entrusted to me, and I absolutely had to get it back to her. It was now my mission.

(Mayu... I'm worried about you. If you've been injured... No, I mustn't think like that! I have to concentrate on what lies ahead!)
(For now, I'll just consider this proof that Mayu is definitely in here somewhere. And if I look for her long enough, I'm sure we'll meet again!)

Music: Unrest (B)



Now that we've collected Mayu's ID, we head into the entranceway to check for Taguchi again.

Music: None



The room shakes for a bit, and then comes to a stop.

(Taguchi's not here yet. I guess it probably hasn't been an hour...)




Meanwhile...

Video: Meeting
This video covers the remainder of the update.



I don't know. But in any case, everything seems to have shifted now. All the holes and cracks in the walls and floor have changed position.
Fukuroi... I'm scared.
T-Try not to let it get to you. What happened to the no-nonsense Mitsuki we all know?
Mm...



Huh? Did you just hear somebody screaming?
N-No... I can't say that I did.
Come on, Fukuroi! Let's see who it is!





We're moved to this position

Ahh!
Mitsuki...!
I-I'm so sorry! You're not hurt, are you?



No, I...it was my fault. I wasn't really watching where I was going.

Background Sound: Atmospheric Hum

The girl I'd just run into was wearing a school uniform I hadn't encountered before. And standing next to her was a boy who had a halfway irritated look on his face, but was offering the girl a hand anyway. He was wearing his school jacket, and she was not, so I couldn't tell for certain, but they definitely came across as classmates -- or at least schoolmates.

You're from another school, it seems. Are you alone?
Sakutaro Morishige. 11th-grader at Kisaragi Academy.



Mitsuki Yamamoto. Pleased to meet you. Sakutaro is a really grandiose name. It's like something out of classic Japanese literature!
Yes. I've been teased about it all my life.
Ah, s-sorry! I didn't mean it like that. I actually think it's pretty cool!
Mitsuki! You mustn't say such boorish things the first time you meet someone. You'll cause problems for Morishige.
No... It's alright.
Is something wrong, Morishige?
Hmm?



Ah, no, I assure you I'm fine. I'm just searching for someone, that's all.
Oh, you too? We also got separated from our friends, and have been looking all over for them.
Who is it you're looking for?
A classmate of mine. Mayu Suzumoto is her name. She's small in stature, but her personality can light up a room. Ah, right... This is her, here.

Suddenly remembering that I'd fished her student ID out of that pit, I withdrew it from my pocket and showed it to the two students.

Background Sound: None



Same here. Sorry we can't be more help.
It's quite all right. This student ID proves to me that she's in here somewhere. I'll find her on my own.
By yourself? Isn't that dangerous?
You're welcome to join us, if you'd like. We're searching the school as well, after all. We can help you look for this Suzumoto girl along the way.
...

Music: Unrest (B)



(They seem like nice enough people, though. This Fukuroi, in particular, seems to have a good head on his shoulders. And they don't come off as obnoxious. Refusing would present problems all its own, too...)



So...where do we go from here?