Part 22: Chapter 3, Part 8

*gasp* What the... What happened? Where am I?! Was I...knocked out...?
...Yuka! Yuka, are you there?!



Satoshi awakes in the staff room, separated from Yuka. We start digging around right away.



[School Scandals Continue]
Principal Questioned on Liability

[A Cursed School?]
The Many Grisly Happening at Heavenly Host

[School Nurse Missing]

We check the adjacent cabinet next.



It's covered in bloody handprints as if someone were frantically caressing it.



Dojima Elementary - 21 boys
Minomoto Elementary - 10 girls
Caring Village Montessori - 13 boys
Doshou West Elementary - 18 girls
Amour Gardens Academy - 6 girls
...





Of course.



Here's some hot bullshit:

That corpse is completely inaccessible, because we read all the Victim's Memoirs. If you don't read the fourth part, the fifth part won't appear here, and you'll be able to access the corpse. So let's load an old save and do that.



Kain Hagiwara Age: 16
Misato Municipal Brotherhood High, Class 2-4

Achilles tendon severed with scissors; bled out.



This is the third such incident. The deceased was a 72-year-old single male from a neighboring prefecture.



Give it a look?

Don't read it.
Read it.

Video: Kou Kibiki
Video covers the remainder of the update.



Their whereabouts were ultimately discovered through a thorough police investigation, but said findings were very much a worst case scenario. Three of the missing children were found dead in a concealed room beneath Heavenly Host Elementary, officially unused throughout the school's history. The fourth missing child was thankfully still alive, quaking in fear on the ground, presumably only moments away from demise when police arrived. Capping off this nightmarish scene was an adult male member of the school's teaching staff who seemed to be in a state of confusion. In his hands were a pair of bloodied scissors. (1973 - 9 - 18)



The staff member in question was officially charged with multiple counts of abduction and murder of minors, as well as desecration of the dead. He was quickly taken to trial, where an insanity plea spared him from prison or death, but resulted in his compulsory admittance to a mental hospital.

Interestingly, the perpetrator of these crimes was none other than the school principal's own son, who was widely renowned for his jovial personality. However, due to a mental ailment of unknown origin, he'd begun losing his ability to speak little by little during his years teaching at Heavenly Host. Once his speech was all but gone, he began searching for alternate places of employment, which occupied him for several months prior to the crime. The results of this endeavor were not favorable, however, and most of his days were spent staggering idly through the streets. His reputation quickly degraded.

Several months after his admittance to the mental hospital, he managed to slip past the many nurses on duty and escape the premises. Immediately upon doing so, he made his way into the concealed basement room at Heavenly Host Elementary, where he took his own life by hanging.



...but the one girl who was rescued from the gaping maw of eternal slumber was not. Following her close call, she and her family moved to another prefecture, far from the memories that no doubt would have otherwise haunted them forever.

Sadly, this was only the beginning of the misfortune that would hereafter plague the school, which had already earned itself many an unsettling rumor. Over the next few years, Heavenly Host would become a stage for countless incidents of rape, molestation and suicide. With student registration and attendance dwindling at an alarming rate in response to these crimes, the school was eventually shut down. (1975 - 11 - 18)



Even later forensic analysis of the writings throughout his office could make little sense of his haphazardly-scribbled enumerations. And the day after the school's closure date was finalized, this aged eccentric threw himself from its roof. He broke his neck on impact, dying instantly.

As you can discern, the sordid history of this school is indeed awful -- but there may be more to it than merely a series of unfortunate incidents. A power greater than any of us can comprehend may be acting as puppeteer from the shadows, maintaining an actual, tangible curse upon this property. And the key to it all lies with the sole survivor -- the girl who bore witness to the brutal murders and mutilations of three children no older than she.



My investigation into the supernatural side of this horrific massacre is only just beginning. Rest assured, I intend to make this a regular feature. I've begun gathering data for a follow-up report, so stay tuned: The next issue promises to uncover more details in this morbidly fascinating story...



...then it's that same girl in the red dress we saw earlier. Why would someone who wasn't killed here be haunting the school...?

Finished with that massive infodump, we continue looking around the room.



Yes
No



The label reads: [Kibiki Research Data 1 / 2005-11-19]



Shortly after picking up the tape, we hear a woman's voice.

"...Sensei..."

It's not subtitled, but I'm not sure subtitles are necessary for the word "sensei."





To worry so much for another's well-being that it torments you to the core... It's an exquisite stigmata that afflicts the living and the dead alike.



I'm...the spirit of a girl who died here.
O-Okay... I'm...really not sure how to respond to that.
Happiness and unhappiness are linked. Whenever one attempts to gain good fortune with little effort, there is always a risk.
...What...are you trying to say?



Sachiko... You mean that paper doll thing we all did? How did we mess it up?
One of you chanted the phrase too many times, or too few. The number of participants determines the number of repetitions that must be spoken.



*gasp*

Music: Discomfort



"Sachiko, we beg of you." Nine times. You have to say it one time for every person present. No more, no less, or the charm will fail.



(So did someone else mess up? And is that why..? No...)
(No, I'm not going to start placing plame. This...wasn't anyone's fault.)



Or maybe a misguided member of your group didn't want the fun to end, and knowingly flubbed the charm in a vain attempt at prompting a do-over.
*gasp* No...
Even if it wasn't on purpose, some of your friends have a tendency not to take things very seriously, no? It's not inconceivable that they'd mess up...
...and just say, "Oh well! It's not like I'll ever be found out!" ...without even realizing that their actions would ultimately doom you all. Heeheehee! No one's owned up to it, right? Not a single one of your friends has said to you, "I screwed up! I'm so very sorry!"
Shut the hell up already!



Perhaps it's the nature of my job. I have long since abandoned my writings, after all.
You do...still have your scrap of paper doll, no?



A memento...of those who are dear to you.
Umm...s-sorry to cut this short, but I'm in a bit of a hurry here. I seem to have gotten separated from my little sister...and there are still some other people I need to find, too.

Music: None

Such concern for your friends...and all the impulses that go with it, spurring the heart into action... It's a truly noble sentiment. That's all charms really are, you know. They represent one's regards for other people, they're like microcosms of the soul... Whether it be love or hate, all you need is a truly strong emotion to set them off. The stronger it is, the more powerful the charm.



Splend...mans...hook...

Music: Fear



Frigide...tsui...ball...
(It feels like my body's on fire...) Stop this... Please, stop!
Ball...tsui...frigide... Hook...mans...splend...

Music: End of Chapter 3



Now go. Go to the one who occupies your thoughts...