Don't forget to read the first part if you haven't!
However, before they could do so, they learned through the ramblings of a village elder that they had incurred the wrath of the village's guardian deity, called Tengu-sama. While most of the group ignored it, one member, Kaoru Haguro, part of one of the village's prominent families, seemed to be the primary target. Ignoring the elder's warnings, they entered the high school and waited until night, but the school isn't as empty as they thought it would be. But, despite the school's eerie appearance at night, they managed to reach their destination.
Now, before we begin, I have to explain something: First, I'll be showing each game over as they popped up, so this may bloat the post a bit, and second, I originally planned to post the entire route in one post, but there was so much I just couldn't. However, the events of this route are actually insane, so I think this might have been a good idea. Also, I was able to get a pic of the tengu from the last part, nice. Anyway, let's begin, shall we?
What do we do? Should we...
⬢ >Try to pursue the cat.
>Hurry on ahead.
Oh yeah, I forgot to say we got jumpscared by a black cat, and that if we followed it, we'd get a game over no matter what. They're unlucky, alright.
>Hurry on ahead.
"Let the cat go, Miki. Have you forgotten our goal?"
"That's true, but..." Miki looked in the direction of the running cat, unwilling to let go.
"OK. Yuuka's right. Let's go in." Senpai said so and went in, taking the lead.
Kaoru tightly held the sleeve of my blazer. And Miki followed from behind.
With the flashlight Senpai carried, we surveyed the inside of the room, seeing a ton of specimens preserved in formalin...
Frogs... Snakes... And, is that an eyeball...?
The darkness expands the human imagination beyond what it needs to be. That specimen... whose eyeball is it? It kind of makes me... nauseous...
The floor was littered with broken pieces of beakers, a mess probably made by the cat from before.
"...This formalin reminds me of something."
"W-what, Senpai?"
Senpai made a creepy grin with a cackle.
"...I've heard... of that rumor..." Kaoru strengthened the force gripping my blazer.
"They do exist, you know. Pools of formalin the size of this room with a bunch of dead bodies floating in it..."
"And, sometimes, the bodies rise with a toot. When decomposition progresses, gas accumulates inside the corpse, right? That's how they float."
Thanks to her making my imagination run wild, my nausea is getting worse. I wish Senpai chose a better time and place to talk about this.
"So, the bodies float up and that's when the part-timers come in. They poke the bodies down with a long stick. For a long time, that's all they do... They keep submerging corpses on and on."
"...They say it doesn't come off for a while."
"W-what doesn't?" Even Miki had to cover her mouth as she asked back.
"The stench... of the dead..."
"Ugh..." Miki openly grimaced. I think we were making the same face.
"How about it? A great job, isn't it? It's a story I hear from a friend of a friend, but... Want to hear the rest?"
"No, we're fine. We're already full." I strongly refused.
"I see, things were about to get interesting..." Senpai pouted with a 'tch'.
"Hm? I wonder what this is..."
"What's what, Shimohashi-kun?" Miki picked up a piece of paper from atop a desk.
Senpai illuminated it with her flashlight, and... it appeared to be a map of our school.
It looked appropriately old. In this map, seemingly drawn with a writing brush... many points differ from the current school building.
"Overview of Inuyama Girl's High School" has been written on the map in old kana orthography.
[Old kana orthography is hard to fully explain since you have to know modern kana orthography as well, but simply put, kana is the Japanese syllabary, and the pronunciation and use of each character are different between the old and modern orthographies. Think Shakespearean English vs Modern English, except the change was much more recent, as it happened around the Second World War.]
"...Come to think of it, this school... It was rebuilt after the war..." Kaoru shyly began to talk.
"Really?"
"...If I remember correctly, the building was partially destroyed by an earthquake... That's what I heard..."
"Woah, look at this! The 'Tengu's Shrine' is drawn here! That waterfall must have existed for a long time~"
The "Tengu's Shrine" Miki talked about... It's a waterfall deep into the mountains behind the school.
Rumor has it that if you fall from there, your body will never be found again. I wonder if the existence of such a rumor means that someone had actually fallen there in the past...?
"Wait a second." Senpai threw a serious stare at the map Miki found, then began to grumble something.
"Assuming there's a connection between the rumors of the schoolgirl preserved in formalin and the spiritings away from 40 years ago..."
"That would mean... She would be in the rebuilt science room, wouldn't she? The schoolgirl preserved in formalin..."
"P-probably..." It certainly was as Senpai said.
"By the way, can someone draw a map of our current school?"
Just like Senpai asked, Kaoru drew a simple map in her notebook.
To the left is the old school building's floor plan, and to the right is the current map Kaoru drew...
[On the left we can see a narrow science preparation room, which is connected to the science room, and below that is the geology room. On the right are the music and art rooms.]
Comparing the two, the place where the old science room stood is...
>In today's music room.
>In today's geology room.
>In today's art room.
I like this, it's a pop quiz section done well, simply because it isn't reiterating something we already knew for no reason.
>In today's music room.
"Today's music room, huh... Alright, let's go!" Everyone nodded at Senpai's words.
Once again, it's dark... Only the way ahead, where Senpai shined her flashlight, was faintly brightened.
Everywhere else was in complete darkness...
Kaoru had been clinging to me for a while. Kaoru's trembling could be felt through my blazer. Sure enough, she's afraid as well...
As I thought of such things...
"Ouch!" [Background turns black]
"Ow, ow... Senpai, sorry..." The moment we bumped into each other, the flashlight ended up falling out of Senpai's hand...
How thoughtful of the flashlight to turn off, too... This is the worst...
Total darkness enveloped the area... "W-wait... What are you doing!?! I-it's pitch black in here..."
Miki bawled as she spoke. I wanted to cry too... in this pitch-black place...
"Wa-wait, Senpai! Where, where did the flashlight end up!?"
"......"
"Did you hear me, Senpai!?"
"...It's gone..."
"Eh!?"
"I've been groping for it for a while now, but it's not here... not anywhere..."
"Eh--!!"
"...Pitch black darkness... hm...?" Kaoru's voice is calm. I can't read her expression in this darkness.
However... I couldn't stay calm.
Losing our light here means we will have to spend the next few hours in the dark, at least until the sun comes up...
What... can we do anymore? I felt like crying.
What do we do now...
⬢ >Proceed ahead for now.
>Search the area one more time.
>Someone has to have a lighter on them, right?
The top and bottom choices lead to the same bad ending, let me show it now.
>Someone has to have a lighter on them, right?
"Hey, does someone have a lighter on them?"
"......"
Naturally, there's no reason for a high schooler to have a lighter... My question echoed in vain.
"It can't be helped. Let's... continue for now..."
That's all we can do now... So... I moved forward despite my fear. Into... this darkness...
"Everyone... hold on to each other so we don't get separated! We'll be going forward for now!" I vocalized in the best reassuring tone I could make.
Someone clung to my blazer.
It was probably Kaoru. Since it's pitch black, I don't know who they are, but... This sensation is undeniably Kaoru.
I mean... if it wasn't her... Thinking about that made a chill run through my back. "Hey... Come to think of it..."
"What is it, Senpai?"
"There's this way to talk with spirits called 'Square', ever heard of it?" Why did you choose this topic now, Senpai?
"Well, one person stands at each of the four corners of a room. Then, the first person walks along the wall..."
"They do that until they meet with the neighboring corner's person, yeah?"
"...Yeah, that's right..." I heard Kaoru's reply from right beside me.
"That'll repeat... until the fourth person arrives at a corner without anyone in it, right?"
I see. Since the first person moved elsewhere, there would be nobody there.
"But, for some reason, the fourth person does tap someone on the shoulder. Despite the fact there shouldn't be a fifth person there..."
"Wait, Sakura-senpai! Please stop~!" I couldn't help but protest.
"Oy! Who's in the back?" Senpai ignored my protests and continued.
"Me! The rear unit is Miki Shimohashi!"
"Okay, so there's nobody... behind her? Look... someone's clinging to my sleeve... Could it be, a fifth person...?"
"Kya-------!!"
"Kya-------!!" The female screams reverberated in the darkness.
Jeez, what is Senpai thinking? I don't blame her for wanting to scare people, but she should know when and where to do it.
"Hey, Kaoru... are you okay?"
"......"
"Huh? Kaoru...?" Although I worriedly called out to Kaoru... I was ignored, why is that?
Fine, I guess... Let's quickly move on and not loiter around unnecessarily.
However... normally, when you are in the dark, your eyes are supposed to get used to it, but my vision isn't becoming clear at all...
It's anything but clear... I can't see ahead, even faintly...
"Hey, Kaoru...?" I spoke to Kaoru to distract myself from my anxiety.
"What's wrong? Kaoru..."
"......"
Something's... weird... Actually... The screams from earlier... one was from Miki... but the other... was Kaoru's?
"Hey, Senpai." I called for her so we could stop for a bit.
"......"
But she didn't reply. No way... Did we stray away from each other...?
W-what do I do? Kaoru's acting weird... "Kaoru... Hey, Kaoru! Say something!!"
It was right then when it happened. The hand that gripped my blazer's sleeve suddenly put force behind its pull, dragging me towards it.
"Eh!? Kaoru... Why!?"
"......"
I-it's super strong... What's happening... Perhaps... it's not Kaoru? Then... Who has been clinging to me?
"Kyaah!?!"
Suddenly, the thing that had been clinging to me jumped on me from behind! The weight of it... I couldn't bear it and fell on my behind.
The... thing that was clinging to me... entangled itself around my limbs... I was completely deprived of my physical freedom...
The surroundings are pitch black... I can't see anything. What... this thing on my back is... That, too... is completely unknown.
Then... a strange feeling began to reign over me.
A feeling like... I was sinking through the floor...
What is... this?
Is this... real?
My body is... gradually... sinking... like I'm falling into a bottomless swamp... Already... more than half of my body is buried in the floor...
Ah... what is... below me?
I hope that there's ground... underneath the floor... but... I feel like there isn't... that it won't work the way I hope...
I'm... falling... into an abyss... into the unfathomable... Abyss...
Could... this be... spiriting away? By the time I knew the truth... it already was too late... My consciousness...
[It continues into the astral body scene from last part]
[Let's return to the 3 options]
What do we do now...
⬢ >Proceed ahead for now.
>Search the area one more time.
>Someone has to have a lighter on them, right?
We just need to try a little more.
>Search the area one more time.
"Oy, oy, don't cry~. Look, here's the light."
Senpai groped around in the darkness, searching for the flashlight until she once again pressed down on the power button. It seemed like the surroundings became much clearer than before.
I shouldn't have worried if it was so easy to find. For some reason, I felt like we were really screwed.
"Over there. We've reached it..." Saying so, Senpai shined the light on a plate reading 'Music Room'.
Is the... girl preserved in formalin in there...?
"I don't know why... but the music room at night is scary, isn't it...?" Miki kept her gaze on the floor.
"Somehow... I think those portraits are looking at me... Don't you guys feel the same...?"
"T-that's... impossible..." Kaoru had lowered her eyes. Similarly, I... couldn't lift my head in fear.
"Hey, come here quick!" Senpai raised her voice.
Called on by her, we moved to a rack filled with music sheets. "According to the map... On the other side of this rack is..."
"The old Science Room?" Miki regained a bit of her energy in the face of an exclusive scoop.
"I'm sure of that. This rack... I wonder if we can move it somehow..."
"With 4 people... we might be able to do it." Unexpectedly, Kaoru proposed a plan with initiative.
"Okay! Let's try it!" Senpai rolled up her sleeves and approached the rack.
It took the four of us to try to move the shelves. But the shelves were much heavier than we had imagined.
"Hrrr---n!" We pushed with all our strength.
"Come on, Yuuka! Put more force into it!"
"I'm putting... it!!"
"Let's go! Come---on!!"
"It moved!"
What appeared before our eyes was... something that hasn't been used in forever... An ancient door... and beyond it is...
Behind the door was the Science Preparation Room, which had remained sealed since the renovation 40 years ago. Everything was left exactly as it was then as if time had stood still.
There isn't a single window and the room is pitch black, probably to protect the chemicals. And, perhaps because the room has been closed for so long, it smells very musty...
"It looks like the teacher from back then used this place as a private room." Senpai's eyes were filled with curiosity, darting around the room.
"I think so too. This photo here is really aged, but... it's still kinda visible." Miki timidly brought her face closer to a photograph.
"...Um... Who is... the teacher that used this room...?"
"Probably the science teacher the newspaper talked about." Senpai answered Kaoru's question.
Miki turned pale as she picked up the photograph. The picture showed the female student and the science teacher from the newspaper.
In the photo, two people were huddled together intimately.
"Yo, yo, is this... The teacher's journal!?" Senpai alone was in strangely high spirits. In her hand was an aged diary... It's probably from back then.
"I... fell in love with that student... This is behavior unacceptable of a teacher..."
"{Isami Tatara}. The moment I encountered her, I knew she was my {true love}. But, what am I supposed to do with these feelings... I'll stop it here."
"Hmm, it's kinda sad, isn't it?" I spoke my genuine thoughts.
"Yeah. This student was the daughter of the Tataras, eh..."
Reading the journal, I could feel my heart rend for some reason. The love between teacher and student... Forty years ago, this would have been an unforgivable love affair...
Even today, love between a teacher and a student is often unattainable. Forty years ago, it was not only impossible, it was even forbidden... It must have been such a tragic love.
But love is not something that can be stopped by logic. It's something hopelessly inevitable.
It just so happens that the person the teacher loved was a student. That's just unfortunate, isn't it? It's just... really pitiable...
I have no way of knowing what it was like back then. But... when I imagine 40 years ago... I wonder if these two might have been...
The Truth of This Pair
From this journal, I can deduce that this science teacher and student probably had...
>A teacher-student relationship.
>A romantic relationship.
Personally, I'm not a big fan of these circumstances, but it seems to be mutual at least.
>A teacher-student relationship.
A teacher-student relationship... But didn't they have a more intimate relationship than that?
A romantic relationship... It must have been an extremely tragic love...
There's no doubt they were seriously in love. Reading the diary makes this very clear.
This journal was written...
>Forty years ago.
>Ten years ago.
Why?
>Forty years ago.
The love between teacher and pupil 40 years ago... It...
>Likely ended with them running away together. (Conclusion)
>Likely had a depraved conclusion.
I'd rather not choose the bottom option, but I want to show something.
>Likely had a depraved conclusion.
A depraved conclusion... That's not unbelievable.
Forty years ago... I don't know what the world was really like back then, but I can imagine a sordid love affair.
That is to say...
>The incident probably was a murder case. (Conclusion)
>The incident probably was an elopement. (Conclusion)
If we were to choose the top option, we'd be locked into an early dead end, it would follow the same path as going into the music room after following the cat. However, we don't want it to end there.
>The incident probably was an elopement.
It ended with them running away... That's my line of thinking.
Two people who were in uncontrollable love at the time elope in search of freedom... That seems like a very satisfying answer.
Right then, out of nowhere, a loud sound sounded out from behind me and I turned around.
"Kaoru!!?"
Kaoru abruptly collapsed.
"Are you alright!? Ms. Haguro, Ms. Haguro!!" Miki was also shaking. That's to be expected. Could it be because of this musty smell?
Anyone would feel sick in a space that had been sealed up for nearly 40 years like this one.
The air was bad, and because of the lack of light, the atmosphere, well... everything was stagnant.
"Oy, Kaoru! Are you okay?" Senpai lifted Kaoru in her arms. She shook her several times, but Kaoru never regained consciousness.
"Senpai, we should leave here for now."
"...Right, let's do that."
I hear the sound of rumbling and blowing snow. Outside... it seems to be a terrible blizzard...
"Yuuka! You take the right shoulder!"
"A-alright!" We decided to carry Kaoru and leave the room right away.
I thought Kaoru wouldn't recover if she stayed in that musty room, and that the most important thing now was for her to regain her composure quickly... What we are going to do now... I have to think about that...
"Let's go to the {night duty room}. We can rest there." In times like these, we can rely on Senpai, as always.
"...But, the night duty room... is it unlocked?" Miki inquired with an uneasy face.
"There's nowhere else to go. Let's continue. We can't leave her in this classroom when it's this cold, can we?"
"...That's true..."
"The night duty room probably has heating installed, right? It's not good for either of us to keep our bodies cold like this."
Darkness seemed to spread boundlessly in the path ahead. Kaoru's weight didn't bother me, but... that darkness... It felt like it would swallow us whole.
"...It's like we're... being swallowed up..."
"Hm? Did you say something, Yuuka?"
"Don't you feel... like we're being swallowed by the darkness?"
"...Come on, that's just your imagination."
"Hey, Senpai... About the night duty room... Was it always so far away?"
"I said, it's just your imagination!"
Senpai became a little angry.
At last, we reached the night duty room, but... My body hasn't stopped shivering since a while ago.
Is this from the cold... Or is this from the fear of being trapped in by the snow...?
Inside the night duty room, we set Kaoru down to rest.
The room was unexpectedly warm. It's as if... someone has been using this room until a moment ago...
"Huh...?"
"Is something wrong, Yuuka?" Miki asked, noticing my exclamation.
"These {boots}... Are they the caretaker's? He went home, in this snow, without these boots?"
"Ah, I guess he did." Senpai replied curtly.
"More importantly, Yuuka! Isn't letting Kaoru rest our first priority? That stuff doesn't matter, alright!?"
"O-okay...!" Senpai's words are correct. However, why was she so angry?
"Tch! No use, I can't get through." Senpai put back, or rather, slammed down the receiver. Perhaps she was trying to call for rescue.
However, that hope was killed off. Did the blizzard cut the telephone lines...?
My cell phone was also 'out of range'. Outside was a raging snowstorm...
"We're completely isolated, huh..." I quietly grumbled.
"It's too early to give up. Let Kaoru rest for a while and then we'll try to contact the outside!" Senpai spoke as if to encourage us.
"Yeah. But, my body's cold, so I'm going to warm myself just a little longer..." Saying so, Miki sat down near the stove.
"HOOOOT!!?"
"What's wrong, Miki?"
"Ho~t... What's with this stove? It's hot like it was being used until a short while ago."
"Eh? That's..." Checking it, it was just as Miki said, the stove still had remnants of heat. Even though this school building was supposed to be empty...
"Ow... I sprained my ankle from that jump." Miki spoke as she rubbed her ankle. One misfortune after another, huh, Miki?
Come to think of it, this night duty room... When we came here, it already was warmed up.
I've only been thinking about Kaoru, so I haven't been paying much attention, but...
It must already have been quite some time since the caretaker left.
Even if the caretaker used the stove, in the middle of this snowstorm... there's no way the room would remain warm.
That is to say...
Someone was here...!? Furthermore, until just some time ago...!
However... Who else but us could be here...?
"Hey, Yuuka. Can you go check the science room one more time? We might have... overlooked something or other..." What did this person just say?
"I'm going to look after Shimohashi. She... ended up spraining her ankle, you know... If something were to happen, I'd have to deal with it..."
"Er, but, why me...?" No matter how much Senpai ordered me, I didn't want to go.
"Even if the three of us stayed here, we still don't know when Kaoru'll regain consciousness, do we? That's why those who can move should move and gather information."
"What... You still want to continue!?" Senpai has been acting strangely for some time. Getting angry, saying weird things out of nowhere...
"You don't care for it, Yuuka? For the truth of the schoolgirl preserved in formalin... Well, I do! So, you're going."
"No way... Please go instead, Senpai!"
"Yuuka. What do you show when your senpai speaks...?"
"{Absolute obedience}..."
"That's the drama club's law, isn't it?"
"...What tyranny..."
"Did you say something!?"
"It was nothing!! Well, alright... I'll be going alone!"
"Um-hm, good. That's a kouhai spirit I can respect."
[Since I'm using senpai, it's only fair I use kouhai instead of junior (and it also sounds better here)]
I'll quit sooner or later... "But... Will you be okay going alone?" Miki stared at me with a worried face.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. You can take a break with Senpai, Miki. With your ankle... You shouldn't force yourself."
"I... alright."
Yeah. Whether I want to or not, I have to go there by myself... Honestly speaking, I feel helpless...
There's nothing I can do about it, however... I can't back down now...
"Okay! Well, I'll be going!!"
"Yeah, please do so, Yuuka."
[Quick cut to black]
"Aaah, this is so scary!!" Without shouting louder than necessary like this, I don't think I could stay very sane.
I have the flashlight I borrowed from Senpai, but... walking by myself in this darkness is... so painful...
[Weird noise]
"Hih!!?" Suddenly, something crossed my field of view. What was that...?
I shined the light on my surroundings, but... nothing was there. Was it just my imagination?
However, I'm sure something moved ahead of me... Was that a cat...? Maybe the cat from that time...?
Jeez... Don't scare me every single time. I was so fearful I could barely move forward...
Ah... I'm seriously... afraid... and lonely...
For how long have I walked by now? I feel like I've walked enough... but I still haven't arrived.
I feel like this is the longest time I've spent in my life. Oh... I just want to go home.
I really... want to go home...
[Had we chosen the 'murder case' conclusion, we would have met the black cat again, then met the teacher, Mr. Kosugi, inside the science room, then it would just be a repeat of last time. Anyway, let's continue.]
Some way or another, I reached the former science preparation room. My return here alone went without a hitch, but... this atmosphere... It's really creepy.
That's to be expected, considering it's dark, the air is stuffy, and so on...
Let's just give a quick look around the room and then return to the night duty room. Will there really be... any new discoveries...?
Ah, come to think of it... that diary... wasn't there something else written on it?
Erm... Where did we put it... I think it was atop the desk...
Shining the flashlight on the desk, I find the aforementioned journal. This is it...
"Huh? There's still more..." [Sounds of pages being flipped]
This diary had more to tell.
Today is the day of the harvest festival, done in worship of Tengu-sama.
Tengu-sama is always watching the villagers from the mountains, and if someone commits evil deeds or neglects to be grateful to nature, he will 'spirit them away'.
And, for those who commit particularly hideous acts, Tengu-sama himself will bring death upon them as recompense for their sins... However, for these past few hundred years, no 'spiritings away' have occurred.
Everyone says it's due to the grace of the family that worships Tengu-sama... the Tataras. However...
Lately, the Tataras' conduct has been... frankly, intolerable...
I suppose this is what it means to hold power... Such thoughts have recently come to mind.
How should I keep the company of Isami, a member of the Tatara family... as a Haguro...?
The next page is blank. Its date is... the day before the spiritings away happened. "As a Haguro"...?
The science teacher, who disappeared together with Isami Tatara... He called himself a Haguro... huh.
[Background turns black, sound of wings flapping]
"Kyah!" Ah... I accidentally dropped the flashlight... I could hear the sounds of the battery lightly rolling around.
This is the worst...
"Um... The battery..."
[Weird noise]
"Eh?" Just now, something moved... The flashlight... It doesn't seem to be near where I dropped it. What do I do...?
What should I do... if I don't find it...?
For now, I'll try groping around for it. It's complete darkness in here, but... I'll probably manage it somehow...
...It's not here... Haa... Today's really not my day...
[Squish]
"Hyiih!!"
S-something's grabbed my foot! What is this? What the hell is happening!? I-It's pulling me!!
Hiih... W-what is this? The thing that grabbed me is... a human hand!? And it's cold... like a dead person's hand...
What should I do...? I-I have to judge the situation calmly...
>Kick it with the other leg.
>Surely... Yeah, this is Senpai pranking me.
No game overs yet, let's protect ourselves, because there's no way that's her.
>Kick it with the other leg.
With my free leg, I tried kicking it as hard as I could, but... My full-power kick hit the empty air.
Why... didn't it reach it!? Its hand... is right there...
That hand... gradually went from my waist to my leg... and then it climbed from my waist to my shoulder! Hih... Gross...!
It's a little slimy and slippery... What is this...!?
>Hey, stop it with the pranks, Senpai.
>Hey, who are you? Who are you!?
I did say that this couldn't be her, but choosing the top option gives us more choices later on.
>Hey, stop it with the pranks, Senpai.
"Hey, stop it with the pranks, Senpai."
"......"
"Seriously~, trying to surprise me like this isn't cool!"
"......"
"Y-you're not Senpai?"
"......" The hand finally arrived at my shoulder...
"S-stop it, please!"
"......" I tried kicking it one more time, but...
[Fleshy sound] "Eh?"
T-that was its head? I feel like that's what I hit, but... that 'crack' sound...
Could I have... broken its skull!!? U-uh, wh-what do I do...
What do I do... What do I do... Seriously... What should I do?
Now that it has come to this...
>Shake free with determination.
>Wait and see what happens.
The bottom choice quickly goes to the astral body scene, which all game overs from this section lead to, I'll just skip it.
>Shake free with determination.
"Come on! Quit it!!!" I tried shaking myself free with determination, but... Its grip strength was more than I imagined... It's no use at all.
In the meantime, the thing lurking in the darkness is now completely clinging to my back... This thing... is not human...
Certainly... It does feel like one of those yokai that ride on your back... Wait, this isn't the time to be thinking about this!
If I'm unable to escape... wouldn't that mean death!? I don't want to die! Not in the dark like this... I've only lived 17 years!
What do I do? I have a feeling this choice could mean the difference between life and death... I can't make any mistakes...
>Tear off the blazer.
>Tear it off without regard to appearances.
The bottom option will skip the next choice, so I chose the top one.
>Tear off the blazer.
A-anyway, I need to tear off my blazer! If I do so... I might be able to escape from this binding... It's all or nothing, let's give it a shot!
"Yes!!" The thing lurking in the darkness, who clung to my blazer, struggled in place as it fell with my torn-off clothing.
This is the time! I escape now or never!!
I devoted myself to running. I have to put this chance to good use! I rushed down the corridor, hurrying further ahead.
[The light goes up the stairs]
Up ahead, I can see the dim shape of a door. I'm certain it leads to the outside world.
But my hopes were betrayed in the span of a second. The thing lurking in the darkness... It pursued me at unbelievable speeds.
And... it's once again closing the distance...
What can I do...!?
>Head for the exit.
>Run towards it.
Running towards it doesn't work (duh), but it allows us to see the face of the thing chasing us, however, we can also see that in the next game over, so I'll skip this one as well.
>Head for the exit.
"In any case, I have to go to the exit...! To the outside...!"
I ran. I single-mindedly ran. I headed towards the door with all my strength...
I can't see my surroundings clearly. But I can't stop now. It's just a bit more... until I reach the door...
[Door creak]
I was afraid that the door might be locked, but fortunately, contrary to my expectations, it opened readily. Without thinking, I looked back and...
There I saw the indistinct outline of the thing lurking in the darkness.
Who is... that? It chased after me in a desperate form, its hair rustling and disheveled.
This woman... who is she? Her uniform doesn't look to be from this school... Or I should rather say, it has a really antiquated design.
...However, now is not the time to be thinking about these things. I need to go outside and close the door quickly!!
The blizzard outside hadn't slowed down at all. As I closed the door behind me, I got the feeling that the thing lurking in the darkness was right there, still chasing after me.
"......"
The thing lurking in the darkness slammed on the door as hard as it could. That woman... who was she?
Could she be the schoolgirl preserved in formalin...!?
I managed to get outside, but it was on a tiled roof. The door I just went through... was a window...
And with all the snow piled up on the roof, if I lose my balance even a little bit, I could fall...
What should I do... Did I end up in a stalemate after going this far?
Or maybe... there's another way...?
>Slowly get down from the roof.
>Vigorously jump off the roof.
We shouldn't be over-eager, let's do it slowly.
>Slowly get down from the roof.
Okay, I'll try slowly... carefully getting off the roof. I, step by step, began to leisurely walk on the surface of the tiles. I could hear the sound of snow being trodden upon.
Al~right... I've finally reached the mid-point... There's just... a little more left. If I lose focus here, I'll probably end up falling all the way to the ground...
I can't let my mind wander... Carefully... carefully... Slowly... slowly...
"Ah"
Dammit!!
Although I thought I was taking cautious steps, I ended up missing my footing! No! I'm falling!!
"Kyaaaaahhhh!!!"
"Eh?" Right then...
As half of my body was falling off the tiled roof, someone reached out a hand to me. I desperately clung to it.
Thank goodness... 'The world is as kind as... You know the rest...
Slowly... that hand pulled me up. I can't see their face from here... I wonder who is it?
Did Senpai and Miki come to my rescue because they were worried about me?
...I'm so happy... Once I completely returned to the surface of the roof, I thought to thank that person, then they raised their face.
"...Thank y......"
"AAAAAHHH!"
T-the person there was... the thing in the darkness... from before...
It was the schoolgirl... She shrieked as if in the throes of death and seized my arm.
"AAAAAAAAHHH!!!" Her force gradually increased... What grip strength...
This isn't... human anymore... The female student's disheveled hair fluttered in the wind as she pulled on my arm.
It came closer to her face with a 'thump'.
That face was... covered in blood...
And... she began to hold me tightly, the female student... stuck our bodies together...
It began to tug on my flesh... "No... what is this..."
Together with a sinking sound, my body... my legs... my arms... even my face... went into her body...
And... my consciousness steadily... became hazy...
I realized that, little by little... my body was being absorbed into hers. The stench of formalin... It's... overpowering...
But... how? At that time, I suddenly remembered something.
...In a certain elementary school, there was a mirror hung on the stairs that lead from the second to the third floor.
That mirror had an interesting history, it was said that if you passed by it at night, you'd be able to see the world of the other side through it.
Long ago, a girl was exploring the school at night by herself, but once the next day came, she never returned home.
Everyone was worried and looked for the girl, only to find her shoes in front of the aforementioned mirror.
Because of that, a rumor began to circulate that she had somehow stepped into the world inside the mirror.
And, one day, that mirror was gone and the girl was never seen again.
Will I... be spoken of as an urban legend someday, as well...?
[Astral body scene again]
Or maybe... there's another way...?
>Slowly get down from the roof.
>Vigorously jump off the roof.
Let's continue.
>Vigorously jump off the roof.
"There!!"
I vigorously jumped off the surface of the tiled roof. There probably was a ton of snow accumulated on the ground, so... I think I'll be fine.
[Thud]
"Yeowch..."
I severely hit my body, but the pain wasn't as bad as I imagined. Nice. With this, I can go back inside again.
Senpai... Miki... Kaoru... Everyone must be worried about me...
...Even so, what was that thing from before?
It was just my imagination... or so I wish...
At last, I came back to the night duty room, but Senpai was nowhere to be seen. Kaoru and Miki were... gone, too. Where did everyone go?
That's right! Kaoru... Couldn't she have recovered? A lot of time has passed since she collapsed.
She probably came to her senses by now. However, the room is poorly lit, so I can't see the inside well. I groped around in search of the light switch, and...
[Notice that the closet door is closed, so the face can't be seen]
Kaoru was sleeping peacefully. I shouldn't wake her up... I quietly approach Kaoru.
Her complexion looks good. It seems she did recover.
"Hnn... Ah... Yuuka..."
"Kaoru! Are you okay?"
"...Yeah... I think I'm okay... somehow..."
"That's good... I was worried."
"Sorry... for making you... worry..."
"No, it's alright. That room... it was horrible, that smell of mold... It's understandable."
"...Yeah... I can't handle... that stench..."
"Yep, it was hard for me too."
"...Sorry..."
"By the way, where is everyone?"
"...I'm not sure... Is something wrong?"
The door opened and Miki, hanging her head, entered the room. She was making a somewhat downtrodden expression... What happened?
"...What happened, Miki?" She stayed silent as she shook her head.
"Sakura-senpai told me to go to the staff room to look for a phone..." Miki kept looking downward.
"...Did it not connect?"
"Yes... It was no good..."
"Where's Senpai?"
"She went outside to call for help..."
"In the middle of this snowstorm!?"
"Yeah... She said she would take responsibility since she was the one who suggested coming here... So she went down to the village by herself..."
[Flutter of wings] "Kyah!?"
That again. It's the same sound from back then. The shadow of a large bird-like thing passed by the window. Sure enough... there's something here... a tengu?
"That scared me..." Miki put her hand on her chest with her eyes wide open.
"...I wonder what... that now was...?" Kaoru didn't seem particularly shaken. Her condition seems to be fine.
Suddenly, I realized that Miki kept looking back at the ceiling for some reason. What's up with that?
"Hey, Yuuka. Do you want to go to the toilet?" Abruptly, Miki started acting restlessly.
"Eh? Why...?"
"Let's go! I... can't hold in any longer..."
"W-wait... Wait!"
Almost forcefully, Miki grabbed my arm and went to leave. "Ms. Kaoru, too! Let's go! To the toilet!"
"...O-okay..."
"Let's go quickly!"
"Wait a minute, Miki! If you want to go, do it alone..."
"Come on, quickly! You're coming, you two!"
Miki being this forceful... I've never seen her like this before... I something... in here? "A-alright... Let's go."
"Quickly!!"
"I-I said alright..."
"Hey, Miki... Are we really going to the toilet?" I decided to cut to the chase.
"......"
"Come on, Miki!"
"...Truth is..."
"Truth is?"
"When we were in the night duty room, I saw something... A shadow watching us from above the ceiling..."
"A shadow? From above the ceiling?"
"That's right. From above the ceiling... it was... watching us the whole time..."
"A shadow...? No way..."
"No, really. A shadow with a bright red face... kept staring our way..."
"So... that's why I didn't want us to stay there as much as possible! We had to move elsewhere right away! ...I swear I'm not lying..."
"A red face, you say...?"
"...Yeah... It looked like Tengu-sama..."
That shadow I've often seen before... Could that have been... a tengu, too...?
"Speaking of it... you're familiar with this village's legends, right, Miki?"
"Eh?"
"I'd forgotten about it after everything that happened... but there was more to that science teacher's diary."
"...More...?"
"...Yeah... Here, look at this."
"......"
"The last thing he wrote was... 'as a Haguro'...? What happened... between the Haguro and Tatara families?"
"That's, well..." Miki threw a glance at Kaoru's direction. She must have been worried since Kaoru was a Haguro.
"...It's already been almost 40 years..."
"To begin with... This village held faith in tengus. And the ones that worshipped Tengu-sama was the Tatara family."
"......" Kaoru didn't say anything and listened to Miki's story together with me.
"And, 40 years ago... those spiriting away cases occurred."
"The ones published in the newspaper Senpai had?"
"Yes, those."
"So... how could a person from the Tatara family, who were supposed to worship and appease Tengu-sama, have been spirited away? ...The village was in an uproar..."
"......"
"It was a natural reaction, wasn't it? For a Tatara, those who worship and are protected by Tengu-sama, to be spirited away..."
"Thanks to this... the Tataras' influence over the village was forfeit, leading to their downfall..."
"And... those who didn't let that opportunity go... were the Haguros. They spread the spiriting away rumors around the village... They cornered the Tataras..."
"...Certainly... it was something like that..." It was the first time Kaoru spoke, and it sounded kinda like self-deprecation.
Without paying mind, Miki continued. "You might not know this Yuuka, since you just moved in, but... there's a famous story in this village... about the fate that ties both families..."
"You see, this is a small village, right? So, this kind of story was soon known throughout the whole village..."
"I couldn't say it aloud... in front of Ms. Kaoru... if I offend you, please pardon me." Miki bowed her head.
"...It's alright... because it's the truth..." Kaoru's expression felt somewhat lonely.
"Oh, yes... By the way, Mr. Kosugi... he's also a member of the Tatara family. Because of this incident, he was put up for adoption and became a Kosugi."
[Door creaks open]
A noise came from behind us, interrupting our conversation.
It came from far away, but I could see someone leaving the night duty room. That silhouette had... a really long nose...
Just like a tengu.
"...T-Tengu-sama...?" Miki spoke with her eyes wide open.
Surely, that silhouette... without needing to be stated... looked like that of a tengu.
"Yuuka! Ms. Kaoru! Run!"
The faster I try to run, the more I stumble and can't run properly. Miki is already running far ahead of me.
"This is bad! It's going to catch up to me!"
"Yuuka, run faster!" We ran all the way down the corridor. However...
In front of us... was only a wall...
And... the shadow pursuing us is... slowly but surely coming closer to us... It's... already over for us...
We were trapped, helpless to do anything but watch the silhouette approach... What are we supposed to do...
In a time like this...
>That's right! There's the old map!
>That's right! Let's try a ramming attack!
Let's stop here. There are two options here and both of them are long, maybe enough for a single post by themselves. Additionally, remember the 'tear it off without regard to appearances' option? It found out way too late that it skips the rooftop scene entirely, and replaces it something with very unexpected. I'll probably add it to the next post as well.
Anyway, see you next time!
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