Corpse Party: Lingering Fear

“Have any of you heard the story of Yoshie After School?”

We all shook our heads as we listened intently to our class rep, Ayumi Shinozaki, as she told us ghost stories and urban legends by candlelight in our classroom. It was late... long past the time most people had gone home. But there we were, almost entranced by the class rep's spooky stories.

Well, most of us were. For some reason or another, my classmate Satoshi Mochida was staring into the flame of the candle with what looked like a bored expression. I was getting too into the class rep's stories to pay much attention to him, but it seemed kind of weird... usually he'd have curled up into a ball or latched onto someone else in fear at some of these stories.

“I guess they finally dropped” I whispered to my best friend Seiko a little bit ago, when I first noticed, gesturing to Satoshi as I did so. She tried and failed to suppress a giggle at the time, drawing everyone's attention toward us until I urged the class rep to go on.

At any rate, the class rep told us the story of the nurse Yoshie, who worked at the school that was here until about thirty years ago. Heavenly Host, I think she said it was called.

“One stormy October night, just like this one... the power suddenly went out and Yoshie had a little 'accident...'” The class rep's face took on a creepy appearance from the shadows cast by the candle. “She took a tumble down the stairs from the third floor, and snapped her neck on the landing below. Anyone could tell she was dead from a glance... but you know what happened next?”

“Did they have a funeral and bury her?” I asked, half-sarcastically. The story wouldn't ever be that simple with Shinozaki telling it!

“No. Next, she got up and began to wander the halls, looking for someone as if she hadn't just died. She disappeared around the next hallway and no one she knew saw her again. But they say that if you stay in this new school, past 7:00 PM, on a night like the one where Yoshie died... you might meet her in the hallways, still looking for someone...”

I turned to Satoshi, expecting (and maybe even hoping, though I'd never admit it) that he'd jump and latch onto me for comfort. The candlelight made it hard to tell, but he still looked bored. Was he high or something? This wasn't like him...

Across from us, Mayu Suzumoto reached out for Morishige's hand, shaking a little. He seemed a little embarrassed, but took it anyway. I felt bad for those two... Suzumoto was transferring out of our school after today, so this was the last time she'd be in this building with Morishige. I could almost guarantee they'd call each other every night (whether they'd admit it or not), but it was still a sad thought.

The class rep finished up her stories not long after that, and we turned on the lights so we could finish cleaning up after Kisaragi Fest. Technically, at 7:45 PM and counting, we should have been done already... but Shinozaki's stories lasted longer than we expected.

Suddenly, the lights went out as if a fuse had been blown. I think we were all a bit startled, and the class rep even screamed out. Yoshiki Kishinuma said “Nice show, Shinozaki” after we had calmed down a bit, chuckling a little to keep up his tough guy front after having been spooked by a little blackout.

“I... didn't do that.” The class rep looked around with real worry in her face in the darkened room before fumbling to relight her candle. I patted Seiko on the back and gave her a smile to let her know I was alright before turning to look for what Satoshi was up to.

Strangely enough, Satoshi seemed completely calm. With my eyes starting to adjust to the darkness, I realized his expression wasn't one of boredom... it was more like extreme sadness or pain. He pulled a matchbox out of his pocket and offered a match to the class rep, which she accepted very gratefully.

We all heard the footsteps coming down the hallway just as the class rep was getting the candle lit. Seiko let out a little whimper, probably remembering the Yoshie After School story we just heard. The class rep yelped and dropped the candle and match, which sputtered and went out on the floor.

The footsteps came closer after that, causing all of us to stay very quiet... then there was a knock at the door.

“Satoshi, someone's knocking.”

I expected him to try to worm his way out of the implied command to go answer the door, but he just walked over to the door and opened it. “Hello, Ms. Yui” he said in a calm voice.

The lights turned back on as Ms. Yui walked in with what looked like a remote power switch. “Did I give it away?...”

The class rep was picking up the candle she dropped, but when she stood back up she just frowned and crossed her arms. “Mochida, why did you have to spoil it? How did you even know Ms. Yui was involved?”

Satoshi shrugged and walked back to the desks to continue cleaning up. There was definitely something wrong with Satoshi... he seemed so distant today.

Ms. Yui shook her head. “Oh, well. At least we tried, right Shinozaki?”

Suzumoto stepped forward and hugged Ms. Yui. “I think you two did great! I was really spooked for a moment there.”

I tried to get Satoshi's strange behavior out of my mind as we started to say our goodbyes to Suzumoto. It was really sad, because while it was fun to have her around during the culture festival we wouldn't see her in classes anymore after today.

Just as we were thinking of going home, The class rep suggested we do some friendship charm called “Sachiko Ever After.” The paper doll she produced looked kinda spooky, but it sounded like a safe and fun way to send off Suzumoto and promise her we'd meet again.

The class rep was having us gather around her in a circle to do the charm when Satoshi shoved past me and glared at us. “Do none of you remember this? None of you remember what this charm does to us?”

Kishinuma frowned at Satoshi. “What are you talking about, Satoshi? Shinozaki just explained it to us.”

Satoshi made a low sound in his throat, as if he were growling. “The Sachiko Ever After charm is a death wish. If we go through with it, we'll all be killed or worse.”

The class rep chuckled. “Mochida, don't be silly. This isn't like my other creepy stuff. It's perfectly safe.”

“No, it's not!”Satoshi shouted. I took a step back from him, and everyone else did too. What was getting into him?

“Performing the Sachiko Ever After charm will send us to the old Heavenly Host school that used to be here, and the spirits there will pick us off one by one until there's no one left. This has all happened before! We're stuck in a time loop, and we can't break free unless we don't perform the charm!”

Everyone looked at Satoshi with a confused expression on their faces. The class rep forced a giggle. “Maybe we should let you do spooky story time from now on, Mochida. But why don't you be a good boy and sit over there for now? We're doing the charm for Suzumoto.”

Satoshi's shoulders slumped. “I hoped I wouldn't have to do this...” I saw him reach into his pocket, then...

Then, suddenly, he had swiped the paper doll from the class rep, ripping it a little but not enough to tear a piece off. In his other hand was a match, which he lit by striking against a desk as he backed away from us.

I realized what he was going to try to do and tried to tackle him, but he just backed behind a desk and held the match to the paper doll until it caught fire.

“Mochida, what are you doing?” shouted Ms. Yui. Even without turning around I could tell she was appalled. Satoshi was the perfect student and classmate... what had gotten into him?!

Satoshi held the paper doll far enough away from him that he wouldn't hurt himself as it burned. “I'm sorry, but this had to be done...”

We all watched in shock as Satoshi let the doll burn. He pulled out a tissue and wiped up the ashes after the entire doll was gone. We all just sort of... stood there as he took an umbrella from his desk and walked past us out the door.

Kishinuma was the first to speak up. “Is no one going to go after him?”

I turned and ran out the door to catch up with Satoshi without any further prompting, hoping the others could help comfort Suzumoto.

I caught up with Satoshi just as he was about to leave through the front entrance of our school. I was a bit winded from running down the hallways, but I managed to grab his shoulder before he walked out.

“What the hell was that, Satoshi?” I shouted at him. “What's gotten into you?”

Satoshi didn't turn to look at me. I walked around him to block his way out and noticed that tears were running down his face.

“N-Naomi...” he whispered, choking on my name.

“Why are you acting like this, Satoshi? Are you high or something?”

He shook his head. “I... I'd just rather be hated then watch them all die again.”

I can't even imagine how my expression at that moment must have looked. “Satoshi, I mean it. If you're on something, just tell me and I'll make an excuse for you or something. Stop talking nonsense.”

Satoshi looked up at me with bloodshot eyes. He opened his mouth as if to say something a few times, then closed it each time. He started to shiver as if in intense pain.

“Satoshi!” I grabbed him by the arms and tried to steady him. A few moves Seiko “demonstrated” to me during our sleepover last night and suggested I use on Satoshi involuntarily came into my thoughts, but I pushed them aside. There was something wrong with Satoshi. I couldn't just ignore that!

“You don't remember any of it?” Satoshi asked, almost in a whisper. I had to lean in close to make sure I heard him right.

“Any of what?” I asked, trying to think through what I knew of Satoshi to figure out why he'd suddenly act so strange.

“Suzumoto, Morishige, Shinohara, Shinozaki, Yoshiki, Ms. Yui, and Yuka... they all died in the last loop. The last time we were in Heavenly Host.”

“Yuka?” I asked, not recognizing the name. Was she that girl from junior high that walks with Satoshi to school?

“My sister... you haven't met her yet. I made sure to bring my umbrella so she wouldn't be here... in case I couldn't stop the charm.”

“You... knew about the charm?”

“This is my third time experiencing this day...” Satoshi trailed off, looking out into the rain behind me. “I tried to stop it last time too... but everyone just ignored me. I thought maybe I could save everyone if I joined in... but I barely managed to get you out alive.”

Part of me wanted to believe him, to believe he wasn't crazy. But who the hell talks about time loops and people dying more than once and coming back to life as if it were a real thing?!

“Satoshi, please” I pleaded, feeling tears starting to well up in my own eyes. “Stop this.” I hesitated. “Even if everything you said is true... wouldn't it be better to pretend it never happened, to just pretend you went a little crazy back there?”

Satoshi lowered his head. “Maybe that's what it'll take to move on... just pretend it never happened.”

I let go of his arms to wipe my eyes before he saw me crying over him. I didn't want him to get the wrong idea. I liked him, sure, but this wasn't the time for that sort of thing...

“Why don't we just go back, make sure Shinozaki doesn't try the charm again? You should do something to make this up for Suzumoto anyway...”

Satoshi nodded slowly, not raising his gaze from the ground. “Okay.”

I closed the school entrance and motioned for him to go ahead. He'd need to make his own apology, so I decided to go to the bathroom on my way back to the classroom.

In the bathroom, I looked into the mirror after washing my hands. I felt drained, and the fatigue showed on my face. I whispered a silent prayer that Satoshi would be back to his normal self by tomorrow. Since the post-Kisaragi Fest holiday was starting on Wednesday, tomorrow was going to be a half-day. Seiko and I were going to go get our bikes fixed in the afternoon, and I was hoping to invite Satoshi to bike with us afterward.

What had gone wrong?... Today felt like the perfect day. I woke up with my best friend, enjoyed time with my classmates selling red bean soup, and visited a haunted house done by another homeroom class. Then it all fell apart when we sat down during cleanup to tell ghost stories...

I don't know how long I stood there, spacing out while thinking about where it could have gone wrong. Suddenly, I felt like I wasn't alone. I turned around and saw nothing. I chuckled. The class rep's ghost stories got to me a little more than I thought they did.

I looked back at the mirror again and gasped. A little girl in an old-fashioned red dress was standing next to me and a little behind me in the reflection. I turned to check beside me, but nothing was there. I looked at the mirror and the girl was gone.

“I still spook like a little girl” I chuckled. I decided to wash my face, letting the cool water run down my cheeks to bring me to my senses. I grabbed a paper towel and wiped my face off and left, deciding Satoshi had enough time to apologize to Suzumoto. I didn't want to be left out of any charms the class rep decided to perform, even if I wasn't all that superstitious.

I walked past the landing from a stairwell to the third floor on the way back to my classroom. I suddenly felt really cold, like a chill running through my veins. I looked out the hallway windows into the storm and wondered how it got so cold if the windows were still closed.

“It was a rainy after-school night, just like this one...”

I froze. The voice had come from behind me, the direction of the stairwell to the third floor. I turned slowly to see who had said that...

Standing at the foot of the stairs was the little girl in the red dress next to a woman with her head tilted at a horrific angle. The girl took a step forward, not letting go of the hand of the woman next to her. “I liked to watch the rain from the second floor windows while mommy finished up for the day...”

Something felt wrong. I opened my mouth to scream, but nothing came out. I turned and ran the rest of the way to my classroom. The door was locked, so I banged on the door, hoping someone would open it.

I heard the voice of the little girl directly behind me. “No one listens to our story... No one knows how to do my charm...”

Tears began to flow from my eyes as I started to panic. Why was I so afraid of a little girl and her mother?...

“You nine may be safe, but I have others. Others who will listen to my story... do my charm...”

I felt the tug of a small hand on my skirt. I paused from hitting the classroom door to look down.

A malevolent smile beamed up at me. I never thought I'd ever see such an expression from one so young... for it was the girl in the red dress who stood by me. She couldn't be any older than seven or eight.

“You're lucky Satoshi is so nice, he'd risk alienating you to save you... and he's lucky so many of his friends are so forgiving. But I won't forget you, Naomi. If you ever get tired of Satoshi or Seiko... just find a paper doll in my image and tell them to chant 'Sachiko, we beg of you.' I'll welcome you back with open arms.”

I felt a lump in my throat as the girl walked back over to her mother and the two disappeared around the hallway corner. The chant she told me... was the same as Shinozaki's charm!

“It was... all real... wasn't it?”

The door to my classroom suddenly opened and Satoshi was standing in front of me. “Sorry, Naomi. We were preparing for one of Shinozaki's other friendship charms and forgot that the door was locked.”

Something in my horrified expression must have filtered through to him, because he frowned as he looked at me.

I felt a surge of pain and fear rising in my chest as vague images flashed through my mind... the faces of my friends, drained of life...

Then I felt Satoshi's arms around me. I could tell he was hesitant to do this... it almost felt like he was barely touching me. But I knew he was trying to comfort me.

“Come on, Naomi. We'll both just pretend it all never happened. I convinced Shinozaki to avoid that Sachiko Ever After charm... We'll be fine now.”

I took a deep breath and realized that a few faces inside the classroom were turned our way. I frowned and shoved Satoshi off me like I usually do, but only halfheartedly.

“Ugh, it's you again.” I said to him. It was sort of a mean thing to say, but it was how I usually greeted him. Somehow, it made him smile to hear that, and I had to keep myself from smiling too.

If only I could shake the feeling that someone was watching us every moment we were in that school... by the end of the night, I actually envied Suzumoto. She wouldn't ever have to worry about Sachiko and Yoshie again... while I still had another year and a half to endure the smiling face of the little girl in the red dress every time I looked in the bathroom mirror.