Chapter 3:

PART II : OLD FRIENDS

CONGRATULATIONS, TAEKO-SAN


((aaaa a large chunk of the final section of this chapter deleted itself cuz i didnt save it :( so sorry if some parts dont have dialogue or just tell you whats going on,, i physically couldnt bring myself to rewrite it im sorry :( ))   -bee


The plans of the reunion had changed slightly. All the students who currently went to Miyamura Academy would go to the first part of the meet-up to listen to the women that came to the reunion. Each woman that was guaranteed to show up would give a speech to the younger girls. Their goals were to encourage students to continue their school lives. After everyone was finished with their speeches and done asking questions, the remembrance ceremony of Taeko Murakami would take place. The school wanted a proper ceremony to remember everyone's beloved senior.

The day of the reunion/ceremony finally came. It was rainy, but it was still set to continue. Misato approached the academy, remembering only the murder of Taeko. She looked up at the roof, noticing they hadn't added the gate to prevent another death. A shiver ran down Misato's back. She swallowed her anxieties and walked into the building.

She entered the gym where she first met Taeko. But the gym looked different from how it was 10 years ago. The wall color had changed from blue to white and the air seemed...cleaner. It seemed fresher than how it was a decade ago. To Misato, it was clearer. 

Suddenly, she felt someone wrap their arms around her from behind. Before Misato could turn around to see who the person was, they peeked their head out from behind Misato's back. It was Kana Minamoto. Her short black hair was now down to her waist and she didn't wear glasses anymore. "Ka-chan?," Misato asked while pushing herself away from Kana. The old friend smiled, pushing her now long hair back. "Geez, Ito-chan! You're as stiff as ever!" Kana said, playfully pushing Misato. "Wait...Do you still go by Ito-chan or did you get married?~" Misa nudged Kana with her elbow. "No...not yet, at least." Playing around with Kana like this was nostalgic to Misato.

Kana Minamoto's now waist-length black hair reminded Misato of Taeko Murakami. In a way, Misato missed her.

Misato and Kana met up with Hinata Kuromiya afterwards backstage of the gym. She'd planned on scaring them, but it didn't work. The three spent most of their time catching up, talking about the jobs they had picked up and dropped, along with making fun of all their old classmates and the new students as they began to pile into the gym. However, four first-year girls stood out to the three women. Misaki Ogawa, a petite girl with bad posture and braces who held her hair using a clip. While Asuka Takoyama didn't hold her dark brown hair up and had great posture--along with great teeth. Chiyo Shimizu stared at her fingers, marveling how much she'd picked at her fingernails. Finally, the longer girl sitting next to the three, Rin Rinko, had ear-length hair and thick glasses. The four seemed like an unlikely friend group, but their unlikeliness is what interested the three women. The girls wore their new uniforms proudly, patiently waiting for the meeting to start.

Kyoko Hanamori, former student council president at Miyamura Academy in 1977, approached the stand at the front of the stage. "Hello, everyone! Welcome to the Taeko Murakami remembrance ceremony." Kyoko announced. Everyone clapped before she could get another sentence out. "Before your current principal comes here for the speech, I'd like to say some words of my own. Everyone, please stand." The gym was filled with the sound of nearly 300 students obeying Kyoko's words. The three women also stood up. 
"Taeko-san, we all miss you dearly. So much so that we've made a ceremony in remembrance of you. We love you, Taeko."
As soon as Kyoko finished, a gust of wind blew throughout the gym. It was warm and like a hug, filling everyone up with the feeling of love and forgiveness. As if Taeko heard that and was saying  "Thank you."
However, Misato felt a chill. The air wasn't warm and loving, but instead, it was cold and angry. Taeko was known to be a loving person, so why is this so...unforgiving?
Misato didn't believe that it was Taeko's presence. She did for a second, but only a second. Misato didn't believe in ghosts and spirits, or even life after death. She didn't believe Taeko was here--or rather--she didn't want to believe she was here.

After a moment of silence, Kyoko spoke again. "Now, I'd like to introduce the principal.-"
Suddenly, the lights in the gym turned off. Some of the children screamed and giggled, while the others covered their ears. The teachers and adults tried to figure out what was going on, but they didn't know that this wasn't an accident. 

It was Taeko--she was here.

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