Mr. Brightside

As soon as I announce that, the three girls give me a questioning look each. To be frank, Noriko’s isn’t as sharp as the ones coming from the other two, but it still kinda stings…

After heaving a sigh Ayase decides to sits down across from me, and give me the floor to explain.

"A curse?" Hotaru frowns quizzically, her expression troubled.

"The floor is yours, Mr. Detective..." Ayase-senpai urges me on, and I take that as my cue to start explaining.

"First of all. The crime report we read on the first article talks about two possible homicides that happened approximately 31 years ago in this school. The first one… the girl was locked inside the school building, as some sort of prank orchestrated by a group of classmates. Surely, we can assume that she was going through some sort of bullying throughout her school years. Despite the brutality of that silly prank, that ultimately resulted in the girl’s death, her circumstances feel quite similar to ours don’t you think?" I make a pause, allowing them to collect their thoughts, before I press onwards again. "Not only that, but she was also found exactly 66 days after being locked up. Does that number ring any bells?" I can practically see the cogs inside their heads turning, as the pieces slowly come together.

"Now moving on to the other articles. Both of them talk about the sudden disappearances of groups of students, that are coincidentally, exactly 10 years apart. Having found Mei-san amidst the list of names, we can conclude that these articles speak of the same incident that we also happen to be involved in. Our own "incident" though, is exactly 10 years apart from the last article and 20 from the first. Do you see the similarities now?" I fold my arms across my chest, and lean back on the wooden chair as Ayase-senpai picks up an article and skims through it.

"So you're implying this whole trapped-inside-the-school scheme is a curse that happens once every 10 years, exactly at the 17th of January?" She asks, looking skeptical and I nod. "But if she died 30 years ago, why does the curse take effect only 10 years after it, and not immediately? What happened at 2000?"

Now that is something I haven’t considered.

“Something must have happened then, for the curse to fully materialize.” Noriko gives her seal of approval at my idea. But the fact we’ve yet to uncover the whole truth still holds true.

"Uhmm…" Kazuya, who has just walked around the corner, suddenly raises a hand.

“Kazuya?” I inquire.

“…I kinda happened to overhear you, while I was walking around. Could the old school building's demolition have anything to do with it, perhaps?" And like a deus-ex-machina, he provides us our saving grace.

"Was the old building demolished?" I lean forward, eager to learn more.

"Yeah it was. At 2000 the old one was completely brought to the ground and the new one, the one we're in now, was built."

“I remember hearing something like that…” Hotaru chimes in.

"That could be it. Maybe the demolition of the building didn't sit well with Misaki's spirit, having its resting place disturbed, and that's how the curse began..." I start speculating yet again.

“That is quite possible, yes. Resting places are very important for spirits.” Noriko admits.

"Nice one, Kazuya, Hotaru." Ayase flashes the both of them a smile before shifting back to detective-mode.

"I don't quite get something though..." Ayase-san furrows her brows in thought all of a sudden. "How was she unable to get out of the school? Weren't there windows?"

"Oh, I’m guessing that’s because the design of older school buildings consisted of barred windows, most likely due to government regulations on the safety of the students..." Kazuya comes up with an answer out of the blue, leaving us all quite impressed.

"You sure know a lot about buildings." His upperclassman points out. "My father is a civil engineer you see..." He replies with an awkward smile, probably not used to being praised by the school’s idol. Frankly speaking, I don’t think anybody is…

"There are still gaps though. Why does the incident keep reoccurring at the 17th of January specifically? Was that when the new building was built?" This time I’m the one to pose a question.

"No I don't think so. As far as I know the new building was built during the summer vacation, so the students wouldn't have to miss classes." With Kazuya’s answer quite missing the mark this time, we all fall silent as we poke our brains for yet another answer.

Just to be on the safe side, I grab the article featuring the crime report article, and turn to its back page. From there, I scan the paper for the photo of the deceased girl…

She certainly doesn't look happy...

I think to myself, noticing her glaring at the camera while her photo was taken. Beneath the image though there’s a certain column of text that probably talks about the girl in question. As I read, my eyes suddenly lock on a certain date and everything suddenly clicks once again.

"Here." I point at the date and hand it over to Ayase. Soon her eyes go wide too.

"Born in 1974, 17th of January?!" She reads out loud in surprise and I lean back on my chair with a smirk.

"So that’s why…" Hotaru mutters.

“Noriko, your verdict?” I call upon our expert, while everyone eagerly anticipates her answer.

"I believe it is a curse indeed. The way she died certainly calls for a certain amount of resentment. And the fact that she lost her parents and had to stay in an orphanage further enhances the grief that might have built up throughout the school after her death. The demolition of the old building certainly could have stirred up further negative emotions, resulting in the curse." She calmly explains while we all look around at each other.

“And what about the janitor? Do you think it’s possible that he could turn into what we saw yesterday?”

“In a realm like this, anything is possible. If you say they look similar, then it’s safe to assume his spirit stayed behind too.”

"Then why is he only a pawn in this curse and not the one controlling it?" Ayase-senpai throws her own question into the mix. This has turned into a Q&A of sorts. We’re bored Mr. Author.

(Bear with it. You’re the ones who wanted the lore…)

Anyway, Noriko is quick to answer yet another question.

"We can assume that Misaki's life was one of sorrow, much more so than the janitor who happened to die at the age of 57. Meaning that Misaki held much more regret in her final moments than the middle-aged man did. Her hatred and sorrow are driving the curse while the janitor is just an obstacle for us, as a spirit unable to pass on."

"Great. So Misaki's spirit is out for blood, and she wants students like us to die, trapped in the school, just like she did, as a form of revenge. That much is clear. But why give us the option of escaping, by putting the 4 keys in the mix as well? She could have just trapped us here and then tortured us, right?" Kazuya adds. It’s fair to say he doesn’t sugarcoat things.

"Maybe she wanted us to feel exactly like she did… She gave us hope to cling to. The hope being the keys. She died of starvation, meaning she didn't give up until the bitter end, searching for a way to get out of here. That showcases that she had hope that someone would find her or that she, herself, would find a way out."

Well isn’t that great?

I can’t help but sigh… I feel like sighing is the only form of rebellion I have against this world.

"I still can't believe how all those disappearances were just swept under the rug, though. The connection is evident. Not to mention we don't even know if the culprits for Misaki's murder were caught." Ayase-san taps her chin in thought.

"It was evident for us because we happened to have only 3 newspaper articles magically fall in our lap inside a time of 1 minute or so. Imagine if we had to work through paperwork and reports of an entire decade." I reply without hesitation. It would be rather difficult to actually connect the dots otherwise…

"Hey Noriko, do you think these articles were deliberately put inside this book?" I hand over the book, as I speak.

"Most certainly..." She replies grazing the cover with her fingers. "This was put here most likely for us to find. Misaki must have wanted her story to be known. This book holds no significance either. I can feel a weird aura emanate from it though..." Noriko explains, while flipping through the pages of the book. Although they’re mostly blank, or either have weird scribbles I can’t read, the pages feel quite ominous, even to me. Heavy silence hangs in the area, as the 5 of us remain skeptical on the matter.

Could the keys be a false hope, after all?

If Misaki wants us to experience pain, we most likely will. We’re in HER domain after all…

A ploy for revenge. Revenge on the living. Revenge on those that left her to die. On those that ignored her desperate cries for help. I wonder how it must have felt being all alone… starving, weak and cold. And eventually, when death comes to take you…

Did it feel like salvation? Or were her final moments full of despair?

Can we… escape? Are we even ALLOWED to?

Suddenly, I’m reminded of Ayase-san’s words earlier.

“Worrying about things you can’t do anything about, is just a waste of time and resources.”

She’s right, I can’t let myself think like that…

While it’s easier said than done, I’ll try to focus on the things that CAN be changed. And that is finding the last 2 keys…

Having re-arranged my thoughts, in a way I deem respectable, I break the ever-growing silence.

“A curse, manufactured by the vengeful spirit of… Hiramatsu Misaki…” As I mutter, those last two words almost catch on my throat, like a needle. The sensation feels beyond eerie, so I try to make a mental note of not saying that name again...

As I throw a big hard smack at my cheeks, in order to snap myself awake, I turn to face the others.

“…Our goal remains unchanged… Find the keys and get the hell out of here. Now that we know what’s causing this, we have a bigger chance of surviving…” I make sure to lock eyes with everyone present, in order to try and dispel the demons that are creeping ever-closer to their hearts. “Well, let’s get this show on the road.” I smile with all the confidence I can muster, in an attempt to lighten up the mood between my comrades, before we march on towards the rest of the group.

No matter what, we can never let go of hope. Because the moment we do, is the moment everything will be lost.