#tsukumo ryou loops

[tsukumoryou]

[iamapoopmuffin]

Victims With Numbers

Fandom: Nanbaka/Corpse Party (crossover) Genre: Horror Characters: Hajime Sugoroku, Samon Gokuu, Kiji Mitsuba, Kenshirou Yozakura, Jyugo, Uno, Nico, Rock, Tsukumo, Liang, Upa, Qi, Honey, Trois, Musashi, Sachiko Shinozaki, Ryou Yoshizawa, Yuki Kanno, Tokiko Tsuji, Yoshikazu Yanagihori, Yoshie Shinozaki, Takamine Yanagihori, some OCs to take the role of Kizami later on instead of actual Kizami Includes major character death.

Chapter 9 of ?

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After discovering he couldn't just leave the building, Liang decided to try exploring again. It was far smaller and easier to navigate than the main building, so it wouldn't take long, and he hadn't really taken a proper look into any of the rooms he'd passed. There would be some trace of Rock and Tsukumo somewhere if he just looked. The only problem was that the ghost girl was trapped in here with him, so he couldn't be careless. If she was still following him, she would be getting to the bottom of the stairs on the left side now, so he went back to the right side.

Ah. There she was, descending the stairs at the end of the hall. Evidently, she'd decided to loop back around in order to cut him off. She hadn't seen him yet, though, so he could loop back around himself, or duck into the nearest room to hide. If she truly lost him, if he hid successfully, she may well leave the building in search of either him or a new victim. Or just keep wandering around this one until she killed him, but what was life without taking a risk here or there?

He opened and shut the door as quietly as he could, and leaned against it, taking in the room he'd entered. It was the downstairs bathroom. The cubicles stood, but between them and him was a large hole in the floor. The distance was one he thought he could cross, but there wasn't enough floor next to the cubicles for him to land on, so even if he made it, he wouldn't be able to stay there or get back. That crossed them off as hiding places. The only other things in the room were the sinks and mirrors, which weren't much help. Slowly and quietly, he walked across the room, crouching by the hole and trying to gauge how far down it went. In the darkness, he couldn't see the bottom. There wasn't really anything he could drop down there to try and figure it out either, unless he wanted to use his shoe. Or an earring. That wouldn't make a big enough sound, though. As he stood again, he heard the door open and close behind him. Already figuring the girl had followed him in, Liang turned to face her.

As before, the ghost girl advanced slowly, hands outstretched, repeating the same question and the same demand. Her movements were like those of a monster movie zombie, a mindless lurch that could be skirted around with relative ease, though of course it would have been better were the space not so small nor full of holes. Being a child, she would not be able to keep up with Liang even at a fast paced walk, so he was quite calm as he walked by her, keeping to the walls and walking straight to the exit. Perhaps he could find a way to block her in somewhere, find a way to trap a door closed. She seemed to need to open the doors to pass through them, after all, even though she had walked through the railing without difficulty. He reached out to open the door, and frowned when it didn't open.

On closer inspection, the door was locked. That wasn't good. Glancing over his shoulder, Liang noted that the little girl was drawing nearer faster than he would have liked. It looked like his only way out would be down the hole, but he had no idea if he would survive the fall or not. The only thing he could throw down to check that he could be sure to hear would be...one of the dead bodies in the room. He couldn't stay pressed against the door.

It occurred to him, as he looped back around the girl, that he wouldn't have been in this predicament if he had listened to Rock and not separated from the others. He wouldn't have encountered the ghost girl outside, and he would still be in the company of living people, however he was still quite sure they were there somewhere. They wouldn't have just disappeared from the entire building, after all.

He passed the hole again, and pushed a nearby body down with his foot. It seemed like a cold and callous thing to do, but once he realised how deep the hole really was, he knew using his shoe or earring to gauge the depth would indeed have been useless. He'd done three more circuits of the room to evade the ghost's grabbing hands and tried to open the door at least five more times before he heard a very distant 'splash' signifying the end of the body's fall. He definitely did not fancy his chances of survival if he jumped down there. Jumping across to conceal himself in the cubicles was not an option either. Even if it was possible to land safely, the girl would know exactly where he was. The door wouldn't open. There wasn't any way out and away from the child. Against his better judgement, he tried one last thing. "Rock! You said yell if there's a ghost! I'm yelling!"

Of course, he received no response for that. The ghost came within reach, and he could see the blood stains across her form, trailing from the wounds on her face, down across her tattered clothes. He shifted his weight, changing his stance, ready to fight if he needed to. Would trying to kick a ghost in the face work at all? Only one way to find out. He swung his leg out defensively

and his attack never connected. Against his back, the door opened with force, and he felt something pull hard at the back of his jumpsuit, hard enough to yank the cloth tight against his throat. For the third or fourth time today, he was falling onto his backside gracelessly, coughing as the pressure waned. The ghost girl made some strange, mournful noise as she tried to cross the threshold, only for the door to slam itself shut in her face. It jolted a few times as she tried to open it, but whatever force had just saved him seemed to be holding it closed. Then he heard the voice, presumably the voice of his saviour. It seemed to echo from an uncertain position, and he found himself looking for its source.

"I'll hold Yuki here. I can keep her distracted."

The voice sounded so...familiar. Almost exactly like "Qi?"

It didn't respond for a moment, and then "Go to the art room upstairs. Someone will come for you. A friend. Trust me."

He got to his feet, frowning. "Who are you? Why are you helping?"

The spirit hesitated. "I died here. I saw you...Please..."

Liang found himself reluctant to move. That voice was so familiar, but couldn't be Qi. Liang had no evidence to suggest Qi had lost his life during this time, and he wasn't sure Qi would talk like that anyway. That meant this had to be a mystery spirit who had randomly decided to help, and who refused to identify itself. He had questions, and misgivings, and a very bad feeling he couldn't quite place.

"Don't be reckless." The voice warned, apparently realising he wasn't about to move. "You can't fight the ghosts here. They're powerful, and untouchable. They can hurt you, but you can't hurt them. I need you to think before you act."

Deciding not to point out that he was thinking his actions through this time, and not just looking for a fight against a dead child because it was there, Liang nodded.

"Okay. Thank you for your help." He left the ghost girl to the mysterious spirit

Liang waited obediently, perched on the edge of a desk and wondering what the spirit had meant when he'd said a friend would be arriving. He'd thought to give them a time limit, a time before he got up and explored again. He could not wait forever, after all. Long before he reached that limit, however, the door to the art room opened. He saw a flash of purple and brown as someone ran in and hid behind an easel. It wasn't a very good hiding place.

The person was a child, he could tell that much. A purple-haired girl in her early teens, in a brown school uniform. Liang walked round to get a better look at her, and she spotted him and dropped into a crouch with a squeal of fear. He stopped, holding up his hands to show he meant no harm. "It's okay. I'm a friend."

She hesitated, looked up at him with tearful eyes. "Help me..."

"It's okay. You're not alone." She was small for her age, he would say. Smaller than the ghost girl from before. "How did you get here?"

"I..." The girl shrugged, reaching up to wring her ponytail with her hands. "I was with my big brother and our friends...and then there was an earthquake...and now we're here...except it's just me!" She began to sob, and Liang came forward, crouching before her and placing a hand on her head.

"The others will be here somewhere. You just have to find them. I'll help, if you want."

She blinked, looking up at him hopefully. "You...you'll help me find big brother?"

"I will. We can keep an eye out for our friends, too. How does that sound?"

The girl nodded. "Yes. Okay."

"What's your name?"

"Keiko."

"Keiko. My name is Liang."

"It's nice to meet you, Mister."

He helped her up with a nod and she dusted herself off before wiping her eyes on her sleeves and forcing a determined expression on her face.

"We'll find them, right Mister?"

"Right." He nodded. "What does your brother look like? What's his name?"

"Motomu. He's really tall, and popular with the girls!"

He nodded, though that didn't help. "Where did you last see him?"

"In the classroom."

"...Which classroom?"

"Oh...the one at his school, not this one..."

"Have you been stuck in this building the whole time? Or have you been to the main building too?"

"There's another building?" Keiko seemed shocked by this, which answered his question. "The door by the shoe lockers has been locked the whole time! It...it's so scary here..." She raised a hand to her face as she began to cry again.

"Your brother might be there then." He mused, not sure how to calm her down. "If the front door is locked, there might be a key somewhere." He went to the nearest cabinet and looked through the glass, trying to see if there was anything of use. Sculpting tools stained in red.

"Is that blood?" Keiko asked from beside him.

"No, I think it's paint." He lied before taking her hand. "Let's go."

Whimpering, she clung to his hand and let him lead her away.

As he walked with Keiko, he tried to get more out of her about what her brother looked like. She didn't seem to speak much, and kept her face hidden against him. She was, understandably, terrified while trapped in this place. She didn't want to see any more dead bodies, and so kept close to this kind stranger. All he managed to get out of her was that Motomu had darker hair than her, and was wearing a different coloured uniform. She didn't specify what colour. Liang just asked her if their uniform was the same, and she shook her head no. That was how most of their conversation was going as they walked into the music room.

"Rock? Tsukumo? Mutomu?" Liang called as he opened the door. The last time he'd looked in there, it had been silent and empty. When they approached the door this time, they could hear the piano playing, but as he stepped in, he couldn't see anyone at the keys.

"Motomu." Keiko corrected softly behind him. "He doesn't play. Do your friends play?"

"I...don't know. I've never asked." He answered honestly. Perhaps if he saw them again, he would ask. Once the danger was over.

Keiko pulled away from him to look at the room, and found her eyes drawn to a particular body - a young teen girl in a similar uniform. She walked toward it, and crouched by it, while Liang walked closer to the piano. As he drew close, all the keys played at once, as if someone had slammed their hands down, and then the lid closed itself. He found himself staring at the piano for a moment longer, as if he would be able to see the player if he looked hard enough, and he only looked away when he felt Keiko tug at his sleeve.

"I...I want to go now."

"Okay. Just a little longer." He took her hand again and gave it a squeeze, hoping he was being comforting. He wasn't good with kids. Sure, this girl was probably in her early teens, but she was much more badly affected by all of this. She wasn't desensitised like Liang was. She was still a minor, while he was an adult, and the only other kids he had really dealt with since his own childhood were Upa and the two from Building 13. The kids who happened to be interned in the same prison as him. Pulling her along with him, he tried to open the lid to the piano, and found, like many other things that had shut behind him, it would not open. He tried the desks next. Those that opened had nothing of use in them. The first had a pair of shoes that undoubtedly belonged to an elementary school girl, and the second one's interior was covered in bloody hand prints, again belonging to children. A few empty desks or desks filled with rubbish later, and Liang opened one to discover someone had tried to cram a human head into one of them. It was thoroughly decayed, and must have been there a long time. Space not taken up by the crushed in remains held bugs. Maggots and blowflies crawling and flying every which way as their nest and feeding frenzy was disturbed. No sign of any key, or clue. Keiko was shivering beside him, staring into the desk, so he shut it and led her out. As they left, he found his eyes drawn to the portraits above the chalk board. He didn't recognise any of the people, but he assumed they were composers or something like that. Something seemed off about the pictures, and when he tore his eyes away, one of them fell to the floor. He didn't look back.

A few steps away from the music room, Keiko began crying again, gripping her skirt instead of him.

"Are you okay, Keiko?" Liang asked after a moment, not sure how to comfort her. She shook her head.

"That...the girl in there...she's from my school..."

Ah. The body she was looking at. "...Your friend?"

She nodded.

"Ah...I'm sorry..."

Keiko merely whimpered in response. Liang took her arm and led her along, and she kept her eyes on the floor until they passed the door with the charms on it.

"Mister Liang...I need to go toilet."

He looked at the taped up door and frowned. "The one downstairs is out of order. This one might be usable if we just-" He reached out to peel one of the paper charms away from the door.

A moment and one cry of pain later, and he was cradling his now burnt hand to his chest. It looked like removing the charms wasn't all that simple. A glance to his thumb and forefinger told him it wasn't a mild burn either - at the very least it would certainly blister.

"It didn't come off..." Keiko mumbled, staring at the door.

It may not have, but some of Liang’s skin certainly did. He cast a quick look around, looking for something he could use to peel or scratch away the paper charms without burning himself again. Nothing really jumped out at him, so he supposed it would have to be another thing to search for.

[seigyokus]

8.5 - Shall We Begin?

Idolish Seven - Part 3, Chapter 8.5 For more Part 3 translations, click here!

Translation below the cut!

Osaka Sougo: Pardon the intrusion. I do apologize for-- Ow, ow, ow ow! Yuki: No. More. Changes. Period. Oh, it's just you, Sougo-kun. Osaka Sougo: Y-yes, it is.... Where is Momo-san? Yuki: He went to go suppress the TRIGGER riot. What's the matter? Osaka Sougo: Um.... Is it alright if I watch you work for a bit? Only if you're okay with it, though. Osaka Sougo: I just kind of wanted to see how songs are made.... Yuki: Ah.... If I recall correctly, your uncle was a composer as well? Osaka Sougo: Yes, he was. Yuki: Sure, then. Go ahead. Osaka Sougo: Thank you very much! Yuki: I know I’ve seen you talk about it on TV before, but your taste in music is quite refined. I heard you're doing a music-related radio show soon too. Osaka Sougo: My uncle showed me all sorts of songs. Some of the things you like are also rather surprising, Yuki-san. Yuki: Perhaps. You know, I think you should do it. Compose, that is. You love music, don't you? Osaka Sougo: No…. I don't think someone like me should be com-- Yuki: There are only a finite number of songs by Sakura Haruki. If you want to make IDOLiSH7 infinite, you should give it a go. Osaka Sougo: ....... Osaka Sougo: I do love music, but.... I don't think I have the skills necessary for that. Yuki: While it’s true you need to have an ear for music, the most important skill for the job is love. Then you can keep repeating. Osaka Sougo: Repeating? Yuki: You know how it's impossible to spend an entire day doing something you hate? On the flip side, you could easily do so if it was something you loved-- as if you were obsessed. Yuki: That's a skill in itself. Embrace your curiosity. The more you do it, the better you'll get. Yuki: As long as you have passion, you’ll be capable of reaching out to the works you would’ve otherwise discarded, even when you’ve lost heart countless times. Yuki: So even if you want to run, even if it gets painful, even if you start to hate it-- you can't stop loving it. That's why you'll keep returning to the same place, over and over again. Yuki: Having a never-ending passion for music is a skill. Osaka Sougo: A never-ending passion.... Yuki: I'm sure your uncle was the same way. Every time he got trampled or crushed by others, he'd come back to life and keep on loving music. It’s just like looping your favorite song. Yuki: If you have all of that inside you, then what more do you need? Osaka Sougo: ......Will it go well, though? Yuki: Of course not. That passion of yours will bring you sorrow. Yuki: But it'll also show you've sights you've never seen before. Yuki: And there's not a thing in the world you'd trade for those sights. That's how splendid they are. After all, those sights are yours and yours alone. Osaka Sougo: ....... Yuki: You love music, don't you? Osaka Sougo: I love it.... Yuki: That's all the reason you need. You might be terrible at first. People may laugh at you, and there might be all sorts of embarrassing things. But.... Yuki: As long as you truly love music, and not the fantasy of being a great composer, all of this should be unbearably fun. (1) Yuki: Let it take you captive. Osaka Sougo: .......

Rokuya Nagi: OH.... The video stopped.... Come on, come on, come on.... Signal, please.... Nikaidou Yamato: Nagi, now's not the time to be slacking off. Rokuya Nagi: Even though you're holding a can of beer in your right hand, Yamato? Nikaidou Yamato: Haha, I found it in the kitchen. ......Say, Nagi.... I know I can't say shit, but... Nikaidou Yamato: If there's anything troubling you, feel free to talk to Onii-san about it. There's no good in hiding things. Rokuya Nagi: ....... Rokuya Nagi: Hello, Yamato. I'd like to introduce you to my friend. Let’s hop into a time machine and go visit Past Yamato, shall we? Nikaidou Yamato: Ahaha.... I figured you'd say that. Nikaidou Yamato: But, seriously. I felt a lot better after talking to you guys about it. Nikaidou Yamato: So if anything ever happens, just tell us. --Hey now, don't film this!! Rokuya Nagi: Yes! I've obtained some very rare Yamato content! Nikaidou Yamato: Oh, gosh.... What am I to do with you.... Hm? What are you doing? Rokuya Nagi: OH.... My phone converted the words strangely. Now there's nerdy numbers. (2) Nikaidou Yamato: Nerdy numbers!? Wait, hold up. Those are just the alternative characters for them. (3) Nikaidou Yamato: You use 'em in contracts and stuff so people can't change the numbers willy nilly. See, here's one, two, and three. Ichi, ni, san.... Rokuya Nagi: Oh, right! What about six? The 'roku' in Rokuya Nagi? Nikaidou Yamato: Six was.... What was it again? Uh, try typing it and see what it spits out. .....Ah, it's that. That character. Rokuya Nagi: OH....... Nikaidou Yamato: ......Nagi? Rokuya Nagi: ......What a wonderful discovery! No matter what happens in the future, we'll be able to stay perfect as ever. Nikaidou Yamato: What are you talking about? What a weirdo.... Anyways, we better get back soon, otherwise Mitsu's gonna be pissed. Rokuya Nagi: OK!

Yuki: It's finally done....... Yaotome Gaku: We only got the moves down. We ran outta time to do formations.... Nanase Riku: We managed to finish all of the individual ones! We'll arrange everyone's starting now! Yotsuba Tamaki: I'm so sleepy....... Nikaidou Yamato: Man, it's gonna be a rough 24 hours if we keep going at this pace.... The real deal's gonna be tough too.... Momo: I'm worried for my voice. It might be gone for the performance. Nanase Riku: That's really terrifying.... Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Nevertheless, we're done! Please let us listen to the finished song! Momo: Yeah, of course! Huh...? Wait, Yuki! Don’t sleep right now! Come on, stick it out! Just one more thing! Yuki: I can't open my eyes anymore....... Yotsuba Tamaki: You look like one of those Buddhist monk statues right now, Yukirin. (4) Momo: Heheh. Yuki's still super handsome, even as a monk! Nanase Riku: You can do it, Yuki-san! Please let us hear our song! Kujou Ten: Although we may have rioted, we've been eagerly waiting for this. Yuki: Alright, fine.... Everyone, sit down. All: Woah......!

Yaotome Gaku: It's a great song! It definitely feels like 'Friends Day!' Osaka Sougo: It's magnificent! I can't believe it transformed into this from what I heard yesterday! Izumi Mitsuki: I wanna sing this with everyone as soon as possible! Yotsuba Tamaki: The chorus is super good! I wanna sing that! Nikaidou Yamato: Tama, everyone's gonna sing that. All: Ahahaha! Nanase Riku: I'm even more excited for "Friends Day!" This is the first time all of us are singing together, right? Kujou Ten: Let us overcome the borders between our groups and agencies and just sing. Rokuya Nagi: Charities and music are some of the most splendid things mankind has created. Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: All of us can connect through music. It won't just be us-- everyone participating in this charity telethon will be connected too! Takanashi Tsumugi: And just like this, the ultimate theme song, jam-packed with everyone's feelings, was completed! Takanashi Tsumugi: However.... Takanashi Tsumugi: TRIGGER would never get to sing this song.

Inumaru Touma: Congrats on becoming the president of Tsukumo Productions, Ryou-san. Tsukumo Ryou: Thank you. Natsume Minami: The visitor from earlier was someone from Hoshikage Entertainment Agency, correct? Tsukumo Ryou: The agency used to be such a brilliant star, but ever since Chiba Shizuo left them, it has only been glimmering weakly. The visitor was here to propose a business partnership. (5) Tsukumo Ryou: Hoshikage's Minami and soon-to-be-Hoshikage’s Torao have been entrusted to me-- to produce as idols. Natsume Minami: Wouldn’t it have been better for us to transfer over to Tsukumo? It’s not as if Hoshikage has much say in anything right now. Tsukumo Ryou: Well, I think it's best if we feign that ŹOOĻ is the darling child of the Two Great Empires. That way all of you will be utterly untouchable in this industry. Tsukumo Ryou: Now, let's get down to business. We must decide on where to fire our warning shot today so we can finish everything right around when the charity telethon will air. Midou Torao: Warning shot? Sounds dangerous. Tsukumo Ryou: Oh, it’s just to give them taste of what will happen if they decide to defy me. Tsukumo Ryou: Fighting here and there is just such a bother. Instead, we'll just smother everyone's fighting spirit in one fell swoop by slaying the hero right from the start. Tsukumo Ryou: As such, the groups in the thick of the idol boom are the most suitable for this venture. After all, everything that begins must come to an end-- including idol booms. Tsukumo Ryou: I'll show them that I can end things on my terms. Tsukumo Ryou: IDOLiSH7 is much too new. We can crush them any time we want to, so perhaps they're not the best group to use as a warning. Tsukumo Ryou: But, Re:vale and TRIGGER…. Who shall we offer as our sacrificial lamb? Inumaru Touma: TRIGGER. Natsume Minami: I say Re:vale. A group with that much popularity ought to exit the stage as soon as possible. Midou Torao: I'm fine with either. The deciding vote is yours, Haruka. Isumi Haruka: ...Isn't it obvious? Isumi Haruka: I vote for TRIGGER. Tsukumo Ryou: Bum-bum-ba-dum! It's decided. Tsukumo Ryou: We're going to seize TRIGGER. Inumaru Touma: Seize them!? This isn't what we discussed! I refuse to be in the same agency as those guys! Tsukumo Ryou: Now, now. You'll see....

To be continued....

TL Notes/comments:

thank u @kuriiii for eng proofreadin as usual!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SORRY FOR THE LONGASS DELAY BTWN LAST UPDATE AND NOW, lotsa Real Life stuff happened so I finally have time 2 sit down and properly tl/edit for the time being o(--< 

(1) yuki technically says 'As long as you truly love music, and not yourself, who is capable of composing really well' etcetc. I went with a slightly more interp-y take on that second part, since he's talking about loving composing because you love music. Not because of ego (of being a good composer) or delusions of grandeur. Because then, even if you suck, it'll still be fun to compose! That’s my take on Yuki-logic (2) When you type in Japanese, it suggests kanji for the kana you type in (ex. もの --> 物, 者). That's the conversion Nagi's referring to. (3) Continuing off of the last point, daiji (大字) are ye olden way of writing numbers (He calls them otaku numbers though LMFAO). ANYWAYS, instead of 一、二、三 for 'one, two, three/ichi, ni, san,' you have 壱、弐、参. If you scroll down a bit here, there's a nice chart of all the numbers. In addition to the functions Yamato mentioned, they're actually on the yen as well!  Anyways, the interesting part here is that the character for six is 陸, coincidentally the same character as Riku's given name (七瀬<b>陸</b>).... And six in Japanese is 'roku,' which is the same 'roku' in 'Rokuya Nagi' (<b>六</b>弥ナギ).... [nagi voice] Hm…. (4) Tamaki's referring to Ojizō-sama, which is frequently seen as this kind of statue. But bc no one would know what th heck I’m talking abt if i dropped ‘Kshitigarbha’ or ‘the patron monk of travelling and etcetcetcetc’ (unless ur buddhist), so i put it in the most tamaki-esque terms I could think of LOL………… (5) This is actually a pun on Hoshikage's name since it has the word ‘hoshi’ / 'star' in it LMAO

As usual, if you see any mistakes/mistranslations/etc, please message me!

Thank you for reading!!

[tsukumoryou]

[iamapoopmuffin]

Victims With Numbers

Fandom: Nanbaka/Corpse Party (crossover) Genre: Horror Characters: Hajime Sugoroku, Samon Gokuu, Kiji Mitsuba, Kenshirou Yozakura, Jyugo, Uno, Nico, Rock, Tsukumo, Liang, Upa, Qi, Honey, Trois, Musashi, Sachiko Shinozaki, Ryou Yoshizawa, Yuki Kanno, Tokiko Tsuji, Yoshikazu Yanagihori, Yoshie Shinozaki, Takamine Yanagihori, some OCs to take the role of Kizami later on instead of actual Kizami Includes major character death.

Chapter 11 of ?

Uno leading the way, despite this being an unfamiliar place, brought several benefits. He had a better sense of direction and much better luck than Jyugo had, so if anyone could lead them to some safe space or exit to this hell maze, it was Uno. His intuition had led them true nine times out of ten, and after a bit of walking he'd managed to calm down enough to use it to their advantage. They'd not come across the monster again, at the very least. After he seemed to feel they were far enough away from the zombie and the death room, he stopped and leaned against a wall with a sigh. Jyugo leaned next to him and they waited in silence for a time.

"...How are your feet, Jyugo?"

"My feet?" He looked down, frowning. Now he thought about it, they were getting sore, and when he looked at them, he saw bruises, cuts and dirt. The floor here was a lot less comfortable to walk on than the floor at the prison. Stones and sharp objects were all over the place. Walking in the prison, his feet would be absolutely fine, but here they were chewed up pretty quickly. It was similar to walking up and down an unkempt alleyway for a few hours. At least he hadn't stepped on any more rusty nails. "They're fine." He lied.

"You want to wear my shoes for a little while?"

He shook his head, refusing as expected. "Nah, I'm good. You need them. They won't fit, anyway. Your feet are, like, twice the size of mine, and they won't get past the shackles." To prove his point, he placed one of his feet next to Uno's.

"Anything else I can do to help? Your feet look sore."

"Carry me?"

He pretended to think the request over. "Not happening. Don't want to muss up my hair."

"Of course not."

The conversation lulled again, and Jyugo felt any ease that had come over him slip away again.

"...We're definitely not in Nanba any more..."

"No." Uno looked up to the ceiling. "Don't know where this is, but we have to find a way out."

"You think the others are here too?"

"...I don't know. I hope not. Anything could happen..."

Another lull in the conversation.

"Hey, Uno?"

"Yeah, Jyugo?"

"Anyone ever tell you that you have really skinny legs?"

It was Uno's turn to look down, but before he could really come up with a response, he found himself being distracted by a not too distant sound. Rattling of chains, a tired-sounding groan followed by an uneasy squeak and a shaky 'hello handsome'.

"Wait...is that...?" At Uno's words and gesture, the two crept slowly towards the sound. The voice broke through the silence again.

"Uh...ah...you don't want to touch me, you know...anything could happen...probably something weird. Or something might explode, or...okay...how do they do this in movies? Oh, I know! BEGONE, FOUL DEMON!"

"Nico!" The two boys said this in unison, and hurried to where they believed they had heard their friend, and found themselves in a thin, dead-end corridor with tables on either side. Each table held bloodied tools and severed heads. For the time being, they managed to ignore this and walked to look through one door, on the left, at the end of the table. Through this door, they could see the huge man from before, a large sledgehammer in his hand, and on the floor in front of him was Nico.

Nico looked suitably afraid of what he was facing. The chain around his ankle had an additional link through it, leading to a loop attached firmly to the ground, and his other three limbs, normally free, were chained down in a similar manner. Upon realising that playing the priest wasn't going to drive the monster away, Nico looked around in slight panic as the man began to raise his weapon. "Okay, uhh...that's not working...what would those two pretty boys from Building 3 do?"

From next to him, Uno heard Jyugo mutter "Honey would swear at it." A second later, they heard Nico swear at the monster.

"...We need to have a talk with Honey when this is all over..." He turned away from the door a moment. "Jyugo, hide under that table-"

"What?"

"Trust me. I'm going to grab that thing's attention, lead it away from Nico. When I do that, you go in, unlock his shackles and get him out of here."

"Uno, no. What if that thing gets you?"

"It won't. Trust me, I bet you anything I'll be able to lead that thing on a merry dance and it won't even come close to catching me." He gave a thumbs up for good measure before pushing Jyugo into a suitable hiding place and getting up. The man adjusted his grip on his hammer, and Uno picked up an object Jyugo couldn't quite see  and hurled it at the beast. Whatever it was, it made a shattering noise, and the beast lowered the hammer and walked toward the door to investigate. Once he'd caught sight of Uno, Uno shouted 'come get me, idiot', turned and took back off down the hall, and as he'd expected, the creature gave chase.

Once he was sure they were out of sight, Jyugo pulled himself out from under the table and hurried into the room.

"Jyugo!" Nico exclaimed happily. "Am I glad to see you!"

"Yeah, same here." He knelt down and undid the shackles keeping Nico's limbs pinned. "Are you hurt?"

"The big zombie teacher hit me on the head earlier and it hurts, but otherwise, no."

"Okay, can you walk?"

"Yeah..."

He helped Nico up and led him out and down the hall.

"I...I thought I heard Uno..."

"Yeah, he was here...he's causing a distraction, he'll meet up with us again later. He promised." God, he hoped that thing didn't catch him. Or them. Or anyone else that might be down there.

Nico struggled to make sense of the dirt walls around him. "Is this place near the school?" He managed. They hadn't been running long, but already he was getting out of breath. Jyugo was as well, but fear of being caught was driving them on.

"School? What school?"

"The...the school. The one we woke up in, after the earthquake."

They slowed to a walk to help them catch their breath, and Jyugo looked back to him in confusion. "We woke up here. Me and Uno did, anyway."

"There's a whole school here, really! Me and Master found a lot of classrooms. It's not as nice as the ones at Nanba."

"You were with Upa?"

"Yeah, but the big zombie teacher separated us."

"Hmm...so the guys from Building 5 are here too?"

Nico nodded. "Yeah, everyone from the game room, I think! The big bird guard was with us too. I didn't want him to leave us, but he heard someone scream and...he didn't come back after that. I think something bad happened to him, too." A shiver ran through him and he drew closer to Jyugo. "I don't like this. I'm scared."

"I'm scared too...but it'll be fine. We'll get out of this." The words seemed hollow, and Jyugo wasn't sure he believed them at all. His mind flashed back to the dying screams of the teenage girl, and the thoroughly mutilated bodies he had seen. He stopped suddenly, Nico bumping into him, and shut his eyes tight, trying to think of something else. Anything else. If he had tried to fight that thing, would they have been able to save the girl? Would Uno, true to his reassurances, really be okay? Would he ever see his friend again? And what about the others, the ones who were bound to be wandering this hellscape but who they hadn't seen yet?

"...Jyugo? Are you okay?"

"...I'm just...tired..."

"Can we sit down?"

Not knowing if it was safe to, Jyugo shook his head. "We need to get out of this maze."

"Is this a basement?"

"A basement?"

"To the school. It looks like a cave."

"It does look like a cave..."

"A basement cave." There was a small silence, and Nico's next words were much quieter. "Where are we going? Where's Uno going to meet us?"

That...was a good question. Uno hadn't told him where to wait for him, and even if he had, this place was like a maze. Not even Uno's brilliant sense of direction and impeccable luck had been good enough to get them to where they wanted to go. Were they just supposed to pick a spot and wait there until someone found them? If they did that, the monster might find them first...

"...I don't know."

Nico let out a sad hum to show he understood. "He'll be okay though, right?"

"I...he'll be okay. Uno may be a crybaby, but he knows how to handle himself in scary situations." And the more he thought about it, the more he realised that was right. He probably didn't have to be quite so nervous about his friend's wellbeing...right? Well, considering the room they'd been in before, it was understandable that he was worried, but this was Uno.

Nico shook his hand free from Jyugo's grip and walked to the next corner. "If it's safe here and there's nothing coming, we can sit down for a bit, right?" Before Jyugo could even think to answer, Nico was shouting. "Jyugo! There's a door here! I think this is the way out of the basement cave!"

He hurried to Nico's side, and there was indeed a door. Unlike the previous one Jyugo had seen, this door was a sturdy-looking wooden door, no blood stains, and it was up a staircase. Considering what he'd seen behind the other doors in this place, he was sceptical that it really would be a way out and not another room full of corpses or sharp objects, but the two of them approached the door nonetheless. As with others before it, it was locked, and as with others before it, the lock was quickly opened.

"This is...this is the school."

"Here?" The hallway before them was worse than the one before. It was a straight shot, by the looks of it, and hopefully no unpleasant twists or turns. The floor looked splintery, more uncomfortable than the loose dirt from before, and had a lot of holes. The wood was clearly quite weak in places, so they would have to watch where they put their feet. He could already see more dead bodies, but it wasn't quite as horrific as the bloody room he had hidden in before. It didn't look much like a school to him, if he was honest, but then, it had been a long time since he'd really been in a school. A proper one, that was, not some prison education room for school-age inmates, which was bound to be vastly different in and of itself.

Nico nodded. "This is it. Definitely. We were by the doctor's room when..." He went quiet and looked to the floor.

"A doctor's room?" Jyugo glanced at his feet. An infirmary would be invaluable, but it was clear something was bothering his friend about it. "You okay?"

"There's...bad stuff there." Wrapping his arms around himself, Nico took a seat at the top of the stairs. "The big bird guard, Master, Uno, Master's old man friend...I don't want anyone else to get hurt..."

"...You saw Qi earlier too?"

"At the doctor's room. They..." Nico shook his head. "I don't want to remember it."

Jyugo sat beside him and awkwardly put his arm around his shoulders, hoping to comfort him. "Don't worry about it, man. We'll wait here for Uno, okay?"

"...Okay..."

"He'll find us. He's a genius, remember?"

"Yeah...we just have to wait for him."

The two of them sat there, facing the maze they'd just left, huddled together for warmth and comfort as they waited for their friend to come back to them.

[iamapoopmuffin]

Victims With Numbers

Fandom: Nanbaka/Corpse Party (crossover) Genre: Horror Characters: Hajime Sugoroku, Samon Gokuu, Kiji Mitsuba, Kenshirou Yozakura, Jyugo, Uno, Nico, Rock, Tsukumo, Liang, Upa, Qi, Honey, Trois, Musashi, Sachiko Shinozaki, Ryou Yoshizawa, Yuki Kanno, Tokiko Tsuji, some OCs to take the role of Kizami later on instead of actual Kizami Includes major character death. Chapter 1 of ?

In which, following an evening telling ghost stories to their fellow inmates, the inmates and guards find themselves in one surreal nightmare, with no certainty that they’ll get out of this alive.

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"Have you ever heard the story of Heavenly Host Elementary School? They say a lot of awful things happened there. Loads of crimes and sudden deaths. See, it was believed by some that this school was haunted, and all the assaults, break-ins, suicides and the rest were caused by the angry ghosts that were still at the school, and as more and more happened there, the haunting got worse.

They say it all started with this one event, back in the 50's, where a member of staff lost her footing at a flight of stairs and died. On the same day, her daughter mysteriously went missing, and nobody knew what happened. Legend says that the teacher was looking for her missing daughter, and attacking the children at the school because they were her daughter's age and if she couldn't have her own child back, then she would try to fill the void with replacements. None of the replacements were her own daughter, though, so none of them were good enough. After the last killing, where the Principal's own son murdered four children in the basement of the school, the heartbroken principal threw himself from the school's roof, unable to cope with what his precious school had become, and what his precious son had done. The school was closed, and torn down, but they say that plot of land is still haunted by that teacher, and by all those who died within its walls."

The inmates were sat in a circle in Building 13's game room, the lights off around them. The only light came from a torch held in Tsukumo's hand, gracefully lent to him by one of the guards for this exact purpose. The others watched him as he told his story, and from what he could see in the darkness, they didn't look too impressed. It was daytime, but not a lot of light was coming through the windows, because of a storm, for which he was mildly grateful.

"That's awful." Uno said quietly, thinking about the death in Tsukumo's story.

"Yeah, and not at all scary, for a ghost story." Honey agreed, though his 'awful' was more Tsukumo's story telling skills than the contents themselves.

"Now, now, it wasn't that bad." Trois said, reaching for the torch. "It could have done with more details, though. I know a few good gore stories that are really scary."

"I thought that one was scary enough." Uno again, still in a quiet voice. Trois ignored him, commencing his own tale of woe and misery.

"Once, in a quiet, sleepy village just south of-"

He was cut off by the lights turning on, the sudden brightness burning everyone's eyes. "Story time's over," Hajime told them sternly. "Back to your cells." Of course, this led to the standard complaints that rose from the idiots every time they were told playtime was over. They really were just a bunch of bratty kids at the best of times, and he really didn't enjoy trying to silence their complaints peacefully. Of course, if he lashed out or made threats, then he'd have to deal with the resulting headaches that were Kiji, Samon and Kenshirou, which he was never really in the mood for either. Most of the brats were pleading for 'just one more story' or 'just another hour' (aside from the two crybabies who were actually scared of the ghost stories), but there was no way they were getting granted that. Did they even realise how little time there was until dinner, and then lock-up? Probably not.

By the time they'd finally shut up, with only minimal threatening this time, and were heading over to their supervisors, Hajime could feel one hell of a stomach ache coming on. At least they were agreeing to head back to their cells now, he thought as he turned to lead them to the door...

Just in time to see it slam shut. Which was unusual.

"What the hell?" Snapped the monkey, first to go examine the door and try to get it open. It wouldn't budge. Hajime shoved him aside roughly and tried himself, again to no avail. Weird.

"Perhaps there's a lockdown procedure active." Kiji mused from behind them. "But if it were a drill or practice, or a test of the doors, we'd be aware of that, or at the very least, the building supervisor would be."

"No drills, practices or tests are scheduled for today." Hajime muttered.

"And no siren is going off either. It doesn't seem to be a genuine emergency lockdown."

"What's wrong?" Asked Jyugo from behind in a bored tone. "You locked us in? How did you even manage that?"

"I didn't-" The supervisor was cut off when the whole room started to shake. An earthquake?

"Everyone get to cover!" Kiji called out, immediately moving to guide his inmates somewhere safe, the other guards doing the same. Pretty soon, they were huddled down next to or under the furniture around the room, away from the windows, which began to crack. The lights flickered and went out as one of them fell, shattering just inches from the feet of one of Building 5's residents. The rocking seemed to carry on for an age, and in the sudden darkness, the walls around them seemed to warp unstably, until it finally came to a stop and everyone felt like they could breathe again.

"Everyone stay where you are." Commanded a voice as someone moved to stand. Kenshirou. "Be careful, there's broken glass on the floor." The next thing he said was directed into his radio. "Security and Surveillance, do we have any information on that quake? Any damage to the prison? Is anyone injured?" No response. "Is anyone reading this transmission? We cannot get the door to Building 13's game room open, is it possible something was damaged in a mini-quake or pre-tremor?" Nothing. Maybe a little static.

And then, Kenshirou felt like he was falling, like the ground beneath him had just...disappeared. Looking down, he saw nothing but darkness, and the screams from around him told him the others were falling as well.

~*~*~*~

Honey groaned as he came to. He had no idea how long he'd been out for, but it must have been a while. He felt groggy and sore, and his mouth was dry, with that nasty cottony feel he would always get after he'd passed out from drinking too much. Plus, last he remembered, he was in that stupid game room listening to those stupid ghost stories. That room had a carpet. He was lying on something hard, and dusty, and that smelled old and musty and uncleaned. Gross. With a shiver running down his spine, he opened his eyes and pushed himself upright. The movement sent pain shooting through his left ankle, and he grimaced before trying to get a good look at his surroundings.

The room was dark, the lights off, or broken. He could see desks and chairs around him, and the floor looked like hardwood. The walls looked wooden as well. It didn't look like healthy wood, either. He reached for the nearest desk and pulled himself up, thankful it was sturdy enough to support his weight. Now stood, he could see the two doors on either end of the room, the cabinets, the chalk board and smaller notice board, and across the opposite wall to the doors, the windows. It was still dark and still raining outside. It was clearly an education room, like the one in Building 3, but ugly and uncared for. If such a place was within Nanba Prison, it couldn't have been used in years, and couldn't possibly have been in the lovely Building 3. Besides, the chairs looked like they were designed for little kids!

Honey used the desks for support as he hobbled over to the windows. His ankle really hurt. It must have been sprained, or worse, from the fall. That was right, he had fallen! Was this place underground in Building 13? It didn't seem like it would fit there at all...and when he finally got to the window, all he saw beyond the building was rain and...was that a forest? There wasn't a forest around the prison, it was on an island. Sure, there were some trees on the island, but certainly not this many. It was the thickest forest he had ever seen, and it seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see. It was like he wasn't even in prison any more.

Perhaps he wasn't. Perhaps the earthquake had caused so much damage he'd been evacuated while unconscious. But why would they be evacuated to a run down old schoolhouse? That didn't make sense. So where the hell was he? He turned, reaching for the row of desks closest to his injured leg to help him get to the door, and as he made his way across the room, he saw something on the floor beyond the desks. Something big, in a heap by the teacher's podium. It looked like a man. In fact, it looked like-

"Trois!" It was Trois. He was sure of it, though he couldn't see his face. He was unconscious, sprawled unattractively across the grimy, dusty floor. Honey pulled himself up onto the desk, deciding to climb over to reach his cellmate. He halted when the ground beneath him gave an unholy creak. Figuring it wouldn't support his weight long enough for him to climb over, he backed off and instead tried to hurry to the door at the back of the classroom. Trois was at the front, so all he had to do was loop around the hall to the front. Pushing the desks was probably out when he couldn't properly put weight on his foot. As it was, he didn't enjoy having to lean so heavily on the wall to get around once there were no more desks to hang onto.

The hallway itself was in just as much disrepair as the classroom. Parts of the floor had fallen out, and it smelled disgusting. There clearly hadn't been a janitor working here in years. A particularly rancid smell was emanating from a bucket against the opposite wall. It reminded him vaguely of a stairwell near a parking lot in the town where he grew up. Drunks and homeless people would normally piss in the stairwell and it always reeked. At least the lights here seemed to work a bit better. They were dim, but on. Still, the place wasn't much to look at, and all the flyers along the wall were torn and grubby. Everything here was either damaged or coated in filth, it seemed.

When he got to Trois (taking a little bit longer than he would have liked), he carefully got down on his knees beside him and tapped his shoulders. He didn't shake him, just in case the fall had badly injured him, because there was no way he was supporting him or helping him with an injury, which was undoubtedly what Trois would try and guilt him into doing if his actions made any injuries worse. "Trois! Trois, wake up! Can you hear me?"

"Hnn...Honey, please, not so loud..." Good. He was alive, at least. Forgoing his previous gentleness for at least a moment, Honey pulled his cellmate upright.

"Get up. Something's happened, I have no idea where we are."

Trois spared him a look before pausing to take in his surroundings. He quickly arrived at a conclusion. "This doesn't look like it's any part of Nanba Prison." He mused, getting to his feet and dusting himself off. Honey coughed as some of the dust was brushed his way and glared at Trois as he walked to the nearest window and tried to open it. "Hmm. Doesn't budge. Perhaps it's not designed to open, but there has to be at least one working window in the building, as per building code. We need to figure out where we are before anything else. See if we can find a map as well, clues to the exact area around us and see if we can make any contact with anyone outside. It's clear we're not at Nanba any more, which raises the question of how we got here." He walked back and examined the chalk board. It had something written in the top right corner, 'day duty' and a name, but that was it. The notice board had a single yellowed flyer on it. "It's written in kanji." Trois stated, glancing to Honey, who was still sat on the floor. "I can't understand all of it, my understanding of the letters isn't perfect, and I think I'm misreading this bit here."

"Which bit?" Asked Honey, pulling himself to his feet with the aid of a chair.

"This bit." He repeated, jabbing his finger at the flyer's title. "I'm reading it as 'Heavenly Host Elementary School Newsletter to Faculty and Students', but that's the name of the school from Tsukumo's ghost story. He specifically said that school was torn down, if it even existed in the first place."

Honey read over the newsletter himself. "No, you're right, it says Heavenly Host. It's dated back to the 80's though, so it's pretty old." His eyes trailed down the rest of the newsletter. "It's a warning about kidnappings and staying safe. Just, 'due to recent kidnappings, caution is advised. Each victim was taken suddenly and without warning'. You think this is a set up for some kind of joke?"

"Quite a dramatic one if so. I think we ought to head for the exit, but I wouldn't recommend braving the forest quite yet."

"At least not until that storm dies down a little." Honey agreed. Trois nodded, and the two began to set out, only for another earthquake to send Honey stumbling to the ground. It was, thankfully, quite short, but he couldn't help letting a moan of pain escape him. His ankle was in pretty bad shape, by the looks of things.

"Are you okay?" He looked up and saw his cellmate offering him a hand. He took it but needed a bit more support to get up.

"Ankle's sprained." He admitted grudgingly.

"Well then, put your arm around my shoulders. I'll support you. It'll be easier and faster than leaving you here as a dead weight."

Honey gave a hum of agreement, for once not in the mood to argue, and the two set off out of the classroom.