Corpse Party: Killing Harmony

You're Far from Done

When Iruma burst into the classroom, her eyes immediately fell on a large black must spreading across almost half of the room. Red eyes peeked out from it and the edges looked like hands scrambling for escape from whatever dimension where they originated. Iruma rushed to Ouma's side, who was frozen with wide eyes swarming with terror. He was only a few steps from the alien mass. "What the hell is this?!"

Ouma trembled as tears began to form in his eyes, threatening to burst like a weak dam. "We're not done, are we? Why?!" He began to scream and clutched his hair. Iruma could only sigh as she stared at the mist. She wasn't about to go back, she couldn't take more of this torture no matter what happened.

A soft blue glow radiated from the middle of the mist. It grew more solid before Kanno Yuki stepped out sheepishly, hands cupped before her. She began to approach. Ouma let out a spine-chilling scream and stumbled across the classroom. Hands flew to his hair as he began to sob. "S-Stay away from me! Don't- Don't get any closer!" Trembling like a bush in a tornado, Ouma cowered in a ball. Seeing the scene broke Iruma's heart and, before she knew it, she was standing between Kanno and Ouma.

"On a rainy evening at the end of a school day, just like this one, I was kidnapped." Her voice was soft and sweet, like that of a shy child. She seemed to radiate sorrow, staring down at the floor. "Mum and I fought that morning..." Iruma continued to glare at the spirit, wondering why she was monologuing.

"I didn't want to see her after school, so I decided to sit in the walkway for a little bit and watch the rain. The idea of going home made me sad. Then, Yanagihori-sensei showed up and sat beside me. He listened closely when I told him about the fight with Mum. Every time I said something, he'd reply with 'uh-huh,' because he couldn't speak - he was ill. Yanagihori-sensei was my favourite teacher, he was so nice."

Kanno began to sob, her head tilted back as she wailed to the skies. "You two are nice people, just like him! I'm so sorry! Thank you for your efforts, for trying to help those of us killed in the school."

That made Iruma frown. The humans were back home... "Didn't we succeed?!"

The spirit bowed her head. "No... You didn't..."

"We returned your tongues!" Ouma shouted, now looking up at the two. "You can all speak out again! Hell, we even showed you that your murderer regretted what he did! Can you just never forgive him, no matter how sorry he is?!" Iruma frowned. How did that never cross her mind? If someone brutally stole her life and trapped her in an eternity of torture, Iruma would never forgive them either.

Hesitating, Kanno eventually sighed. "Appeasing us doesn't mean we forgive our murderer... Whether we forgive or not, we can be appeased. Repentance is between the criminal and the victim and it's the only thing that can move lost spirits. The three of us are fragments in the closed spaces, we are chess pieces for Heavenly Host. Your best course of action may be to move us. However, appeasing us isn't as easy as you think. His repentance isn't enough."

Ouma hummed, now focused on thinking rather than his fear. "The words spoken by his doll weren't enough? Do his words need to come directly from his mouth?"

"That- That's not..." Kanno shook her head, seeming to become a little sadder. It seemed like she wasn't in a hurry to explain her death.

"What is it then?!" Iruma shouted. "Why do you have to trap everyone in that horrible place?! You all summoned us there, right!? Just stop doing it!"

Kanno sighed. "That's not true..."

"The fu-" Iruma stopped herself from cursing, needing to remember that she was speaking to a young child. "What the hell do you mean?!"

"We are the strings that keep the closed spaces tied together. Other than that, we have no purpose. Only she brings people, but lately, they're arriving on their own and talking about some strange ritual..."