The Two Who Rose

Part 9

The morning sun glared down on the school. Hiroshi slid through the courtyard with Izumi and Mirai behind him. Their backpacks loaded with lighters and matchsticks. Something was wrong. They knew it. Where are all the police, which Taizou send here?

Izumi was scowling into the school and gripped his bag. Looking around the area, Mirai couldn't contain her wariness, neither could Hiroshi. Wind whispered in their ears.

The three stepped inside the school entrance, which was as silent as it was outside. A hand planted on Hiroshi's shoulder.

They looked. Standing there was the principal, looking nothing like he was ill with an unnerving grin across his mouth, staring at their backpacks "Can you three come with me? I need to speak with you for a moment about something."

They had no choice but to do as he asked. As he led them down the halls, Izumi stuck closer to Hiroshi and Mirai.

"I heard about the death that's been happening in the school since I have been ill," the principal said, looking back at them with his hands behind his back "I hope it hasn't troubled your studies."

"We're managing somehow," Hiroshi said. Someone had to talk. Izumi looked too concerned with the missing cops to think about anything else and Mirai seemed overwhelmed by the pressure.

"That's good," the principal said, walking up the steps "I had a state class detective investigate the matter and he's working on the case as we speak."

Hiroshi wrinkled his brows. Then where are the police? He sidled behind the principal, who led them into similar halls. Are we heading to our class? What does he want there?

The principal pushed opened the classroom door. There, all the students directed their grim stares on the three. Hiroshi wasn't sure what's going on. Why is everyone looking at us like this? Anxiety crept in.

Pushed into the lead, Izumi scowled back at the students and then to the principal and Arashi "What happened to the police? And why aren't you arrested?" his eyes glowered on the principal.

Yahiko stood up and stood in between them "Izumi, don't push this." His pained stare now directed at the principal "Please, don't do this."

A blade punctured his chest behind him. Hiroshi's face turned pale. Mirai staggered back. Adam pushed his blade deeper into Yahiko and more blood spattered down his shirt, dripping on the hard floor.

The other students stood up and pulled out their knives, locking their sights on Hiroshi, Mirai and Izumi. They stepped backwards, out the classroom as the kids trudged with their knives.

"We're sorry but we don't want the ghost to kill us," Joshua said.

"You're going to kill us to save yourselves?" Izumi's eyes narrowed, sliding his hand into his backpack.

"We don't want to kill you three but we don't want to die either," Arashi brought out a pipe "Don't make this harder. All the teachers and students in school except us are told to stay home so don't bother making a noise."

A student launched her blade but Hiroshi grabbed her arm and pushed her to the ground. Another student, a male, swung his weapon. A brass knuckle hammered him down, wearing the knuckle was Izumi.

"Follow me," Izumi sprinted down the hall and both gasped alongside him.

Hiroshi looked back "What do we do now?!"

"Don't worry, I saw this coming when she warned us," Izumi said "I have weapons but we can't hold them with only us. So we're heading to the gym."

They rushed down the stairs. Hearing the loud steps behind him, Hiroshi sprinted even more, outpacing both Mirai and Izumi. Their breaths sounded their tiredness. They're tired already? We have to keep going.

Izumi sank to his knees. Face pointing on the ground, his sweat dripped down like rain and his breath grew loud. Hiroshi stopped. From behind Izumi, Adam and Joshua leaped with their blades.

"Izumi!" Hiroshi watched helplessly.

Taizou appeared in a blink and punched them both with one strike, sending them crashing on the stair's metal bar. He hauled Izumi on his shoulder and rushed ahead. Hiroshi slashed alongside him.

"Sorry I was late, stalled on the station," Taizou said.

They soon stormed into the gym. Taizou sprinted back to the doors and barred them shut, isolating them within this wide and spacious gymnasium. Loud blows echoed on the other side.

"Those kids lost their minds?" Taizou heaved and held his stomach "Why are they trying to kill you like that?"

Leaned on a wall, Izumi slid down the ground and exhaled "Yukana—I mean the ghost, must've made them a deal. We have to end this."

"How?" Hiroshi asked, catching his breath "We can barely get out."

"That's a good point," Taizou crossed his arms and looked down "And the doors won't last long so we're either stuck here or we bust our way to the basement and burn the corpse now." The doors near him banged louder. "We don't have much time, so make a decision here."

"Wait," Mirai spoke up, and looked at them all "We're forgetting something. The blueprints."

"What about them?" Izumi asked

"Do you have them?" Mirai approached him, appearing to have a plan

Izumi swam his hand through the tools inside his bag and picked out the blueprint "Here but what's the point? That thing is only good as evidence, it's useless to us now."

Mirai rolled open the blueprint on the ground. Scanning on the construction, she pointed on something, a ladder "The principal made that hideout so he can have the killer go to all the locations in the school."

"Yeah but how does that help us?" Hiroshi stooped down.

The doors banged louder. Wood started to shatter into splinters, each strike neared the moment the students barge in.

"All we have to do is look where the principal had the ladder build in this gym and head down to the basement."

"You're right," Izumi's eyes widened

Taizou opened a door inside the gym and picked out a baseball bats and helmets "Someone needs to hold this place with me. We can't have them going after you."

There was silence. Hiroshi breathed in and stood up "I'll stay with you. Mirai and Izumi can go down there and burn the body."

"Wait, are you sure?" Mirai's voice shrilled

Hiroshi nodded "Only me and Taizou have any physical capabilities in holding them, burning the body is something you too are better at than I am."

Izumi stood up. Placed his hand on Hiroshi's shoulder and nodded "I'll make sure this ends today."

Hiroshi nodded and smiled "Now go."

Mirai looked away and picked up the blueprint. She led Izumi down into the secret passage as Taizou pitched over a baseball bat to Hiroshi.

"You've got some bravado kid, I like that." Taizou stood next to him and held the baseball bat with a helmet on.

Hiroshi gripped his baseball bat and stared at the doors. A loud crash send the door smashing into pieces, and the students came in, now with pipes. Adam and Joshua within the crowd.

Heart hammered. Hiroshi breathed in and out, calming his mind, there was no turning back.

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