Corpse Party: Osomatsu-san

Chapter One

It was Osomatsu who suggested they use the charm. Of course, at the time, nobody thought anything of it; the paper doll couldn't possibly do anything worse than give someone a papercut. Right? They had all agreed to it (after much teasing and other banter) under the impression that nothing would happen. It was purely symbolic, something that was supposed to bind them together forever, regardless of the distance between them. After all, everyone knew that Osomatsu couldn't stand the thought of being separated from his brothers even though he'd sooner cut off his own hand than admit it aloud. So, they would play along if only to ease their older brother's mind. That was the true purpose of this charm. Right? Well, if you know anything about the infamous Matsuno sextuplets, you would know that more often than not, they were wrong.

The six brothers tore the cut-out doll into six pieces as lighting raced across the inky sky outside the window. Silence filled the usually loud room save for the incessant pounding of rain on the roof. And when the floor opened beneath them and a darkness blacker than the night swallowed them whole, their terrified screams lost in the wind as they desperately tried to cling to one another, the same thoughts went through their heads.

This wasn't happening.

This couldn't be real.

This was only a nightmare which they would wake from in a moment and be able to huddle closer to whichever brother was beside them for comfort.

Right?

---

Choromatsu struggled to open his eyes, now keenly aware that he was lying on an uneven wooden floor with loose nails that dug into his back. It took a minute of concentration for him to recall what events had led up to this point after which he sat bolt upright and was hit with a wave of nausea because of the sudden movement. Knees drawn to his chest, Choromatsu breathed heavily as he attempted to process what exactly had happened before realizing that there was a much more pressing matter at hand.

Where was he?

Eventually, the sick feeling faded away, and Choromatsu began to examine his surroundings from where he sat on the floor which proved to be quite difficult due to the lack of light. He determined that he was in a classroom, elementary school most likely, but one that had been abandoned and had fallen into disrepair decades ago. Small chairs and desks lie scattered around the room, some overturned, others broken into pieces. The floorboards also appeared to vanish in some places, giving way to a seemingly bottomless pit. Choromatsu told himself that it was just too dark to see that far down, but still couldn't shake the irrational fear that something would reach out and drag him into the abyss. Quickly shifting his attention elsewhere, he spotted a motionless figure wearing a familiar red hoodie on the other side of the room.

"Oso-AGH!" Choromatsu yelled out in pain as his right leg gave out from under him and he fell back to the ground. He held his throbbing ankle, but was too concerned about his unconscious brother to really care. Slowly getting on his feet once again, Choromatsu limped over to Osomatsu where he dropped to his knees. "Osomatsu nii-san?" Choromatsu gently tugged on his brother's sleeve. "Come on, you have to wake up." No response. Choromatsu tried to remain calm, recalling the time Jyushimatsu decided to wake them up one morning by banging pots and pans together. Osomatsu hadn't even stirred then, so it wasn't too much of a stretch to believe that Choromatsu's small nudges wouldn't wake him either. Unfortunately, it was now that the fluorescent bulbs overhead flickered to life and revealed the true cause of the problem which came in the form of a puddle of blood seeping from the back of Osomatsu's head. "He must've hit one of the nails sticking out of the floor," Choromatsu thought numbly.

Panic began to settle in as Choromatsu realized that his brother was in dire need of medical attention but had no way of receiving it. His brain was racing a mile a minute, weighing the limited number of options he had left. Call for help? No, neither of them had a cell phone. If only Todomatsu was here... (did he get stuck here too?). Look for bandages? Wouldn't work either, Osomatsu would probably bleed out before he got back. Find an exit? And then what? A glance out the window showed Choromatsu that they were in the middle of a never-ending forest that he didn't recognize in the slightest. Wait for help then? But did anybody even know they were gone? Choromatsu let out a shaky breath. Only one option left then.