Bandages (original story)

Chapter one

"Whoa!" Gaku yelled as all of his books fell to the ground with him.

"Whoops, sorry man," called the jerk who knocked him over in a rush, then proceeded to run away without a mere offer to help. When Gaku looked up to see the guy had escaped, he sighed, picked up his books, and himself, off the ground, and headed slowly to his next class. Late...again.

After the last class of the day was dismissed, Gaku's classmates grabbed their stuff and ran out of the school as fast as they could, finally leaving the dreary Monday behind and escaping into freedom. Gaku followed slower behind. He was in no rush to get home. Not necessarily because he didn't want to go home, but because he didn't want to pass up the chance to read under his favorite tree. This tree was on the way of walking home, but it took a different path in the opposite direction, one he came upon by accident when getting lost, trying to find his way home. Every day since he was 12 years old, he would come read under this tree after school. This tree in particular was special to him, because the first encounter he had with it, lead to how the carving in it's trunk came to be. The carving in the trunk was in the shape of a heart. Inside the heart were a couple of symbols. On the left side of the heart, the letter "G" was carved sloppily into it. A "plus" sign was rested in the middle of the heart next to the "G". And on the right side of the "plus" sign resided...a blank space. A space that had been waiting for years to be filled. A space that still wasn't filled. A space that Gaku was sure would never be filled.

"Gaku."

Who was that? Probably no one. Go back to sleep.

"Gaku?"

There it is again. Whoever they are, they sound familiar. I should open my eyes...I can't. Maybe they'll go away.

"Gaku Kenji Minamoto!" Gaku's eyes shot open.

My full name...what is this sorcery? Gaku sat up and looked around for the owner of the voice who, apparently, knew his middle name.

"Gaku!" The voice whisper-yelled. Gaku turned to see a familiar face. His best friend.
"Hideo? What are you doing here?" He asked, rubbing his eyes. He looked up at the sky and saw the moon.
Oh.
"Dude, what are you doing here? It's so late!" Gaku closed his eyes tightly, trying to remember what happened.
"I guess I fell asleep," he said, looking up at Hideo. "Now answer my question." Hideo reached out his hand to pull Gaku onto his feet.
"I went to your house to hang because I was bored. But when you weren't there, I volunteered to go find you," Hideo said. Gaku grabbed his backpack off the ground and looked back at the tree...then the carving. Shaking his head, he glanced back at his friend, then at the ground, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. His head was still heavy, as if he never even fell asleep.

"Alright, let's, uh...let's go home," Gaku said, starting to head back towards his house. Hideo walked by his side.

As they walked, something glittery caught Gaku's eye. Something he had walked over. He stopped walking and turned around, looking for the glittering source. Laying on the sidewalk, about five feet away, laid a shiny object, reflecting the moonlight into Gaku's eyes. He slowly and cautiously walked towards the object.

"Gaku? What are you...?" Hideo asked, trailing off as he watched his friend walk in the wrong direction. Gaku didn't say anything. He approached the object and knelt down, trying to see what it was. As he got a closer look, Gaku realized the shiny object was...a key. A shiny silver key. He picked it up carefully. It was smooth and almost mirror-like. It looked new. "What is that?" Hideo asked, squinting in the dark.

"It's a key," Gaku answered, examining it.

"What is it to?" Hideo asked, kneeling down next to Gaku to get a better look at the key. Gaku looked at Hideo.

"Heck if I know," he sighed. Hideo thought for a moment, leaving the two in silence.

"Oh, wait! What if it's to that classroom everyone's talking about?" He spoke up.

"What classroom?" Gaku asked.

"How do you not know?? It's been talked about for years! You know, room 183?" Hideo asked.

"What about it?" Gaku questioned. "What's been said?"

"Oh, dude, SO many things. It's crazy how many theories there are about that classroom, including a theory that someone is being held captive in there! Crazy, right?!"

"Yeah...crazy," Gaku said, deep in thought. How come he'd never heard about this before? Probably because he only had one friend. That should have been expected. Gaku held the key up in the air to get a better look at it. He then heard rustling. He lowered the key and looked around. He forgot it was still nighttime. "Uh, we should really get home," Gaku said, turning to Hideo. He slipped the key into his pocket and started walking.

"Aw, is someone getting spooked by a bump in the night?" Hideo teased.

"Says the guy who can't sleep without all the lights in the house on. Seriously, dude, I'd hate to see your electricity bill," Gaku returned, chuckling.

"Whatever, dude," Hideo shot back, trying, and failing miserably to find a way to roast him back. As they walked back along the dark sidewalk with only the bright moonlight to guide them, a figure kept a close eye on them from the bushes, making sure they got home safely. Especially Gaku.