《May the best yandere win》


 Brewing Feelings

    The young girl in a school uniform quickly runs over to the guy with her arms out, ready for an embrace as she yells "Broki-chan" repeatedly whilst grinning ear to ear. Her blue eyes were sparkling, almost making her smile look even more cute as her brown hair frolicked in the wind. However, as she got closer and closer to Broki-chan, her voice began to sound different and more annoyed than before. The girl was just about to hug Broki-chan before Broki-chan woke up and opened his eyes to see a girl in the same uniform as the girl in Broki-chan''s dream. Her green eyes were piercing into Broki-chan''s soul as snow fell on both of them and Broki-chan realised that he was lying in the freezing snow.


    Broki-chan slowly gets up as the girl yells out "Wake up, you lazy lump! What were you thinking sleeping in the snow, you could have gotten sick". Broki-chan looks at the girl who has her arms crossed before replying in an apologetic tone "Ah, sorry about that Sakura, I couldn''t resist closing my eyes for a moment. Can''t blame me for it, after all, I was working all night". Sakura grits her teeth and grumbles "Don''t think your excuses will work on me. I was also working all night and unlike you, I''m not slacking off so that''s not an excuse".


    Broki-chan sighs as begins stretching and says "I know, I know. My bad. I promise I''ll be more attentive-". Broki-chan pauses, noticing Sakura''s short dirty blonde hair beaming in the snow, making him get slightly side-tracked as he says "By the way, your hair looks really nice today. I mean, it always looks nice... but today it''s... um, especially nice."


    Sakura is taken aback and blushes but attempts to maintain her composure as she says "Oh... um, thanks, I guess. Didn''t expect you to notice. I-". Broki-chan cuts her off, completely unaware that she was blushing as he says "Yeah I know. Task at hand, no distractions. Your hair just caught my attention, that''s all". Sakura goes red as she says in a flustered tone "Well, I- um- thank you but ugh- stop trying to change the subject Broki''''.


    Broki-chan, who''s paying no attention to her expression, says in an apologetic tone "Ah right sorry, I just gotta remember to focus, absolutely no distractions". Sakura''s gaze softens and she stares at Broki-chan and mutters "Yeah distractions... like his beautiful blue eyes- urgh. Focus, Sakura, focus". Broki-chan looked back at Sakura and asked in a confused tone "Hm? Did you say something Sakura?"


    Sakura goes to say something, but she''s cut off by the loud sound of a warning siren. Sakura sighs as she says, "Great now I gotta go to class, bye Broki, I''ll see you at lunch". Before Broki-chan could finish saying "Oh okay", Sakura has already run away to class. Broki-chan is left to himself so he walks around the building he woke up nearby. It was a stereotypical, 2 stories tall high school, its windows having snow built up on them and ice crystals hanging on the roof as it looks like the snow is about to fall off at any second. As Broki-chan was walking around the school, he noticed a small desolate shed that looked like it hadn''t been touched for years but another thing he noticed is that he had a really bad feeling. At first, Broki-chan tried to shake this feeling but no matter how much he tried to ignore or get rid of this feeling, he just couldn''t get rid of it.


    He just couldn''t get rid of the feeling that he was beingwatched.


    Broki-chan quickly decided that to get rid of this feeling he should just quickly turn around, which he does. When he turned, he quickly saw something vanish out of his view. It was a bit of short black hair on someone''s head that just as quickly vanished as Broki-chan turned. Broki-chan was shocked that someone was watching him but before he could ponder who, the lunch bell rang making him groan as that meant that he was back on the job.


    In only a matter of mere minutes, a swarm of girls were surrounding him asking him for a picture. He was expecting this of course, he was their school''s winter mascot who only came out during the school day after all, no wonder they wanted to take a couple of photos of him. After the photos were all said and done, he began to look around for Sakura however before he could take one more step, a short girl with short black hair jumped on him from the bushes, hugging him as she loudly exclaimed "Broki-chan!". Broki-chan sighs as he picks up the girl and gently places her down as he says in a slightly annoyed tone "Hello Miyoko".


    "So how are you, Broki-chan," said Miyoko enthusiastically.


    "I''m doing fine, were you waiting in the bushes to try and scare me?"


    "Okay I admit I was, did I scare you?" said Miyoko with her grey eyes widening.


    "no," said Broki-chan in a monotone voice.


    Miyoko''s smile slightly fades as she sighs before her smile comes back and she quickly says, "So I guess I''ll have to try better so how has your day been?"


    Miyoko takes a step forward closer to Broki-chan who pretends not to notice it as he says, "Oh my day has been pretty uneventful, how has your day been, Miyoko?"


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    "oh, my day has been pretty busy so far but that''s just because I''m one of the art students and we have one of our big assignments due".


    "Oh, that reminds me Broki-chan, I drew a new design for the winter school mascot, hold on let me just look for it" said Miyoko as he grabbed a sketchbook from the bushes and quickly skims through it before landing on a page and showing it to Broki-chan. It was a sketch of a snowman in a girl''s school uniform with a human-like face and arms. "So, uh well it- so are the arms a part of the costume or?" said Broki-chan, conflicted about the design.


    "Oh yeah it is, the hair isn''t supposed to be a part of the costume as well you already have the haircut and you''re our winter school mascot after all so what do you think of the design?" said Miyoko, grinning at him.


    "Oh- well- it''s- uh- it''s nice, I like uh... it but I usually like what you normally do" said Broki-chan trying not to say that he dislikes the design. Miyoko stops grinning and gives Broki-chan a caught-off-guard look like her pupils dilate and she blushes. She doesn''t say anything for a few seconds as she stares at him before asking "You... you like what I normally do?" Before Broki-chan could reply their conversation was interrupted by a loud "Broki" causing both of their heads to turn in its direction. It was Sakura who ran up to them while holding two lunch boxes. Before Broki-chan could say anything, Sakura interrupts him, yelling "Broki where were you? I''ve been looking everywhere".


    Miyoko, still flustered, attempts to make a hasty retreat by meekly saying "I can see you guys are having a moment or something so I''m just gonna g-". "No, you stay here" said Sakura, glaring at her before looking back at Broki-chan and asking while pointing to Miyoko "And who''s this and what is she doing with you, are you really trying to skip out on me?". Before Broki-chan or Miyoko could reply, Miyoko finally sees her escape, her friend group as they yell out her name. Quickly she says "Oh that''s my friend group, I gotta go bye" before she quickly rushes over to them. Both Broki-chan and Sakura heard Miyoko''s friend group joke about the situation, however when Broki-chan was looking over at them, he noticed something, or someone per-say.


    It was the girl from his dream, side-eying both of them before their group went around the corner.


    Broki-chan didn''t have that much time to think about it as Sakura was still annoyed about the situation but she didn''t say anything as she quickly pulled Broki-chan over to a table and they both sat down and Broki-chan began eating whilst Sakura twirled her fork around. Whilst Broki-chan was eating, Sakura asked him "So how was your day, what did you do today?"


    "Oh, nothing special, I just walked around, had some photos taken, basically just the usual, what about you, what did you do today?" said Broki-chan looking at her, making her quickly stop twirling her fork and look away.


    She quickly says, "Oh uh- nothing- nothing in particular, why would- did you ask that?"


    "Oh well because you asked me what I did today, so I just asked you."


    "oh right... So what did you do yesterday?"


    "same I did today, walked around the building, had some photos taken and had lunch with you, that''s basically what it''s like every day except for the weekends".


    "oh right... so... who was that girl you were talking to, Broki?"


    "Oh her? that was Miyoko she''s just an acquaintance and I don''t see her as anything else if that''s what you''re thinking but yeah and-"


    Broki-chan is cut off by a loud ''ahem'' which makes him turn around to see Miyoko and a girl with brown hair and around the same height as Sakura along with the rest of their friend group in the background. "Hi guys, I''m Tamiko in case you didn''t know and sorry to interrupt your lunch but as the class rep, I need to have a littletalkwith Sakura and Miyoko about the situation which happened before, you don''t mind do you? It''ll only take a few minutes," said Tamiko as she sweetly smiles. Sakura doesn''t say anything as she quietly gets up and walks away into the school with Tamiko and Miyoko, leaving the friend group there.


    Almost immediately after Sakura, Miyoko and Tamiko left, they began talking amongst themselves. "So, what do you think that was about?" said one of the girls.


    "Let''s be real, it''s probably something Miyoko said, she always loves stirring up drama with Sakura because her best friend is class-rep so she''s basically untouchable unless you want to get into serious trouble with the school" said one of the other girls.


    The other girl who hasn''t spoken yet continues to say nothing as the two girls just ignore her as she stares at Broki-chan with a look almost like she''s trying to recognise Broki-chan but can''t. "Do you think they''ll attack her?" said one of the girls.


    "Noa!" exclaimed one of the girls.


    "What? It''s not like it''s out of character for them to do some questionable things to get the upper hand" said Noa.


    "I mean you''re not wrong, but you can''t say things like that, it''s just rude besides what makes you think Miyoko would attack anyone, she doesn''t have a single violent bone in her body, most she''d do is probably scream if Sakura gets too violent after all didn''t, she scratch someone''s face with her nail like a year or so ago?"


    "Oh yeah true, I completely forgot Miyoko and Tamiko told us that happened, oh that''s bad but at least Tamiko and Miyoko know how she acts, oh it must be so scaring being around someone like that but thank goodness, our class representative is on it, wait Miyoko was with Sakura and Broki-chan, oh Miyoko must be so brave to be with someone like that, maybe that''s why she looked so upset"


    "Oh yeah true for all we know Sakura could have threatened both her and Broki-chan''s lives or threatened their families, I feel bad for Broki-chan to have to hang out with her. Broki-chan gives them a look of ''Hey guys I''m right here I can hear you'' but they ignore him and continue gossiping about Sakura and what happened earlier. After a few minutes of loud chatter, the girl who was staring at him asks the other girls "Hey guys maybe we should bring Broki-chan into the conversation. I mean he was there, he would have seen what happened".

 Rising Rivalry

    Broki-chan looked at the girls before nervously saying "Oh well nothing really special happened, Sakura was just mad that I accidentally ditched her, nothing really that violent or scary happened, all Sakura did is yell because she was angry, it might have been the wrong place wrong time for you guys when you showed up, but I can assure you Sakura didn''t do anything violent". The girl from Broki-chan''s dream gave him a confused look before shrugging and saying to the other girls "well if Broki-chan said it, then it must be true". The girl walks over to Broki-chan and smiles at him as she outstretches her hand for Broki-chan to shake it which he does whilst the other girls murmur as the girl says "I''m Kioko by the way, so if Sakura didn''t do anything wrong then what did Miyoko do? Clearly, she must have done something instead of Sakura, right guys?"


    "well, I guess, she''s sometimes a tad bit... weird," said Noa before realising what she just said and quickly walking over to Kioko and Broki-chan as she exclaimed, "I don''t mean weird in an insanely bad way, I just meant that she always manages to get the jump on me y''know?" Ishi walks over to the rest of the group as Broki-chan gives Noa a confused look. Kioko moves closer to Broki-chan as she asks, "So what do you think of Miyoko, Broki-chan?". Broki-chan thinks about Kioko''s question for a few seconds before replying "Well, I don''t really know Miyoko like you guys so my answer might be inaccurate but from what I''ve seen, Miyoko well... she seems nice, maybe a little bit weird when it comes to socialising but overall, a good person, what do you think of her, guys?"


    "Hmm, I guess I''d have to say Miyoko is a bit... challenged when it comes to social cues but who isn''t, she''s just a bit... more challenged than everyone else, y''know you should hear the lies, she spreads, I''m not saying she''s a bad person but Broki-chan is almost always right when it comes to judging other people''s personalities, right girls?" said Kioko whilst she looks over to where Miyoko, Sakura and Tamiko left whilst Noa and Ishi both nod in agreement. She looks back at Broki-chan and smiles at him whilst saying "how about you just forget about Sakura and Miyoko, we could just go somewhere more private, I could give a better experience than those two". Broki-chan smiles at her and says "yeah I guess we could hang out later, sorry to change the topic but have we met before? I swear we have met somewhere but I can''t put my finger on it".


    Kioko''s eye slightly twitches for a second as she says, "No I don''t think we have". Before anyone could respond, the warning bell loudly rings, making Kioko sigh as she looks at the school before looking back and Broki-chan whilst saying "y''know that felt shorter than usual, I don''t know why though". Before Broki-chan could respond, Ishi and Noa grab Kioko and quickly run around the corner although while they were leaving Broki-chan notices a slight smile from Kioko before she goes around the corner. Finally, Broki-chan was left to himself and almost immediately he decided to finish the rest of his lunch.


    Once Broki-chan''s lunch was finished, he finally noticed that Sakura''s lunch box was still there, but something was different from the usual, it looked weird as if it had possibly gone bad but Broki-chan decided to take it anyways, thinking that he could just give it to Sakura after school. He walks over to a couple of trees near the school gate and begins to wait for school to end. Just before school has ended, he hears a couple leaves breaking, causing him to immediately turn around out of curiosity. He walked over to the bushes where the noise came from, but he finds nothing before he hears Miyoko yell out "Broki!" from behind. Broki-chan sighs and turns around to see a beaming Miyoko before him. Annoyed, Broki-chan says in a lecturing tone, "Miyoko, can you please not call me ''Broki'', only Sakura can call me that because she''s my friend".


    Miyoko glares at him after he said that before putting on an obviously fake smile as she says, "And I''m not your friend? but I thought we were friends."


    "Miyoko look, I didn''t mean to upset you, but the nickname ''Broki'' is something special that only Sakura calls me. It''s our way of expressing our close friendship, understand?"


    "So, Sakura gets to have that privilege, huh? I thought we were friends, Broki-chan. I guess our friendship doesn''t mean much to you." said Miyoko as she glared at Broki-chan.


    "Miyoko, our friendship is important to me, but the nickname has a specific meaning between Sakura and me. It doesn''t diminish our friendship" said Broki-chan in a slightly apologetic tone.


    "Oh, I see. I''m glad you prioritise Sakura''s feelings over mine. I guess I''m just not as special to you as she is." said Miyoko in a sarcastic tone.


    "Miyoko, that''s not fair. I value our friendship, but I can''t disregard the significance of the nickname between Sakura and me, she''s my best friend after all."


    "Fine, if you think it''s more important to keep your ''best friend'' happy, I''ll remember my place. Clearly, our friendship doesn''t mean anything to you."


    "Miyoko, that''s not what I meant. I just want you to understand the history behind the nickname. It''s not about devaluing our friendship, it''s just that I don''t want to be called ''Broki'' by anyone but my closest friend."


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    "Well, if you''re so insistent on keeping it exclusive, I suppose I''ll have to accept that. Just remember, Broki-chan, that some friendships are meant to be more inclusive," said Miyoko with a slight smirk on her face.


    "Miyoko, I don''t want our friendship to suffer. Alright..." Broki-chan pauses for a few seconds before continuing, albeit hesitantly, "Fine, you can call me Broki if it means that much to you."


    "Thank you, Broki. I knew you''d see it my way eventually. Our friendship is special, and this nickname will bring us even closer." said Miyoko with a smile as she moves closer to Broki-chan before she stops and notices Sakura''s lunchbox. She tries to get a better look at the lunchbox before asking Broki-chan "So who''s the lunchbox for? Is it for me?" Broki-chan immediately shakes his head as he says, "No it''s Sakura I''m just planning on returning it to her but the food in it looks... weird, I don''t know what''s wrong with it though". Miyoko outstretched her hand as she said, "Can I have a look at it?" Broki-chan nods and gives it to her to inspect. Miyoko looks at the lunchbox for a minute or so before her face looks a bit surprised before she begins grinning for a few seconds before quickly looking up at Broki-chan with a horrified look.


    "It''s poisoned."


    "Truly this is terrible, I-I have to take this and report it to the class representative, as the class representative''s second in command, it''s my responsibility, thank goodness Sakura didn''t eat this, she could have died, do you mind if I take this to inspect this further?" said Miyoko with a concerned look on her face. Broki-chan looks at Miyoko and without a word nods, Miyoko looks over at the school and quickly says "Uh I got to go and report this, in the meantime, don''t let Sakura know about her food, it will cause unnecessary panic". Before Broki-chan can respond Miyoko quickly walks back into the school just as Sakura with her school bag walks out and glares at Miyoko, however as Miyoko walks further in, Broki-chan swore he saw a wide grin on Miyoko''s face, but he just chalked it up his imagination.


    Sakura spots Broki-chan and walks over to him while she says, "What were you and Miyoko talking about, it seems suspicious that you were hanging out with her before school ended". Broki-chan immediately looks at her and says, "Oh it was just small talk". Sakura makes a humph sound as the rest of the students begin to walk out with a few of them waving their hands at him as they leave. Sakura gave Broki-chan a look that she didn''t like that answer as she responded "Alright fine. I believe you, oh I just remembered something I was going to give you". Sakura puts her bag down and opens it before shifting through it and pulling out something which is rolled up and handing it over to Broki-chan.


    Broki-chan opens it and sees a winter-themed poster which has large bold letters at the bottom which says ''Snowfest''. Whilst Broki-chan was looking at the poster, Sakura, in a slightly annoyed tone, said "Look, don''t think this a date or anything, I just have to go and you''re coming with me". Broki-chan looks up at her and says "But-". Before Broki-chan could say more than one word Sakura loudly said, "No excuses Broki, you''re coming with me and that''s that, now are we gonna walk out of school or what?" Broki-chan smiles at her and just says "alright I''ll go, now c''mon let''s leave".


    Whilst they were walking out of the school, Broki-chan couldn''t help but feel an angry set of eyes coming from the school that was watching him. Once they were past the gate, both Broki-chan and Sakura said their goodbyes and walked in separate directions. Once Sakura had turned around the corner, Broki-chan quickly turned back around in the direction of the school, accidentally bumping into Miyoko who looked completely shocked and confused as she fell onto the floor. Miyoko quickly stands up and dusts herself off before looking at Broki-chan and saying, "Oh hey Broki, I didn''t think that was you, sorry for bumping into you, so what are you doing heading back to the school?"


    "oh well I just forgot something that''s all, it''s okay, accidents happen".


    "Oh? What is it specifically, I could help you look for it"?


    "No no that''s okay I think I know where it is, also I had some thinking about it and I''m sorry about saying you can''t call me ''Broki'', I was out of line for that and I''m sorry."


    "Oh that? it''s okay I''ve already forgiven you Broki" said Miyoko with a look that Broki-chan couldn''t tell was smug or a genuine smile.


    They both quickly stare at each other for a few seconds before Broki-chan breaks the silence by saying "So... heading home?". Miyoko gives Broki-chan a bit of a caught-off-guard look before quickly and nervously saying "Oh uh yeah of course". Miyoko takes a minute to compose herself before she looks back at Broki-chan and says "You know what? I just got an idea, how about we sneak back into the school and take a closer look at the poison and try to find out what it is exactly and who did it?"


    "But isn''t breaking in and stuff illegal?"


    "I mean technically yes but I think it''s for the greater good. Would you rather do a bit of breaking and entering to stop a potential murderer or let an attempted murderer run loose?"


    "Alright then but how come you haven''t figured out who''s done it yet?"


    "oh well, that''s just because I couldn''t figure it out besides the chemicals looked like they came from the science lab and well you''re smart so you should figure it out in no time now c''mon let''s go". Before Broki-chan can say yes or no to the plan, Miyoko drags him, which shocked him a bit at how strong Miyoko was. Miyoko doesn''t take him directly to the door of the school but instead takes him to some bushes nearby and says, "Wait here Broki, I''m going to try and open the front door". Broki-chan quietly nods and Miyoko moves out of the bushes. After Miyoko left, there was a minute or so of silence before Broki-chan began to hear faint clicking before he heard one slightly louder click with some shuffling and then Miyoko who loudly whispers "Broki-chan it''s all good to come out of the bushes now, let''s go" Broki-chan jumps out of the bushes to find that the lock had been picked and Miyoko was already inside. When Broki-chan caught up to her as she nonchalantly walked around the building, he quietly asked her "So how did you learn to lock pick?". Miyoko quickly dismisses him as she says, "That''s irrelevant now c''mon we got a lab to get to".

 Overbearing Host

    Miyoko and Broki-chan quietly walk around the school for a few minutes to avoid the attention of anyone still roaming around before they head up the staircase and Broki-chan loudly whispers to Miyoko "So are we almost there?". They keep walking however Miyoko gives Broki-chan a confused look as she whispers back "I mean yeah we are, but I thought you would already know that because you''re the school mascot, so I just assumed that y''know". Almost immediately Broki-chan replies "Oh well despite being the school mascot, I''m not actually allowed in the school, after that incident that happened with the summer mascot when some kids sprayed the suit with acid".


    "Oh, right I almost forgot about that, that was crazy, especially when he tried to bite those kids, anyways sucks that you''re getting punished for it when you weren''t even involved."


    "Yeah, I guess but at least we don''t have to wear full-body suits now but the suit''s still there because the school wanted to keep the summer mascot for sentimental reasons I guess- hey is that the lab?" Broki-chan points to a sign above a door as they both stop walking and Miyoko turns to her left to see what he''s pointing at. Miyoko nods and slowly opens the door just far enough for Broki-chan to walk in before she walks in herself and quietly shuts the door. She gets her phone out and turns on the flashlight and places it on one of the practice tables in the middle to give both some light as Broki-chan begins looking around the room. They both silently examine the room for a few minutes before Miyoko looks inside a cabinet where some chemicals are stored and says "Hey Broki, I just noticed something interesting, looking at the chart on the wall some of the chemicals and acids from this cabinet are gone."


    "huh? What chemicals specifically?" said Broki-chan, confused. Miyoko quickly skims through the list and replies in a way that makes it seem like she''s talking to herself "Well by the looks of it a bottle of Ethylene glycol is gone. It''s used in anti-freezes but as a murder weapon it''s a good pick, killing off the victim in 24 hours anyways it says that there''s also missing some missing thallium sulphate and strychnine, I have no clue why they would take they would take the sulphate, it would take too long to kill but the strychnine on the other hand would be too quick. I think the killer must have been either deciding what poison they were picking or using all three but either way, I don''t know why but I have a feeling that the empty bottles have to be in this room somewhere, what do you think Broki?" Broki-chan looks at her confused and puzzled before snapping back to reality and saying, "Okay first off, how do you even know this stuff?". Miyoko just shrugs as she nonchalantly says, "I just like listening to true crime podcasts that''s how I know, but anyways you might want to start looking around after all, the bottles could be anywhere, they could be in one of the cabinets, under one of the tables, in the trash can, I mean they could be anywhere really."


    "yeah, you''re right," said Broki-chan as he looks around before quickly trying to see if he could find anything under the table before he hears a bottle rolling towards the trash can. Broki-chan stands up as Miyoko says, "Whoops my bad, do you think you could pick up the bottle so I can put it back, it should be near the trash can". Broki-chan nods and walks over to the trashcan before he kneels to pick up the bottle. As he picks up the bottle, Miyoko walks over to him and he notices something in the trash can, so he goes to inspect it.


    It''s the missing bottles, completely intact as if they were gently placed in.


    "Oh, wow Broki, you found the missing bottles, says you must be a genius, see this is the reason I''m friends with you because you''re so smart, you''re perfect," said Miyoko slightly excited as she gives Broki-chan a pat on the head whilst she looks at the bottles. Broki-chan doesn''t say anything as he inspects the bottle for a couple of seconds before looking at Miyoko who''s smiling at him as he says, "Do you think there would be the killer''s fingerprints on these bottles?" Miyoko''s smile immediately turns into a frown as she says "No, there wouldn''t be". Broki-chan gives her a puzzled look as he says, "Why''s that?". Miyoko begins to slowly walk around the lab as she says, "Well I just think there wouldn''t be after all every smart killer uses gloves and this killer clearly knew their stuff so I just think it would make sense that they used gloves". She pauses as she turns back to Broki-chan and says, "Don''t you think so too?".


    Broki-chan doesn''t say anything and nods to which Miyoko responds by walking back over to Broki-chan with her hand outstretched as she says, "Well we should probably make sure the killer doesn''t think that we''re onto him by putting everything back, hand me the bottle Broki". Broki-chan silently hands her the bottle and Miyoko puts it back in the cabinet before she grabs her phone and walks towards the door and opens it slightly. Broki-chan stands up, pushing the trashcan very slightly towards the left before heading to the door and walking through it. Miyoko walks through the door after him, shutting it, turning her phone''s flashlight off to not draw attention to themselves and walking over to the nearest bin and dumping the poisoned food in it. After the food was discarded, they quickly walked out of the school, however, whilst they were walking, Broki-chan couldn''t help but notice the slightest grin on Miyoko''s face which Miyoko seemed to be hiding from him. Broki-chan thought it was a bit weird but decided to just ignore it as they got to the gate.


    Before Broki-chan could wave goodbye and walk away, Miyoko grabs his hand as she sweetly stares at him and asks, "You know Broki-chan, if you want, you could stay at my house tonight". Broki-chan pulls his hand away as he says, "Oh uh thanks for the offer, Miyoko but I already have a home". Miyoko gives him an offended look as she somewhat loudly says "No you don''t-". Miyoko quickly cuts herself off and goes back to her friendly expression as she says, "Oh okay, Broki-chan well I better go, I''ve got homework and stuff to do, see you tomorrow". They both wave at each other and Broki-chan waits for her to leave from his view before walking back to the school. He walks past the actual school and follows a path that leads to a shed near the school''s auditorium. Broki-chan opens the door to the shed, revealing an extra outfit, a makeshift bed, the summer''s and winter''s mascot''s old suits and several untouched and unused masks. Broki-chan walks over to a makeshift bed and proceeds to go to sleep.


    The next day, Broki-chan hears Sakura loudly yelling out his name which makes him get up and open the door. He walks out of the shed and locks eyes with Sakura, who''s at a tree nearby. Sakura rushes over to him, visibly upset and angry as she yells "Where were you? I''ve been waiting for 15 minutes". Broki-chan tilts his head as he says, confused, "Late for what?". Sakura gives him a frustrated look as she yells "You weren''t at the spot we always meet at before the morning bell Broki-chan, I swear-". Before Sakura could finish what, she was saying the morning bell goes off making her loudly yell "Oh for goodness sake" before she angrily storms off.


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    Broki-chan looks towards the school and sees Sakura walk around the corner. After Sakura walks around the corner, Broki-chan notices a girl with long ginger hair staring at him. They make eye contact and stare at each other for a few seconds, her green eyes piercing into Broki-chan''s soul. After a few seconds of awkward eye contact, the girl blushes and proceeds to quickly leave, confusing Broki-chan.


    Fast forward to lunch, Broki-chan, at their usual meeting spot, watches Sakura walk over to him, smiling. She hugs him as she happily says "Broki, are you ready to go to lunch?". Broki-chan gives her a confused look as he says, "Yeah I guess but you''re not mad about this morning, right?". Sakura holds his hand and begins walking as she loudly says, "What are you talking about Broki, why would I be mad, don''t be silly, all we did was talk". Before Broki-chan could say anything else they were at their usual spot for lunch, Sakura places Broki''s lunchbox and a new lunchbox on the table before pushing one of the chairs away from the table so Broki-chan can sit. Sakura then walks towards her chair and sits down before they begin eating, albeit with Broki-chan carefully checking his food and glancing over to Sakura''s food to confirm it isn''t poisoned again.


    Whilst they''re eating Sakura glances over at Broki-chan eating before she mumbles "I should really stop making lunch for you". Broki-chan looks up at her and shrugs as he says, "I mean you can if you want, I don''t mind". Sakura quickly and somewhat loudly says "No I didn''t mean to say that out loud, I just meant that sometimes it''s a pain to make but I like making them and I-". Sakura is cut off by the sound of Miyoko clearing her throat which was coming from behind Broki-chan. They both turn around to see Miyoko smiling but before she can say anything, Sakura says "Look Miyoko, can''t you see that Broki-chan is having fun with his best friend so he can''t talk with y-". Miyoko loudly cuts her off by saying "I''m not here to talk with him". She pauses before continuing "I''m here to talk with you."


    Sakura glares at her before silently getting up and walking to the back of the school with her. Once Sakura and Miyoko had left, two girls approached Broki-chan, one of them being someone he instantly recognised as the girl who was staring at him this morning. The other girl with black hair doesn''t say anything and just blushes whilst staring at him, her brown eyes piercing into him. Meanwhile, the other girl that Broki-chan saw before looks at him before saying "Hi I''m Nahoko and this is Yutsuko'''' She pauses as she points to Yutsuko who gives him a small wave before Nahoko continues "anyways I just want to say I''m sorry for running away earlier, I didn''t mean to, it''s just that school was starting". Broki-chan gives her a slightly confused look as to why she would be apologising for that instead of staring before deciding to accept the apology as he says, "oh okay... it''s fine... thank you for apologising though?"


    Nahoko grins at him as she says, "Great that''s glad to hear, say you''re the Broki-chan right, you know I''ve always had a few questions I want to ask; would you say that you''re single currently?". Broki-chan gives her a slightly weirded-out look as he says, "Yeah I am but I''m not looking for a relationship?". Nahoko very quietly mumbles "You won''t be for long". Broki-chan looks at her and asks, "What did you say?". Nahoko gives him a slightly surprised look before saying, "Oh uh I was just moving onto my second question, at what age would you want to get married?". Broki-chan looks even more weirded out as he asks "Isn''t that a bit too personal? I mean we have never met before besides today".


    Before Nahoko could respond Yutsuko taps her shoulder and says, albeit a bit quiet "Uh Nahoko, 6 o''clock". Yutsuko points at someone causing Nahoko to turn around and Broki-chan to look to see what they were pointing at. Broki-chan sees Sakura marching back to the table, pissed. Almost immediately Nahoko says somewhat worried "Uh me and Yutsuko have gotta go, talk to you sometime soon". The girls quickly leave just as Sakura arrives and glares at them. After the girls were out of her sight, she turned to look at Broki-chan with a smile, however he noticed a cut on her cheek. Broki-chan almost immediately stares at her cheek and asks, "So what happened, how come you have a cut on your cheek?"


    Sakura doesn''t say anything as she quickly covers the wound before bursting into tears. Broki-chan stands up and hugs her as he says "Hey hey it''s okay just tell me what happened? Who did it?". Sakura looks up at him and says "I-it was Miyoko, she threatened me to stop talking to you and I said no I couldn''t do that to my best friend before she sliced my face, but you probably don''t even believe me because of how good she is at lying". While Sakura was talking, Broki-chan couldn''t help but keep thinking to himself ''Miyoko would never do that, I can''t see her wounding something'', however, he never said this out loud. After Sakura is finished explaining Broki-chan says "Hey it''s okay, I believe you, how about we try to forget about it, how was your day, before that?". Sakura wipes her tears and smiles at him as she says, "My day wasn''t that good, to be honest, I had a test I forgot about, how was your day?"


    "It was okay, so what class do you have next?"


    "hmm if I remember correctly-". Before Sakura couldn''t finish her sentence, she was cut off by the sound of the school bell ringing. Both Broki-chan and Sakura stop hugging each other and before Sakura leaves to head off to class she says, "Oh that reminds me Broki, can you wait for me at the gate, I want to ask you something". Broki-chan smiles at her and says "Sure". Sakura smiles at him before leaving and heading off to class.


    Flash forward to the end of school, Broki-chan is waiting at the gate, watching as everyone leaves before Sakura, who was one of the last people to leave, walks over to him. She waits for the last couple of people to leave before saying "Hey Broki, glad to see that you showed up". Broki-chan looks at her and says, "Yeah of course so what was it you wanted to ask me?". Sakura grins at him as she says, "Well I was wondering if you wanted to join me for dinner, my parents are out of town, and I came up with a new recipe". Broki-chan smiles at her and says "Yeah, of course, I can''t refuse free dinner". Sakura''s grin grew bigger as she said "Perfect" before they began walking to her house.


    Once they''re at her house, she unlocks the door with a spare key hidden in a fake rock and lets Broki-chan inside before putting the key back and shutting the door, locking it. She turns on the lights as it was getting slightly dark before telling Broki-chan "Take a seat, it''ll take a bit to make dinner". Broki-chan nods and sits down before Sakura walks into the kitchen and turns on the light with Broki-chan being able to just barely see her face. As Sakura is making dinner, Broki-chan looked around the room and asked Sakura questions, however she didn''t respond but Broki-chan did notice that while she was making dinner, her grin was growing bigger and more sinister by the second.


    Once the dinner was cooked, Sakura looked at Broki-chan and said, "I''m just going to add some spices and then it''s done alright?". Broki-chan smiles at her and says, "Oh alright". Once dinner was done, she placed the dinners down on opposite ends and they began eating. "So, what was the best part of your day?" says Sakura as she continues to grin, making Broki-chan''s intuition tell him to leave. He ignores his intuition as he says, "Oh well I guess having lunch with you what about you?". Sakura moves her food around before she looks up at Broki-chan, still grinning as she says, "This dinner", she pauses to eat before saying "So who were those girls you were talking to when Miyoko was harassing me?".


    "wait didn''t you say that she attacked- hold on, I feel really weird, weirdly tired". Sakura doesn''t say anything as she finishes her dinner and sinisterly grins at him. Broki-chan chuckles to himself as he says, "It''s almost like you- like you drugged my-". Before Broki-chan could finish his sentence, he passes out as he looks at Sakura who was still sinisterly grinning at him.

 Ghostly Encounter

    Broki-chan wakes up in a daze, looking at the cement flooring. He quickly tries to remember what happened before looking up to see Sakura, creepily close to him, smiling. Broki-chan, jump-scared by Sakura being so close, tries to jump away from her; however he realises quickly that he''s tied up to a chair as he falls back, now seeing the wooden floorboard ceiling. Sakura looms over him as he struggles to untie himself before she lifts the chair back up. Broki-chan, still struggling to untie himself, nervously asks Sakura "Sakura what''s going on? Why am I tied up? Can you untie me Sakura? Please? For me?"


    Sakura frowns at him before going into a completely neutral expression as she says in a monotone voice "You know I can''t do that Broki-chan, you''ll just go back to Miyoko and forget about me besides...". Sakura pauses, her breath getting slightly heavier as she quietly says "I-I can''t go back on this now". Broki-chan helplessly looks at her as he says "Sakura... please". Sakura sighs as she slowly back away towards the only door in the room as she says "Broki I can''t do that so stop asking, oh you know what that''s just reminded me of something, I''ve got a gift for you I''ll just quickly grab it".


    "Sakura come back... Sakura... SAKURA!" yelled Broki-chan as Sakura opens the door and takes one step onto what Broki-chan could only assume was a staircase. Sakura is about to walk up the staircase but stops as she looks back at Broki-chan, now smiling, as she says, "Oh and also I wouldn''t try to scream if I were you, the basement is soundproofed, and you would just be wasting your beautiful voice". Before Broki-chan could say anything else, Sakura shuts the basement door and locks it. Broki-chan looks around the basement with panicked breaths, thinking of his escape plan but he can''t think of anything. It was only less than a minute of Broki-chan being left to himself before he had given up, looking at the door hoping someone would save him. Whilst he''s looking at the door, a girl wearing a mask like his and a school uniform, emerges from the floor in front of Broki-chan, scaring him which in return, scares the girl who floats towards some boxes nearby before phasing through them to hide. Broki-chan is confused as to what just happened but before he can think about it anymore, the girl phases her head through the boxes as she confusingly says, "You can see me?"


    Broki-chan looks at her even more confused as he says "Yeah?". The girl is shocked but quickly flies over to Broki-chan and says "But how? I mean only people who are insane or have been revived before can see ghosts and I don''t think you''re either. Maybe it''s your mask which makes you able to see me because it kind of looks like a ghost''s, but it has actual eyes underneath, this is weird". Broki-chan looks at her blue and green eyes before asking "wait what do you mean by me having actual eyes underneath, you have eyes too I can see them". The girl tilts her head before realising what he meant and quickly replying "oh these aren''t actually my eyes, there more just where my eyes should be but I can kinda just have like 360 vision or was it 270? Anyways, that''s beside the point, basically, these weren''t my actual eye colours, when I was alive I mean, like these colours were just my favourite colours that''s why I have two different eye colours, make sense?"


    Broki-chan looks puzzled but nods anyway before the girl looks at the door and then back at Broki-chan as she says, "I''m Monika and to be honest, it looks like you''re in quite the predicament". Broki-chan goes to outstretch his hand but fails due to forgetting that he''s still tied up before saying "I''m Broki-chan."


    "Broki-chan? Is that like your full name, honorific and all?"


    "Yeah, why?"


    "Oh no reason, I was just a bit surprised because that name sounds familiar, but I can''t remember where from."


    Broki-chan sighs quite loudly, looking at the floor before looking back at Monika and saying "y''know I don''t think I''m going to get out of here, I can''t see any way out and Sakura has these ropes tied pretty tight, I still don''t know why she would do this". Monika shrugs as she says "Huh is that so? Well, I doubt that you won''t escape, I mean look at the window, someone''s here and I don''t think that''s Sakura judging by how they''re sneaking around". Monika points towards one of the basement windows and Broki-chan quickly turns to look. Broki-chan sees the legs of a woman in a school uniform, holding something which Broki-chan couldn''t see very well due to the snow before the person quickly and sneakily walks to the left.


    Monika''s eyes move slightly down as she looks at Broki-chan, almost as if she was giving Broki-chan a sad look before she says, "I''ll have to go for a couple of seconds, I''ll be back as soon as I can". Monika doesn''t wait for a response as she quickly phases through the roof. Just as Monika leaves, Broki-chan begins to hear the footsteps of two different people albeit with one of them being significantly quieter. Monika quickly comes back, somewhat panicked, however before she can say anything other than "Broki-chan", they both hear the door being unlocked, making Monika quickly decide to phase through Broki-chan and hide behind him.


    Sakura opens the door, sinisterly smiling, and takes one step forward as she says "Broki-chan, I-". Before Sakura could say anything else, she was hit with a sharp axe going directly through the back of her skull, causing blood dripping from the back of her head as she instantly fell to the floor. Once she fell, blood began to pool around her as her lifeless body held the door open. Monika and Broki-chan both look at Sakura''s lifeless body in shocked horror, completely unable to move as the killer who they could only see the gloves of, quickly leaves with the sound of their footsteps being almost deafening to Broki-chan. He couldn''t even think, the only thought he had in his head now was that his best friend was just murdered right in front of him.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    After a few minutes of stunned silence, they both hear someone open a door and walk around. Broki-chan quickly hears that it''s Miyoko as she yells out his name, making Broki-chan come back to reality as he yells out "Miyoko, Miyoko can you hear me I''m in the basement?". "Okay I''m coming Broki-chan" said Miyoko as she went to open a door. "Before you come in here, I thought I should let you know that Sakura is... Sakura''s dead" said Broki-chan as Miyoko''s footsteps got louder and louder. "Oh god no," said Miyoko as her footsteps got more panicked and louder before she audibly gasped as she entered the room and stepped over her corpse with tears in her eyes.


    Miyoko runs over to Broki-chan, quickly trying to untie him as she asks, "Are you okay Broki-chan, are you hurt?". Broki-chan shakes his head as tears quickly run down his face. Monika finally comes back to reality as she quickly flies over to Sakura''s dead body and screams "SAKURA". Broki-chan looks down at Miyoko who almost looks like she''s side-eying Monika before Miyoko sighs and the ropes are untied. Miyoko quickly helps Broki-chan up before she looks back at the corpse and says "I- I think I''m going to try and find a phone to call the police".


    Broki-chan also looks at the body as he says, "Yeah I think that would be best, I don''t even know what to think right now". Miyoko quickly leaves up the stairs and Monika continues to stay near Sakura''s corpse before she notices something and says "Broki-chan... Sakura''s holding something, it''s a book and I-I''m a bit curious as to why she is holding it. Do you mind picking it up? In all honesty, I can''t even believe this would happen but maybe the book might have some of our answers". Broki-chan quickly picks up the book trying not to even look at the body before both he and Monika quickly leave the house.


    The next day, Broki-chan watches from outside the auditorium as Sakura''s death is announced to the whole school in an assembly. Just as the assembly ends, Broki-chan quickly leaves, walking over to where Sakura and he used to eat lunch together. He sits in the chair before looking down at the table, trying to process what happened as Monika floats towards him and says, "Well I figured out why Miyoko isn''t here today, she was questioned but they couldn''t pin anything on her, so they let her go and she has the day off". Broki-chan doesn''t really engage with the conversation as he just quietly says "Uh huh". Monika floats closer to him as she says "Hey Broki-chan are you okay, I mean like of course you wouldn''t be but uh- how are you holding up?".


    Broki-chan looks up at her and says, "I''m holding up fine I guess, I just- I just don''t know what to think or feel, like I know that I should be distraught over the fact that my best friend died right in front of me but I''m not and I don''t know why, it''s weird". Monika tries to put her hand on his shoulder without phasing through him as she asks, "do you want to talk about?". Just as the lunch bell goes off, Broki-chan shakes his head and Monika nods before floating to the seat next to him. "So, what about that book, do you still have it?" said Monika to which Broki-chan nods as he reaches for a loose brick on the floor, moving it and revealing the book as he places it on the table.


    The book didn''t look like a regular book, however, it had strange symbols on the cover with a distinct red eye in the middle. The book had no title however on the front the words ''Ghost Book'' was scratched into it. Almost immediately, Broki-chan picks up the book and attempts to read it; however he finds out very quickly that the handwriting is almost unreadable. "Monika, can you make sense of this book? I can''t read it because of the handwriting" said Broki-chan as he looked up at Monika. She tilts her head in confusion before floating over to the book and trying to read it for a few seconds before saying "Huh, in all honesty, I can''t read it either, maybe we should-". She pauses as she notices Nahoko walking over to them, making her mask change to a smiling expression as she says "Broki-chan hide the book, now". Broki-chan is confused but does what she told him, hiding it under the chair the best he could before he watches Monika hide behind him as she quickly says, "Just try to end the conversation as soon as possible, I wouldn''t trust her if I were you, something seriously wrong with her".


    Broki-chan, still confused as to what she''s talking about, says "Who are you even- oh". He pauses upon seeing Nahoko standing right in front of him, holding something before continuing "Uh hi Nahoko". Nahoko hands Broki-chan a lunchbox as she says "Hi Broki-chan, I''m sorry about what happened to Sakura, I know this won''t make you feel better, but I brought you some food because I thought it would help". Broki-chan takes the food and begins to eat it albeit with slight hesitation at first. Whilst he''s eating, he says "This is my favourite food, how did you know that Nahoko?". Nahoko chuckles as she says "Oh really? I didn''t know that, so it was just a lucky guess".


    Monika, looking annoyed, begins to slowly come out of cover and she floats above Broki-chan as Nahoko says "So Broki-chan do you even trust...". Nahoko immediately stops speaking and goes as white as a ghost as she makes eye contact with Monika. Nahoko stares at Monika, wide-eyed, for a few seconds before she takes a step back and runs away, almost bumping into Ishi in the process. Monika''s mask goes back to how it was when she first met Broki-chan as she says "See? I told you something was wrong with her''''. Broki-chan ignores her as Ishi walks up to him and they greet each other before Ishi says "You know it''s kinda weird hanging around here, I still can''t process that Sakura died, man, I can''t even imagine what you''re feeling."


    "Yeah, it''s weird, I feel conflicted about it like I don''t feel sad about it, but I don''t feel happy about it either, maybe it''s because I was there and saw it happen."


    "Wait wait... you saw it happen, could you tell me what happened because we weren''t told anything, no pressure though".


    "no, it''s fine, basically what happened was that she was- she was murdered, I didn''t see who the killer was though."


    Ishi audibly gasps out of shock before saying "Oh my god that''s horrible, the murderer is probably still out there we''ve gotta find that killer and-". Ishi cuts herself off as she notices the book and points at it as she says "Uh Broki-chan? What''s that thing under the chair? What type of book is it, I''ve never seen anything like it before"

 Library Revelations

    Broki-chan, completely forgetting about the book, quickly looks under the chair to see what she was pointing at. He realises that it was the book fairly quickly as he grabs it and places it on the table as Monika stares at him. He looks over to Ishi as he says, "Oh it''s just- just something Sakura gave me before she died that is but for some reason the handwriting is almost unreadable, to be honest, I don''t know how someone managed to have such bad handwriting". Before Broki-chan can react, Ishi quickly grabs the book as she says, "let me take a look". She begins to quickly skim through the book, looking up at Broki-chan every so often with a puzzled look. Once she''s finished reading, she closes the book as she looks at Broki-chan and says, "well that book is very interesting, in all honesty, I think I''ve actually seen this handwriting before, but I don''t know where from, do you mind if I-".


    Before Ishi can finish what she''s saying, they''re both surprised by Kioko butting into their conversation with a rather loud "Hi guys, whatcha up to?". Kioko looks over at Ishi, then quickly at the book before glaring at Ishi who glares back at her. Ishi sighs and looks back at Broki-chan, gripping the book tighter as she says, "Look I''ll try and translate this, and I''ll try to give it back to you soon". Ishi quickly leaves and rushes around the corner, all while Kioko continues to stare at her. Kioko quickly turns to look back at Broki-chan, stepping slightly closer to him as she says "I- okay so first off, I just wanted to say that I''m sorry about Sakura''s death and I wanted to give you this". Kioko holds Broki-chan''s hand for a second and she lets go of what she''s holding before backing away from Broki-chan. She tilts her head and smiles at him as she says "I''ve gotta leave to deal with some things but hopefully that can help you". Kioko turns around and quickly leaves the same way as Ishi, just as Broki-chan looks down to see what Kioko gave him.


    It was a key.


    It was fairly small with some tiny patterns engraved into the key in a deep winter blue, contrasting with the shadow grey. Near the top of the key, there were the letters ''SK'' scratched into it. Whilst he''s looking at the key, he looks up to see Monika staring at where Kioko just left before he looks back down at the key and says, "I think I''ve seen this key in the library before but I''m not sure I''m going to see if I can find Nahoko then go to the library okay?". Monika doesn''t respond for a few seconds as she looks over to Ishi walking past Kioko in the distance before she says "Huh? Oh yeah sure, you go do that Broki-chan, I-I''m going to keep an eye on Kioko, I don''t know why but I have a bad feeling". Broki-chan shrugs as he says "Oh okay" before Monika floats into the ground. Broki-chan puts the key in one of his skirt pockets before looking for Nahoko.


    After a bit of searching, Broki-chan finds Nahoko, hiding under a rather tall cherry blossom tree on a hill, overlooking the auditorium, as she sobs. Broki-chan sits next to her and looks at her, asking "Hey are you okay?". Nahoko looks at him, tears dripping down her eyes as she says, "Oh I''m okay it''s just I thought I saw something scary and when I get scared, well you saw it, I just start crying, I''m sorry for running away, it''s just that I didn''t want you to see it and-". Before Nahoko can finish her sentence, Broki-chan cuts her off by hugging her, making Nahoko blush. "You don''t have to apologise, I understand," said Broki-chan as Nahoko hugs him back, still blushing. Whilst they''re hugging, Nahoko mutters "You know that I would do anything for you, Broki-chan but thank you for the hug, I''m okay now" before she notices something on Broki-chan''s shirt.


    Blood.


    Just a drop or two on his white shirt, almost indistinguishable from red paint.


    Nahoko lets go as she says, "There''s something on your shirt, I''ll get it for you". Broki-chan doesn''t respond as he looks at someone with a mask like Monika''s near the auditorium, smiling at him. Nahoko doesn''t wait for a response as she proceeds to lick the blood off which works to some success with only a small stain being left there. After she licks the blood off, she has a slightly disappointed look, almost as if she was expecting it to be something or someone else''s blood. Broki-chan doesn''t react as he continues to stare at the masked person whilst Nahoko looks at him and says, "Everything alright Broki-chan, what are you looking at?". Broki-chan looks at Nahoko as he says "Oh it''s nothing, I just thought I saw something" before he looks back over to where the masked person was only to find that they were gone without a trace.


    He stands up, looking down at Nahoko who was still sitting as he says, "Well now that I know that you''re okay, I''m going to head to the library because someone gave me this key and I think I''ve seen something like it there before". Before Broki-chan can take another step forward, Nahoko grabs his hand, quite forcefully to the point she almost pulls him down. Broki-chan looks back at Nahoko, confused, only to see her grinning as she enthusiastically says, "I''ll help, let''s go to the library together so I can help you find what you''re looking for". Nahoko stands up and lets go of Broki-chan''s hand as he politely says, "Oh no that''s okay I can do it by myself". Nahoko puts on the puppy-dog eyes as she says "Please Broki-chan?"


    "No."


    "But c''mon, I can help you find stuff related to that key you were talking about."


    "The answer is still no Nahoko."


    "Okay but do you even know where the library is?"


    "Well, no but I can find out where it is easily, isn''t there a map in the school?"


    "I mean yeah there is, but one, you aren''t allowed in the school and two I already know where the library is, and I could easily sneak you in."


    Broki-chan sighs very loudly, thinking about his decision before saying, albeit in an annoyed tone, "Fine." Nahoko smiles at him and walks next to him before they both head to the library. Whilst they''re walking past the auditorium, Monika emerges from the floor, making Broki-chan whisper to her "Now is not the time Monika, just talk to me later". Monika doesn''t respond and just simply floats back into the ground. Broki-chan looks over to Nahoko, seeing her wiping away a tear or two before smiling at him, gleefully. However, whilst they were walking, Broki-chan couldn''t help but notice that Monika emerged from the floor behind them, still watching.


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    Once they''re in the school, Nahoko rushes Broki-chan into the library, hiding him in a corner before Nahoko quickly rushes out of the room and then quickly back in with a school bag and places it on the table. Broki-chan takes out the key and places it next to her bag with Nahoko inspecting it for a few seconds before looking in the non-fiction section. Broki-chan looks around the library for a few seconds.


    It was an average school library with many books. The bookshelves had some dark undertones in the wood, setting the atmosphere of the room along with the chips and scratches on the bookshelves, making it look like they have been there for a while. However, the bean bags and the tables looked relatively new which contrasted with the rest of the room. While Nahoko was skimming through books, Broki-chan decides to head to the science fiction section, picking up a random book and skimming the ending which read:


    ''Before Will could respond, the robot threw him out of the window and onto the grass outside. Will tries to get up but fails due to being in too much pain from the robot hitting him. However, despite the rain dripping from his face, slightly impairing his vision, one thing he could clearly see is Sophie, approaching him with the same spear the robot used to stab Benny, blood still dripping from it, as the robot stares into his soul with his face being the only really thing lighting up the grass. Will tries to crawl away from him but he''s too late as Sophie catches up to him, realising that this is probably it, he moves his body to face upwards so he can at least die without his robot companion, Elio- ARG-02, having to watch. Sophie stays quiet as the robot slowly lifts the spear, as Sophie slightly trembles, and the robot''s grin grows wider. "Goodbye Will," says the robot in a monotone voice as he''s about to stab Will.''


    Broki-chan quickly closes the book and puts it away, suddenly remembering that he doesn''t like that book due to the ending where the villains win before he looks over at Nahoko, brainstorming before looking back at the books. After a few minutes of silence between the two, Nahoko makes an ''a-ha'' sound before she quickly walked over to her bag, pulls out a UV flashlight and whispers to Broki-chan "I have an idea Broki-chan, maybe we could try using this on the cover of every single book, there might be a hidden message on one of them, just wondering though who did you even get this key from?"


    "That''s a good idea, I got it from Kioko, she said that it could help me, I have absolutely no idea about what she meant by that, but I don''t know this key feels weird, almost like I''ve seen it before but at the same time I''ve never seen it, it''s just like a distant blurry memory, if you get me?"


    "I mean no not really, but I guess, I''ll just agree with you, so did you find anything else besides this, it might give us some clues as to what the key can help you with."


    "Well, I- uh- no I haven''t found anything other than the key; I mean it''s not like I found a strange book or anything that would be uh- weird". Somehow Broki-chan felt like he could almost sense Monika facepalming at his terrible cover-up from a distance.


    "Look up?" said Nahoko as she tilted her head in confusion whilst she was staring at a book. Broki-chan looks at her, replicating her confusion as he says "Look up? What are you talking about?". Broki-chan walks over to her and looks at the book she had the UV light shining on which had ''LOOK UP!'' scribbled onto the cover. Both of them almost simultaneously looked up at the ceiling, with Nahoko also pointing her UV light at the ceiling as well. The ceiling did in fact have writing on it, however, one thing that was interesting about it is that the handwriting was almost as bad as the book Ishi took. Nahoko tries to read it for a few seconds before giving up and saying "Huh, this is bigger than I thought."


    Nahoko looks at Broki-chan and Broki-chan does vice versa, just as the warning bell rings and Nahoko says in a sweet tone "But it''s nothing we can''t handle right?". Broki-chan, upon hearing the bell, says "Shouldn''t we be getting out of here, now that class is starting?". Nahoko smiles at him, saying "No it''s fine, I''ll just say that I have a study class besides unless a-". Nahoko is cut off by the sound of heels tapping against tiles. She looks slightly panicked from the sound as she says under her breath "shit" before she quickly pushes Broki-chan behind the beanbags and whispers "Hide here". Nahoko doesn''t even get the chance to turn around as she hears the heel-tapping sound stop and someone loudly saying "Nahoko Kamiyama, didn''t you hear the bell? You should be getting to class right around now".


    The click sound surprised Broki-chan almost making him jump, unlike Nahoko who looked fairly unfazed. Broki-chan looks a bit shocked as he asks "Is- is it a trap?". Nahoko shakes her head in disagreement as she says "No, a trap click would be much louder, but it was almost like a door unlocking click, we should probably try to check to see what it unlocked, it could lead to some clues about what''s going on". Broki-chan makes a mm-hmm sound before they both begin to check every bookshelf; however, they find nothing related to the sound. Nahoko starts pacing as she ponders what the click sound could have unlocked. After a few minutes of pacing, she comes to a realisation as she says "Aha, it has to be the boiler room that''s been locked ever since I started school here". She quickly takes her bag and grabs Broki-chan''s hand as she looks up at him and says, "We should probably quickly check there, don''t you think?". Broki-chan nods in agreement as he says "Yeah, good idea".


    They both sneak over to the boiler room quickly and quietly, avoiding anyone still roaming the silent halls. Once they make it to the boiler room the first thing they notice is that the door was swung open, tapping back and forth against the wall due to the slightly opened window blowing in a slight breeze nearby. Just as Nahoko is about to walk into the boiler room, they''re both jump-scared by the sound of the bell going off. Nahoko quickly rushes Broki-chan out of the school the moment she spotted some of the students moving to their homeroom classrooms. They get out of the school before anyone notices, Nahoko looks around to see if anyone else saw her before looking back at the school to see if any teachers were after them. Whilst Nahoko has her back turned, Broki-chan''s heart starts beating faster as he quietly approaches her bag, the UV flashlight sticking out of it. He quickly takes it and hides it behind his back, just as Nahoko turns around and says "Okay. I think we''re in the clear, I''m going to inspect that book to see what''s up with it but for now I got to go and get back to my homeroom asap, so I guess I''ll see you later Broki-chan".

 Ghostly Reunion

    The teacher looks at Nahoko sternly as she says "Well? Are you going to explain yourself young lady or will I have to give you some extra cleaning duties in the morning?". Nahoko looks slightly paler as looks up at the teacher sheepishly and says "Well... I just have a study class here and my teacher should be coming soon so I thought that I would get here earlier to get some more studying in". Nahoko shifts her weight slightly to block the view of Broki-chan, giving the teacher a nervous smile as the teacher continues to look at her sternly. They were both silent for a few minutes before the teacher sighs and says "Don''t let me stop you, get back to studying" before walking out of the library, the sound of her heels tapping getting quieter and quieter until the library was completely silent.


    Nahoko sighs loudly as Broki-chan quietly gets out of his hiding spot. Nahoko turns around to look at Broki-chan who looks back at her as he asks, "Why did you lie to her, she could have helped". Nahoko shakes her head as she whispers, "No she wouldn''t, she would only stop our search but from now on we have to be quieter to avoid the teachers". Broki-chan shrugs before nodding to which Nahoko replies in a whisper "You know I think I might know of a book that could sort of make that text more readable so I''ll keep an eye out for that but for now I''m going to take that book with the hidden message, it might have a clue to where that book could be" as she proceeds to take the book out of the bookshelf.


    click.


    The click sound surprised Broki-chan almost making him jump, unlike Nahoko who looked fairly unfazed. Broki-chan looks a bit shocked as he asks "Is- is it a trap?". Nahoko shakes her head in disagreement as she says "No, a trap click would be much louder, but it was almost like a door unlocking click, we should probably try to check to see what it unlocked, it could lead to some clues about what''s going on". Broki-chan makes a mm-hmm sound before they both begin to check every bookshelf, however, they find nothing related to the sound. Nahoko starts pacing as she ponders what the click sound could have unlocked. After a few minutes of pacing, she comes to a realisation as she says "Aha, it has to be the boiler room that''s been locked ever since I started school here". She quickly takes her bag and grabs Broki-chan''s hand as she looks up at him and says, "We should probably quickly check there, don''t you think?". Broki-chan nods in agreement as he says "Yeah, good idea".


    They both sneak over to the boiler room quickly and quietly, avoiding anyone still roaming the silent halls. Once they make it to the boiler room the first thing they notice is that the door was swung open, tapping back and forth against the wall due to the slightly opened window blowing in a slight breeze nearby. Just as Nahoko is about to walk into the boiler room, they''re both jump-scared by the sound of the bell going off. Nahoko quickly rushes Broki-chan out of the school the moment she spotted some of the students moving to their homeroom classrooms. They get out of the school before anyone notices, Nahoko looks around to see if anyone else saw her before looking back at the school to see if any teachers were after them. Whilst Nahoko has her back turned, Broki-chan''s heart starts beating faster as he quietly approaches her bag, the UV flashlight sticking out of it. He quickly takes it and hides it behind his back, just as Nahoko turns around and says "Okay. I think we''re in the clear, I''m going to inspect that book to see what''s up with it but for now I have to go and get back to my homeroom asap, so I guess I''ll see you later Broki-chan".


    Broki-chan watches as Nahoko runs back into the school just as Monika emerges from the ground behind Broki-chan, noticing the flashlight and saying "So in the span of an hour or two, you turned into a criminal? What did you even get up to with Nahoko?". Broki-chan looks somewhat surprised as he turns around and says in a somewhat defensive tone "I''m not turning into a criminal, I''m borrowing this, I''ll give it back to her after". Monika lets out a slight chuckle as she says "Uh-huh... sure Broki-chan, I believe you wholeheartedly". Broki-chan looks at her somewhat annoyed as he replies "I''m serious!... really, I am... but that''s beside the point as for what I was doing with Nahoko, we were just in the library and we found a book with a hidden message which opened the boiler room, nothing else".


    Monika tilts her head as she says "The boiler room? That''s... weird, please tell me you didn''t give her the book". Broki-chan nonchalantly replies "Yeah I did let her take it, why?". Monika facepalms as she says, "Oh my god, you have to be the dumbest person I''ve ever met and that''s saying something."


    "It''s not that serious, Monika."


    "Yes, it is! Why did you let her take it?"


    "I don''t know, I just didn''t think it would be a problem besides she''ll probably translate it better than me after all she did figure out how to unlock a door that has been locked for ages."


    "I mean yeah true but still, that''s beside the point, this is a really really bad idea Broki-chan, you shouldn''t trust her at all, she''ll probably backstab you for her own agendas and when she does, don''t say I didn''t warn you Broki-chan."


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    Broki-chan shrugs before saying "Well I guess we''ll have to investigate the boiler room without the help of Nahoko, will that make you happy?"


    Monika''s mask turns into a smiling expression as she says, "Do what you want Broki-chan, I don''t care."


    Broki-chan and Monika wait beside a tree near the school entrance until it''s pitch black and silent. Broki-chan quietly walks through the halls as Monika follows him silently, giving Broki-chan some form of light from her ghostly glow. They first find the library then, after some trial and error, find the boiler room again. They stare at the dark staircase for a few seconds before Broki-chan begins to slowly walk down it. Whilst Broki-chan is walking down the staircase, Monika grows more and more anxious as she says, "This is a bad idea Broki-chan".


    As he walked further and further down, Broki-chan noticed that with each step, the air was getting heavier and heavier. Once Broki-chan gets closer to the bottom of the staircase, he sees someone floating in the centre of the room, surrounded by doors. Broki-chan gets to the bottom and takes a step into the room, getting a closer look at the back of the ghost''s hair which Broki-chan noticed being fairly like Sakura''s due to the similar hair colour and twin buns. Whilst Broki-chan was trying to figure out if the ghost was Sakura, the ghost turns around, its yellow eyes fixated on Broki-chan as it says almost in an infuriated tone "Broki-chan, get out of my sight, I don''t want to see you ever again".


    "Sakura? Is that you? what- what did I do?" said Broki-chan, very confused at the ghost''s anger towards him. The ghost seems more and more angry as it yells "What did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO? ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW? I CAN''T BELIEVE YOU RIGHT NOW, YOU''RE KIDDING RIGHT?". Broki-chan looks even more confused as he says, "I''m serious, I don''t understand what I did to anger you?". The ghost makes a humph sound before they say "Well first off you''re still hanging out with my murderer and what? You just thought I wouldn''t notice while I was in that void?"


    "w-what? -" said Broki-chan, confused about who she was referring to. He pauses for a second, looking at the ground before looking back at the ghost and saying, "What are you even talking about?". Broki-chan doesn''t get an answer as the ghost stares at him before it says annoyed "I''m not telling you, that''s for you to figure out yourself, also before you even ask, I won''t help you find what you''re looking for here, goodbye Broki-chan".


    The ghost flies up into the roof as Monika shrugs, flying towards Broki-chan as she says, "Well I guess that''s that then, we should-". Monika gets pushed back by an invisible barrier of some kind, confusing both her and Broki-chan. Monika tries to break through the barrier but she''s unsuccessful, eventually giving up as she says to Broki-chan "You''ll have to go without me Broki-chan, I think I''m going to try to track down that ghost or Nahoko, good luck". Broki-chan nods and walks closer to the centre of the room, albeit somewhat reluctantly.


    Once he''s at the centre of the room, he''s spooked by the door he just entered the room from, quickly closing behind him along with all the other doors opening, however completely dark inside. Broki-chan looks around the room and its doors for a few minutes before walking back towards the centre and getting the idea to use the UV flashlight he ''borrowed'' from Nahoko. He turns the UV flashlight on, albeit with a bit of fiddling to get it working.


    Once he got it working, he flashed it at the walls, first noticing that there were different words on the 12 opened doors which said in order: ''resonance, fragmented, ties, verity, strife, axe, veiled, murmurs, requiem, torn, ensnared, splintered''. As Broki-chan is looking at the words above the doors, he fails to notice the arrows pointing towards the ceiling for a few minutes. When he finally notices the arrows pointing towards the ceiling, he noticed that there was a message on it appeared to be the solution to the puzzle at least in Broki-chan''s eyes. It read: ''In the echoes of fractured bonds, the truth, obscured by rivalry''s axe, whispers it''s requiem.''


    Broki-chan quietly chants the phrase, trying to think of the answer before he realises what it could be. He looks at the doors with the UV flashlight in hand, looking for the door with the word ''resonance'' as he quietly mutters it. He finds the door and points at it as he says, "In the echoes...". He moves the UV flashlight towards the two doors to the right which has the word ''fragmented'' on one and ''ties'' on the other. He looks towards the doors as he continues "...of fractured bonds, the truth...". He pauses as he moves the UV flashlight in the same direction as before, pausing on a door with the word ''axe'' above it and continuing the phrase "...obscured by rivalry''s axe...".


    He moved the UV flashlight past the ''veiled'' door and onto the ''murmurs'' and ''requiem'' doors as he says "...whispers it''s requiem". He moves the flashlight past the ''requiem'' door to the ''torn'' door then the ''ensnared'' door and then finally, he pauses on the ''splintered'' door. He looks behind him to see if the ''axe'' door is opposite to it as he mutters to himself "This has to be the right door". After a bit of hesitation, he eventually walks through the door, revealing a never-ending hallway, at least from Broki-chan''s perspective. Once he walks through the door, it shuts behind him, locking itself in the process. Broki-chan gets the idea to use the UV flashlight again, looking around for a moment, only to find the puzzle on the front of the door with a combination lock to his left which read ''Echoes of choices, veiled and sealed... Moments of truth are subtly concealed... Lost in the dance of fate''s own hand... Digits etch stories in silent sand...A stranger''s past, enigmatic play... Numbers unlock the hidden way''.

 The Bishop

    Broki-chan turns off the flashlight and tries several combinations before finally getting it right with Sakura''s birthdate, 2-0-0-4. The lock falls off the door almost immediately the moment Broki-chan puts the combination in. Broki-chan opens the door, leading to a dark room with a single light off in the distance, hovering over something Broki-chan could barely see. As he gets closer and closer to the light, the more he must force himself to not vomit because of the smell. It was a rancid smell to the point it was making Broki-chan''s eye water, almost as if something was rotting. Broki-chan completely stops in his tracks out of shock upon properly seeing what was under the light.


    It was Sakura''s head, decapitated, with the axe still lodged into the back of her head.


    Broki-chan also notices the sewing equipment right next to the head as he backs away. As he''s backing away, he quickly decides to sprint to the door. He tries to unlock the door but can''t, resorting to banging on the door until he falls to his knees in tears. After a few minutes of crying and pleading, Broki-chan gets up and very reluctantly turns the flashlight on and slowly walks towards the head as realises that the only thing he can do is move forward. As he gets closer to the head, he sees a message on one of the walls, above a door, which read ''Liberate the damning axe, mend the silent echoes, chase shadows to truth, where the answer bellows... With head, axe, and seamstress'' aid, unravel the scheme... Seek justice''s thread, weave lies apart, until the darkness is addressed.''


    Broki-chan, now knowing what it wants him to do, immediately shakes his head as he says "Nope, nuh uh, no way in hell I''m doing that". He goes to try and open the other door but to no avail. He takes a deep sigh, looking back at the head before pacing as he talks to himself "I have to do it but- no I can''t there has to be another way... but I can''t see anything else in here- holy shit this is fucked up... I don''t think I have a choice- here goes nothing". Broki-chan slowly walks towards the head, quickly removing the axe, throwing it on the ground and stepping back to compose himself. He paces around the room for a few minutes before slowly walking back to head, opening the sewing equipment, and getting the thread in the needle.


    He lifts the head up slightly to get a better view whilst trying not to gag from the abhorrent smell. After a few minutes of complete silence, as Broki-chan sews the skin back together, Broki-chan finally finishes it, cutting the thread before he throws the head onto the ground. It lands next to the axe as Broki-chan walks away to compose himself once more. Once he''s gotten his composure back, he walks back over to the head, picking it up along with the axe, flashlight and sewing equipment, making the door swing open. Broki-chan walks through the door to find a stone corridor which stood out significantly from the previous rooms. For some reason, Broki-chan had this bad feeling that something about this room was very wrong but he decided to ignore those feelings and continue walking through. He notices that there are 6 arches in the corridor with 5 of them having empty stands and one of them having something placed in the stand.


    The rest of Sakura''s body.


    Broki-chan instinctually turns on the flashlight as he mutters "It better not be wanting me to do what I think it wants me to do". Above the body, there''s another message which simply read: ''fix the bishop''. Broki-chan is confused for a second before realising who it was referring to and taking another deep sigh as he places the axe and head down on the pedestal in front of the stand. He places the sewing equipment on the floor and looks behind him with the flashlight, only to find that a few of the stands look like they were ready to have someone stuffed into them. He walks over to the other empty stands, only to find that they all have words above them which read in order: ''knight, knight, bishop, rook, the king & queen''. It didn''t make any sense to Broki-chan and only made him even more confused.


    He finds nothing else in the corridor and hesitantly walks over to the body, picking up the head and aligning it with the rest of the body. Once he gets the head at the right angle, he picks up the sewing needle with the thread still in it and begins to sew the head and body back together. After much trial and error, he finally manages to properly sew it on without the head falling off. He quickly takes a step back once he notices some strange black liquid beginning to drop from Sakura''s neck. The black liquid begins to flow down from Sakura''s neck heavily for a few minutes and it begins to move as if it were leading Broki-chan somewhere. Broki-chan decides to follow the mysterious black liquid despite not wanting to touch it.


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    It first leads him to a room with several different hallways, but he doesn''t let his curiosity get to him as he follows the liquid to the room on the right. The next room was almost a complete replica of the last one, however, Broki-chan didn''t notice this as he followed the liquid to the room in front of him. At this point, Broki-chan is noticing that the rooms appear to be repeating as he follows the liquid left. Broki-chan, now slightly panicked, continues to follow the liquid as he goes to the room on his right. Whether it was out of curiosity or stupidity, Broki-chan continued following the liquid through several rooms until he entered a different room. This room had two closed doors, in one of them Broki-chan could just barely see sunlight coming in and the other appeared to lead to another room.


    This room also had in between the doors a deteriorated statue of a person pretending to be an angel. Broki-chan couldn''t recognise the person as it had most of its face covered in the same black liquid. The black liquid suddenly stops moving and begins to form a puddle. Words began to form inside this puddle which read: ''One guess to unveil my killer; a correct answer opens the path to my death''s secrets, an incorrect one swiftly ejects you from this room.''


    Broki-chan thinks about it, wondering who could have possibly been the killer before he remembers what Sakura said earlier, concluding that it could only be one of three people. Broki-chan sighs before looking up at the statue as he says "Nahoko Kamiyama". The liquid begins to make a loud hissing sound as the words change to form the word ''INCORRECT''.


    The door on the left swings open, revealing the bright sunlight. Without thinking, Broki-chan immediately sprints out of the door, somehow leaving from the entrance to the boiler room. Broki-chan doesn''t pay any attention to that as he sprints out of the school. While he''s running, Monika floats over to him, asking him "Broki-chan, what''s wrong? What''s happened?". Broki-chan doesn''t respond as he continues running, leaving Monika there, confused.


    His eyes began to swell up with tears as he kept running. As he''s running out of the school, he briefly notices Nahoko and Miyoko staring at him, slightly surprised at his arrival. He hides behind the costume shed before proceeding to burst into tears as he collapses to the ground. After a few minutes of sobbing, he hears someone''s footsteps nearby before they stop almost right in front of him. Broki-chan looks up to see Nahoko standing in front of him as she asks "Broki-chan are you okay? What happened?".


    Broki-chan doesn''t respond as he looks back at the ground, shaking his head and tears continue to drip down his face and onto the snow. He takes a deep breath to try and stop crying as Miyoko approaches them and asks "Broki? What''s wrong? Is everything ok-". Miyoko pauses as she looks at Nahoko in confusion which is reciprocated. After a second or so, they both immediately glaring daggers at each other."The boiler room-" said Broki-chan looking up at the girls. Miyoko immediately stops and turns to him in confusion as Nahoko looks at Broki-chan as if she''s upset that he went in there without her. Broki-chan almost chokes on his words as he continues "I- There was- She was- I found- I found Sakura''s head in the boiler room and I- I had to- it forced me to find the- rest of the body and- and- stitch it back together, I- we should probably tell the police about this". Miyoko looks a bit surprised as she makes a ''huh'' sound. Nahoko gives Miyoko a look as she whispers, "did you?". Miyoko shakes her head and moves closer to Nahoko before they both begin whispering to each other.


    Broki-chan stares at them, wondering what they''re talking about before they both turn to him. Nahoko looks at Miyoko then back at Broki-chan, Miyoko does a slight nod in response and says "look Broki, me and Nahoko both think that it''s not a good idea to call the police just yet". Broki-chan wipes the remaining tears from his eyes with a shocked look as he says "w-what? why?".


    Miyoko looks almost too excited, considering the circumstances, as she says "Oh, Broki, you know how much I- we adore you! We just think that involving the police right now might not be the best idea. They might get the wrong guy or look in the wrong places, I mean more than 50% of murder cases go unsolved but don''t worry, we''ve got a plan!" Nahoko nods in agreement as she adds "Yes that''s right, Broki-chan. As your most devoted friends, we want only the best for you and to help you. Trust us, we''ll make everything right and we''ll take down the killer, no matter what." Broki-chan looks at the two, bewildered for a moment before snapping out of it and saying "But, Miyoko, Nahoko, I found her corpse for god''s sake! This is a bit bigger than some murder, someone tampering with the evidence to lead people away from the real killer." Miyoko walks closer to him, giving him a head pat as she says "Broki, you''re so smart! But that''s the exact reason as to why we shouldn''t call the cops. you''re right someone is tampering with the evidence, but don''t worry. We''ve got a plan to keep you safe and track down this guy."


    Nahoko also moves closer, grinning as she moves her head in front of Monika to look at Broki-chan and says, "We''ll do whatever it takes to ensure your happiness, Broki-chan. Trust us, we won''t let anything happen to you". Broki-chan reluctantly nods as he says "Okay... okay, I trust you both". He pauses for a second to look directly at Miyoko before continuing by saying "But what''s your plan, Miyoko?"

 The Knight

    "Great! Here''s what we''ll do, Broki. We''ll investigate the boiler room ourselves, at night to not get ourselves in trouble. Once we''re in there, we can decide what to do. But for now, it''s absolutely crucial that you don''t say anything about the corpse or the boiler room to anyone" said Miyoko, grinning.


    "Alright, fine, I won''t say anything." said Broki-chan, frustrated.


    Miyoko and Nahoko exchange a quick glare before she looks back at Broki-chan and says "Great. We''ll head in later. Just wait for us near the school gate". The girls walk towards the auditorium, heading inside whilst whispering to each other. Broki-chan gets up and takes one step before Monika jumps up from the ground as she loudly says "Broki-chan, everything alright? What happened in the boiler room?" Broki-chan tries to shove her out of his way but it doesn''t work on the part of the whole Monika being dead thing. Broki-chan, annoyed, just walks straight through her, heading towards the gate. Monika follows him, trying to keep up with his pacing as she keeps saying "hey seriously, what''s up? Are you okay? What happened in there-"


    "WOULD YOU JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP?" yelled Broki-chan as he stopped in his tracks.


    Broki-chan covers his mouth as if he just realised, he said that, quickly backtracking by saying "I- I''m sorry, I didn''t mean to say that I''ll give you the full story- just let at least head to like the main gate area or something".


    "It''s okay but what about lunch aren''t you going to eat something?" said Monika with a concerned tone as the bell rings. Broki-chan continues walking as he says, "no I don''t have lunch to eat."


    "o-oh, do you want me to help you steal someone else''s food by distracting them".


    "no, it''s fine, let''s sit around here," said Broki-chan as he pointed to some trees near the school gate, sitting underneath them. Monika floats down to his level, causing Broki-chan to sigh and look at the ground. After a couple seconds, Broki-chan looks back up at Monika and says, "god where do I begin, well- uh basically I solved a couple puzzle which were a bit weird and related to Sakura for some reason but anyways that''s beside the point, in the third room, I found uh- S-Sakura''s head with the axe and I- I had to-". He pauses to wipe the tears streaming down his face before continuing "I had to- to restitch her head back together and that''s not even the worst part. it forced me to go down this path with weird statues and at the end there was- was the rest of Sakura''s body. It made me reattach her head and place the axe down before it led me to this other room where it told me to guess who did it, so I did."


    Monika with a slightly horrified tone, says "Jesus Christ, did you get it right?" Broki-chan shakes his head as he replies, "no I guessed Nahoko, but I was wrong, I don''t even know why I guessed her because one thing I know about that day is that I saw a glimpse of one of the killer''s eyes, I can''t remember it well, but I do know that it was a very light eye colour".


    "wait if you remember the killer''s eye, wouldn''t you remember the killer''s hair".


    "no, I know that they had hair but it just sort of blended into the background".


    "hmm, I don''t have any clue who it could be then, like me think on who that would rule out from people who could of possibly had a motive, let''s see: Tamiko, Kioko and Yutsuko are immediately ruled out because of their hair and eye colours, Noa would probably be unlikely but still possible so our prime suspect would have to be Ishi, Noa and Miyoko, in all honesty right now I''m more thinking that it''s Ishi"


    "what? how come?"


    "Well because she''s offering to help with something that''s completely unrelated to her and I''ve noticed that she finds her own way to butt into the conversation just to talk to you, that''s gotta be like the warning signs for a yandere or something."


    "What''s a ''yandere''?"


    Monika looks at Broki-chan as if she was unimpressed as she says, "never mind".


    "Anyways going a bit off topic here Monika but I just remembered that I wanted to tell you that tonight, Miyoko and Nahoko were going with me to the boiler room to check out the place."


    "really?"


    "Yeah, why? We didn''t have anything planned right?"


    "no, I''m just in disbelief at how stupid that decision is. Did you not listen to me saying that Miyoko was one of the prime suspects for Sakura''s murder? Like I know you''re the master at coming up with incredibly bad ideas, but I think you have hit an all-time low".


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    "Well one of them might have insight on what''s going on in there and would tell me willingly."


    "they''ll just tell you what you want to hear" Monika scoffs.


    "Well then I''ll just try and manipulate them then."


    Monika laughs as she says, "okay sure buddy, you try that."


    Flash forward to night, Monika hides as Broki-chan watches Miyoko and Nahoko walk near the school entrance, talking. Broki-chan approaches them, only hearing Miyoko say, "So who do you think is the other- oh hi Broki". Nahoko waves at him and Broki-chan waves back to both. They quickly head over to the boiler room door and Broki-chan goes to open it, only to find it locked again. Nahoko makes an ''ahh'' sound, and both Miyoko and Broki-chan turn to look at Nahoko holding the book. The moment they turn around, Nahoko whispers "I have an idea if the book being taken opens the door, then maybe reinserting the book will reopen it."


    Miyoko nods in agreement as she says, "good idea, you do it."


    "what? no you do it, I insist"


    "Well since it was your idea, I''ll have to insist that you do it."


    Their voices began to get louder and louder as they bickered about who''ll put the book back while Broki-chan just watches. After a few minutes of Nahoko and Miyoko insisting that the other return the book, Broki-chan gets fed up and says, "fine I''ll take the book if it will stop with the bickering". At almost the exact time, Nahoko and Miyoko both yell "NO", Miyoko shoves the book into Nahoko''s chest as she says, "you do it". Nahoko sighs and says "fine, I''ll be back in a minute or two" before walking into another hallway to head to the library.


    Almost immediately after Nahoko leaves, Miyoko looks at Broki-chan with a smile and whispers "So what have you been up to with Nahoko? I''ve


    noticed that you two have been talking a lot more recently".


    "Well, we found this key which led to the library, then we found that book then the boiler room and then well you know the rest."


    "so, what was written in the book?"


    "I don''t know, it''s written in this weird cursive so almost unreadable."


    "oh okay, so how did you find the book?"


    "Oh, uh that''s not really that important".


    Miyoko moves towards Broki-chan and places her hand on Broki-chan''s shoulder as she says with a grin "come on Broki, you can tell me anything". Broki-chan gently takes Miyoko''s hand off his shoulder. He goes to say something however before he can, they hear a loud bang coming from somewhere near the library and the boiler room swinging open. Soon after this, they hear Nahoko sprinting over to them. Whilst Nahoko is sprinting, she yells out "there was a trap in the library".


    "w-what?" said Broki-chan, bewildered as Nahoko quickly catches her breath.


    "Yeah, I know right? I almost got sliced in half by this saw hidden in the ceiling but I avoided the attack course but we have to hurry if we want to go in there because I noticed that along with the saw, the moment I put the book in, it was on this spring timer thing."


    Broki-chan nods and without a word, walks into the boiler room. Nahoko and Miyoko look at each other before deciding to follow Broki-chan down the stairs. Broki-chan instinctively gets out the UV flashlight, turning on and completely forgetting that the person he ''borrowed'' it from was directly behind him. As they quickly and quietly walk down the stairs, Broki-chan couldn''t help but feel a chill down his spine from Sakura''s angrily following behind the trio.


    As they continue walking down the staircase, Miyoko looks more and more nervous, she suddenly pauses as her eyes widened, and her breath hitched ever so slightly. She shivers due to the freaky vibe none of them could shake. Miyoko continues walking and the trio makes it to the bottom. It leads them to the same circular room Broki-chan saw before and the door shuts behind them just like before. Broki-chan takes out Nahoko''s UV flashlight, causing Nahoko to ask Broki-chan nervously "Broki-chan... why do you have my flashlight?".


    Broki-chan, completely forgetting that he stole the flashlight from Nahoko, turns around, looking at her as he replies "oh well I just saw that it fell out your back pocket and I decided to just take it and give it back to you later. but it kinda worked out for me because you need UV light to see the puzzle". Broki-chan turns it on and shines it at the ceiling which had a different message that read: ''In the echoes of deceit-laden bonds, within the shadows of a sinister axe''s descent, the truth, concealed by her grasp, whispers its damning lament.'' Broki-chan takes a step back, confused as he quickly shined the UV flashlight on the doors. All of the doors had different words above which read in order: ''Betrayal, Revenge, Deception, Justice, Hidden, Malevolence, Concealment, Enmity, Axe, Guilt, Vengeance, Obscurity''. Broki-chan places the UV flashlight on the floor, angling it so it lights up a majority of the room.


    Miyoko looks over to the ''axe'' door, walking towards before proceeding to stare. In the meantime, Broki-chan walks around the room as Nahoko stares up at the ceiling before walking over to Miyoko. Nahoko begins whispering to Miyoko which Broki-chan notices and walks over to them. Miyoko continues staring blankly at the door and Broki-chan stands next to Nahoko as she says "it''s got be something which is opposite this door so it fits the ''within the shadows of a sinister axe''s descent'' part so that would rule out ''Malevolence'', ''Concealment'', ''Enmity'', ''Axe'', ''Guilt'', ''Vengeance'' and ''Obscurity''". Broki-chan nods and the two of them turn around to look at the other doors with Miyoko eventually doing the same.


    Miyoko looks at the door then at Nahoko and says "it can''t be the shut door of course and it mentions something about a ''hidden truth'' so that has to rule out ''Betrayal'', ''Revenge'' and ''Justice'', it can only be ''Deception'' or ''Hidden'' in my opinion". Nahoko looks at the ''Deception'' door, nodding as she says "hmm I think you''re right, I think the deception door is the right one, hidden is way too obvious". Miyoko shakes her head as she replies "well you''re entitled to your own opinions, I think it''s the hidden door though, what do you think Broki?". Nahoko puts on a very obviously forced smile as Broki-chan looks at the two and says "I think Nahoko is right, the hidden door is way too obvious to the point it feels like a trap". Nahoko walks over to the door with a pleasant smile unlike Miyoko who looks slightly annoyed.

 Choices & Consequences

    Nahoko opens it, revealing the axe mounted to the wall as Broki-chan picks up the UV flashlight. The three of them walk into the room and the door closes behind them again. Nahoko gives Miyoko a confused look and Miyoko does the same as they approach the axe. Broki-chan shines the flashlight around the room, eventually finding the next puzzle which read: ''In the shadow of past grievances, where rivalry lies dormant, Miyoko, take the axe in hand, and with determination, break through the door to uncover the next room, carrying it with you to the next room.'' Miyoko wordlessly picks up the axe and moves towards a wooden door to her left.


    Nahoko looks slightly nervous as Miyoko proceeds to axe down the door. As Miyoko is axing down the door, Nahoko looks more and more panicked. After some time, Miyoko finally finishes breaking down the door and walks over the broken wood to the next room, extending her hand for Broki-chan. Broki-chan takes it and steps over the wood, followed by Nahoko close behind. The next room lead them to a stoney corridor which looks like the same room Broki-chan had to sew Sakura''s body back together however Sakura''s body and all of the stands except for one were gone.


    Broki-chan looks nervous as they walk through, noticing scissors, bandages and 3 wooden statues. One of them looked like Nahoko with her mouth scratched out, another looks like Miyoko with her ears scratched out and the last one looks like Sakura with her head scratched out. Along with the statues, they also noticed with the UV flashlight that there was several arrows pointing to the ceiling. Broki-chan stops in his tracks, causing the girls to stop as well. He shines the flashlight up, finding a hidden message which read: ''Within shadows, the axe-wielder alone decides, One free attempt, where Sakura''s secret hides. With the axe''s strike, your answer shall be found, Yet wrong guesses demand a cost profound.''


    They also found three arrows on the ceiling which point to each of the wooden statues. Nahoko goes white as she continues to look at the message, all while Miyoko walks away as she yells "oh for crying out loud". Miyoko begins to inspect the statues and so does Broki-chan. After a few minutes of inspecting the statues, Miyoko taps Nahoko''s shoulder and says "I''ve checked everywhere, it could only be in the statue". Nahoko nods as Broki-chan picks up the scissors and bandages, wondering what they''re for. Nahoko takes a look at each of the statues as she says "it wouldn''t be the one which looks like me because that wouldn''t make sense so it could only be the one which looks like you or the one which looks like Sakura".


    "So which one should we go with?"


    "hmm I''m not too sure, I''d say go with the one which looks like Sakura"


    "may I ask why I feel like the one which looks like me would make more sense because I was the one to m- find the body"


    "yeah that is true but also wouldn''t be true that it would be in the Sakura statue because were looking for Sakura? that''s just my reasoning for it though"


    "yeah alright true, we''ll go with the Sakura statue then"


    Miyoko walks up to the statue, taking a deep breath as her grip tightens on the axe. She quietly whispers a countdown of 3 before she swings the axe, cutting the statue''s head in half. However, there was nothing in there, Broki-chan walks over to the two with the UV flashlight turned on. He shines the light behind the statue, revealing a message which read: ''no more free guesses, the next wrong guess will result in a consequence''. Nahoko looks slightly panicked as Miyoko looks at her and motions to the Miyoko statue to which Nahoko responds with a simple quick nod.


    Miyoko walks up to the Miyoko statue, taking another deep breath as some small drops of sweat roll down her cheek. She quickly swings the axe, this time cutting the head off at the neck. The head falls and lands at her feet, revealing nothing once again. Broki-chan approaches the headless statue, pointing the flashlight at it which reveals yet another message that reads: ''Miyoko, Nahoko, for the choice you''ve wronged, Take the scissors now, where secrets thronged. Ear or tongue, your fate in this room shall loom.''


    "oh for fuck''s sake" yelled Miyoko all while Nahoko is speechless. Broki-chan looks just as shocked as Nahoko as he looks down at the scissors he''s holding. Miyoko takes the scissors he''s holding and places the axe down as she looks at Nahoko. Nahoko turns and looks back at her, taking a deep sigh as she says "Miyoko, cut my tongue". Broki-chan looks at the two as he yells "wait no, there has to be another way, we can''t just go to the most drastic option". Nahoko shakes her head and yells back "oh yeah? well what other choice do we have? from the way I see it, it''s either me or her and I think its better for all of us that its me". Miyoko looks at her confused as she asks "why?"


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Nahoko takes another sigh with a slight smile as she says "because it will be harder to miss and we can treat it easier than your ear plus you''d only have to cut off the tip, get rid to pass Miyoko the bandages once this is done Broki-chan". Broki-chan turns away and covers his ears as Miyoko approaches Nahoko and says in a reluctant tone "if you think that''s the best option". She opens up the scissors as Nahoko opens up her tongue. Miyoko lines up the scissors with tip of Nahoko''s tongue in an attempt to have it be done in one cut. Just before Miyoko cuts the tongue she looks up at Nahoko and asks "ready?". Nahoko makes an ''uh-huh'' sound and Miyoko takes a deep sigh as she presses down on the scissors.


    The room was completely silent for a few minutes followed by a loud snip before Nahoko cries out in pain. after a seconds of Nahoko''s scream, Miyoko quickly hits Broki-chan to give her the bandage which he does. Nahoko starts coughing up the blood she''s slowly choking on as she kneels over. Miyoko quickly begins wrapping the wound and forcing it the clot which works as Nahoko coughs up the last bits of blood she was choking on. Broki-chan turns around as Nahoko gets up with an unfazed look. Miyoko drops the scissors and picks up the axe, walking to the last statue and cutting the last statue in half, causing Sakura''s body to flop to the floor.


    Broki-chan moves over to Miyoko and shines the flashlight behind the statue which had yet another message that read: ''put her back into her proper place''. Broki-chan looks at Miyoko and Nahoko before reluctantly picking up Sakura''s body and placing it onto the empty stand, revealing a room which looks similar to the one where Broki-chan had to guess who killed Sakura. Miyoko comes up to Broki-chan and asks "Broki may I please have the flashlight?" Broki-chan doesn''t say a word as he hands Miyoko the flashlight. Miyoko and Nahoko walk into the next room as Broki-chan stares at Sakura with a sad look. He didn''t know if he was staring at her for seconds or minutes however all he did know was they he was eventually snapped back to reality by someone loudly saying ''me'' as a gate creaked open.


    Broki-chan quickly runs over to the next room to find Miyoko and Nahoko waiting for him. Nahoko motions to the gate and the three of them walk through it which lead to a small corridor. As they''re walking through the corridor, Broki-chan couldn''t help but feel a bit panicked. Eventually they walk into a room with an empty pedestal and a staircase going up. Miyoko and Nahoko both look surprised at the empty pedestal as Miyoko says "huh, someone''s been here already and taken what we''re looking for".


    "mhm we should just leave with that staircase" Nahoko added.


    Broki-chan shakes his head as he says "no, I''m going to have a look around".


    Miyoko shrugs as she says "fine, suit yourself".


    Miyoko begins whispering to Nahoko and they begin having a conversation in whispers. Meanwhile, Broki-chan begins looking around the walls and the floors for something, anything. After a few minutes of this, Broki-chan notices a secret button with a message scratched into the wall which read: ''press this when your the only person in the room''. Broki-chan looks over at Miyoko and Nahoko before backing away from the button, walking over to the two and saying "hey I think theres nothing else here, we should-". Before Broki-chan can finish his sentence, he''s cut off by the sound of a bell and some doors opening.


    Without a word, they quickly and quietly walk up the stairs which lead back to the boiler room enterance. "the hell?" whispered Miyoko after walking through the boiler room door. "how did we end up where we came from?" whispered Nahoko as she looked to Broki-chan. Broki-chan shrugs as he whispers "in all honesty, I don''t know but now''s not the time to focus on that, we gotta get out of here and fast".


    Both Nahoko and Miyoko nod as the trio successfully sneaks out of the school and head to the school gate. One by one students began to walk through the gate. Nahoko began to look around for presumably Yutsuko as Miyoko looks at Broki-chan with a smile and says "hey I was thinking maybe we could go to Snowfest? I know Sakura asked you a few days ago but I really want to go with you because I think we''d have a real fun time". Broki-chan thinks on it for a second before sighing and says in a reluctant tone "alright sure I guess".


    Almost immediately upon Broki-chan saying that, Nahoko turns around as she yells "really Miyoko? the moment I have my back turned?"


    "Oh come on as if you wouldn''t as well"


    "no I wouldn''t do that, that''s wrong and kinda traitorous"


    "at least I asked him"


    "AT LEAST I DIDN''T FORCE HIM TO DO STUFF"


    "AT LEAST I GET TO CALL HIM BY HIS SPECIAL NICKNAME, I BET YOU DON''T GET TO DO THAT, HUH?"


    "YEAH WELL AT LEAST I DIDN''T KI-" yelled Nahoko. Before Nahoko can finish her sentence, she''s cut off by a rather tall woman with her blonde hair almost blending into the background. Her light blue eyes were almost fixated on Broki-chan as she makes an ''ahem'' sound. Both Nahoko and Miyoko turn to glare at her as she asks "excuse me are you Broki-chan?"

 An Unexpected Encounter

    Broki-chan looks at her for a second before outstretching his hand as he says, "yeah, I am, and you are?". The girl smiles at him as she says "I''m Kiwa, it''s very nice to meet you, I''m a new transfer student, and I was hoping that you could...". She gets closer to Broki-chan and puts her hand on his shoulder before saying, "... give me a little tour? Considering how you''re the school mascot, and you would know everything in the school". Nahoko and Miyoko continue to glare at Kiwa while Broki-chan nods and replies "uh yeah of course I can give you a tour, where would you-".


    Before Broki-chan could say anything else, Nahoko grabs Miyoko''s arm and walks in between the two as she says "Kiwa was it?, it''s nice to meet you, but I just wanted to say to Broki-chan that Miyoko can go with him to Snowfest, and we might see each other later. Miyoko and I have some very important things to discuss, we are good friends, after all." Without waiting for a response, Nahoko storms off, with Miyoko following behind. Kiwa turns to Broki-chan with a confused look as she asks, "um, I''m sorry to ask, but what''s this Snowfest thing? Is it a school thing?"


    Broki-chan shakes his head as he replies, "no, it''s just an annual festival in town".


    "Oh really? That''s interesting, I''ll have to go sometime, what day is it?"


    "I think it was the 17th or 18th? Basically this weekend"


    "Oh right, I see, so who were those two?"


    "They''re just my... friends, Miyoko and Nahoko, at least I think they''re my friends, but anyway they''re nice they just both have an issue with communication from what I''ve seen at least"


    "Oh I see well I think that they seem nice as well"


    "Yeah anyway, going back to what you were saying earlier, did you still want a tour from me?"


    Kiwa looks more cheerful as she says, "oh yes, the tour. I think I''d still like a tour from the one and only school mascot". Broki-chan lets out a small chuckles as he replies "alright then let''s get on with the tour then". Broki-chan leads Kiwa towards the auditorium, pointing at it whilst saying "this here is our auditorium most of the morning announces are well announces here, if something important enough they even throw an assembly for it". Kiwa nods as Broki-chan walks around the building, point at various trees, announcing which ones were the best to have some peace and quiet.


    After a few minutes, Broki-chan eventually moves to the mascot shed as he says "and this here is my hous- I mean our mascot shed, there''s basically only old mascot suits and my mascots suits in here".  Kiwa looks at the shed with interest as she makes an ''uh huh'' sound. He then moves towards the school walking around it as he says "now I''m not allowed in here after the summer incident but well here''s the school obviously and uh... well...". Broki-chan trails off upon seeing Ishi waving at him near the science lab and inside the school and pointing at the book.


    Broki-chan looks back at Kiwa as he says, "I''m sorry, I just realised that I- uh- promised to meet with one of my friends, so I have to go but hey, hopefully my tour helped". Kiwa gives Broki-chan a look as if she didn''t buy that lie before smiling and says "okay Broki-chan, thank you so much for the tour, don''t let me keep you waiting". He nods and quickly walks away, looking to see if anyone was near the school. Once the coast was clear, he sneaks into the school and climbs up the stairs, almost immediately seeing Ishi. She holds the book close to her chest as she says "thank you for coming as quick as you could Broki-chan, this is important, I''ve found some kind of breakthrough".


    Broki-chan tilts his head as he replies, "what is it?"


    Ishi looks at the book as she says "well basically I''ve done some work on translating the book and I think I may have found what the book is about"


    "What its about?"


    "Well, I''m ninety-nine percent sure that this is a book to revive the dead"


    "W-what?"


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "I know weird that Sakura would have something like this, but that''s not the most interesting thing about this book, someone else has written in it judging by the handwriting, but it wasn''t Sakura, I already checked by going through her submitted work and cross analysing it with this handwriting in the book, but I don''t know who, I''ll keep looking into it"


    Before Broki-chan could say anything else, Ishi gets a sudden spooked expression on her face. Without a word, she quickly grabs Broki-chan and pushes him against the wall, all while shushing him. Broki-chan stays quiet as Ishi whispers "quiet, listen". Broki-chan overhears a conversation between two students he could barely hear because of the door being shut. Without a word, both Ishi and Broki-chan began to listen in on their conversation, which went as followed:


    "So you think... was responsible for this?"


    "Most likely did you... how close she was getting to..."


    "I know right... Kuraihana must be stopped"


    "Yes I agree... take her out but why do we need to... code name?"


    "Because if we use her real name then... might catch onto us... we''ll be able to talk about her... front of her, this is for Broki-chan''s... I''ve already taken out one before, so it... easy"


    "yeah... right"


    Out of pure curiosity, Broki-chan peeks around the corner, despite Ishi trying to pull him away. He only gets to see a part of someone''s red hair before realising that they noticed him, judging by the shocked gasps. He quickly darts back looking at Ishi who whispers "look I don''t want to get involved with what is happening there". Ishi quickly walks away before stopping just before walking down the stairs and saying "if you live, I''ll talk to you tomorrow".


    She doesn''t wait for a response as she quickly runs away. The school was silent for a few seconds before Broki-chan hears some footsteps getting louder and louder. He begins walking towards the staircase, seeing a knife, causing him to start running. He nearly makes it past the boiler room before tripping, just as Yutsuko walks into the hallway, noticing him. She quickly runs over to him, helping him up, before her face goes white assumedly because she saw the person''s face.


    Yutsuko quickly opens the boiler room door as she says "in here, Broki-chan". Broki-chan nods and runs inside, albeit a bit confused as to how Yutsuko knows how to open it without going to the library. She presses on a stone button, revealing a door hidden within the wall as she pushes Broki-chan inside before she walks in herself and shuts the door and looking through a small hole in the wall.


    "Wait just a minute, Yutsuko, how do you-" said Broki-chan, still confused. Before he could finish his sentence, Yutsuko shush him, leaving the room quiet. It was still silent as they hear someone opening a door and walking around. Yutsuko begins sweating before they hear the footsteps becoming more and more distant as she lets out a sigh of relief. She turns to look at Broki-chan as she says, "what were you even doing?". Yutsuko begins walking forward as she motions for Broki-chan to follow which he does, leading him to a long hallway as he replies "I was just talking to Ishi before we overheard this conversation and then this person came at me with a knife, I didn''t see who it was though"


    Yutsuko completely stops, looking at the ground as she asks in a dry tone, "did she stab you?". Broki-chan, caught off guard by that question, says, "what? No they didn''t". She doesn''t say anything and simply walks forward, muttering something about blackmail. They walk in awkward silence for a few minutes before Broki-chan breaks it by saying, "so... how long have you known about this place?"


    "A while"


    "oh okay so how was your day"


    "it was fine"


    "Alright? So how did you open the boiler room door, I thought it was locked?"


    "Don''t look at me the wrong way, but I may or may not know how to quickly break through locks"


    "huh, okay... when did you learn that"


    "around the same time I discovered this place"


    "Oh right, how did you find out about this place?"


    "Oh well I just come done here to read, I even built myself a reading nook" said Yutsuko as they walk by said reading nook. Eventually they finally reach the end of the hallway with a ladder and hatch at the end. She climbs up the ladder and opens the hatch, climbing out of the hallway and extending her hand to Broki-chan which he takes. Once they are outside, Broki-chan notices they are inside a shed as Yutsuko closes the hatch. They walk out of the shed and Broki-chan looks at her as he says, "I''m going to go, thanks for the help"


    "No problem but you owe me a favour Broki" said Yutsuko as she walks away. Broki-chan sighs as he walks away. Whilst he''s walking, he gets jump-scared by Monika, who appears in front of him whilst saying "you know they do say that curiosity killed the cat". Broki-chan tries pushing her away as he says in a lecturing tone "Monika, what have I told you about floating in front of people, you can''t keep doing that". Monika shrugs before she replies, "you haven''t told me anything about that Broki-chan but whatever, what happened with Nahoko and Miyoko in the boiler room last night?"

 Final Goodbyes

    "Well we didn''t really find any new information, well besides this new room, but it seems like Nahoko and Miyoko get along well until we got out of the place then Nahoko and Miyoko started arguing about Miyoko asking for me to go to Snowfest but then they just... stopped after this new transfer student showed up, her name is Kiwa, seems nice but yeah then I met up with-" said Broki-chan. Before he could finish his sentence, however, Monika cuts him off with a loud "wait wait wait...". She pauses waiting for Broki-chan to completely stop talking before she continues "so let me get this straight, Nahoko and Miyoko are now suddenly friends despite basically never interacting with each other? Don''t you think that''s weird?". Broki-chan shrugs as he replies, "I mean yeah, kinda of, but I don''t get what you''re implying"


    "What I''m implying is from the sounds of it Nahoko and Miyoko might be working together on something, perhaps even plotting something involving this Kiwa girl, I don''t like this, especially considering how in my eyes Miyoko seems a bit more... psychotic than usual? But anyway, you should still go to Snowfest with Miyoko that way you could drive a wedge between the two by keeping one close and besides Miyoko is the better choice, Nahoko is way too unpredictable so Miyoko is the better option"


    "I don''t know, it seems like a bad idea to me but on the other hand I don''t think I can come up with an excuse, so I guess I''ll have to go-"


    The sound of the bell ringing interrupts their conversation for a moment before Broki-chan continues "Oh that reminds me, I also bumped into Ishi, and she translated a bit of the book and turns out it''s a book which revives the dead, but that isn''t the only interesting thing Ishi found out, turns out someone else who isn''t Sakura was writing in the book"


    Monika tilts her head as replies, "huh? Why would someone write in a revival book?"


    "I have no idea, putting in notes I assume, but I think it might be connected to the boiler room somehow and if that''s the case then I might have a lead as to who might be writing in that book"


    "Yeah that would make sense, who''s your suspect"


    "Kioko, she gave me a key which helped to unlock the boiler room as a clue"


    "Yeah right that''s awfully suspicious, you know what I''ll join you and if she gives any indication of my presence then we know that she''d be crazy enough to write in a revival book without a doubt"


    "Yeah, that''s a good idea, let''s go confront her now"


    Broki-chan begins walking around the school aimlessly as Monika follows before they hear a loud cracking sound which causes Broki-chan to turn around. Almost immediately, the fire alarm goes off as the smoke begins to come from the science lab. Broki-chan takes a step back as he says "we should go" to which Monika nods in agreement. He safely gets out of the school through the school gate as Monika follows. He looks at Monika as he says, "go check what happened". Monika nods and floats away into the direction of the school. After Monika is gone, Broki-chan looks around for a few seconds before spotting someone staring at him on the other side of the street.


    It was Kioko however her eyes looked significantly brighter than before.


    Broki-chan looks confused as he looks both ways before crossing the street. As Broki-chan crosses the street, Kioko begins walking away as if she was leading him somewhere. He follows her as she walks into an alley before she stops in her tracks completely. Kioko doesn''t turn around as Broki-chan stops in confusion. "Uh hey Kioko?" said Broki-chan however she doesn''t respond. She doesn''t respond for a few minutes as the sounds of traffic surround them.


    "Broki-chan..." said Kioko however she sounded different as if she was monotone than usual. She still doesn''t turn around as she sighs and looks at the ground.


    "Be careful, Glit- Broki-chan, for the hourglass''s sands are slipping away from someone close to you, and the delicate touch of their fate and yours lies in your hands. I''m sorry for contacting you this way, but I didn''t have another choice. For your sake and for mine, I hope we don''t meet again, but I know we will"


    Broki-chan looks confused as he tries to process what Kioko just say before out of no-where Kioko faints. Broki-chan is completely speechless as Kioko passes out as he looks around, clearly panicked. He tries waking up Kioko for a few minutes to no avail as Monika floats up behind him and says "Hey so turns out it was a chemical fire, no-one was hurt, and it''s safe now but... uh..." She finally realises that Kioko was on the floor and Broki-chan was panicking, trying to shake her awake. Monika floats closer towards Kioko as she asks, "is she dead?"


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    Broki-chan stops shaking her as he replies "I don''t- I don''t know, she just fainted I think after she told me something, but I don''t know what she was going on about, maybe she got hypothermia or something"


    "Huh, is that so? Was it slightly cryptic?"


    "I mean yeah, I guess"


    "oh I know... never mind she''ll be fine just give her a few hours, and she''ll be up as if nothing happened, just leave her there"


    "What?..." said Broki-chan as he stands up and looks at Monika. He looks back at Kioko then back at Monika as he continues "that''s a stupid idea, we can''t just leave Kioko in a random alley while she''s out cold, we''ve got to do something not just leave her here and hope that she doesn''t die". Monika sighs as she mutters "you and your stupid need to help others, really gets on my nerves sometimes but...". She looks at Broki-chan with a smiling expression as she says slightly angry, "fine. Take her to Sakura''s house, the place has already been checked, and the police have already swept through it and got what they wanted plus there''s nothing gruesome there because crime scene cleaners have already gone through so practically no-one is there"


    Broki-chan stands up with an almost horrified look as replies "no way I can''t do that, I don''t even know the way from here". Monika takes another deep sigh as she says "fine I''ll show you the way from here otherwise you''d have to try and drag her into the school and if you get caught... then I''d assume that would be a real quick way to get arrested"


    Broki-chan lets out a small chuckle before he covers his mouth and clears his throat as he says, "right, well, where do we go?". He picks up Kioko who moves around almost lifeless as if she was a doll, but it gives Broki-chan some relief due to Kioko still being warm to touch. Monika''s face changes back to a neutral expression as she says, "follow me". She leads him through several alleyways and backyards, only stopping once for a few seconds as some people walk past. They eventually get into Sakura''s backyard, causing Monika to pause as she says "wait here for a moment, I''m going to unlock the door". He tilts his head in confusion as Monika floats towards the door, and he says "wait how can unlock a door if you can''t-"


    Before he can finish asking his question, the door swings open and Monika phases out of it, leaving Broki-chan nearly speechless as he asks "how- how did open the-".


    "The door? Ghosts can possess objects most of the time it''s useless, but it''s quite helpful for forcing locked doors to unlock and open because it''s connected to other stuff or cause electronics to glitch out because it''s connected to the internet, I thought I told you this already"


    "No??? But... whatever" said Broki-chan as he steps through the door. He only takes three steps in before he accidentally spooks both himself and Sakura''s ghost, causing him to accidentally drop Kioko on the ground. Sakura quickly gets a hold of herself as she says confused, "Broki? What are you doing here with Kioko and... sorry, I don''t know who you are". Monika floats closer to Sakura as she replies also in confusion, "I''m Monika, and how come you''re not in true void?"


    "True void? Oh, you mean that weird dark void with no colours?"


    "Yeah, how come you''re not there?"


    "Oh come on you and me both know why it''s the same reason as why you''re not there we both have unfinished business here making us refuse to die in peace you know that"


    "yeah but why are you specifically"


    "Well, I- I just have one last thing to do..." said Sakura as she turns to Broki-chan. She looks around as if she was hesitating to do something, as Broki-chan notices a bleeding head wound where Sakura was hit. Sakura lets out a sigh before she looks at Broki-chan and says "I''m not mad at you any more, I- I''ve come to a revelation that you didn''t actually see her right? No wonder you were so confused, but I won''t spoil the surprise, I will warn you though a war per se is coming, and you''ll have to pick sides soon, but you got the strongest card in the deck, my card, you just don''t know how to use it yet but if you go to that boiler room around it will show you how to use it, but I''m sorry, I''m sorry I wasn''t better than you were, you''re the best and I never got to say that then Miyoko said something to me and I know I overreacted I know, and I''m sorry". She starts making sniffling sounds as if she was crying but can''t as she looks at Kioko and stops as she makes a quiet gasp as if she was worried or nervous. She looks back at Broki-chan and continues, "I- I just hope you don''t pick the wrong side, please be good for me Broki, you were better than what I deserved". Before Broki-chan could say anything he wanted to, Sakura floats down into the ground, presumably the true void.


    Broki-chan flops to the ground, completely at a loss for words before he looks up at Monika and says "we have to go to the boiler room again, we- I need to know who killed her, I have to know who would do this, I didn''t do anything wrong I don''t think so? Why would they do this Monika?!". Monika looks at him as she replies "I don''t- I don''t know that answer Broki, but you''ll figure it out soon for someone with bad- interesting ideas you always figure it out but hey-". She floats towards him and places her hand on his shoulder in a comforting way as she continues "let''s not think about that now, let''s focus on the future and present, how about you just place Kioko on the couch, she''ll probably be waking up anytime now"

 Snowfest Secrets

    Broki-chan places Kioko on the couch gently before pacing around the room nervously. It doesn''t take more than a few minutes before Kioko slowly opens her eyes and sits up confused. She looks around the room as Broki-chan approaches slightly startling her as he says "hey Kioko are you okay?"


    "Yeah I think so" said Kioko


    "Yeah, yeah cut the chit-chat what do you know about the key?" said Monika as she rolls her eyes.


    "So if you don''t mind me asking, what did you mean by that cryptic message about fate and how it''s in my hands?" said Broki-chan.


    "I said what now? I''m sorry Broki-chan, but I don''t remember saying anything like that you" said Kioko as she tilts her head out of confusion.


    "Oh yeah sure a likely story what about the boiler room and the key, huh?, what do you know about them?"


    "Oh well do be fair you passed out right after, what about that key you gave me, what do you know about it?"


    "A key? I''m sorry but what are you talking about Broki-chan, I don''t understand. I don''t remember giving you a key at all"


    "Oh I see, you''re probably in shock or something"


    "Uh huh sure, y''know I can''t help feel like something isn''t adding up Broki-chan, Kioko would have to of remember anything about the key or the boiler room, it just seems mighty convenient to me" said Monika in a somewhat annoyed tone.


    Whilst Monika is speaking, Kioko looks around the room before asking "hey Broki-chan where are we?"


    Broki-chan looks at her and replies "Oh we''re in Sakura''s old house, I didn''t really know where to take you after you fainted, so I just took you here"


    "Oh I see well since I''m fine now, should we go? I just have a bit of a bad feeling about this place"


    "no yeah we probably should, it''s getting pretty late"


    Broki-chan opens the door as Kioko gets up and walks out of the door. He follows her before shutting the door behind him as Monika phases through the wall. Kioko goes to walk away before turning back to Broki-chan with a wave as she says "goodbye Yami- Broki-chan, I''ll see you tomorrow I''m going to go home". Broki-chan waves back as he replies "yeah right see you later Kioko". They both walk in separate directions before Broki-chan eventually makes it back to the school with Monika following closely.


    He heads towards the school''s costume shed, opening the door and walking through. He shuts the door and lays down on his makeshift bed, eventually drifting off to sleep. Broki-chan wakes up the next day, slightly groggy as he opens the door only to find Miyoko waiting for him. She was wearing a different outfit than usual with several different layers of warm attire and a small backpack. Miyoko notices him and gives him a smile as she says "hey Broki are you ready to go to Snowfest?".


    Broki-chan rubs his eyes as he replies somewhat confused "what- Snowfest?- Oh right Snowfest yeah I''m ready". Miyoko''s smile widens as she holds Broki-chan and walks him to presumably Snowfest. Whilst they''re walking, Miyoko lets go of Broki-chan''s hand and begins rummaging through her backpack before she takes out a steam bun. She hands it over to Broki-chan as she says "I hope you like Nikumans, I made some extra because I thought you''d be hungry". Broki-chan takes the food as he says "why thank you Miyoko". He eats it fairly quickly, albeit struggling to force his mask up to eat it.


    Miyoko notices this and asks Broki-chan in a confused tone "so why don''t you take the mask off, I think it might be easier to eat it just saying". Broki-chan lets out a defeated sigh as he says "yeah I wish I could, but I can''t"


    "You can''t? How come?"


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    "I just physically can''t move it, most I can move it is just enough to eat food, but it''s usually not this bad, its probably because of the cold, it''s harder to move it in the cold, right now it feels like the entire thing is stuck to my face"


    "Oh okay... oh here''s the ticket booth"


    Miyoko points towards a ticket stand which is blocking off the street as she lines up with Broki-chan. They have to wait for only a few minutes before they''re let into the festival. It was a winter wonderland of sorts with an almost whimsical aura around it. To the left and right of Broki-chan were several hundred different stalls. There was also a large futuristic statue matching the snow and surrounded by a frozen lake in the centre of Snowfest. Broki-chan was in awe at the scene, only able to say the word "wow" before Miyoko pulls him closer, and they begin walking. Whilst, they''re walking Miyoko looks with him with a smile as she says "we should stay on this side of the festival for now, slower foot traffic and all".


    Broki-chan agrees, and they begin browsing a couple of the stores. They first notice a stall with a variety of soft plush toys and a variety of other winter themed toys. The vendor gives Broki-chan a smile as he walks by. The next store that piqued Broki-chan''s interest was a vendor selling fairy floss and coloured popcorn. The store directly next to it was selling warm drinks which Broki-chan thinks about buying before Miyoko drags him away whilst pointing at an ice rink. Miyoko looks extremely excited as she squeals "Broki look an ice rink, let''s go there". Broki-chan looks at the ice rink as he says "I don''t know Miyoko, I''ve never seen or been on an ice rink in my life".


    "C''mon it''ll be fun Broki"


    "I don''t know, I don''t even know how to ice skate"


    "I''ll teach you, could you at least try Broki, for me?"


    "Fine."


    Miyoko grabs Broki-chan''s arm and some ice skates in her size, sitting down to put them on as she lets go of Broki-chan''s arm. Broki-chan looks for some ice skates in his size and grabs them before sitting down next to Miyoko and putting them on. Miyoko finishes tying her shoes and goes out onto the rink, doing some basic skating around the rink. Broki-chan finishes his tying his shoes and follows Miyoko to the ice rink. He at first begins skating around the rink, speeding up as he goes. As he speeds up he goes closer to the centre doing several jumps across the rink. Eventually he ends with an Axel jump before he glides over Miyoko saying "you know this is fun, I should do this ice-skating more often".


    Miyoko looks at him with a surprised look on her face as she says "damn I thought you said that you have never been ice-skating, when did you get so good?". Broki-chan stops skating completely as he slowly slides around the ice, try to remember if he''s ever been ice-skating before a memory comes to his mind.


    He remembers being in this same ice rink, skating around with someone who has his back turned to him. The person was skating around in frolicking way as Broki-chan skates on their own. In just a few minutes of silence was interrupted by the person hugging Broki-chan from behind. Their hug becomes tighter as they say "you know I love you right?". Whilst Broki-chan is remembering, Miyoko notices his silence and skates over to him as she says "Broki? Broki-chan? Are you there? Hello?". She waves her hands in front of Broki-chan eyes, causing him to snap back to reality as he says "I don''t- I don''t know".


    Miyoko looks at the rink then back at Broki-chan as she asks "hey are you okay?". Broki-chan looks away as he replies "yeah I''m fine". Miyoko gives him a worried look as she replies "how about we look for a better activity... to get your mind off of things?". Broki-chan continues looking away as he replies with a simple "sure". They walk off on the ice rink, taking the ice skates off and putting their normal shoes back on. After a few minutes of searching they find some people building snow sculptures, prompting Miyoko to drag Broki-chan there as she says "c''mon Broki, we could build a snowman or something". Before Broki-chan could even sit down to help Miyoko with build snow sculptures, he notices Monika waving him down quite aggressively.


    Without a second thought, he turns to Miyoko and says "hey Miyoko if you don''t mind I''m going to go to the bathroom". Miyoko looks up at him and says "Oh okay Broki-chan the toilets are to the left if you don''t know, come back soon, I''ll start building this snowman in the meantime". Broki-chan quickly walks away from her, side eyeing Monika for a second as he makes a subtle motion for her to follow him which she does. Broki-chan leads her into a portable toilet before he shuts the door behind him, locking it and turning to Monika as he asks "what''s wrong?" Monika gives him a look for a second before replying "oh nothing in particular, I just wanted to ask you a question that has been kind of bugging me for the past couple of days".


    "Uh huh, what is it?"


    "So I just wanted to know if your name is actually Broki-chan or if you''re just the mascot Broki-chan"


    "I''m both actually, I''m wearing the mascot costume for Broki-chan, but it''s actually my name too"


    Monika tilts her head in complete confused as she asks "but how is that even- wait a minute". She moves closer to Broki-chan as if she was examining him before she floats back to her original spot quietly as she says "oh you''re uh what''s his name, I can''t remember, oh well it should come back to me soon but if that''s the case... How come you''re not hanging out with Kioko anymore?"

 Snowfest Serendipity

    Broki-chan gives Monika a confused look as he says "what do you mean by hanging out with Kioko? I''m confused". Monika floats closer as she says "well I remember you and Kioko being close before I uh- kicked the bucket so to speak, so what happened to you two?"


    "I don''t remember? I think I''ve only met her twice?".


    Monika tilts her head in confusion as she replies "really? What''s the first thing you remember?"


    "Well I remember getting hit in the head with something then after that... I woke up in a hospital with the doctors calling me Broki-chan, so I think that''s my name"


    Monika looks at him before she floats back slightly and mutters "it almost sounds like you''ve been revived almost but- no that can''t be possible you don''t have any green or pale skin and I doubt there''d be any under the mask, maybe it''s because of someone haunting you? No, that only lasts 15 minutes. Maybe you teleported into the phantom zone like that other guy? No that''s not possible he''s the only one who can do that then-". Monika pauses before she looks at Broki-chan and says "maybe you just have memory loss".


    Broki-chan shrugs and goes to say something however he''s cut off by Miyoko knocking on the door and yelling "Broki are you okay?". Broki-chan quickly mutters a swear under his breath before he quickly turns on the sink and yell back "yeah I''m fine Miyoko I''m uh just washing my hands, I''ll be out in a second". Monika floats into the ground as she says "I''ll talk to you later". Broki-chan quickly washes his hands and walks out, seeing Miyoko immediately staring at him. Broki-chan puts his hand behind his head as he says "sorry about that Miyoko, I''m ready to go back and play with the snow". Miyoko smiles at him, holding his hand as they walk back to the snowy area.


    They spend a few hours doing a variety of activities ranging from a small snowball fight between Broki-chan and Miyoko to Miyoko building a snow sculpture that looks exactly like a snowman version of Broki-chan. eventually they decide to head back to the markets to grab something to eat. After a few minutes of searching, they find something they both wanted to have at the time, a ramen shop. The attendant has her back turned as she puts some money into the cash register, making sure to take her time as she goes. Broki-chan waits in line patiently for her to finish what she''s doing unlike Miyoko who looks rather annoyed. Within a few seconds, Miyoko lets out an impatient sigh as he hits the service bell.


    To both of their surprise, Kiwa turns around as she says "Welcome to Raijin Ramen what can I get you, and before you ask no we do not sell-". Kiwa pauses as she notices Broki-chan and Miyoko and continues "oh hello Broki-chan and weird girl who hangs around Broki-chan, what brings you here?". Miyoko expression changes from annoyed to enraged as she takes out her phone and begins typing something. Broki-chan looks at her and then at Kiwa as Miyoko says with a scowl "you order Broki, I''ll have whatever you have". Broki-chan noticing the conversation is becoming quite awkward, clear his throat as he says "right... we''ll have some Shoyu".


    Kiwa smiles as Miyoko hands her a £¤2000 banknote before she goes back to angrily texting. Kiwa puts the note into the cash register as she says "coming right up". She walks towards the small kitchen within the stall as she says to Broki-chan "so how has your day today, Broki-chan?". Broki-chan looks at Kiwa then at Miyoko as he says "it''s been fine how come you''re working here?"


    "Oh well I saw that this ramen shop needed some more staff before I met you, so I took up the job, and then I got placed on market duty for today"


    "Oh right so how have you been, has it been busy?"


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    "Eh it''s not been too busy it''s been fairly chill, and I don''t mean that because it''s cold, but I''ve been going just fine, what have you been doing here?"


    "Nothing too interesting just exploring the different markets and doing some snow activities like ice skating and building snowman, just what you normally do during Snowfest"


    "Well I can assure that''s a lot more interesting than what I''ve been doing, I''ve literally just been doing the exact same thing for the last 6 hours, but that''s work for you. So what are you doing here with... weird girl sorry I just can''t remember her name"


    "Her name is Miyoko, she was that girl I told you about that was arguing with that other girl, but she invited me to come, and I didn''t really want to cause and drama, so I said yes and here we are"


    "Ah right, Miyoko, I''ll make sure to try and remember that, she seems... nice if you get to know her?"


    "Uh yeah I guess she is, she''s just not... the greatest at conversation if you get what I mean"


    "Yeah I think I understand, oh the food is ready, let me just package it up for you" says Kiwa as she quickly packages the ramen into a small plastic bowl before she moves to the counter handing Broki-chan two ramen bowls. He takes them as Kiwa looks around and says "huh it looks like the festival is going to end soon, if you don''t mind I think I might have my dinner with you guys". Broki-chan looks at her with a smile as he replies "yeah of course we wouldn''t mind". Kiwa gives him a smile as she grabs something from behind the corner and walks out of the market stall holding a lunchbox. She places a quick on break sign next to the market before they all walk towards a small bench nearby, placing their food on the table and sit down.


    Almost immediately, they begin eating except for Miyoko who''s still typing on her phone. Kiwa notices this and looks at Broki-chan as she asks "so what do you think of the food?". Broki-chan swallows what he''s currently eating before replying "this is delicious, next time I''m looking for ramen, I know who I''m going to go to, what do you think of it Miyoko?". Kiwa blushes as a large smile brushes on her face while Miyoko takes a small bite and says "it''s fine".


    "So Miyoko, right? How have you been?"


    "Alright."


    Kiwa gives Miyoko a nervous look as Broki-chan clears his throat and says "so... what do you think of Snowfest Kiwa?"


    "Oh well I think it''s pretty neat, I''d love to come here with you guys one day without having to run a market stall, what about you Miyoko?"


    "It''s alright."


    "Uh alright... what about you Broki-chan?"


    "I mean I see it all the time, so I''m kind of getting sick of it, but it''s still nice to come here once in a while, especially when there''s fewer people, it''s more... quaint that way, how''s your food Kiwa, did you make it yourself too or is it from another store?"


    "No I made it myself, it''s alright you can have a taste if you want, but it''s just some frilled Kabocha and Nabe"


    "No it''s fine I can already tell that it would be amazing considering how you made it"


    Kiwa blushes but tries to hide it before she looks at Miyoko and says "so Miyoko, if you don''t mind me asking, what are you doing on your phone?"


    "Uh well... I''m- just messaging Tamiko about... how great Snowfest has been going"


    "Uh huh right well I got to say this is nice, living in the moment as the snow falls gently what do you two think?"


    "I think you''re right Kiwa, it''s almost like time has stopped as we''re living in the moment, what do you think Miyoko?"


    "Um yeah I agree whatever you just said"


    They finish eating their food just as Miyoko puts her phone down with a grin on her face. Kiwa looks at Miyoko then at Broki-chan as she says "y''know the festival is about to end soon, how about we all go somewhere else, I know this nice park which we could-". Before she could say anything else she''s interrupted by someone approaching their bench and clearing their throat. Broki-chan and Kiwa both turn to look at who it is only to find Nahoko staring at Kiwa with a large grin. She looks over to Broki-chan as she says "hey guys, fancy meeting all of you here, whatcha up to?

 Fateful Diversions

    Kiwa gives Nahoko a sweet smile as she says, "hi, I don''t think we''ve met, are you one of Broki-chan''s friends? I''m Kiwa by the way, what''s your name?". Nahoko gives Kiwa a puzzled look as she says in a confused tone, "Nahoko?".


    "Nahoko? I swear I''ve heard that name before, anyway it''s nice to meet you, did you want to sit down?"


    "Sure, it would be rude to just leave"


    Nahoko sits down, and they begin making small talk about how their days were going, albeit with Miyoko and Nahoko repeatedly side-eying Kiwa throughout their conversation. Flash forward to an hour or two later, Kiwa shuts down her stall as it starts to get dark. They walk out of Snowfest and onto a lonely street. As they walk around the street, Kiwa points to several locations as she says, "well, there''s an arcade we could go to, but it would probably be closing soon. We could also go to one of the shops but that might not be so fun, or we could try out the park, it always looks nice, and it has some stuff we could do there, what do you guys think?"


    Broki-chan looks at her and then at Miyoko and Nahoko before saying, "the park seems like it would be fun. What do you think Miyoko and Nahoko?"


    "The park seems like an amazing place to go, and it would be even better with you- I mean it would look even better at night in my opinion" Nahoko replied with a slightly nervous grin on her face. Broki-chan gives her a confused look for a second before giving her a nod as they begin walking across the street to the park. Whilst they''re walking towards the park, Broki-chan notices that Nahoko and Miyoko were walking slower than before. Once Broki-chan had notice this, he also noticed that Nahoko and Miyoko were whispering about something, causing Broki-chan to begin to subtly eavesdrop on them.


    "So, what''s the plan?"


    "I don''t know, I''ll think of something, but it''s going to be harder with him here, this might not be the best time to do it"


    "I agree, maybe we should just wait for now and if there''s a chance to do it then we do it"


    "let''s do that"


    Broki-chan decides to stop eavesdropping and ignore their conversation due to being confused about what they''re talking about. Once they''re in the park, Nahoko and Miyoko begin to trail further behind as Kiwa begins pointing out stuff in the park to Broki-chan as she says "well there''s the playground, it''s pretty nice not the best I''ve seen though, there''s also the soccer pitch, but I don''t know if you''d be into that and...". Kiwa begins to trail off and talk about several different sports as Broki-chan decides to begin making a snowball. He does so before throwing it at Kiwa and says with a laugh "I''m sorry, it was just too tempting"


    Kiwa wipes the snow off her face, chuckling, before throwing a snowball back at him. They take turns throwing snowballs back and forth as Miyoko and Nahoko watch them from the sidelines. After a few minutes of throwing snowballs at each other, Broki-chan says whilst laughing "alright, alright you win, I give up". Kiwa lets out a laugh as she replies "alright Broki-chan whatever you say". They begin giggling to themselves as Miyoko and Nahoko approach, causing Kiwa to look surprised as she says "oh I''m so sorry guys, I completely forgot you were with us, I got too invested in the game, let''s find something for all of us to do". Miyoko looks at Nahoko and then at Kiwa albeit with a slight grimace as she says "it''s fine, it happens to us all sometimes, how about we find something that we all want to do?".


    Broki-chan and Kiwa nod before they continue walking around the park. Whilst they''re walking through the park, Kiwa trips on a rock, causing her to fall.  Before she can fall however, Broki-chan catches her in an almost romantic way, if you were looking at the scene from the sideline. Kiwa begins breathing heavier as she stares at Broki-chan, blushing. He slowly lets go of her so Kiwa can get her footing back as he asks "are you okay?". Kiwa doesn''t say anything as she continues to look at Broki-chan and her face almost begins to turn a shade of red. After a few seconds of complete silence, Kiwa eventually looks at Broki-chan, and she says "well... I- um I''m you''re fine- I MEAN I''M FINE, not that you''re not fine, you''re actually pretty h- what I''m trying to say is that you''re- I''m fine."


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    Whilst Kiwa is talking, Broki-chan could help hear Nahoko and Miyoko whispering. He at first, decided to ignore it once again however he couldn''t help but feel unsettled as Nahoko whispers "tonight?". After Nahoko whispered this, he couldn''t help but to subtly look behind him which he does, seeing Miyoko respond to the question with a slow nod and a slightly menacing grin. Kiwa takes a deep breath to try and get a hold of herself before asking "s-so did we uh want to go elsewhere, in all honesty it might be nice to go somewhere else?". Broki-chan looks at Kiwa and then at Nahoko and Miyoko, who both have almost frighting grins on their faces as Miyoko says "of course that sounds like a great idea what do you think Broki?".


    "Uh sure... did you guys have anything in mind?" Broki-chan replied with an obvious nervous look on his face. Nahoko''s grin almost appears as if it''s growing as she says "we''ll go wherever you two want to go". Kiwa nods before they begin walking back to the street they were on before. When they get back on the street, they begin walking across the sidewalk. However, when they''re walking, Kiwa trips on something Broki-chan could quite see as Broki-chan quickly notices that Kiwa is about to fall onto the road. He quickly pulls her back, just in time to save her from being run over by a truck. After Broki-chan saves her from being run over, Kiwa quickly gets her footing back all while blushing as she says "l-let''s go find something else to do?"


    They spend some walking around finding stuff to do, they first head to an arcade, only for Broki-chan to have to save Kiwa from being electrocuted due to faulty wiring. They then head over to see the view from a skyscraper that''s a popular tourist destination in the area. Broki-chan once again has to save her from a near-death experience as she nearly falls off the balcony. The group walks from there to an ice rink where they had fun up until Kiwa trips and nearly falls into the ice, causing Broki-chan to have to save her once more.


    Eventually they head to the train station due to Miyoko mentioning that she needed the bathroom. Whilst they''re waiting for Miyoko to come back out, Broki-chan notices the air conditioner right above Kiwa shaking slightly before it begins falling. Without a second thought, Broki-chan quickly pushes Kiwa out of the way, saving her despite accidentally falling on top of her. Kiwa looks at Broki-chan as she turns a new shade of red and says "Oh- you don''t need to be so forward with me Broki-chan". Broki-chan gives her a confused look as he says "I''m sorry what? I was just stopping you from being crushed by the air conditioner". Broki-chan quickly gets off and stands back up as Kiwa says nervously "oh... well uh- what I was trying to say was thank you for... saving me".


    Kiwa quickly stands back up as Miyoko walks out the bathroom with a surprised look on her face as she says "oh that''s not good maybe we should call it a night?". Broki-chan looks at Miyoko and replies "yeah that seems like a good idea I think we''ve had more than enough ''excitement'' for one day". Kiwa nods as she says "yeah that seems like a good idea, I''ve had fun, we should definitely do this again sometime well I''m going to go take the train I''ll see you guys tomorrow".


    Without waiting for a response, Kiwa walks away and buys a train ticket before waving goodbye and walking onto the train. Miyoko watches Kiwa leave before turning to Broki-chan and saying "well now that she''s gone, I''m going to this way I''ll see you tomorrow". Miyoko gives Broki-chan a hug before walking to their left with a smile on her face. Broki-chan points to his right as he says "well my house is this way so-". Before Broki-chan can finish his sentence, Nahoko cuts him off as she says "oh perfect, my house is that way as well, let''s go already".  She grabs Broki-chan''s hand, and they begin walking to their right.


    <div>


    "Oh well I uh- live nearby the school that''s why you never me outside of school"


    "Yeah alright that makes sense I guess, so did you fun at Snowfest Broki-chan?"


    "I mean it was alright, but I''ve gotten kind of sick of it from the amount of times I''ve been there, what about you, did you have fun?"


    "Yes I did, it was fun oh there''s the school"


    "yes so it is, well I guess this is where we part ways I''ll see you tomorrow"


    Broki-chan begins to walk into the school however Nahoko grabs his arm as she asks "hey before you go Broki-chan, do you mind telling me where your house is, street wise, I feel like I should know where I should go if anything happens, and you can protect me right Broki-chan?"

 Past Echoes

    Broki-chan gives her a nervous look as she looks up at him, expectantly. He lets out a loud sigh before saying "look I''m going to be honest because you seem like a nice girl, but I don''t actually have a house, I just live in the costume shed at the school, but I didn''t want to worry you because I''m fine living there". Nahoko gives him a surprised look before quickly changing her expression to a smile as she says "oh is that so Broki? Well then you''ll just have to stay at mine after all I can''t let you freeze out here and turn into a popsicle Broki-chan".


    He takes a step back as he says "well thank you for the offer Nahoko but what about your parents, I don''t want to be a bother". Nahoko takes a step forward as she grabs Broki-chan''s hand and says "no it''s okay Broki-chan I don''t live with my parents, I live with my sister, and she''s barely home anyway so I''ll have to insist on this Broki-chan". Broki-chan couldn''t help but feel he shouldn''t of agreed however he agrees regardless. After he agreed, Nahoko grin grows wider before she begins dragging Broki-chan by his arm as she says "c''mon Broki-chan my house is this way".


    Nahoko begins walking as Broki-chan reluctantly follows behind. Whilst they''re walking, Nahoko looks behind at Broki-chan with a smile as she says "so Broki-chan, I''m just curious did you have a home before, if so what happened?".


    "I don''t know actually, to be honest, I don''t remember anything before around one or two years ago".


    "Oh I''m sorry to hear that, if you don''t mind me asking what do you remember?"


    "Well I first remember waking up in a hospital room, meeting Sakura and becomes best friends with her, staying at Sakura for a few nights after I saw someone stare at me from the bushes, meeting Miyoko and that''s pretty much it up until I met you"


    "Uh huh... wait-". Nahoko stops before turning to look at Broki-chan with a deadpan expression. She grabs Broki-chan''s shoulders as she says "wait wait wait... YOU WERE IN THE HOSPITAL AND YOU DIDN''T TELL ME?!". Broki-chan gives her an extremely confused look as he says "because I didn''t know you at the time?". Nahoko lets go of Broki-chan as she says "oh... right" before she quickly begins walking as Broki-chan follows.


    "So why were you in the hospital?"


    "I don''t know on account of the whole not remembering anything part of why I was in the hospital, it may have been because of a concussion but other than that I have no clue"


    "oh I forgot about that, yeah that would make sense, y''know I don''t know why, but I have a feeling that we met before"


    "I mean we most likely have, I know I''ve been working as a mascot there for some time from what I''ve been told"


    "Yeah we''ve probably just walked by each other a few times but on the other hand... never mind anyway here''s my house"


    Nahoko points to a fairly average looking 2-story house. The house from the front appears to have little to no backyard and looked as if it was squished in between the two houses next to it. Broki-chan wasn''t complaining however as compared to his small shed, this was a significant upgrade. Nahoko quickly shifts through several different keys as she walks up to the front door, she opens the door and turns on a light, revealing a kitchen and small dining room.


    Broki-chan walks into the house and shuts the door behind him as Nahoko points to a room upstairs and says "well welcome to my house I guess, you can sleep in the spare room upstairs, let me show you it". Nahoko walks upstairs and Broki-chan follows, she opens the door revealing a room that looked heavily decorated with strip lights, a computer, plants and numerous photos. She turns on the lights which made the room illuminate in a purple glow on account of the strip lights. Broki-chan looks around the room before saying "not to be rude but what''s up with the decorations, it almost looks like someone has lived here recently, and I don''t want to steal their room".


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    "Oh! No, no. No-one''s been here recently..." said Nahoko as she looked at Broki-chan, shaking her head. She looked at Broki-chan with an almost nervous expression before continuing "it''s just sometimes my cousins stay over so they just leave some stuff here". Broki-chan makes a quiet "oh" noise as if he just remembered the fact that some people have somewhat close families. Nahoko looks at something then back at Broki-chan as she says "well I''m going to make some food, I''ll make some for you as well, I''ll come back up later". Broki-chan nods and moves out of the way as Nahoko walks out of the room.


    She stops at the door frame for a moment before turning back to Broki-chan as she says "oh and one more thing I should probably mention before I go downstairs, DON''T go into the attic, that''s where my sister''s... bedroom is". Broki-chan looks at her before replying "of course, I''ll make sure to avoid going into the attic". Nahoko gives him an almost unsettling grin before walking downstairs. Broki-chan sits on the bed and begins to look around the room. He first spots a vanity table opposite the bed with left out blushes and lipstick.


    Next to the vanity table lies a small desk and chair, filled with an assortment of clutter and a computer. Broki-chan finds nothing else of note in the room until he spotted someone on the vanity table. It appeared to be a photo frame lying face down as if someone aggressively shoved it down. He stood up and approached the table, gently lifting it up to revealing a photo of Kioko and someone hugging. He couldn''t help but stare at the photo for a moment as a weird sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu came over him.


    Broki-chan was so overwhelmed by this sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu that he didn''t even notice Monika approaching him with a smiling expression. "Broki-chan?, what the hell are you doing here?". He ignores her and continues to stare at the photo, causing Monika to let out an annoyed side before saying "hey at least listen to me, you seriously have to leave like right now, I don''t even know why you''re going to her house, but you have got to go. Why are you doing this? To spite me?".


    Broki-chan only gives her a quick glance before turning around and shoving the photograph in her face as he asks "hey do you know who this guy with Kioko is?". Monika goes to say something before looking down at photo then looking at Broki-chan as she says "no". Their conversation is quickly cut short by the turn of a doorknob, Monika quickly hides as the door swings open revealing Nahoko with two bowls of noodles. She quickly moves towards the desk, placing one of the bowls down before proceeding to sit on the ground and begin eating.


    Broki-chan places the photo on the floor before grabbing his bowl and sitting next to Nahoko. He doesn''t start eating immediately however as he grabs the photo on the floor. He passes it over to Nahoko as he says "I found this photo in this room, do you know who the guy hugging Kioko is, I have a feeling I''ve seen him before, but I have no clue where from". Nahoko inspects the photo for a second before saying "Oh! That''s Yamihiro, he was the mascot before you, I remember her being close with Kioko, I used to be friends with her up until Yamihiro died, and we had a... falling out. I just decided to keep the photo because I liked it, and it reminds me of the better days... so to speak."


    Nahoko moves the photo away and continues eating as Broki-chan mutters, albeit a bit too loud, "if he''s dead then how come I haven''t seen this guy''s ghost or ever heard of him". Nahoko turns to look at him, completely confused as she pauses mid-bite. Broki-chan realises that he may have said that a bit too loudly as he turns to look at Nahoko''s speechless expression. He looks a bit nervous as he tries to quickly think of how to play it off before saying "Oh uh- I just meant that I wonder why Kioko and Miyoko haven''t mentioned it, I just remember of them being interested in ghosts".


    "Oh is that so? I don''t remember either of them having an interest in that type of stuff but if it''s coming from you, then it has to be true".


    "Alright? So... let me know if you don''t want to talk about but what''s the full story with you and Kioko, what happened?"


    "Well... I- uh- it''s- well she- she... I''m sorry it''s just too hard to explain to you... you''re too... important to me... could we perhaps talk about something else, like our hobbies or your favourite things, I''d love to get to know you more".

 Uncertain Livings

    Broki-chan gives her a weirded-out look as he says, "Uh, alright, so what hobbies do you have?"


    "Oh, my hobbies? I don''t have any," said Nahoko with a smile.


    They sit in awkward silence for a moment as Broki-chan says, confused, "Okay then?". Nahoko''s grin stretches further as she asks, "So what about you? What are your hobbies?"


    "My hobbies? Well, I usually like to make snow sculptures and relax outside, but those aren''t really hobbies.


    "Oh, I already know that you do that. I was more asking if you have any new hobbies."


    "New hobbies? No, I don''t think- wait, how do you know that?"


    Nahoko gives him a nervous smile before she quickly finishes her noodles and stands up. She looks down at Broki-chan and says, "Uh- well, this was a nice chat; I''m going to go to my room to study. If you don''t mind, of course."


    Broki-chan gives her a perplexed look, almost as if he''s confused by her reaction, before shaking his head and replying, "No, yeah, sure, go ahead, I don''t mind at all". Nahoko smiles at him as she leaves and shuts the door, all while Broki-chan is still eating.


    Once he finishes eating, he gently places the bowl on the desk. Just as Monika emerges from her hiding spot, she says, "Broki-chan, what are you doing? We should leave NOW". Broki-chan looks at her as if he were a tired parent who''s reached their breaking point. He replies, "No. I''m not going to be doing that."


    Monika clearly didn''t expect that response. She switched to a smiling expression and angrily said, "Broki-chan... Are you an IDIOT? Did you hit your head or something? This is such a stupid idea that I can''t even see you seeing this as a good idea. Broki-chan, are you even listening to me? Broki-chan...". Broki-chan doesn''t listen to her angry remarks as he lies on the bed and closes his eyes while Monika yells at him in an attempt to get his attention. He still doesn''t respond until, at some point, the sounds of angry yells become what seems to be the sounds of someone wailing?


    Confused, he opened his eyes, only to find Kioko crying over him as he lay on the floor, almost motionless. Broki-chan attempted to grab her hand, only to find his hand phases through her. Out of complete confusion over what''s happening, he tries to get up, only to realise that...


    He can''t get up. He can''t even move.


    He quickly starts to panic as he sees Kioko being dragged away from him by someone he can''t remember as she continues to wail in anguish. He''s forced to stare at the ceiling for a few minutes until he sees Nahoko standing over him and repeatedly calling his name. Eventually, he opens his eyes again to find Nahoko uncomfortably and creepily standing over him as she yells, "Broki-chan! It''s time to wake up!"


    Out of pure instincts, he nearly pushed her off of him, but he was almost frozen in complete confusion. On the contrary, Nahoko smiles at him before moving towards the edge of the bed and asking, "Did you sleep well?"


    Broki-chan blinks at her for a few seconds as if he''s processing what just happened before replying, "Well, I mean... I don''t know?". Nahoko gives him a confused look in response as she replies, "You don''t... know?". Broki-chan nods in agreement as Nahoko gets off of the bed and stands up. She says, "Well, breakfast is ready when you are?"


    She quickly leaves the room as Broki-chan gets up and scratches his head, confused about... everything. He moves to the mirror, where Monika jumps out and says, "Y''know, it''s weird how your hair never changes even after sleeping." Broki-chan jumps back out of clear surprise as he makes an ''AH'' sound before looking closely at the mirror and noticing that Monika has no reflection. Quizzically, he says, "First of all, don''t scare me like that. It''s not funny. Second of all, why don''t you have a reflection in the mirror?"


    Monika pauses, almost confused by the question, before answering his question by saying, "Oh, I don''t know, maybe because I''m a ghost and normally can''t be seen by anything. What''s gotten you so spooked to ask such dumb questions?"


    Broki-chan looks at his reflection in the mirror as if he''s contemplating something as he quietly says, "I... I don''t even know at this point". He eventually decides to walk outside of the room, leaving Monika behind despite her clear annoyance over it. Once at the staircase, he walks downstairs and notices Nahoko humming to herself as she cooks something. As he walks further down the staircase, he also notices a plate consisting of a variety of food, which is presumed to be for him. Once at the bottom, Nahoko notices and says, "Hey, Broki-chan! You should eat your food before it gets cold. Feel free to take a seat and make yourself at home!"


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    Broki-chan nods in response and sits down. Upon sitting down, however, he notices Monika at the staircase and out of sight of Nahoko, motioning widely at Broki-chan to leave now. Before he can respond, Nahoko enters his view and sits down opposite him with a freshly made omlet for herself.


    For some reason, Broki-chan couldn''t help but continue to look at Nahoko, who gave him a soft smile before proceeding to eat her breakfast. Eventually, he snaps out of his trance and looks down at his plate. Slowly, he takes a small bite, and although he likes the food, he can''t help but feel in the back of his mind that it''s been drugged in some way.


    Minutes pass, and nothing happens; however, Nahoko eventually notices that Broki-chan isn''t eating and says, "Y''know, Broki-chan, if you don''t like the food, I can try making something different."


    Without waiting for a response, she stands up and tries to grab Broki-chan''s plate of food. Quickly, he stands up and replies in an almost begging tone, "No, no, no, the food''s fine. I''m just... taking the time to savour each bite, and I''m only just starting to wake up properly". Nahoko looks at him blankly for a moment before slowly sitting back down as she says, "Oh... okay?"


    Broki-chan sits down in turn and takes another bite, which Nahoko endearingly smiles at before she says, "So how''s the food? Is it good? Do you like it?"


    "Mhmm, it''s lovely, actually. I didn''t know you were such a good cook."


    "Aw, thanks. I''m glad that you love it. I guess I have to make more food for you! So... what do you think of Kiwa? She seems a bit weird to me."


    "Huh, is that so? She doesn''t seem weird to me, a bit socially awkward at times, maybe, but she seems nice."


    "Hmm, I don''t know, Broki. I think she''s a bit manipulative; you shouldn''t be hanging around her."


    "Manipulative? What? No, no, I think you just have the wrong idea, Nahoko. Also, please don''t call me Broki; I honestly hate that nickname. Can you please just call me by my full name?"


    "Oh right, sorry, Broki-chan, it was just a slip of the tongue."


    "It''s okay, just please don''t do it again."


    "So... are you still single, Broki-chan?"


    "Uh... yes, why do you ask??"


    "Oh, no reason... say, when would you want kids?"


    "Woah there, Nahoko. Don''t you think that''s a bit of a personal question? Besides, I''m not that old enough to really be thinking about that kind of stuff," said Broki-chan, all while trying not to choke on his food. This causes Nahoko to make a ''hmph'' sound as if she is unimpressed in response before she continues to eat her food.


    Eventually, Broki-chan and Nahoko finish their breakfasts before Nahoko looks to her left at a clock. Her eyes go wide for a moment before she quickly stands up and grabs her bag as she says, "Shoot. C''mon, Broki-chan, we should get going before we''re late. Broki-chan nods and stands up before they both walk outside.


    Whilst they''re walking to school, Nahoko looks at Broki-chan with a smile as she says, "Wow, it''s really snowing today, isn''t it, Broki-chan."


    "Mhmm, I suppose so; I''ve seen snowier days."


    "Yeah, I mean, I guess I''ve seen snowier days too. I sure hope it doesn''t stay this cold for long. I''m not sure if I brought my jacket."


    "Hmm, well, hopefully, it doesn''t end up being that cold."


    "Uh huh... so... how''s your job as the school''s mascot going?"


    "It''s being going fine."


    "That''s great to hear! What do you think about the school in general? Wait! Better yet, have you heard any recent gossip within the school?"


    "Hm, no, I don''t think so."


    Eventually, Broki-chan begins to zone out while Nahoko continues to make small talk. However, whilst zoning out, Broki-chan couldn''t help but notice Miyoko staring at Nahoko and him from across the street. He only sees her for a moment, however, as Nahoko quickly begins to drag him away.