A sound of a low musical instrument whirs and echoes vaguely in the Forbidden Building, Shinji's and Kokoro's attention are caught up by the music immediately. However, the music rises and falls rapidly, it's hard to determine where it comes from, but it sounds like there is a huge distance between the music and the classroom of Class 1-1.
"Viola?" suddenly, Kokoro looks up to the ceiling and tilts her head, "It's from the music room."
"Music room?"
Shinji is stunned, he never thought there was a music room twenty years ago in this dilapidated school. While just by this moment, Shinji suddenly notices something. Looking at the viola strings laying around him covered with blood and flesh... Could the person who is playing the viola right now be the person who sewed Class 1-1's teacher's and students' mouths with the viola strings?
"Kokoro-san." as Shinji thought, he turns to Kokoro and asks, "Did you just say viola?" he needs to confirm what he just heard.
"Yes." there Kokoro nods, "Every 14th, there will be someone playing this ballad in the music room upstairs."
Listening carefully to the ballad, Shinji asks curiously, "What is this ballad?"
"Shinji-kun don't know?" with a surprise expression, Kokoro reveals, "This is Eitsuma's anthem, 'The Bell Rings on The 14th'."
While just as Kokoro revealed, Shinji feels astonished, because this ballad sounds extremely strange to Shinji, it is so different from what he used to sing every Monday morning. He did not expect so many changes this school had undergone in twenty years. Today, their school anthem does not sound like what the violaist is playing right now, and also, it is not called The Bell Rings on The 14th.
Kokoro said it will be played on every 14th... What happened to every 14th?
However, just before Shinji could voice his doubts out, a sudden loud scream is heard. Chill runs down his back in an instant, while this time, Shinji is not afraid anymore, he holds the flashlight in his hand and dashes out of the classroom, Kokoro follows. Truth, Shinji might be able to find out the truth from this scream, he thought as he dashes to where the loud scream comes from.
The scream is clear and loud, Shinji can determine where it is coming from. He dashes down the corridor and comes to the staircase, he runs up speedily without hesitating. Kokoro follows.
However, just by the moment they reach the third floor of the Forbidden Building, the scream suddenly stops, while there, the music continues to play on the viola.
"The scream stopped?" in a puzzled face, Kokoro asked. She then walks in the front and leads Shinji to the room where the music is coming from, "Shinji-kun, this is the music room." she said.
Even though the loud scream has stopped, Shinji is still curious about the identity of the violaist in that room. Therefore, Shinji carefully comes to the music room, and puts his hand onto the door. Slowly, he pushes the door open. As soon as the door is opened, only a man is seen standing at the window with his back facing the door. He looks at the music sheets clipped to the music sheet holder and plays the viola gracefully.
Is this man a human? Or is he a yurei? Shinji can't seem to differentiate humans and ghosts anymore. Whereas, unexpectedly, Kokoro clutches tight onto Shinji's sleeve and hides behind his back. She looks rather scared.
"What happened, Kokoro-san?" quietly, Shinji turns back and asked.
"Shinji-kun..." while Kokoro squeaks lightly, "Beware of this man..." she said.
"Do you know him, Kokoro-san?" again, Shinji asked, demanding for more answers, "Who is he?"
"I..." looking at the man's back, Kokoro turns stammered, "I don't know..."
Whereas, just when the two of them are whispering to each other, the music abruptly stops. The violaist has stopped playing the viola, he lowers the viola and the bow, at the meantime, he turns to Shinji and Kokoro.
As he comes closer, he asks in a gentle voice, "Who are you?" he asked, "What are you doing in here all alone?"
Alone? The man just said Shinji is alone, can't he see Kokoro? Is he a human?
"W-who are you...?" well, to make it to the surface, Shinji can only state, "This building is forbidden, what are you doing here?"
However, unexpectedly, the man asks the exact same question back at Shinji, "Shonen, this building is forbidden, what are you doing here?" he chuckles.
"W-what are you laughing at?" in pink, Shinji swings the light onto the man's face and commands, "I'm the one who asked the question first, so you have to answer me first!"
With another chuckle, the man shakes his head, "Alright." he then introduces, "I am Yokoyama Wataru, I am Eitsuma's teacher, you can call me Yokoyama-sensei."
"Teacher?" frowning his eyebrows, Shinji doubts, "I study here for over two years, I've never seen you before, I never heard of any Yokoyama-sensei." believing that he is actually lying, Shinji continues to confront, "Who are you, tell me the truth!" he deserves the truth!
With a sigh, the man who claimed himself as Eitsuma's teacher makes a guess on Shinji's identity, "You must be a third-year student in Eitsuma, aye? Shonen." he said, "This is a forbidden building. You have been studying in this school for two years. Shouldn't it be clear that breaking into this building is illegal?"
While just as he stated, Kokoro suddenly pulls Shinji's sleeve from the behind, "Shinji-kun..." she warns again, "Beware of this person..."
There, Shinji looks at the face of the man and ponders, if this man can't see Kokoro, then there is nothing for Shinji to be afraid of. But however, he needs to be careful of him, he is suspicious, just looking at the viola he holds in his hand, it must be relevant to the broken strings covered in blood and fleshes falling all over the classroom of Class 1-1.
There, Shinji points at the man and gives another try confronting him, "Maybe you should tell me, why are you playing the viola here in this hour?"
Indeed, that is very suspicious. At midnight, a teacher, playing a viola of the forgotten old anthem of the school, in this forbidden building where some possible mass slaughter had happened twenty years ago, connecting to the disappearing Class 1-1.
While unfortunately, the man seems pretty persistent against the point he is making here, "You haven't got me, have you?" he then states, "Students are forbidden to enter this building. As for why I'm here, as an elder, I should have no reason to explain it to a bad student who violated the school rules like you, am I right?"
"What do you mean?" relieving the frowns from his eyebrows, Shinji puts up a smirk on his face, he comes up with a way to provoke this wicked man in front of him, "Is it because I don't have the right to know what you're doing here, or is it because it is too shady to be spoken?"
"Too shady to be spoken?" successfully, Shinji's words caught his attention, while with him being smart, he comes up with an indirect way to beat around the bushes, "Shonen, I think there's some misunderstanding happening here. Well, if you insist that I did something shady, please tell me." with a polite smile, he mentioned.
"I'll be straight to the point then." crossing his arms in front of his chest, Shinji confronts, "Does the mass disappearance of everyone in Class 1-1 have something to do with you?"
"W-what?" frowning his eyebrows, the man's mind turns puzzled, "Mass disappearance?" he never expected Shinji would say something this serious.
"Don't pretend!" while Shinji can't help but yell at him, he is so certain that this suspicious man is definitely connected to the case!
Giving a sigh, the man shakes his head helplessly, "I think there's indeed a misunderstanding between us." he thought.
Stretching his arms straight, Shinji blocks at the door of the music room, "Admit it now, or don't you ever think of getting out of here!"
However, a mass slaughter, nobody is going to admit it including the true murderer, no one will be so silly.
"Tsk." clicking his tongue, the man finally gives up reasoning with him, "Unreasonable."
Just as he finishes his words, he suddenly walks close to Shinji. Kokoro steps backwards with a soft scream. There, as he is close enough to Shinji, he holds the viola high, and swiftly, he hits it onto the back of Shinji's head. Putting the viola and the bow down onto the table, the man carries Shinji up on his shoulder and leaves the music room.
That night before the sun rises, the man left Kokoro all alone in the Forbidden Building, and he left the school with Shinji in his hands.