It fades back to the ramen shop. Shiori is poking at her bowl as the others look pleased with the story. Shiori sees them staring and blushes, embarrassed.
Shiori "It's not a big deal…"
Chizuru "So that explains it. I was just under the assumption that you were obsessed with each other."
Shiori "Chizuru!"
She yells at her, blushing. Chizuru giggles and shrugs, smiling nervously.
Chizuru "Can you blame me? When has something like this ever happened before? It could've been an excuse."
Shiori "Well it's not. I can't stand Hikigaya anymore than I can stand any other moron."
She crosses her arms, pouting a bit.
Hikigaya "Aw, and here I was thinking you were falling for me."
He says sarcastically, leaning on his hand. She flicks a tofu cube at his forehead. His head jolts back then he tries to clean the soup residue from his forehead with a napkin.
Ryuji "Delinquent students huh? We knew Hikigaya had a hard time staying out of trouble but you, Shiori?"
She blushes a bit.
Lucy "Believe me. When Chizu and I first met her, she was hard as a rock. The first thing she did was insult her!"
Shiori "Lucy! Please don't tell him that! I already apologized!"
She holds Lucy's shoulder looking desperate. Lucy laughs.
Lucy "Hey, don't sweat it! You think we all got along with no fights over the years?"
Haru "Oh yeah, believe me. Hiki and I once had a big blow up and didn't talk to each other for a week."
Sugawara "Really? You guys did that Haru?"
He looks up at him surprised that even Haru can be so mad.
Haru "Haha yeah! And over a stupid manga!"
Hikigaya "Hey, you're the one who destroyed it."
Haru "It fell into the river by accident!"
They laugh about it as Shiori looks around, surprised that her friends can laugh about things that once made them upset. She looks down and smiles a bit before finishing her bowl. Lucy's dad comes out from behind the curtain of the kitchen.
Kenji "Okay you kids. All finished?"
They nod as Sugawara finishes up last.
Kenji "Good. Now get out. I gotta start closing up shop here."
They clean up a bit and get their things to head to the door. As they do that, Sugawara reaches into his bag and pulls out a wallet. He begins to pull out payment for the meal when Kenji notices.
Kenji "Hey, young man. What are you doing?"
Sugawara looks surprised.
Sugawara "I'm going to pay for the food..?"
Kenji waves his hand in front of him.
Kenji "No, no. Go on and head home. Kids your age shouldn't be worrying about things like that."
He smiles warmly at Sugawara who is shocked. Lucy pats him on the shoulder.
Lucy "I told you, you don't have to pay."
She smiles at him and turns towards the door. He lightens up and then bows sharply to Kenji.
Sugawara "Thank you very much for the food sir!"
He nods as they head out.
Kenji "Oh and Lucy,"
She turns.
Kenji "See you at home sweetpea. Love you."
Lucy "Daaad!"
She gets embarrassed as he waves them off. The group then all heads their separate ways.
Later that night, Sugawara sits on his belly in his bed in pajamas, writing in a diary.
Sugawara 'Today was a fun day. I actually got to go after school and eat ramen with my friends! I never imagined it'd be so fun! I even learned a bit more about Haru. And Lucy. Even Shiori and Hikigaya. Lucy's dad was really nice and let us eat for free. I really like my new friends. It's hard sometimes trying to speak up but they make me feel so welcome anyway. I can't wait to spend more time with them.'
He smiles happily while writing. He puts down the book and rolls onto his back.
Sugawara 'How was I so lucky to find them?'
He thinks about it before thinking about Haru smiling at him. He blushes and rolls onto his side.
Sugawara 'That's right… Haru…'
He grabs his pillow and hugs it tightly, blushing. He then quickly sits up and shakes his head.
Sugawara 'No! Don't be stupid! He's just being nice…'
He looks a little sad before looking at his phone. He grabs it and pulls up Haru's contact. He pauses for a moment before hitting the call button. He puts the phone to his ear as Haru answers.
Haru "Hello?"
Sugawara "Hi, I was wondering if I could come over?.."
Haru "Uh sure. But you come over almost every night, you sure your parents are okay with it?"
He looks at his door for a moment.
Sugawara "Yeah they're… they're okay."
Haru "Well then I'll be over in a sec."
Sugawara "No, it's okay. I got it."
He hangs up the phone before getting up and heading towards the only window to his room. He looks out of it and smiles.
Ms. Samuel "Alright class, listen up! I hope you all came prepared for the field trip today like I told you."
It is now October, early morning, just about when classes would normally start. Everyone is gathered around the school bus drop off and pick up zone behind the large cafeteria. Shiori yawns and rubs her eyes a bit. Hikigaya steps next to her.
Hikigaya "What's wrong Shiori? Not a morning person?"
Shiori "Not this early for a dumb field trip. She won't even tell us which one it is."
Hikigaya "I know, right? The mystery trip. She's talking it up but I feel that it's going to be underwhelming."
Shiori "At least it's like an hour and a half drive there, wherever there might be, so I get to sleep on the bus."
She stretches a bit as Hikigaya nods.
Ms. Samuel "Before we get going, I've got to get some rules and guidelines out of the way for this trip. First of all, on this trip you will be required to have a buddy all day. So start pairing up now."
Everyone begins moving around getting their buddies. Shiori and Hikigaya were about to step apart before they stop and remember their rules then shrug and stay put. Ryuji and Lucy pair up as well as Haru and Chizuru. As a few minutes pass, Sugawara is left alone. He sees Haru and Chizuru laugh a bit and lowers his head. One of the other staff joining on the trip points this out to Ms. Samuel.
Ms. Samuel "Of course we have an odd number in this class. How did I forget? Sugawara."
He turns to her.
Ms. Samuel "Go ahead and join whatever pair you want. You'll be a triple."
Haru "Sugawara, get over here!"
Sugawara raises his head and smiles as he sees Haru put his hand out for him. He comes over and Haru wraps his arm around his neck and starts rubbing his head happily. Sugawara blushes and laughs.
Ms. Samuel "Okay, that's all good. Now, what's next?.."
She goes over her list of things to do before heading out with the class. She tells them to get on the bus and so they do. As they are getting on, when Hikigaya and Shiori step up, she talks for a moment.
Ms. Samuel "Good to see you two finally accepting this."
They roll their eyes as she laughs a bit. Everyone gets on and sits in their pairs per seat. Everyone except Sugawara, Chizuru and Haru. Chizuru sits towards the window, Haru towards the aisle and Sugawara between them. Sugawara being so small then gets squished between Haru's chest and Chizuru's chest causing him to blush frantically. Shiori notices and laughs a bit as they are sitting just across from them with Lucy and Ryuji right behind her and Hikigaya. The class begins their long drive out to their destination. Most of the drive is smooth with little urban sights. Most of what the class saw on the way there was mountain sides and forest once they got out of the city. As the drive progresses, Shiori does just as she said she would and begins nodding off to sleep. At first she slept sitting straight up, leaning from side to side slightly. Hikigaya was sitting happily listening to music with earphones when the bus bumped a bit causing Shiori to lean and start sleeping against his shoulder. At first Hikigaya was surprised and was gonna wake her to get her to sit up again but once he saw her face so peaceful he just stared and smiled. He closes his eyes and lays his head against the seat. After some more time goes by, eventually Hikigaya falls asleep too. He lays his head on hers as they both snore quietly. Chizuru eventually notices them and quietly gets the others' attention. She points at them and they giggle to themselves. Haru even takes a picture. Eventually, Shiori begins to slowly wake up. She quickly realizes that Hikigaya is leaning against her head. She impulsively wants to wake him up but she pauses before she moves.
Shiori 'He's actually asleep… With me here…'
She blushes a bit then smiles.
Shiori 'Maybe I won't…'
Before she can finish her thought, Hikigaya drools down the middle of her forehead. She freaks out for a second before screaming and throwing him off of her.
Shiori "You dumbass! Ew ew ew ew!"
She begins wiping her forehead with her sleeve while Hikigaya tries to understand what planet he's on. The whole class is shocked and begins to stare. Ms. Samuel stands up from her seat towards the front.
Ms. Samuel "Ah, right on time Shiori. We've made it to our destination."
Shiori stops wiping as she looks up. The class begins whispering in awe and surprise.
Ms. Samuel "In honor of Halloween being right around the corner, we will be studying the history of the Haunted Holden Manor and the forest that surrounds it."
Shiori's eye lights up. She stands.
Shiori/Hikigaya "The Holden Manor?!!"
Hikigaya's eyes are lit up just as much. They look at each other quickly, confused. Ms. Samuel rolls her eyes and smiles.
Ms. Samuel "Yes, the Holden Manor."
Shiori "It's said that one night, the Father came home from a nasty hunt but something was wrong with him. He went insane and killed his Partner and their three children!"
Hikigaya "After that, they say that the Father lived in that house for months if not years feeding on the corpses of his family and the victims that wandered into the home!"
Both of them are equally as excited about the topic.
Shiori "And when police arrived, there was no Father found anywhere.. No body, no trace, just…"
Shiori/Hikigaya "The axe he used to butcher his family!"
They say smiling wide facing each other. Everyone just stares at them, including the others in the group. They blush a bit before sitting down, embarrassed.
Ms. Samuel "I'm glad you're both so knowledgeable on this place. That's good because tomorrow I will be assigning a test to see what you learned on our tour today."
The class begins to moan about the test.
Ms. Samuel "Come on, it's got to be educational somehow, right? It's good to learn the history of landmarks in your Community."
The bus driver comes to a stop right before where an old gate used to be. The Holden Manor has been left alone mostly for the past few decades however it is often visited by tourists and guides due to its horrific past. It is currently roughly 10 a.m. Ms. Samuel steps off the bus and tells the class to get off as well. As they're all getting off and grouping together, the kids start to talk about how cool the place is but how boring it's going to be during the day. Places like this are only scary at night. Ms. Samuel hears the kids talking about this and smirks.
Ms. Samuel 'Just you wait… it gets better!' "Alright class, get in line. We're gonna walk up to the house now."
A student in the middle raises their hand.
Student "Um, Ms. Samuel? Why didn't the bus driver just drop us off by the house?"
Ms. Samuel "Good question. We wouldn't want to spoil the surprise now, would we?"
She smiles at them. Hikigaya leans closer to Shiori.
Hikigaya "I've never been in this place before, have you?"
Shiori "No I haven't but I've read all about it. It was one of the places I was going to visit once I graduated."
Hikigaya "Then you know what that means…"
He smiles at her and she smiles back.
Shiori "Yeah, we're finally gonna get to see it for the first time…"
They smile maniacally, getting excited for the horror house while the group stares at them. Their sweat drops.
Group 'They're perfect for each other…'
The class begins walking and as they get closer to the gate, Shiori and Hikigaya get more excited.
Shiori/Hikigaya 'Here it comes..!'
Ms. Samuel "Everyone ready?"
The class looks confused as they continue and as soon as they cross the gate, the sky goes dark. Some of the class freaks out while others are in awe. The sky appears like it is in the middle of the night with stars shining through. Even the temperature drops to a nightly degree. Shiori and Hikigaya begin fanning over experiencing it for the first time after reading about it for so long.
Lucy "Wow… How is this even possible?"
They look around as Sugawara grabs onto Haru's arm even tighter. Haru notices and then grabs his hand with his own. Sugawara blushes realizing Haru is now holding his hand. He looks up at Haru who smiles down at him.
Haru "It's okay. There's nothing to be afraid of. We're all right here."
Sugawara nods, still nervous. Ms. Samuel looks at her class impressed by the strange occurrence and smirks smuggly.
Ms. Samuel 'Aren't I truly amazing?'
Once they make it to the front door, they stop. Then, after a moment of silence, a loud, ominous bell rings as the huge doors open slowly. Then a voice comes from inside the dark house.
Voice "Welcome children. I hope you all came mentally prepared for the scare of your life!"
Then a man holding a flashlight turns it on under his face trying to be scary. Unfortunately he is not. The class just stares at him. He sweats a bit before straightening up and clearing his throat. The lights to the house are turned on behind him. The class looks in awe at the large building.
Ms. Samuel "Everyone, this is Mr. Yamada. He is going to be our tour guide and educator on the history of this land and the events that have unfolded here."
Mr. Yamada "And this here is my son, Tsuki Yamada. He will be my helper today."
A young boy comes out from behind the door. He is the one who turned the lights on. He seems a little shy but not terribly.
Mr. Yamada "He is a 3rd year in middle school. So he'll be a highschooler just like you all soon."
He puts his hand on Tsuki's back.
Mr. Yamada "Now, let's get this show on the road shall we?"
Mr. Yamada turns and leads them in. He sets some ground rules as they walk and talk. He explains how the haunting part of the manor is only rumors and that no real proof of a haunting has even been recorded. He does confirm however that the murder of the Holden Family is true and that the case was never concluded since the Father went missing. Chizuru raises her hand.
Mr. Yamada "Yes, you there?"
Chizuru "Why did the time change to night as soon as we stepped through the gates? Even my phone reads 1:37 a.m. but it has stayed that way for a while now."
Mr. Yamada "It's said that that's the time the Father killed his family. That when he did, it unleashed a curse upon this land, condemning it to repeat the same minute for all eternity..!"
As he answers he once again tries to be scary by wiggling his fingers and leaning over the class, with no success. Tsuki face palms a bit as he clears his throat again.
Mr. Yamada "Although, that has never been proven to be true. In fact, no one knows why exactly this happens. Just another wonder of our world."
He smiles at them as he continues.