DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN CORPSE PARTY NOR ANY CHARACTERS! THEY ALL BELONG TO THEIR RIGHTFUL OWNERS!

Where was she?

Naomi's mind was very much only a blur, memories of the past hour, maybe, completely oblivious to her. It was like fighting your way through a mist, unfortunately with no proper finds so far. Shaking her head, the brunette girl stood up shakily. She found herself unceremoniously sprawled on the floor, like she was asleep, which was far too much of a vulnerable position at this point. What had she been thinking! The evil spirits of this school only waited for someone as stupid as her, that decided it was a good idea to nap in the middle of the hallway.

Keeping herself steady by stretching out on hand, she managed to find a wall that supported her for now. She coughed once or twice, sighing. "... Where am I?" she asked herself, voice quiet and slightly hoarse. Looking around, she managed to find herself before the girl's lavatory. She run her fingers over the doors, feeling like crying. "Seiko..." she could clearly remember her best friend entering the room in the very beginning.

If she recalled correctly, through her fading memory, to apply some medicine. "Seiko!" she called, louder this time, hoping to find the brunette somewhere close by. She had to apologize. Yes. She could remember some things, like what place this was, but fresh in her mind was also a fight she had with Seiko.

A fight that left her alone. Scared. Angry. She couldn't take it. She remembered trailing through the endless corridors, before what felt like going unconscious. Maybe she did? But she was closer to the infirmary, she could swear that she was, and this was a completely different floor. Shaking her head, she decided to look inside the lavatory, now that she was there. Just in case something important was in there. Quite honestly, she felt very much drawn inside, oddly enough. Unable to help it, she pulled the door open and walked inside. "Hello?"

Nothing.

Swallowing, or more gulping, she could feel all her hair stand on end. There was something definitely wrong with this place, even if she couldn't pin-point it yet. An odd sound came from one of the stalls, but she couldn't tell which one. Carefully, she stumbled to the closest one, trying to open it. It didn't even budge, against her never ending struggles.

Giving up, she moved to the next one in turn. Didn't work, either, for whatever reason. The doors felt like they were sealed close, and perhaps she didn't want to see what was behind them anyway. Yeah, she probably didn't, knowing Heavenly Host.

The middle one, then. Hopefully it will open, unlike all the others, since the strange noise seemed to be much louder when she stood before that one. With a deep breath, she pulled the door open in one slow movement, revealing in fact a very horrendous image that she wished would just be a dream. Her best friend now hang in the stall by a rope that reached from a bar above the toilets. Her eyes were widened, giving the impression of empty. There was some blood oozing from around the noose that held her up, and saliva stained her chin and left a few specks on the floor.

A sudden wave of fear and panic entered her, and she screamed, cupping her head with her hands, placing them at either side. "SEIKO!"

Naomi turned around with a furious sob, almost falling to her knees. What just happened? It couldn't be! It couldn't! It didn't! Her friend couldn't be dead... Seiko had promised her. She promised her that they would be back home together soon. That they'll return safely. Together. And now? Now she hanged herself? It was all her fault! If she hadn't snapped at her like that, maybe this accident wouldn't come to be. "Why? WHY?!" she shrieked to no-one, trying to find an excuse for doing something like that. She found none other than herself.

"No!" she half-groaned, half-sobbed, quite loudly too. Like the scream she had released beforehand. "NO!" she repeated, like she did with her inquire, tears lazily rolling down her cheeks, chased quickly by fresh ones.

"Na... o... mi..." came a gurgling sound from behind. It couldn't be, could it?

To confirm her suspicions, Naomi turned around slowly, afraid that maybe it was a ghost. Maybe it would be better if it was. If Seiko was dead, why should she be living? There was no point now. Now clear reason for her to keep alive. No-one to give her determination for survival. She was alone, and she wouldn't be able to take this all.

What if it was indeed a ghost, or her imagination? She couldn't dare to look at Seiko again. Her painful expression. The rope tugging at her neck roughly. The emptiness of her eyes... The paleness of her skin, as life slowly but successfully was drained away from her. The only movement she was performing before was a relaxed rock back and forth, which was over creepy, and a harsh punch as well.

"Seiko! Y-you're alive?!" she asked, voice softening as she saw the girl lightly pawing at her neck, obviously trying to fight against the noose. Where did her sudden determination come from? "Hold on, I'll get you down!" she promised, louder to make sure the girl could hear. At first, she stood up on her tiptoes and tried to get a grip on the rope. A hack and gurgle made her stumble back, seeing that she only hurt her further by her choice. Stupid, stupid, stupid! You're hurting her! she thought, stepping closer again.

This time she immediately headed for untying the knot at the back of Seiko's neck, but that only resulted in it digging deeper into her smooth skin, causing it to bleed. As Naomi stepped away again in horror, Seiko managed to get her hands soaked in her very own blood by trying to loosen the noose herself. "N-no! Watch Seiko, I'll get you down by myself. Y-you just... Don't leave me, please..." she begged softly, contemplating her options.

She could used the bucket that she saw outside the bathroom. Yet, after some quick thinking, she decided against that. It looked like it laid there for ages, with rusty orange-brown color to it. From that observation, it wasn't hard to tell that if she tried, it would easily break under her own and Seiko's weight. Seiko's flailing increased as she found it harder and harder to breathe, which worried Naomi endlessly. "I'll save you, I promise!"

Without much of thought, she sprang forwards and grabbed her legs, forcing them to calm by holding them with her hands. Standing a little taller, she could feel Seiko relax by a noticeable amount as she could easily resume to breathing once more. The noose was still around her neck, but definitely not digging so much as before. Naomi could hear hacks, gurgles and coughs coming from about as Seiko got a fresh, new breath of the air, hungrily sucking it in through her nose and mouth. Her amber eyes had returned to their normal size now, as she calmed down, realizing that she was once again safe. All thanks to her dear little Naomi.

"..."

Naomi, although overwhelmed with joy at the idea of her friend being able to catch her breath, avoiding strangulation by a slim second or two, at the most, reached up, tracing her hands up her shoulders towards her neck. Unbeknownst of the smile that is plastered on her friend's face, her perverted nature returning in a flash. Silently, she worked blindly to untie the rope, eventually succeeding.

As Seiko loudly suck in a breath, Naomi brought her to a wall piggyback style, before letting her sit down and get back to normal. It took several minutes, perhaps an hour? The hacks and coughs ceased, as the brunette finally recovered, looking at Naomi who all this time sat by her side, brown gaze watching over her with concern. Despite what she had done to her, Seiko couldn't possibly be mad. No, definitely not. Not at Naomi, despite what happened. They heard about 'The Darkening' from a ghost, beforehand, and she figured out that that was what happened.

"..."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah..." Seiko trailed off, looking down at her hands. She didn't understand why perfectly, but she was still a little uncertain about the whole thing, even if she was willing to forgive Naomi on the spot.

"Thank you, by the way. I-I don't know what I would do, or be, if you didn't come..." she added quietly, twiddling with her thumbs. Naomi sighed, shaking her head. "I don't even want to go that way. I'm glad you're safe though."

Carefully, she leaned in, and with the use of her sleeve, wiped some saliva that stained Seiko's chin, smiling at the girl widely. For a moment, as she swiped her sleeve over her face, nothing much happened, yet after a moment she jumped away. "SEIKO!"

The brunette was laughing, getting a hold onto her stomach. Indeed, her personality was back in track, for seconds ago, she managed to get quite a good view of Naomi's bust, and unable to resist, grabbed it with a coo of delight. "Hmm? You didn't like that Naomi?" she asked softly, faking a sad expression. "I guess I'll just have to get you used to it..."

"Don't you dare!" Naomi wailed in protest, shaking her head hurriedly and she inched backwards to make a proper amount of distance between them, just in case Seiko decided to put her plan into life. "Aw, but Naomi, how will you get used to it then?"

"I don't want to get used to anything!"

"Anything, you say?" Seiko mused, trying to stand up. They couldn't remain in one spot for too long. She didn't trust this place one bit, and she wouldn't want to think about what she would do if she lost Naomi to this cursed place. She couldn't do that. "Well, you got to get that lovely ass o' your's movin' 'cause I ain't staying here any longer than I need to!" she proclaimed, heading towards the exit on shaky legs, remaining slightly lightheaded.

Rolling her eyes, Naomi lifted herself up and trailed after the girl, offering her help, which was quickly declined due to Seiko's worry of putting pressure on her with the bad ankle she got when they got here. "Ooh look, a little paper-y thingie!" she could hear the teen call brightly as she headed towards a wall. What got her so happy? "Wait up!" Naomi called, although her plea was ignored, as Seiko instead began reading out loud. "I hate you... I hope you die! I hope you die and rot in this place! I hope that your death will be long and painful! Like mine... It's all because of you... I hate you..."

The inscription made Seiko frown, stepping back. "Hmm... That gal isn't too optimistic, dontcha think?" she chuckled, shaking her head, like she was completely untouched by everything. "Yeah..."

"Anyways, we should go, now shouldn't we?" Naomi nodded in agreement, catching up to her side. She looked over at the girl, mood completely set off. She could visibly see the mark that the noose left around Seiko's neck, and the cuts were clearly visible as well. It was painful to look at, honestly. "Hey, now. You don't need to stare. You know perfectly well you can just ask, and I'll show you everythin'!" Seiko piped, making Naomi sigh, although giggle afterwards.

"...? D-did you hear that?" what sounded like a scream rang through the hallway, causing the due to haul to an immediate stop. "Huh... Odd. It sounded like..."

"Yui-sensei? Why was she screaming? W-we have to go, come on Seiko! HURRY!"