YUKARI: "Chisato...?"
YUKARI: "Mika...?"
YUKARI: "No response..."
YUKARI: "Don't tell me... We got separated?"
YUKARI: "Please, no..."
YUKARI: "Ah..."
YUKARI: (This door opens.)
YUKARI: "H-hello?"
YUKARI: "Who are you...?"
YUKARI: "What are you doing here at this time...?"
???: "This..."
???: "...is where him and I always met..."
YUKARI: "...What?"
???: "No matter what I said to him, he'd always smile and tell me that that's just how things have to be for us..."
???: "I always thought we could be together forever."
???: "It never even occured to me that it could all end one day..."
YUKARI: "Who are you talking about...?!"
???: "It was too sudden!"
???: "To have it end in such a one-sided way..."
???: "If I died..."
???: "...would he be sad?"
???: "I just had that thought for a moment..."
???: "And then I cut my wrists."
???: "My shirt..."
???: "...got soaked in red."
???: "When I saw that..."
???: "...I thought about how little I had accomplished in life."
YUKARI: "Are you... Are you Mayumi... Fujita?"
YUKARI: "No, that can't be... Mayumi didn't cut her wrists..."
YUKARI: "Answer me! Who..."
???: "I'm already dead."
???: "When that thought crossed my mind, I became frustrated..."
YUKARI: "No..."
???: "I won't forgive him..."
???: "I won't forgive him!"
YUKARI: "No...! No!"
YUKARI: "I... I didn't die like that! I'm still alive!!"
APPARITION OF YUKARI: "Kazuya!!"
YUKARI: *screams*
CHISATO: "Yukari..."
CHISATO: "Yukari...!"
CHISATO: "Yukari, wake up!"
CHISATO: "Yukari!!"
MIKA: "You're still alive... What a relief..."
MIKA: "Are you hurt?"
YUKARI: "I..."
CHISATO: "I was so worried..."
CHISATO: "We got separated when we ran away, and..."
YUKARI: "I..."
YUKARI: "Just now, I was..."
CHISATO: "What?"
YUKARI: "...Nevermind."
YUKARI: "It must've been a dream..."
YUKARI: "Ah... Over there!"
YUKARI: "That's... the keys we always used!"
CHISATO: "......"
MIKA: "Man, that's what I call lucky!"
MIKA: "With these keys, we can open the door to the connecting corridor and go back to the new school building!"
CHISATO: "But why are they here...?"
MIKA: "Well, isn't Mr. Hashizume from biology class in charge of these keys?"
MIKA: "Cause that guy is super careless and irresponsible. I could totally see him just leaving them there and going home."
CHISATO: "I see..."
CHISATO: "Yukari, can you move?"
YUKARI: "Yeah, don't worry."
YUKARI: "I'm fine now, so let's just go."
YUKARI: "This key should work."
CONNECTING CORRIDOR
YUKARI: "Mika..."
YUKARI: "You really think, this is the time for fooling around after all that's happened tonight?"
MIKA: "Hey! That wasn't me!"
YUKARI: "What...?"
A: "Ignore it." B: "Who's there?"
A: "Ignore it." B: "Who's there?" [X]
NEW SCHOOL BUILDING, 3F MIKA: "J-just now... That..."
YUKARI: "Was it the apparition from before...? So it's still there..."
CHISATO: "The whole school is filled with such apparitions now..."
CHISATO: "Because the portal to their world has been opened..."
CHISATO: "And it was probably our ritual that did this and dragged them out..."
YUKARI: "......"
CHISATO: "Yukari... This is the third floor of the new school building."
CHISATO: "The connection between the hallways and rooms has become all messed up."
CHISATO: "The stairs and hallways may not lead us where they should, anymore..."
YUKARI: "......"
MIKA: "Then..."
CHISATO: "Let's try and get to the telephone as quick as possible."
CHISATO: "We will have to think of a way to remedy this."
YUKARI: "The telephone..."
MIKA: "Guys..."
A: "Ignore it and go on." B: "Let's hide somewhere."
A: "Ignore it and go on." B: "Let's hide somewhere." [X]
YUKARI: "......"
MIKA: "Hey, going back won't solve anything!"
MIKA: "There it is again..."
A: "Ignore it and go on." B: "Let's hide somewhere."
A: "Ignore it and go on." [X] B: "Let's hide somewhere."
MIKA: "The noises are getting louder..."
MIKA: "What the hell was that..."
CHISATO: "It's gone now..."
CHISATO: "We should be okay again..."
YUKARI: "Let's go."
MIKA: "Did you see that? I think there was some movement outside the window..."
YUKARI: "......"
A: "Don't let it bother you. Let's go on." B: "I'll take a look."
A: "Don't let it bother you. Let's go on." B: "I'll take a look." [X]
YUKARI: "I don't see anything..."
YUKARI: "Are you sure you didn't just imagine it?"
MIKA: "Hmmm..."
YUKARI: "It's because we're so on edge. Everything starts to look like something scary."
YUKARI: "That causes you to start seeing things where there are none."
MIKA: "Enough already..."
CHISATO: "Yukari, we have to be careful."
CHISATO: "This school is now completely connected to the world of the dead."
CHISATO: "All kinds of people will appear... More and more of them..."
YUKARI: "......"
NEW SCHOOL BUILDING, 2F
NEW SCHOOL BUILDING, 1F
MIKA: "There's the school entrance. We can leave this way!"
MIKA: "Come on, let's go home already!"
CHISATO: "Yukari, we can't."
CHISATO: "We still don't understand anything about this situation."
CHISATO: "If we simply leave now, something terrible will happen..."
YUKARI: "Even so..."
A: "You're right. We need to investigate further." B: "It's too dangerous. I'm going home."
A: "You're right. We need to investigate further." [X] B: "It's too dangerous. I'm going home."
YUKARI: "You're right. If we leave now, we're nothing more than some irresponsible brats..."
YUKARI: "We need to clean up our own mess."
MIKA: "But..."
CHISATO: "Mika, please understand. We have to do this."
MIKA: "......"
YUKARI: "There it is."
MIKA: "We finally made it."
A: "I'm calling the police!" B: "What's Aramata's number?"
A: "I'm calling the police!" B: "What's Aramata's number?" [X]
YUKARI: "So, Aramata is the one who paged you earlier, right?"
MIKA: "Yeah."
MIKA: "He's a total night owl, so he always pages me at times like that."
MIKA: "Wait, let's switch places. I'll call him."
MIKA: "Ah, Aramata? I... Ah. Yes."
MIKA: "That's the reason you paged me?!"
MIKA: "Jeez, don't page me for something as trivial as that!"
MIKA: "More importantly, we're in trouble right now. Serious trouble."
MIKA: "......" [This is probably supposed to imply that she's currently telling him about their situation.]
ARAMATA: "......"
ARAMATA: "You used the demon gate to perform a ritual? That is... really bad. You should not have done that..."
ARAMATA: "This is why I keep warning people to not use incantations they heard via mere rumours..."
MIKA: "But, like, everyone told me this was okay..."
MIKA: "They said, if I sing that temari song in the direction of the demon gate, then that girl would appear..."
ARAMATA: "A temari song?"
ARAMATA: "Could you perhaps sing that for me?"
MIKA: "You mean, like... right now?"
ARAMATA: "Yes."
MIKA: "...Well, it's an emergency, so... I guess it can't be helped..."
MIKA: "Normally, you'd have to pay a lot for this! Anyway... I hope you're listening! Here goes nothing..."
"Young lady of the village headman"
"Fine-patterned short sleeve"
"Bobbed hair girl hasn't done her hair up yet"
"Son of the woodworker on the other side of the bridge"
"Buy a hairpin"
"Go up the stone stairs"
"Give fried tofu to the Inari"
"Turn round and round"
"Turn around three times"
"Make a prayer"
"Eat soybeans"
"Gate pine Check pattern"
"Crouch down Pass through"
"Guardian of the barrier mountain"
"Please hear my wish and let me be with that dear child"
ARAMATA: "......"
ARAMATA: "I see... Dear Mika, it seems like you have gravely misunderstood the meaning of this song."
ARAMATA: "From what I can tell, this song's central theme seems to be the dead and their longing for the world of the living."
MIKA: "What's that supposed to mean?"
ARAMATA: "Well, in simple terms: It means that by singing this song, you have awoken the dead from their tranquil sleep and invited them into our world."
ARAMATA: "This is NOT a song that asks the spirits to grant your wishes."
ARAMATA: "No, it is an incantation that releases the dead into the world of the living."
MIKA: "For real? So THAT'S what this song is about?!"
ARAMATA: "Well, I would have thought that to be glaringly apparent... One look at the lyrics should have immediately made you realise this."
MIKA: "Uh... Really?"
ARAMATA: "Very much so."
ARAMATA: "For instance, consider the phrase «on the other side of the bridge»."
ARAMATA: "In ancient times, it was thought that the world of the dead lies on the other side of a river."
ARAMATA: "Maybe you have heard of the Sanzu River*? It is a good example of this concept." [*Pretty much the Buddhist equivalent of the river Styx.]
ARAMATA: "Now, the person on the OTHER side of the bridge is the one who is saying «Please hear my wish and let me be with that dear child» in this chant."
ARAMATA: "In other words: Since he is on the other side of the bridge, he is in the world of the dead and wants to go into the world of the living."
MIKA: "Then..."
ARAMATA: "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."
ARAMATA: "Trying to summon a ghost with nothing but bits of disconnected knowledge was a terrible idea."
ARAMATA: "And... Hm? There are numerous ghosts in the school already, you say?"
ARAMATA: "That is very bad... Mika, listen well..."
ARAMATA: "The demon gate is a direction that should be avoided."
ARAMATA: "It is indeed true that the power of the dead is considered strongest there... And so it is also referred to as the direction close to the netherworld."
ARAMATA: "But it has most likely be placed as such, because it should be considered the symmetrical counterpart to the world of the living."
ARAMATA: "Now, while you may find friendly spirits among the dead, that does not mean that all of them will be well-disposed towards you."
ARAMATA: "Rather, you're bound to find more than enough spirits that are filled with hatred towards those that still possess what the dead have lost: Their very life."
ARAMATA: "For that reason, performing such a ritual directly at the demon's gate... that is like opening the lid of a boiling pot."
MIKA: "What do you mean by that?"
ARAMATA: "Well, in this case, what I referred to as a boiling pot is the world of the dead, the netherworld."
ARAMATA: "Think of that place like a pot filled with numerous spirits. The spirits are being boiled in there and are constantly trying to pour out of the pot."
ARAMATA: "Imagery like that has been used in all kinds of folklore around the world to portray hell, the world of the dead, and similar concepts."
ARAMATA: "Now: That lid keeps these countless spirits in place. But if you open this lid – the demon gate, that is – then all these spirits can pour out of the pot and enter our world."
ARAMATA: "You have to do something about this, and quick."
MIKA: "Even so, we don't even know what to do!"
ARAMATA: "Well... I have never dealt with something like this myself, nor have I heard of cases like this before, so..."
ARAMATA: "But in general, it is said that you can create the reverse effect of an incantation by inverting the content of the ritual used during said incantation."
ARAMATA: "In other words: What you did was a summoning ritual, correct? So now you need a ritual that carries the opposite meaning."
ARAMATA: "In this case, that would be a sealing ritual. For that, it might work, if you do it in a different spot than before and chant the incantation while having your backs turned to each other, instead of facing each other as you did during the summoning ritual."
MIKA: "A different spot, huh? So, like, southwest instead of northeast?"
ARAMATA: "It won't be as simple as that, I'm afraid."
ARAMATA: "After all, for your ritual, the purpose of using the northeastern direction was not so much its physical location, but rather the fact that it signified strong spiritual power."
ARAMATA: "So what you need to find is a place that signifies the opposite of what you did in some way."
MIKA: "And where is this place?"
ARAMATA: "That I do not know."
ARAMATA: "Perhaps you can find out by having a look at the content of the lyrics of your incantation?"
MIKA: "...I haven't got the slightest idea what these lyrics even mean."
ARAMATA: "Let me know which parts exactly you do not understand. Perhaps I can be of help."
A: "What does «son of the woodworker» mean?" B: "What does «Inari» have to do with anything?" C: "What does «hasn't done her hair up» mean?"
A: "What does «son of the woodworker» mean?" [X] B: "What does «Inari» have to do with anything?" C: "What does «hasn't done her hair up» mean?"
MIKA: "In one of the first lines it says «son of the woodworker», but who is that supposed to be?"
ARAMATA: "It also says that this person lives «on the other side of the bridge», correct? So, this is a metaphor for someone from the world of the dead."
ARAMATA: "The «woodworker» might actually be a reference to someone who builds wooden coffins."
ARAMATA: "In any event, the «son of the woodworker» seems to be the central figure in these lyrics and he is trying to emerge into the world of the living."
ARAMATA: "In a broader sense, he is a metaphor for spirits in general that are trying to enter the world of the living, just like the spirits you are encountering now."
A: "What's the deal with «buy a hairpin»?" B: "Why does it say «turn around three times»?" C: "What does «Inari» have to do with anything?"
A: "What's the deal with «buy a hairpin»?" [X] B: "Why does it say «turn around three times»?" C: "What does «Inari» have to do with anything?"
MIKA: "And why does he buy a hairpin?"
ARAMATA: "Well, in a way, this item can be associated with offerings in general."
ARAMATA: "As you may perhaps know, there are plenty of folklore tales in which the hair of a woman is portrayed as containing mystic powers."
ARAMATA: "In accordance with that, related items like hairpins or brushes are also considered to have some magical significance."
ARAMATA: "Perhaps, the deceased here intends to offer up such an item in order to get closer to the world of the living."
A: "Who's this «guardian of the mountain»?" B: "What's the deal with «eat soybeans»?" C: "What exactly does «gate pine» mean?"
A: "Who's this «guardian of the mountain»?" B: "What's the deal with «eat soybeans»?" C: "What exactly does «gate pine» mean?" [X]
MIKA: "What exactly does «gate pine» mean?"
ARAMATA: "It's what we also call Kadomatsu. They are decorations put up for New Year, usually made of pine and bamboo. What is striking is the use of "Gate" here, isn't it?"
ARAMATA: "Simply put, Kadomatsu are placed in front of house gates and are supposed to protect the house from misfortune." [Wikipedia also has this to say: "A kadomatsu (門松, "gate pine") is a traditional Japanese decoration as yorishiro (an object capable of attracting spirits) of the New Year placed in pairs in front of homes to welcome ancestral spirits or kami of the harvest."]
ARAMATA: "Usually, they should..."
ARAMATA: "... Oh? Hello? Hello... Mika? ...Can you still hear me? Hello?"
ARAMATA: "Mika?"
MIKA: "Aramata? Are you still there?"
MIKA: "Hello? ...He's gone."
YUKARI: "......"
YUKARI: "Well, with or without him, we have to think of something to resolve this mess."
MIKA: "If I understood him correctly, we'll have to do a sealing ritual in some place that, uh, carries the... opposite meaning of the place in which we did the summoning ritual..."
YUKARI: "The opposite meaning...?"
YUKARI: "And what meaning exactly did the art room carry?"
MIKA: "Well, it represented the demon gate, a place that is closest to the spirit world and filled with spiritual energy."
CHISATO: "The opposite meaning of that, huh..."
CHISATO: "We don't have enough clues."
MIKA: "Aratama said, we might be able to find out where to do the sealing ritual by analysing the lyrics of that temari song."
YUKARI: "That song, huh..."
YUKARI: "Mika, show me that note of yours with the lyrics again."
MIKA: "Ah... Sure. Here!"
YUKARI: "And...did he say which part of the lyrics was important?"
YUKARI: "Where are we supposed to look?"
MIKA: "I don't really know... The connection broke up just when he seemed to be getting to the important part."
CHISATO: "It appears we'll have to think about this for ourselves..."
YUKARI: "......"
CHISATO: "What about the very first line of this song?"
CHISATO: "This «young lady of the village headman»... Who might that refer to?"
A: "She hasn't done her hair up, yet, so... a young girl?"* B: "Is this even referring to a living girl?" C: "It's referring to that ghost girl with the bobbed hair!" [*Long ago, it was part of a coming-of-age ceremony for girls that their long, unbound hair would be henceforth tied on top of their head. Thus, if she hasn't done her hair up, yet, she must still be a young girl.]
[Sorry, I took rather long thinking about this, because I wasn't entirely sure myself.]
A: "She hasn't done her hair up, yet, so... a young girl?"* B: "Is this even referring to a living girl?" C: "It's referring to that ghost girl with the bobbed hair!"
A: "She hasn't done her hair up, yet, so... a young girl?"* B: "Is this even referring to a living girl?" C: "It's referring to that ghost girl with the bobbed hair!" [X]
YUKARI: "Maybe it's referring to that ghost girl with the bobbed hair? The one we tried to summon."
MIKA: "That's gotta be it!"
MIKA: "We were bound to that girl since the beginning through some kind of fate!"
CHISATO: "Hm, but..."
YUKARI: "Hm? What is it, Chisato?"
YUKARI: "Is something bothering you?"
CHISATO: "Yeah. I don't know how to put it, but..."
CHISATO: "Well, I just feel like all these lines of the song aren't referring to anyone in particular. They're more... metaphorical."
A: "Let's rethink this..." B: "No, it refers to that ghost girl. No doubt about it!"
A: "Let's rethink this..." [X] B: "No, it refers to that ghost girl. No doubt about it!"
YUKARI: "If Chisato has her doubts about this, then it's probably wrong..."
MIKA: "But... Then... What else could it mean?"
A: "She hasn't done her hair up, yet, so... a young girl?" B: "Is this even referring to a living girl?"
A: "She hasn't done her hair up, yet, so...a young girl?" B: "Is this even referring to a living girl?" [X]
YUKARI: "Is this «young lady of the village headman» even alive?"
MIKA: "Eh?"
YUKARI: "Well, I mean, everything in this song seems to be about the dead, doesn't it?"
YUKARI: "And the girl we met at the girl's restroom back then... And all these spirits that are pouring into the school grounds now... They're all coming from the world of the dead, right?"
YUKARI: "So maybe this «young lady of the village headman» also refers to someone who's dead?"
CHISATO: "No, I don't think that's the case..."
CHISATO: "If you look at the rest of the lyrics, it sounds more like this girl is the one that the dead person wants to go to..."
YUKARI: "You mean, the «son of the woodworker on the other side of the bridge»? He wants to get to her?"
MIKA: "That must be what «go up the stone stairs» means. He goes up the stone stairs to... meet her?"
CHISATO: "So the stone stairs are actually a metaphor for..."
A: "...a ghost coming towards the world of the living?" B: "Well, they're just literal stone stairs, right?"
A: "...a ghost coming towards the world of the living?" [X] B: "Well, they're just literal stone stairs, right?"
YUKARI: "It refers to a ghost coming towards the world of the living..."
YUKARI: "He «climbs up» from the world of the dead towards our side."
CHISATO: "That's what I think, yes..."
CHISATO: "By performing that ritual in the art room, we have opened a portal to their world, through which they were pulled out and put here..."
CHISATO: "So the sealing ritual would need to be performed in a place that won't be their way out, but can instead become their way back...?"
CHISATO: "In other words...a place that somehow can be seen as an exit or something along those lines perhaps?"
YUKARI: "Their way back, huh..."
YUKARI: "Well, I'm sure all those ghosts that we summoned here just want to go back to where they came from, right?"
YUKARI: "So wouldn't that mean that the portal that pulled them out into our world could also be their way back in?"
YUKARI: "And the portal we opened was in the art room, so..."
MIKA: "You think we should do the sealing ritual in the art room, too?"
YUKARI: "I can't think of anything else. What do you think, Chisato?"
CHISATO: "Yeah, it could be..."
A: "Or could there be a different place that will become their exit?" B: "Let's perform the sealing ritual in the art room!"
A: "Or could there be a different place that will become their exit?" B: "Let's perform the sealing ritual in the art room!" [X]
YUKARI: "I think it makes sense that the portal that brought them here will also be the exit for them to get back."
YUKARI: "So... Yes, I think the art room is the right answer."
CHISATO: "......"
YUKARI: "Alright, it's decided. We'll try the sealing ritual in the art room."
MIKA: "Are you sure?"
YUKARI: "I can't think of anything else. Come on. It'll be fine."
CHISATO: "......"
YUKARI: "Well then, let's hurry. If we don't do this soon, things will be really bad."
ART ROOM
YUKARI: "So in the end, we're back here, huh."
YUKARI: "Man, I hope this was the right answer..."
MIKA: "It's a little too late for doubts now."
MIKA: "Anyway, we've got no choice but to try."
CHISATO: "......"
YUKARI: "Fine, let's begin."
YUKARI: "I just want to get this over with and go home..."
"Young lady of the village headman Fine-patterned short sleeve"
"Bobbed hair girl hasn't done her hair up yet"
"Son of the woodworker on the other side of the bridge"
"Buy a hairpin Go up the stone stairs"
"Give fried tofu to the Inari"
"Turn round and round Turn around three times"
"Make a prayer Eat soybeans"
"Gate pine, check pattern Crouch down, pass through"
"Guardian of the barrier mountain"
"Please hear my wish and let me be with that dear child"
YUKARI: "Wha-what the hell?!"
MIKA: "Is it an earthquake?!"
CHISATO: "Oh no... The ritual failed... They are extremely angry!"
MIKA: "They? Who?!"
CHISATO: "Yukari, we have to flee immediately!"
CHISATO: "If we stay here, we won't be able to go home ever again..."
MIKA: "Wh-what's going on!?"
CHISATO: "Quick!"
YUKARI: "Got it. Mika, let's go!"
CHISATO: "We decided to run and made it out of the school building."
"At that moment, we didn't even grasp the true horror of what we had done..."
"The things we had met that night... They had been nothing more than a tiny foretase of what was to come..."
"Through the portal that we had opened with our ritual, numerous beings from the other side spilled out into our world."
"At the break of dawn, the portal had already closed itself. However..."
"Because of that, all those spirits that had spilled out had no means whatsoever of returning to their world anymore and scattered about everywhere in Hinashiro High School and its surroundings."
"When we came to school the next morning, there was a great tumult."
"We learnt that a male student had fallen down the stairs."
"And soon a rumour spread... Saying that someone, or something, had pushed him down those stairs..."
"From that day on, there was no end to incidents like this. It even got so bad that students began transferring to other schools."
"But actually... The rise in mysterious and horrible incidents wasn't just limited to within the school building."
"With Hinashiro High School as the center, the whole city of Hinashiro saw a rise in incidents, accidents and mysterious deaths."
"And... It is too late for us to stop what we have brought upon the city."
"Just today, there was another incident..."
BAD ENDING
[Let's try that again...]