Okujō // Rooftop

Holding the bow in her small hand, Kokoro sings faintly as she walks along the corridor on the third floor. Slowly, she tries to open every door on the floor one by one trying to find out where Shinji and Wataru are hiding.

While just as she comes to the last music room, she finds the door opened. She steps in carefully and takes a glance around. Blood, she sees blood on the cupboard and the floor, she puts up a sweet smile on her face.

"Found you, boys."

As she greeted, Kokoro comes to the cupboard and opens it with an excited face. However, her face turns dull right away. It is empty inside the cupboard, there is no one here. Looking at the fresh thick blood dripping, Kokoro is certain that they had been here, but, where did they go?

Taking a glare around the music room, Kokoro checks carefully. After she confirms there is no one here, she steps out of the music room and proceeds to the lower floor.

Meanwhile, on the rooftop of the Forbidden Building, Shinji stands still in the cold wind with his breath slowly recovered. In front of him, there is a girl who wears the same seifuku as Kokoro, she was the one who brought Shinji out of the music room. She steps into the moonlight and turns to Shinji. Shinji can finally take a look at her face. He remembers her, he saw her before, in the 1996's commemoration book. Her name is Yokoyama Yuina, she is Wataru's sister, she is one of the students of Class 1-1, but, although Shinji can see scars around her lips, her mouth is not sewed up with viola strings like the others.

"You are Yuina-san..." there, Shinji carefully asked.

Yuina nods, yet she remains silent. She raises her arms and points at something beneath, it seems like there is something she wants to show Shinji. Therefore, cautiously, Shinji walks towards the edge of the rooftop and takes a glance. From the rooftop, Shinji can clearly see everything beneath, including the mountain foot at the back of the building where Yuina is pointing at.

Studying in the school for two years, Shinji never gave any attention to the mountain foot, he thought it is just nature, he never expected he would find something underneath the soil, but now, he actually sees it.

With the help of the white moonlight, Shinji can see weird shapes like human eyes and noses appearing on the uneven surface of the mountain foot, just like numerous faces are buried underneath the soil on the mountain foot.

Trying his best to stay calm, Shinji gulps, he asks, "W-was everyone buried in there...?"

Once again, Yuina nods. While just by then, Shinji suddenly sees something floating out on the surface of the mountain foot. There are hands covered in blood and mud, just like those Shinji saw in the music room. As the hands appear, they pull a man out of the soil. Shinji takes a close look, the man is covered in blood. As the man is pulled out of the soil, the hands gently place him onto the ground leaning onto the surface of the mountain foot.

"Wataru!" as he yelled at the man, Shinji puts up a smile, he then turns to Yuina.

Yuina smiles back at Shinji. Now Shinji eventually comes to understand. Except for Tomori Kokoro, everyone in Class 1-1 is trying to help them.

Clenching his fists, Shinji feels himself gaining more confidence confronting their enemy. He turns to Yuina, and he says, "Yuina-san, please tell me how to stop Tomori Kokoro."

While just as Shinji said, Yuina steps to the side, then, another girl suddenly appears beside her. The girl looks exactly alike with Kokoro, yet Shinji can see a little differences, the hair, and the mouth. Her mouth is sewed up with viola strings. Shinji knows, she is Kokoro's twins sister, Tomori Ai.

"Tomori Ai..."

Yuina nods again, she then finally talks, "Kokoro-chan sewed our mouths up all by herself, she buried all of us... But Ai-chan was the hardest for her to give up. If there is anyone who is able to stop Kokoro-chan, it must be Ai-chan."

With hope, Shinji puts up a smile, he asks, "Ai-san, can you help us to stop her?"

However, Yuina shakes her head, "No, she won't help you. Because you're the one who is helping us." she said, "It's been twenty years, everyone has forgiven her. I hope you can tell that to Kokoro-chan."

With his mind turns puzzled, Shinji tilts his head and asks, "Why didn't you tell her yourself?"

Yuina smiles and answers, "I did not tell her, because I can't. She can't hear me."

"Why?" with a frown, Shinji asks again, "Everyone's mouth is sewed up, but, why are you the only one who can talk?"

With so much doubt running across Shinji's mind, he waits for an answer from Yuina. But unfortunately, Yuina never answers his question. She leaves a smile and walks to the door. Shinji thought she is going down to take a look at Wataru, so he follows, while before he could walk past the door, a series of clanking voices come in from beneath.

Someone is walking up the staircase, she sings softly as she walks, and she hits the railing with a viola bow in her hand.

It is Kokoro, she is coming up. Now, Shinji can tell what she is singing. It is the ballad, the old school anthem, The Bell Rings on The 14th.

By now, Yuina has vanished from the rooftop, Shinji and Ai are the only two left on the rooftop. Shinji runs to the corner and picks up a rusty metal tube and runs back to Ai. He stands in front of Ai like how Wataru protected him. He holds the tube in his hands like how he holds the baseball bat. He stares at the door cautiously waiting for Kokoro's appearance.

"Found you, Shinji-kun..."

Soon, Kokoro walks out of the staircase and comes to the rooftop. However, just by the moment she sees Ai standing behind Shinji, she dashes to Shinji and yells at him.

"What is she doing with you? What are you trying to do to Ai-chan!?" in wrath she yelled.

Taking a deep gulp, Shinji yells back at Kokoro with his voice trembling, "Twenty years ago, you killed everyone because you wanted to protect your sister! They understand! Everyone has forgiven you! You can stop now!"

"How sly, Shinji-kun, peeping everything under the table." with a twisted smile, Kokoro walks closer to Shinji, she whispers, "Now you've known the truth, don't even think about leaving here tonight, Shinji-kun."

"I won't tell anybody!" while Shinji tries to act smart, he makes a promise, "It has been twenty-years! Even if I tell someone, they won't know what I'm talking about!"

Suddenly, Kokoro chuckles, "I don't care whether you'll tell anyone." she said, "Whoever knows the truth, dies."

As she said, she raises the bow and stabs it towards Shinji. However, unexpectedly, Ai dashes into the front blocking Shinji out of Kokoro's sight. In wrath, Kokoro raises the bow again, she stabs it into Ai's stomach. Then, she pulls the bow out swiftly. Blood oozes out of Ai's wound and stains her seifuku dark red.

"Ai-san!" in dread, Shinji throws the metal tube away and runs to Ai, he holds her from the behind as she falls. He puts her down onto the floor gently, "Ai-san!"

With a weird sound, Kokoro laughs, "I must protect Ai-chan's image in everyone's eyes, whoever is going to tell the truth, I will kill! Even if it's Ai-chan!"

"You're insane!" in tears, Shinji yelled back at Kokoro, he then wipes his tears away as he tries to gasp for air, "Of course... You did such sick things to your classmates and teacher, you even killed your own sister, how are you not insane?" as he stands up from the floor again, he grabs Kokoro's shoulders tight and stares at her in wrath "Ai-san has forgave you, Yuina-san has forgave you, everyone has forgave you! Why are you still here!? What more do you urge for!?"

As Shinji finishes his words, his voice sinks into the air gradually. Kokoro bows her head low and starts to make weird sounds. Shinji can't tell if she is crying or laughing.

After a few seconds, Kokoro weeps and asks in a soft voice, "They... They forgave me...?"

Aggressively, Shinji nods his head, "Yes... They all forgave you..." he persuades, "There is no need to blame yourself anymore, you may set yourself free from here..."

"Really...? I really can leave here with their forgiveness...?" as Kokoro raises her head, tears streams down her face, they look like crystals under the moonlight.

Gently, Shinji nods again, "Yes..." he said, "You can go, Kokoro-san, go and find your sister, find your teacher and classmates, haven't you always been searching for them?"

Looking into Kokoro's watery eyes, Shinji puts up a warm smile trying to comfort Kokoro. However, just as Kokoro finally puts up a smile for Shinji too, Shinji suddenly feels pain on his chest. He suddenly feels weak, his limbs are limping, warm blood streams down his nostril and drips onto the floor. As Shinji takes a look at his body, he sees his shirt being sucked tightly to the skin as the thick blood gradually flows out of his chest.

Holding the bow covered in blood in her hand, Kokoro whispers at Shinji, "I need no one's forgiveness."

Looking up at Shinji's face, Kokoro grins at him. Shinji lays his hand over his wound, he falls down onto the floor. As Kokoro walks closer to him, Shinji kicks his legs and moves himself backwards, until he reaches the edge of the rooftop. There, Kokoro squats down and looks at Shinji. She raises her finger and places her fingertip onto Shinji's forehead.

She smiles sweetly at Shinji, and she whispers, "Sayonara, Shinji-kun."