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It should be a fair assumption to say that it would be nigh impossible for a bunch of elementary school brats to be able to break into their school. Apparently not. About half an hour ago, that assumption had remained unbroken; even to a fair few of those thought that too. But then again, it would seem anything is possible if you know the right adults; the kind who really shouldn’t be classified as adults for they were overgrown children who happened to pay taxes.
Taiga and Tatsuya’s parents had promised let them go trick-or-treating that night until midnight just so long as they stayed with the other children and their chaperone: Alex Garcia. It was a fantastic plan because Alex was one of those rare adults who were overgrown children who happened to pay taxes. She was great with a lively sense of humour and she had instigated the events that led up to them breaking into their elementary school.
Halloween is honestly the best time of year. There was no obligation to visit relatives and people give you candy for no real reason. Also, it is encouraged to put skeletons in your yard and it’s absolutely acceptable to go out in public wearing everything and anything. Isn’t that just wonderful?
Taiga and Tatsuya and their friends certainly thought so. They had been planning Halloween since school had gone back and thus far, everything was going wonderfully. The pair of them and three of their other friends had organised a theme. The theme was classic monster movies so Taiga was a werewolf, Tatsuya was a vampire, Tyler was Frankenstein’s monster, Jorgia was a devil, and Charlie was a shark. They all wore store bought costumes with extra scarves as they had dithering parents who were worried that they would get too cold with just their thin costumes.
Alex had dressed up as a glamorous movie star with cat ears. She claimed that she had also tried to match the theme but in her group had heard of the cat person horror movie but she insisted it was real. Taiga conceded first but announced it was probably lame.
It was a full moon and the coldest night thus far this autumn. It was also cloudy but without fear of rain so that added a lot to the cheery atmosphere of the night. The streets, around this time, were usually quiet but tonight, everything was different as it was Halloween.
The streetlights flickered and illuminated the classic Los Angeles smog in orangey tones. The smog lingered just out of step of being walked into. The local council had put cheesy, pumpkin and skeleton shaped decorations out of reach on light posts. And just about every house in the neighbour had their lights on and some sort of spooky decoration. It was fabulous.
The kids were noisy and rowdy; but so was the rest of the street. Special shout-out to the Rodriguez family for blasting the Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack though. The kids pulled Alex along joyously and she didn’t mind. She was loving it just as much as they were; if not more because she was relishing the aftertaste of her own childhood through them.
It was only as they had run out of houses to visit that they started getting bored which was a shame since they still had two hours until curfew. But luckily, Alex had come prepared.
‘I’m bored.’ Jorgia whined. She puffed out her chubby cheeks and randomly plonked herself down in the gutters. Charlie joined her and followed suit.
‘Nope, I can’t allow that. C’mon kids, haven’t you heard of the good old man hook car door?’ she asked.
‘That story doesn’t scare anyone, Alex.’ Tatsuya huffed.
‘Then, who has some other scary stories? What about that big foot one? Have you heard of it?’ Alex asked. ‘It scared me shi- I mean, crapless when I was your age.’
‘My mommy is a zoologist and she says that Big Foot is biologically improbable given the Los Angeles biome.’ Charlie parroted.
‘Spoilsport.’ Alex grumbled.
‘What about Hanako of the Toilet?’ Tatsuya asked.
‘Who’s she?’ Tyler asked.
Tatsuya was that kid who told everyone that “ring around the rosie” was a nursery rhyme about the Black Plague so naturally, he was the type to jump at any moment given to make it eerie or scary. The smile that split across his face was downright terrifying. His eyes gleamed.
‘I’m gonna regret this… aren’t I? But go, on tell us Tatusya. Who is Hanako of the Toilet?’ Alex asked. The girls in the group looked up expectedly at Tatsuya. Taiga turned away and Tyler teased him over it with a jeering nudge. Taiga didn’t like people knowing but he was a total
‘It would be my pleasure, Alex.’ Tatsuya said proudly.
‘Here we go.’ Alex muttered but she summoned strength because she wanted to be a supportive mentor figure to her boys and their friends. This meant she had to battle on and support them even in their most ill-suited endeavours. For Tatsuya, it was storytelling and being a creepy child.
‘Well, once upon a time there was a girl named Hanako. She was a very silly girl who was known for wearing bright, red skirts. One day, at school, her mean friends locked her in the stalls where fell into a toilet and drowned. Hanako was a very trusting girl who thought her friends were misunderstood but as she drowned in the toilet bowl, she didn't even realise that her friends were the worst people ever! So she stayed and when they never found her the next day. But one day, one of the girls who bullied her, visited Hanako’s toilet and she was overwhelmed to ask a question… “Hanako-chan, how long are you going to be?”
‘Naturally, she didn't expect an answer but the door rattled. A reply: “One more minute, please!”
‘The girl turned around, terrified and she cautiously approached the stall. She licked her lips. “Hanako-chan, how long are you going to be?”
“One more minute.”
‘The door rattled again. Then it opened slowly. The girl saw a red flash of chiffon: a skirt. Then, through the crack of the stall door, a pale as snow hand emerged.
“I told you! One more minute!” Hanako screeched and the door flung open wildly. A girl in a bright red skirt with a drowned appearance, hand extended, stood in front of the toilet. “I told you! I told you! One… more… minute!”
‘It was Hanako. She screamed. As did the girl. The following day, they found Hanako’s friend in the toilets. She had been suffocated and when they found her, she was sopping wet and covered in toilet paper. And now, they say Hanako is still there. In the third stall on the second floor.’ Tatsuya said.
Jorgia pouted. ‘You suck at telling scary stories Tatsuya.’
Charlie looked up at Alex who was feigning terror quite poorly and then towards Taiga. Charlie shot Tyler a look that said “Are you serious?” Both children sighed exaggeratedly and pitied their friend. Taiga was an absolute wuss. He was scared by even the tamest of unusual shadows and, apparently, terrified by the worst of scary stories.
Taiga was quaking in his furry boots and had gone deathly pale. His teeth chattered and his eyes had gone wide.
Tatsuya noticed immediately and grinned; smarmy. ‘You’re such a scaredy-cat, Taiga.’ Tatsuya teased.
‘Hm… So where's Hanako now?’ Tyler asked abruptly.
‘Obviously at our elementary school, duh.’ Tatsuya retorted.
He glanced at Taiga who had managed to appear even more scared than before. Then, Tatsuya glanced at Alex and she grinned widely.
‘Jorgia?’ she asked.
‘Yeah?’ Jorgia piped up.
‘Are you still bored?’ Alex asked
‘Yeah?’ Jorgia replied, nonchalant and indifferent.
Alex’s eyes lit up behind her glasses and her teeth gleamed in the low light.
‘I… have a great idea then!’ she announced.
Taiga swallowed. He had a terrible feeling about this. And he had every right to be because what followed was very, very bad; a crime even.
Against all odds, the group had been able to trespass. The elementary school had always been so welcoming and bright during the day, but under the cover of night, it seemed incredibly different. It was eerie. Empty and unsettling as googly-eyed, art and craft skeletons watched their every move; undoubtedly wondering why a grown woman and her brood were sneaking through the gloomy corridors.
The rooms were locked and the toilets were no different but Alex, and her handy-dandy bobby-pin, were able to confuse the lock and get in. The chains fell away to the floor with an echoing clunk. The noise startled the group into a pause but a slow minute passed and no change occurred. No sirens went off and no security guards had appeared.
Alex smirked and she led the group into the toilets. The boys in the group were very bewildered as to why the girls’ toilets weren't horrible. They were clean and no urine-like stench lingered. The girls were horrified to hear that the boys had to put up with such terrible stuff in their toilets.
‘So?’ Alex asked. ‘Who wants to do it?’
‘We shouldn't be here, Alex.’ Taiga protested.
‘Sounds to me like Taiga wants to.’ Tatsuya teased.
Their friends chimed in with agreement.
Alex blindly stepped closer to Taiga and she put her hand on Taiga’s shoulder. She had a firm, sisterly grip on him. She gazed proudly into the distance, into nothingness.
‘Taiga,’ Alex said with a deep breath, ‘there comes a time in every young man’s life when he feels the need to perv on toilet ghosts. For you, that time is now.’
‘Wh-What?’ Taiga stammered.
Tyler and Tastuya shot each other concerned looks but her glad that they weren’t tonight’s sacrifice.
‘Now is your time, cub.’ Alex said and she firmly pushed Taiga forward.
His boots skidded against the tiles and he soon found himself face to face with the toilet stall’s door.
‘Bye. We’ll wait out here; we don’t want to spook our old gal, Hana.’ Alex said. She took Jorgia and Charlie by their hands and skedaddled with them. Tyler and Tastuya sauntered out after them. Taiga watched, glued to the floor out of terror, and when he could finally act, they closed the door on him and locked it.
He banged and cried and protested but Alex and his friends were too much for him. The door was heavily guarded as a result. There was only one way he could do this and that was to face his fears of ghosts,
Ghosts aren’t real. Ghosts aren’t real. Ghosts aren’t real.
Taiga took one step for each breath; for each recital of his mantra. He figured if he said it enough times it would become true but he doubted it. He shook and trembled but he raised his hand to the third stall door anyway. He knocked very lightly and called out with a weak, cracked voice:
‘Ha-Hanako are you there?’ he asked.
He paused. He was absolutely petrified and felt like solid rock. He couldn’t even breathe. All he could do was count the seconds.
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.
‘Hanako?’ a voice, soft and boyish, returned Taiga’s question. ‘My name isn’t Hanako.’ The voice spoke in Japanese but seemed to understand English.
‘Wh-Wh-What?!’ Taiga shrieked and he high-tailed out of there. He tackled against the door and screamed. He could hear his friends snigger on the other side.
‘C’mon, Taiga! Face your fears!’ Alex encouraged. She was too much.
‘I’ll be a minute though…’ the voice said and Taiga reluctantly turned around. He crept towards the third stall door and he crouched down. He saw shoes. Shoes! They were masculine, blue and black in colour, sneakers with tight laces. The wearer had very pale and very skinny ankles.
Taiga got up. He knocked on the door once more. ‘Hanako, how long are you gonna be?’ he asked. He spoke using his rusty Japanese.
‘My name isn’t Hanako. You should know that as we are friends after all. And like I said, I shall be a minute.’ the voice answered.
Taiga twisted back to his friends. ‘THERE’S SOMEONE IN HERE WITH ME!’
‘Hahaha, totally, Taiga!’ Tatsuya called out.
‘No seriously!’ Taiga yelled.
He turned back to the door. ‘We - We’re not friends.’ Taiga insisted.
‘Oh. I thought we were but, now that I think about it… I don’t believe I recognise your voice. Are we in different classes perhaps?’
‘Hanako, when are you gonna be done?’ Taiga asked.
‘My name isn’t Hanako! You have me mistaken for someone else. My name is Kuroko.’ the voice said.
Thus far, he had sounded calm but now, Taiga had finally annoyed him something chronic.
‘Well then, Kuroko, how long are you gonna be?’ Taiga asked.
His hands balled up and Taiga forced himself to peep through the crack between the door and the wall. He saw a glimmer of red and then an eye: an eye with a sky-blue iris. Taiga shifted back with clumsy stumble. There was definitely someone there! Definitely a ghost!
‘I told you… a minute!’ the voice - Kuroko - screeched and the door flung open at long last and Taiga stood his ground boldly. He protected his face and gritted his teeth. He flinched. Then there was nothing. There was no rush of toilet paper to suffocate him or anything else so shyly, he opened up to the ghost.
Kuroko was a tiny boy who was pale as paper. His hair was flat and wet. It was pastel blue and his eyes, droopy and sleepy, were of a similar shade. Droplets of water dribbled down his face and saturated his clothes. He wore a black and white stripy shirt with red suspenders that clipped onto bright red shorts.
He was hesitant but he extended his hand.
‘Do you have name?’ Kuroko asked. His eyebrows were upturned and it felt like he was looking directly into the depths of Taiga’s soul. He’d never felt more cowardly before.
‘Yes. It’s Kagami Taiga.’
‘Will you be my friend then, Taiga-kun?’ he asked, shyly.
‘N-No.’ Taiga stuttered back.
Kuroko flinched and he blinked. His lips quivered. Taiga felt like the world’s most horrible human being as he watched the ghost turn into a mess.
‘W-Why not?’ Kuroko asked.
‘Because you’re a ghost and ghosts are scary!’ Taiga retorted. He bit his lip and waited for a response.
‘A-Am I scary…?’ Kuroko asked and he swallowed thickly. He desperately tried to ignore his tears.
‘Well… no.’ Taiga said. This ghost seemed friendlier than Caspar.
‘Then why can’t we be friends?’ Kuroko asked.
‘I don’t know.’ Taiga replied.
‘I’m swear I’m not scary. Are you sure… you don’t want to be friends? I mean, you waited for me.’ Kuroko said.
Taiga wondered if he ought to mention that it was all a dare and there were people outside that door waiting for him to finish up. He wondered… could they hear him with Kuroko? He glanced at the door. Taiga couldn’t tell. It was too dark and too unmoving.
‘Haha, yeah, I guess I did wait for you.’ Taiga replied, awkwardly as his gaze returned to the pitiful ghost.
‘So… can we be friends?’ Kuroko asked, hopeful.
‘Y-Yes, I suppose we can be friends.’ Taiga replied.
Kuroko smiled brightly and he walked over to the basin. He washed his hands with a smile and Taiga waited patiently. Kuroko turned the tap then towards Taiga.
‘Alright, let’s be friends.’ he announced. He looked to be in disbelief.
Kuroko wasn’t Hanako but Taiga suspected they could be very good friends. He smiled softly and stood next to Taiga. His hand brushed against Taiga’s. It was wet and evidently fragrant of soap. The ghost’s hand was very real and very tangible. Taiga didn’t know what came over him but he had a very strong compulsion to take Kuroko’s hand and hold it; so he did.
Together, they stepped forward, towards the door.
‘Alex, you can let me - us - out now. I faced my fears.’ Taiga said.
The door made a noise and it opened. Through the darkness, Alex’s face was revealed. She looked very demonic with her glinting glasses.
‘Us?’ she said.
‘Yeah, us. Me and Kuroko.’ Taiga said. His hand fell loose.
‘Bye, Taiga-kun, I will see you again soon, right?’ Kuroko asked but before Taiga could reply, Kuroko dissipated like smoke or mist. He just pulled apart like he was nothingness. A frigid chill fell harshly onto the room.
‘Whoa… what was that?’ Alex asked. Her bare arms covered in goose-bumps now.
‘Th-That was Kuroko.’ Taiga mumbled.
He swallowed. He sniffed. There was nothing he could do about the tears that followed anyway; despite his bravery.