

Us Four

 

the rules of the school

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> “It wasn’t a dream. We were trapped. And whatever was with us… wasn’t human.”

The hallway echoed with silence. Not even the birds outside chirped. For a moment, the school felt frozen in time.

Hayato's fingers trembled slightly as he clutched his phone.

The message stared back at him:

“One of you isn’t who you think they are.”

“Guys…” Hayato whispered. “Let’s not split up.”

“No kidding,” Yuri muttered, pacing. “A creepy message, a sealed door, and now the freakin’ loudspeaker plays horror lines?! I’m not playing some cursed game!”

“We’re not playing anything,” Hina said softly, looking pale. “I think we’re in one.”

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📘 Scene: School Library – Searching for Answers

Sanemi pushed open the door to the old library. Dust clouded the air, and the shelves looked older than any of them remembered.

“Maybe there’s something in the school records. Or… rules,” Sanemi suggested.

Yuri gave him a look. “Rules? You think ghosts follow school rules now?”

But Hayato was already flipping through a thick, worn-out logbook. His eyes stopped on a yellowed page titled:

“The Forgotten Students - 1998.”

> “Four students vanished after school. Only one returned. The survivor claimed the school ‘tested’ them. The others... failed.”

He read it aloud. Hina gasped.

“They were four, just like us,” she whispered.

Hayato turned the page. Scribbled in shaky handwriting were:

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⚠️ The Rules of the School

(They appeared like curses)

Stay together.

Don’t look too long into reflections.

Don’t speak your real fears aloud.

If you hear your name whispered — don’t answer.

You have until 3:33 PM. After that… one disappears.

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“Guys,” Yuri said, her voice cracking. “What time is it?”

Sanemi looked at his watch. “3:27 PM.”

“Then we’ve got six minutes left,” Hayato said grimly. “Until one of us is gone.”

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🪞 Scene: The Music Room – Testing the Mirror

They moved quickly to the music room — one of the few places with a large mirror.

“I say we break the mirror,” Yuri said, grabbing a chair.

“No!” Hina yelled, stopping her. “That could make it worse!”

“Worse than disappearing?!”

Hayato stepped forward. “Let’s test it. Just look into it. For five seconds.”

Sanemi rolled his eyes but stood in front of the mirror. “Fine. One… two… three…”

His voice faded.

“Sanemi?” Yuri called.

He didn’t respond. His eyes widened as if locked on something inside the glass.

Hayato grabbed his shoulder. “Snap out of it!”

Suddenly, Sanemi stumbled back, gasping.

“I saw… something else in there. Like me, but smiling — and my eyes were… black.”

Hina’s hands covered her mouth. “That’s rule two. Don’t look too long into reflections.”

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⏳ Scene: Countdown Begins

They raced back to the hallway. Hayato’s phone buzzed again.

> 3:32 PM. One minute left. One must go.

“No, no, no!” Yuri shouted. “This isn’t fair!”

“There has to be a way!” Sanemi yelled.

Hina clutched her notebook. “What if it’s a test like the 1998 case said? What if one of us chooses?”

The clock hit 3:33 PM.

Lights flickered.

And the loudspeaker turned on again.

> “Time’s up.”

Suddenly, a gust of wind whooshed through the corridor. The door behind them flew open — revealing a pitch-black room filled with nothing but whispers.

Yuri screamed.

Hayato turned.

Hina was gone.

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🎭 Scene: Just Three

“Hina?!” Sanemi yelled into the dark.

“She was just here!” Yuri cried.

Hayato’s hands shook. “No blood. No sound. She… vanished.”

Silence.

Only the sound of the clock ticking filled the hallway.

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📝 Chapter End Narration