Miki Kujo put on her clothes and the three of them came to the parking lot.
Watanabe Toru opened the luggage compartment of the school bus: "These are all props for the courage test."
"The part I took was on the first bus," said Qingye Rin.
"So many?" Kujo Miki said impatiently, "It's just a test of courage, just scare people casually."
“No matter what the reason is for serving as a member of the Test of Courage Conference, we should do this well.”
"How many years can you live, Kiyono-san? At the rate you're going, most people will accomplish nothing in their lifetime."
"Do everything you are supposed to do. Do you think someone like this will accomplish nothing, Kujo-san?"
"Most things are worthless, and wasting time on them is pure suicide, for example, this Test of Courage Contest."
"Don't care about one thing, don't care about two things, and when you want to be serious, you can't afford to be serious..."
It's only been a few minutes and they're arguing again.
Isn’t quarreling a waste of time?
Or is quarreling also something that must be done?
Toru Watanabe silently walked towards the first bus and moved the props belonging to Kiyono Rin over.
The two were still arguing, and the white air coming out of their seductive lips seemed to be fighting as well, mixing together.
"My two young ladies, it's time to go."
Toru Watanabe picked up relatively heavy props such as a human skeleton, while the other two took some lighter ones and walked into the forest together.
This is a mixed forest dominated by pine trees, which still has vitality and greenness that cannot be underestimated even in winter.
If the wind blows at night and the shadows of the trees are swaying, even timid people will be scared without people pretending to be ghosts.
The road was littered with withered yellow leaves and dead branches, which made crisp sounds when stepped on.
The three of them walked along the forest path for a while and turned a corner.
"Let's start the preparations from here." Qing Ye Lin looked around, "It doesn't need to be too scary at the beginning, just tell everyone that the Test of Courage has officially begun."
"I think it's better to give people a big shock at the beginning," said Miki Kujo.
Kiyono Rin looked over here.
Before she could speak, Toru Watanabe said, "Meiji, you've been working very hard, so let Kiyono-san take care of this."
"Are you helping her?" asked Miki Kujo with a smile.
"Watanabe Toru, Kujo is just making normal suggestions. Do you think I will reject them without hesitation?" Kiyono Rin's face was cold.
“…”
Toru Watanabe looked up at the corner of sky that appeared between the trees and felt so sad that he could not control himself.
Kujo Miki glared at him in dissatisfaction.
Qingye Rin looked at him and showed a smug smile.
In short, the preparations for the Test of Courage Conference were slowly progressing in the above atmosphere.
Toru Watanabe climbed trees, lay on the ground, and collected dead leaves, and finally completed the work.
After it was over, there was still some time before the official start, so the three of them returned to the camp to rest and have dinner.
Watanabe Toru had just returned to the cabin and lay down on the bed when Kunii Osamu, who was playing mahjong, came over.
"How's the arrangement going?" he asked impatiently.
"Be mentally prepared and don't let yourself be scared," said Toru Watanabe.
"Tell me what you have first? Then I won't be afraid at all!"
Although Watanabe Toru was so tired that he just wanted to rest - "After all, I still have to face the two young ladies tonight and in the future", but for the sake of eating several meals with him, he still told him all the props.
After listening to the layout, Kunijii Osamu left satisfied.
Just when Toru Watanabe thought he could get some sleep, there was a roar from Kunii Osamu that was loud enough to cause an avalanche.
"Where are my three tens? Do you want to change my cards?"
Then came the angry shouts of Saito Keisuke and others who were 'wrongly accused'.
Why are you still sleeping?
Watanabe Toru simply took out his cell phone and prepared to play with it for a while before going straight to dinner.
He sent the photos he took during the day to his family.
At this moment, Kumiko suddenly sent a message, which was a recent practice video.
He sent her another copy of the photo.
"That's great - I want to go camping too!!!"
"Your school also has this kind of activity, right? They're called different names, like Forest School or Seaside School."
"Yes, there are, but there is no skiing, no off-road vehicles, no hot springs, and not even a dedicated school bus o(╥﹏╥)o"
"Neither do I"
"vomit--"
"Vomiting is too much"
"By the way, have you watched the practice video I sent you? Come on and praise me."
I was chatting aimlessly with Kumiko, and responding to my mother's instructions to wear more clothes, be careful, and remember to go home for the New Year. Suddenly it was time for dinner.
After dinner, the three members of the Test of Courage Competition got together again.
The two young ladies took advantage of the time just now to take a bath and change into beautiful clothes.
Miki Kujo's clothes are gorgeous and noble; Kiyono Rin's clothes are simple and exquisite.
As for Toru Watanabe, everything suits him very well, he is handsome and extraordinary.
Such a trio has to play the role of evil spirits.
However, according to the current trend, ghosts do have to have good looks.
Watanabe Toru was walking in front with a flashlight, and the two followed behind him.
The three of them came to the place where the props were kept. Watanabe Toru was the one playing the ghost and had to change his clothes.
Kujo Miki would never do such a thing, she was only responsible for playing music;
Kiyono Rin... In this kind of weather, if she wears a prop costume, she might really turn into a ghost. She is responsible for conducting and all other chores except music.
Toru Watanabe took off his coat and prepared to put on the costume.
"Give it to me." Kiyono Rin stretched out her hand and motioned Watanabe Toru to give her the coat.
here we go again.
Toru Watanabe looked back and forth at Miki Kujo and Rin Kiyono.
Kujo Miki sneered, "What are you hesitating about?"
"No." Toru Watanabe handed her the clothes.
Miki Kujo looked at the clothes in her hands with disdain. Even if they were only worn once, they were garbage to her.
While putting on the costume, Toru Watanabe secretly looked at Kiyono Rin.
Her expression was unexpected, her eyes rested on her own hands, slightly absent-minded.
When she raised her head and noticed Watanabe Toru's eyes, she immediately turned away.
'Um?'
…
The Test of Courage is a free event.
Couples or men and women who are not yet lovers have romantic fantasies about this project.
In addition, there are some boys' and girls' groups joining in the fun.
They gathered at the entrance, lined up, and entered the dark forest in groups.
Kunii Osamu invited Ikki Aoi as he wished, but two girls from Class 3 also came with him.
"It means rejection." This was Toru Watanabe's analysis at the time.
"That's nothing. At Koshien, I caught the forkball from Chukyo starting pitcher Taikawa Matsui!" This was his answer at the time.
"Is there any connection between the two?" Toru Watanabe complained at the time.
During the waiting time, screams of fear could be heard from the woods from time to time, making everyone in the waiting area both expectant and nervous.
Why didn't he talk to Yimu Aoi for so long? Because Yimu Aoi was among the girls in Class 3, and he didn't dare.
I wish I could be as thick-skinned as Toru Watanabe.
No, if it was Toru Watanabe, these girls might have pretended to be scared and surrounded him.
The evidence is their current conversation:
"What should we do when we see Watanabe-kun later?"
"Of course I'm pretending to be scared~"
"Then she was so frightened that she lost her mind and fell on him!"
"Hahaha, you're really brave. Kujo-san is still here."
"I'm timid and afraid of ghosts. It was just an accident."
…
Kunii Osamu glanced at Ikki Aoi in the crowd.
That’s right, everything that happened next was an accident.
It will be their turn soon.
As a boy, Kunii Osamu volunteered, "I'll go in front, Ikki-kun and you guys can follow behind me."
"No need~" said the girl who just said she wanted to throw herself into Watanabe Toru's arms.
"Wait a minute." Another girl pulled her back and whispered, "Let's just stay behind Kunii-san and pretend to be scared and pitiful."
The girl's eyes lit up and she instantly understood what her friend meant.
"Okay, okay, thank you Kunii-san~" the girl nodded excitedly.
Kunijii Osamu nodded silently and walked in front to lead the way.
No lighting equipment is allowed in the Test of Courage competition, and the use of flashlights on mobile phones is also not allowed.
"It seems like nothing?"
"It hasn't started yet."
At the end of the starting path, there is a corner.
Kunii Osamu and Ikki Aoi walked over first . When the two girls behind them were about to go over, a light suddenly lit up at their feet.
"ah--"
The two girls screamed in fright.
The light shone from bottom to top, onto the face of a statue of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.
In the darkness of the forest, the sinister laughter of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva could be faintly heard, and the atmosphere was eerie.
"It's about to begin. If you're scared, Ikki-san, you can grab my clothes." As he said the words he had prepared long ago, Kunii Osamu felt a little nervous.
It's like knowing that a horror movie is made, but you can't help but be scared.
"Well, thank you Kunii-san." The more Aoi Ikki looked at Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, the more frightened she became.
Kunijii Xiu calmed himself down and continued walking forward.
After walking only two steps, the light behind me made a "click" sound and suddenly went out.
"Why is there a switch sound?" Several people laughed and looked back, ready to catch the man.
The Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was looking at them with a mocking expression.
"Just now, wasn't its face facing this way?"
"It seems that he didn't laugh either..."
"Let's go."
"Um!"
Several people quickened their pace.
The strange laughter coming from behind them became more and more real, and seemed to be getting closer to them.
The dead leaves under their feet rustled, and from time to time a dark shadow appeared in the forest, watching them silently.
"Well, it doesn't seem that scary." A girl said in a trembling voice.
"They're just some motionless dolls and paper figures!" said another girl.
But suddenly, a light black shadow slowly fell from a tall branch in front.
It watched them.
The two of them, along with Ichimoku Aoi, leaned together and moved slowly, fearing that the shadow would move again.
The sound of wind swaying branches and the whispering of dark shadows.
“Is it talking?”
"No, it should be a model..."
Before he could finish his words, the shadow moved again.
It came down from the branch and slowly floated towards the four people in a gliding motion.
"Ah——" the three girls screamed in fear.
As the shadow got closer, everyone could see its appearance clearly.
An ugly, dark, wrinkled face like a bat, and large, soft ears.
Its body is the shape of a mouse, and its hands are thin and small, as pink and tender as if they had just been taken out of the amniotic fluid.
"Ah——" Another scream, and the three of them hurried forward.
Kunijima Osamu was also frightened by the bat face. He couldn't help swallowing his saliva and ran after the three people.
After running for a while, the front suddenly opened up to a circular flat area with a huge rock in the middle with its bottom stained with blood.
A man squatted beside a boulder with his back to them who suddenly broke in.
The three girls didn't dare to move forward and waited for Kunijiro Xiu to come over.
"I'll go take a look." Kunii Osamu said.
"Well, be careful." Ikki Aoi grabbed her friend's arm and said with a frightened look on her face.
"Don't worry!"
Kunii Osamu took two steps closer to the figure: "Watanabe, is that you? I knew it from your back."
"Hmmmm." The figure stood up while chewing something and looked back at them.
"You came too early, I'm not ready yet." Toru Watanabe leaned over with dissatisfaction.
The hair was still intact, but the right side of the skull was gone.
There was blood all over his mouth, and one of his eyes was wide open without an eyelid.
But judging by his figure and voice, it must be Toru Watanabe.
The girls relaxed and stepped forward.
"What? You're early."
"Watanabe-kun, your outfit looks real. If we wait until you are ready, we will definitely not be shocked."
The fear in their hearts faded away and they gradually grew braver.
"Watanabe-kun, what are you eating?" a girl asked.
"Oh, this." Toru Watanabe handed over his finger.
"It looks so real. It's still bleeding."
“Even the nails are done so beautifully.”
“Is this delicious?”
Watanabe Toru said, "It's delicious. It's from Miki."
"Hahaha, Kujo-san is so pitiful. He even sacrificed his fingers for the courage contest."
The three of them laughed and took turns playing with the finger.
One of the girls said, "Is it candy flavored?"
As she said this, she took a bite.
"How is it? What does it taste like?" asked Ikki Aoi curiously.
The girl slowly took her finger out of her mouth.
There was a circle of teeth marks on the white skin of the fingers, just like the hands were really bitten.
The girl looked at the finger and suddenly felt a little cold in her heart.
The other two girls also watched the scene quietly.
"Don't you want to eat?" Watanabe Toru came over to me without me noticing.
"Ah!" The three of them were startled.
"Hey, why are you so scary?" As he said that, Kunii Osamu was about to reach out and grab Watanabe Toru.
Just at this moment.
"Kuniji! Run!" A roar suddenly came from the forest.
Looking in the direction of the sound, I saw a person in the distance, holding on to a tree trunk and looking over here.
"What?"
"Is that Watanabe-kun's voice?"
The four of them looked at Toru Watanabe beside them.
His brain was throbbing and blood was dripping from his mouth.
"Sizzle——" Like a machine spitting out gas, a cold breath of ice spurted out from his mouth.
"Run!" The figure in the distance shouted again, bending his body.
"W-What's going on?"
"Why are there two Watanabe-kun?"
“Is it fake?”
Watanabe Toru in front of him walked towards the boulder in silence, then slowly lifted it up.
He turned around and said to the four people:
"This time, I won't smash your brains."
The boulder was dripping with blood, and where it had been, a slender figure in a skirt was lying.
The upper body was blurry, the palms were still bleeding, and the fingers were missing.
"Ah——" The girl holding the finger threw the finger away.
The three were so frightened that they could not move.
Toru Watanabe came over carrying a huge rock.
At the same time, the faint laughter that had been heard since a while ago suddenly became louder.
The shrill laughter came from all directions, echoing eerily through the silent forest like scratching.
A red lantern suddenly lit up.
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva appeared again, looking at this side with a kind smile, but there was blood on the corner of its mouth.
"Hurry...run..." Watanabe Toru's voice in the distance was so weak as if it was swallowed by the wind.
With a dull thud, he fell into the jungle.
Watanabe Toru, who was nearby, stopped stiffly, put down the boulder, and strode over there.
"Fingers...fingers..."
The red lantern went out and then lit up again in the distance where Toru Watanabe fell.
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, with a ferocious face, stared at the ground greedily.
"Hurry up!" Kuniyoshi pushed the three people and ran towards the exit.
The three people, who were dizzy with fear, finally regained consciousness a little.
There was no time to think, so he let out a terrified wail and ran towards the exit.
Watanabe Toru, who was walking towards Watanabe Toru in the distance, stopped and turned towards them.
"Fingers... fingers..." he murmured and caught up.
At the same time, red lanterns lit up one by one, chasing the four people.
Watanabe Toru was nearby, moving as fast as a black shadow. In a blink of an eye, he caught up with the four people and stood in front of them.
He had lost his mind, and sticky red liquid was slipping out of his mouth as he walked towards one of them.
Ikki Aoi was being stared at by a gaze as cold as a snake. She had lost the courage to run and just stood there stupidly.
"Stop it!" Kunii Osamu rushed over and hugged Watanabe Toru around the waist.
The next second, he was thrown out like a piece of rag.
"Kunii!" Just as Ikki Aoi was about to run over, Watanabe Toru took a step forward and then immediately froze in place.
"Fingers...fingers..."
"ah--"
"Ichimu!" ​​Kunijii Osamu roared and rushed up again.
This time he did not try to stop Watanabe Toru, but opened his arms and hugged Ikki Aoi tightly in his arms, using his back to face the strange man who was seeking fingers.
A dead silence fell on the forest, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind.
Then there was the sound of gnawing on flesh and grinding bones with molars.