𝗙𝗮𝘁𝗲~ Toge Inumaki

Chapter 16

She looked at me and her expression changed. I shouldn't have asked that-
There was a bit of sadness lingering in her eyes but it quickly faded when she watched her phone. She was looking at another photo of him. Maybe she really did like him...and maybe I should agree to the dinner.

"When's the dinner?" I asked to calm the atmosphere around her. She looked at me and smiled.

"We didn't set a date yet but...I offered for him to come here." -mom

"Here?? We better get down to some cleaning because I don't want to see another dude you really like leave you." My mom had been single all her years after my dad left because she focused most of her attention on raising me. Though when she did try to date, it would mostly only last a few weeks before they cheat on her. She'd always forgive and forget since they weren't even her type to begin with.

I really wanted to tell her about meeting that thing but it would only cause her to stress more over me so I just didn't mention anything at all. Only Toge knew and actually understood me really well so I had trust in him but now things got quite awkward when my mom asked him that but she was just kidding.

§

It was Saturday, the day Mr. Satoru assigned us to scout out the area. Toge and I decided to meet up there at the entrance to the abandoned asylum but when I got there he wasn't in sight. Maybe he was just late.....

I stood outside for quite a while but then the air was just getting hotter and hotter which made me start to sweat so I ended up going inside for shade.

The door was already pried open probably by people who came before us to explore. The inside was filled with dust and spiderwebs hung from the ceiling like decorations. It had an old smell and rats lingered in the dark corners flashing their red eyes at me as they scampered about. I was at the very center by the check-in section and to both of my sides there were stairs leading upstairs and two leading straight ahead into the dark. There were pieces of gown cloths on the floor along with broken fragments of the building.

I traced my fingers along the torn up papers on the desk next to me and jumped when I saw roaches coming out from it. I had spent a solid 10 minutes in there on the beginning of the first floor waiting for Toge but he never arrived so I ended up calling him but his phone was turnt off. While sitting in an old rusty chair I noticed 2 different sizes of footprints imprinted in the dust. One was mine but there was also another, slightly bigger than mine. My eyes trailed it's path and realized it went to the left corridor on the first floor. Instead of dumbly sitting there waiting for Toge I decided to follow the footsteps and to where they were led. Maybe it was someone in need of help.

There were doors on both side of the corridor, mostly made of steal and inside each room were beds covered in dust and torn open mattresses with the insides spilling out. Some doors were closed while others were open but I didn't dare go in any because I would just end up getting scared the sht out of me so I continued to follow the footsteps. They led to another open concept room but this time it was a library. There were rows of books stacked on shelves and books were also on the floor, pages torn out of them. Though the place was abandoned for years the books still had that smell and it was just exciting. While I was checking through the rows I saw a figure standing still at the very end of the passageway of the last row. I carefully walked up to it to realize it was a person with a hoodie on. I was about to tap their shoulder but they just suddenly turned around the same time and came face to face with me. Instead of me being the one who got scared it was them. Thankfully it was Toge but his hand rested on his chest by his heart when he saw my face.

"Aw did I scare you?" I teased as I looked at his pale face.

His expression changed and became calmer then he started to laugh.

"I was actually trying to scare you but I got carried away while reading a book." He handed me the book  and it was covered in cobwebs and it had an engraving on it with a skull. The cover looked really old and the pages were filled with an unknown writing. It was Japanese but I couldn't read it because it was a different type.

"It's...not readable." I said as I looked at him but he raised his brows at me in confusion. He took the book from me and began to flip through the pages, checking the words.

"But- but I was able to read it a few minutes ago! It was in normal Japanese." He looked at me with concern. I didn't judge his statement because for all I know it could be true.

"We should just check the rest of the building and get this over with", I concluded as I took the book from him. I was about to place it back on the shelf but then I had this feeling that keeping it would be better so I placed it in my backpack then left the library with Toge.

We walked back to the beginning of the building where the stairs were and both went up the left side together. As soon as my feet hit the top floor I felt this menacing aura coming from the darkness beyond.

"Do you feel that?"