Smile for the Camera || Morishige x Yoshiki

~Chapter 1: Welcome to Heavenly Host~

Yoshiki's eyes flittered open abruptly. His surroundings were blanketed in a darkness that his eyes found difficulty adjusting to. The impression of worn, decrepit wooden planks beneath his head provided him with a good indicator that he was somewhere he couldn't recognize.

He tore his stiff frame from the ground, feeling his muscles throb. His breath caught in his throat as his vision wavered, causing him to stumble into a nearby desk.

Wait... A desk?

That's right... He had just been inside Kisaragi Academy with all his friends. How long ago was that? His mind was foggy as he struggled to remember how he had gotten into this situation. He could undeniably comprehend he was no longer in Kisaragi Academy as the desk he had crashed into was far too petite.

His eyes had started to adjust to the gloomy atmosphere of the room he awoke in. He managed to upright himself, pushing off from the desk he had used to regain his balance. He attempted to put together what had occurred.

A moment of realization dawned upon him, causing his heart to palpitate in place; "The Sachiko Ever After Charm". Could it be that charm was the reason he was here now?

He shook his head for a moment. That couldn't possibly be the reason. That's ridiculous, he was quite obviously just having a nightmare. Stifling a chuckle, Yoshiki gave himself a firm pinch.

Expecting to be awake, at home and in bed, Yoshiki was confused when he was, instead, still inside that dark, dreary room. He rolled his eyes. Maybe that wasn't enough to wake him. He slapped himself firmly in the face, once again, achieving the same result. The only difference was the stinging pain that now radiated from his cheek.

"Kishinuma?"

An unexpected voice from behind him startled him, causing him to physically jump. He hastily turned to discern where the call came from, only to see Sakutaro Morishige, one of his classmates. He stood there, holding his head in perceived pain.

"God, don't just creep up on me like that!" Yoshiki yelled, a bit louder than he had originally anticipated. In all honesty, he was somewhat embarrassed, as this meant that Morishige had witnessed him slapping himself for no apparent reason.

Morishige let out a faint sigh. "My apologies, but I think we have more pressing matters on our hands. Do you have any clues as to where we are?"

"Hell if I know," Yoshiki replied, his hand lightly resting on his cheek, which was now an unflattering red from being struck. "Some kinda school. Not our own, though."

Morishige gently brushed his index finger along one of the small desks, making an indent in the thick layer of dirt that happened to laminate each surface. He rubbed his thumb and pointer finger together, powdering his fingertips with dust.

"It appears we're in an elementary school of some description," Morishige uttered. "And judging by the amount of grime, it's logical to assume that it's a rather old one."

Yoshiki's mind wandered to the horror story that Ayumi had recited to the class. It had also mentioned an elementary school, right? Part of him wanted to assume that they were in Heavenly Host, but the other part didn't want to be wrong if it turned out they were somewhere else instead.

"Well, what are we standing around here for?" Yoshiki questioned, rhetorically. "We should probably get the hell outta here and fast, this place gives me the creeps."

Morishige simply nodded and started to walk toward the classroom door. "Out of everyone I could've gotten stuck with, it had to be him..." Yoshiki pondered, letting out an audible sigh. It's not that he didn't like Morishige, more like he felt uncomfortable around him. They never really interacted outside of school and barely knew each other. "I would've preferred it if Ayumi was with me, hell, I'd even take Satoshi..." His brows furrowed as he thought.

As they left the classroom, an awkward silence engulfed the two. The halls were just as grim as the classroom Yoshiki had woken up in, sporting peeling, mouldy walls and crumbling floorboards. The musky air tickled his lungs, enticing him to clear his throat. There was an unpleasant smell coming from somewhere, but he couldn't figure out if it was coming from inside the walls or from somewhere in that very corridor.

Without a word, Morishige started to walk in a direction, going further down the hall. Yoshiki, after taking a moment to register his surroundings, quickly caught up with him. "So..." Yoshiki awkwardly started. "What's the plan?"

"We find an exit and leave." Morishige states, very matter-of-fact-ly.

"...Any idea where that might be?"

"I haven't a clue. That's why we're looking." The boy with glasses said, his face unchanging.

Yoshiki's eye twitched. He knew that Morishige was a fact-based person and that he wasn't trying to be rude, but he couldn't help but feel peeved off. He bit his tongue for now and brushed it off, continuing down the halls.

Yoshiki's eyes wandered to the ceiling. Holes were spattered around everywhere, causing Yoshiki to be more cautious while moving under these holes, lest something fall from above and hit him.

Morishige suddenly stopped in the hall, causing Yoshiki to bump into him. "Gh- Hey, why'd you stop?" He asked, more annoyed than before. Morishige was staring at a wrinkled piece of paper pinned to the wall. He quickly scanned over the words on the paper before his once emotionless face morphed into one of concern.

"What? What does it say?" Yoshiki asked, a bead of sweat starting to accumulate on his forehead. He touched the corner of the paper, bringing it out slightly so he could read it. It was then he saw those dreaded words that confirmed his worst fear, written in bold at the top of the sheet of paper...

"Heavenly Host Elementary School."