Akkudakku
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[LP CYOA] Spiral
- Thread starter treave
- Start date
Saver of Things
Failed to RTFM
- Joined
- May 19, 2015
- Messages
- 8
Oh, it did? Anyway, props for making this Horror Mystery.
Better then other CYOA that I read (even those that are available commercially)
Better then other CYOA that I read (even those that are available commercially)
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2008
- Messages
- 11,370
Okuyama, Tokigawa, Iwano
The alarm buzzes. It is not a sound that can be ignored. Okuyama fumbles around groggily until she finds it and shuts it off. Time for work. The covers slip off of her as she gets out of bed. Her clothes and underwear are still strewn all over the floor, and she almost slaps her own forehead for having forgotten to bring her uniform into the laundry. Luckily she brought a fresh change of clothes, and there’ll be a spare set or two at the hospital that she can borrow.
As she is hooking up her bra, the man in the bed stirs. He peers at her blearily, half-awake, and says, “Hm? Okuyama, is it time already?”
“I’ve got my morning shift in a few hours, Usui-sensei. I’m sorry to wake you up, but I’ll be going out first.” Okuyama replies with her back turned to Usui, her bright voice a sharp contrast to the indifferent expression on her face.
“Alright. Are you coming over tonight?”
“I’m not sure yet. Tokigawa-san has something planned.”
“Ah, that boy,” chuckles Usui. “I think he applied for leave today. Something about being sick. Was that a lie? Well, if he cancels on you today, and you’re feeling lonely, you know where the key is.” With a grunt, he rolls over and goes back to bed.
Having finished dressing up, Okuyama checks her cell-phone. There is one new message from Tokigawa.
***
“I-I’m sorry! I swear, I’ll pay it back by the end of the month!” Tokigawa bows and scrapes before the scarred and tattooed man, touching his forehead to the dusty alley repeatedly.
“That’s what ya said last month. And the month before that. Hey, don’tcha get tired of telling lies, Toki-kun?” drawls the gangster in a Kansai accent. His associates surround Tokigawa, leaving him with no way out. “Hey, Toki-kun. Toki-kun! Look at me.”
Tokigawa raises his chin fearfully. The gangster whips out a switchblade and levels it at Tokigawa’s nose. “Honestly, the boss told me to get that pretty nose as recompense, but what would we actually do with it, right? It’s a useless piece of flesh!But, well… I heard you have a pretty girlfriend, Toki-kun. I seen the pics. Not a bad babe. She could make you a lotta money if you know the right people. Enough money to pay up your debt and more. Lucky for you, you do know the right people, eh?” He grins, wiggling his eyebrows at Tokigawa.
“No, not that! I’ll do anything, just don’t get her involved,” says Tokigawa quickly.
“You have no room to bargain, Toki-kun!” shouts the gangster. He drives his shoe into Tokigawa’s side. Tokigawa curls up, crying out in pain. “If you want us to listen to anything you say, show us the money!”
“L-Look… I’ll get it. I’ll get it soon…” pleads Tokigawa. “After tonight. After tonight, I’ll be able to pay everything back with interest! I could have run, right? I knew the date was today, but I still came to meet you anyway. I don’t want to run. I want to pay you back. I’m just hoping for an extension, just one day. Just until tomorrow morning.”
“That confident, eh?”
“Yes,” nods Tokigawa firmly. “Tomorrow morning you will have your money. If not, I accept all the consequences. No fuss… no fuss at all.”
The gangster scowls, staring down at Tokigawa from behind his sunglasses. “Hm…”
***
“Iwano Mitsuki-san. It’s time to return to your room.” Okuyama beckons at the girl, who is taking charge of a group of younger kids in the park. They are sitting on the smoothed-out stump of a large tree that used to stand on the premises – it is wide enough to accommodate all of them.
***
“Okay,” sings out Iwano, raising her hand. She turns around to address the children. “I’ll come back and play with you later, alright? Bye bye!”
The other boys and girls wave back. “Bye bye, Mitsuki onee-chan!”
Iwano hops off the stump and walks towards the nurse, who gives her an apologetic smile. The both of them begin to head towards the wards. “There’s a long treatment session scheduled for tonight. We have to start the preparations earlier, Mitsuki-chan, so you should get some early rest.”
“I know.” Iwano shrugs, trying and failing to keep the smile on her face.
“Are you alright?” asks the nurse in concern.
“Don’t worry, don’t worry! I’m fine! When the going gets tough, there’s no better time for the tough to go at it.”
“You like that saying, don’t you, Mitsuki-chan,” laughs the nurse.
“Onee-chan taught it to me when she was still staying here. The value of time is in how you spend it, she said. Well, we’re at my room. I’ll be fine by myself, Okuyama-san.” Giving the nurse a firm, confident smile, Iwano opens the door to her ward. She lets it close behind her as she totters towards the bed. Iwano falls onto the soft mattress, letting her face sink into its downy goodness.
She sighs. It’s tiring. Everything’s so tiring. But she can’t give up. Even though Onee-chan is no longer here, Iwano has to be a good girl and stay strong for the other kids. She rolls over, face-up and spread-eagled, and stares at the white ceiling panels.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spots someone standing there, in the corner of the room. A girl that wasn’t there before.
Kana-chan.
Here she is again.
***
“Are you sure about this?” Okuyama asks.
“The gold is somewhere in there, Midori. He showed it to me. I didn’t believe it at first… some silly ghost story about a phantom hospital hidden in a shiny new one, but it’s true.”
“If you’re sure…” Okuyama says, unconvinced.
Tokigawa nods firmly. “I’m sure. I know it sounds like superstitious bullshit, but it is true. Once he opens the way, we’ll be free to search for the gold. Anyway, after you’ve finished your rounds, go on ahead and wait for me in the usual room. I’ll be there soon. You won’t need to do a thing.”
***
There are noises in the corridor. Iwano sits up and moves towards the door, wondering what is going on outside. At the moment she pulls the door open, she spies a man passing by on the other side. She recognizes him: Tokigawa Kou-san, a pretty friendly guy who’s close to Nurse Okuyama. He’s always treated her kindly.
The medical student turns to face her. Iwano gasps in horror. His clothes are stained with blood. His eyes are wild, his gaze lost. “Mitsuki-chan… you’re here?”
The look in his eyes is replaced by one of desperation. “Look,” he hisses in a hushed tone, “Close the door, lock it, and hide. And don’t open it, no matter what.”
“What do you-“
“Just do it!” he says quickly before walking off again, muttering under his breath.
Iwano decides to do as he says. Even if Kana-chan will laugh at her. Concentrating on her task, Iwano feels like she is being surrounded by a strange pressure that is building with every second. As if the hospital is, at the moment, an egg… and something is about to hatch from it.
***
Okuyama takes in deep breaths, looking at the sight in front of her. What is going on?
Dr. Usui lies dead in the room, red spreading across the front of his coat.
The door swings open behind her. She freezes up, her hackles raised.
Behind her, Tokigawa speaks. “Hey… Midori. I just wanted to ask you something. Can I? It’s about Dr. Usui.”
***
I. Sakimura Yuuki
II. Uehara Shizuka
III. Sakaki Okitsu
IV. Maeda Nami
V. Sawada Junichi
VI. Amanozaki Touko
The alarm buzzes. It is not a sound that can be ignored. Okuyama fumbles around groggily until she finds it and shuts it off. Time for work. The covers slip off of her as she gets out of bed. Her clothes and underwear are still strewn all over the floor, and she almost slaps her own forehead for having forgotten to bring her uniform into the laundry. Luckily she brought a fresh change of clothes, and there’ll be a spare set or two at the hospital that she can borrow.
As she is hooking up her bra, the man in the bed stirs. He peers at her blearily, half-awake, and says, “Hm? Okuyama, is it time already?”
“I’ve got my morning shift in a few hours, Usui-sensei. I’m sorry to wake you up, but I’ll be going out first.” Okuyama replies with her back turned to Usui, her bright voice a sharp contrast to the indifferent expression on her face.
“Alright. Are you coming over tonight?”
“I’m not sure yet. Tokigawa-san has something planned.”
“Ah, that boy,” chuckles Usui. “I think he applied for leave today. Something about being sick. Was that a lie? Well, if he cancels on you today, and you’re feeling lonely, you know where the key is.” With a grunt, he rolls over and goes back to bed.
Having finished dressing up, Okuyama checks her cell-phone. There is one new message from Tokigawa.
***
“I-I’m sorry! I swear, I’ll pay it back by the end of the month!” Tokigawa bows and scrapes before the scarred and tattooed man, touching his forehead to the dusty alley repeatedly.
“That’s what ya said last month. And the month before that. Hey, don’tcha get tired of telling lies, Toki-kun?” drawls the gangster in a Kansai accent. His associates surround Tokigawa, leaving him with no way out. “Hey, Toki-kun. Toki-kun! Look at me.”
Tokigawa raises his chin fearfully. The gangster whips out a switchblade and levels it at Tokigawa’s nose. “Honestly, the boss told me to get that pretty nose as recompense, but what would we actually do with it, right? It’s a useless piece of flesh!But, well… I heard you have a pretty girlfriend, Toki-kun. I seen the pics. Not a bad babe. She could make you a lotta money if you know the right people. Enough money to pay up your debt and more. Lucky for you, you do know the right people, eh?” He grins, wiggling his eyebrows at Tokigawa.
“No, not that! I’ll do anything, just don’t get her involved,” says Tokigawa quickly.
“You have no room to bargain, Toki-kun!” shouts the gangster. He drives his shoe into Tokigawa’s side. Tokigawa curls up, crying out in pain. “If you want us to listen to anything you say, show us the money!”
“L-Look… I’ll get it. I’ll get it soon…” pleads Tokigawa. “After tonight. After tonight, I’ll be able to pay everything back with interest! I could have run, right? I knew the date was today, but I still came to meet you anyway. I don’t want to run. I want to pay you back. I’m just hoping for an extension, just one day. Just until tomorrow morning.”
“That confident, eh?”
“Yes,” nods Tokigawa firmly. “Tomorrow morning you will have your money. If not, I accept all the consequences. No fuss… no fuss at all.”
The gangster scowls, staring down at Tokigawa from behind his sunglasses. “Hm…”
***
“Iwano Mitsuki-san. It’s time to return to your room.” Okuyama beckons at the girl, who is taking charge of a group of younger kids in the park. They are sitting on the smoothed-out stump of a large tree that used to stand on the premises – it is wide enough to accommodate all of them.
***
“Okay,” sings out Iwano, raising her hand. She turns around to address the children. “I’ll come back and play with you later, alright? Bye bye!”
The other boys and girls wave back. “Bye bye, Mitsuki onee-chan!”
Iwano hops off the stump and walks towards the nurse, who gives her an apologetic smile. The both of them begin to head towards the wards. “There’s a long treatment session scheduled for tonight. We have to start the preparations earlier, Mitsuki-chan, so you should get some early rest.”
“I know.” Iwano shrugs, trying and failing to keep the smile on her face.
“Are you alright?” asks the nurse in concern.
“Don’t worry, don’t worry! I’m fine! When the going gets tough, there’s no better time for the tough to go at it.”
“You like that saying, don’t you, Mitsuki-chan,” laughs the nurse.
“Onee-chan taught it to me when she was still staying here. The value of time is in how you spend it, she said. Well, we’re at my room. I’ll be fine by myself, Okuyama-san.” Giving the nurse a firm, confident smile, Iwano opens the door to her ward. She lets it close behind her as she totters towards the bed. Iwano falls onto the soft mattress, letting her face sink into its downy goodness.
She sighs. It’s tiring. Everything’s so tiring. But she can’t give up. Even though Onee-chan is no longer here, Iwano has to be a good girl and stay strong for the other kids. She rolls over, face-up and spread-eagled, and stares at the white ceiling panels.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spots someone standing there, in the corner of the room. A girl that wasn’t there before.
Kana-chan.
Here she is again.
***
“Are you sure about this?” Okuyama asks.
“The gold is somewhere in there, Midori. He showed it to me. I didn’t believe it at first… some silly ghost story about a phantom hospital hidden in a shiny new one, but it’s true.”
“If you’re sure…” Okuyama says, unconvinced.
Tokigawa nods firmly. “I’m sure. I know it sounds like superstitious bullshit, but it is true. Once he opens the way, we’ll be free to search for the gold. Anyway, after you’ve finished your rounds, go on ahead and wait for me in the usual room. I’ll be there soon. You won’t need to do a thing.”
***
There are noises in the corridor. Iwano sits up and moves towards the door, wondering what is going on outside. At the moment she pulls the door open, she spies a man passing by on the other side. She recognizes him: Tokigawa Kou-san, a pretty friendly guy who’s close to Nurse Okuyama. He’s always treated her kindly.
The medical student turns to face her. Iwano gasps in horror. His clothes are stained with blood. His eyes are wild, his gaze lost. “Mitsuki-chan… you’re here?”
The look in his eyes is replaced by one of desperation. “Look,” he hisses in a hushed tone, “Close the door, lock it, and hide. And don’t open it, no matter what.”
“What do you-“
“Just do it!” he says quickly before walking off again, muttering under his breath.
Iwano decides to do as he says. Even if Kana-chan will laugh at her. Concentrating on her task, Iwano feels like she is being surrounded by a strange pressure that is building with every second. As if the hospital is, at the moment, an egg… and something is about to hatch from it.
***
Okuyama takes in deep breaths, looking at the sight in front of her. What is going on?
Dr. Usui lies dead in the room, red spreading across the front of his coat.
The door swings open behind her. She freezes up, her hackles raised.
Behind her, Tokigawa speaks. “Hey… Midori. I just wanted to ask you something. Can I? It’s about Dr. Usui.”
***
I. Sakimura Yuuki
II. Uehara Shizuka
III. Sakaki Okitsu
IV. Maeda Nami
V. Sawada Junichi
VI. Amanozaki Touko
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- Jul 6, 2008
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It's implied that he did for the first question. The visions cut out before you can see if he kills Okuyama. He didn't kill any other people as far as you're aware.
Nevill
Arcane
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- Jun 6, 2009
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- 11,211
Uehara, Amanozaki, Maeda, Mitsuki and Mori are alright. Funny how we singled them out and only interacted with them.
Sakaki and Sakimura might turn out to be decent people as well.
treave,
Was Midori double-dating Usui and Tokigawa? What were her reasons to sleep with the former? Money? Career? Was she his agent?
He was aware of her relationship with the young doc and didn't seem to mind. Was she using Tokigawa at Usui's behest? Or was she genuinely attracted to him, perhaps viewing him as a hope to distance herself from her current life?
Who told Tokigawa about the gold? The one who was supposed to 'open the way'. Was that another person on the list?
Did Tokigawa have a weapon with him when Mitsuki saw him?
Nevill
Arcane
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We found Usui on a second floor with gun wounds. Where would Toki-kun get a gun?
Wait a second. Going back to the scene with us finding Usui's corpse, and...
On the other hand, we have finally confirmed that Mori's contact was Sawada. Good acting, bro.
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The money helps, but she's just the sort of free-spirited woman who can't be tied down to one man. Usui's also pretty skilled, so...
She hasn't really made up her mind one way or another. Usui didn't have her manipulating Tokigawa. She has been passing potentially profitable information she obtained from Usui to Tokigawa, on the other hand. This should have been the update but slipped my mind. She definitely likes Tokigawa more, but she doesn't love him, especially considering his financial problems.
Yup.
Not that she could see.
Nevill
Arcane
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- 11,211
Sawada. All things point to Sawada. He was pretending to be a hospital worker. He was in contact with Seiji. He could have shown him the secrets the hospital keeps hidden.
And of course it would be easy to trick Mori into believing you if you are a nurse.
Bet he was the one in contact with Amanozaki's dad, too.
But why Okuyama? How and why did they get her involved? I know, she was Usui's lover, but it doesn't look like she was summoned there specifically. She kinda happened to be there... Unless they were counting on Toki-kun to get her in this mess.
P.S. We dun fucked up by not pairing Taketatsu and Maeda.
Kz3r0
Arcane
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- May 28, 2008
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- 27,026
Remember when you argued about the fact that if Kaiano was a stand-in there should have been more than one?
As for now we have ascertained that the current people know about the ceremony or are involved in its making:
Kaiano, she herself claimed to be a stand-in.
Sawada, Seiji's henchman, very likely another stand-in.
Tokigawa, by now we know he was involved in the preparations of the ceremony, probably tricked in being another stand-in.
Now, I don't know if there is a one on one ratio, with six stand-ins and six sacrifices, but at this point is very likely that one among Sakaki and Sakimura is another stand-in, if not both, it also happens that they are the two of which we know nothing.
Sakaki can be pretty much one of the guys involved in the preparations(killing) for the ceremony, he is basically an occultist after all.
And considering that no one here is what it seems I doubt that Sakimura will turn out to be just a moronic teenager with the hots for Uehara.
Nevill
Arcane
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Tokigawa is innocent in a sense that he is a victim who was manipulated, not the one who was manipulating. They used him and tossed him away.
He is not a stand-in or a sleeper agent.
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But why Okuyama? How and why did they get her involved? I know, she was Usui's lover, but it doesn't look like she was summoned there specifically. She kinda happened to be there... Unless they were counting on Toki-kun to get her in this mess.
Okuyama was always going to be there on that day. Her shift guarantees that.
Sakimura is Seiji's half-brother.
Kz3r0
Arcane
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Why, Kaiano was manipulated too, Tokigawa was involved in the preparations for the ceremony, and he was well aware that involved bloodshed and used that for his petty revenge, as the final scene of the update demonstrates.
My point is that for now we know of three people involved in the preparations for the ceremony, how they were tricked into it is not relevant.
Nevill
Arcane
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Yes. But almost everyone else here wasn't. Mori, Amanozaki and Uehara were invited, Taketatsu was lured, Maeda went with Taketatsu to investigate a rumor someone undoubtedly told her for that specific reason. Tokigawa was pressed into it. Everyone here took an enormous amount of planning and preparation to get in place.
While Okuyama was there since the beginning.
It makes me wonder, what is so special about these people? Why couldn't they just use the hospital workers who also died here in droves? Why go to such lenghts?
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Nevill
Arcane
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You'd have to prove that.
He was told about Kaimei, yes, but he was in it for money. Nothing indicates that he knew more than that. Nothing indicates he had a hand in preparing for the experiment with Mitsuki.
In fact, I have reasons to believe the experiment that Juuzo had planned had nothing to do with what happened. No one was ready for it, except for maybe Sawada and Seiji. What preparations are we talking about?
And we still don't know why he killed Usui, though jealousy looks likely. But Usui wasn't a part of the ritual, was he?
Kz3r0
Arcane
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Let's do a quick review:It makes me wonder, what is so special about these people? Why couldn't they just use the hospital workers who died in droves? Why go to such lenghts?
Mitsuki is sensible to the spiritual world.
Uehara is the twin of Seika, the 'foundation' of this ghost world.
Kaiano is a relative of the pool ghost.
Mori is the uncle/grandad of Kana, one of the hospital's ghost as well.
Practically they are all related by blood ro some of the hospital ghosts.
I wonder if even the others have a similar connection.
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Mitsuki, too.
Nevill
Arcane
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Does it have to be blood, though?
Sakimura's friend went missing since this spring. Uehara said their friend was supposed to be here, perhaps they were talking about the same person. But Sakimura said he didn't hear about his since then, so must be different people.
Maeda lost Seiji. Sakaki lost Hidetaka.
Your theory makes sense. Still, the reasons for Okuyama's and Amanozaki's presence are unclear.
If Sakimura is connected to anyone, I would have thought about Mori, first, before thinking about Sawada and the like.
Mitsuki was brought here by Juuzo. The reasons that brought her there are external, so she counts as the one they lured in.
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