< Meanwhile, at best karaoke, Yuji, and hamada Karaoke Booth. >

" May the river... Flow."

Hamada closes her eyes after she had finished singing the song.

* Clap* *Clap* *Clap*

The sound of hands being clapped together echoed around the booth as Hamada open her eyes to see Yuji clapping a round of applause with a smile that Hamada blushes deeply in embarrassment as she went to sit down as grabbed a cup of water to lubricate her vocal cord, due to her singing for 6 minutes.

And once Hamada had sat down, Yuji stopped clapping as he also grabbed his cherry soda he looks away from Hamada as he cannot believe how cute she is when she blushed.

" Hey, Yuji."

Yuji turned his attention to Hamada as he started to blush so deeply that he was as red as a red carpet because what he sees is a side he has never seen before about Hamada. After all, the Hamada he sees is her being shy as she looks at her left with a huge, deep blush.

And seeing this side of her. Yuji blushed even more as he looked away and he nervously asked Hamada.

" E-erm, y-yes?

Everything became quiet for the both of them for a while, except for the random music being played around the booth.

" Yuji-Kun."

Yuji then looks at Hamada in shock as this was the first time that Hamada called his name with a " Kun ", and not only that but when Yuji looks at Hamada. What he sees, is what every idiotic otaku would dream of, because Hamada is showing a face that means that there is something that she wanted to say to him. (Which is what every Otaku are expecting- Guangzhong)

" Y-yes?"

Yuji nervously asked as he quickly looked away in embarrassment as Hamada also looked away from him. The both of them are now in a huge blushing mess on their faces as they all became quiet as the entire room became much quieter, besides the music still playing.

[ Meanwhile at the other booth.]

meanwhile, at one of the karaoke booths, which is close to the karaoke entrance and also eight doors away from the booth where Yuji and Hamada are.

Inside, there is a very wild party as there are two boys in the far-right corner, having an arm wrestle as a group of sixteen people cheering them on as they all each bet on each other to see which side won. While at the left side of the booth, about 5-6 female students were gathering as they all cheered for the person standing in front of the screen was Steve smith, a 179 cm tall transfer student from the United States of America, and he was a popular student being surrounded by all girls since because of his handsome brown hair and hazel eyes, along with him being average build and also wearing a glasses.

"All right. Are any of you ladies going to say anything to me before I sing it to your heart~?"

Steve flirtily questions the girls as each of them either giggles or blushes as they all look at Steve with their dreamy eyes as they each bite their lower lips in a perverted way as Steve himself, was about to sing.

Until the sound of the door banging shook them in fright as everyone at once stopped what they are doing as they all turned their attention towards the doors as everything became as quiet as a library.

Hearing nothing back. Everyone goes back to what they were doing until the same knocking came back again a few minutes later, but this time they heard something that will give them forever chills in their very spines.

*Bang* Bang* Bang*

" LET ME IN, PLEASE YA GOTTA HELP ME!"

* BANG* BANG*BANG*BANG*BANG*

" PLEASE, I AM BEGGING YOU! LET ME- OH NO! Please, I beg of you, don't hurt, please don't. Oh no, no, no, no, no, no no no no no no no NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!"

* BANG * BANG * BANG * BANG * BANG*

" SOMEBODY HELP ME, PLE- KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!"

The sound of the woman screaming in both fear and pain could be heard through the door at once, everyone starts to feel even more chills in their spines as they all hear the sound of crunching which also make their stomachs turn.

* Crunch* Crunch* Crunch* Crunch* Crunch*

As the crunching continues. Everybody in the booth began to feel themselves being terrified as they are all scared of whatever is outside, is going to get them.

However, the crunching stopped. Instead, it is now nothing but silence as you can even hear the sound of everyone breathing heavily in fear.

But it wasn't until the silence was broken by one student who is now walking closer to the door with each step he took, that his legs will start to shiver more and then even more as he use his right hand to grab hold of the doorknob as he nervously but slowly turned the knob as he opens slowly as his eyes laid on a female body, lying down on the floor covered in blood that got the boy to be frightened that both his hand and legs are now shaking in fear.

" E-erm, Md'm? Is everything all right?"

The boy nervously and stupidly asked as he look at the woman's left hand lying backwards he suddenly notices both her index and middle fingers twitched a little bit, he rubbed both his eyes, as he looked closely until he sees both the woman's fingers, begin to twitch together a little bit and then twitched a little bit again until he realized that her entire body began to twitch together the woman lazily get herself up from the floor while her body was twitching until she finally stood up with her back being hunched down as both her arms were just left dangling as she just stood there and just only stare at the dark long hallway.

' E-erm, Md'm? I-is e-everything a-a-alright?"

Again, the boy stupidly, and nervously asked the woman, but instead of a response, the only thing that will answer back his questions. Is something that will forever be terrifying for him when he goes to the afterlife.

There as his eyes gazed on, what he is seeing, is the head of the woman being turned at a 180-degree turn as he looked at her monstrous wide smile with her teeth showing shark-like fangs as he also notices her bright red eyes. And before he could do anything, the woman lunges herself at the poor boy as she opened her mouth wide, and she then gave a huge bite at the boy's neck as her teeth sink in deep into the skin as her saliva start to drool down through the boy's necks as she tackles him on the floor.

And knowing what is happening around him at the very last minute. The poor boy screamed in pain as he desperately tried to force the woman to let go of him by trying to hit her on both her head and back, scratching her, and even pulling her hair out with force as his eyes only looked at the woman dead bright red eyes staring right through his soul as he soon starts to lose sight of consciousness as his eyelid slowly closes as both of his arms went numb as the colour of his skin start to suddenly change into a skin of what a corpse would look like.

And as for his friends.

They all just stay where they are as the only thing they can only do, is to see one of their classmates being attacked as many of their faces go as pale as a white sheet as they see drops of blood dripping out of their classmate’s neck as they also see the changes of his skin coloured being turned from his normal colour to a corpse colour as they only looked at him being suffered as not only none of them did anything to help, but none of them has an act of single courage to help their poor classmates, even Steve Smith, a transferred American teenager who like to bragged and showed off to all of his female Japanese classmates about how strong he was by beating up a group of 8 thugs, did not even try to even save his classmates since all of his promise of protecting them and also being strong. Was a huge lie.

The only thing that they can do, is to only stupidly stare as they just stood like a statue.

And so, everybody can only look fearfully as none of them made a simple sound, even though most of them would have screamed in fright but they didn't, and because of their stupid thinking of believing that it is some kind of celebration of an event that they would just simply ignored it in their head until they finally and stupidly realized the situation due to the sight and smell of the drops of blood that was dripping/drooling out of their classmate's neck. That brings them back to realities.

And this is when their real fear began.

The woman releases her mouth from the now-dead boy's neck, and she stood up stumbling as her head was down as drip of blood continued to drop out of her mouth as she lifts her head to stare at every one of them as she began to slowly and stumbling walk towards them all.

And each step she took, she began to slowly give out a huge wide creepy grin as she opened it widely as she reveals to everybody her shark-like teeth as she began to be in a position of how a predator would do to hunt their prey as she also growled like a wild animal.

And not just only her alone, but the now-dead boy, who also slowly but stumbly stood up as all of his classmates only looked at him both shocked and terrified as they all see his entire skin had been changed into a corpse skin, but not just only that, the real most terrifying and most disgusting transformation that they have ever seen, was the transformation of his teeth being popped out altogether as a shark-like tooth began to slowly emerge coming out of the gum as the boy's eyes began to lose the iris and pupil colour as it began to slowly turn full white as same as the sclera colours as bright red blood started to flow down from the upper eyes as it slowly and fully covered the eyes as it starts to mysteriously get brighter.

And once the transformation was completed. The dead boy slowly and carefully looks around its surrounding like a newborn baby as it slowly starts to get used to it, until it laid its eyes on everybody, including the woman.

And then, it starts to sprint toward the student as the woman also follows, and each of them opened their mouth very monstrously wide as they lunge at all the poor and helpless students as each of them screams in fright as their final word.

[ At Yuji and Hamada booth.]

Now back at the booth where Yuji and Hamada are in.

The booth’s atmosphere is quiet, too quiet, except for the music being played. As both Yuji and Hamada just sit there back-to-back from a few distances apart, while still blushing madly as they look like an idiotic couple that came out of a drama show.

Feeling this sense of awkwardness and silence in the room. Yuji then takes a deep breath he takes one gulp in his throat as he prepares to say something.

“Ha- “

“Yuji-Kun…”

Yuji go quiet again as Hamada started speaking.

“Do you remember that day, when we first met?”

Hearing the last part, Yuji turns to see Hamada, calmly looking at the screen in which he follows her gaze on the television screen as he sees a scenery of a lonely cherry blossom tree, blooming beautifully as many petals were being blown away from the tree by the gentle breezing wind.

Seeing the tree, Yuji starts to remember the day he and Hamada first met when they were just kids.

[ 11 years ago]

A lonely cherry blossom tree standing almost close to the coast of the Kido River (about a few inches away). As the wind blew away petals from the branches, some flowed and dropped on the river's stream, while others flew to the other side.

At the bottom and the roots of the tree, there seated the 6-year-old Yuji, slouching and hugging his legs close as he looked down at the river. As his eyes show depression deep inside them, while some tears were flowing slowly from his eyes as he rubbed them away with his arm and then sniffed.

Looking down at his water reflection and stays silent as he watches the water waver and cherry blossom land on the water as it sways away by the flowing river. Until the waters were splashed by a pebble being thrown.

Which surprised Yuji shock that he looks around to see where the pebble had been thrown from until another was thrown as it hit the water, creating another splash, which again surprise the frail little Yuji as he follow the trace from where the rock was thrown as he looked to his right to see a tomboyish little girl looking at him with a curious look.

Yuji looked at the girl as she waved at him to get his attention. And seeing she got his attention, the girl then ran towards him with a smile as she hurriedly approached him.

And when she is now standing in front of Yuji, she squats down as she faces him eye to eye, with a smile still on her face. As Yuji just look at the girl with a confused face as he examines the girl up and down from her dirty and little torn-up clothes to her face covered up in a little mud.

It then became very awkward for Yuji, as the girl stared at him like a curious animal examining an object that was too foreign to them.

Until the girl smiled at him, she took her hand out, offering a handshake.

“I am Hamada!” Exclaimed the girl as she smiles gleefully.

Yuji on the other hand just looked at her as if thinking she is, weird. But seeing her hand still out and offering the handshake.

He nervously took it as he replied nervously to her.

“I am Y-Yuji.”

Hearing his response, the young Hamada shook Yuji’s hand roughly as she giggled in delight, as Yuji, himself, blushed a little after hearing Hamada giggle.

“Let’s be friends!” Hamada exclaimed as she laughed happily.

Hearing the word “friends”, Yuji’s eyes widen a little bit as it was the first time he was asked to be the friend of someone he didn’t meet.

Although he wanted to refuse to be her friend as he remembered how he was tricked and fooled by other kids that he had once called “friends” until he experiences things that he does not want to remember as he became distant from every kid. But seeing the smiles of Hamada, he could only see in her eyes nothing but innocent, and a kind heart in her, so he replied to her.

“Sure…”