TBHK-Hanging on by a thread

The broken strings

"Ow!Crap!"
With a squeaky twang and pluck,the string on Tori's violin was snapped,it reeled back and hit her knuckles.She swore quietly and dropped the instrument,flinching at the clunking sound it made when it hit the carpeted floor.
'Aw jeez!Why'd I put off lessons for so long!?'
She thought bitterly.Picking up the battered instrument and then her slightly bleeding knuckles,she shrugged and carefully picked off the string and placed it on her sheet stand,
'I think it's time for a new one.'
She stood there,hands on her hips,flinching as her bedroom door swung open and in walked Mitsuba,camera slung around his neck.He raised an eyebrow at her,
"What's up?"

"THE HELL DID YOU JUST BARGE IN HERE FOR!?"
"Your dad let me in."
"DAMMIT DAD!"
Mitsuba sat down on Tori's bed,making himself comfortable and stared at her intently,
"What do you want Mitsuba?"
"Well we start high school in a week,don't you want to spend the last week of the summer doing something fun?Like the theatre or playing skee-ball at the arcade?"
Tori frowned,crossing her arms.Sousuke Mitsuba was someone she met in elementary school.He used to be so shy and timid,but now he was loud,wanted attention,a bit obnoxiously rude and obsessed with that camera he cherished so dearly after his own father passed away.Tori sighed,turning to her new uniform dress hanging on her closet door.
"Sure.I'll find some quarters somewhere."
"Seriously?We're in a modern generation Kendo."

"Well you know me,I like to stick with the old fashioned ways."
"Speaking of old fashioned;have you heard the reviews of our new school?Kamome?"
Tori glanced back to her friend,ushering him out the room so she could get changed,
"Oh yeah?What reviews?"
"There used to be one building but there's a new one.Not to mention they've apparently abandoned several club rooms and stuff."
"Club rooms?"
"Like the broadcasting club room and the library is off limits for a while for the first few weeks.And that's not to mention the rumours."
Tori paused as she was slipping into some overalls,
"Rumours?About what now?"
"There's some wild stuff saying the school's haunted by ghosts and monsters.It's kinda stupid actually."
Mitsuba gasped as Tori yanked the door open,dressed in a plain white tee and her favourite overalls,brown stockings and dirty sneakers.

"You said ghosts?"
Mitsuba nodded,his small ponytail moving with the motion.
"I was doing some research when I was developing my photos at the library and I read something saying that Kamome Gakuen has been home to the seven wonders-was that the word?Anyway there's like these seven ghosts and there's seven of them-"
"You already said that Mitsuba."
Tori said dryly.Mitsuba frowned and made a 'who cares' face.
"ANYWAY-each one has a different rumour to-I don't know!Summon them?Personally I don't think why anyone would be that stupid!"
Tori nodded but she was only half listening.Her mind went back to her brown,long sleeved cuffed dress hanging from that doorknob,even when she had accompanied her mother to buy it,there was something eerie about the place,like something was watching her.She shook her head and turned back to her friend,
"Ok let's go."
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On the way to the arcade,the pair had joked and chatted nonchalantly about their school plans for their first year of high school.Mitsuba had said he was obviously going to join the photography club,as he was snapping shots of a dead cicada.
"Very charming Mitsuba."
"Alright then miss-know-it-all,what clubs are you joining then?"
"The music club doofus."
Mitsuba gasped and dramatically clutched his chest,
"Ack!My cute demeanour has been crushed by the likes of Tori Kendo!"
"Get up before you get swamped on tiny."
Mitsuba cried internally,sure he had the looks,the flawless hair and the cute eyes,but Tori was just slightly taller then him.
"Oh calm down you'll get your growth spurt soon enough."
Tori said,snickering slightly as they reached a crosswalk.Mitsuba folded his arms,rolling his eyes,
"Whatever.Wait for me would you?HEY-!WATCH OUT TORI!"

Tori hummed in confusion,frowning,she turned to the side and gasped as a car came speeding straight in front of her,the driver honking the shrill sounding horn.Y'know the saying 'fight or flight'?Well I heard there's a third,freeze.And that's what Tori did,she froze in a cold sweat,unable to move even a nerve in her finger.Her brown eyes were glossed and unmoving.Her vision was replaced with a blinding light,when her vision returned,she saw flashing images of various people and distorted voices talking in overwhelmingly different tones.

She saw a blurred image of a Mitsuba but he was older and more translucent,she saw two anxious faces and had never seen before,a pretty girl with long light hair with green ends and worried magenta eyes and an orange haired boy with angry blue eyes and a strange trident in his hands.The vision faded and was replaced with another translucent figure,a short boy with brown hair and a funny looking hat on his head and a white,red writing kanji seal on his left cheek,the same worried eyes staring at her with amber eyes,etched with the same expression as the previous pair.The boy suddenly closed his eyes and disappeared behind white smoke which turned black and another boy appeared,he looked identical to the other one she had seen.

Except he was smiling with a sinister glint in his eyes,a glare that unnerved Tori.He had the same facial features except the seal was black and he had small fangs in teeth.Tori's fogged vision was now gone and the afternoon light was coming back to her.She could see the headlights moving closer and the driver slamming the breaks down as hard as they could.Tori was still motionless with shock,she had been inches away from Death's cold,looming embrace,she could almost hear him laughing over her.She was pulled back to reality as she was snatched away and dragged to the sidewalk.

"M-Mitsuba?"
"YOU JACKASS!WHAT WERE YOU DOING!?"
"I-I was. . ."
Tori looked around,she could see a small crowd staring at her and Mitsuba,the driver was a young woman,shocked by her own mistake.Mitsuba sighed and shook his head,
"Are you ok though?That happened so fast!"
Tori couldn't say anything,she just shrugged hastily and shook her head.
"I'm fine.What should we do?"
"Forget skee-ball.We'll go tomorrow when your not colder than the Antarctic!Jeez your as white as paper Tori!"
"I know. . .I-I'm so sorry.I'll be more mindful next time."
'I hope there won't be a next time of that!'
She thought nervously.Her mind was in a daze as Mitsuba walked her to his house,his mother endlessly fretting and worrying about her.Tori sat there,tapping her foot on the floor worriedly.Who were those people?What impact did they have on her future?She shook her head and leaned on Mitsuba's shoulder,he didn't react but simply sighed.
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Who else has listened to Megumi Ogata's (sub va for the twins) cover of No.7?It's very good.The next chapter will sort of fast forward to about a year.