[b]“Hey. Do we not count? I mean I know I'm not an angel but...”[/b]

Sho turned at the sound of Haruka’s voice. He managed a weak smile as she walked over to him and Toby, still regaining his strength. He suddenly felt awkward to be sitting on the ground while the others were standing, so he forced his tired legs to hoist himself up.

“Hey, Haruka,” Sho said, stretching his arms over his head. “Glad to see you made it to the pink afterlife with us. For a second I was scared it would just be me and Toby, here –no offense, bro.”

Sho watched as Haruka moved to Suzume’s side to wake her up. That little voice in the back of his mind irritatingly told him he should have been the one to do that. He ignored it. Haruka was Suzume’s friend too, so why shouldn’t she help her up? Nevertheless, he walked over to stand by Haruka when Suzume woke up.

[b]“Toby? Sho? You guys okay?”[/b]

“Yep! Good as new,” Sho replied. He felt a pang of anxiety for her though. She looked pale and had a bloody nose. Suzume managed to stand up, at which he was slightly impressed. It had taken Sho a couple minutes before the lead-feeling subsided enough for him to get off his butt. The girl began embracing everyone in turn. Now that he knew she was a hugger, Sho wasn’t as startled when she rounded on him. He returned the embrace this time.

[b]“What did we get ourselves into?”[/b] Suzume asked.

[b]“I-I t-think a r-really bad g-ghost story,”[/b] Toby stuttered out in reply. He looked completely horrified at the fact that he was just hugged by a girl. Sho wondered briefly if he ever had before.

“That, or we’re just the next victims of [i][u]Panic Face King[/u][/i],” Sho mused. “Although this would be hard even for them to pull off.”

He glanced back at Haruka, who was walking up to the entrance of the old building. He had to give her props for going through with their original plan after the spontaneous mass-blackout. She seemed to be having trouble with the door, though.

[b]“Could... someone help me with this?”[/b]

“I gotcha,” Sho called back to her. He trotted down to the entrance and checked to see if it was a push or pull door. Deciding he needed to pull, Sho planted his feet and grabbed the handle. He gave it a sharp jerk and it gave way, swinging open with a loud groan. He stumbled back slightly, momentarily losing his balance when the door opened.

“Huh,” Sho murmured, running his finger over the side of the door. “The sides were rusted to the frame a little bit. No wonder it was stuck like that.” He peered inside the entry way and gave a soft whistle. “Pitch black. Did anyone bring a flashlight?”