The fourth floor at night looked completely different from how it appeared during the day. The hallway stretched out before them: long, dim, and bathed in the pale blue light of the moon spilling through the dusty windows.
The old wooden floors groaned quietly under their steps, and every breath they took formed little clouds in the cold air. Even the walls, lined with old classroom doors, leaned inward slightly, as if they were listening.
Their flashlights flickered weakly, barely cutting through the darkness. Minato swung his light lazily from side to side, his usual grin still on his face. "Man, this place looks straight out of a horror movie. Love it."
Reina chuckled beside him, slipping the school keys back into her pocket. "You'd better still be laughing when something jumps out at you."
"I'll just punch it," Minato said confidently, throwing a mock punch at the air.
Koharu clung tightly to Ruri's sleeve, her eyes darting around nervously. "Ruri... If you hear me scream, just leave me. Save yourself."
"I'll think about it," Ruri teased softly, although her own nerves prickled under her skin. Even Reina, usually calm, kept glancing back down the hallway as if expecting something to move.
Ryo walked a little ahead of them, hands in his jacket pockets, calm and steady. His flashlight beam scanned the walls with a slow, casual rhythm, as if he were just taking an evening stroll.
They passed classroom after classroom, the doors closed, and silence thick. A soft creak echoed from somewhere above them.
Koharu gasped. "W-What was that?!"
"Relax,"Minato said, tapping the wall lightly with his fist. "It's just the building settling. Old buildings like this groan at night like an old man complaining about his back."
"Sounds more like ghosts complaining they're lonely," Reina said with a smirk.
Koharu whimpered. "That's not funny..."
Finally, they reached the end of the hallway, the old music room. The door was slightly ajar, just enough to reveal the pitch-black interior.
Reina slipped the key into the lock and pushed the door open wider with a creak. Inside, the darkness felt even thicker. Their flashlights skimmed across forgotten chairs, a dusty grand piano, and something else, slumped in the far corner.
The light caught on it a pale shape, dressed in ragged clothes with a featureless face. Koharu screamed immediately, and Ruri took a startled step back.
"What the hell-?!"Reina yelped. Even Minato froze, blinking hard.
Then Ryo stepped forward without hesitation, his flashlight steady. He crouched slightly and tapped the figure. "It's just a mannequin," he said simply.
Everyone exhaled at once. Reina ran a hand through her hair. "Who the heck leaves something like that in here?"
"Probably the art club," Ruri muttered, trying to slow her racing heart.
Minato approached cautiously, poking it with the tip of his sneaker. "Man... in this lighting, it looked way too real."
They explored the room a little more, carefully stepping around music stands and scattered sheet music. The light switches didn't work, the breaker was off for this wing after hours. Only their flashlights painted the walls in shaky pools of light.
Koharu leaned close to Ruri. "This was a bad idea."
"You're the one who wanted to come," Ruri whispered back.
They gathered near the old piano, the center of the rumor they came to investigate. As they talked quietly, trying to make jokes to push back the heavy atmosphere.
Pliiing...
A sharp note echoed from the piano. They froze, the flashlight beams jumping wildly.
Then-
Pling... plong... pliing...
The keys were moving by themselves.
"NOPE!"Koharu shrieked, grabbing Ruri's hand in a death grip. Minato's smile dropped, just for a second, his eyes widening slightly. He stepped back instinctively, his heart hammering. (He hadn't seen anything, but that sound was wrong.
Reina swore under her breath. "Go, go, go—!!"
In a burst of panic, they bolted from the room, flashlights swinging wildly, footsteps pounding. But none of them noticed Ryo hadn't followed.
Inside the Music Room Alone
Ryo stayed where he was, calm and steady. He moved slowly around the piano, his eyes sharp. Another soft note rang out. He crouched low, feeling along the sides of the piano. The room was cold-colder near the windows, where a few cracked panes let in a steady draft. He touched the body of the piano and felt the subtle vibration against his fingertips.
Old wood. Tension in the strings. Drafts slipping through the cracks. He shifted his light under the piano and saw it: a thin piece of fallen paper, likely old sheet music, half wedged under a broken key. The draft caught the paper, making it flutter just enough to nudge the key. A slight push, a note. Another flutter, another sound. The illusion of a ghostly hand playing.
Simply physics. No ghosts.
Ryo stood, brushing dust from his jeans.
____________________________________________
Meanwhile, In the Hallway
Minato, Reina, Koharu, and Ruri crouched in the shadowed hallway, panting.
"Wait, wait... Where's Ryo?!" Reina gasped, looking around anxiously.
Koharu's face turned pale.
"Don't tell me he got... caught by the ghost!"
Without waiting for an answer, they turned back. Just as they approached the door, it creaked open, and Ryo stepped out casually, dusting off his sleeves.
"You left in a hurry," he said in a lighthearted tone.
Minato let out a short, shaky laugh, trying to act as if he hadn't been scared at all.
"Hah, just testing the emergency exit plan."
Reina playfully smacked his arm.
Ryo held up a piece of the torn sheet music.
"It wasn't a ghost," he explained simply. "The broken window was letting in cold air. The draft caused this sheet to move, which made a loose key play a note."
They all stared at him, speechless. Ruri felt her skin prickle not from fear, but from something else. How could he remain so calm? How could he figure it out so quickly? It was as if he had done this before.
Ryo glanced back at the now-silent music room, his eyes lingering on the shadows pooling in the corners. For a brief moment, Ruri thought she saw something behind him, a deeper shadow slipping away from the cracked window.
There was no breeze this time. No sheet music moving. And this time, no explanation.