Author's Note: Hello! This is my first book, and the version you are reading is edited. I wrote this chapter two years ago, and when I was going back on it, I was surprised how bad my English was. So I took it upon myself to edit all the chapters before publishing a new one. Some of the chapters will be heavily edited, the whole storyline changed but in some, it will probably be minor changes. Thanks!

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The Japanese Urban Legend of Kuchisake Onna, also known as, 'The Slit-Mouthed Woman', goes back to the Heian period of Japan's history, roughly 1200-800 years ago. I want to tell this story as some modern high school students' point of view, not the actual way it happened, but I will write how she was created.

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Carter's POV

I was half asleep in my last period English class when the bell above the clock rang, jerking me awake. The bell rang three times, indicating that the principal had an important message. That was annoying. School was right about to end, and here was the principal with an announcement. Blinking away my sleep, I walked out the door with all the other students from the school and made a beeline for the auditorium.

I looked around for my friends, mostly Nora, when someone put a hand on my shoulder, scaring the lights out of me. I turned around and came face to face with Jocelyn and Shawn.

"Jeez, man, you scared the lights out of me," I muttered.

"Sorry. Any idea what the problem is?" Shawn asked, pushing his glasses up with his finger. "Your dad is your English teacher after all."

"Nope, but have any of you seen Nora?" They just shook their heads. Once we made in the auditorium, I saw a mop of honey blonde hair and pointed over there.

Sure enough, it was Nora. We sat down next to her, my hand in her's. The principal, a bald man in his 50s, tapped the mic, before speaking.

"Hello, students and teachers. As you all know, I never give any announcements, its usually the vice-principal, but this is really important. So you should pay attention, Brad," He glared at Brad, some popular kid sitting in the front, talking to someone. A wave of chuckle rang through the full auditorium.

"I ask everyone in this school to never go home, or anywhere, alone. Always take a friend. For a few weeks now, a serial killer has been attacking and murdering people, a lot of them being students. I'm not allowed to say anything more than this, as it is confidential, so just please be careful. You are dismissed, now go to your clubs or home."

With that, he jumped off the stage and went out of the auditorium, probably on his way to his office. I looked at the others, and they too, like me, had a glum face.

(Oliver's POV)

I sighed in frustration as I walked down the street. I have been roaming the streets after dark, alone, trying to find this serial killer. Look, I'm bored. Out of my mind. I really want something to do other than stay at home and listen to my little sister's annoying babbling.

I was walking around when I saw a figure out of the corner of my eye as I crossed a dimly lit alley. I did a double-take and saw a girl, a woman to be exact, standing between the dumpsters. She had long black hair to her waist, and she wore a mask, the type you wear when you are sick. I then saw her eyes. They were golden.

She raised her hand and motioned for me to come to her. Her eyes were the ones that pulled me towards her, they were that enchanting. I walked up to her, mesmerized, and her mask rose slightly, telling me her cheeks rose in a smile. I, too, smiled.

"Hello," She said.

"Hi,"

She stared at me. After a bit, I cleared my throat. "What are you doing here? It's dangerous for you-"

"Am I pretty?" She asked, interrupting me. I blinked.

"Sorry?"

"Am I pretty?"

I frowned. Only kids come up to strangers and ask if they are pretty. But her eyes, her hair and her skin, from what I could see, were perfect.

"Yes," I said.

She closed her eyes for some time, and when she opened them, something about it looked different, but I couldn't put my finger on it. She put her finger on the nose of her mask and tugged it down. It took me a second to realize what was wrong with her face.

"Oh shit!" I moved back, tripping on my heels. This girl, her face was messed up. From ear to ear, like a creepy smile, there was a cut on her face. The cut was jagged and red and looked like someone did it with a rusty blade.

She bent over me. "Am I pretty now?" I stared at her and she stared back at me. I could see her teeth all the way to the back. Feeling like I was going to throw up, I shook my head.

"No, ew no. I don't know how you think you are pretty. Only your eyes and hair are nice, but otherwise, you are ugly," I said, getting up and walking away. Before I could get to the sidewalk, she grabbed me and pulled me back.

"You called me ugly, didn't you? Well, I'm going to turn you ugly as well!" I saw a flash of silver before I fell to the floor, screaming in pain as my blood covered my hands and clothes.

I looked up, and she wiped the bloody weapon, a pair of scissors, on my shirt. She then held it in front of me, and I screamed as I saw the exact same cut on my face in the reflection. She stabbed the knife into my throat, and as I slowly breathed my last breath, I could hear her giggling and running away from me.

(Drew's POV)

I kicked a pebble away from me as I trudged down the hill to my house in the dark. I was supposed to walk home with my older sister Silena, but she was home, sick. Bored, I kicked the pebble hard, and it landed near a figure's feet. I looked up and found golden eyes staring at mine.

"Hello!" The woman chirped. She had a mask on and long black hair.

I raised an eyebrow. "Hi?"

"Am I pretty?"

"Excuse me?" I frowned.

She looked slightly annoyed. "Am I pretty?"

I looked her up and down. She was pretty, with her raven black hair and golden eyes.

"Yes?" The woman closed her eyes and her mask lifted slightly, so she was giving me a closed eye smile.

"Well, then," She said, her hand on her mask. "Am I pretty now?"

She pulled her mask down, and I screamed in horror.

"OH MY GOD!!" I screamed. A big cut, from ear to ear, was on her face, and she was smiling. Her bright golden eyes were dark and almost brown.

"Am I pretty?" She asked again.

"I- I, yes?"

She frowned. "Am I pretty? I asked for an answer, not a question."

I knew if I said no, she would kill me. "Y-yes. You are very pretty. But I have to go, my older sister is sick, and I need to go help her." With that, I started running, but she grabbed me by my school bag and pulled me back.

"I'm sorry about your sister, but, you see, I like to spread my beauty."

Pain erupted on my cheek, making me fall down. She pulled a bloody scissor away from my face, before wiping it on my designer bag. I looked at my reflection on the now clean slate and screamed. We both had the same cut on our faces.

"You are very pretty," She said with a sweet smile, or at least, how sweet her smile could be with a slash on her face. "but not better than me." With that, she stabbed the scissors in my heart before running away, giggling.

(Nora's POV)

It was dusk by the time we were out of school. Carter had swimming practice, Shawn and I were in the debate club, and Jocelyn was in the LGBTQ+ club, helping a friend accept who they were. I also had to go to the library to drop a book about urban legends off. We all had the plan to go to Carter's for the night before Shawn left for his mom's house because Thalia his younger sister had a fight with their mom and he needed to drop her off at their dad's. Jocelyn also had to go comfort her friend after a messy breakup.

We were walking in the dark, with Carter and Shawn bro-mancing, while Jocelyn and I rolled our eyes at what they said, and just talked about our families. Carter and I were dating, as well as Shawn and Jocelyn, but it feels like the boys were dating each other at times. We were three blocks away from Carter's house when Jocelyn and I saw a flash of silver a few yards in front of us.

"Did you see that?" Jocelyn frowned. I nodded, squinting in the darkness, to see what it was. It was a woman, and she was wearing a mask, her long black hair on her shoulders. She looked at us and waved. That is when I saw her eyes. They were golden and seemed to glow slightly.

A cold feeling erupted in my chest, and I grabbed Carter's hand, pulling him across the street without even looking for cars.

"Wait up!" Shawn yelled as he and Jocelyn followed. I didn't mean to leave them behind, and kind of felt guilty about it. Once all of us were on the other side of the street, I looked back, and the woman was gone. Wheezing heavily from fear, I stood up straight.

"What happened, Nora?" Carter asked.

"I'll tell you later, first let's go home. Now." I said, walking forward. It was so quiet, I could hear my heart piping blood to my brain. I was so distracted, I hadn't noticed the others had stopped.

"Carter?" I moved towards him and froze when I saw her in front of him. Her golden eyes pierced my grey ones before turning to Carter.

"Yes?" Carter asked looking at her.

"Am I pretty?" She asked.

Percy looked confused, and I would've pulled him back, but I was frozen.

"Um, I guess?" Carter said. Yep, it was too late. She let out a giggle, and I moved in front of Carter protectively.

"Do not panic" I called out, just as she pulled her mask down. Jocelyn took a quick breath in, her pepper spray in her hands in a flash, and Shawn took a step back. Carter stood there, eyes wide. I shook my head.

She was smiling, showing off her pearly white teeth. "Well, then, am I pretty?" She asked again.

I nudged Carter.

"Yes," he said hesitantly.

"No," I called out. Carter blinked.

"No," He repeated. I mentally slapped him.

"Yes," I said.

"Yes," he said. I glared at him. The poor soul stared back at me, his sea-green eyes filled with confusion as to what I was doing and why I was going against him. I sighed.

"Say the opposite to what she says" Jocelyn whispered.

"OH, um, no,"

"Yes," I said, glaring at her.

"No,"

"Yes,"

"No,"

She turned around, a hand on her chin, as she thought of what we meant. At that moment, I grabbed the first two hands I saw, which happened to be Carter's and Jocelyn's, and tugged them, Shawn holding Jocelyn's other hand. We ran the three blocks to Carter's place.

Once his mom let us in, I jumped on the couch and sighed, feeling the adrenaline flowing in my veins. His mom Sally had a plate of freshly baked cookies. I took one along with the others. Carter sat down next to me, Sally on the loveseat, and Piper and Jason on an adjacent couch.

"What happened? You all look burnt out." Sally asked.

"More importantly, what was that?" Carter asked. I sighed and brushed off some crumbs from my lap.

"Ever heard of Urban Legends?" I asked. They all stared at me.

"I'll take that as a no. When my stepmother joined our family, I hated her. So I spent most of my time outside to stay away from her. My safe place was the library. I remember finding a book labelled URBAN LEGENDS, and I read it. It was horrifying for a seven-year-old."

"The first story was named Kuchisake Onna."

"Kuchi- what?" Carter asked. I tried hard not to chuckle.

"Kuchisake Onna. It means Slit Mouthed Woman in Japanese."

"Ah. That clears a lot." Shawn said.

"Hundreds of years ago, in a small village in Japan, there lived the most beautiful woman. Every man wanted to marry her, but she already had a husband. She had long black hair and golden eyes. She used to go around the village, asking people if she was pretty. Everyone always said yes."

"Well, her husband was getting annoyed, because when she would ask men, they would always look at her in a lewd way."

"Kinda like Carter looks at Sally's cookies," Jocelyn said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Heyyy..." Carter whined, and Sally chuckled. I managed a small smile as well.

"Anyways, her husband prevented her from asking that ever again, but she kept on doing so behind his back. Thinking that she was pretty enough to do anything, she began cheating on him, and she was caught. Her husband, mad and filled with fury, grabbed the first thing he saw, a pair of scissors, and cut her mouth, from ear to ear."

Sally made a face.

"She ended up bleeding to death, but years later, she woke as a vengeful spirit. Now, she goes on asking people if she was pretty. Everyone would say yes because of her eyes. Then when she would take off her mask, their lives depended on their answer. If they said she was pretty, she would cut them the way she was cut by her husband, claiming to be spreading beauty. If they said no, she was not pretty, she would get mad and do the same thing. Both ways, you die with a scar on your face."

"So how did we escape her?" Jocelyn asked.

"By confusing her," Shawn said before I could speak. I nodded.

"That's right. One way is confusing her. When she asks you the question, you either say yes and no very fast or say maybe or "you are average". When she is trying to figure out your answer, that's when you run. The other way is throwing hard candy at her."

They all frowned.

"She used to love hard candy, and it was the last thing she had before dying, so it reminds her of her childhood."

"Ah."

"Yes."

That's when we heard screams outside, followed by creepy giggling.

Author's Note: Heyo, guys. I just got the news that my grandfather passed away and I'm having a hard time coping. Sorry if I don't post often. Please keep him in your prayers, if you guys pray.

(2566 Words)