Shi no Kurushimi 8

CHAPTER 8: Reflections


"You're apologizing?" said Inoue Yumi, a girl who used to be a friend of mine, "Pathetic!"

"Please Yumi-chan!"  

"You don't have the right to call me by my first name anymore!"

"But Yumi-chan!"

"Quit calling me that! What you did was...despicable! hateful! unforgivable!"

"I didn't do anything Yumi-chan!"

"Shut up! I saw everything! You kissed him! You kissed Ishikawa-senpai!"

"But-"

"Just...Get out of my sight! Bitch..."

"Yu-"

"End of discussion!"

And she left abruptly, leaving me on my knees, hugging myself as cold, slippery tears dripped on the ground. She abandoned me...My one and only friend...

My name is Nozomi Reika, an average student at a normal school...But I never saw this coming...

"Is she really worth the trouble, Reika-san?" asked Shinseki Momoko, "There are thousands of people out-"

"I'm not interested..."

"You're too shallow Reika-san...You limit yourself to one person and your world immediately falls down when that person stopped being friends with you..."

"I betrayed her..."

"No you didn't! Trust me, I know!"

I didn't respond, after all, Momoko-san was right...Yumi-chan probably mistook me for somebody else...I never even kissed a boy in my entire life, let alone Ishikawa-senpai!

"If only I could do something about this," I muttered to myself.

"Maybe you can," Momoko-san responded.

"Thanks for the reassurance but I wasn't talking to you..."

"I don't care! I'll do my best to help you, whether you notice me or not!"

She ran off before I could even thank her.

I sighed to myself and faced the door to room 403, a place most students call "The Laboratory." I slowly entered the room, and there, sitting on a circular chair, with chemicals and burners in front of her, was Yumi-chan.

Of course, she had told me earlier that I didn't have the right to call her by her first name since we aren't close friends anymore. I guess I'll have to get used to calling her Inoue-san from now on since I might never find an appropriate way to apologize to her...

Minutes felt like hours as I sat beside Inoue-san, trying hard to ignore her actions of deep hatred towards me.

Time flew and I felt like I was drawn farther away from her. She sent harsh glares towards me when I'd look at her, begging soundlessly for forgiveness.

Then...

"Reika-chan..." a smooth, squeaky voice spoke from behind. How I missed the familiarity of that voice.

"I-Inoue-san?" I stammered. Was she really talking to me?

"Reika-chan...Listen, I'm sorry...My friends told me I made a mis-"

Wait...Friends?

"Friends?" I asked, repeating my thoughts out loud,

"Yes...I get along with other people quite well...," she replied, calmly.

"So does that mean you've forgiven me?!"

"Uh...Reika-chan, see, I wouldn't accept your apology until you do something for me..."

"What is it Inoue-san? I would do anything to get our friendship back!"

"Reika-chan...You know that the school is somewhat haunted, right?"

"Yeah, a lot of students have been dying lately..."

"Well, could you videotape something for us...I've been hearing rumors lately about things happening on the staircase and-"

"I'll do it!" I exclaimed.

Seconds after saying so, Inoue-san handed me a video cam and walked off to her next class, or so I thought...

I followed her to where she was heading to and found a group of 5, gathered around in a perfect circle. I watched as she told them something and they all laughed like a bunch of freaks.

Curiosity finally came over me and I decided to listen in.

"She's a moron!" A chubby boy announced, "Do you think she'll make it through the night?"

"No," said a thin, pale-faced girl, "Most of the students who've done this before nearly died of heart attack!"

"Do you think she'll run into Yuguchi Aika?" a tall, raven-haired guy questioned, "Because we're all in trouble if she does!"

He was preceded by Inoue-san, who's words, unlike the others, hurt me more than a thousand needles piercing through my body, "Who cares anyway if that traitor dies? She doesn't even have friends anymore."

I ran as fast as I can, clutching the video cam tightly, speeding pass the hallways and staircases, and sat down in a deserted corner of the school, crying to myself, wishing I could turn back time...

"What are you doing here?" asked another familiar voice. Momoko-san stood in front of me, looking at me in a rather pitiful way,"Do you know what time it is?"

"It's 5:00pm...Time to go home..." I replied, soberly. Inoue-san and I used to do this back when we were little kids.

"Hey Reika-chan! Do you know what time it is?"

A slight giggle

"Yeah! It's 1:00pm! Time to go home!"


We were inseparable... But I'm afraid our friendship ends here...

"What's that?" Momoko-san muttered, pointing to the camera.

"Oh this? I have to capture a video..."

"About what?"

"Ghosts"

Momoko-san seemed quite shock at my response. She didn't speak nor did she move. It was when I called her name that she began yelling at me saying, "Are you crazy?! Haven't you been listening to Principal Shinichiro?! Students have been dying around here you know?!"

"But Momoko-san...This was meant to be a request from Inoue-san...I didn't want to continue but I couldn't back down considering my curiosity for paranormal stuff!"

"Ok fine! But I'm coming with you!"

Momoko-san pulled me up to a standing position and we walked back into the hallways.

I happened to notice a brown-haired girl. It was quite peculiar because most of the students were pointing at her and muttering the name "Yuguchi Aika."

Meanwhile, a fragment of Inoue-san's secret conversation with her friends went back to my mind.

"Do you think she'll run into Yuguchi Aika?"

A nervous tone

"Because we're all in trouble if she does!"

What was the guy trying to say?

Before I knew it, the lights flickered on and off before blacking out completely.

"Momoko-san?!" I shouted, "Where are you?!"  I swear she was beside me! I mean, I'm not the only person here, Am I?

"You were alone since earlier," someone whispered. The lights flickered back on and I turned to face a brown-haired girl, standing beside the staircase, the wall supporting her back. Nobody else was in sight...

"You're Yuguchi Aika? Right?" I questioned.

"Yeah, and I'm not supposed to be talking to you but hey, there's no stopping them when it comes to the people they wish to...kill."

"Them?"

"You'll see..."

She snapped her fingers before walking down the staircase and the lights went back off.

Lucky for me, the place was fairly lit despite being in a middle of a black out.

I strolled into the girl's comfort room, and faced the mirror, hoping to rid my hair off its crappy tangles. I faced my reflection and saw someone marched pass me from behind.

The person...looked like me!

I followed whoever it was down the hall, leaving the camera on during the chase, hoping to capture something unusual. I traced the footsteps down the staircase.

When the echoing of footsteps finally died down, I caught a glimpse of something at the very edge of the steps. The figure wasn't clear so I decided to inch closer.

I was only on the other end of the staircase when the image became clear. It was a figure of a girl, her face was torn bathing in her own blood. Worst of all, she looked exactly like me.

I turned around, ready to break into a run but something pulled me back, causing me to fall down the staircase. I could feel I was in the same position as my doppleganger as pain brimmed up my body and everything surrounding me faded away into darkness.

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I could feel myself turning into an antagonist as I picked up the camera the girl was holding a while ago. I should have helped her, but what can I do? I'm putting an end to every person I come in contact with in this wretched school!

I went over to another area of the academy and sure enough, another girl sat on the bench.

"Nozomi Reika's dead..." I announced.

No reply...

"I hope you two forgive each other soon..." I said, leaving the girl's corpse behind.

END OF CHAPTER 8