She found me.

Nightmare 01 – She found me. 

Thick miasma permeated the surroundings, preventing light from entering this dark room. There was no sound...nothing, and if it continued, it might just swallow everything.

However, a beautiful voice soon resounded as the girl before me opened her mouth. Her saving grace from this deadly silence was none other than—

“Die.”   

This deadly word.

“Die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die.”

What do they call this feeling again?

That thought entered my mind as I gazed at her.

Her straight black hair draped down on my sides like a curtain as I looked at her face directly above mine. She possessed attractive features that complemented well with delicate frame. And the smile on her lips right now, symbolizing her desire to kill me was really lovely.

I locked eyes with her, red irises peeking from the gaps of her bangs.

The girl was strangling me to death as she sat atop my stomach. Her cold hands were wrapped around my neck, gripping it very tight as she showered me with raw bloodlust.

Yet for some reason, my heart was beating fast. It was pounding so hard that I could hear it clearly. I was not afraid of her. I was not afraid to die. The reason was not urgency or danger.

It was nothing but a simple and obvious reason. An emotion that made humans different from other organisms.

Putting it in a simple sentence, yes, I love her.

“I…I think…I…love…y-you.”

A pathetic confession was all I could do in my current state. But I had given my best, hoping she would notice my earnest feelings.

Her hands loosened and her eyes widened for a bit. Her mouth parted and she spoke.

“…I.” She was smiling sweetly. “I love you too.”

—She gripped my neck even harder. I could no longer breathe or even talk.

But it did not matter.

What I wanted right now, what I hoped for, was that when I wake up again, she would be there, smiling just like this. I wished for it from the bottom of my heart, despite knowing its impossibility.

“I really, really love you so much that I must kill you no matter what.”

I really, really love you so much that dying won’t stop me no matter what…

Ah... I wished I could have said that.

Right, I still haven’t asked your name.

I would ask that too next time. Next time...for sure.

—My vision twisted, and my consciousness clouded.

I could barely recognize her beautiful figure as I felt my mind slipping away.

In the next instant, all went black.

[ [ [] ] ]

A dream where I die is a nightmare. A nightmare where I see you is a dream.

[ [ [] ] ]

Gradually passing rows of trees, I stepped on the long road of asphalt as I headed to my school. I breathed in the fresh air of the morning, feeling it inside my lungs before I gazed upwards.

It was a clear blue sky with clouds perfectly fitting within it, as if a sort of decoration. This scene was something I admire, probably before too. It was beautiful. Gazing at it, I would be always reminded how small I was, and how insignificant my worries were.

But I sometimes wonder if there was something beyond that endlessly stretching sky. Something that might just solve all my questions, something that I was missing. The clouds themselves might be hiding something too. Behind them, there might be a hint, or there might be a storm brewing instead.

I took a breath in and out. “Okay,” I muttered, pumping myself.

“Morning,” a cheerful voice said. I turned to my back and saw my best friend, Hirata Masayuki. Or also known as Maki.

"Yo," I replied.

“Have you heard the news this evening? A storm will arrive tonight, they say.” He grinned. “Do you think classes will be canceled tomorrow?”

"Maybe." I simply shrugged. "Anyway, Maki, wanna race to the top?" I suddenly proposed. Our way to the school was an uphill path.

He looked at me blankly before his expression brightened. “All right!”

We both crouched and planted our feet on the ground firmly. In the corner of my eye, I could see a familiar figure approaching.

"Geez, you two really love childish things."

“We know that, Class rep,” I confidently stated without looking at her, focused on the road in my front. “The signal please.”

She shook her head in resignation. “Well then. On your marks!” she shouted. “Ready, set, GO!!”

I kicked the ground and then I ran uphill, dashing through wind. I took sharp corners and weaved my way through other students. However, Masayuki was a still bit ahead of me and although I might have beat him in technique, his pure speed was outrunning me. I stepped my feet even stronger until I could hear my chest about to burst any second by now.

I was panting soon after I crossed the gate. The result, Masayuki still won.

“Damn…You’re fast…Maki.”

“Heh...See the winner now.”

I smiled wryly at him. We waited for our class representative, Shirazawa Yuka to arrive. I faced my back to see the road but she had yet to arrive. I shifted my gaze to the city, viewing the place where I lived.

A cool breeze blew against me, it was damp, carrying a bit of water with it.

“I finally found you.”

A sudden voice of a girl echoed.

…I was dumbfounded when I heard that. I quickly scanned my surroundings, but I could not find anyone who could have whispered those words to me.

“What was that…?” I muttered.

“What’s the matter, Reiji?”

I turned to look at Maki. Yuka had been with him now and they were looking at me skeptically.

"…No, nothing."

"Man, has your memories returned and you remembered your porn that I hadn't returned?" he joked.

“Ugh. You two are disgusting…” Yuka glared at us.

"I was joking, you know," he replied. He then faced me with a serious face. "More importantly, have you remembered anything?"

The atmosphere seemed fitting for another joke so I declared. “Yeah. All of the mysteries had just been unraveled…”

They suddenly froze. Stiff frozen. It was as if they couldn't believe what I said. I felt my throat drying up as I waited for them. It was only a moment later when the two finally laughed.

“…God, you had us there.”

"Really, you should refrain from joking about serious matters, Reiji-kun," Yuka said quietly. "It could give me a heart attack, you know."

"...Sure.”

"We should be going soon," Masayuki said as he walked towards the school building. Yuka walked as well with me following them mindlessly as I was lost in thought.

That voice…

The voice that I heard was something that I was familiar with. A voice that felt like I had heard many times before. But there was no one there.

Is it really my imagination? A fantasy?

The wind blew again, touched my skin, and then ran down my spine. In that instant, the words flashed within my memories.

She found me…

I didn't know who or if it was just me hearing things, but I couldn't ignore those words.

I lifted my gaze at the sky and in one of the clouds, I could see a dark spot emerging. I exhaled deeply.

“It seemed that tonight, a storm will really come,” I said to one as I shook the thought inside my head and entered the school building.