This one-shot was originally posted on Wattpad.
Maggots... They are crawling all inside of me, falling out of the wound whenever I scratch it..! My blood is tainted...! Someone...! Can anybody help me..? Ever imagine that maggots are crawling over your whole body, itching movements over your body which makes you want to scratch them all? You probably haven't... I curse the name my mother has given me... She's the reason why I'm tainted... It is her blood that's running through my veins, the cause of the maggots which are inside of me... That woman... I never want to see her again, especially when she wanted to take me away from my father, who hasn't done anything wrong to her... He didn't deserve what happened... He didn't deserve it to be cheated on, by some kind of colleague of my mother's work...! The blood was dripping down from my neck along with the maggots when I continued scratching my wounds. I'm really losing my mind, not being able to get a grip on myself. I bit my lip in fear and confusion. Someone wake me up from this nightmare and please help me to find myself again!
"Rena..." A voice said and I groaned softly. "Earth to Rena!" I opened my eyes and then I noticed Mion and Keiichi were looking at me. "H-huh...?" I mumbled softly and a small blush appeared on my face. They gave me a gentle smile and Keiichi patted my head. "You fell asleep after a while... Chie-sensei almost wanted to wake you up, but since you were looking very tired this morning we convinced her not to." He told me and Mion nodded. "Are you having troubles with falling asleep Rena?" She asked me and looked slightly concerned. I shook my head and smiled weakly. "I just didn't sleep well last night, that's all." I told her and then she nodded, although they both kept looking a bit concerned. "R-really, Rena is alright." I told them, trying to convince them. They slowly nodded and we slowly started on our schoolwork again.
Go away! I did everything to stay on the good side..! Why do you punish me for my mother's sin every day..?
When our day at school was over the club activity began. I wasn't sure if I was completely up to that, but I stayed anyways. We were playing a card game again, but Mion had made some new rules. I was listening, although I felt my neck itching again, so I was scratching it a bit before the game began. Satoko, one of the younger kids and our friend, laughed and told Keiichi to watch out for her. Rika, another younger friend of us, simply smiled and was ready to play the game as well. Mion was also telling Keiichi to watch out for her, but Keiichi simply smirked and told them he was going to beat us all. I, on the other side, was pretty quiet and I was sure they had noticed that as well. I simply played along, but lost in the end. The winner was Keiichi and he laughed in victory. "You better don't do anything too bad to Rena, we don't want you to ruin Rena's innocence because of your perverted mind, Kei-chan!" Mion told Keiichi, who almost seemed to growl at her. "Alright then, Rena, because you lost you have to be... My maid for a day! And it concludes a maid outfit." Mion frowned. "Seriously... Now we won't know what you'll do to her, you better don't ruin her..." Mion hissed at him, while Keiichi was still smiling in victory. Then he whispered something in her ear while they both kept their eyes on me.
The maggots, they keep crawling around, giving me the urge to scratch them out...
"Hau~..." I mumbled while I followed Keiichi to his home. I had to sleepover at his house as well, because otherwise it wouldn't be a day... So we had to go to my house to get my stuff. My father was luckily not home, so he couldn't see me in my maid outfit. I had a flushed face and kept following him. Keiichi looked at me with a grin. "I won't be too bad for you Rena." He told me when he patted my head once again. I slowly nodded and smiled lightly to him. My hand went to my neck again, scratching a bit. Keiichi looked at me again and suddenly grabbed my hand. He smiled at me and pulled me along when he was running. He was really fast, I was afraid I would take a wrong step and twist something. I sighed softly when we were in his house. Keiichi was looking at me with a playful smirk. "Well since we are here..." He mumbled and then he ruffled my hair. "How about you make me a wonderful meal?" He grinned. "O-of course, m-master." I said softly. I walked towards his kitchen and started making the dishes he wanted me to make. I could feel he was looking at me, but I didn't say anything about that. It was like he was keeping an eye on me.
Get off me..!
I backed off and dropped on my knees, dropping everything I was holding. I could hear Keiichi let out a gasp. He rushed over to me and then he placed a hand on my shoulder. "A-are you alright...? Are you feeling sick...?" He asked me.
Those maggots keep crawling around...!
I slapped his hand away from me and stared in horror. "S-stay away!" He only looked shocked at my reaction, trying to reach out for me. I could only back off.
Stay away from me!
I only saw more of those maggots coming for me, crawling deeply in my skin. I hugged my knees, hoping the maggots would disappear again. "R-Rena!" I heard Keiichi say. Suddenly I was pulled close against him. "What's going on?! Talk to me..!" He demanded, sounding worried about me. I pushed him away from me and then I stood up. He grunted slightly from hitting his head against the cold floor. I felt guilty but I needed to get away from here. I quickly sprinted out of the house, running my way outside.
Scratch them out! They need to get out!
I had found my way back to the forest so I would be alone. I rested my back against a tree and then he placed my hands close to my neck. I've been scratching there a lot already but I needed to get them out now! I started scratching the wounds, screaming slightly because of that itching feeling. I felt like I needed to claw out my throat to get rid of everything.
"Oyashiro-sama! W-why do you punish me? I haven't done anything bad this time!" I yelled out. Then I began laughing a bit and scratched more. I could feel the maggots getting out along with blood. "Curse you mother! It's all your fault!" She yelled, clawing some more at her throat. I kept clawing until I fell down on the ground and blacked out completely.
"Reina.." I heard my father's voice, but I still couldn't open my eyes. "Hm, it looks like she's still not fully awake... No wonder after she nearly crawled out her throat." I heard another male voice say. "You should be thankful that Maebara has informed you... She could have died." another female voice say. "I'm really grateful about that..." I heard my father say. "I guess the medication for her delusions don't work too well anymore... We should try to find a new way to help her..." I slowly opened my eyes and then I could see that my father was relieved that I opened my eyes. "Reina... Thank God... You're awake." He said, nearly crying. He pulled me close, hugging me tightly. "Otou-san..." I mumbled softly, weakly hugging him back for a while. Irie-san suddenly interrupted, wanting to check on me once again. I knew I needed to stay here, because I might have the urge to claw out my throat again. My hands were bound against the bed so I couldn't move them anymore. I felt like I was in an asylum again for treatment... but I knew they were just trying to help me... I think that panicked side of me wouldn't be okay with it.
The few nights I had stayed there were horrible... The maggots... They were crawling everywhere... I couldn't do anything, but screaming out in panic. I had to be drugged to keep me from screaming out like that... It was quite dreadful, feeling really dazed and unable to do anything... Luckily I wasn't feeling like doing nothing as well. "Ryūgū-san, there is someone to visit you." Takano-san told me and then I nodded lightly, thinking it was my dad. To my surprise I saw Keiichi walking into the room, making quite nervous.
Why is he here? He must think I'm totally bonkers now..!
I looked slightly away from him, biting my lip a bit. "Ohayo, Rena..." He said softly, taking place on the chair close to my bed here. I tried to avoid his gaze. "W...why are you here...?" I asked him softly. "I just wanted to check up on you... Everyone in class is worried you know..." He mumbled softly. I sighed softly and then I slowly looked at him. "...I heard you had called my dad..." I said softly and then he blinked. "Oh... Well you were acting really off, so I knew something was up..." He admitted and then he scratched the back of his head. "I didn't know you had that... Hinamizawa-syndrome everyone was talking about..." He mumbled softly. I sighed again. "I'm surprised you even know about that..." I said softly. There was a silence between us and then he suddenly moved closer to me, placing a hand on 'my cheek. "I wish I could do something for you... I want to be able to help you..." He mumbled softly and then he stroked my cheek. "You can't Keiichi..." I told him, smiling sadly. "..." He stayed quiet and looked slightly away.
"Just remember that we're here for you Rena..." He said softly, kissing my cheek and then he stood up. I blushed lightly and then he waved goodbye. I was still blushing when he left me. This visit made me a little more happy than I did before. I just hope that everything would go better soon...
Once again there was night I was screaming again. The tears were rolling down on my face... I don't want this anymore.. It's too much... "Kill me! Please!" I yelled out. I was struggling, I believe I almost broke out. I was pulled back the whole time, I couldn't think straight anymore and before I noticed I had fallen into a deep slumber. I couldn't hear anything or feel anything, it was like I was dead... But it felt peaceful for once.
I could feel someone squeezing my hand after quite a while, no idea how much time has passed. I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn't. "Rena..?" I heard a familiar voice say. After a little while I finally opened my eyes, only to see Keiichi staring at me, looking quite concerned. He looked like he was injured a bit, making me slightly confused. "W..hat are you doing here..?" I asked him softly and then he smiled sadly. "Let's say a lot has happened during that deep and long slumber of yours." He said softly, placing a hand on my cheek. "Weird things happened at school..." He mumbled. I wondered what he meant... I also wondered how long I was out. I slowly felt around my neck, surprised that my skin seemed to be healed. I also felt like there were no maggots anymore. "Irie gave you a new kind of medicine I heard. It seemed like your old medicine didn't work anymore." He suddenly said. "... Are you feeling better?" He asked and then I placed a hand on top of his. "A lot better." I told him with a smile and then I slowly sat up.
I would be fine for now... I don't know if they would come back, but if they do I might ask for help instead of keeping it for myself... Perhaps that way I can still make sure that everyone is alright... Because I didn't went berserk in front of them, but someone else did... I failed to protect my friends this time...
I've been doing fine, watching the half of my friends recover from the injuries, while another one was trying to recover from the syndrome... Luckily no one died. Right...?