Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt.

Ijime: Bullying to the extreme. No kidding, "bullying" is too light of a word compared to how cruel ijime is.

Chapter One: dye everything red

"What did I do wrong...?" the girl said breathlessly. "What did I do? I never deserved this, I never did anything to deserve this..."

Years of ijime. Years of getting razor blades on the edges of her books and thumbtacks in her shoes, years of getting locked "by accident, I'm sorry, Nakamura-san" (the girls snickered as Megumi nodded absentmindedly before she was pushed to the ground once again) in the gym. Memories flashed before her as she smiled desolately, afraid of tomorrow and what the sun brought along. Perched upon the rail of the school building roof, Megumi looked down at the dirt-trodden school field.

If she jumped, she wouldn't feel anymore. If she jumped...if she jumped and became a ghost, she could seek revenge...

The thought remained. Megumi grinned wickedly as her white sundress billowed in the cold winter night.

If I'm going to die, she told herself, I'm going to paint things red. Red, like the blood flowing in me, like my classmates that I hate so much. I'm going to die, she repeated, and Megumi sighed in relief that there'd be no more pain.

No more razor blades, no more dead bugs in her pencil case, no more getting kicked and force-fed trash in the dark corners of her school, no more blood, no more bile, no more tears, no more crying in the dark, no more...

She wanted to die. She was going to die.

She was content.

Sparing one last glance at herself, she flew in the wind. She savored the feel of cold air hitting her skin and savored the nothingness of it all--I'm going to die and I didn't have any need for stupid, ridiculous education, after all--and a sickening crunch of bones resounded in the cold winter air.

She was glad. It hurt less than her heart, she vaguely noticed in the back of her mind. Her world was slowly becoming dark, dark, red with blood and yes, sweet nothingness--

She never closed her eyes.

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Running around the small office of SPR, Mai went to and fro from her desk to the kitchen from boredom. She was in an altogether good mood. The sun was bright and warm, and she was going to see Naru (although she dreaded having to run around making tea for him). Maybe the others were going to stop by, but she shrugged. Going to work was better than lying down on her bed and staring at the ceiling, so yes, she was in a pretty good mood. She turned on the radio on her way to boil some more tea.

Listening to the radio with the latest news, Mai hummed to herself as she waited for the tea to boil near the plain kitchen.

"Nakamura Megumi, aged seventeen, was found dead on Morishita High School's track field with a letter that she seemed to have written addressed to her school. It is assumed to be a suicide, although investigations are still going on during this time..."

Mai gasped. Poor, poor girl. What could've pushed her to suicide? She shook her head as she poured the tea in the various cups and put them in the tray and hurriedly went and gave Naru and Lin their respective cups of tea.

Trying to forget the feeling of dread that spread across her chest like a virus, she hummed herself a lullaby as she went over to sit on the sofa. Resting her head on the cushioned armrest, she breathed in with shaky lungs and felt everything close around her.

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She was floating on thin air. The dark was almost refreshing in its dullness, and there was a general feel of placidness that resided in the air surrounding her.

"...Naru?" Mai called as she looked around the darkness. "Anybody there?"

Suddenly, the scene changed before her and she was in a classroom filled with students. A lone girl sat down at the back of the room, staring out the window. A girl went up to her.

"Ne, I wonder why you were born. Why do you have to come here and ruin our classroom?" she said to the girl haughtily, crossing her arms together and tapping the floor with her left foot. "I wish you were never alive. Why don't you just go die already? Nobody likes you, you know."

A boy smirked as he heard what was going on. From behind his own desk about three rows away, he went up to the two girls and nodded along as the standing girl continued to berate her. "I know, right? I wonder why you don't die. It's always the low-lives that live. You're disgusting. What is this?" he said to her as he picked up her book bag. "You're so disgusting," he proclaimed. "Why would you put bugs into your pencil case?" The boy stuck two fingers into the girl's pencil case, took out a dead caterpillar, then threw it at her.

The girl winced as it hit her cheek and fell to the ground, squirming.

"Come to think of it," the other girl said as she stared at the scene with a smirk, "you look just like that caterpillar, don't you? Me-gu-mi-chan?"

Megumi shuddered. Her bangs covered her eyes and she shook slightly, and she fisted her hands into the plaid skirt of the uniform.

The class grew silent as they saw the innocent girl get abused, but only cared to laugh.

"She's so disgusting," one girl whispered to her friend.

"Isn't she?" the friend replied. "Who cares about that lowlife, anyway?" The two of them giggled in sadistic enjoyment.

I want to die, a voice whispered. Mai looked around for the owner of the voice, then paused to look on at the poor girl. I'm useless, I'm a failure, I'm worthless...

Mai looked at the scene in front of her, horrified. How could people be so cruel? How could they do that to the girl, who was so scared?

Megumi looked close to tears. Mai wanted to touch Megumi, comfort her and chase all those cruel, cruel students who were so bent on tormenting the other girl.

Then, the scene changed. Megumi was crying on top of a lavender-colored bed as she hugged a pillow in comfort. "I'm worthless...I wish I was dead." Megumi sniffed as more tears seeped from her eyes.

Mai felt her heart break. Then, she remembered what she heard in the news earlier.

"Nakamura Megumi...suicide..."

Mai gasped. Oh, god. She--the poor, poor girl--she was going to kill herself. She understood why, she did, but...she was so young, and she wanted to comfort the girl and tell her so many things, but she was just a spectator. She turned away from the scene, powerless.

"I'm sorry, Megumi-chan," Mai whispered. "I'm so, so sorry..."

I hate my school, a voice rasped out. I'm going to make them sorry...

Mai gasped as she woke up. Tears clouded her sight and sweat drenched her shirt, and she shuddered at the memories of what the girl had to go through. Wiping the tears away from her eyes, she squeaked as Naru stared right at her from above.

"N-Naru!" she said shakily with a slight laugh. "W-what are you d-doing?"

"Obviously, I'm trying to prevent my assistant from sleeping on the job." He looked at her with a demeaning look, as if saying "Why are you even asking me this?"

Mai's laugh subsided as she began to glare at Naru. Ugh, that insufferable jerk. She rolled her eyes at her boss' uncaringness.

"We have a new case. Get ready."

Mai's head shot up. "Eh? To where?"

Naru stared at the girl in front of him. "Morishita High School."

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-Renhi