Reiko quietly sighed as she sat in her classroom. She sat right behind Ichigo Kurosaki, who many people in the school feared. His bright orange hair tended to serve as a distraction at times, but it never bothered Reiko that much. Reiko's hair could also be described as a distraction because it was green in color. Reiko sighed once more, causing Ichigo to turn around.
"Shut the hell up, Asagiri."
Reiko glared at him.
"Fuck off, Berry Boy."
Ichigo returned her glare and turned back around. Reiko turned to the window and glared at her own reflection. Green hair, pale skin, bright blue eyes. Many had described her has pretty, even beautiful. Reiko had a completely different opinion. She often said she was plain, ugly when she having a particularly bad day. She truly hated her reflection.
"I hate you…" she said to her reflection.
Ichigo heard her muttering and frowned (as if he wasn't already) at her words. He had never thought that Reiko was feeling that way.
The bell rang, signaling that it was time for lunch. Reiko stood and left the room. She was quickly followed by Ichigo.
"Hey, Asagiri! What the hell's goin on with you?"
Reiko turned and stared at him but said nothing.
"You're acting weird. You're not usually that bitchy, and then you're saying you hate yourself. You feeling alright?"
Reiko's blue eyes widened.
Shit! Berry Boy heard me?
"Why're you suddenly eavesdropping on me, Berry Boy? You just now realize your undying love for me?"
Ichigo blushed as Reiko smirked at him. He did have small feelings for the green-haired girl, but he would never tell her that. The last guy that had confessed to her ended up in the hospital.
"Hell no! Why would I love your ugly ass? It's just hard to concentrate with all your self-pity hanging around."
The ugly comment stung more than Reiko would have liked to admit. She flinched as he said that, making her hate herself even more. Ichigo could see that on her features and he wanted to instantly take back what he'd said.
"Screw off, Berry Boy, and leave me the hell alone."
Reiko's eyes looked at him coldly before she left. He watched her shove by Orihime when she kindly asked the green-haired girl to join her at lunch. Tatsuki, Orihime's best friend, frowned and glared.
"What the hell, Asagiri? Orihime was just being nice! You don't have to be such a hateful bitch!"
Reiko flinched once more at the insult, but continued to walk away. Tatsuki walked over to Ichigo while glaring at Reiko's back.
"Man, what the hell's up with her? She's always such a bitch! I remember when she used to be nice. What the hell happened to her?"
Ichigo knew exactly what had happened to Reiko, but he didn't say. Tatsuki looked up at him with curious eyes.
"You know, don't you?"
Ichigo nodded as he watched Reiko. She was busy verbally abusing Keigo for flirting with her.
"Tell me, Ichigo!"
"I…I don't think I should…"
"Oh, come on! Tell me!"
Ichigo looked down at her and instantly regretted it. Her eyes were pleading with him, and couldn't resist that. He sighed and she grinned, knowing she won. He walked away, motioning for her to follow. Tatsuki eagerly ran after him. The two went up to the roof and found a secluded spot.
"Don't interrupt me when I'm telling you this, or I'll stop and won't tell you the rest."
Tatsuki nodded and Ichigo sighed once again.
"When Reiko was 12, she got in a car accident with her parents. She survived, but got put in the hospital for a while. Her parents didn't make it. While she was in the hospital, she started going to some chat room. She met some girl in there. That girl promised to go to the hospital so she could meet Reiko and sit with her. The day she was going, she got hit by a truck. She died instantly. I remember hearing about it on the news… I went to see her not long after that. When I went in her room, she was standing on the windowsill and she was looking down at the ground. I stopped her from jumping and sat her down on her bed. She asked me why I saved her. She said she wasn't worth it. No 12-year old should be thinking that way… I told her that she was my friend and that I cared about her. She thought I was lying and she starting screaming at me. Her nurse made me leave after that. I didn't see her again until she came back to school. By that time she was acting the way she does now."
A small shuffling on their left caught their attention. Reiko was standing there, leaning against the railing. She looked own at the two with emotionless eyes.
"You know, Berry Boy, you didn't tell her about Kyoko. She was my nurse. After she made you leave, she went to close my window. She tripped on her way over and she fell out the window. There's no way you didn't notice, Berry Boy. My room faced the front of the hospital. You had to have seen her falling or hitting the ground. She was a sweet lady. I miss her…"
Reiko shifted her gaze to the ground. Hate was shining in her eyes.
"It's all my fucking fault she died. If I hadn't taken so long to get my ass out that window, she'd still be alive…"
Ichigo and Tatsuki had never heard such self-hatred and contempt in a voice before. Tatsuki stood up and moved over to Reiko.
"H-Hey…don't talk like that…"
Reiko moved so she was facing Tatsuki. The self-hatred was still burning in her eyes.
"Why shouldn't I feel like that? It's my fault! If I had jumped sooner, she'd be alive! Her family wouldn't have to suffer because of me!"
"But people would miss you!"
Reiko snorted and looked at Tatsuki skeptically.
"Really? Name five people who would miss me."
"Ichigo would. I-"
Reiko's sharp glare cut Tatsuki off.
"I'm gonna stop you right there. Wasn't it you who called me a hateful bitch earlier? And Berry Boy over there called me an ugly, self-hating bitch. As much as I agree with both of you, it hurts to hear it. Are you seriously saying you two would miss me? That's bullshit. You two wouldn't give a fuck. This is the first day either of you have talked to me since I got out of the hospital from that fucking crash. Fuck you both!"
Reiko ran. She ran through the door leading back into the school. She ran down the stairs. She ran through the school, leaving many confused people behind her. She ran to her small, empty home. Pictures of her when she was younger with her family were all over the walls. She looked at all of them and collapsed onto her bed. She buried her face in her pillow, and screamed. She screamed and cried for her dead parents, for her dead friend Rin who had been hit by a truck because of her, and for her sweet nurse Kyoko who had fallen from a window because of her.
After about an hour, Reiko finally fell asleep. She was still crying and the tears were staining her face and pillow. As Reiko slept, she dreamed.
Reiko sat on her hospital bed, waiting for her new friend Rin to come see her. She was a bit nervous, but also extremely excited.
"Are you okay, Reiko? You seem nervous."
Reiko looked over at her nurse, Kyoko Hibino, and a dazzling smile took over her face.
"I'm fine, Miss Hibino. I'm just waiting for Rin to get here."
Kyoko smiled at Reiko's excitement.
"That's right! Your friend is coming today! I completely forgot!"
A sudden commotion in the hall caught Kyoko's attention.
"I'll be right back, Reiko."
Reiko nodded and looked back at the window. The noise was getting closer, so she looked through the door. A stretcher was rushed past and down the hall. As Reiko was turning back to the window, the television screen made her stop. She turned up the volume and listened, growing more and more horrified by the second.
"A young teenage girl, Rin Kagura, was moments ago hit by a large truck. Paramedics arrived almost instantly to take her to the hospital. Oh, there's one of the paramedics now. Excuse me sir! How is Miss Kagura?"
The male paramedic frowned and looked away.
"She…She was pronounced dead. Her injuries…they were far too severe for her to have survived. They're taking her back to the hospital to see if anything can be done, but nobody is optimistic…"
Kyoko ran into the room to turn off Reiko's television, but she saw the she was too late. She grabbed the remote from Reiko and held her as she turned off the television.
"Reiko…I'm so sorry…"
Reiko stood very calmly on the windowsill. She stared down at the ground. Her eyes were empty. She moved her foot over the edge.
"REIKO!"
Small arms wrapped around her waist and dragged her down. Those arms led her to her bed and made her sit down. She saw bright orange hair and immediately knew who grabbed her.
"Ichi…?"
"What were you doing, Reiko?"
"Why…Why did you save me? I'm not worth it…"
Ichigo looked at her with shocked eyes. Kyoko ran into the room and saw how close Ichigo was to crying. Kyoko's eyes turned to the open window and she gasped.
"Reiko, what were you thinking?" Kyoko yelled.
Reiko stared at the floor as Ichigo held her.
"I have to be with my family… I miss them…"
Ichigo held her tighter. He knew the pain she was going through. Reiko had been there for him when his mother died, and he planned on being there for her.
"Reiko, that was a very foolish thing to do! You could have fallen and gotten hurt!"
"That's what I planned on…"
Reiko looked at Ichigo.
"Why did you save me, Ichi?"
Ichigo saw the pain in her eyes and frowned.
"Because, you're my friend, Rei. I care about you. I'd miss you."
"You're lying…" she whispered.
"What?"
"YOU'RE LYING! Why are you lying to me?"
"I'm not lying, Rei!"
"STOP LYING TO ME!"
Kyoko went over and grabbed Ichigo's shoulder.
"You have to go now, honey. I'll take you to the elevator."
Kyoko walked into Reiko's room after taking Ichigo to the elevator. She looked over at Reiko and sighed. She went over and hugged Reiko.
"I'm sorry I got so upset with you, Reiko. I was just...so scared that I was going to lose you. You're a sweet girl, Reiko. You shouldn't be thinking about suicide. Mr. Kishibe would miss you, and it looks like your friend Ichi would, too."
"Lying…"
Kyoko didn't hear Reiko's tiny whisper. She was too busy walking over to the window.
"I'll close this and then we'll go to Mr. Kishibe's room."
As Kyoko walked, she tripped. Because of her closeness to the window, she fell out. Reiko jumped off of her bed and ran over to the window.
"KYOKO!
Reiko screamed as she woke up. She hated dreaming about Kyoko's death. It killed her inside every time she had to see it.
"Fuck..."
Reiko stood and grabbed a jacket. She looked down and saw she was still in her school uniform. She sighed and quickly changed before pulling on her jacket and leaving.
