My name is Sakyu Basu, and I have a secret.

It's not one of the silly secrets that most teenage girls hide. I don't have a secret boyfriend who is too old for me, I don't do drugs, I don't sneak out to parties when my parents are asleep. Those are the petty secrets of this world that I do not have.

My secret is much darker. Something even more dangerous than anything normal teenage girls face. I'm a monster, but not in the way people think I am. I'm not a succubus. I'm much more horrifying.

I don't know what the exact word for what I am. Serial killer seemed too shallow of a definition. Serial killers often killed in mindless rampages, and though I did do my best to appear mindless to others I was far from it. Unlike them, I planned my killings meticulously and only killed for one single reason.

My beloved.

The world had no clue how I adored her, I made sure it was very discreet. When I had to kill for her I made sure it looked like a simple accident. My beloved had a fragile mind, a friend being murdered would haunt her mind. Accidents could not be avoided on the other hand, they were easier for her to accept. I did so much work to make them accidents. But I would do anything for her.

My sister didn't know about my obsession. I was with Inkyu nearly all the time and even she did not know. It comforted me, reminding me that I was so good at acting that I could fool my own blood into thinking I was innocent.

"Such a shame about Shin Higaku..." Inkyu muttered, her eye pried open as she applied one of her contacts.

We always got ready together in the bathroom. A normal morning for us consisted of fashion advice and gossip. I liked the gossip in particular. My sister was a normal girl and I needed her perspective on things to understand how to function better in a society totally opposite to me. Her insights also gave me better ideas on how to manipulate likeminded students. I never had reason to harm my sister and would prefer not to, but I did use her nature to my learning advantage.

I popped my lips together, making sure my vibrant red lipstick looked presentable. "What about him?" I inquire.

She cast me a sideways glance, "Did you not know? He died over the weekend. He was at a buffet and accidentally ate something he was allergic to."

"That's awful! I feel so bad for his family..." I didn't feel anything for his family. If I did, I wouldn't have dropped a few peanuts in that cake, now would I?

Inkyu nodded in agreement. My sister was an emotional person, and often felt the emotions of others. It was a strange phenomenon to me, how she could so easily care for people she scarcely knew. "Me too! They're gonna hold a little memorial for him after school today. I think we should go."

"Of course we should!" I raised my voice, insisting that we attend. "This is so awful... Do you think we could bring some money to offer his family? Funerals aren't cheap and this is such a horrible time for them."

My beautiful sister cast me a smile. "Of course we should! I know we don't have much but I could take some money out of my piggy bank for them. I was gonna buy some new clothes with it but this is way more important I think."

I nodded in agreement. "I'll take out some of my money, too. With our money together I'm sure we can give a fair amount to help out."

We dismissed into our separate rooms. Like any other caring student, I cracked open my piggy bank and took out a generous amount to give to the family. After all, I wanted to appear as if I have two seconds of thought to the kid. Though truthfully I did think about him for quite awhile when I was plotting a quiet way to kill him... I've probably thought of him more than any student at Akademi High, save for my beloved.

I put the money into an envelope, so I wouldn't accidentally use the cash intended for them at a vending machine or something. I would pay my respects literally, because I couldn't respect him emotionally. I believed Shin Higaku had this coming the moment he whispered to a friend in biology that he was going to confess his love to Oka Ruto the next Friday.

Info-chan was a valued companion of mine. I kept her on retainer, sending her a steady stream of panty shots to keep her service at all times. Whenever any information on Oka surfaced, I was notified immediately. One of Info-chan's spies caught wind of Shin's intentions and I was informed. I was told on Thursday of last week and Shin was dead by Saturday evening. Info-chan had let me know that Shin had a fatal peanut allergy, which made my job much easier. Truly she was invaluable to me. To top it all off, she had no reason to tell anyone that I was the murderer. Our relationship was a perfect little thing.

My walk to school with Inkyu was pedestrian. We didn't bring up Shin again, having exhausted the subject that morning. Petty talks consumed us, like what superstar Inkyu wanted to have babies with and how hard the algebra test was last week. I kept up a interested demeanor the whole time. It was all an elaborate ploy, even to my sister.

To everyone on this planet, I was just a normal girl. Maybe a little mysterious because of all the intrigue sparked in the Occult Club, but ultimately I seemed harmless. I liked pop music and I wore cute jewelry, I absolutely adored cats and loved to take selfies. I studied hard in school and took it seriously. No one would take a look at me and think that I've even killed a fly, let alone several human beings. The police haven't even looked at my front door, because they believed they had no reason to interrogate such a studious student.

Oka did see more to me, but she only saw what I wanted her to see. She had the most imaginative personality, theorizing that I was some sort of otherworldly entity. I knew that when I was with Inkyu on the roof that she hid behind a wall to study me. Not only did I know, I enjoyed it thoroughly. My beloved was giving me attention that I was too terrified to give her. I wanted her to be mine forever and ever, but I was no good with words when it came to her. I couldn't simply walk up to her and dazzle her with my personality. To get her attention I had to become what she adored, I had to play the part of a succubus.

Being a succubus had its ups and downs. A major downside was that when all the boys in the school got wind of the notion, they would start to stare at me. They stared at me in ways I didn't appreciate, and even started harassing me verbally. They were all a bunch of slimy pests, but I endured it because being a succubus was what attracted my beloved to me.

Inkyu is a very dependent girl, so she took on the persona of a vampire to be more like me. Initially I found her copycat nature annoying, but it ultimately sparked more interest within the Occult Club. Supernatural sisters were even better than just one succubus! Neither of us confirmed nor denied these ridiculous claims to further our mystique. Inkyu was doing it for attention of all, but I only cared for my Oka.

Inkyu and I said our goodbyes when we reached school, and we separated into our respective classrooms. My little sister was nearly always by my side otherwise, so I was grateful I was a class ahead of her. It gave me time to think without her ditzy interruptions. But best of all, Oka Ruto was also a classmate of mine.

I sat in the seat directly in front of her. To my pleasure, it was her choice to sit behind me so she could study me. It gave me a good place to listen in on her conversations. I was known to be a serious girl around school, so no one bothered talking to me when in class. They all assumed I was focused on the lesson. Which was occasionally true, but not when Oka was talking behind me.

I could hear Kokona whispering to Oka. Kokona was a friend to Oka, but I didn't see her as a threat. The purple haired girl seemed to genuinely be a friend to Oka, and it was obvious she liked that black haired boy anyways. I didn't need to worry about her stealing away my beloved.

"Hey, are you okay? I heard about that guy from your club... I'm so sorry that happened."

I heard Oka sniffle, and nearly felt bad for killing him. After all, I was the reason she was crying now... But it had to be done. "Y-yeah... I'll be okay soon. It was... It was so sudden... He was just here last week."

"I know, it's so surreal..." Kokona agreed.

My beloved was silent for a moment, taking in a big inhale. "When the club meets, we're gonna try to talk to his spirit. I'm sure he'll communicate with us."

I couldn't see Kokona, but I knew her nature well enough to know she would be smiling at Oka. She always did her best to cheer people up. "I'm sure he will!"

And I was sure he wouldn't. Oka's obsessions with the macabre, while cute, was not sensible. Ghosts didn't exist, and the real monsters of this world were simply humans like me.

Before the lesson, the teacher informed all of us who may not know of Shin's death. The class reacted with the expected grief, and I followed suit. We spent a good ten minutes discussing him and what a good person he was, and even I chipped him, fabricating a supposed conversation that I had with him. Oka smiled at me and thanked me for sharing my experience with him before going to the front of the class herself.

The entire class was glued to her words. Oka Ruto was shy, she never got in front of the class ever. And while it was clear she was nervous by the way she was wringing her hands, she was still standing before us. I tried to not seem overly interested but truly, I was intrigued.

"Shin was... He was a very, very good friend." She started quietly, and the class went silent to accommodate her gentle voice. "I trusted him with everything. He was the Vice President of the Occult Club, and I valued him so much... He has been my good friend since I was really small, and even though I don't talk much he stayed by my side. I... I don't know what I'm gonna do without him."

There was a morbid silence after her last words. It was clear that his death was affecting her. I was very happy that I was able to make this seem extremely accidental, she was shaken enough already. A blatant murder would have only made things worse.

Oka was playing with the charm on her choker, staring at the floor. She did not move for a few moments.

"Teacher... I need to go to the bathroom. I don't feel good."

Our teacher cast her a gentle look, nodding. It was obvious that Oka felt fine psychically, but the turmoil that this was causing her brought great pain emotionally. "Go ahead Oka, please take your time. Come back whenever you are able to."

My beloved ran past me, hands held up to cover her face now. If you listened close, you could hear the quietest of sobs escape her as she slammed the classroom door behind her. I almost wanted to chase her and comfort her, but I couldn't.

The teacher resumed with a lesson that I didn't pay much attention to for once. I could only think of one thing.

I hated seeing Oka in pain, yes. But I would kill Shin a million times and have her cry a million more if it meant that she was mine and mine alone. I did not regret doing what I did, because there was no regret to be felt when you were protecting what was rightfully yours.

In the middle of my haze of thoughts, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. When I was sure that my teacher would not look, I gazed down at the message. It was from Info-chan.

[I have more information on Oka Ruto. I think you'll want to know about it.]

My face lit up with the smallest of smiles. It appeared that I had another accident to arrange.