I don't feel well.

As I raise my head and look down at my pillow, I see blood stains and long strands of hair.

I grunt and slowly dig myself out of the bed covers. It feels like the inside of my head is burning and my throat feels painfully dry. I cough and wheeze as I sit up.

I feel like utter garbage.

Do I have a fever? No, that doesn't explain the blood on my pillow, or the fallen hair. Whatever this is, it's serious.

I roll out of bed and stand on my feet. It's difficult. Surprisingly difficult.

I grab my school clothes and slip into them. My arms struggle to lift themselves and my body feels heavier than usual. This is most definitely concerning. Why do I feel like this?

I could tell Mother, but I don't really like telling her things. If I can keep something to myself, then I usually go with that option. Perhaps it will subside soon anyway.

But with that blood…

For now, I need to focus on school. I have to stay close to Senpai and make sure that he's still faithful to me. That's my daily routine. A little illness isn't about to stop me from doing that. If it gets any worse, I guess I could go see the school nurse about it, but there's no point in worrying about it now. Besides, I'm gradually beginning to feel better as I stretch my legs.

I go downstairs. Mother is waiting at the bottom and has a bright smile on display.

"Good morning, sweetie. Hurry and eat your breakfast so you can make it to school on time."

I don't bother returning the smile. "Fine."

I walk over to the kitchen and see Mother head towards the living room.

I glance down at the kitchen table. Pancakes. Two of them. Maple syrup carefully implemented on top.

This'll do.

As I sit down, the feeling of weakness gradually seeps back in. My body has no energy at all, my arms and legs ache terribly, and everything looks a little blurred.

I haven't been part of any physical activities lately, so I'm unsure what the case could be. Back when girls were showing up around Senpai left and right, I got myself into dangerous situations and ended up battering my own health in the process, but things have been peaceful recently. No more girls have decided to stick close to Senpai or look at him for too long, so there's been no reason for me to push myself. These past few weeks I've been able to get my life back to normal, simply attending school and admiring Senpai from afar. I've done nothing lately that could be affecting me with this strange predicament.

I continuously recall different events in my mind as I bite into the first pancake.

Did I do anything too difficult for me at school recently? Something that would exert extra energy out of me?

No.

Did I recently consume something hazardous?

No.

Could this be an allergic reaction to something? It seems unlikely. As far as I know, I do not possess any allergies. On top of that, I haven't eaten anything out of the ordinary either.

I look down at my hands and see my fork on my plate. I dropped it without noticing. I cannot properly pick it back up either, my fingers now feel unbearably numb. I hold the fork with my other hand instead and grimace as my headache slowly becomes worse and worse.

This simply cannot do. I have to get to school today. I have to keep an eye on Senpai. Even if I'm feeling a little sickly, this cannot be what stops me to see my precious Senpai and look after him.

After finishing the first pancake, I immediately realize that it's impossible for me to eat the second one. My other hand is also numb and weak now, and my stomach is making a deep purr, growling out in pain. Consumption seems to only be making this more agonizing.

I push the plate away and try to get out of the chair.

My knees wobble and fail to support my weight, and I suddenly collapse back into the chair. This is utterly ridiculous, I should at least be able to stand and walk.

But the sensation of dizziness creeps in and it makes getting up even more difficult. I rub my eyes and try to get my vision back to normal, but it has decided to stay this way for a while.

Something crawls at the back of my throat. It's becoming harder to breathe. I cough a few times in order to clear my throat but it starts to feel more clogged up and tight.

Suddenly, whatever was at the back of my throat comes forward and I release a much louder cough.

I cough into my right hand and immediately feel it become moist. My lips also have some kind of liquid on it.

I glare at my hand and realize what I've coughed up.

Blood. A lot of it.

Instinctively, I rush towards the kitchen sink and wash the blood out of my hand and scrub my mouth clean. Mother cannot know about this, if she even sees a drop of blood she'll get curious.

I stare at the door. Mother hasn't entered the kitchen yet, she's still in the living room.

I'm able to stand again, but now I'm coughing up my own blood with any of my own input. This isn't right. This is more than just an illness or allergic reaction.

Feeling my body become weak again, I leave the kitchen and run back up the stairs to my bedroom.

As I reach the top of the stairs, my heart begins to race for no reason. It beats furiously in my chest and I cough up blood again. I smear it against the wall and gulp down whatever blood is still left in my mouth.

I cannot help it, I gasp weakly as I sit back down on my bed.

Think, Ayano. This isn't normal. You've done something for this to happen.

Something must have entered your system somehow, something that you don't know about. Even if it was a while ago, something was put into you for your body to be acting like this.

My head jerks up and my body goes cold.

An injection, perhaps.

Something that was pumped into me by someone else.

The drug injected into me at the Student Council President's factory?

It's the only thing I can actually think of. It was put into my blood without my consent, and it is something that I don't fully understand. It's a completely foreign drug that hasn't been released to the public, so no one knows its properties…or its side effects.

But it's strange. That all happened a long time ago, and is just a distant memory now. If that drug possessed side effects like these, then I should've been hit with them much sooner. Even if it was a weak dosage or something, that still doesn't make sense to me. Yet, it's the most likely possibility at this point.

Mother cannot know about this. She cannot get involved, and I highly doubt she would be able to do something about this anyway.

No, that simply won't do.

I could try to wait this out, maybe keep movement and physical exercise to a minimum and see if I get any better. It isn't the most safe solution, I must admit, but it seems the only logical one as well. I could slip into a hospital and pretend it's an emergency, but I doubt that'll work and Mother might be informed about it anyway. Even if that did work out, the doctors would find out about the mystery drug.

Granted, if the public found out about the drug, it could be traced back to the Student Council President and compromise her, but that's a very long shot.

That drug technically wasn't hers. She only wanted to inject me with adrenaline, it was someone else that replaced it with the mystery drug. A 'someone else' that neither Info-chan nor I know about.

I concentrate and try to think of other options, but nothing comes to mind. The only solution is waiting this out. There's no one I can go to for help, and there's no way I can find a doctor who would keep his or her mouth shut about the drug in my system. Bribery isn't an option either, since I don't have anything valuable and I have to put trust in them, which can never happen.

I push myself off the bed and try to go back downstairs. School has almost started and I'm still not on the road.

Before I head down the first step, things go blurry again and I cough up more blood. It causes an involuntary growl out of me as it stains one of the lower steps with a red dye. I reach the step and rub the edge of my sock with it, hoping to get the colour out without needing to properly clean it. After a couple of rubs, the colour fades out and I decide that it's enough for now. It can definitely still be noticed if someone looks closely at it, but I can focus on washing that later. Akademi High…I have to get there.

I grab my schoolbag near the door and almost fall again, feeling my knees get weak once more. I hold onto the door handle with a firm grip and gradually put my shoes on.

Mother walks out of the living room and tilts her head.

"Sweetheart?"

I barely look at her. "Yeah?"

"You didn't finish your breakfast."

"I'm not hungry, throw the rest away."

"Alright," Mother chirps, not raising any objections. "Have a wonderful day at school."

"Sure."

I slam the door behind me and gasp as I'm out of Mother's sight.

I had to fake that I was fine. I stood up straight and tried to speak with my pained throat.

And now I'm paying the consequences. The pain has amplified and my breathing has become even more strained.

I truly do hope that I'll feel better once I'm at school. Over there, there are too many people and faking to be fine the entire day doesn't seem possible. Even if it's to see Senpai again, my body simply doesn't have enough strength for that in this state.

To hell with whoever made that drug. I cannot blame the Student Council President for it, she wasn't the one who gave me it, but I'm still unsure of who did. However, feeling all this pain because of that steroid, I truly wish that the creator suffers the same way I am. They obviously didn't test it, or didn't care what kind of side effects it had in store.

I clear my throat and grimace. This won't do.

I have to get to school. I have to see Senpai. I have to watch over him.

With my bag on my back and my vision gradually getting better, I tumble weakly to Akademi High.


Well, there's good news and bad news.

Good news? Senpai is looking as wonderful as ever. He giggles so cutely when his friends talk to him and the way he keeps making my heart stop is still just as pleasant as the first time it happened.

Also, on top of that, my health seems to be more…normal now. My vision still gets a little blurred every now and then, but it's far better than this morning.

The bad news? My head still hurts. There are moments when I feel ridiculously light-headed, and other students have begun to notice that as well. They glance at me occasionally and give me looks of concern, but they don't gather the courage to confront me about it and tell me to go home. That's my business, not theirs.

But my headache has made class even more excruciating, if that's even possible. I find myself about to fall asleep multiple times, and none of the words that come out of the teacher's mouth actually succeeds to register for me.

"Ayano Aishi." I suddenly hear a firm snap.

I look up. "Huh?"

The teacher is standing beside my desk. I hadn't even noticed.

"Have you been listening at all?" she asks me, readjusting her thick glasses.

"Um, yeah."

"Okay, then can you please explain to me what the point-slope form of graphing equations is?"

I blink a few times.

Did she just speak another language and expect me to understand it?

The whole class is looking at me and I don't like it. Their attention follows wherever the teacher is, and currently she's scolding me.

"I don't know." I answer honestly.

The teacher sighs. "Aishi…is something wrong? You haven't been listening to me at all today, and your skin is pale."

I frown.

"It is?"

"Yes, do you want to go see the nurse?"

Well, anything is better than staying here.

"Yes."

"Okay, go on now."

"Thank you, Miss-"

I hesitate. I don't know her name and my head hurts too much to try and remember it.

The teacher stares at me, waiting for me to finish my sentence, but soon realizes why I paused.

"Do you not know my name?"

"No, ma'am."

She looks genuinely surprised. "I've been teaching you for years!"

I wave my hand dismissively and leave the classroom. I'm not even bothered to give her an apology. It's her fault for having such a forgettable name.

As I step outside the classroom, I immediately feel a lot better. Perhaps it was just the classroom atmosphere that was giving me that headache.

I've been sent outside to see the nurse, but I won't. I've already decided that I cannot see medical help for my health.

Still, while I'm out of class, I might as well skip the rest. The teacher will never know that I didn't go to see the nurse, and I can choose not to be a part of that boring session.

Just as I suspected, the corridors aren't empty. Other classes are having their lunch break right now, all due to a new schedule that's been implemented. I don't know the reason behind the change, but I've been sure to keep a mental note of it.

My head swerves to the left as I hear a familiar voice coming from the school entrance.

It's Senpai. I could recognize that beautiful, tuneful voice anywhere and anytime. He must be having his lunch break too.

I lean around the hallway corner and wait for Senpai to enter the building. I wonder what he's wearing, what he's doing, and how he's feeling. Most of all, however, my heart beats quickly in anticipation of seeing his face. It doesn't matter how many times I see it, it always feels like the first time and makes me feel warm inside. It's ridiculously addictive.

His voice gets loud enough that I'm sure he's in the locker area now. I keep a close eye and watch him walk my way.

He's walking with two people. A boy and a…

A girl.

Hm.

"I've got to say it, Yamada, you're an amazing photographer! Your submission picture of that flower…it was incredible!" the boy to Senpai's right chuckles, patting him on the shoulder.

Submission?

Oh, that's right. The school held a memorial for all the dead or missing students from Akademi High and asked us to take the best photo we can. The photos that the students took would be put on display at the school entrance, as to show that we care…or something.

Obviously, I didn't submit a picture. The only pictures I have at home are of Senpai anyway, but Senpai himself did take a photo. I watched him submit it just a few days ago.

"Yeah," the girl to Senpai's left concurred. "You should think about joining the Photography Club."

The girl. I can't see her properly.

From this corner and the lockers in the way, it's obstructing my view. All I can see is curly ponytails, similar to Kokona's, before they head towards the staircase and out of my sight. I couldn't get a good glimpse of her.

But I know that she's walking alongside Senpai. That's far too close for anyone besides me to be positioned.

The thick walls around the staircase blockade their voices and I no longer know what they're talking about. I could follow them upstairs, but there's a good chance that they'll notice me. No one except them are heading to the second floor right now, so it makes it too obvious that I'm trailing behind them.

But that doesn't matter. I need to know what's going on. I don't care about the boy in the slightest, but that girl is too amiable for her own good. Whether it's intentional or not, she's getting comfortable around Senpai and that doesn't go unnoticed.

Ignoring the risk of raising suspicion, I go up the stairs behind them.

They don't turn around as my footsteps are too quiet. The three of them reach the second floor but I remain in the staircase, now able to hear them again.

"It'd be a real shame to waste that talent of yours," I hear the unknown boy speak again, a subtle tone of desperation peering in.

"Sorry…I'm just not ready to join a club." Senpai mutters. I cannot see his face but his voice is still pleasant. "I don't think I ever will be."

My hands clench as I hear the girl talk to Senpai. "Why's that? I've seen you go to many clubs before."

"Yes, well, that's sort of the reason why I don't want to do any more clubs…"

"I don't follow, Yamada…"

There's a brief pause. "Look, you guys know that I've been in both the Gardening and Cooking Club, right?"

"Yes?"

"And you know what happened in both clubs?"

The boy spoke first. "The death of Mei and the disappearance of Honoka?"

"That's right." Senpai whispers.

For a moment, I feel utterly confused.

It's true, two incidents happened in the clubs he was a part of, but what exactly is he implying? The way Senpai is talking makes it seems like he's accusing himself of having something to do with it, as though painting himself in a bad light, but I know for a fact that he had nothing to do with those things. What is he getting at?

I tread onto the next step silently and linger on his words.

"What I'm trying to say is…" Senpai speaks in a very low tone. "I think I'm cursed."

Following up with what Senpai said, both the boy and the girl with him go deadly silent. I hear myself breathing and try to make it quieter.

From down these stairs, I cannot see the boy or the girl's expressions on the next floor. Are they horrified? Are they smirking at him? It's true that the deaths of those two girls fall into a bit of mystery when you consider that Senpai was associated with both of them, and I can see how Senpai could gain that kind of superstition, but I never even dreamt of the possibility.

The boy tries to answer first but instead mumbles a bit of nonsense then hums in thought. It's obvious that he doesn't know what to say. Perhaps he's hesitating because he doesn't fully doubt or reject the notion of such a thing, and maybe believes that he's been struck with bad luck.

I feel my eyes squint as the girl responds properly. "Yamada, there's no such thing as a curse. That's just a bunch of lies that students make up to frighten each other. People have been doing that a lot lately."

"Yeah!" the boy agrees, deciding to see things from her point of view. "Like the rumours of one of the students being a vampire! The school and its weird superstitions are just getting to you, man."

"But this is different." Senpai protests, and my hands shudder from the sweet tune of his voice. "It's like everyone I know has something bad coming to them. Even…"

I hear a sniffle. Senpai must be on the verge of tears.

"Even my sister." Senpai finishes, and I hear one more sniffle before he successfully stops himself from crying.

I regret what happened to Sakura.

Yes, that's right, I regret it.

To some extent, the memory of her death still brings me pleasure, watching her bleeding jaw hang from her face. That girl wanted to keep everyone away from Senpai and have him all to herself. That foolish little girl was a threat, and she escaped my grasp like a sneaky rat just to frustrate me.

But no other person's fate has affected him like Sakura's. So far, Honoka, Mei, and Osana have been taken away from him, and while I've seen him change because of that, none of it has struck him as hard as the death of his own sister. I doubt he'll forget about it for the rest of his life, and that makes me…

Sad.

It makes me sad.

I hurt Senpai. Even if it was to ensure a perfect life for the two of us, I still inflicted a scar onto him that will always remain.

That is my regret.

"Sakura was a good student." the girl speaks mournfully. "She will be missed."

"Thanks."

"But Yamada, you cannot blame yourself for that. You aren't cursed, alright?"

"Sure…" Senpai says, sounding unconvinced.

Wow.

Well, I supposed she isn't that bad after all.

I hear footsteps going in either direction, they're heading opposite ways. She didn't want to snuggle up next to Senpai or anything, and my suspicions start to seem baseless. I take a deep breath and heave a relieved sigh.

She even helped cheer up Senpai so I can see his smile more. That's nice.

"Oh, and Yamada?" I hear the girl call from one end of the hallway.

Senpai takes a moment to respond. "Yeah?"

"You can always join me in the Drama Club. No one will think badly of you. You're a really great guy."

Okay, she's dead.

There's a slightly nervous chuckle from Senpai before he starts walking again. The unknown boy follows with him and head into one of the classrooms. I exit the staircase after them and still see the girl wandering down the corridor.

Nobody calls Senpai something like that. No other girl has even had the gall to say that.

I trail slowly behind her, able to see her a little more clearly now.

She's holding books in her arms, clutching them close to her chest. Her hair is short but curled a lot, hanging down the sides of her head.

But I cannot focus on the details of her appearance. All I'm interested is following her now.

My head twitches to the left as we both enter another corridor. I try to stop it by holding the side with my hand but to no avail.

I feel my fever gradually go back up again. A massive headache returns to me with full force and I grimace from the wave of pain. It's making it harder to think straight. I cannot even process why I'm trailing this girl right now. I just want to. I have to stick to this girl.

I want to hurt her.

I shake my head and try to stop walking. I know it's a stupid idea to try something in the middle of a corridor, especially as class has ended and other students are starting to pour out.

But my headache is making it difficult to control myself. It hurts too much to think properly, I just know that I want to punch her for saying something like that to Senpai.

The bell rings on the wall next to me, blaring and letting everyone know that they can leave. Students almost immediately burst out of the classroom doors to my right and fill up the hallway, pushing past each other and speaking far louder than they ever need to. I'm forced to walk slower as the hallway becomes more and more crowded, and I momentarily lose sight of the girl I'm following.

This would be the perfect time to stop walking. I can just stop here and make sure I don't do anything foolish.

But my body won't respond. I keep walking through the crowd, uncaringly brushing past people to regain sight of the girl again. My body doesn't want to stop. It wants to hurt that girl so much that my mind cannot do anything about it.

My pursuit for the girl halts abruptly as a girl suddenly falls onto me. I retain my balance and look at her, and she's already nodding her head apologetically.

She's got pink hair and turquoise eyes. Heavily applied make-up.

"I'm sorry!" she squeaks, giving me a pat on the shoulder. "I wasn't looking where I was going!"

But I've already moved on.

She expected some kind of response, but I find myself walking away instead. Nothing seems to be able to stop me right now. Even for someone like me, who tries to avoid doing anything that seems strange in public, this doesn't seem to be able to stop me.

There's a part of me that really wants to find that girl and make her suffer, but another part that knows how this'll play out. It'll just be like Honoka, when I failed to control myself, and this time there won't be anyone to save me from my mistakes.

I have to stop myself.

The crowd starts to condense more and more and everyone is beginning to blend in. That girl is nowhere to be found like this, and it doesn't help that I'm still unsure of her actual appearance. I've lost her. I need to give up.

I'm fighting a losing battle with myself, but I suddenly get some extra help.

My illness kicks in and I almost fall.

My hand reaches for the wall and I use it to balance. I don't fall on anyone inside the crowd, and it's still too busy here for someone to notice my stumbling, but my heart starts to race out of anxiously nonetheless.

I feel blood slowly collect up in my throat. I'm going to spit out blood again, just like I did this morning. People will definitely notice that and know that something isn't right.

I need to get out of this crowd.

All of the things I experienced in the morning suddenly hit me. My vision goes completely blurred and my body feels too weak to even function properly. I have no idea why it's kicking in now of all moments, but it allows me to focus on my own health instead of that girl.

I see a mop leaning to the side of the wall. I can barely see anything right now, but if that's a mop, then it means that the bathrooms are nearby. That is what I need right now.

I trip towards the door and bang against it. The pain doesn't properly find me, however, as I can only focus on trying to open the door handle. My hand is rested on it and I twist and turn the damn thing only to find it locked. How can the bathrooms be locked?

I gaze up at the silver-plated sign and read 'Janitor's room.'

Oh.

That's alright. I can just keep going, I'll just find another place to collapse.

My knees lose all their strength, my blurred vision intensifies to the point where I can't see a thing, and I feel myself tilting over to the side. I trip over and see the floor quickly coming closer to my sight.

Well, guess I'm collapsing here instead.

My head collides with the rough surface of the floor and I drop onto my back. Everything spins around me and my body refuses to lift me back up. I put my hands on the floor and try to push myself upwards, but they've completely lost their strength too. I cannot hold the blood in my mouth any longer and I spit it all out, choking on it because of the position I'm lying down.

A few people trample on me before they notice, and soon everyone stops what they're doing and stare at me.

Staring fearfully at the schoolgirl on the ground, choking on her own blood.

People rush over to me. I cannot tell who. I can barely do anything right now.

One of them puts their hand at back of my head and lifts me high enough to spit out my blood properly. I stop gurgling and the person then lifts me from my back, and with their support, I'm almost sitting up straight.

Some other students are circled around me, one of them rubbing their tissue against my lips. It feels strange, being unable to stop them. I can only remain here, completely lifeless as they wonder what's wrong with me. Other students simply stand close-by and watch all of this unfold. A few even freak out and quickly begin to leave.

I cannot see any of them. They're all silhouettes in my eyes. Blurred beings spinning around me and speaking nonsense. They're shouting out things in a panicked matter, but none of it seems to make sense to me. Are they trying to help? Are they simply scared and calling for help? I have no way of knowing.

The only thought that's in my mind right now is that girl. That damned girl that spoke too comfortably to Senpai. To my Senpai. I can still recall what she said, word for word, and the last thing I think of is my hatred for her.

The last thing before I lose my consciousness completely.


Even waking up is painful now.

My eyelids flutter open and I struggle to move my body. It's not as bad as it was before, but I still feel incredibly weak.

It's hard to remember anything. Am I home? Or did I go to school? It's like my mind is a blank sheet of paper.

The memory of a voice talking sweetly to Senpai echoes in the back of my head and helps me gradually remember better. No, I did go to school. I think.

My eyes are fully open now but I cannot see the outside world. I'm seeing…unique images. Not realistic ones, but ones it seems I'm creating with my own mind.

I see Kokona. I see Mei. Their faces look bubbly, faint, and the only thing that I can properly see are their eyes. Huge eyes staring right at me, their pupils grey and their gazes dangerously sharp.

This isn't real. Both these two are dead. My mind must still be slipping between sleeping and waking up. I feel numb but my thoughts are clear enough for me to realize that I'm just seeing things. Neither of them is coming back. Once you're dead, you're dead.

But I cannot help but look back at them, the strange images my mind has decided to paint for me. I stare back at Kokona and Mei as they look down upon me, and notice them starting to become clearer. Both of them have their faces completely covered in blood, and most of the blood is dripping down from their eyes like tears. They're missing teeth, fresh blood slowly starts to pour out from their ears, and I feel their stares get stronger and stronger. They stare at me in a certain way that I start to see hostility coming from the two hallucinations. The looks they're giving me are fuelled by hatred, by anger, by pure savagery.

If they were still alive, they would probably do everything they could to get their revenge. I choked the life out of Mei to save my own skin, and tortured Kokona for an entire night to bend her to my will. I have no doubt that the two of them would love nothing more than to rip me to shreds.

But I'm not deterred. I'm not afraid.

The two of you were a means to an end, nothing more. Mei, you needed to die because you were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time, and Kokona, you were tortured by these two hands because you got in my way. Anyone that gets in my way will suffer.

To hell with you two. Get out of my head and stay dead already, you're both things of the past.

The images slowly subside and I'm looking at the real world again.

I'm fully awake. It's about time.

The moment I realize I'm staring directly at a light bulb, I growl in pain and blink a few times.

It smells pleasant in here. The aroma of lavenders is all around me, and it somehow makes my headache better too.

I raise my head a little and see someone staring at me. This one isn't an image in my mind, either.

I immediately yelp and feel my body go hot as their face becomes clear for me.

Senpai gives me an adorable, pure-hearted smile as he puts his right hand on my forehead.

"Are you okay, Aishi?"