Her Shadow
No. 7 – Kisaragi Shintaro
"I stain my hands to kill off the boring days, because I chose to be 「alone」"
Another normal day. Another typical school morning. Kisaragi Shintaro pushed open the door to his classroom and walked in. It was noisy. No one noticed him. After all, he didn't talk to anyone, and his classmates didn't seem to be bothered with him. He trod towards his seat at the back of the classroom, and sat down. At the seat next to him, sat a girl in a black seifuku, with long brown hair.
"Good morning, Shintaro." Ah. There was one person who still talked to me, who was still my friend. "Oh. Good morning, Ayano." "Hey, Shintaro~ I have a question. Can you answer it?" "What is it." The long-haired girl stood up. All noise in the classroom died. His classmates had disappeared. But Shintaro did not notice this. "Shintaro, what would you do…if I died?" The girl said and laughed. "Huh, eh?" Ayano smiled. The light in the classroom dimmed. It was evening. The girl faded into the shadows. Shintaro ran forward and reached out for her, but she had simply disappeared. And suddenly he was outside the school. Bright blue and red lights. People in blue mixed among the students. Screams in the air. The evening light. There was a crowd in front of him. The black-haired boy pushed people aside and step forward. There was yellow tape around a corner of the school. Shintaro looked, and saw…. And saw… red. Red everywhere.
Kisaragi Shintaro woke up with a start. It was a dream, just another dream. He sat up. It was evening—had he slept the whole day? Well, not like it mattered anyway, he thought. He got out of his bed and sat down in front of his computer, staring at its bright screen with dull eyes. As usual, Ene appeared on the screen. "Master." The blue figure said from the screen.
The boy didn't reply. Shintaro moved his hand towards to mouse, but instead felt something cold and hard. He picked it up. It was a scissors. He looked into its gleaming blade. He saw his reflection. A boy in dark clothes, with dark hair and dead eyes. Shintaro realized something. At that moment, he felt pure madness take over. "You're not here…" "Master? Master?!" Shintaro stroked the scissors, then put it down on the table. "It seems that there is a way…"
"Master?" Shintaro moved towards the computer screen. He clicked on Ene, despite her protests. He right-clicked. A list of options appeared. He scrolled down and placed the arrow on an option. "Master, what are you doing?!" Ene shouted. The boy didn't listen. There was no hesitation as he clicked "delete".
"Master? Master!" Ene screamed. She faded away, pixel by pixel, until there was nothing left but a blank screen. "Ah, the nuisance is gone." Shintaro said to himself with finality. He picked up the scissors again. "Now I can finally...kill myself." He brought the scissors up to his throat.
Memories rushed through his mind. His family. Would they be mad? His dad was already gone. His mother would be sad. Momo. What would happen to his sister? Not like he cared a lot, anyway. He remembered the time they had together as a family, long ago. He remembered his mother telling him that their father had disappeared, and was probably dead. He remembered Momo and his mother crying. Would they cry for him too?
He thought about it, and decided he didn't care. The scissors moved near to his throat. Friends? Did he even have friends? A faint memory tugged at his mind. Four people standing in the evening light, walking home together after school. Takane…and Haruka? He remembered the lunches they ate together, the times they had together. Where were they now? After Ayano died, they had just, simply…disappeared, leaving him all alone. He moved the scissors closer. It touched his throat now. He could feel the cold, sharp metal on his skin. This was it. He closed his eyes.
A strange shadow appeared in his mind. It was familiar. He recalled the red. The scarf. It was red. The clips. They too, were red. Her smile. It was beautiful. But what did it look like again? What was her hair colour? Her height? The NEET thought about it, but could not recall. "It seems that…I have already forgotten you..Ayano." He could only remember her shadow. The shadow he saw walking away, on that last day. "What did I not understand?" Shintaro's voice was laced with sadness. When he thought of her, he could remember the happy times he had with her. Then he remembered the red in the corner of the school. His grip tightened on the scissors. Tears fell from his eyes. Shintaro pulled on the scissors. "I'll remember you again, Ayano." His last words hung in the air.
In the dying evening light, a dark-haired boy lay still on his bed. His blood was red.
Note: I hope this wasn't too depressing. YAY FOR THE AMINE THAT WILL AIR TODAY. I'll write a happy story, soon. But not yet. Next will either be Hibiya or Shintaro- Good end. Also, thanks for the reviews! I enjoy reading them (Even though there is only 3…)