Betrayal of a friend chapter VI

Here's chapter 6! on the 31st of December, 2009! Wishing everyone a Happy New Year and to have a great year ahead! ^^

Chapter 6

“Class rep! Please collect the class’s math homework!”

“Okay!”

“Kumiko, we’ll need help in the decoration of the noticeboard!”

“Okay!”

“Kumiko! We need some of the class fund to hold the courage test!”

“Roger!”

“Kumiko, please do the class seating list…the teachers really need that.”

“Okay!”

“Class rep! Please attend the meeting after school today at 3pm!”

“Alright!”

What is she doing, Rei wondered as he watched Kumiko fly all around the place completing this and that and other various odd jobs assigned to her by both students and teachers. She had been busy all the time, not once refusing anything that was assigned to her.

ARGH, I can’t stand this much longer!!!! Rei folded his arms, creases forming on his forehead. What IS she doing? I’ll have to talk to her. He folded his arms and hunched over the table, a serious look coming over his face.

~********* *****~

“What are you doing? Do you intend to be someone you aren’t for the rest of your life?”

Rei raised his voice over the gentle wind blowing through the rooftop. Kumiko was standing opposite him, her back faced towards him so that he couldn’t see her face.

“Is that all you want to say? I have an extremely busy schedule and it wasn’t easy to make time to hear what you have to say.” Kumiko turned towards the door of the rooftop and started to move off.

“Answer my question! Do you really you can replace Yui? KNOW YOUR PLACE!”

Kumiko froze in her steps. Rei had raised the volume of his voice into a yell. She bowed her head and turned around to face him. Rei maintained his angered expression, his eyes filled with fury, his hands curled into fists.

“Fine. If you are that insistent, I shall tell you.”

She turned her body completely until she was facing Rei, and lifted her head. Her eyes were cold and glassy, as if a blizzard was in them. The aura around her was the same as the day when the girls had questioned about her ability. Rei took an instinctive step back. She…She’s completely changed…like a book with its contents changed…What did she turn into?

Kumiko opened her mouth and started talking, in a soft yet steady voice that overwhelmed Rei. “In the first place, ‘Kumiko’ had never existed.”

Rei was taken aback. “What do you mean by that?”

Kumiko gave a cold smile, one that made Rei’s tongue fall into the pits of his stomach. “I’m saying that ‘Kumiko’ had never existed. The present me, is not ‘Kumiko’ but a replacement for ‘Yui’.”

Rei’s eyebrows furrowed in, his fear all forgotten at the moment. “What are you saying? Hurry up and return back to the ‘Kumiko’ everyone knows before the old you is completely annihilated!”

Kumiko let loose a laughter that could be compared to a laughing maniac. Her eyes suddenly let loose an evil aura, mixed with insanity and cruelty.

“Do you think I can actually revert back to my formal self? I can’t return to who I was before anymore! No one cares about ‘Kumiko’! They only want ‘Yui’ and they don’t give a damn whether I am living or not! And thus…” Kumiko composed herself once more, her voice returning to the peaceful self she was before. “In order to live, I can only be ‘Yui’, or I’ll be living in a world of darkness and hatred.”

Rei broke into a cold sweat. Is she mentally unstable? He suddenly found himself shaking and shivering, but whether from fright or from another emotion, he did not know. But all he knew was, he did not do anything when Kumiko disappeared back down the staircase of the rooftop.

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Betrayal of a friend chapter V

Here's chapter 5! This is approaching an end soon...HELP! I don't know which story to start on NEXT! >< Well, but here's a longer chapter, to make up for the super short chapter 4 ^^ enjoy!

Chapter 5

What happened to her? She hasn’t come to school for a week! Don’t tell me she really…

“REI!”

Rei jerked up, startled. His clique was staring at him.

“What happened? It’s like your soul flew somewhere else after her…”

“SHHH!!! You idiot, don’t talk about it now!”

“Yeah, didn’t you hear that legend…”

Rei smiled carelessly at his friends. “Sorry. I was thinking of schoolwork…” His voice was drowned by the eager chatter in the conversation of his friends, as well as the pelting of rain on the glass panes. The rain had not ceased at all since the funeral, as if nothing was right once Yui was gone. Rei’s gaze went back to where it originally was: the window whose view was directed at the school gates. He had been hoping to hear from Kumiko…whose last words to him were strange. Don’t tell me she really did…

A sudden silhouette he saw made him freeze. Was that…? He stood up, his chair clattering down onto the granite. The class stared at him, surprised at his sudden outburst.

“Rei, are you…”

“I’ll be gone for awhile, help me tell the teacher!” Rei said, jumping over the legs of the fallen chair and dashing out to the main gate.

“REI!”

~******** *****~

“Kumiko-san!”

The silhouette froze. Rain continued to pour as Rei’s clothes started to sag from the absorbance of water. The rain hammered down onto the 2 figures in the blur scene.

“As I thought…Kumiko…why aren’t you coming to school?” Rei shouted above the din of the rain.

Kumiko remained still. As usual, her head was bowed, her shoulders hunched forward, as if she had done something wrong. But then, she lifted her head and turned it a little way back over her shoulder. Rei saw her eyes.

I’ll come back to school tomorrow, Rei realized as he gazed into Kumiko’s eye. Her eyes were remorseful, with the sign of an emotional scar in it. But yet, there was a sense of courage and fear that were struggling within each other’s grasp. What are you up to? Rei wondered even more as the figure called Kumiko disappeared into the mist of the rain.

~********* *****~

The door of the classroom snapped open. Silence reigned as her shoes clacked against the tiles of the floor and everyone turned around just to get a glimpse of the new her.

Her hair was bundled up on the left of her head, the clover clip holding the bunch together. Chipped it might be from the fall, but still usable. The colour of Yui’s eyes were captured by coloured contacts, and her uniform was mimicked to the best of Kumiko’s ability. Kumiko had transformed herself…into Yui.

Her eyes cold and distant, her aura unapproachable, Kumiko sat down in Yui’s seat, in the exact position that Yui always liked. Eyes in the class were all fixed on her, but Kumiko did not care. She rested her head on her hand and stared out of the window at the pouring rain.

She…changed herself…completely, Rei thought, his eyes also captured by the presence of a newly changed appearance. Did she spend the entire week doing this? But…she wasn’t like this when I saw her yesterday…the reason why she didn’t speak to me…was she changing the way she speaks? What caused her to change like that?

The silence was shattered by the teacher entering the classroom. “Homeroom!” he barked and the class silently retreated to their seats. The teacher cleared his throat and said “Today we have self study. All of you take out your textbooks are start revising for your next test!” With that, he left the classroom as the students gave silent cheers.

Some of the more diligent students started revising for the upcoming English test, however, more of the students were curious about the change in Kumiko. They started to crowd around her, with questions like arrows aimed at her.

“What’s with your change?” “What happened to you?” “Why were you absent for a week?” “What’s with the way you wear your clothes and hair? It looks like…”

All these questions were either said with concern, or with scorn and disgust. Well, but knowing these students that scorned on Kumiko’s crush…it’s obvious which expression was used more.

Kumiko’s eyes were still bleak and folorn. She stared at the textbook infront of her. No one could tell if she was really concentrating on the words or listening to the questions, but finally, she spoke a sentence.

“From today onwards…” She hesitated awhile. She lifted her head, and everyone saw the strange calmness of her eyes. “…I’ll be taking over Yui’s place. From her duties…all the way to her friends.”

Everyone stared at her. Some people, astonished but satisfied by the answer, dispersed from the crowd. Others who were unsatisfied stayed put.

“Then you spent the week…”

Kumiko didn’t say anything, but turned her head mechanically towards her book, and inclined her head slightly.

“Well then,” a girl stepped forth. “Let’s see how you are going to be Yui then. She the class representative, as you know, and she’s also one of the best in grades as well as a great athlete. Can you keep up with that?”

Kumiko turned her eyes at her, and at the same moment, a flash of lighting bolted across the sky, the ear-splitting thunder coming along with it.

Her face was illuminated by the lightning. Kumiko was eerie, her aura was filled with resentment and hate, yet the voice she spoke in was filled with confidence and reassurance to the rest of the class. They stiffed up as they saw the coldness in her eyes.

“Yes.”

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Betrayal of a friend chapter IV

Chapter 4! I think there'll be around 3-4 more chapters? Well, it depends! (^o^) Happy reading!

Chapter 4

“What kind of friend are you! She trusted you…how could you let her do this to herself?! You! You…”

The slap resounded through the entire site. Most of the ladies had their heads hidden in veils, and the men had theirs bowed, but the slight lift in the heads were visible. Kumiko had her head bowed like all others, but her veil was ripped off cruelly, marks on her face still visible. Yui’s mother was sobbing infront of her.

Rei watched from the sides. Why is she getting blamed? She doesn’t have anything to do with this…she even cries at the death of her friend. But there’s nothing I can do for her. I can only give her my pity. He bowed his head and left.

~********* *****~

The weather continued the way it was. Skies continued to be overcast, rain pelting down hard, and the atmosphere gloomy. It was the perfect scene you would see at a funeral. The rain had not stopped ever since Yui’s corpse was discovered, as if the skies were mourning for her as well. Several bolts of lightning flashed across the sky, accompanied by rollings of thunder. All the drenched black suits and dresses as well as veils are illuminated as everyone bowed their heads in prayer. It was a scene out of a horror movie. However, despite the depressing atmosphere, she was determined to say herself out.

~********* *****~

He stared at her. She kept her head bowed, yet was filled with determination to say what was on her mind. “I might be slow in saying this…but I absolutely have to say this…” and then she whispered, “It is my only chance left…”

Rei raised an eyebrow. What does she mean that it’s her only chance left? It’s not like she’s gonna go away…His eyes widened as realization dawns upon him. “You’re not going to…”

“I liked you.” Kumiko said simply. She raised her head for a fraction of a second before bowing her head once more, as if the drenched veil over her head weighed a million tons. Rei maintained his silence. “But I can’t love you anymore…I’m sorry. I wanted to go out with you if not for all this…but I can’t…unless she liked you…I’m sorry. That’s all.” Kumiko looked up again. Her pale fingers lifted her soaking veil dripping with water. Her eyes were blank, possessed, and filled with grief, as if all colours had been drained from it along with the rain.

“I’m sorry.” She said once more. She dropped her veil and left with deathly silence. Rei’s eyes followed her back. He watched her until she could no longer be seen in the distance. Only the sound of falling rain was heard.

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Betrayal of a friend chapter III

Here's the next chapter!

Chapter 3

I’ve had enough of this! Kumiko gritted her teeth. It was already 3 days after her harassment and getting Yui was tough. She was always talking to someone and always disappeared during breaks. I have to ask her why she betrayed me.

For the past few days, Kumiko had tried to convince herself that Yui was not the one who did it. However, the night before, she finally lost it. She was mad that Yui avoided her consecutively for 3 days and that she would not face her. She must have done something to avoid me that much…ah! There’s the bell.

Kumiko dashed out of the classroom, just to see Yui’s shadow. She was about to open her mouth to call her name, but a group of girls blocked her way. Kumiko ground her teeth once more. Her fists clenched by her sides unconsciously. Oh yeah…I have to get rid of these people first. Although the event was over, the ‘aftershock’ had yet to be. People around her still gossiped and stared, and those who were more daring and angry continued to single her out and harass her.

“Hey you ****,” The leader of the gang stepped out, head held high and hands on hips. Kumiko did not raise her head. “Who are you going after now?” she sneered as her cronies giggled maliciously. Get OUT of my way.

“Too afraid to answer?” The leader bent down and screwed her face up into a terrible expression. Kumiko then realized that her face was heavily clogged with make-up, her eyes caked with eyeshadow and her face drowned in blusher. She should really get tips from make-up artist, Kumiko thought despite her situation. What a bother. She should seriously get out of my way.

“Heh.” The leader sniffed. She turned around to the giggling gooses behind her. “She’s lost her tongue! Shall we check her?” They, still giggling, managed to nod their heads.

“Well then,” the leader continued, her mouth cracking into a greater grin. “What shall we—” She didn’t continue. Or more like, she could not. Fortunately for that particular group, they could read the atmosphere, or more like the leader could. The rest followed like brainless sheep.

“Get out of my way.” Kumiko said curtly. That was all. With her voice with a steel edge, her eyes with the glint of a murderer, the air around them dark and heavy, the leader could have felt a serial killer holding a knife to her throat. She immediately got the hint, backing away.

“W-we-Well!” she had said to cover the terror she felt in her soul. “I can’t be bothered to deal with you anymore! Watch out for the next time, girl!” She turned and flipped her hair, nose in the air and marched off. Kumiko could see that the arrogant leader was well disturbed by the killer aura that she herself had given off. But I have no time to splurge on her. I have to find Yui.

~********* *****~

Where did she go? She was just here a second ago.

The wail of sirens burst through the air, disrupting the peaceful and typical student life. Murmurs of “What happened” and “What is going on” rippled through the crowds, like disturbed water. Kumiko, in her quest of searching for Yui, had passed through the main building. There, she saw the students flocking the scene of whatever that had happened. Like any typical person, she had wondered the contents of the situation, but then remembering that she had an unfulfilled mission, she decided to continue…until someone saw her.

“Look! It’s Kumiko from 2-D!”

Everyone immediately turned their heads, and so did Kumiko. What does this have to do with me? She was about to run off when the crowd started parting. What are they doing? She found out a few minutes later.

Kumiko felt her head go numb. Her nerves were paralyzed and her eyes went glassy, as if she could not believe what she was seeing. She felt nauseous and the only word to describe her shaking legs then was jelly. Kumiko wanted to cry, but no tears were coming. She wanted to scream, but she could not find her voice. The crowd had parted to form a horseshoe shape, with the gap facing Kumiko to let her see the center of attention and the police directly opposite that. The students became quiet and the only noise made was the siren of the police and ambulance. Finally, the scene registered into Kumiko’s brain, screaming the only sentence that was applicable. Yui is dead.

Yui was sprawled on the tarmac, her body splayed in a peculiar position. Her hands were held in a surrender position, her legs spread apart. Her hair was a mess and her clover clip was chipped. Yui’s eyes were open, vacant and empty. Her mouth, slightly apart, gave the feeling that she wanted to say something, but could not.

“What’s going on here!? Answer me!” barked the officer. The students of Takegawa High started their murmuring once more, but not one answering the officer. The formation of the horseshoe was broken as more students came running to find out what happened, and others who could not take the gruesome scene left. Kumiko collapsed on the floor. Why did you suicide? Now, no one can tell me the truth! What happened to you, Yui! And unknowingly, her tears started to blend with the rain that had begun to pour.

~********* *****~

She died. That was what was in Rei’s mind. He had found the corpse of Yui when he was passing by the front porch along with his clique. His friends had called the police and the ambulance as Rei tried to find a pulse in Yui. Of course, it was too late. Rei was shocked. He had known Yui since junior high and he was convinced that she was an optimistic and outward person. She was about one of the last people he would ever think that would commit suicide.

He attended to the police interrogation. And he saw Kumiko’s reaction.

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