I watched Piku from across the room, my vision blurring around him, my heartbeat a dull roar in my ears. He looked so calm, so utterly oblivious. While I burned, while I fought tooth and nail to keep this darkness at bay, he lived in a world untouched by shadows.
Lunch came, and I found myself walking to the rooftop, each step dragging me further into that familiar haze, the suffocating, venomous heat building in my chest. It was almost laughable—the predictability of it all, this twisted routine we were stuck in. A puppet show on repeat, and I was the one pulling the strings this time.
The door swung open, and Piku turned to greet me, his smile as bright as ever. I barely saw it–barely heard him as he called my name, as if I were still his friend.
"Takeru! You look terrible, man," he said, his voice covered with concern.
For a moment, I hesitated. A faint, distant whisper urged me to walk away, to leave him and this darkness behind. But as his laughter rang out, clear and carefree, that whisper was snuffed out, drowned by the deep-rooted rage clawing up from within me.
My fingers twitched, finding the familiar shape of the knife in my pocket. It was waiting, almost beckoning.
"Piku," I said softly, taking a step closer. "Have you ever wondered what it's like... to be in someone's shadow?"
He laughed, but the sound faded when he saw the look in my eyes. His smile faltered. "What... what are you talking about, Takeru?"
"Just answer the question." My voice was cold, sharp each word like a weigh dragging us closer to the edge. "Do you know what it feels like to always be less? To have someone else's light blind you, so you can't even see your own reflection?"
Piku took a step back, his brow furrowing in confusion, then concern. "Takeru, you're not making any sense. We're friends, aren't we?
You don't have to–"
"Friends?" The word tasted butter, twisted on my tongue. "You think you know me, but all you've ever seen is what I let you see."
He swallowed, his gaze flicking to the door, a flash of fear breaking through his calm exterior. "Takeru, please... I don't understand. Just tell me what's wrong, okay? We can fix this."
"Fix this?" I let out a hollow laugh. "You can't fix something that's broken beyond repair."
He opened his mouth to speak, to plead, but I was done listening. The darkness surged, guiding my hand as I pulled out the knife, it's cold metal catching the light. Piku's eyes widened, his fear finally matching the rage building in me.
He backed up until he was pressed against the railing, nowhere left to go. His hands raised defensively. "Takeru, don't...please. This isn't you."
"No, Piku." I stepped closer, my voice barely a whisper. "This is who I am."
Before he could react, I drive the blade into him, feeling the resistance of flesh and bone as I twisted the knife, each motion fueled by years of resentment, a lifetime of being cast aside, overshadowed by his light.
He gasped, his eyes locked on mine, filled with shock and betrayal. His hand gripped my arm wrakly, as if he could still pull me back, save me from this darkness. But I kept going, plunging the blade over and over, each strike releasing another wave of bitterness, each twist drawing out his life, extinguishing that light that had haunted me.
Blood stained my hands, soaked my clothes, splattered across my face. But it wasn't enough. I wanted to erase him completely, to drown him in the feeling of power, the sense that, finally, I was free from his shadow.
Piku's body slumped, his strength fading as his breaths came in shadllow, ragged gasps. His gaze grew distant, his voice barely a whisper. "T-Takeru... why...?"
I leaned in close, so he could hear me, so my words would be the last he'd ever know. "Because you never knew what it was like to be me."
With one final plunge, his body stilled, his last breath leaving his lips as his eyes glazed over, empty and lifeless.
I staggered back, the weight of what I'd done pressing down on me, my pulse thrumming in my ears.
Once again, I had been consumed by jealousy.
I glanced down at my bloodied hands, at the life I'd taken, and a strange, hollow emptiness filled me, as if nothing I'd done could ever bring me peace.
The world blurred, darkness closing in. And then—
I was back in the classroom
The laughter of my classmates echoed around me, and there was Piku, alive, laughing as if nothing had happened, as if I hadn't just taken his life in the most brutal way possible.
I clenched my ifsts, staring at my clean hands, the nightmare looping again. My chest tightened with a mix of horror and despair.
The girl was there, leaning against the wall, watching me with a knowing smile. "Well, Takeru," she murmured, her voice soft yet piercing. "Did that finally satisfy you? Or are you starting to see the truth?"
I glared at her, frustration and anger boiling over. "What do you want from me? I've done everything— everyhing—and I still end up back here. Why are you haunting me?"
She tilted her head, a slight smile playing on her lips. "I'm not haunting you, Takeru. I'm guiding you. There's a reason you keep coming back here, a reason you can't escape, But until you face what's inside, until you accept the truth, this cycle will keep repeating."
"What truth?" I demanded, desperation creeping into my voice.
Her eyes glinted, her voice a chilling whisper. "The truth about Piku... And the darkness that binds you both."
With that, she vanished, leaving me alone with the weight of her words and the sickening knowledge that I was trapped in this endless loop of blood and betrayal.