I couldn't shake her words, that twisted smirk, that mocking laughter. She'd said the truth was something deeper, something beyond my own flaws, my own darkness. But if it wasn't about me—then what? Why did she keep showing up, taunting me, throwing me back into this hellish cycle?
Her cryptic clues had pointed me in one direction: Piku.
The idea gnawed at me, bitter and unrelenting. The girl was linked to him somehow; I'd felt it in every encounter, in the way she looked at me when she mentioned "secrets." There was something between them, something hidden beneath the easy smiles and laughter I'd always envied. I had to know what it was.
I started by digging around in the school's archives, pouring over old yearbooks and newspaper clippings. Each page, each faded photograph, brought a wave of unease. There were dozens of photos of past students, groups of friends beaming up at the camera, their eyes bright with a future they never questioned. But no matter how many faces I studied, I couldn't find her. It was as if she'd never existed here at all.
I turned to the school records next, hoping to find something—anything—that would give me a clue. And there, hidden in the back pages of an old student directory, I found her name scrawled in the faded ink: Reika Nakamura. A chill ran down my spine as I traced the letters. She'd been here, walked these same halls, seen these same classrooms.
And then, in an even smaller note next to her name: "Transferred out. Circumstances unclear."
Transferred out…? That made no sense. She was dead, trapped in this cycle with me, haunting my every step. The more I stared at her name, the more questions flooded my mind. Who was she to Piku? Why was she caught up in this cycle? Why was she so desperate to keep me from finding the truth?
There was one person who might have answers.
---
Later that day, I tracked down a teacher who'd been at the school for years. I cornered him outside his classroom as he locked up for the day, my heart pounding with anticipation.
"Excuse me, Mr. Yamada," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "Do you remember a student named Reika Nakamura?"
He paused, a flicker of surprise crossing his face. "Reika Nakamura…" His expression darkened, and for a moment, he looked almost haunted. "Yes, I remember her. Why do you ask?"
I forced myself to hold his gaze. "I just… I came across her name in some old records. It seemed like she left the school under strange circumstances."
Mr. Yamada's face turned grave, and he let out a heavy sigh. "Reika… she was a bright student, but troubled. She was close with Piku—inseparable, actually. But something… something happened." He lowered his voice, casting a wary glance around. "It's not something we like to talk about."
"Please," I pressed, the desperation in my voice evident. "I need to know."
He hesitated, then finally gave in, his voice barely above a whisper. "It was years ago, but there were rumors. Reika and Piku were involved in something… dark. People said she'd changed, that she was starting to fall apart. Then, one day, she disappeared. The official story was that she transferred out, but…" He shook his head. "Some of us believed something else happened to her. Something Piku never talked about."
A chill settled over me as his words sank in. "What do you mean? What happened to her?"
Mr. Yamada's gaze dropped, and he shook his head. "That's all I know. After Reika was gone, Piku acted like nothing had happened. But he wasn't the same. It was as if a shadow had settled over him, one that never went away."
The answer left me reeling, but I knew I couldn't press him any further. I thanked him, but the pieces still didn't fit together. What had happened to Reika? And why was Piku's name tangled up in this twisted web?
---
The more I dug, the more I found myself caught in the shadow of Reika's story. The students who had known her were long gone, but rumors still lingered, whispered fragments in the corners of empty hallways, hints of a darkness that clung to her even after her disappearance.
And then I found it—the final piece.
Hidden in the depths of the school's old newspaper archive was a single, fragile article, nearly crumbling in my hands. The headline was faded, the ink smudged, but the words hit me like a punch to the gut: "Mysterious Death of Reika Nakamura."
My blood ran cold as I read the short, unsettling account. Reika had been found dead in an abandoned building near the school grounds, the cause of death ruled as… undetermined. And there, buried in the text, a single line made my heart stop.
The last person seen with Reika Nakamura was her close friend, Piku Shirogane.
The words blurred as I stared at them, my hands shaking. Piku had been with her. And after that… she had died. The implication was clear, even if the article didn't dare to spell it out.
Piku had killed her.
The truth crashed down on me, the weight of it suffocating. Piku, the friend I'd envied, the one whose life I'd seen as perfect, had been hiding this dark secret all along. He'd been the reason for Reika's death. And now, her spirit was trapped here, dragging me through this endless cycle, pushing me to see the darkness beneath the surface.
A sharp, echoing laugh rang out, shattering the silence. I looked up, and there she was, her form flickering in the dim hallway, her eyes gleaming with a twisted satisfaction.
"So, you finally see it," she said, her voice low and mocking. "The truth you refused to look at. Piku isn't the shining light you thought he was. He's the one who took everything from me. And now…" She leaned closer, her eyes narrowing with a cold fury. "Now, he'll take everything from you."
I backed away, her words pressing in on me, the horror of it all sinking in. I had been blind, envious of someone who had done the unthinkable, trapped in this nightmare because I'd failed to see the truth staring me in the face.
Piku's laughter echoed down the hallway, distant but haunting, a twisted reminder of everything I'd envied, everything I'd resented.
And now, knowing the truth, I had no choice but to confront him.