Shadow of the Dead

friends

Rima's Route
"Rima chan, why are you so sad? Were they quarreling again?" asked a fourth grade student. The question was directed toward a small girl with blonde hair that was as long as her entire frame. So small. So fragile. The second girl who was Rima seemed like a second grader though she was the same age and class as the first one. " Rima chan?" the first girl asked her with concerned face seeing her friend silent.

"T-they were f-fighting again. This time it was out of control. They said they would d-d-divorce," said Rima shuttered, crying.

"Oh Rima chan," the other girl sympathized.

"They weren't even fighting on whose going to keep me. No, they even argued for the other one to take me. They don't want me. No one wants me. I am just an unwanted piece of trash,everyone hates me...I'm a filth.." stated Rima using her hands to clean the tears that left her eyes. But they kept pouring down. All of sudden she started beating herself while sobbing loudly.

"That's not true. Don't think like that. You are not trash. You are beautiful. You are lovely and.. and you are my friend," said Rima's golden eyed friend gripping both of her hands together close to her heart.

"Friend?" asked Rima.

"That's right. You are my most important friend." Her friend beamed brightly at rima. She thought this was beginning of a beautiful friendship but looks like fates played a twisted game in both of their lives...

At the beginning of their fifth grade, the same two girls were under sakura tree. In Japan, school starts in spring so the tree was fully blossomed. "Say, I am your most important friend, right?" asked Rima.

"Uh huh," replied the other.

"Then will you give me what I ask you to?" said Rima.

"Anything that is not out of my reach," replied the golden eyed girl excitedly. Her smile was always so radiant and Rima hated that. Though this was her only friend, a friend that doesn't mix with her only for popularity. But Rima hated the fact that she was always happy. That she had everything Rima couldn't have. A loving family, non quarrelling parents, a warm personality. Even him, the boy of Rima's dreams.

"So what is it?" asked the girl.

"Huh?" Rima snapped out of thoughts.

"The thing that you wanted. What is it?"

"Oh, I...I want," Rima was unsure about saying it but she knew that she desperately needed to say it. That was what she wanted after all.

"Rima chan?"

"I want Nagihiko," stated Rima firmly. After that there was awkward silence which her friend broke by saying "Sorry, that's not something I can give you," and so saying the other girl left Rima who didn't move a inch and continued to sat under the tree, her bangs covering her eyes as she 'Tsked'. The bell already rang signaling the end of the break and also signaling the end of their friendship.

"Rima chan, why are you doing this?" cried the girl, Rima's ex friend to be exact. "Aren't we friends?"

"Oh really, I don't remember ever being friends with a stupid freak? And friends always give their friends what they ask for. Clearly you didn't do that, now did you?" stated Rima examining her nails with a bored expression. The other girl was practically lying on the ground. Three boys of the same grade was keeping her head down on the ground under their queen's (Rima's) order.

"B-but True friends don't ask for things that belong to their friends," said the girl while struggling to get up from the ground.

"Then that means we were never friends to begin with," stated Rima. "Boys, show little missy not to mess with your queen." After saying that Rima left the place ignoring " Yes, your majesty" from her fan slaves.

"Rima," her mother called in an angry tone. Both her parents were giving her angry and dangerous looks. "Rima, how dare you! I never thought the day will come when my own daughter would turn out to be a murderer," she said.

"What...?" asked Rima hesitantly and was immediately slapped by her father.

"STOP LYING, YOU LITTLE BRAT! You killed your classmate, the one you brought home last year, didn't you?" asked her father venomously.

"What... what are you talking about? I don't know anything. I know nothing about this," Rima tried to convince her parents. She started crying hard the time her father slapped her.

"She left a note, a suicide note. The police was also informed. The note says clearly that you killed her. You monster," stated her mother. Both her parents were looking at her in such disgust that her breathing nearly stopped.

Rima was panting heavily. It was a dream. It was just a dream, no, a terrible nightmare. The biggest nightmare of her life. When she glanced at her table clock and turned on the clock light, she saw it was only 4:35. Well, she should go back to sleep. There's no point in having a sleepy face at the beginning of the second term of her tenth grade. Her fan slaves might leave if they think that she is not worth serving.