It's Better This Way

Ruby's POV

Ruby's POV:

I woke to my alarm beeping. I yawned as I turned off my alarm. I sat up and stretched. I had to get ready for a meeting I was having with a friend. We were working on an assignment together. It was due tomorrow.

I hate that I let her talk me into procrastinating. Now we're short on time. We better get this done today or I'll kill her.

I got off of my bed. I grabbed my clothes and got a quick shower. Once I was done, I went downstairs to get something to eat. There was already someone in the kitchen when I got down.

"Good morning, onee-chan!" I greeted them.

"Morning, Ruby." Dia replied.

"Yoshiko is coming over later." I said.

"Alright. Have fun." Dia said.

She left the kitchen after that. I made myself a bowl of cereal to eat. I ate it quickly. I didn't have much time until Yoshiko was supposed to arrive. I wish we could've done this later, but we have a lot if work to do.

Just as I finished putting my bowl away, the doorbell rang. I went and answered it. It was my friend.

"Hey, Yoshiko!" I smiled.

"It's Yohane." Yoshiko huffed.

"Come in?" I stepped aside.

Yoshiko entered my house. We started walking toward the steps. Dia came down them. I smiled at her and she smiled back. I looked at Yoshiko. She hadn't even acknowledged Dia's presence.

"Aren't you going to say hi to onee-chan?" I asked.

Yoshiko blinked at me in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

"She's right there. Why are you being so rude? It's been too long. Will you stop this joke already?" I huffed.

"Um... hi, Dia." Yoshiko awkwardly said.

"Better." I said.

I drug Yoshiko up to my room. Everyone in Aqours has been ignoring Dia. I don't get it. They act like she doesn't exist. What is going on? I don't get why they'd do this. There's no reason.

"You ready to start?" Yoshiko asked.

I nodded. We got our stuff out and got to work. I didn't think my third year would be so hard. I was thinking it would be about the same. I was very wrong.

It soon became late. We had gotten so caught up in our work we hadn't even noticed how late it now was. Yoshiko had to get going. I walked her to the front door. Dia was in the living room. Yoshiko said he to me, but not to her.

I need to get to the bottom of this. But, how? Even Dia doesn't know what's up with everyone. This is going to be hard to do. I'm not sure how I'll succeed in it. All I know is that I have to. I can't just let them keep ignoring her.

...

I confronted Yoshiko at school the next day. I'll try and start with her. Hopefully I can get something out of her. I asked Yoshiko to hang out at lunch. I took her to a secluded area.

"Yoshiko, why are you and everyone else always ignoring onee-chan? What gives?" I asked.

"Um... Ruby, Dia isn't here... she's not at home with you." Yoshiko said.

"She is. She came home from college." I replied, "Why won't you talk?"

"Ruby, it's... it's hard to explain..." Yoshiko sighed.

"Stop ignoring her. What has she done to you?" I said.

"Ruby..."

I stood up. I don't want to hear anymore of this. It's obvious she isn't going to tell me anything. I'll have to find it out another way. But, how? How else can I figure this out?

I walked away from Yoshiko. I went and sat with some of my other friends. Yoshiko gazed at me from a distance and then walked away.

It's her own fault that I'm treating her this way. She needs to stop ignoring Dia. I'll ignore her until she stops. Maybe that'll show her. I doubt she'd like someone ignoring her.

That's going to be hard to do. I like talking to her. But, I need to try. I need to figure this out. There has to be a reason for this. I need to know what it is.

...

My plan didn't work out as well as I had wanted it to. Yoshiko didn't seem fazed by my silence. What will it take to get her to open up about what's going on? It's killing me not to know.

I walked up to Yoshiko after classes ended. She stared at me. She doesn't seem bothered at all. Why can't I find a way to break her? I don't remember her being this stubborn.

I sighed. This is hopeless. I'll never understand what's going on. No one wants to tell me anything. Yoshiko and I walked together. We always did. We soon split and went our separate ways.

I made it home. Dia was waiting for me as always. I smiled and hugged her. She hugged me back. I don't get why anyone would ignore her. She's a nice person.

What could she have done to anger people. I don't think she's done anything. They're all just being really mean. I don't get it. Why are they being so mean to her?

We watched TV together for a while. As evening fell, the doorbell rang. I don't think we were expecting anyone. I got up and answered the door. Yoshiko was there.

"Where's Dia?" Yoshiko asked.

"I'll get her." I replied.

Has she finally come to apologize? I hope so. Maybe my plan did work. I got Dia and led her to Yoshiko. Yoshiko didn't really say anything to her. She stared at Dia.

"Why'd you want her?" I asked.

"To do this." Yoshiko replied.

She pulled something out from behind her. It was a knife. I froze in place. Yoshiko started stabbing Dia. I screamed. She didn't stop. I tried to yank her off, but she was stronger than me.

"What are you doing!? Stop!" I pleaded.

"I'm doing this for your own good, Ruby." Yoshiko replied.

She kept stabbing Dia. Nothing I tried could stop her. Yoshiko pulled away. I collapsed beside Dia. I was sobbing. I tried to shake her awake. It didn't work. She was dead.

Dead...

Yoshiko... killed her...

For my own... good?