Crimson…

The crimson tint on a suffocating canvas that robs me of my freedom causes me to suffer powerful arches that contort my entire body.

And again. The unpleasant sequence repeated as if it had no end.

The grotesque image that I witnessed the day that destroyed my world, it repeated in my head over and over.

Stop...

Please... stop now.

...

When I woke up, tears streamed down my face from my recently opened eyes without even giving me the opportunity to wake up completely, by pure instinct I went to wipe my face with the back of my hand.

So vivid… so repetitive…

The stormy dreams that have haunted me since that day continues torturing me, giving me mornings that I prefer to quickly forget as I prepare to go to school. Dreams that repeat in my head over and over, things that I prefer to forget, guilt that does not move from my heart.

You could have avoided it.

You’re a monster.

You didn’t protect them; you broke your promise.

Worse yet... you’re a murderer.

There is not a moment in my life when those ominous voices do not resonate in my head regardless of what I think, do or say.

***

“Good morning, Yukiko-chan~”

“Good morning, Inohara-san.”

I answered harshly while looking for things in my bag for the class that was about to start.

Inohara Madoka, the only girl who didn’t seem freaked out by my listless demeanor, contradictory to the furtive glances and whispers around me.

Despite having her invasive presence near me reluctantly… I don’t consider her a nuisance, at least not totally. In effect, it’s like having some background noise; giving me the feeling of company from time to time.

After all, Inohara is not a bad girl; it’s just that...

“Shima-kun, come closer, come here!”

… She has something like a sick obsession with micros.

In all the time that I have known her, she has never really hurt one, she doesn’t risk their lives and tries to be careful around them so as not to hurt or step on them by accident; even so, her attitude towards them is even worse than with me.

While I’m a person her own size and I still feel somewhat pushed by her invasive attitude, a tiny human close to being an insect has no chance against her hyperactive behavior.

Holding them without permission, petting them like animals… the spectrum of invasive activities I have seen her perpetrate against her victims ranges from innocent (but terrifying), repetitive greetings, up to harmless kidnappings.

“Enough, Inohara-san” I say without looking away from inside my bag, using my hands to continue rummaging through the numerous things inside.

“But Yukiko-chaaan~ I’m not doing anything wrong!”

“Maybe not, but it’s creepy.”

For a moment I felt something curious in my chest, like a cobwebbed feeling being revealed… if I had to express it in some way.

“Still… wait, Yukiko-chan worries about me?”

“Huh?” Finding what I was looking for in the bag, I turned to see her stunned expression.

“Yukiko-chaaaan!”

Almost jumping, Inohara invaded my personal space, hugging me and tightening her arms on my back while rubbing her smaller chest on mine.

“Hey! Stay away!”

“But Yukiko-chan is worried about me! That’s a reason to celebrate!”

“What the hell is wrong with you!?”

Having enough of her nonsense, I grabbed both shoulders of the frantic girl violating my personal space and pushed her a few centimeters away, attempting to calm her down.

“W-wow, it’s true what they say, you’re pretty strong…” Apparently taken by surprise due to my strength as I held her, Inohara calmed down a bit.

Feeling that the storm of her ridiculous frantic mood was gone, I let go of her shoulders and resumed a normal position in my seat.

“Please don’t do that again.”

“You don’t like body contact?” Sitting down again, the white-haired girl questioned.

“Body contact...?” Repeating her question myself, I arranged my things on the table and thought of a suitable answer. I don’t really know, just being affectionate is not something that I think is necessary, I don’t need it, it’s all.

Yes, exactly… it’s not that I hate contact with other people, it’s just… that I don’t need it, I can ignore it while necessary.

“But we all need it... having friends and be attached to others is a very nice feeling, you shoul-”

“I don’t need it.”

A different intonation, perhaps aggressive or perhaps intimidating, escaped from my lips as my vocal cords tightened a bit in response to the ridiculous proposition of the girl sitting behind me.

But whatever the nature of my tone of voice at that moment was, Inohara’s torrent of words and intensity faded considerably.

“Sure… understood” she said, speaking in a noticeably lower voice than before.

As soon as we finished our conversation with that awkward turn, our teacher arrived to kick off the first period of the day.

***

“Aaaah, finally we’re free!”

At the moment our last period of the day ended when the bell rang throughout the institution, I took all my stuff and put it in the bag that accompanies me daily.

“Are you leaving? Hmm... you’re not in any club, are you, Yukiko-chan?

“I’m not interested and if you’re going to take me to look for clubs, I’m not interested either.”

Her previous smile fell apart in an instant as my words stabbed her.

“W-wait! You can’t be serious!”

“Do I have a clown face? Why would I lie?”

“Hey… are you seriously just going home for the rest of our third year of high school?”

Starting to walk away from my seat, I gave her my answer with simple actions.

But contrary to what I imagined, when I walked away I heard her voice saying to wait for her, at one point she caught my step leaving our classroom and walking through the hallways of the school.

“That was rude!”

“Uh… I’m sorry.”

Considering her behavior and my attitude, I think that even if she’s somewhat hyperactive, leaving someone talking alone is not the most polite thing you can do.

“Either way… you can’t spend the rest of your high school life just going home after classes! There are many different clubs, fun things to do! You have to enjoy your yout-”

“Inohara-san” I stopped in my tracks, having enough of her monologue.

“Are you going to come with me to see clubs!?” She stopped in front of me, clasping her hands in front of her chest in excitement.

I would rather not use an ominous speech like this... I would rather not say this kind of thing to anyone, much less someone as kind as Inohara, but at this point even I feel some deep pain in my chest when she tells me those insensitive things.

Enjoy your youth.

“The reason why I keep studying at Hanichi High School after the incident that took place, that incident that I’m sure you are aware of… the only reason I’m still in this hell despite that is because I plan to find that person… the person who massacred my younger brother and my boyfriend.”

Inohara’s face had drawn a serious expression as she listened to my words, waiting for me to finish speaking.

“And once I find that person...”

“What will you do once you find that person?”

“I’ll kill that person.”

Silence.

Between the two of us a deep silence reigned after I had finished pronouncing those forceful words, such a heavy meaning was said with such simplicity… I think that would be the most shocking thing behind its meaning.

On the other hand, Inohara’s face remained confused, an expression that didn’t show seriousness, concern or disbelief, simply as if she had not understood what I said... but at the same time, as if she understood perfectly what I was talking about.

“I see…”

Her really complicated expression disappeared from my sight when the platinum-white haired girl turned her back to me, staying in place.

“Saturday…”

“Mm?”

“This Saturday, would you like to go out with me?”

Turning to me again, a slight smile spread across her face, her eyes closed, waiting for my answer.

“Go out? Where?”

“And where else? To a mall, to see nice clothes, eating… a date I mean.”

“A date huh...”

Although I am used to hearing that term... I am not used to hearing it between people who do not show a romantic interest in each other; obviously nowadays interpersonal relationships are much more flexible and people are free to say more things to each other without it meaning something weird, even so, I felt a bit strange when she said it that way.

“Mm... could it be that Yukiko-chan misunderstood the meaning of my words?”

In response to my extended silence, it seems that Inohara figured out… partially, what I was thinking.

“M-misunderstood…?”

Capturing the meaning behind her crooked and mischievous smile, I instantly understood that she was trying to play a prank on me to embarrass me... sure, that’s the kind of person I’ve been able to see Inohara being in class with our classmates, be they regular sized or micro.

Sighing, I decided to give the best possible answer to deal with matters like this.

“I have no interest, thank you for your invitation... but no.”

“Huuuuuh? Have I been rejected...?”

Just saying that, a strange expression appeared on her face again, one that I couldn’t explain clearly... while her face was slightly smiling, her eyes looked up as if she were thinking about something.

“It doesn’t matter… not for now.” Turning around, Inohara got away.

“Huh?”

“See you tomorrow, Yukiko-chan~”

Weird… definitely weird.

Inohara Madoka? The super nuisance giving up on a simple ‘no’? Nah… something’s wrong, I don’t think she’ll give up so easily, right? After all... that girl is really annoying, I would not say that she is a stalker... but she has a really intense and insistent personality, she’s not one of those people who gives up without first begging you several times even if they know that their pleas won’t have results.

Realizing that I was left watching her figure disappear into the crowd in the distance as I posed myself standing in the middle of the school corridors, I shook my head slightly before moving from my place to home.

Either way… that’s it for today, I’ll take care of whatever this girl has in mind tomorrow.

***

“Eh? A boy in our class disappeared?”

“Yes… apparently a week has passed since he was last seen.”

As I put the material I used in the last class back in my bag the day after I had received that strange request from Inohara, I could hear murmurs from some of the students who were still in the classroom talking to each other... when that topic came up.

“But... things like that always happen, right?”

“That’s it! Why would a specific case have a special relevance?”

Although I wouldn’t be able to share the disregard for human life that these seemingly innocent high school girls expressed for their tiny sized classmates, I’m able to understand their words to some degree; I mean... we study in a school where the abuse of people because of their size is something daily and from harassment to murder... the situations where these acts are penalized shake in fear in comparison to the situations where they go completely unnoticed by the authorities.

If someone asked me, I think I would expose it as ‘unilateral anarchy’, they can do with a not exactly small (no pun intended) group what they want but not the other way around.

Going back to the main point, under what circumstances does one of these cases turn into a word of mouth on Hanichi? Well... there are several factors that influence this matter; generally, one of these situations is when the victim is a popular person, be it between micros or regulars... the other situation is when the victim was a partner of a regular sized.

“X-chan’s boyfriend was killed”

“Hey, haven’t you noticed that X-chan is no longer with Z-kun?”

Being obviously, X-chan a regular girl and Z-kun a micro boy.

However… there is a third influential factor that can go into making a disappearance or death a topic to talk about among Hanichi’s regular students.

“I don’t know... but yesterday I heard it from a kouhai... can you believe it? A girl from another class knew that someone from my class had disappeared a week ago while I had no idea!”

“Hahahaha! You sure are clueless!”

“I don’t think it’s her fault, they are so insignificant that I don’t think anyone would notice if someone else didn’t mention it.”

And this third factor is kidnapping.

I believe that anyone who has lived with others in an environment such as a high school knows this, no matter how isolated and marginalized they are. Gossips in a school spread like a virus; and in matter of a couple of days, the declaration of love of a popular boy may be the main topic of conversation in the halls of the school, a hot fuss about a girl selling inappropriate pics can be heard in the bathrooms and a teacher being expelled for having an improper relationship with a student can even appear on information boards.

It’s exactly the same with rumors.

Let’s say X-kun is an average completely average micro student.

Y-san is a regular student but like X-kun, she’s perfectly average, she doesn’t stand out, she isn’t popular... although this quality is a variable to tell the truth.

One day, Y-san kidnaps X-kun and generally this realization will not reach the ears of regular people who might take it as something relevant. Maybe X-kun had a friend who was the couple of a regular girl, and this boy could comment something about the subject to his girlfriend… but that’s a separate subject that I will not include in this hypothesis.

A reasonable time later, Y-san talks to Z-san, a regular classmate from her class.

“Hey, have you seen X-kun? I heard he hadn’t attended classes for some time now.”

Clearly, the phrase ‘I heard’ is of vital relevance in this formula; by implying that she heard it from someone else, Y-san denies the suspicion of being involved as Z-san will believe that this rumor has already circulated for some time to reach Y-san’s ears.

Likewise, Z-san will spread this rumor with her acquaintances and such a rumor will spread at high-speed... until it becomes a fact when people realize that X-kun has indeed disappeared.

Was he kidnapped or did he just stop attending class? Usually, people will seek to sensationalize the story that has spread, changing details and turning it into some kind of fantastical story, in some cases, totally different from what Y-san said in the first place.

“I heard someone kidnapped X-kun”

“What if he just stopped coming?”

“A friend of mine said she saw him being kidnapped!”

“No way!”

...

“Although... that was not the only thing my kouhai mentioned.”

When I finished gathering my things, I got up from my seat to go home and left behind the whispering of the girls... or that was what I intended until certain words caught my attention.

“Are you referring to...?”

“Mmhmm, what happened three days ago, you have to know, right?”

“Of course I know! What planet do you think I’m on?”

“I wonder what happened to that Tamanaha boy…”

“Tamanaha? Who’s that?”

Tamanaha Yuu… that name, a sensation in Hanichi High School.

Apparently, Tamanaha Yuu, a second-year micro disappeared three days ago without a trace... and it’s something that I would not expect from someone... from a micro that I, of all people, am aware of.

Popular, good grades, athletic and very sociable. For a micro... all his goals are feats, whether between micros or regulars, the boy is as iconic as untouchable for our nice group of regular psychopathic killers... but why is that?

For developing a system that made him able to oppose people with strength and influence hundreds… no, thousands of times greater than what he could dream of, using a technique so simple and unconventional that it earned him the fame he has.

“IT CAN’T BE THAT YOU DON’T KNOW WHO HE IS!”

To be honest, I can’t think of a way for someone to get close to him and, at least, intentionally, manage to hurt him... and although there is always the possibility that it was a simple accident, with Tamanaha Yuu that is not an explanation and both what is heard and what I saw yesterday, it is definitely not the case.

The boy did not disappear by accident and every time I think about his case my skin crawls, not precisely because of empathy but because I’m sure that something terribly sinister looms after the disappearance of a person... and that terribly sinister "something" will be looked down upon and buried alongside a mountain of rumors and youthful gossip.

Putting those nonsensical thoughts aside, I decided to finally get up without first taking a look at Inohara’s seat.

She left without making much of a fuss today huh… maybe she wasn’t in the mood to joke around… and it’s not that I care anyway, if I don’t have to deal with her annoying personality, it’s a plus after all.

However, barely leaving the classroom... my hopes were brutally destroyed when I ran into her.

“Yukiko-chaaan~”

With a leap, the white-haired girl standing behind the door clung to me in a forced hug that made me recoil.

“Hey! Let go!”

“But it’s very nice to hug you!”

Trying to struggle to get Inohara off of me, something made me stop when I heard her whisper words in my ear in an unusual tone of voice for her.

“Are you still opposed to coming with me on a date this weekend...?”

Taking advantage of the fact that there were hardly any people in the hallway, I left her stuck to me when I heard her speak… anyway, if I could avoid playing along it would be the best for me. Still, something about her voice made me slightly uneasy… mainly because this time when she said it, it didn’t feel like she was asking me, instead, it felt like she was threatening me.

“Inohara, I don’t want to, I won’t go wi-“

Before I could finish my curt reply, the girl whispered in my ear at an even lower volume than before.

“But there is someone I really want you to meet~”

When I finished saying those words, she let go of me and took a couple of steps back while smiling at me with her usual silly face, but... I could see that this time there was something different in her smile, perhaps a product of my imagination that caused me restlessness.

“What are you talking about?”

Then Inohara in response to my confused voice, pointed towards the classroom; the restless whispers of the girls inside were still heard. We both remained silent listening to their energetic talk.

“But… honestly, for a micro, he’s quite handsome.”

“You mean Tamanaha-kun?”

“Of course, if he does show up again, I think I’ll gather my courage and confess to him.”

“Why confess to him if you can make him go out with you?”

“Hahahaha, you’re right!”

It took me a moment to understand what Inohara was referring to… but when I realized it, I felt the color leave my face and my fist shook.

“I’ll wait for you at that popular store where they sell tapioca close to the school, do you know it?”

Hearing Inohara’s quiet words, I nodded head down. Wait... what does this mean?

How did my thought process got me here?

Leaving me alone just like yesterday, the sound of Inohara Madoka’s footsteps lost their force with each iteration until I stopped hearing them. My world somehow re-dyed that vivid crimson hue.