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The bullying was starting to get to Muu. It had only been a few weeks since the target shifted from Rei to her, but every day made her feel worse and worse.
Muu didn’t understand.
She never did anything wrong, so why was she being treated this way now?
Since everything changed once Rei showed up, if she were gone, wouldn’t everything return back to normal?
She decided she would meet Rei after school, just to talk about it. Maybe they could discuss a solution.
.
.
.
As usual, Muu found herself with a beating and a bucket of water dumped over her head at the end of the day. She couldn’t remember much of it, and truthfully, she didn’t want to. She seemed to blank out during much of the bullying recently. Now, she was lying pathetically on the bathroom floor, the contents of her school bag scattered around her. She quickly reached to grab the utility knife in front of her, ignoring the rest of the items. After shoving it in her pocket, she looked up at the window and saw that the sky was an orange-ish hue; school must have ended hours ago already. Too late to see Rei today… she thought to herself, sadder about it than she’d expect to be.
As if in response to her thoughts, Rei emerged from one of the stalls in the bathroom, barely glancing at Muu. It was like a god above them had pitied Muu and decided to grant her a small miracle today.
Muu knew it was her chance. She took a moment to come to her senses and get up, but once she did, she began to promptly follow after Rei.
Muu didn’t intend to hurt Rei. She held the utility knife in her hand now, but it was just in case something were to happen. In a way, it brought Muu a sense of comfort to be holding it.
The air outside held a chill that felt bitter against Muu’s still-wet hair and clothing. The sky was a mix of orange and yellow as the sun set. The sounds of crows cawing could be heard in the distance.
Muu hastened her speed outside to catch up to Rei, reaching her hand out towards her, “Rei! Rei, Muu wants to talk… please?!” She grabbed onto Rei’s arm.
The girl turned to face her, a mix of disgust and confusion on her face. The expression pained Muu to see; whatever reaction she was hoping for, it wasn’t this. Did Rei hate her that much?
“Kusunoki? What do you want?” Rei spat, “Upset you’ve taken my place as punching bag? Feel bad now? Well, thanks, but I’m not interested in any apologies.” She turned back to start walking again.
The venom in Rei’s voice hurt Muu, and Muu found tears already streaming down her face. She knew how pathetic she seemed, and she hated knowing Rei saw her like this. Despite this, the tears didn’t stop. What if Rei told someone about this? Muu was already the laughing stock of the school, she didn’t need this on top of it. Her heart raced, her face burning red with shame.
She should turn around now, this couldn’t be happening. Rei hated her enough, what could she possibly do to change this? Muu knew to leave before she did something she regretted. She wanted to run away and never show her face in front of Rei again.
But of course, she didn’t. She stayed in front of Rei. She continued to wipe tears from her face, feeling herself getting dizzy from it all. Things were too hard for her to process now. She opened her mouth to say something — did anything ever come out?
.
.
.
She couldn’t remember much. A sense of rage and resentment must’ve taken over her, and when Muu wiped the tears from her eyes, she saw Rei below her. The utility knife that was just in Muu’s hands was now lodged into Rei’s stomach. Blood pooled around Rei, her arms spread in an unnatural position. Rei looked so… strange, so unnatural, something Muu couldn’t put into words. Rei looked… broken. Rei was broken now. Isn’t this what Muu wanted, deep down? She thought she did, but now when it has really happened, Muu would do anything to take it back.
Muu fell to her knees in front of Rei, tears uncontrollably pouring from her eyes, mixing with the blood on her hands as she wiped them away. “Rei… Muu’s sorry…! Rei, it wasn’t meant to be like this….” She cried, the words barely coherent. When she looked at Rei again, she noticed her chest rapidly rising and falling.
Was Rei still alive…?
Muu crawled over and grabbed onto Rei’s shoulder, “Rei! Rei, can you hear Muu? Oh, Rei…. Muu’s so sorry! Please believe me…” She sobbed uncontrollably, “Muu… Muu didn’t mean this, okay?! But when Rei looked at Muu like that…. I had no choice! Why would you do that!?” The words were coming out like vomit, she couldn’t seem to control what she was saying. “Rei, please listen… Muu loves you!”
Muu could’ve sworn she saw something in Rei’s eyes shift, like they brightened for a moment, but there didn’t seem to be much life left in them anyway. Despite this, Rei spoke, “Kusunoki… You really are a… fool.” She coughed out, long, wheezy pauses between her weak voice, “I loved you too… once, I think.”
Muu’s breath stopped. Rei loved her? If Muu didn’t regret her decision before, she surely did now. Her head raced. Someone had loved her, someone whom she loved too, and she treated her by ending her life.
Rei took one last deep breath and muttered, “Kusunoki… I hate your guts.” And with that, she closed her eyes. Her body went still.
Muu leaned over Rei’s body and placed a kiss on her still lips, “Rei… I’m sorry. If only Muu knew…”