A I  M A I K O

I looked up from my sketch book, seeing Jun walking back to Akio. I then saw her sitting down beside him as they both talked to each other. Judging by the serious look Akio gave Jun, he wasn't really happy about their conversation. He then fixed his glasses before looking around. When our gazes met, I quickly looked down, blushing.

I never really told anyone that I like Akio.

Ever since we met.

We both met at the Shinzo station. He was waiting for the train while I was buying some gyoza nearby while waiting for it to arrive. When the train finally came, I didn't notice it. I was too busy paying and too busy waiting for my food. Akio probably saw me since he then told the staff to wait before approaching me.

"Miss, the train to Kyoto's already here," he said as I turned around. I gasped, seeing the train there while the staff member was looking at me. When I finally saw my take out, I quickly grabbed it before thanking him.

We then walked back, going inside the train at last. But, I didn't know that it was just the beginning of our meeting.

Our next meeting was at Kyoto. I was on a bus stop, waiting for the next bus to arrive. I missed the other one so I was just standing there, all alone. Nobody else were there since it was already night time and they had probably walked home. And the problem was, it then started raining.

"Ugh, why now?" I said, muttering a bit before looking inside my bag. I then realized that I left my umbrella back home since I thought that it wasn't going to rain. I then looked down, disappointed — my hair getting wet because of the rain.

I then felt like someone was beside me as the droplets of water stopped dropping on my head. Looking up, I saw an umbrella held by a certain guy. The one I met at the Shizo station.

"I figured you'd need it, Miss..." he said before trailing off. I then smiled at him before introducing myself.

"Ai. Ai Maiko." He then nodded as he also waited beside me. I didn't really know if he was waiting for the bus as well or was really determined to keep me from getting wet by the rain.

"My name's Akio. Akio Daichi," he said as I sweetly smiled back and nodded. Akio, that was a cute name for a cute guy. We then looked away from each other, hearing a distant beep.

When the bus had arrived, I went up the stairs and looked back to see him smiling at me. As I went inside and sat near the window, I saw him wave before walking down the street, holding his umbrella.

After that, we always meet up on the streets of Shiba, smiling at each other before going to our own paths. We sometimes meet at a nearby store or restaurant, talking about our life experiences.

And in a short amount of time, it became a routine to us.

I then blinked, noticing that someone was talking. A voice of a guy then spoke on a microphone and erupted on the speaker up top. There were twisted laughters here and there but I quickly ignored it.

"Zima Regium, please pick a folded paper on the hat." She then stood up, getting a paper before opening it. She then read it aloud, making Akio look at me.

"Ai Maiko." My eyes widened when she saw me, a pitiful look on her face. I could see their glances at me as I gulped. I then stood up, the laughters faded a while ago.

Stuttering, I answered, "I choose Truth."

I saw Jun's eyes widening at my answer as she heard the twisted laughters coming back again. The hat on the right was then gone as I heard a boy speaking up.

"Question for you, Miss Maiko. You need to truthfully answer this," he said as I breathed deeply before asking him a question.

"And what if I don't?" I asked him as a boy with pale skin appeared in front of me. He was taller than me, had glasses, wearing a cap and cold lifeless eyes. He then smiled at me before answering my question.

"You die," he answered back as I saw some students alarmed at his presence, their eyes widening a bit.

"Now, here is my question for you..." he trailed off for a bit before giving me a sinister smirk. I could tell that he was interested of what my answer was going to be.

"Do you know how Shin Takara died?" I widened my eyes at his question, seeing him looking at me in amusement. I gulped, seeing their eyes boring into me.

Even though I wanted to say I do, I can't risk breaking my promise to her. I promised her that I wouldn't tell a soul. I told her that I won't tell anyone what she did. So, I did something I dreaded to do if ever someone asked me. Even if my life depends on it.

I shook my head no.

The guy then laughed before pulling out a bloody dagger. He looked around us, seeing a few students staring in horror at him. He approached me, his face inches apart from mine.

He then whispered a phrase that I won't ever forget.

"Wrong answer, Maiko." I gasped, feeling something cold sliced my neck. I then put my hand on it — feeling something warm trickling on my hand. Looking down, I saw that it was blood. My blood.

I saw that Jun stood up, not caring about her bloody bandages. Akio was beside her, looking at me with widened eyes. They were about to approach me but then I felt like I was going to pass out.

As I felt drowsy, I could hear the twisted laugh erupting from the guy, a bit amused at the scene in front of him. Suddenly, he disappeared — vanishing into thin air. I then fell down on my knees — feeling a bit weak because of the blood loss.

I then felt an immense feeling of pain before everything around me went black.

The last thing I ever heard was Akio calling out my name.