1 Reina Strauss
Every day was a normal boring day.
School, work, home, sleep.
Wake up and repeat.
Reina Strauss has lived her life following this everyday routine ever since middle school when her father left her and her mother. Abandoning her father's last name and changing it to her mother's, Reina has been working to support her mom and herself.
In the summer before she started her last year in high school her mother committed suicide. It was sudden and unexpected.
Before, her mother had never shown any kind of weakness, no tears, no need for a man, and has always been Reina's pillar of support. After losing her mother, Reina fell into an unstable state. Since she was still a minor and judging that it was not safe for her to be alone, she was forced to live with her father in Japan. No other relative would take her in.
During her flight to Japan, Reina had calmed down. Becoming resentful and saddened, her emotions a jumbled mess. When she landed in Japan her father greeted her with a big hug but she refused and dodged it. Sensing her rejection of him her father led her to the car in silence and said nothing more.
Not a word was passed between them during the car ride. As they neared his house a woman near her mid thirties could be seen outside waving at them. Next to her were two small children, hiding behind her floor length skirt as the car neared.
The woman smiled warmly at Reina as she stepped out of the car. In English with a heavy Japanese accent the woman introduced herself,
"Hello, my name is Ito Akane. My son's name is Haru and his sister is Asahi. Children say hello."
She gently pushed the twins out from behind her. Reluctant at first both of then looked at their mother with questioning eyes. Faced with their mother's menacing smile both of them greeted Reina.
"H-hello... my name is Ito Asahi." The sister mumbled quietly.
"M-my name is Ito Haru..." The brother added in a soft voice.
With their introductions done they quickly dashed behind their mom again. Peeking out ever so slightly to look at Reina to see her reaction. Out of courtesy Reina introduced herself to them.
"My name is Reina Strauss. My last name is Strauss not Ito and I won't be changing it."
She said as she swiftly walked by the three of them, pulling along her lone bag of luggage.
As she passed she glanced at the twins and became disgusted at how they had a similar resemblance to her when she was a kid. She hated her father and she resented the three people behind her as well. She hated how he had already remarried and had kids with another woman living out his life happily as she and her mom struggled to get by. She hated herself for being a bit envious of the twins, how they would grow up with both parents, a sibling, and a life full of things she had always wanted. But, what she hated most was the fact that, some small part of her wanted to be happy there.
Her mother was already gone. Her relatives were so distant that she didn't even know they existed.
With a scowl on her face she entered the two-story house.
Behind her the four of them walked together, the children clinging to each of their father's hands and the mother beside them chuckling softly as the kids fought over who he liked more and who missed him the most. Silently, she waited for them and when she was directed to her room she never left it for the rest of the day. At night the mother called Reina to eat but she didn't say anything. Worried, Akane left a tray of food outside the door hoping that at least Reina would eat a little bit of it.
High school would start again for Reina soon. After her paperwork had been finished she just needed time to adjust to the new time zone.
It has already been a week since she moved there but except for responses like "yes" or "no" Reina had not talked to anyone. Secluded in her room all day and night, barely eating, and barely speaking. Reina had locked herself in her own little world.
Soon, it was the first day of high school.
Reina woke up earlier than anyone else and in the short time when the house was silent she rummaged for something to eat. She saw a bento with her name on it but didn't take it, she didn't need anyone's pity. Finally, after eating a light breakfast, Reina left just as her father's alarm clock went off.
The whole time she had been in her room she had studied the bus routes and the timings but decided to leave early so as to avoid her father.
She arrived at the bus station an hour early.
With the cold air blowing past her from other trains her nose became bright red and her ears were tinged pink. To past the time she blew air out into the morning sky and watched as the cold air made her breath visible. An hour passed doing nothing but this. In the cold, feeling alone, an hour can pass by quicker than expected.
When the bus had arrived multiple other kids wearing the same uniform had appeared on the platform as well. As she had came extremely early she got the best picks and chose a spot not to close to the door to avoid all the cold air but, not too far into the middle so as not to be crushed. Her thirty-minute train ride went by without any noticeable events.
As she arrived at school she followed the example of others and did as they did, copying them so as not to make any mistakes like wearing outside shoes inside. She had written down her room number and asked around to find the correct room. In the classroom she stood in the corner overlooking the scenery from the third floor. The bell rang to tell students that class was about to start.
Expecting the teacher to arrive at any moment Reina stood ready but, nothing happened. The bell ended and still nothing happened. The students around her began talking amongst themselves, whispering and giggling, they didn't seem worried.
Strange, Reina thought to herself.
A few more minutes passed and nothing had changed. Ten minutes passed and students began to whisper and gossip about what could've happened. Thirty minuets passed and then panic broke.
Students were taking out their cellphones and trying to call people, trying to text others about this weird situation but, nothing worked. No one had a signal. They were getting scared. Others tried to open the door but nothing budged. People threw chairs and desks at the window and nothing happened, it just bounced off like the window had become a trampoline.
An hour passed and students were getting chaotic. People suggested starting a fire or going into the roof of the room but nothing worked. Finally, after an hour and a half after the bell sounded to start class another bell sounded, except this one was low toned and rang continuously. The whole class fell silent as the bell rang louder and louder until people had to cover their ears to keep the sound out.
Shortly after the bell rang it ended, then the room went dark. People screamed, high pitched and low pitched, fear resounding in their voices.
"Welcome, ignorant sheep," A deep voice said. It seemed to come from everywhere, close but yet so far away at the same time.
Abruptly, a deep red flame appeared in the middle of the dark room and the owner of the voice could be seen. It was a tall man with a flowing red cape wrapped all around him, his glowing golden eyes seemed to captivate everyone in the room, and his dark hair which was like a part of an abyss, an ever-flowing pitch black.
"Who are you?!" Yelled one of the male students nearest to the man.
Without so much as a glance he snapped his fingers and the young man's head exploded. Chunks of brain matter and his eyes flew everywhere. It landed on people closest to him and the roof. One small chunk fell on Reina's face but she didn't react.
High pitched screams soon filled the room as people realized what had happened. Crying and screaming, people rushed to wipe off bits of his brain. A few people turned around and barfed, hurling until nothing was leftover and even then they still gaged, trying to barf up anything. The headless body fell to its knees and toppled over on its side letting out a pool of warm blood.
"Now, who else wants to interrupt me?" The man said with a evil smile.
