2 Chapter 1: Red Cross Eyes
(Author's Note): This story DOES NOT encourage suicide in any way. If you are suffering in depression or having suicidal thoughts, please seek help medical help
In the U.S. – Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or the National Hopeline Network at 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433).
In the UK and Ireland – Call the Samaritans at 116 123
In Australia – Call Lifeline Australia at 13 11 14
In other countries – Visit IASP or Suicide.org to find a helpline in your country
-o-o-o-
Inside a lone classroom, a student is typing furiously to her laptop
"There! Finished!" the girl in front of the computer rejoiced as her work is complete
"Now let's send this file to the website" the girl sends her document to the site showing a writing contest
"Write Your Story, 2021"
"I hope my entry gets approved" the girl sighed
"All I want is to become an author, at least that way I can help Auntie from her debt" the girl thought
The girl turned her head towards the window and saw the orange sunset "I better go home now, it's getting late"
She folded her laptop, gathered all her things and started to leave school
She was almost out of the school gate, until...
"Hey! Bell! Can I talk to you for a second?" a teacher yelled as the girl stopped from walking. She turned around and saw her teacher, Mr. Kyou
"With all due respect Kyou-sensei, please don't call your students by their first name," Bell said politely
"Ok then Yuki-san, would you care to have chat with me in the teacher's lounge. I have a ton of discussions prepared for you" Mr. Kyou said with a smile
"I'm sorry sensei, but I need to home immediately" Bell replied as she walked faster away from her teacher
She knew what his true intentions are and she's not falling for that façade. She walked to the city of Soukyo, but she kept an eye out for a specific person
"Good, Trixy went earlier than I expected" she sighed in relief as she walked calmly to her home
She finally reached her home as she opened the front door with her key
"I'm home" she greeted the empty house. She walked upstairs to her room as she looked into the mirror
Bell is a skinny girl with long black hair reaching her waist. Her white uniform draped her body with a grey skirt to complete her look
She began to change into her casual clothes and went over to her kitchen to eat something. She opened up the pantry and looked inside
"Kup noodles for tonight" she grabbed one of the packages and put hot water to the mix. She waited for the noodles to be done
She looked at the picture frame in one of the tables. It's a picture of her and her aunt together in a park
"Auntie hasn't come back yet. I wonder if she already finished her job in Central City" she thought
Her aunt is the only family member left to her life. She always works outside of the Soukyo so Bell is left living alone in Soukyo
She opened the finished Kup noodles and began to eat it. As soon as she's done eating Bell went upstairs to her room
Suddenly, her phone started to vibrate
"Huh?" she opened up her phone revealing an e-mail notification
"Already?" she opened up her e-mail
"Bell Yuki, we are sorry to tell you that you're entry on "Write Your Story 2021" has been rejected..."
"What? I didn't make it?" Bell didn't even bother reading the rest of the e-mail
"B-But this is my only shot! And the deadline is tomorrow!" Bell said
She looked at the portrait of her and her aunt again. Her eyes tense with determination
"No, I'm not giving up that easily" she sat to her desk and started to rewrite her story with her black pen
-o-o-o-
Soukyo City, 7:31 am
The morning sun rays started to wake up the girl sleeping on her desk. It took her all night but she successfully completed her story
She yawned as she looked at the clock and shot her eyes wide open
"Shit! I'm late!" she changed into her white uniform and skipping most her morning routine. She grabbed her bag as Bell dashed to school
She ran to the busy streets of Soukyo, ignoring all traffic rules
BEEEEEEEEPPP!!!
Bell stopped as the truck almost hit her
"Hey! Watch where you going kid!" the truck driver scolded Bell
"Sorry!" she apologized as she continued to run for school
After 20 minutes of running, she finally reached her school. She burst into her classroom, panting for air
Her teacher and her classmate stared at the panting girl, "Mrs. Yuki, you're late. Take a seat, we're about start class" her teacher said
She sat to her desk. She can see a lot of hurtful comments written to her desks such as WHORE, BITCH and many more. She heard some her classmates giggling at Bell's inconvenience, she sighed depressingly at the bullying she's having today. She's way too used to this to even care at this point
"I can send the entry in the Com. Lab before 4:00 pm" Bell thought
"Ok before anything else, I would like to make an announcement" her teacher said
"An announcement?" Bell asked herself
"I would like to announce our top scores in the term exams" the teacher said
"Oh no, Please be 2nd, please be 2nd!" Bell started to panic
"And our term's top scorer is... Bell Yuki!" her teacher congratulated as her classmates clapped for her
"Congrats, Yuki-san!"
"Still first as always!"
"Nice one!"
Bell tuned out her classmates' compliments as she turned around and looked at the girl in the back, staring angrily at her
"And Trixy Hime in 2nd place" teacher continued
"Trixy, I didn't mean to!" Bell whispered to the girl. The girl made a slitting throat threat before point her finger at Bell
"No! No! No! No! NO! This isn't what I wanted! I just want to be left alone!" Bell repeatedly said to herself
-o-o-o-
Bell was slammed against the bathroom wall with a couple of girls. She tried to escape but she was stopped by another girl, punching her in the gut
She clenches her jaw in pain as she was pushed against to the wall again. A long orange haired girl steps forward, the leader of Bell's bullies, Trixy
She glared at Bell with scorn in her eyes. Bell started to get scared as she gripped her backpack tighter
"Do you remember our deal, Bell?" Trixy said
"I... didn't do it in purpose" Bell tried to reason to her
"Our deal said as long you don't place 1st, I leave you alone. That way I'll be 1st in our grade. And what did you do Bell?" Trixy said
"I-" Bell was kicked to the chest by one of Trixy's girls
Bell crumpled to the dirty bathroom floor "I told you to stay out of my way! And you still don't listen! You never really learn anything? You stupid bitch!" Trixy said as she continued to kick Bell, as the other girl laughed at Bell as they enjoyed her suffering
"I'm sorry" Bell weakly apologized as she coughs up some blood in her mouth. The metal taste of blood started to tingle her tongue
"Take her bag" Trixy ordered one her lackeys
"No! Wait!" Bell tried to grip her bag only to be taken away. Trixy opened her bag and looked at Bell's story draft
"Oh look, you're still writing for that contest?" Trixy taunted
Trixy grabbed her bag and dumped all its contents into a toilet bowl nearby, soaking Bell's hard work with toilet water
"No!" Bell cried out as her story entry was ruined
Before Bell could react, Trixy pulled her hair and dragged her towards the toilet bowl. She dunked Bell's head inside the dirty toilet along with her things floating inside. Bell thrashed around trying to break free as she's being drowned inside the toilet
Trixy pulled out her head as Bell gasped for air only to be dunked again. Trixy continued this torture again and again and again with her sadistic amusement and the other girls just watched as they grinned at abuse Bell's going through
After a long time, Trixy finally stopped dunking her head as she threw Bell against the bathroom floor. Bell shivered as she spat out toilet water from her mouth, her hair completely soaked with pungent water
"I can still... rewrite it..." Bell tried to say as she panted for air
"Give it up, Bell. No one is going to read your shitty story" Trixy insulted as the other bullies giggled
"No..." Bell thought
"Here's an idea, why don't you jump off the roof? Maybe that'll give you inspiration for your stories" Trixy suggested as she left her alone in the bathroom with her "friends"
Bell could report this to the teacher or something but she can't
Because Trixy is her best friend
Bell started to cry "Trixy... I'm sorry" she muttered as she remembered their childhood promise
-o-o-o-
Soukyo High, 5:15 pm
Bell stood at the edge of the school roof. Dark clouds started to cover the sky. Her eyes completely empty from sadness
"I'm sorry Auntie, I just can't do this anymore" Bell said to herself
Bell thought about her life so far. Her dad left her and mom. Then mom died while trying to take care of all by her own. Auntie tried her best to support me only to buried by debt. And her own best friend started to bully me
"Don't worry Trixy. I won't go in your way anymore" Bell smiled sadly
Bell started to trip over the edge as she started to fall. Wind rush over her ears as the ground drew closer and closer
"I wonder if things would be different, maybe I coul-"
THUD!!!
-o-o-o-
...
...
...
...
...
I'm still here
...
...
...
...
...
It's cold
Bell stared at the side as she fell at the back of the school. Blood splattered her body, her head cracked open with both of her legs broken. She can't move any more
"Why am I still here?" Bell noticed that her heart already stopped beating yet she still conscious
Snow started to fall as it marks the start of the winter. Snow piled up her body, getting colder and colder
"Why. Why? Why! Why! Why! Why! WHY!!! WHY CAN'T I DIE?!!!" Bell screamed inside her head as she remained motionless in the ground
Suddenly, she heard a couple of footsteps heading to her dead body
"That was some nasty fall right there" the dark mysterious person said as it held a black umbrella to its hand
"What? Who is this?" Bell tried to say but nothing came out of her mouth
"Usually I would skip over things like this but you caught my attention" it said
The person crouched down giving Bell a look at the face of the mysterious person. The person looks like a businesswoman with a suit and holding an umbrella on her hand all completed with her short black hair tied up to a bun
"My name is Grimora but you call me Grim" she introduced herself with a smile
"Grim? As in Grim Reaper?! I see, so they do exist. It means she's the one taking me" Bell thought
"Normally yes, but I noticed you given up your life but you can't die" Grim said
"You mean I'm stuck like this?! After life rejects me even death rejects me too?!" Bell is angry. Angry that even if dying she still fails to do so
Grim giggled "Quite a predicament, isn't it?" Grim said as closed her umbrella, letting the snowfall to Bell's body again. Her blood starting freeze
Grim sighed as she stared at the grey snowy sky, "You know what? Let's make a trade" Grim smiled at her
"A trade?" Bell questioned her
"Since I'm getting bored being the arbiter of life and all. How about we trade spots? You as a reaper and me as a normal human" Grim offered
"Wait, what?!" Bell mentally exclaimed
Grim looked at Bell's lifeless body "I'm getting old and I need a successor. So I choose you, Bell Yuki" she pointed at Bell
"Wait? Reaper? Hold on a second!" Bell tried to retort but she remained motionless in the ground
"Looking at your state right now, you really don't have a choice" Grim's eyes turned into 2 red X's as she grinned at her
"Wait! I don't like this! Stop!" Bell exclaimed as Grim placed her hand to Bell's body. A purple aura glowed within Grim as it traveled into Bell's body
Bell felt an excruciating pain, as she shrieked full of agony. Bell finally lost consciousness due to large amounts of pain
"We'll meet again, Bell"
-o-o-o-
Bell suddenly woke up as she jolted to a sitting position in a bed
"What?" she looked around and found herself in a hospital room
"Bell?" she turned to her side and saw a short black haired woman with a face mixed of worry and joy
"Auntie?" as she felt her aunt instantly hug her frail body
Her aunt looks exactly like her if older. Most people have mistaken her as my mother but in reality, she's just Bell's aunt
"I was so worried! I drove as soon as possible when I heard they found you fell behind the school" Her aunt continued to hug her
"Auntie, I-"Bell tried to say anything that could calm down her aunt
Her aunt released Bell from her bear-like hug "Bell, what you just did was never an option" Her aunt said with a serious tone
Bell remembered her attempted suicide "I'm... sorry" Bell said with a low voice
"If there's something troubling you... I'm here to help" her aunt said with a reassuring smile "Promise me you'll never do that again, okay?"
Bell thought about her life again only this time she remembers good memories with her aunt. Bell weakly smiled back "I will Auntie"
"Good, now don't you scare me like that again! You're making me old at a young age!" her aunt childishly punched Bell's side
"Auntie, you're already in you're 30's" Bell smiled at her aunt's childish behavior
A doctor walked into her room, "Bell Yuki?" the doctor asked
"Yes?" Bell responded
"You free to go" the doctor said
"Already? She's just been admitted yesterday" her aunt said
"I'm just confused as you Maam. Despite that large fall, she sustained little to no damage in the wounds, bones appeared to be completely fixed due to an unknown cause and her lost blood is already replenished without a donor" the doctor said with amazement
"Wait, what?" Bell asked herself
"That means she's fully recovered?" her aunt said
"Apparently, but let me just check her pulse for a bit just make sure" the doctor placed his fingers to Bell's wrist
The doctor stared confusedly "Huh? That's weird, blood pulse is 75% lower than normal yet there are no signs of blood deficiency"
The doctor sighed "Maybe I'm just seeing things after long overtime" the doctor shrugged
"Well, I'm glad that you're okay Bell" her aunt hugged Bell again
Bell accepted her hug but with one thought buzzing inside her mind
"What was that?"
-o-o-o-
Her aunt stayed with Bell for a day before she returned to her job. It took at least 3 days before she could go back to school
Bell is now getting dressed for school when she noticed something odd
"It's cold" Bell hugged her own body for warmth but with no effect at all
She touched her own skin. It's cold. Deathly cold
Bell rummaged to her closet. She saw a black blazer. Bell doesn't wear it because she doesn't like the stuffy feeling it gives
"It's freezing" she took the blazer and wore it over her white uniform along with a grey skirt and she didn't bother buttoning it up
"It's still cold but better than nothing" as glanced over to a clock
"Shit, I'm late again!" she grabbed her new bag and rushed to school
She ran to the busy streets of Soukyo, ignoring all traffic rules
BEEEEEEEEPPP!!!
Bell stopped as she saw a truck incoming
Bell's eyes quickly shifted into red X's as punch the truck with her bare fists. Instantly stopping the truck, completely denting the front of the vehicle
The driver looked at what stopped his truck, "What! You again?! Watch where you going kid!" the truck driver scolded Bell the second time
Bell blinked as her eyes shifted back to normal black color "What the?" Bell looked at the fist-shaped dent in front of the truck
Bell is so confused and scared. She stared at her hand, shaking in fear
Bell just ran to school as soon as possible
-o-o-o-
Soukyo High, 2:32 pm...
Bell's teacher is discussing something about the history of the presidents of Soukyo. Bell wasn't really paying attention to the teacher. Million questions ran rampant inside her mind
"What's happening to me? Am I still hallucinating after that fall?" she asked herself
"Yuki-san!" her teacher snapped Bell's trance
"Huh? Y-Yes?" Bell immediately stood up from her desk
"Are you paying attention? You seem to be spacing out" her teacher said sternly
"Yes, I been paying attention" Bell was lying, she didn't have a single clue about their discussion. Bell's too distracted to what happened earlier that she tuned out all the information that her teacher is giving
"Is that so? Then what's the date of death of the 17th President of Soukyo?" her teacher questioned
"Umm..." Bell stuttered as she tried to remember the date
Without any warning, information suddenly flowed into Bell's mind
"June 11, 2001. 7:01 pm. Cause of death, massive blood loss with internal damage. Weapon, Standard Steel Butterfly knife, 21 stab wounds to the torso, 3 of which punctured the left lung. Last Words, 'Please take care of my daughter, God'" Bell subconsciously said. Her voice monotone and almost robotic
Everyone in the classroom was shocked at Bell's disturbing and extremely accurate answer
"Um, correct Yuki-san. You may take a seat" the teacher tried to reply to that... answer
Bell snapped out of her trance and realized what she said
"Wait... HOW DID I KNOW THAT?!" Bell clenched her head
Her classmates stared at her weird scared faces, "Freak" Trixy responded with a sneer
"What was that?" Bell asked herself again
-o-o-o-
Soukyo Downtown, 6:52 pm...
Bell is walking back home, still shocked at what she said to the class
"I'm starting to get scared" Bell tried to remember when did all of the weird things happened
Her thoughts immediately came across to her encounter to a mysterious woman, Grim. She can still remember that oh-so-sweet grin full of maliciousness
"Could it be that I- No, it couldn't be THAT, right?" Bell tried to convince herself that was a dream or hallucination
She walked into a narrow alley. This is a shortcut to her home to avoid meeting with Trixy in the main downtown
"I really hate going here. It gives me the creeps" Bell said as she wandered in the maze of alleyways
She continued to walk in the tight pathways until she heard footsteps behind her. She quickly turned around
"Kyou-sensei?" she saw the middle-aged teacher in the alleyway
"Hi there, Bell. You seem lost, do you live here?" Mr. Kyou smiled but Bell knew that it was fake
"Kyou-sensei, for the last time. Please refrain from calling me by my first name" Bell said bluntly
"But, we're out of the school now Bell. Here, I'm not a teacher. I just a man" He said
"You know I care for my students' well-being. Shall I bring you home together?" Mr. Kyou flirted as he placed his hand to Bell's shoulder
Bell is starting to get scared as she brushed off his hand off her shoulder, "I'm sorry sensei, but I really need to go home right now" Bell ran away from the man with pure terror on her face
"Foolish"
4 red spikes protruded behind his back as it extended and stabbed Bell's foot. "AHHHHHH!!" Bell yelped as she tripped to the ground, her foot pierced by one of the red spikes
Bell tried to crawl away only to be dragged by the spike retracting back to Mr. Kyou. Bell gritted her teeth in pain as she started kicking her own stabbed foot in order to free herself
With a swift but still painful kick, the red spike finally came off as it left a decent hole on Bell's foot. She tried to crawl away with her back against the wall, her foot severely bleeding a lot of blood
"We could've done this the easier way, Bell. But you had to be stubborn" Mr. Kyou loses his friendly façade
"What the hell?" Bell looked at her teacher with 4 spikes coming out his back, 2 on each side
"I revealed my secret to you, Bell. Because I love you" he smiled like a madman
"I love the way you talk, the way your black hair smell like lavender. Don't you see Bell? I really love you a lot!" he continued to rant
Bell stared at the man, full of fear
"I even made sure that you're always at the top instead of that Trixy bitch!" he exclaimed
"But you didn't notice me, you kept pushing me away. And now, I'm going to show you how much I love you by creating a child with you" he smiled a perverted smile as he approached her slowly
Bell tried to resist but her foot is too injured to even move. Mr. Kyou grabbed her modest breast and started to squeeze them. Bell's tears started to roll down her cheeks as she's being molested by her own teacher
"Please stop! Stop! Let me go!" Bell cried out but Mr. Kyou kept molesting her with his hands
"What can I do?! What can I do to make it stop?!" Bell cried
KILL
"Huh?"
KILL HIM
"Why am I thinking this way?"
KILL HIM NOW
...
...
...
"...I see"
"All I need to do is..." Bell said as her black pupils turned into red crosses
Mr. Kyou started to unbutton her white uniform, no longer satisfied groping her breast with her clothes on
Bell grabbed something in her pocket
TSSSSSKK!!
Bell stabbed him in the eye with her black pen, "DIE" she said blankly
"AHHHHHHH!!!" he yelled in pain as she pulled out her bloodied pen from his eye socket. Mr. Kyou took a step backward giving Bell an opportunity to kick him between the legs, she kicked him with her unnatural strength causing him to fly and slam against to the other side of the alleyway
"You... You... BRAT!" he exclaimed as he clenched his missing eye
Bell stood up and stared at him, her pupils with a red cross pattern glowing in the dark alleyway. Her hand gripping her blood-soaked pen with a bit of eye meat in the point
He noticed her unusual eyes and froze in fear, "Wait... you're a... you're" Mr. Kyou was shaking in terror
Bell started to dash towards him, full of bloodlust in her red-cross eyes. He tried to defend himself by extending all of his 4 spikes, stabbing all 4 right into Bell's chest
"STAY AWAY FROM ME YOU CRAZY BITCH!!!" he screamed at her. Bell kept silent without a response from her
She continued to move towards him even with 4 spikes stabbed into her body. As she moved forward, the spikes plunged deeper to her flesh until it finally went through her body with the spikes coming out her back. She doesn't seem affected by this and continued to move forward
Mr. Kyou tried to retract his spikes but Bell's body is stuck tight in his spike leaving him completely defenseless
"NO! PLEASE!"
"Die" Bell said before stabbing him in the other eye, blinding him completely
He howled in pain as she removed his eyeball from his skull with her pen, blood splattered everywhere
Bell looked at the pitiful eyeless man as finally stabbed him in the neck. He choked out some blood before she exhaled his last breath
Bell removed her pen out of his neck as his body slumped to the ground, his spikes dissipating to red dust
Bell eyes shifted back to normal black and finally aware of what she did to her teacher
"Oh my god, what have I done?" she pocketed her pen and looked at the corpse. Her clothes and hands completely covered with Mr. Kyou blood
"I just killed a person" Bell's eyes widen in shock. I should be scared even traumatized, but...
Bell is smiling a big grin on her face "...why am I happy?" she said to herself
She shook her head, dispelling her temporary madness
Bell noticed her foot is completely healed "What?" Bell said in confusion. Her wounds from the spikes earlier are completely gone
"I don't understand. Why is-" and before she could say anything, Bell heard sounds of bells ringing inside her mind
Purple light envelops her entire body, transporting her to somewhere else
-o-o-o-
She soon arrived at a dark place, "What the?" she looked around and saw many people gathered in one place. All of them carrying scythes with red-crosses in their eyes. Most of them are dressed as either high-schoolers like Bell or middle-aged corporate workers. All of them are seemingly waiting for something
She heard bells ringing again, all of the people turned their heads to the source of the sound
"Hello everyone. Let us start our weekly reviews. Fellow REAPERS" a woman dressed as a secretary as she called out to everyone
"Reapers?!" Bell said to herself in shock as that moment marks the time that she was stuck between the borders of life and death
