Chapter 3: Nightmare, A test of Will

Takashi POV:

I was shocked by the events that had happened today. First, the bullies suddenly get physical with me, and now a person decides to stick up for me? This had never happened to me before, and I was trying to see if I was awake when the person spoke up again.

"What do you think you're doing to him!" The voice shouted again.

Hearing this the crowd parted making way for the owner of the voice. He was stunning, the way he appeared with the sun shining behind his back and the warm yet dangerous looking hazel eyes. He had golden hair which went perfectly with his chocolate brown skin. He strode forward with a dangerous aura around him which made the bullies look uneasy. They didn't mean to take it that far and now they weren't sure what to do.

As if on cue, the bell rang signaling the start of the day and the students shuffled of into lines entering the building. The golden haired boy walked up to me with a friendly smile and it was as if someone had turned on a switch and illuminated his life. He crouched down and held out a hand.

"Hey there. My name is Kaede, I'm a new transfer to the school and moved in just last week! What's your name?" The golden boy 'Kaede' asked.

"T-takashi" I responded, my mind still processing the last few minutes.

I took his hand and he helped me up before coming with me inside. He started talking to me about his home, how his mother had asked him to make friends and how he felt horrible about what those bullies were doing to me before he decided to step up. I just stared at him as we went inside. His laugh, smile and the way he talked with a little to much excitement made the atmosphere around us friendly and cheery.

"Takashi?" Kaede asked before tapping me on the shoulder

"H-huh?" I replied as I realized he was speaking to me.

"I was talking about my hometown? Have you ever been there?" He reiterated his question.

"No.. I've never gone anywhere before. I was born here as an orphan."

"Oh... sorry for bringing that up" He said with a apologetic look.

It was from then on that we became friends. We were always together and loved to play pranks on others. I would often spend time over at his house playing together or helping him with homework. The bullies never did anything to me after that as I finally started fitting in with the rest of the children.

We were at Kaede's house playing on his PC taking turns. It was a game called Minecraft that apparently was very popular with people our age. He was shocked and looked flabbergasted when I mentioned that I'd never heard of it. It was a hilarious moment that I would remember forever. After much insistence he managed to convince me to play with him.

"C'mon we just need... 11 more " He told me as he began clicking away on his mouse

"Alright, I got 3" I responded

"Nice!" - Kaede

Suddenly a creeper appeared on our screen causing both me and Kaede to panic and attempt to save ourselves. The creeper exploded dealing critical damage and wiping out both of our hearts at the same time. We looked at each other with the exact same expression on our faces and started laughing uncontrollably despite the loss.

"Well that was a let-down" I said trying to suppress any last giggles as I wheezed.

...

"Kaede?" I asked opening my eyes, confused by the silence.

I was in a dark place siting on a chair surrounded by shadows.

"Kaede? Is this a joke?" I asked with a fake laugh as uneasiness washed over me.

"Haha very funny alright, you can come out now.." I said not seeing any sign of him or his signature laughter after he pranks someone.

A dark fog starts creeping up from the shadows.

"Oh this is no joke little one" A wispy and cold voice said from behind me.

I whipped around with fear evident on my face. There was nothing there but the fog curled around in swirls as if something had moved away.

"Takashi" I heard Kaede say

I turned around to see Kaede standing in the fog. His normally happy mood replaced with an impassive expression and his eyes... his eyes were just black holes with trails of dark fog stretching out.

"Kaede?" I say unsure if the person Infront of me was my friend or not.

"You're worthless"

My body froze and went rigid. Kaede my best friend and the person who had made my life better had just called me worthless.

"You're weak and you don't deserve to live" he spoke out again berating me with more harsh words that I tried to understand.

My mind flashed through all of our memories and the fun fun we had since the day he found me being bullied.

"Why?" I choked out unable to say anything else

Before he could respond The shadows changed into silhouettes of people. Whispering broke out and I felt hundreds of eyes on me. Their accusatory gazes filled with criticism and disgust. the ground Infront of him bubbled and three shadows rose up from it before taking the shape of the bullies. I shivered and took a few steps back as my voice was rendered useless by fear and helplessness. I turned to Kaede. He looked at me and opened his mouth. I was relieved, I though he would help me out or say that those things were just a joke. Maybe he would say that I heard wrong. Those hopes were shattered when he simply turned around and disappeared into the fog.

The bullies started walking forward and yelling insults. Every word they spoke felt like an icy dagger being plunged into me. I started feeling numb and fear started to overtake me. They kept walking forward and I sank to my knees. I fell down and curled up into a ball before everything became cold and my eyes shut. But not before hearing one last thing

"Yes.... That's right... Give up. Give up your body.." - Shadow/Bully

"T..a..i"

"T..as.i"

"Takashi!"

"Just 5 more minutes" I grumbled as I covered my eyes with my hands

I opened my eyes and saw someone looking over me covering the sun. I got up and the person moved out of the way. They stretched their hand out to me and I used it to get up. I was standing in a field of golden grass surrounded by fluffy white fog and light shining from the sky.

"Thanks" I mumbled out as a wrinkled my eyes to adjust to the light.

"No problem" The person responded

I stopped and dropped my arm staring at him in shock and surprise.

"Kaede?" I asked

"Will you let yourself fall back into the depression I worked so hard to get out of?" He asked

"Remember what you promised me that day, you said you would never forget."

...

"yeah... I remember" I said after a pause "Thank you"

He smiled and started fading away.

"Wait!" I shouted, not willing to let my best friend go away. Not again.

"It's alright, you still have a long life after you... remember the promise you made me that day" he said before fully fading away.

The world around me started to crack and pieces of the sky started falling down. A tremor slowly started to build up. I simply stood there as I realized what had happened. The fruit... It tried to take over my mind but... Kaede or... a mental representation of him brought me back to my senses. I looked up into the sky.

'So even in death you still look out for me...' I thought as I closed my eyes and the world around me faded away.