Chapter 8: Extra(s) End

Extra:

Dream on the Border/Traumerei

The story is completed already in the last chapter.

So think this is as a spinoff, a one-shot story.

"Lena! Look! Am I cute?"

"...too cute...really cute..."

Nina, clad in a wine-red blazer uniform and acting all excited, was almost criminally cute; she was probably breaking some kind of law.

The reason why she is wearing this uniform is simple: she will be starting high school tomorrow.

"Hehe, school starts tomorrow... I wonder if I'll be able to make any friends..."

Nina said this sounding a little anxious, but there was nothing to worry about; if she just stayed true to herself, she'd make lots of friends in no time.

"It's okay, Nina."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, absolutely. As your best friend, I can guarantee it."

I'm sure Nina will be the most popular girl in school because she's that charming.

A pure and beautiful heart, a straightforward personality and the consideration to read the subtleties of others' feelings and respond appropriately, plus high academic ability that allows her to enter a famous school in Tokyo in just a few months.

And what an overwhelmingly brilliant sight it is.

With this look combined with Nina's natural good personality, there is no one who won't fall for her.

That's why I can't help but feel jealous of Nina and the other students who will be able to live their school life from now on.

I would really like to go to the same school, is there any way I can do that now?

"...Hey, Lena, aren't you taking too many photos? What are you going to do with all those?"

"I haven't taken too many photos yet. I haven't taken a thousand yet."

"What kind of standards are there? That's really embarrassing!"

After Nina told me that, I reluctantly put down the high-end SLR camera that I had been holding the whole time.

...It can't be helped, I'm sure Nina would still let me take pictures if I asked, but I don't want to take a picture of her looking displeased, so even though I'm reluctant, I'll stop here.

"Sorry, Nina looked too cute in your uniform."

"Come on... I'll wear the uniform whenever you want, and you'll be seeing it every day for the next three years! So calm down!"

Cute... No, I had better calm down, otherwise Nina would get angry with me again.

"Well, I'm going to get changed. It would be a problem if my uniform got wrinkled."

"Yeah."

No, I want to see more.

Contrary to what I said, my hands were grabbing Nina's arms and holding her back.

"Lena?"

...What should I do... Should I try to cover it up?

"Wah! Hahaha, what? Ahahahaha!?"

I pulled Nina's arm and pulled her into my chest and started tickling her. I'm sure I'll get in trouble for this later, but I'll make sure to smooth out the wrinkles, so please forgive me.

"N-no, that's not okay! Hehehe, my uniform will get wrinkled, ahah, hehe! Just you wait! I'll have my revenge!! Ahahahaha!"

Sorry, that could be a lot of fun too.

I woke up to the sunlight streaming in through the window; it was the first time in a long time that I had woken up in a good mood.

My body was aching from constant overwork, so I lifted it off the sofa, turned it around and sat down.

"Was it a dream?"

Yes, it was a dream. A dream that was all too convenient, and therefore incredibly cruel and happy.

"Nina's not here anymore..."

I had never had a dream like this before, and every one of them denied the happiness I desired.

Maybe it's because it's today.

I picked up the document on the table in front of me and confirmed once again where I was heading for today.

"This is the end."

The document listed the locations of the facilities and an overview of the research being conducted there, but most of the names of the facilities listed on it had been blacked out, until only one remained.

My revenge will be complete with those here. It's been seven years since I lost Nina, and this is the day I've been waiting for.

That's right, today my revenge ends.

If I do that, everything will change - this pain, this anger, this hatred...and this emptiness.

It should change.

─────

Countless bullets are being fired at me. Without exception, they are all blocked by the enclosed space I created and cannot reach me.

"Dammit! Are you serious?! You monster!"

Area-domination type supernatural powers. Inside it, I'm the sole ruler.

It took about five minutes since I entered the facility for my domain to fully grasp the entire facility.

Now it's clear to distinguish between the personnel in the facility and the children imprisoned there, so let's just end it here.

"Kill her! Shoot her! Don't let her do anything!"

I have cut off the heads of all humans except children.

It didn't take even a second, just like any other familiar task.

My revenge ended all too quickly.

I walk down the blood-red corridor, the blood still spurting weakly from their neck, and the blood spreading across the floor, unable to touch my body thanks to the barrier I'm using.　

"...I need to get the kids out."

I said this out loud, trying to cover up something, and headed towards the captured child.

─────

Perhaps because this facility was small, or perhaps because they had not been able to bring in any new children due to my operations, fortunately there were only ten children imprisoned here, which was fewer than in other facilities.

The children who could not move were carried out, and those who could were asked to go outside on their own.

A report has already been filed with the police, so the children will be taken into care shortly, and it will be up to them to decide what happens after that.

There is only one child left in the facility, but she cannot be taken outside.

Because she is going to die.

It was clear from the moment the child was captured within my field of vision that her body was no longer in a state in which she could survive.

It's not like something like this hasn't happened before, and this facility has been cut off from outside supplies and instructions for quite some time.

The reason they didn't run away and instead stayed here until the end was to divert attention from their own sins.

Because they are simply following, they can turn a blind eye to any inhumane acts or crimes committed, and believe that they are not their own, and they can continue to run away from them as long as they continue to follow.

That is why, once you run away of your own volition, you will be forced to face the sins you have accumulated.

It made me sick, it made me sick, it made me feel sick, it made me feel weak, that way of thinking that seemed to say that it didn't matter to those who were hurt or had something stolen from them.

This child will die because of those people.

I arrived in front of the room, cut down the door and went inside.

A pure white room with only a bed and a toilet.

The child was slumped on the bed in that very familiar room.

She was pure white, her hollow, slightly open eyes were crimson... but that was all.

Their faces, physiques, and everything else about them are completely different...

I picked up her emaciated body. Her breathing was shallow and weak, and I could feel her heartbeat from her thin, boned body as if it might stop at any moment. The body temperature I could feel was already starting to get cold.

Still holding her in my arms, I sat down with my back against the corner of the room.

Her life would be taken in a few minutes, so I didn't want to leave her alone at the end.

Meanwhile, I can feel through the palm of my hand that life is being lost with every passing moment.

……so empty.

Once I had that thought, I couldn't bear it.

I think I have had my revenge. I have killed those who tormented us, those who killed Nina, my family.

Not only that, if there was even the slightest bit of involvement I could not forgive it.

I killed them by chopping off their head.

I killed them by chopping up their body from end to end.

They split it lengthwise, split it widthwise, and chopped it into pieces so that it was no longer recognizable as a human being.

While listening to the crying.

Cries of hatred, death cries pleading for forgiveness.

Kill, kill...I've repeated this over and over so many times that it makes me dizzy to this day.

I didn't feel anything.

Nothing changed...

I've been in pain ever since that day.

Anger and hatred could not fill the pain and loneliness.

However, I have been deceiving myself until now, thinking that once my revenge is complete, the hole in my heart will be filled.

In the end, nothing changes.

I was still lonely, and it only made me realize that I was always alone.

"What should I have done?"

The words that had slipped out unconsciously filled my head.

What should I have done? What did I want to do? Why...?

Suddenly, I realized that I had lost the heartbeat that I had been feeling in my hands.

Her body in my arms felt slightly lighter.

Her body, now much colder than before, felt as if it was stealing my body heat...and the feeling made me lower my face. I remember the horror. I remember the nostalgia

And then, those hollow red eyes staring back at me...

…That's right, that's right, why hadn't I noticed this before? Had I forgotten? Something so simple.

I should have done this from the beginning.

My vision is blurry.

My head was banged against the floor.

Round and round the world goes.

For a moment I saw the headless one. Is that ...

As my consciousness sank into darkness, I felt the emptiness, the hole in my heart that had remained unfilled since that day, finally being filled.

Ahh, now I can finally meet Nina...

"Hah, hah... hah... hyhh..."

I wake up with a splitting pain in my head and shortness of breath.

My heart was beating faster than it had ever been before, and it was accompanied by chest-rending pain.

……dream?

"...Lena? What's wrong?"

Hearing Nina's voice from deep within my heart, I felt like I was finally brought back to reality.

"...A dream...I had a dream, Nina wasn't there...I was in pain...and then..."

"...Lena, look at me."

Nina puts her hand on my head and looks me in the eye, her eyes are the same beautiful as always... alive eyes.

"I'm here, I promise, you'll never be alone again."

Yes, it was a dream, Nina was alive and she was here now.

Nina continued to stroke my head gently, just like always.

Still, my anxiety didn't go away, so I hugged Nina tightly, as if to reassure myself that she was there.

I felt the warmth of Nina and the cold sensation of the dream lingering on my arms fade away.

In the dark room, with the sound of rain hitting my ears, I hugged her tightly, tightly, trying to drown out my anxiety.

It's okay, Nina is alive...Thank goodness, she's alive...

... Right?

[Sannomiya Reina/Lena]

After being paranoid for a while, her addiction to Nina relapsed. Even with the help of Nina, the dedicated and skilled doctor, it took a month for her to be cured of her anxiety attack.

[Sannomiya Nina/Nina]

Lena suddenly got sick and she's really scared inside. By the way, a fan club was created one week after she entered the school.

─────

[Sannomiya Reina/Lena]

She has been empty for a long time. I wonder if she was able to meet Nina again...

Did she dream of her last moments, or is this the dream she is having at the end...?

I've packed in everything that everyone in the comments section said they wanted to read.

(IF Route after) + (Main Story after) + (Lena's Dreams(?)) = this.

I wrote it hoping that it would be like an emotional rollercoaster, and I would be happy if it was, but what do you think?