The Hidden Devil

–Part 1–

Suddenly, every object in my surroundings began to shrink and disappear into the blackness beneath my feet.

The shadow-like substance consumed everything. And before I knew it, I found myself in a pitch-black room, unable to see anything but darkness. Although, this place is quite familiar to me.

A teenage boy stood before me. That was me… No, that was not me. 'It' just had the uncanny resemblance to me. Although, some things were different. Its eyes were blank, they weren't imitating any emotion. It was more like a shell of a human that had no life in it.

It stopped before me. As our eyes met, I realized that I had reverted back to my original body. We two were looking identical.

He gave an obvious-fake smile, trying to mimic us humans and close the differences. Then it said to me-

"Ah, we meet again, my dear friend."

"Can we just get this over with? What do you want?" I asked, annoyed.

He replied with subtle laughter,

"Fufufufu, why so glum? You know exactly why I'm here. Why didn't you follow my advice?"

"I am not your puppet, I will complete my task as I see fit. And I did follow your advice to some degree. Now, tell me quickly. Who is the target this time?"

"Hmm… how about that brown, long-haired girl from your school?"

'Long brown-haired girl… Do I even know such a person?' I asked myself. Although I never paid attention to any of my classmates so it's not surprising that I couldn't recall such a person.

"Be more specific. What is her name?"

"You don't even know her name, and neither do I. You only saw her a few times."

"At least give me a clue to work with!"

I said in loud. If possible, I wanted not to lose my composer, but he really knows how to make me irritated.

He replied, "If your memories are not wrong, you two were in the same class last year."

"That doesn't help me much. How am I supposed to find her?"

"I don't care. Not my problem. After doing my job, you can do whatever you want with the body."

"You little—" I stopped. I took a deep breath, trying to control my frustration. I just wanted to get this over with as fast as possible. After calming myself down, I asked -

"And can you stop showing me the same dream over and over again?"

"I've already told you, I have no control over it. I'm not doing it on purpose. Anyway, best of luck buddy."

"Shut it. I don't need the luck of a devil and we aren't friends."

"Don't be such a meanie. You and I are more or less the same, both devils."

"…"

After our conversation ended, he vanished into thin air, leaving behind some shadow-like particles. That bastard always needs to show a flashy departure.

The 'thing' I talked with was… to be honest, I don't know myself either. A devil, a demon, or could be a ghost that has possessed me. But the most possible explanation is- he's an imaginary being that I created myself. He refers to himself as 'The Amon'. Rather than a name, he said it's a title, I don't understand what that means. The only time I can interact with him… 'it', is in my dream. Although, it doesn't appear that often.

After the end of our conversation, the part came which I hate the most - waking up from that nightmare and returning back to reality.

–Part 2–

The school courtyard was bustling with students, their chatter filling the air. A girl with long brown hair was heading her way toward the school building gate.

Suddenly, she felt a weight on her back as someone leapt onto her from behind. It was another girl, with medium black hair and the same school uniform as her.

"Haya!"

"Whoa, you startled me."

"Hehe sorry. So… have you seen 'him' coming to school today?"

"You really should stop stalking him like that. It's kind of creepy."

"I'm not stalking him! I just need to talk to him."

"Uh-huh. Well, I don't know, haven't seen him around lately."

"Fine. I'll find him myself."

"Class is starting soon, you know. You can try to catch up with him after that."

"Okie~"

Hi, my name is Nina. Nina Matsumoto. I'm a 16-year-old high school student. And she is Ruby, my best friend. We have known each other since our childhood.

Umm… Enough about her.

The 'him' I asked about is Kai Takahashi, our Class-rep. Well, not anymore. He stopped being a representative. And I'm not in the same class as him anymore since my grades weren't good enough …and I dropped to class B. I was hoping we could at least be in the same club this year, but he hasn't joined any yet. It's been almost four months! What is he up to?

*Brrrring*

We two rushed to our classroom as the school bell was ringing, making it just in time before the teacher entered.

…

"Alright, let's get started. But first, there is some news that I need to share with you."

"A student from class A who had disappeared a few days ago was found this morning in the next city. She was severely injured and at present, she is receiving medical treatment. The police are investigating to find the culprit."

The classroom became hushed, and I heard some whispers and murmurs from my classmates.

The teacher continued,

"It's a reminder for all of us to be careful. Over the past year, many people have gone missing."

Finally, the teacher said, "Now then, let's begin the class."

To be continued…