《Re:Luna》 Prologue - Beginning 2 years ago... In an empty room on top of an abandoned apartment building, a girl sat in the corner of the room alone. She was naked except for a patient gown that hung loose around her body. Dark red blood stained the girl, from her hair down to her toes. She sat hugging herself with her legs drawn up to her body as she stared down at the floor with hollow eyes. "Everything in this world is hateful." The girl said. She looked around the empty room and an eerie smile played across her face. "I want this world to disappear." She crept up from her sitting position and crawled towards the single window on the opposite wall. "Pain..." She crawled closer, breathing out each time. "Suffering..." A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "Despair..." "Envy..." "Disgust..." "Hatred..." She was under the window, still down on her hands. "I want to kill everyone in this world." The girl laughed. She pulled herself up to the window, clinging onto the hinges and glared outside bitterly. "I want to be happy." She muttered to herself. Out the window, a boy walked alone in the middle of the night wearing a school uniform. He was holding a microwave dinner he bought from the convenience store. The girl watched the boy but he didn''t notice her staring down at him from the apartment window. Author''s note: Much thanks to Chiisutofupuru! Chapter 1 - Confession I was standing in front of my crush of two years and I was about to confess to her. I swallowed, feeling a sweat drip down from my temple. Before lunch had ended, I had wrote a note and snuck it under her desk. The note simply said; ''meet me behind building C.'' "Um..." The girl in front of me stirred, her round pale violet eyes blinking. Her name was Luna. "Why did you tell me to meet you here?" "Well..." I started. I didn''t know what I was going to say. Luna looked at me patiently but nothing more came out from my mouth. The lines that I had so carefully planned beforehand seemed to escape my mind. How convenient. A cool breeze picked up, flailing the end of Luna''s skirt. Her petite figure adorned our school uniform consisting of a collared shirt, a light-coloured jumper and stockings going up to the middle of her thighs. Luna lifted a delicate hand up, twirling the ends of her dark hair that fell past her shoulders. Her hair emphasised the pale but flawless complexion of her skin and her pink lips stuck out boldly in an alluring manner. The pair of pale violet eyes blinked at me again. "You didn''t take me out here to confess to me right?" Luna said in a joking tone. She giggled slightly and a shade of pink disturbed the paleness of her cheeks. My heart leaped at her words. It felt like she had somehow read my mind. I opened my mouth to say yes but something tugged at me in the back of my head. This was Luna I was talking to, it wasn''t just any random girl on the street. She was one of the most popular girls in our school renowned for her academic ability, athletic skills and her beauty. Was there even a possibility that she would want to go out with me? "N-no..." I said slowly, my eyes watching her for a reaction. She looked disappointed. "Oh..." Luna glanced down. I rubbed the back of my head, awkwardly staring to my side. No matter how I looked at it, it didn''t seem possible that the confession would work. I had no redeeming qualities to make up the massive gap between me and Luna. My grades were terrible to say the least, poor was an understatement for my financial situation, and on top of all that, I was completely average in the looks department. Even though I had been in the same classes as Luna for two years I had actually never seriously spoken to her. That was how much of a wimp I was. "What did you call me here for then?" Luna glanced back at me, smiling patiently. I met Luna''s stare and found her eyes locked with mine. She was even cuter up close than afar. My heart beated faster as I tried to reason the logic behind my confession. Even though it was completely impossible that she would say yes, I still really wanted to give it a shot at the very least. I had finally managed to call Luna out and it was unlikely that I would ever get a chance like this again. Simply arranging this meeting was a feat to accomplish due to Luna''s overwhelming popularity at school. I swallowed and nodded my head, gathering my resolve. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. "What I wanted to tell you is..." A sudden heat surged through my body and my heart began racing in my chest. Luna looked at me nervously but my eyes had dropped down to her shoes. I felt my cheeks burning furiously against my face. She probably thought I looked like an idiot, hell even I think I look like an idiot... but there were only a few more words to say. Luna shifted uncomfortably in the silence and I drew a deep breath. "I like you so please go out with me!" I bowed my head and closed my eyes preparing for rejection. I couldn''t believe that I had actually said it. The words I had been meaning to tell her for so long. A strange sensation of vulnerability and relief filled my body. For a while, there was nothing but the sounds of insects chirping in the background. What the hell was going on? Why is it so quiet? Did she leave? I mean come on, was I that ugly? Paranoia crept up my mind the longer the silence seemed to etch on. I rose up slowly to see what was going on but something crashed into me, pushing me backwards. The sky and ground switched places and suddenly I found myself lying flat on the floor. Luna was on top of me, her arms on the ground next to my head, keeping her up. She stared down at me, her cheeks red. Multiple alarm bells went off in my head but I didn''t know what to think. How did we even end up in this position? What on earth was going on? Did she trip over or what? It didn''t even feel like she tripped. It had felt like she pushed me onto the ground. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore. "Ryo¡­" Luna''s pink lips parted slightly, and a strand of dark hair fell past her ear. "Are you alright¡ª" I started. Luna leaned towards me, her eyes closed and suddenly our lips touched. Her soft lips pressed onto mine and time seemed to fade away. When she pulled away, I was frozen, my mind entirely blank. "I was waiting so long for you to ask that!" Luna said, her voice ecstatic. With that, Luna got up and ran away, leaving me lying on the ground. I listened to the sound of her footsteps fading with a blank mind. It was only after the footsteps had completely disappeared that I started to breathe again. I let out my breath and my mind spun into a frenzy. Just what the hell was going on? Why the hell did she kiss me? Did she say she was waiting for me to ask her out? Was I dreaming? I raised a hand up to my face and pinched myself on the cheeks. "Ow!" The pain seemed to confirm that this was not a dream. Luna actually kissed me... me! Of all people. The whole idea seemed ludicrous. Did that mean she had liked me too all along? I mean, that''s the only reason why you would kiss someone, right? I felt dizzy. What did she even like about me? I couldn''t believe that my first kiss would be with Luna. I had never once considered it a possibility. I managed to pick myself up on the third try and felt myself walking home in a daze. Chapter 2 - Horror I stood surrounded by a shroud of misty fog in an unfamiliar place. In the distance, a petite figure gradually made its way towards me. Their footsteps echoed as they neared and each step revealed distinguishing features that undeniably pointed to her beauty. Flowing, shadow black hair. Enticing, pale violet eyes. Pouting, pink lips. It was Luna. I opened my mouth to say something but I was interrupted. "Did you honestly think for one second that I would go out with a loser like you?" Luna said, crossing her arms in front of her. "Are you that deluded? Who the hell do you think you are?" "L-Luna..." I stuttered, stunned. I was speechless. The words that came out of her pink lips stung me in the chest painfully. This wasn''t like the Luna I knew at all. The Luna I knew was well-mannered, gentle and kind. She was the girl that everyone at school looked up to as a role model. The on in front of me right now was none of that. My eyes began to water and I covered my face instinctively, feeling like an idiot. "I really liked you¡­" I muttered. Luna''s face turned to disbelief. "Ryo, don''t be delusional. There''s just no way I could go out with someone like you." She said, staring me up and down with disgust. "Look at you... you''re just so... average." Luna sighed and turned her back on me. "W-wait!" I said. "Bye Ryo." She said, walking away. "Wait, Luna!" I called out and reached a hand forward. She flicked a short wave without turning back. I tried to run after her but her figure quickly disappeared into the darkness. "Luna!"
I swung my body up from the bed, jolting up from the nightmare. I was panting unevenly and my back stuck to my pajamas, soaked in hot sweat. I lifted a hand to my eyes and felt tears, surprising myself. I had actually cried in real life... over a dream. "Oh man." I muttered, shaking my head. "This has to be a joke..." I pulled myself out of the bed wearily and noticed my phone flashing by my bedside. Apparently I had missed a call from my best friend; Eiji. He was in the same grade as me and not so coincidentally we shared all the same classes. Probably because we chose the same subjects. I guess he wanted to know how my confession went¡ª Suddenly I was jolted with the memory of the confession and I quickly raised a hand to my lips, feeling perplexed. Had I really kissed Luna? The most popular girl at school? A feeling of absurdity crashed over me but the details of the confession flashed vividly in my mind. I could remember Luna''s soft lips pressing onto mine, the feeling of her body against me, the smell of her conditioner on her hair... I shook my head violently, trying to bring myself back to reality. The question remained however... why? I racked my brain for an answer but the best that I could come up with was that this was all a joke. I grimaced at the thought. I would have to ask her about the ordeal next time I see her. There was no way for me to contact Luna other than at school. I didn''t have her number and today was a weekend so that means there was no school. I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth, my mind still in a drunken haze from thinking about the kiss. Half-way through brushing, I heard a gentle knocking at the door. I looked at the clock. It was still pretty early in the morning. Who could be knocking at this time? Could it be Eiji? I grinned sheepishly at the thought. Eiji was going to drop his jaw if he heard about how my confession with Luna went. The bastard didn''t have any confidence in me, although I couldn''t really blame him. Luna was known to have rejected anyone that has ever asked her out. I walked to the front door, opened it and found myself choking on toothpaste. Standing outside the door was... Luna. She was dressed in her casual attire, not her school uniform and her hair was tied up so that long streaks fell on the sides of her head. On the opposite hand, I was dressed in my boxers with the handle of a toothbrush sticking out of my mouth. "Hey Ryo." Luna smiled energetically. I froze in my place. Luna was the last person on the planet that I would expect to knock on my door. What the hell was she doing here? She looked dazzling in her casual clothes. I had only ever saw her in uniform but this was something else. "L-Luna?" I stammered, my cheeks flushing. "What are you doing here?" "I just wanted to see you, Ryo..." Luna said, she glanced down for a second and noticed my boxers. Her face reddened. "Is this a bad time?" "N-no." I said quickly. I moved to the side of the door. "Do... you want to... uh, come in?" I asked, rubbing the back of my head. "I just need to get changed first." "R-really, you''re inviting me in?" "Yeah..." I moved further away from the door, giving her space to walk in. Luna walked past me and I was drowned in her scent. She always smelled really nice for some reason. I swallowed and closed the door behind her. Luna was looking around the small living room, studying everything as though it was extremely interesting. "Just wait over there." I croaked nodding my head over at the kotatsu table. "Okay." Luna nodded shyly in response as she walked over to the kotatsu table. She sat down obligingly, and I walked into the bathroom, feeling like a robot. As soon as I got in, my body went on full blast. What the hell was she doing here? I spat out the toothpaste from my mouth and rinsed as fast as I could. I was in a complete rush, I didn''t want to make her wait. Luna was the first girl to ever visit my apartment apart from my mother who had came to visit once¡ªmy mother lived in Okinawa with my father. My parents had sent me to Tokyo to get a better education but I spent most of my time sleeping in class or playing arcades. My mind was still frantic thinking about Luna. I had only just confessed yesterday and here she was, at my house the very next day. It didn''t seem to make sense but quite frankly I didn''t really care. I was just ecstatic to see her again. I pulled on a pair of jeans and slipped into the best shirt I could find in the bathroom. I looked in the mirror. Something needed to be done about the hair. Grabbing a comb and a handful of gel, I began a frenzied assault on my hair. When the ordeal was over I sprayed on some deodorant. There. Now I was presentable, fresh and smelled somewhat acceptable. I placed a hand on the doorknob of the closed door between the bathroom and the living room. My heart was racing at the thought of having to talk to Luna. I stood there for a few more seconds before I mustered the courage to open the door. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Luna was sitting down on the kotatsu table her small, delicate hands flicking through a stash of magazines she had found. I walked out from the bathroom, moving towards her and I froze feeling my heart drop. Those weren''t just any magazines, they were my ero magazines. I could see the slight outline of what could only be a naked girl on the page she was staring intently at. I contemplated going back into the bathroom and waiting for a few more minutes but I was already half-way to the table. It took several more seconds before I resumed walking from my frozen state and sat down on the seat in front of Luna. Luna jumped startled by my presence and hastily slid the magazine back under the kotatsu table with a look of embarrassment on her face. She was silent and I was silent. "So," I coughed finally. "What did you wanted?" Luna shifted uncomfortably in her seat, her face red. "I thought I would get to know you more since we are going out together." "Oh." My mouth replied. And that was it. Nothing else came out. My mind had froze, refusing to work as the word going out echoed again and again in my mind. "Oh?" Luna repeated upon not hearing anything else. She looked nervous. "Don''t you think we should get to know each other more?" "Yes, we should." My head nodded without thinking. She waited for me to make an additional comment but I didn''t. "I was thinking we should go on a date." She said. "Huh?" I apologised and shook my head. "Sorry, I didn''t catch that." "I said we should go on a date." I stared dumbfounded at Luna. So it was true that she liked me? I was completely stumped. What was I suppose to say in a situation like this? I had never went out with a girl before and the first kiss I had was just yesterday. Everything seemed to moving so fast. "S-sure." I answered. I waited for her to say more but she sat silently, twirling her dark hair with a nervous look. That''s when I realised I was supposed to be the one to think of something!¡ªbut nothing came to mind. If I had known she was coming to my apartment, I would had spent an entire day organising something in complete detail. What did Luna even like? Where does she usually go for fun? I knew practically nothing about her. Suddenly I felt panic creeping up on me. What if this was a test? A test to see if I could entertain her? And perhaps if I failed, she would think I was boring and stop seeing me? With that thought in mind, I got up quickly and opened the door. "Let''s go." I said.
We ended up at a park across my flat. Luna was following behind me while I pretended to have a clue what I was doing. Damn it. What the hell was I doing here? I couldn''t even bring myself to hold her hand. I felt pathetic. I looked around hoping for a ray of inspiration. There were children playing in the playgrounds, a group of elderlies having a conversation and a group of guys on the side by the road. I took a seat down at the closest bench and Luna sat besides me. We both stared out at the scenery. My head was in a complete mess and I had no idea what I was doing at all. I peeked to my side and to my surprise Luna had a happy look on her face. I felt warmth spreading through my body and I turned back to face the scenery. She was actually enjoying herself. Had I struck gold by choosing to go to a park? Perhaps she was a tree hugger? "Ryo¡­?" Luna was looking down, tapping her fingers together. "What do you like to eat, Ryo? Next time I come over I''ll bring you food." I was ecstatic at the idea. Luna cooking food for me? I felt like I was in a dream. I opened my mouth to answer when the group of guys in the park surrounded us. "That''s a cute girlfriend you have there." One of them sneered, and the rest laughed. There were six of them in total, all of them older than me. The one who sneered had short hair and held a cigarette to his mouth. They spelt bad news. I looked up at them in dismay as the one who sneered blew smoke into our faces. I coughed, waving the smoke away as I flinched back. What did they want with us? Were they going to rob us? I didn''t even have any money on me. Heck, even if I did it wouldn''t be much. "Leave us alone." I said pathetically. I glanced at Luna but her eyes were hidden behind her hair. I had to protect her. Maybe if I grabbed her hand and ran¡­ no, there were too many of them. But I couldn''t possibly fight them either. I had only ever been in one or two fights in my life and all they involved were a few seconds of shoving and name calling before a teacher interfered. I''m not sure if they even counted as fights. Shit. Why were we so unlucky? I didn''t care about myself but I needed to make sure Luna could get away safely. "Woah, sorry. I guess we will leave you alone." He said, lifting his hands up, then he reached into his pockets and pulled out a knife. "Just kidding." My heart leaped at the sight of the knife and I flinched backwards instinctively. These guys were serious, they were the real deal, there was no doubt about it. I could feel my legs shaking and sweat building up on my back. "Hey, Kaiji. Just knock the kid out and let''s grab the girl, man. I can''t wait to have some fun with her." A taller male at the back said licking his lips. The others nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Kaiji." A male next to the taller one said. "Why are you wasting your breath on him? He''s just a highschool kid." "I don''t like the look of that kid. Maybe we should give him a cut on his face to remember this day." Another laughed as he pulled his own knife out. I looked around the park desperately, but everyone else was leaving at the sign of danger. I couldn''t believe it. Even the parents were just taking their kids and leaving. Is nobody going to help? Call the police? Something? Sweat was gathering on my face and I gripped my palms tight. "So that''s how it''s going down kiddo." The man they were calling Kaiji said. "Don''t worry though, we will give her back to you when we''re done." I could hear the others snickering as the second guy who pulled out a knife walked towards me. He reached a hand out and tried to grab my shoulder. All of a sudden, Luna pushed me out of the way and stepped forward from the bench. "What¡ª" He was cut short when Luna did a slashing movement across his neck. He fell backwards into the grass and suddenly blood sprayed out of his neck.