It was a dull afternoon at high school. The math classroom was packed with bored students, whispers of disinterest, and uncontrollable yawns. Among them sat Emiko Yoshida, a 17-year-old girl whose face fought relentlessly against the sleep that threatened to overtake her.
The teacher, a stern-looking woman, skillfully unraveled numbers and equations, but her words were lost on Emiko. Her eyes struggled to stay open, but the battle was already lost. For a brief moment, her gaze faded into the fog of sleep—until her treacherous eyelids finally overcame her resistance.
When Emiko woke up, her confused and astonished eyes scanned every corner of the classroom. To her surprise, there was no sign of her classmates or her teacher. Silence enveloped the space, broken only by her own quickened breathing and disoriented thoughts.
Emiko tried to rise from her seat, only to realize she couldn't move. Not a single muscle responded; she could only move her head.
"What's happening? Why can't I move? I'm scared!" Emiko cried out in her mind, desperately trying to will her body into motion.
"Please, someone help me!" she shouted inwardly, her heart pounding wildly in her chest.
Suddenly, a loud bang echoed on her desk, making Emiko jolt and raise her gaze. Her expression turned to horror as she saw a dark, thin creature—rotting and grotesque—standing on her desk.
The creature crouched and stared directly at her with two large, hollow eyes. It never looked away. Emiko's heart thudded harder as the creature's gaze remained fixed on her.
Then, another bang. Emiko awoke from her nightmare.
Looking around, she saw her classmates laughing at her while her teacher stood nearby.
"I see my class puts you to sleep, Miss Yoshida," said the teacher with a disapproving tone.
Emiko blushed as laughter echoed around her and she nodded, muttering, "I'm sorry, teacher. I didn't mean to fall asleep. It won't happen again."
The teacher replied sharply, "There are students here who actually want to learn, Miss Yoshida. But I see you're the only one uninterested in my class. Please step out."
Ashamed, Emiko apologized and quickly left the room. Out in the long school hallway, she felt confused and disoriented. What was that strange vision where everyone disappeared and she was left paralyzed? A sense of unease grew in her chest as she walked alone, trying to make sense of the creature she'd seen.
As the hours passed and the final bell rang, Emiko watched one by one as students left the building. An air of loneliness filled the school. Only two girls remained in the classroom, chatting cheerfully as they gathered their things.
"Hey, aren't you on cleaning duty with Yoshida today?" one asked.
"Ugh, cleaning duty. I wanted to go to the mall with my friends," the other groaned.
"What if we tell the teacher you've got an emergency?" the first one suggested with a big grin.
"Wait, then what about Yoshida? She'll be stuck cleaning alone," the second girl said.
"So what? Did you see how the teacher scolded her today?"
"Yeah, she fell asleep right in class," the other chuckled.
"Haha! Did you see her face while getting scolded?"
As their laughter faded down the hallway, a third girl with glasses watched silently from a distance.
Meanwhile, Emiko was still lost in thought when a voice called out from behind.
"Emi! Hey, Emiko, can you hear me?"
Startled, Emiko turned to see who was calling. It was her best friend—the girl with glasses.
"Hi, Kaede. Sorry, I was so deep in thought I didn't hear you," Emiko said.
"Thinking about a boy?" Kaede teased with a grin.
Emiko blushed and quickly replied that it wasn't about anyone in particular.
"Come on, tell me the truth," Kaede insisted, poking her playfully.
"Okay, fine… I was thinking about something else, but it's nothing important," Emiko admitted.
"I see," Kaede said, picking up on her friend's unease.
"By the way, you're on cleaning duty today, right?"
"Yeah, why do you ask?"
"Because I'm going to help you," Kaede replied cheerfully.
"You don't have to. I can do it alone. I don't want you to get home late because of me," Emiko said modestly.
"Come on, Emi, let's go together," Kaede insisted, grabbing her wrist and tugging her forward. With a sigh, Emiko gave in.
Together, they went to clean the classroom.
While they worked, Kaede glanced at Emiko.
"Emi?"
"Yes?" Emiko answered nervously.
"I need to talk to you," Kaede said seriously. Emiko looked at her, wondering what was coming next.
"You've been acting strange lately. You're distracted, and you even fell asleep in class. That's not like you. Maybe you're…" Kaede trailed off dramatically.
Emiko's heart pounded. What was she going to say?
"You're in love!" Kaede blurted out with a smile. "When people fall in love, they get dumb. That explains why you're distracted and can't sleep—because you're thinking about that person all the time. So, Emi, tell me who it is!"
Emiko stared at Kaede, bewildered. In her mind, she thought:
"It scares me how seriously she said that. Once she starts, there's no stopping her."
Emiko picked up the mop and bucket, heading out of the room.
"Wait, I'm not done with you yet!" Kaede called after her, but Emiko ignored her.
"Don't shout. I'm just returning this stuff. I'll be back soon," Emiko replied.
After putting things away, she walked down the empty hallway when a loud noise came from the classroom. Alarmed, she thought:
"What was that noise? What could've caused it?"
She slid the door open cautiously and called out:
"Hello? Is anyone there? Hello?"
Inside, papers were scattered all over the floor. Relieved, she muttered:
"So this is what caused the noise. I'd better clean it up."
As she gathered the papers, her eyes caught one of the drawings. She knelt to pick it up—and froze in horror.
It was the monster from her dream.
She stood, glancing around. Every paper on the floor had the same creature drawn on it. A chill ran down her spine. How could this be? How were the images from her dream now lying here on real paper?
Emiko stood frozen, a heavy breath brushing against her neck. Her eyes widened, her body trembling as she slowly turned.
There it was.
The monster from her dreams stood behind her.
A scream escaped her lips. She fell to the floor, crawling backward until she was cornered against the wall. Her heart pounded violently as the creature approached—but it did not strike. It simply stared.
Emiko, desperate to wake from what she thought must be another nightmare, pinched herself over and over.
But she was wide awake.
In the midst of her panic, Kaede's voice echoed in the distance.
"Emiko! Emiko, are you there?"
Emiko tried to call out—but before she could say a word, the monster lunged and melted into a dark, viscous liquid, forcing its way down her throat.
Terror consumed her as she writhed on the ground, choking on the experience. But then, summoning every ounce of strength, she rose to her knees, coughing and gasping, her trembling hands at her mouth, struggling to expel the toxic presence invading her.
When Kaede arrived at the room, she cheerfully called out, "Hey Emi, what's taking you so long?" Her voice trailed off as she caught sight of Emiko.
Alarmed, Kaede rushed to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"What's wrong, Emi?" she asked, trembling.
Emiko's terrified eyes filled with tears. Without a word, she bolted from the room.
"Wait! Don't go, Emi!" Kaede called after her.
Emiko ran, barely seeing where she was going. She burst into her room, shut the door behind her, and collapsed to her knees. Unable to hold it in, she vomited the same black liquid, which began to move on its own.
Suddenly, a hand rose from the liquid.
The monster emerged.
With her mouth still stained, Emiko's eyes widened in horror. She sprang to her feet, darted out of the room, and slammed the door shut.
In a panic, she tried to clean her face. Then she heard it—something in front of her.
The monster stared at her.
Panic overtook her.
But wait—she had locked it inside!
Carefully, she opened the door and backed away, never breaking eye contact. Then, with a burst of speed, she slammed it shut again.
The monster pushed the door open and slithered out, only to find... an empty room.
Then it saw a pair of shoes behind the desk.
Creeping forward, it found only empty shoes.
From behind the door, Emiko, barefoot, quietly slipped away, leaving the monster behind.
As it roamed her room, the monster's attention fell on a worn teddy bear on Emiko's bed. It stared for a moment—then transformed into the bear itself, looking newer, cleaner.
Night fell.
Emiko sat alone on the sidewalk, under a streetlamp, haunted by what had happened.
"Is the monster gone from my room?" she wondered.
"I'm too scared to check."
The wind blew gently, rustling the trees. Shadows danced across the street.
And Emiko shivered, certain that something unseen was still watching her.