“Hey, guys.” Miki spoke up suddenly in the silence.

“What?”

“I think Nana’s sick.”

“Eh?”

“Look,” Miki showed us Nana writing something in her notebook. She had this serious look in her eyes, as she kept pausing a bit in between writing.

“She seems normal.”

“No, no. This is different. Watch this…” She back away a bit, and in a different voice yelled, “Okada-san, you have five minutes!”

“Uh-huh…” Nana spoke in a low tone, as if she didn’t hear her.

“See?”

“I guess you have a point.”

“This isn’t like her. I’ve been trying to get her attention for...” She looked at the clock. “30 minutes!”

“I wonder what’s up.”

I walked up and tapped Nana’s shoulder, finally getting her attention.

“What’s up?” I said casually, with a smile.

She said nothing and simply got up, leaving.

“See, this isn’t normal.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“I wonder what’s wrong with Naachan…”

…..

“Hmm…” Momo and Hayate were watching Nana, seeing her in a tizzy as she walked into a separate office in the building, holding the notebook close to her.

“Looks like that onee-chan is acting funny.”

Momo chuckled. “In a sense. But, this is good. We can use this. With her distracted, it’ll be the best way to come at her when she’s weak.”

She then heard a hiss and saw Hayate holding a green snake.

“Where’d you get that?”

“Snakey came to me. Look at her pretty eyes.”

The little boy held the small green reptile up, showing Momo its sparkling, jade green eyes with a slit pupil.

“Wait, is that..?”

“Snakey is very cute, isn’t she? Her name is Gypsy.”

“Gypsy?”

Momo then looked and noticed Hayate’s eyes were also green like the snake’s, staring into its eyes and smiling.

She grinned. “Ah, I see.”

…..

“Where is Nana~?” Miki walked down the hall, looking in each of the rooms.

After Nana suddenly left, Miki took it upon herself to search for her dear friend. She knew that something had been going on, as her recent behavior was quite strange and very unlike her.

“I hope nothing bad happened to her…”

Then, she heard the sound of someone singing. It was a sweet, familiar voice.

“Nana?”

She walked closer to the source of the sound, then saw Nana standing at the balcony, singing a song. She didn’t recognize the song, so she thought maybe it was something Nana had wrote herself.

*Ever since I laid my eyes on you
I always thought of you as a friend

“Wait… is this a true love song? A *koi-uta?”

But, with you being so kind to others
My chest hurts

Miki walked closer, not being noticed by the older girl. She hid behind one of the desks, listening to her song.

By chance, my seat is beside you
Instead of the blackboard, I stare at you
What is this feeling? Is it love?
But if I don’t tell you, you’ll be taken away by someone else.

“Eh?”

“In the rain, I gather my courage and confess...”

Miki felt something inside her pulse. A strong, almost painful pulse.

But it was erased by the rain
My feelings could not reach you
In my pain, I cried, but even my tears
All disappeared in the rain

“No way...”

If only, that day, it had not rained
We might have been bound together
My unreachable first love

As the song ended, Nana sighed, wiping away a tear.

“Nana...”

Nana heard Miki’s small voice and turned to see her. In her panic, Miki suddenly ran out of the room, holding her chest.

“Why..? It hurts...”

She leaned against the wall, remembering the sad lyrics.

“Nana… I had no idea.”

…..

“Miki?” Nana started searching for the younger girl.

She could’ve sworn she saw Miki watching, for who knows how long. But, she probably heard her singing, and that’s why she ran out.

“Where is she..?”

Just then, she felt something curl around her leg. She looked and saw a small green snake.

She screamed and tried to kick it off, but it clasped tightly onto her ankle in a cold embrace. She grabbed it and felt its cold scales, making her shiver as it crept up her wrist and arm.

As she grabbed it, she suddenly met the snake’s eyes. They were jade green, a slit pupil staring at her. Such a straight, firm gaze. Nana found herself unable to look away.

The snake’s slit pupil shrank, beginning to spin and turn into a dizzying spiral. Nana, unable to resist the firm gaze, was slowly drawn into the spiral, her body swaying as the snake danced and brought her deeper under a trance.

The snake grinned, revealing small, sharp fangs, and bit into Nana’s soft skin. A drop of crimson red blood was drawn.

Her eyes fluttered shut and her body fell backwards. Momo and Hayate were behind her, catching her fall.

“Looks like even this one couldn’t resist the *serpent’s charm.”

“Good snakey~”

The snake slithered and writhed in its coils, its body glowed and morphed into a human form.

“Now, the Crystal will be ours.”

The snake hissed, opening its jade green eyes with slit pupils, looking at the reflection staring back at her. It was the form of Nana.

“Make sure you go for that Nishino girl, first. She’s very close to this one, so she’ll be easy.”

“Of coursssse.”

================================

Footnotes

*1. The song Nana is singing is an original love song, or koi-uta, about something that really happened to her. (Source: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2bs6pk_okadananafans-okada-nana-hatsukoi_people )

*2. Koi-uta – A true, original love song.

*3. Serpent – A snake-like creature that’s able to seduce their victims and take human form after consuming their blood.