Watashi no Kaibutsu kun
It was not a dream.
No matter what other people said, Nino knew it was not a dream.
Believe it or not, the monster realm exists and he had been there when he was five or six years old. It was not his imagination.
When he went there, he met a monster which resembled a human but with a horn on his forehead. His hair was blonde and he wore a red cape. Nino called the monster Kaibutsu Kun.
How did he get into the monster realm? Well, when he was small, a vampire kept on appearing in his dream and scared him. One night, he woke up in the middle of the night and saw the vampire leaving his room through the closet. His curiosity got the better of him. Thus, he followed the vampire only to end up in the monster realm.
Nino was quickly found by the vampire and Kaibutsu-Kun. It was a delight for him to know that the vampire was not as scary as he thought. As he was a naughty boy who no longer felt afraid of the vampire, he kept on running away from both the vampire and Kaibutsu-Kun to play hide and seek with them. It was troublesome for them because they needed to protect Nino from being found by an evil monster. Humans are not supposed to be in the monster realm. If found, they would be killed. They did so to protect the existence of the monster realm from the human. That is why the vampire and Kaibutsu-Kun tried to find the door where he came from so that he could be sent home.
Finally, after a long night, they found his door and he was sent back to the human world. It was a fascinating experience trying to run from the evil monster. Even though it sounded surreal, Nino knew it really happened. Thus, he refused to believe it was just a dream. Furthermore, Nino still remembered how Kaibutsu Kun kissed him on the forehead before he went back to the monster realm. And, the most valuable evidence to support his reasoning that it was not a dream…
A drawing left behind by Kaibutsu Kun.
It was a beautiful drawing of him made by Kaibutsu Kun. It was signed by Ohno Satoshi, which Nino bet was Kaibutsu Kun’s real name. There was no one in his life with that name who knew how to draw that beautifully. Besides, he remembered Kaibutsu Kun handed the drawing to him even though he was just a small kid. So, it proved that Kaibutsu Kun was real and everything that happened in the monster realm was not a dream or his imagination.
“You must be thinking of the dream again," said his best friend, Jun. He took a seat next to Nino in the cafeteria. Aiba, his other best friend, was sitting across from him and had a stupid grin on his face.
“I am the baka. Yet, I know it is just a dream,” Aiba mocked him. “Nino chan is clever but he thinks it is real,”
Nino glared at his two best friends. He had told them about Kaibutsu Kun, hoping they would believe him. Instead, they kept mocking him because of it. Even when he presented them with the drawing, they still thought he was stupid for believing in Kaibutsu Kun. Jun reasoned that maybe Ohno Satoshi was his long lost relative or family’s friend who had died or moved from Japan that he never knew about. To deny this claim, Nino had asked his parents about it and they said they don’t know anyone with that name. Aiba, then, made a stupid theory. Maybe Ohno Satoshi committed a crime and Nino’s parents refused to let him know about it because they were too ashamed.
“I swear to both of you. I’ll find Kaibutsu Kun and prove to you guys that it was not a dream,”
“Please be realistic, Nino. You kept on saying the same thing since you’re seven years old. For 10 years, he never appeared. Isn’t that enough to prove it was just a dream?” Reasoned Jun.
Nino didn’t know what to say to contradict Jun. He was upset because no one trusted him. He was angry at Kaibutsu Kun for leaving him. Not knowing what to do, he ran to the roof to be alone and recollect his thoughts.
“You promised that you will meet me again,” He shouted to no one in particular. “You are real, aren’t you? Then why don’t you come to see me?” He kept on shouting to express his frustration about Kaibutsu Kun. Being too deep in his own thoughts, he didn’t realize two pairs of eyes were watching him, worried to see him in that condition.
“Kazu, we need to talk,” said his mother sternly when Nino got home that evening. He looked confusedly at his mother, couldn’t figure out what his mother wanted to talk about. As far as he knew, he didn’t do anything wrong.
“Jun Kun and Aiba chan told me about your imagination,”
Nino felt angry to hear that. Why must both of his friends involve his mother in this matter? Urgh, whatever! No matter what his mother said, it would not change his opinion about the situation. It was not a dream. He had asked about Ohno before and his mother confirmed that she didn't know him.
“Ohno Satoshi is not your Kaibutsu Kun. He is my friend,” His mother said. Her voice sounded softer this time as he looked at him with concern. Nino didn’t know whether he should trust her. If Ohno was her friend, why did she deny his existence when Nino asked her?
He got his answer after that as his mother continued talking.
“But, he did something terrible. He killed a person and was killed when he tried to run away from the police. I kept this a secret from you because I don’t want to remember the sad memory anymore. I never know my simple lie affected you. Jun Kun and Aiba chan told me about your imaginary friend, Kaibutsu Kun. You believe he is real because of the drawing signed by Ohno Satoshi. Kaibutsu Kun does not exist, Kazunari. It was my friend, Ohno, who drew that picture of you, Kazu. He loved you so much and he drew the picture for your birthday,”
Nino ran to his room as tears started to roll on his cheeks. Hearing the truth about Ohno Satoshi had shattered his hope about Kaibutsu Kun. He couldn’t believe that his mother had lied to him all these times. How could she? If she told him the truth about Ohno Satoshi from the beginning, Nino would not make such a fool of himself in front of his friends for believing in a stupid dream.
Now, he had definite proof that Kaibutsu Kun was not real. If he was real, why did he never show up again? Why he never come to Nino to prove to his friends that he is not dreaming or imagining things? Why would Kaibutsu Kun let him be a fool?
Nino glanced at the drawing of him on the board. Ohno Satoshi is a real person, he is not a monster. Same went with the monster realm. It was not real, was just a fragment of his imagination. He would not let Aiba and Jun laugh at him anymore. So, this would be the last time he would think about this dream. He took the drawing from the board and tore it. It didn’t matter if the drawing was the memento his mother had from Ohno Satoshi. The drawing was his. So, he had the right to tear it. With a heavy heart, he destroyed the drawing. He didn’t want to be reminded of the stupid dream anymore.
A pair of eyes was watching Nino sadly from the closet. He was sad to see his most precious drawing being torn like that. Seems like the person he cares and loves the most in his life had forgotten him. His father was right. Human and monster should not be together after all. With one last look at the human, he went back to his world, ready to accept the deal he made with his father.
A/N: I wrote this as a compensation for not posting Magika for a while. This is inspired by Monster Inc, which I just watched. As always, comments are appreciated