Akuma Tiryns
*Buzz! Buzzz!!
Staring aimlessly at my ceiling, I couldn’t help but feel like I had an unscratched ich on my back.
I’d accomplish the very thing all anime lovers dreamt of. I mean I had fricking powers now! And to top it off, I was good at it. So why in hell, am I still going to school?!
The crushing weight of reality was enough to start my day with a fat, hateful sigh.
***
Like always, Alice sat in her usual seat on the right side of the bus. And like always, some snobby, monkey of man, homosapien dashed over to sit beside her. In which he attempted small talk but was ignored like the roach he was.
(Serves you right, Baldie.)
I was surprised to see that my usual spot behind Alice was preoccupied by someone.
She had tall brown hair, long enough to touch her lower back. She wore a short blue skirt and an all-white blouse. And like I suspected; her silver-colored eyes were buried inside a book.
The person in question was a girl named Emily, and she was well known for being the school nerd. Or was it school geek? I didn’t really care much.
We spoke on a couple of occasions but not enough to make us friends. To be honest, I forgot she even she rode the same bus as me.
I decided to start something up since... well... small talk never hurt any of us, right?
{He was trying to distract himself from the dog sitting next to Alice.}
“Already reading this early huh?”
“...”
*Swooosh
Failure. Met with the same outcome as the plebian Infront of me. Who the hell said small talk couldn’t hurt any of us!
(Alrighty. You can go die in a hole.)
Feeling a bit annoyed by her rudeness -and a tint of embarrassment- I decided it was best to give up on this woman all together.
Instead, I turned my gaze ahead to the brown seat in front of me. My death-like glare pierced the seat and was drilling right through the heart of whoever was hitting on Alice.
I almost cried tears of blood when i heard him ask:
"So hey, me and my guys were thinking of going bowling this weekend. You wanna come?"
"...I'm alright." was her reply.
(That's the way, Alice. Destroy this bastard's self esteem!)
While celebrating today's victory in my head, I heard a faint voice coming from my left.
“I- I umm- I’m sorry for ignoring your question”
“!”
The girl who had just ignored me moments ago, said something to me. She was still glued to her book, but I could tell she was just trying to avoid eye contact.
“Oh... uh... no it’s good.”
Of course, a moment ago I wanted nothing more than to eliminate her entire lineage, but that's all water under the bridge.
“Umm… D-Did you study... for the test we have today?”
“...We had a test?”
The concept of “studying” was native to me. While others felt the need to study and cram knowledge into their brains, I was one of the lucky few who could get by no matter what I did. And not just pass the exams but ace them with excellence. I truly do feel bad for the “lesser folks.”
“W-Well, it's supposed to be really hard.” She went on while attempting to finally look at me. She could only manage a few glances in-between words, but that was enough for me to know she was a sincere and kind girl.
“I’ll be alright. Actually, I’ll be more than alright, I’ll be splendid.”
“…”
“…”
*Swooosh
(Crap. Did I say something weird…)
“*Pfft. You’re so weird.”
“AH-ugh! You’re laughing at me now?!”
“No. No. It was the face you made when you said that. 'I'll be splendid'. I mean who even says that.”
After wiping away her tears, she gazed into my eyes with a gentle and warm expression. The kind of expression I never expected from anyone but Alice.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“W-What's up?” I asked as I tried to doge her intense eye contact.
(What's up with the total 180... This girl is so strange.)
“You're pretty amazing, you know that?”
Of course, I was expecting praise and openly welcome to it, but I wasn’t expecting her to say it so directly. I just hope my face wasn’t red. That’d be beyond embarrassing.
“Y-Yeah, of course I am…”
{Unknown to Akuma, Alice -who sat only a seat in front- pouted in jealousy from their conversation.}
“…So... What's -that -book you're reading?”
“I-Its uh… A light read about World War 2.”
For some reason just mentioning the name turned her into a gloomy doll.
Now I wasn’t one to judge, but how in the hell was a book on WORLD WAR 2 a "light read"? This girl is definitely a nerd.
“...That's, uh...*Ehem. Very interesting… What’s got you so hooked? The murder or the umm... murder?”
Her earlier nervous and shy tone flipped to a clear and almost sadistic one as she cackled:
“It’s fun seeing the masses repeat the same dumb mistakes. Ehehehe.”
“A bit... sadistic, aren’t you?”
“I mean they just don't learn anything at all. The wars fought between countries, the poverty, the pollution, the corruption; it's all there, just under the surface. It has always existed, but now it's more rampant than ever. You want to know why? Because most people are content to live in ignorance, not wanting to learn. They would rather watch tv shows and gossip about celebrities, instead of learning something new. If they did, then perhaps their lives could improve."
(What the hell is this girl talking about...)
I wasn’t sure what was more impressive. The fact that she had this kind of energy in the morning, or that she had such a thing weighing on her mind.
“Don’t worry. I plan on changing that one day!” I announced while pointing at myself with my thumb.
“Huh? What do you mean by that?”
“Well, I am God you know. So, I'll just fix the world."
"..."
“…”
*Swoosh
"*Pfft. You're funny Akuma. I appreciate you cheering me up."
“Uh... A-Anytime.”
(I didn’t even know she was sad.)
{Unknown to Akuma, Alice who was seated in front also chuckled at his ridiculous claim.}
With the bus coming to a full stop, everyone grabbed their bags and left the bus one by one. Naturally, I followed suit.
I timed my exit, so that I could walk just behind Alice. Of course I had plans on greeting her, but I was still mentally preparing myself for such things. Things like these are very delicate matters that must be managed with an ample amount of care.
The entrance was littered with students and in the middle of the horde, was yours truly. The star of the show and currently feeling like a background character.
After I finally gained the necessary mental barriers to greet her, I motioned my hand to reach out and tap her on her shoulder, when suddenly Emily startled me.
“Is she the one you have eyes on...? Yeah, better luck in your next life.”
“Gah-! I-I don’t have eyes for her... You're reading too deep into it.”
(Who says something like that? This girl is so weird.)
“I don't blame you. She’s pretty. She’s smart too. All the guys in our class like her.”
“...I have no comment…” I said to cover my embarrassment.
“!”
“…Wait. Did you say our class?”
“Hmm? Yeah…”
“Wait you’re in our class?! For like how long?!”
“Gah-! Am...Am really that unnoticeable…” she muttered to herself in gloom.
“I’m so sorry about that. I guess I’m just too busy taking notes for class.”
(Like hell I take those notes. My notebook’s as empty as an old tin can.)
“Do you… wanna grab breakfast together?”
That might’ve been the biggest curve ball she’s thrown all morning.
I usually wasn’t hungry enough to ever eat the slop served by the cafeteria, but today I was absolutely starving. Not only had I skipped breakfast this morning, but I’m fairly sure I didn't even have dinner last night.
“Sure. I’m a little hungry.”
I was more than “a little hungry” but the last thing I wanted was to look like some airhead who skipped breakfast. Especially to a girl like her.
“Great, ‘cuz I skipped breakfast.”
My eyes sparkled as I turned to look at her. In the moment I grabbed her hand and pressed it between both of mine. I didn’t say anything. I just nodded as the tears rained down my eyes.
“U-Uh what is it?”
“Nothing” I replied as I sniffled from the tears.
***
As we marched to the cafeteria -both starving- I spotted that we were getting a few weird stares. Or maybe it’s better to say she was. However, that was the least of my concerns. I was praying that the cafeteria would pull through, if not ever then just this once.
Low and behold, my prayers seemed to have been heard.
Today was French toast sticks, sided by a strawberry cup and washed down with apple juice.
The inner tears rained from my happiness. Emily seemed joyful as well.
The line wasn't long at all, so we got our plates and sat down rather quickly. But just as quickly -maybe even faster- Emily had already demolished her breakfast.
I watched as she drenched them one by one in syrup, and absorbed them down, with no regard for the crumps being left on her face.
I had half a mind to do the same, but clearly, I was the more “elegant” one among us.
“Sooo…Why did you wanna eat together?”
“...”
She continued to chomp down on her sticks and was just now moving to the strawberry cup.
Seeing that she was clearly “busy” I quietly waited for her to finish.
By the time I finished my toast, she had already cleared her plate and was wiping her mouth with a napkin.
“S-Sorry about that…”
For someone so shy, she sure does express herself quite freely.
“…I just wanted someone to sit with…"
Her expression was just so sorrowful when she said that. It was like watching a sad kitten. Could you blame me for feeling a sense of pity for her?
“Oh-Ahh…Sorry for asking that.”
“*Pfft. You don't have to apologize... Y’know your pretty weird.”
(HUH!? I'm pretty weird?! Is this girl for real?!)
“G-Glad to know you're getting more comfortable” I said in an irritated tone.
“Yeah, it's the strangest thing. It's like I can talk to you about anything.”
Without a care in the world, we continued our leisurely chit chat. It wasn't the best time ever -and honestly, we were just talking about useless things- but it was a fun time. I think deep down I enjoyed this girl's company.
But as anyone can tell you, all good things must come to an end.
Within the span of only half a day, the apocalypse itself knocked on the world's doors. And in a comparable way to how this all started… Everything ended.