When a star dies, it has two paths.

Either it becomes a Neutron star, shining brightly as untouched snow.

Or it becomes a black hole, to consume everything that stands in its path.

Amatsuyu had misjudged his state, he had thought that his star-like state had matured into a bright, beautiful sun that lit up everything around it. A shining celestial body to sparkle in front of his love.

But he was wrong.

Even though his state had expanded, his courage rising inside of him, the assumption of turning into a sun had proved to be a fatal mistake.

Another tear dropped to the ground as he crushed the love-letter with his fist.

The many layers of stuff that had formed inside of him had accumulated up to this moment. Different emotions and thoughts that eventually led to his final formation.

Loneliness led to sadness, sadness led to envy, envy led to questioning, questioning led to confusion, and with the push of something within, the final element of courage was created.

Harmony was disrupted and as the catalyst for his destruction stood before him, Amatsuyu looked down at the ground to avoid the sight.

The sight of Chiriko Akisha, his crush since the beginning of middle school, shyly kissing a senior from that same middle school.

The crushing blow that provided to Amatsuyu left him on his knees as more and more tears started flooding down his cheek. With bushes and a tree providing cover for him, he sat confused about his sudden reaction. But even though he wanted to pretend that he didn't understand his reaction, it stood clear to him.

His thoughts that 'I've got nothing to lose, anyway' were wrong, what he just witnessed crushed what in fact was all he had left. He thought he had it bad before, but after even the last part of his youth experience was taken away from him in front of him. He imploded.

Like a star dying, everything inside him suddenly collapsed under immense pressure. His new state wouldn't be a Neutron star, instead everything in front of him would be consumed.

A black hole would be born.

- Everything… has to be taken away from me…

What'd I do wrong? I just entered school like any kid, I presented myself as my parents do. Was that wrong? They're successful when they do that, though.

Am I just… that incapable?

Am I even their son? The devastating failure that I am, the embarrassment they must feel because of me must be big.

I'm rejected.

I didn't even have the chance to confess, but already: I'm out of the question. Maybe I wasn't even a contender to begin with -

Amatsuyu felt his eyes well up even more, the stinging pain that seared his heart so heavily caused him even more distress in his head. Amatsuyu leaned his head towards the sky as he tried to wipe his tears with the now-useless piece of paper equipped in his hand. As he got a closer look at his hand, he realized he was holding that letter. As his mind swayed in confusion, another new feeling welled up within him.

- I'm tired of this… -

*KUSHAAAAAA*

The letter he held was suddenly ripped in two pieces, splitting his poorly-drawn heart in to two, uneven, pieces. His eyes were drawn up again towards the source of his distress, as the young couple started moving away from the spot they'd been standing at, Amatsuyu said

"I DESPISE all of you…!

I'm tired of being treated as this subhuman doll for your prejudice-full venting.

You don't even deserve the freedom of thinking, I shall make you all my underlings. You will all be under me for once, and I will decide your fate.

I shall claim my revenge!"

Being the distance away he was from the couple, his half-quiet rant was only barely heard as noise to the recipients. Chiriko, thinking she heard something, turned around in confusion as she looked towards an empty spot with bushes and a tree surrounding it.

"Is something wrong?"

"No… I just imagined something"

With his arms around her shoulders again, they departed the scene like originally planned.

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Despite having a new resolve, one of the core problems Amatsuyu faced didn't fix itself. His lack of courage made him run home as fast as he could with tears dripping down his frustrated face.

,,,

~Wednesday, the third of October, 14:32 ~

The heat he disliked had passed, as the seasons changed around. His pained memories attached to the dryness of the air around him dragged the opinion of summer and heat down in his mind.

With a new style to his general life, his first weeks at high school had passed nicely. Skipping class to hang out with his new comrades, his new identity and persona was the one that was shown to the people around him. He wanted to hide his former self with all he had.

Even though he had no special religious interest, a large brown gate stood before him. Another passage for him to cross, across the mortal realm to another plane. That was the feeling he got as he passed the gate to walk towards the shrine. Even though there were a lot of shrines in the area close to his school, he'd purposely walked to one that was far away to avoid being seen.

As he approached the large bell located in the shrine, he threw two coins he'd 'loaned' into the hole striped with wooden bars in front of him.

*Kachan, Kachan*

They bounced off of the wooden bars a couple of times before entering the hole, Amatsuyu didn't bother to clap his hands and simply closed his eyes

- Spirits present.

Don't think you're on a higher level than me, we're on an even playing ground. But I wanted to ask for a continued good school term with even more success in the friendship and love-departme---------- -

"Hey, Kid.

Do you wish strength?"

Turning his head suddenly to his back, feeling someone's presence there, a strange body entered his sight.

- Strength…!? -

…

~Thursday, the seventeenth of October, 11:11 ~

Amatsuyu's sudden meeting with Chiriko Akisha made him fall towards the floor. Realizing the potential danger of making a loud noise there, he placed his hands on his ass to lessen the impact.

*Kura*

It hurt a lot, but at least the sound wasn't that loud. Kaharu hadn't noticed it either, as he continued walking down the hallway with his fatigue showing. Amatsuyu's attention was returned to the matter at hand. Even though he spoke so much about her existence, he still had a hard time facing her face. The fact that such a thing still lingered in his mind annoyed him, as he stood up to look at Kaharu again.

His instincts were telling him to just rush forward and beat the hell out of him, as he'd negotiated with himself earlier. But he hesitated.

- I should probably calm down…

What do you mean, Amatsuyu? This is the golden moment for us to claim our rightful position! He's right in front of us.

It's better if we just do our plan B. Even if we didn't want to do this, let's just increase our attacks so he'll never have time to rest. And let's face him head-on as well… -

Amatsuyu nodded to himself of his own cunning. He was a true god, after all, all a god needed to do was provide guidance for its followers.

Departing quickly from the place he stood, Amatsuyu started his plan.

…

I turned a right at the next crossing, and before me was the destination: The cafeteria.

Like clockwork, I heard a faint "LUNCH" in the background, and quickly after, people started showing up at the cafeteria. I'd already sat down at a table with my handbook at hand, ready to cross off some more people.

Several cups of ramen and a bottle of instant coffee stood in front of me as I slurped them down, trying to be the most efficient I could with the task that I had. It was a gold mine, as I found almost everyone I needed for my noting.

The clock kept ticking as more red crosses were written down, and eventually, it turned to a new hour

~ 12:00 ~

*DING DONG*

Suddenly, an unnaturally high-pitched voice was heard over the entire school through the intercom system

"Good day, my loyal subjects. It is I, your God."

- God…!? What!? -

"I apologize for disrupting your lunch, but I have an order to bestow upon you.

If you happen to see a blonde, ill-behaved, heretic by name Kaharu Kahari,

I order you to dispose of him!"

Even though there were other ways of delivering the message, the confused red-haired kid had decided to experiment with his abilities while he could.

- …! -

I quickly noticed the change in attitude among the people around me, I didn't even have the time to consider what had just been communicated before a student across me swung his arms.

My head was saved from the blow, but that momentum made me fall backward from the table and unto the floor. But I wasn't spared much time there either as more students started throwing their kicks and punches. I managed to avoid many of their attacks, but only with a small margin. I didn't have enough energy to keep that up, and eventually a punch connected to the right side of my face.

I threw away my desire to retaliate, even if that sensation rushed to the vanguard of my head. I also bit my lip as I realized I had no choice but to escape the facility as fast as I could. Food and a very concentrated bottle of instant coffee may have reinstalled some of my energy, but that wouldn't be enough to do what I did earlier to all of these students.

There was one positive aspect to it, if I managed to escape, which I was surprised my brain found.

The advantage would lie on my side.

I needed to turn left towards the exit that laid there, but it would be hard to maneuver past the hordes of people that were placed there.

I narrowly avoided some more attacks as some faces I recognized entered my view.

Melliacci, as a part of a bigger group, threw a punch at me as I tried to run forward. A bitter smirk ran across my face as I closed my eyes for a second.

*BODAAA*

The fist struck my cheek in a direct hit as I was flown backward in the direction I'd wanted to maneuver through earlier. The momentum and force that punch had given me had made it easier to force my way over there. I shot an unnecessary look at Melliacci with that smile intact

- We're even now. -

I also noted that when the robot-like people attacked, they used their full power. I had gotten the suspicion before when I got hit by my table, but Melliacci confirmed my suspicion. He wouldn't be capable of such a punch on his own otherwise, judging from his previous achievements that day.

As I started making my way towards the exit, still a couple of meters in front of me, a shadow made its entrance in front of me.

*TA TA*

Elegantly, the shadow landed several meters in front of me with its two shoes hitting the ground. I was immediately surprised as I drew my eyes from its shoes to the torso.

- The same hoodie as in the footage…! -

The hood itself was so long that it covered the face itself, making it impossible to tell who it was behind the shadow it created. Being in front of the exit I was rushing for, it just turned around and started sprinting away.

"So you finally show yourself, coward!?"

I leaped forward as I jumped through the door-frame of the exit with a great deal of motivation and temporary excitement.