7:30am.
“Good morning to you two, Ringo, Anna.”
“Morning, Shiro and Nacchi.
Oh, just in time! Akira is with Jean. Good morning.”
“Ohayō, minna.”
“Has anyone of you seen my Dad here? He wasn't home when I woke up and Mom told me he's already at school.
I just saw posted in the online page that classes are suspended after 9am."
“The principal? So is Gin, huh…”
“Huh? What's up, Ringo?”
“Not even Anna knew where Gin is right now…”
“Mom and Dad didn't tell me where Nii went. I asked Nee-chan but she doesn't know too.”
Then a guard came running to their group calling Akira while they're talking about a missing principal and a student.
“Sir Akira!
Hahh… hahh… hahh… If you're looking for the principal… hahh… and Mr. Sakato, he asked me to tell you that you should come to his office once I see all of you.”
“Alright, catch your breath. We'll be heading there now.”
“Ah, before you head there. He said to make sure you remove your shoes before entering. The door wasn't locked.”
“I think this is something serious, actually. We haven't been called by Dad once, right? We should hurry.”
~ ~ ~
“Dad? We're coming in.”
Akira slowly opened the door after he knocked. But what ended up right in front of their eyes is the principal that is sleeping in a weird position and Gin who's sleeping soundly with his feet poking out of the blanket regardless of the cold weather.
“Gin?!”
“Nii?!”
“Futon?!”
“Is this Japan?!”
“This is Orio!”
“Dad…? What in the bloody moon is going on…"
“Why are Gin and the principal sleeping here?!”
“And why are there futons in his office?!”
“Gin… I'm almost out of HP…”
“Here, Tenth… Take a regen pot…”
“Ugh… Just how much is the health… of this boss…?”
“It's okay… Tenth… I have a poison bomb here…”
“Hey, Gin. Wake up, you moron.”
“Oh…? Look, Gin… I think… the boss can talk before it dies… It's calling you a moron…”
“I don't know… Tenth… Gin is not my gamertag… it's Gram. Ah, the final stretch…
BOSS DEFEATED!!!
Ouch!” Gin's forehead hit Akira's after vigorously getting up.
“Oww! What the heck, Gin?!
Why are you coordinating in your dreams with Dad?! And in an MMO game… Wait, I didn't know Dad play games like that…”
“Ah, sorry everyone. Gin and I didn't have that much sleep last night.”
“Yawn~ At least we defeated the boss, Tenth.
Oh snap, I don't have time to dress up. Well, I can just go home after an hour…”
“What happened, Gin? And why are you sleeping here?
Wait, that's not the problem. What happened to your face?!”
“Ah, sorry for not telling you, Rin. I was in a hurry earlier and I know you're still sleeping that time. You'll eventually know.”
“And I have an announcement. The classes today will just be for an hour, and then the dismissal will be at 9am.”
“You should dress up properly now. We only have 25 minutes for a meeting.”
“Now that we're at it… Akira, can I ask all of them a favor?
I need to assemble all the teachers at the meeting room as soon as possible. This is an important matter.”
“Alright. But you owe me an explanation later.
Let's go and scatter.”
With that, the five of them left the office to call all of the teachers who are already around.
“I'll clean up the office since I don't have time to go home. You go and prepare now, Tenth.”
“Thanks. I'll leave the rest to you. But wash your face, at least.”
~ ~ ~
Inside the classroom of Class 4A, Kiiro-sen announced that every student will be dismissed an hour after. Everyone in the classroom is anxious as to what is happening.
The sliding door opened and then the principal and Gin came inside and stood on the center platform.
For the first time, Tenth showed his face in this quantity of students.
“Who is he, a new teacher?”
“Is that Gin? Why's he dressed so casually?”
“Hey, hey. What's happening?”
“What's up with this? Why is Gin standing beside that teacher?”
“I think he's also suspended. Lol.”
“Alright, quiet down, Class 4A. I am the principal of Blue Ink High School, Taketo Juushiro.”
“What? He's the principal?”
“It's the first time I saw him.”
“Me too.”
…
“Silence.”
With one word from the principal, everyone became quiet. I think he used his gaze to quiet them down. He cleared his throat and continued on speaking.
“Why am I in front of everyone in this class, some of you may ask. It is because I am here to completely make a stop to the history of your batch.
I hope what I am going to say will serve as a lesson for you to not go out of the line of your unruly, disrespectful, and undisciplined acts both inside and outside the school campus.
First and foremost, I also called the students who I gave suspension to attend this class for today. But that doesn't mean I am already lifting their suspension.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Next, is regarding the prank that was devised yesterday that failed. To tell you the truth, along with the assistance of the student standing beside me, we were behind the stopping of the said prank. To put it simply, we were the ones pulling the strings to prevent it.
Lastly, some of you may be wondering why the following students aren't called—Eissen Lochry, Stefan Carillo, Marcus Rodriguez, and Akaji Mashido.
I am very sorry to tell you bad news, and this is also the reason why I'm dismissing every student very early.
Akaji Mashido, your class representative passed away.”
After hearing that, Murasaki, who is Akaji's childhood friend stood up from his desk and is about to run away.
“Please wait, Mr. Seo. I know this is painful for you, but please hear this one last thing then I'll permit you to leave this classroom.”
Before Tenth started speaking, I talked with a guard on the phone with a very weak voice.
“Hello, a student named Murasaki Seo is about to leave the room of Class 4A. Once seen, please follow him immediately without him knowing. I don't know what he might do after that.”
“Got it, Mr. Sakato.”
*beep*
“Once again, I am very sorry to tell you, especially Mr. Seo. Akaji Mashido was killed by Marcus Rodriguez with the assistance of Mr. Lochry and Mr. Carillo.”
Murasaki left the room with extreme sadness as he's wiping his tears while running.
“As the principal said, he was murdered by one of our classmates and now under the custody of the appropriate department. His corpse was found at around 1:37am by the school guards. The three suspects were called out at around 2am and while interviewing them, I was attacked by Mr. Rodriguez and that is where I got this wound.
Fortunately, he was apprehended quickly and had confessed the truth.
And apparently, the reason of the murder is some kind of a grudge and that made him do such a crime.
We won't tell in detail what really happened but he suffered internal hemorrhage and a skull fracture based on the results of the autopsy.”
“Why do you think it happened, students?
He was blinded by hatred. And now, I am telling all of you. You are all blinded and fooled by the works of man. And that is what made you what you are now.
I'm telling this to all of you because I don't want you to do what Mr. Rodriguez did. If ever your eyes became clouded with pride, for instance, you wouldn't know what you will do next. I am speaking here in front of you because I too, am a human—an imperfect human who has regrets and sins. But I moved forward with those in mind and applied them as an experience.
I have encountered a lot of people in the 38 years of my life. All of them had different stories, and some of them had pain and sorrow; and some of them regretted something from their past that continued to haunt them.
I too regret a lot of things and one of which was that I left someone very special to me once. But I managed to find that person and came back and I am now starting a new life with them. But one man reminded me that I can't do anything alone. So he helped me with everything he can. He applied his wisdom and lent me his hand.
I don't want my students to suffer regrets while they are still at a young age. I don't want anyone of you to feel the regrets that the three of your classmates are experiencing. But I know that it won't be a straight road for all of you.
All of you need to be guided to the right way and the first step to it is listening to others and knowing how and what they feel. Before doing something, ask yourself and think of possibilities that could hurt someone directly or indirectly. Everyone has emotions, so are the people in front of me. And that is what the teachers feel—the ones who you all are giving grief.
It may look like it's difficult, but once you see them smile at you and say ‘thank you', I know you will all feel happiness and contentment in your hearts.
Akaji wants every one of you to do what is right. That is why he led this classroom. He led this class because he wants to say that ‘my classmates did the right thing and I am proud of them'. But bluntly speaking, you were all blinded, so you can't see even his face; you were all deafen, so you can't hear his words. He gave all of you an opportunity, and that opportunity has not yet faded whatsoever.
We can start here. I know that if you do what is right, Akaji will have a smile on his face and then he will say: ‘I am proud of you.'”
While Tenth is speaking, I have observed that almost every one of the class is crying.
“It's too late… Now I'm regretting everything I have done…”
“Why… Why didn't I listen to everything he had said… to correct us… and now… and now he's gone…!”
“I swear… I swear from the bottom of my heart… I will change… I will change to do what is right…”
“Class 4A, I do hope that this may serve as a lesson to all of you.
We are living in an unjust and cruel world. Not everyone will be good to us, and people will judge us. But that is the part of our lives. It will not go as you think it will. Our life is a journey where we do not know our destination is.
…
Dismissed.”
▪ ▪ ▪
9:00 in the morning.
Anna and the rest of us are walking again in the usually peaceful and quiet street—the White Street. I invited all of them to my place to have lunch there.
“So that is what the Project RE is…”
“Sorry for not telling you all. We were asked by Dad not to tell you anything unless it is done.”
“You're telling us now, Akira. So does that mean the project is finally done?”
“I'm not the one that can answer that since I'm not really involved.”
“…
If I were to say, that project was an incomplete success. Tenth kept repeating that it is not a perfect plan and it is not flawless.
Look, we lost one life just to fulfill the missing link in our objectives. We can't entirely say that we were successful.”
“Yeah… I guess you're right.”
“Nii, what's done is done. What we should do is cheer up.”
“Now, now… To think that I'm hearing that from my little sister.”
“Hey!”
~ ~ ~
“Hahh…! I'm finally at this house after a rough seven hours…
Alright, I'm leaving the house in the care of all of you. If you ever get hungry, there are snacks in the kitchen. Play with Haku in my stead.
I'll just take a shower and… yawn~ and sleep.
Man, I just woke up an hour ago and here I am being sleepy again…”
“Can I turn the TV on, Gin?”
“Sure, Jean. Do what you want…
Goodnight, Rin…”
“Goodnight.”
“The mic is now free now that is Gin is taking a rest.”
“Ehh… I'm not feeling it right now.”
“For the second straight year, Japan is experiencing snowfall before October even ends. Even though this has happened in its second year, it's still unprecedented.”
*beep*
“Report says that in this month of October, the temperature will continue to drop down and it is consistently making a record.”
*beep*
“Who do you think will win the grand prize? Stay tuned later at 7pm!”
*beep*
“It's not really that surprising for him to score 49 points in one game. That's just how he plays basketball.”
*beep*
“It wasn't much!”
*beep*
“Let's just talk about something. Oh, I know. How about your relationship with Gin? Since when did you start liking him?”
“I don't like how this is turning out to be…
Well, I actually don't know. I guess… it just happened naturally? Actually, it may have started when he was inside the Void for two years. In the span of one week, I started worrying about him not being around and not contacting us since we still didn't know that time.
I think it was the reason why I looked so exhausted when I came to school. I kept thinking of him to the point that I can't sleep.”
“Ohh… We want to hear more. Please, Ringo.
Look, Anna is getting curious too.”
“Please… Nee-chan…”
“You're too cute, Anna…
I was actually extremely happy when I saw him at the rooftop. I was so red to the point that I feel like I'm a tomato.”
“Now I feel like I now know why Gin said you're similar to Shirayuki.”
“Then last month, when all of you went home after we ate ramen, it was meant for only Anna. But I overheard because I was fixing a plant on his front. He noticed that I was still there and he let me listen to what he said.
That was when he told me and Anna about the week he was gone. Then after that, I told him that I love him and we promised not to leave each other. Something, something.
Also, I fell asleep because I was so tired and apparently, I was carried by him to my room.”
“Aww… What a story…”
“Then while we're at it, why not ask the new couple here. Nacchi and Shiro?”
“Huh? Us too?”
“Goodness… Alright…
Nagi, can you tell them?”
“Good grief. Okay, okay…
I guess I should start on answering the question earlier. I also actually don't know too. It's so natural like it was meant to happen to me.
Then I consulted Gin but he didn't really give me an advice.
But that is where we have proven that too much coincidence in one day is true. At the convenience store, we both bought the same thing. We met at the arcade then I lost to every game we played, except for the DDR.
When she gave me a high five, I started acting weird but felt really happy to see her smile, then we started talking about pictures and went to a photo booth. We had a blast, basically.”
“But we still met in the mall, anyways. After we've finished both of our shopping, the alarms rang because there was a thief running and he bumped onto me. I was about to fall but Nagi caught me and accidentally embraced him.”
“I unconsciously hugged her too.”
“Yeah, he did.
Then I asked him if that was just a coincidence. And if we meet by chance again, then that will convince me that it's not a coincidence but something more.”
“And then we met at Zen Park the next day while the leaves are falling. That is when I saw how beautiful Shiro is.”
“Too smooth, Nacchi.”
“Blame Gin for that.”
“Hmm…
I guess we should prepare lunch now so Gin can wake up with a meal for him. I bet he hasn't eaten since earlier. So much for inviting us when he's not the making it, hmph.”
“Umm… Ringo?
Have we already told you that you're very suited to be a wife?”
“You know, you've already thought that we're a married couple. So why think of that now?”
“But that's a good choice of apron…”
“Oh, this? Gin bought this for me. We actually match.”
“Just get married! Lol.”
~ ~ ~
12:00pm.
“Man, that was a good sleep…”
“Morning, Gin. Lunch is ready.”
“Good morning, Rin. Oh, just in time. My stomach is rumbling.
Thanks for preparing lunch.”
“You're welcome.”
“You sleepyhead. Come on and eat lunch. We're just waiting for you to wake up, you know.”
“Sorry about that, I was dreaming about a parallel world where Tenth is speaking and then Rin is crying. I missed the time when she hugged me while crying last month.
By the way, it's seriously a dream. So don't punch me please.”
“Now that I think about it, you've already made her cry? Gin, that's really mean.”
“In a way, I did. Yeah. But that's not the case anymore. I even cried that time.”
“Ehhh?! You cried?!”
“Even Nagi looked like a crybaby when we saw each other at Zen Park.”
“Hey, now. It was just on the verge, but you also cried, you know.”
“Well, even though you cried…”
“You're still cute, Rin.”
“You're still cute, Shiro.”
*poof*
“Ah…! She's getting red.”
“She's also blushing.”
“…
Jean, I'm somehow questioning why the author put romance in this story.”
“Actually, I don't know about that anymore. Blame the author for this.”
~ ~ ~
After that, the night came, and the time is around 10pm. Gin is now in a very bad problem…
“Now I can't sleep!”