or "Ore wa Anata ni Kami ni Kami o Rikai Shite Inai", to be shortened as either OreKami or Rikai Shinai.
Genre: Harem, Romance, Comedy (think Date a Live)
Summary: viewtopic.php?f=24&t=10863, originally supposed to be titled as Sky of Ice.
Chapter 1 focuses on a background of Jin's ordinary life. It is divided into four parts.
Part 1
Spoiler! :
February 29, 2036. That was the day thought to be the end of the world, the Apocalypse. It had been predicted by the Mayans, the Shintoists, the Christians, Buddhists, Taoists and nearly every religion and/or occult out there, with some bit of twist from each version of course.
But of all these accounts, this was considered the most true. It had been predicted as early as 2014, that the next time February 29 falls on a Friday, that would be the last day of the earth. Tomorrow, the world will end, and all humanity will be wiped out. Mountains will crumble. The skies will roar. Blah blah blah.
I suppose it’s no longer surprising after the great fail of 2012, but the grand majority right now are rather calm, choosing to believe a miscalculation in the cryptics’ part, and that the long-awaited end-of-the-world will be postponed for another day, while the faithful few are either panicking themselves to death, or in the midst of desperate measures, to stock on food, or to hide underground, whatever means necessary to survive the unexpected.
“Jin. Get off the computer, you’ll be late for school,” called my sister from downstairs.
“Mmmm,” I groaned to tell Setsuno I heard her.
Ultimate001: i heard someone finally discoverd a way to get past the rosseau fac2ry.
JinX: No way
Ultimate001: its ture. Apparently 2 coloblockles w chains of chaos can gang up on the juggernaut
Ultimate001: it dies without getting a chance to stand up
I thought for a moment.
JinX: Dude that’s obviously a bluff
JinX: they’d run out of mana before they even get half its HP
Annhielator: wanna test the theory out? :v
Cakemix_Panda: if were still alive by tomorrow that is
Cakemix_Panda: XDDD
JinX: What do you mn??
Cakemix_Panda: DUDE! THE APOCALYPSE! YOU LIVN A CAVE OR SOMTHNG???
ShimaKaz: yeah, every1 keeps going on about the apocalyps 2morrow
I’M _Rainbow: i woudnt b laughng f I were u
I’M _Rainbow: mom said th apocalps is as real as t gets
I closed my eyes shut and stretched. This whole “apocalypse” business had been the great talk of even the internet world that I couldn’t play a decent game since I woke up at 4:00. I didn’t mind if it was just my parents but it’s really a pain in the butt when the gossip started taking over even the digital world. It’s a shame all the great players live overseas. Japan could really use one.
JinX: Guys can we pleas get to the game
IPTU: LOL bad boyz aint fraid o no death
IPTDNOOB: LOL YOLO
Cakemix_Panda: #TOLOTH
Annhielator: what is this? Thy only liveth oneth?????
A sharp tap on the head told me my sister had already come inside my room. I didn’t notice her on account of my earphones.
“You’re still wearing an apron,” I remarked as she opened up the curtains. “You upskirted the curtains,” I remarked casually.
“Breakfast is ready; I kept calling you for five minutes. And for the love of God, please clean your room.”
“What’s the point? It’s just gonna get dirty again.”
“Yeah but atleast exert some effort. This is your room.”
“I already told you. Taking my lifestyle into account, this room would plummet from a newly clean state to a record low in an average of five days, three if you’re
not here.”
She stared at me with crossed arms and a raised brow.
“But that’s not to say cleanliness regresses linearly. It’s a bit closer to a negative logarithmic curve, deviation of up to 25% with 2 degrees of freedom. You see Dear Sister, assuming I go by your suggestion and cleaned my room today, from a datum 100% ‘clean’ state, it would return to 45% and 55% in just a matter of 104 hours and 39 minutes, and that doesn’t even include all the concerned factors yet.
“I already showed you the report last month, where I took the cleanliness of the room on a week per week basis, weekends not included. Should you need it for reference, the paper is in drawer E, second, “Room Cleanliness Digression as Observed from a Steady-State Semester, with School Life as Main Parameter.
“What conclusion did I make from that? Well based from studies of my past room cleaning skills and behaviorals, the most efficient course of action would be to wait for my room to get really really dirty, and then just clean it in one go. It saves effort, saves time, and may even save my allowance as opposed to cleaning it every week. I’m sure we both don’t want any of our precious time wasted, wouldn’t you agree?”
“What’s there to agree about!” she said hitting me with the ladle. “I always end up cleaning your room.”
“That’s because you never listen to anything I say,” I cried, massaging the lump on my head. “Like I said, cleaning it only twice a year saves the most effort, time and money. Trust me, my research methods are credible.”
“It’s amazing how you’re so lazy yet still have the energy to create all these case studies,” she said drilling her knuckles on my forehead. “Why can’t you atleast direct some of that enthusiasm to things that really matter?”
“A lazy person is smart. He finds creative ways to get to the result faster and easier. I’m not lazy because I’m smart. It’s precisely because I am lazy that I am smart.”
“You know what, forget this,” she sighed. “I’ll just clean this pigsty later. C’mon, the toast is getting cold.”
My older sister. Setsuno Shinozaki.
E-cup.
It’s been two months since I moved into her apartment. It was a lot closer to school, and she gets 50% of the allowance I get from Mom and Dad. It’s not a parent’s fault to spoil the youngest child, but I don’t necessarily hate my sister, so this is to make up for all the unequal treatment between us. Sort of…
I guess technically I bribed her into letting me live with her, or taking that from another viewpoint she’s milking me out of my money (no, I’m pretty sure she’s not that type of person) but hey, if I’m being milked of my own free will, and she’s being bribed willingly, then it’s not really bribing and milking now, is it?
Actually, the real reason why I wanted to move here is that both our parents are complete idiots. When the news of the projected ‹‹Apocalypse›› surfaced, they chugged it down like an infant overdosing on colostrum.
They’re what you’d consider the Avant-garde followers, still going on about their daily lives and jobs, but that’s just on the outside as far as appearances are concerned. Deep down when it’s just between the family members they’d be praying and repenting to high heavens, as though all that nonsense would actually save the world from destruction.
My sister is fortunately, more level-headed than my parents, so I moved here for some peace and quiet, on the pretense of worrying about my academic duties.
This morning’s breakfast was the usual.
Toast.
Bacon and eggs.
Cheese.
Orange juice.
I understand she’s already preoccupied with a lot of things, but I wish she’d prepare rice more often. I’d be understating it if I said her rice is good. Her ‹‹Pineapple Fried Rice›› is God. It’s almost enough to make me fall in love with my own sister.
We ate breakfast with barely exchanging any comments. We still don’t understand each other that much. We weren’t by far close to begin with, mainly because of the huge age gap between us and that we pretty much don’t have anything in common but our parents, but living in this apartment has atleast slowly mended the broken relationship that was once ours.
I know I don’t say it, no matter how many times she handles the bills, or cleans my room, or leaves my dinner when I’m not able to come home early and she has to leave for the night, I can’t ever be honest in front of her, but from the bottom of my heart, I’m grateful for having her as a sister.
But of all these accounts, this was considered the most true. It had been predicted as early as 2014, that the next time February 29 falls on a Friday, that would be the last day of the earth. Tomorrow, the world will end, and all humanity will be wiped out. Mountains will crumble. The skies will roar. Blah blah blah.
I suppose it’s no longer surprising after the great fail of 2012, but the grand majority right now are rather calm, choosing to believe a miscalculation in the cryptics’ part, and that the long-awaited end-of-the-world will be postponed for another day, while the faithful few are either panicking themselves to death, or in the midst of desperate measures, to stock on food, or to hide underground, whatever means necessary to survive the unexpected.
“Jin. Get off the computer, you’ll be late for school,” called my sister from downstairs.
“Mmmm,” I groaned to tell Setsuno I heard her.
Ultimate001: i heard someone finally discoverd a way to get past the rosseau fac2ry.
JinX: No way
Ultimate001: its ture. Apparently 2 coloblockles w chains of chaos can gang up on the juggernaut
Ultimate001: it dies without getting a chance to stand up
I thought for a moment.
JinX: Dude that’s obviously a bluff
JinX: they’d run out of mana before they even get half its HP
Annhielator: wanna test the theory out? :v
Cakemix_Panda: if were still alive by tomorrow that is
Cakemix_Panda: XDDD
JinX: What do you mn??
Cakemix_Panda: DUDE! THE APOCALYPSE! YOU LIVN A CAVE OR SOMTHNG???
ShimaKaz: yeah, every1 keeps going on about the apocalyps 2morrow
I’M _Rainbow: i woudnt b laughng f I were u
I’M _Rainbow: mom said th apocalps is as real as t gets
I closed my eyes shut and stretched. This whole “apocalypse” business had been the great talk of even the internet world that I couldn’t play a decent game since I woke up at 4:00. I didn’t mind if it was just my parents but it’s really a pain in the butt when the gossip started taking over even the digital world. It’s a shame all the great players live overseas. Japan could really use one.
JinX: Guys can we pleas get to the game
IPTU: LOL bad boyz aint fraid o no death
IPTDNOOB: LOL YOLO
Cakemix_Panda: #TOLOTH
Annhielator: what is this? Thy only liveth oneth?????
A sharp tap on the head told me my sister had already come inside my room. I didn’t notice her on account of my earphones.
“You’re still wearing an apron,” I remarked as she opened up the curtains. “You upskirted the curtains,” I remarked casually.
“Breakfast is ready; I kept calling you for five minutes. And for the love of God, please clean your room.”
“What’s the point? It’s just gonna get dirty again.”
“Yeah but atleast exert some effort. This is your room.”
“I already told you. Taking my lifestyle into account, this room would plummet from a newly clean state to a record low in an average of five days, three if you’re
not here.”
She stared at me with crossed arms and a raised brow.
“But that’s not to say cleanliness regresses linearly. It’s a bit closer to a negative logarithmic curve, deviation of up to 25% with 2 degrees of freedom. You see Dear Sister, assuming I go by your suggestion and cleaned my room today, from a datum 100% ‘clean’ state, it would return to 45% and 55% in just a matter of 104 hours and 39 minutes, and that doesn’t even include all the concerned factors yet.
“I already showed you the report last month, where I took the cleanliness of the room on a week per week basis, weekends not included. Should you need it for reference, the paper is in drawer E, second, “Room Cleanliness Digression as Observed from a Steady-State Semester, with School Life as Main Parameter.
“What conclusion did I make from that? Well based from studies of my past room cleaning skills and behaviorals, the most efficient course of action would be to wait for my room to get really really dirty, and then just clean it in one go. It saves effort, saves time, and may even save my allowance as opposed to cleaning it every week. I’m sure we both don’t want any of our precious time wasted, wouldn’t you agree?”
“What’s there to agree about!” she said hitting me with the ladle. “I always end up cleaning your room.”
“That’s because you never listen to anything I say,” I cried, massaging the lump on my head. “Like I said, cleaning it only twice a year saves the most effort, time and money. Trust me, my research methods are credible.”
“It’s amazing how you’re so lazy yet still have the energy to create all these case studies,” she said drilling her knuckles on my forehead. “Why can’t you atleast direct some of that enthusiasm to things that really matter?”
“A lazy person is smart. He finds creative ways to get to the result faster and easier. I’m not lazy because I’m smart. It’s precisely because I am lazy that I am smart.”
“You know what, forget this,” she sighed. “I’ll just clean this pigsty later. C’mon, the toast is getting cold.”
My older sister. Setsuno Shinozaki.
E-cup.
It’s been two months since I moved into her apartment. It was a lot closer to school, and she gets 50% of the allowance I get from Mom and Dad. It’s not a parent’s fault to spoil the youngest child, but I don’t necessarily hate my sister, so this is to make up for all the unequal treatment between us. Sort of…
I guess technically I bribed her into letting me live with her, or taking that from another viewpoint she’s milking me out of my money (no, I’m pretty sure she’s not that type of person) but hey, if I’m being milked of my own free will, and she’s being bribed willingly, then it’s not really bribing and milking now, is it?
Actually, the real reason why I wanted to move here is that both our parents are complete idiots. When the news of the projected ‹‹Apocalypse›› surfaced, they chugged it down like an infant overdosing on colostrum.
They’re what you’d consider the Avant-garde followers, still going on about their daily lives and jobs, but that’s just on the outside as far as appearances are concerned. Deep down when it’s just between the family members they’d be praying and repenting to high heavens, as though all that nonsense would actually save the world from destruction.
My sister is fortunately, more level-headed than my parents, so I moved here for some peace and quiet, on the pretense of worrying about my academic duties.
This morning’s breakfast was the usual.
Toast.
Bacon and eggs.
Cheese.
Orange juice.
I understand she’s already preoccupied with a lot of things, but I wish she’d prepare rice more often. I’d be understating it if I said her rice is good. Her ‹‹Pineapple Fried Rice›› is God. It’s almost enough to make me fall in love with my own sister.
We ate breakfast with barely exchanging any comments. We still don’t understand each other that much. We weren’t by far close to begin with, mainly because of the huge age gap between us and that we pretty much don’t have anything in common but our parents, but living in this apartment has atleast slowly mended the broken relationship that was once ours.
I know I don’t say it, no matter how many times she handles the bills, or cleans my room, or leaves my dinner when I’m not able to come home early and she has to leave for the night, I can’t ever be honest in front of her, but from the bottom of my heart, I’m grateful for having her as a sister.
Part 2
Spoiler! :
If there’s an explanation for the end of the world, ‹‹God›› would probably be the first thing that pops up in anyone’s mind. It is the work of ‹‹God››. It is the word of ‹‹God››. The ‹‹Apocalypse›› is the decision of ‹‹God››. It is judgment, for all the sins that humankind has committed, and ‹‹God›› is no more exacting his verdict on everyone than cats are scratching walls to sharpen their claws.
That’s a rather condescending way of looking at things, if not outright disgraceful. I won’t, I repeat, I won’t deny the existence of ‹‹God››. I have always believed in the presence of higher beings.
‹‹Spirits››.
‹‹Ghosts››.
‹‹Angels››…
Whatever terms humans have cropped up with time and time.
But on the other hand, I also believe humans are low beings.
Sure, we are not mere animals. We’ve evolved far from our “supposedly” primate ancestors. We have gained intelligence far beyond any other animal has out there.
We have concepts of morality, emotions, philosophical questions on the meaning of life; we’ve even come to understood the concept of ‹‹God››. Yet, what many fail to realize is that it’s exactly because there is ‹‹God›› that we are low.
We always view ‹‹God›› as all-powerful.
All-present.
All.
Ask a kid what ‹‹God›› is and chances are the answer would be Santa Claus. ‹‹God›› is all-knowing. ‹‹God›› sees you, and always knows who’s been bad and good.
But in addition, ‹‹God›› himself is never bad. Always he is good. Always. Itsumo. Even when we don’t know the purpose of ‹‹God’s›› actions, we deem it as rightful. Why is there pain in the world. Why is there inequality. Why is there death. ‹‹God›› is not stupid. We’re stupid. We just have no choice but to believe ‹‹God›› has a just and righteous answer, because that’s the very definition of ‹‹God›› to begin with, and that’s where this all comes to.
‹‹God›› can destroy the world whenever he wants and we would never question him even once. He has that discretion.
‹‹God››, being the ultimate creator of the universe, has the sole right to end it, anytime, anyway, be it on a whim or for a greater purpose, and perhaps it’s exactly for this purpose that I’ve come to hate ‹‹God›› so much.
Let’s get one thing straight. I believe only in ‹‹God’s›› existence, not in ‹‹God’s›› authority.
I don’t believe the universe is fair when it created humans as humans, and created ‹‹God›› as ‹‹God››. All should be equal. No one entity should be able to look down on others, or to destroy anyone’s world on a whim, because if it was the case otherwise, then the higher being would become conceited, and the lower beings would have no choice but to submit.
I know it’s hard to imagine ‹‹God›› as being conceited. He’s ‹‹God›› after all! Again as I already said, he’s kind, he’s generous, he’s righteous all the time. He’s probably smart and handsome and all other good things as well. He’s everything, everytime.
He’s the ‹‹All››, the ‹‹One››, the ‹‹Universe››, the ‹‹Self››, and even went out of his way to teach the ‹‹Homunculus in a Flask›› a hard brutal lesson on humility. But trust me: that’s not the case in real life. And I’m not just talking about if Kobasen became ‹‹God›› here.
Let me give you an example. Have you ever looked down a line of ants and imagined what it would be like if you killed one? You are capable of killing one, of course. The question is: would you.
Theoretically, the world timeline diverges into two paths here, one where you killed the ants, and another where they lived safely. Needless to say, time splits and you determine which between these two possibilities will occur.
You have that power. You are a higher being, and the ants are lower beings. You have the option, to kill them with just a fingertip.
Now how does it feel like to be a high being. Feels good doesn’t it? It makes you feel important, like you’re a crucial parameter in the construction of the universe. It would just start out as one ant, and then a colony, eventually transpiring into bigger things with bigger impacts.
‹‹Butterfly Effect››.
This is a common theme in time travel movies, a phenomenon where changing something in a timeline, no matter how small, can propagate on and on until it drastically changes everything. The name is taken for how the flapping of a small butterfly’s wings can ultimately induce a tornado. Simply put, by entropy, small things bring unpredictable changes. It always does. That’s why Okabe Rintarou was an idiot for not realizing things are going to go horribly wrong the moment he met Moeka. Anyway.
Now then, reconsider that you are not the highest being in the universe. There is an even higher one, watching you, discerning the decision you’ll make whether you kill the ant or not.
Between these two future possibilities, you are no longer in control of the universe. Sure, you’re still the one responsible for your actions. But that’s it. You kill the ant, ‹‹God›› does the rest. You’re no longer in control of anything else.
The future becomes blurred. You don’t know the results anymore. You can’t judge if the ‹‹Butterfly Effect›› is getting stronger or you are just playing mindlessly into someone else’s plans. You’re now, at best a proxy and at worst a mindless instrument, that will determine for ‹‹God›› what happens in the future. If it’s good, you pass. If it’s bad, the blame will naturally fall on you even if it wasn’t entirely your fault.
It’s ‹‹God’s›› fault.
But ‹‹God›› is never at fault.
Therefore…
It’s your fault. It’s your fault no matter what.
That’s quite the different story now, is it? When it was just you, either way was fine. But now that there’s ‹‹God››, killing or not killing the ant is almost like a heavy responsibility, a burden even. If you killed the ant and it started a fire, you’re to blame. Even if say you didn’t kill the ant, but that decision brought about the destruction of the universe, then everyone only has you to blame.
‹‹God›› is immune to judgment, so the blame falls onto you, without you knowing any better. ‹‹God’s›› pressure is weighing down on you the same way a teacher looks down on students answer sheets during a big test.
That’s what it means to be a low being. It’s not so much as a question of free will. Will we still pull through with our own decisions? Without taking fear of ‹‹God›› into account?
‹‹God›› hasn’t even made a move yet, but despite this, he’s already exuding enough pressure to cloud your choice. ‹‹God›› exudes so much pressure we can’t help but worship him. That’s the worst part.
Just as much as you can kill the ants, ‹‹God›› can easily kill you any moment. He breathes down on us, walking on the streets and entering buildings, as though we are tiny insects frolicking on the ground.
That might even be an understatement! We could just be germs in the air to him. He might not be watching us because the difference in power is so great we’re not of interest to him anymore. That would explain why he’s not physically in this world right now, ruling over everything. He thinks we’re worthless trash, so worthless it’s not even worth ruling us, or destroying us, or even bothering with us at all.
As Komachi said, you can’t even imagine the things that would happen, if God were to move a fingertip.
How is ‹‹God›› not conceited after that? It’s clearly a fluke. The higher being gets conceited, and the lower being submits. ‹‹God››, being the highest of them all, would therefore be the most conceited of all. That’s how it goes, and that’s how everyone is a fool.
Everyone is a fool, for spending every day going to church, worshipping ‹‹God››. It astonishes me how people could stomach such things so nonchalantly.
It’s obvious enough why we worship ‹‹God››. Because we are at the mercy of ‹‹God››, but little do you realize that to worship ‹‹God›› is to acknowledge defeat, to accept fully that we are, far, far, far lower than ‹‹God››. Why everyone is so busy worshipping ‹‹God›› when they can hate him instead, I’ll never know.
Does it satisfy them so much to play by someone else’s rules? Like a puppet-bound string?
Is it the fear perhaps? But isn’t that all the more reason for us to fight off our fears and challenge ‹‹God›› face on? To confront him face to face?
I’ve tried again and again to tell this to people, but I really don’t have that much of an influence, most people take me for a joke, I’d be too lazy to explain if the argument will just get nowhere, and my sister would make me mop the second floor before she engages me in a serious conversation.
I hate ‹‹God››.
I’d defy ‹‹God›› if I knew the first step how.
If ‹‹God›› created me not knowing I would come to hate him, then ‹‹God›› is a fool. And if ‹‹God›› had half the brains we all have come to believe, then he’d destroy all of humanity before we destroy him.
Hey, that’s not such a bad idea. Maybe that’s why the ‹‹Apocalypse›› is happening tomorrow. ‹‹God›› finally came to his senses and realized that we would eventually find a way to rise into the hierarchy of beings. Maybe one day we’d be able to surpass ‹‹God››. So right now he’s being careful and making the most logical move, the so-called ‹‹Apocalypse››.
Just kidding. I’m pretty confident that’s not what ‹‹God›› would do.
Why? Because I’m not as much of an idiot as the average man. Don’t ever lump me in with you normals. ‹‹God›› is a higher being, and if there’s one thing inherent in all high beings, it’s pride. It’s the same with politics, with presidents and bosses, with every single consciousness in power.
‹‹God›› created humans.
If he destroys us just because of some lame reason, then it’d be the same as admitting he made a mistake, the mistake of creating humans in the first place. Who cares if 99% of the population still worship him, still think he’s right even as the world crumbles? If so much as one person realizes that ‹‹God›› regretted a mistake, it would change everything.
‹‹God›› must not show any weakness to humans. ‹‹God›› has his ego to protect. That’s why, ‹‹God’s›› pride would prevent himself from doing so.
And so, please never treat me like I’m an ordinary person. I want to achieve the position of ‹‹God››. To do that, I need to imagine what it should be like, what I need to be
in the shoes of ‹‹God››.
If I need as much pride as there are stars in the universe, then so be it. I’ll gather up my pride and look down on humans the same way ‹‹God›› looks down on them. Maybe then, I’ll come to realize a bit of the something that ‹‹God›› is keeping secret.
I stopped by a rustling of the bushes, just as a familiar skirt was protruding from the thicket. I need not see the face to know who’s behind that belongs to. How often do you see this on your way to school, and the day before the ‹‹Apocalypse›› no less? Maybe I’ll unravel the secret of this first before moving onto something bigger.
“Oi, prez,” I called out. “You’re underwear’s showing.”
And sure enough, a girl with shoulder-length pink hair shot up and took a reflexive glance at her back, then realizing that contrary her skirt was perfectly intact, she went on to look up at my face, pouting more than she had ever pouted in her life.
“Mind telling me what you were doing?” I asked, though it was not so much as a question of what anymore, but who.
She shifted her glasses, which she probably thought was cool but wasn’t.
“Nothing,” she said proudly.
I knelt down on the bush beside her, took a view of the other side and as it turns out, that nothing was a pair of baseball players walking down the far end of the street.
“Honestly, why does your imagination have to be so committed first thing in the morning?”
“I- I have no idea what you’re talking about!” she flustered in a denial-‘til-death manner.
“Is that so? Then let’s see, ummm…
Are you sure?
Don’t worry. No one will see us here.
“Oi! I haven’t even gotten to the lewd part and your nose is already bleeding!”
“Eheheh...”
Chifuyu snapped out of her reverie and began to wipe her nose with her sleeve.
“Hey use a handkerchief. Are you a kid or something? Here…”
I took out a hankie and covered her nose with it.
“Anks,” she chuckled, scratching the back of her head.
Chifuyu Kawazaki. President of the Game Creation Club. Compulsive fujoshi (likes boy x boy romantic pairings). Needless to say, she’s a hentai no sane person should ever associate himself with, and I’m not just saying this because she’s wearing a kunoichi ninja outfit under her uniform, or the fact that eight grader syndrome has her fully convinced she has 10,000 secret jutsu scrolls hidden somewhere in her memory. I’m only acquaintances with her since, as I have no friends, I really can’t be picky who I associate myself with.
“Hey, you’ve got something on your face, Jin,” Chifuyu said gesturing at my left cheek. As soon as she touched it, a sudden jolt of pain seared across my face. It seems I had a small wound, though I oddly hadn’t noticed it until now.
“You didn’t get into another fight again, did you? If you need help, I shall let you borrow the 54th hidden Kawazaki seal of luck!”
“I wouldn’t get just one scratch if I was on a fight, now would I?” I asked, wondering what kind of sink her brain drains down to everyday. “And stop it with the ninja nonsense already. That doesn’t exist.”
“Ah mou~”
It felt weird. I don’t recall anything happening this morning. I didn’t fall on the bathtub. As far as I remember, when I checked myself in the mirror before leaving the apartment, I’m pretty sure there was no wound on any visible part of my skin, plus I should have felt this m*****f***** sting like hell the moment I washed my face. It’ almost a wonder how I got this.
Well, small things like this shouldn’t be bothered with. One scratch is not gonna kill me, and I’d have no right to call myself a former delinquent if I’m worrying myself over something this trivial.
“Should we get going? If we waste any more time here we’ll be late for school.”
She nodded silenty.
“Anything wrong?” I asked once we resumed our walk. “Is it a bad day for Virgos again?”
She shook her head. “Fufufu, as if such a thing could even hope to happen. I’ll have you know Virgos have the best of luck today.”
“Ja, what is it then?”
“It’s just that… Don’t you think it’s a bit lonely that most of the houses here are now deserted?”
“Yea…”
As I have already mentioned, it’s the day before the ‘supposed’ ‹‹Apocalypse››. This road for example, normally has morning traffic of around 4 students for every 10 meters. I should know. It’s one of the most preferred routes for walking to school, perfect for trying to avoid somebody (lol). Right now however, it looks like the measure’s even less than 0.5.
Needless to say, all the people who believed that nonsense of the ‹‹Apocalypse›› drove out to find a safer place than this town. Where such a place exists I can only guess. Anyway, only about 30% of the original population currently remains, and because most of the believers left, it’s now the perfect place for a non-believer to chill in.
Well I say that, but the counts migrating inside are still rather small, so the town is still majorly deserted. In fact, I’d say all the new strangers are only making this place feel more desolate.
Funny how this town easily became a town of skeptics in a record night, though I realized the atmosphere had gotten quite heavy since the mention of the migration. It’s no surprise. Chifuyu is the typical genki girl who derives power from cheerful stuff. The thing about girls like her is that they’d get really depressed when shown something depressing.
“If you want something to cheer you up, we could practically break into every home down this block and make a fortune out of all the left furniture,” I suggested.
“You shouldn’t do that, Jin,” she scolded.
“I know, I know. It was a joke, geez…”
“I’m sure ‹‹God›› would not end the world tomorrow, and when everyone comes to realize that, they’ll all come back to this town. All the kids will be here, and all the empty blinds would be raised again, and I’m sure they’d never know what came over them, to leave this town in the first place.”
She said that with such a dreamy expression I almost agreed for a second, but I know those traitors are nothing but worthless scum. Their loyalty lies all over the place. If I were ‹‹God›› of this town and people knowingly left for their own safety, then the only penalty for that should be never being allowed back inside again.
True loyalty is something humans lack. Loyalty to a president, loyalty to a certain artist; times change, and people all the more. That’s probably why we’re lower than ‹‹Angels››. ‹‹Angels›› are always loyal.
They were not meant to change…
…so they could never betray ‹‹God››.
That’s a rather condescending way of looking at things, if not outright disgraceful. I won’t, I repeat, I won’t deny the existence of ‹‹God››. I have always believed in the presence of higher beings.
‹‹Spirits››.
‹‹Ghosts››.
‹‹Angels››…
Whatever terms humans have cropped up with time and time.
But on the other hand, I also believe humans are low beings.
Sure, we are not mere animals. We’ve evolved far from our “supposedly” primate ancestors. We have gained intelligence far beyond any other animal has out there.
We have concepts of morality, emotions, philosophical questions on the meaning of life; we’ve even come to understood the concept of ‹‹God››. Yet, what many fail to realize is that it’s exactly because there is ‹‹God›› that we are low.
We always view ‹‹God›› as all-powerful.
All-present.
All.
Ask a kid what ‹‹God›› is and chances are the answer would be Santa Claus. ‹‹God›› is all-knowing. ‹‹God›› sees you, and always knows who’s been bad and good.
But in addition, ‹‹God›› himself is never bad. Always he is good. Always. Itsumo. Even when we don’t know the purpose of ‹‹God’s›› actions, we deem it as rightful. Why is there pain in the world. Why is there inequality. Why is there death. ‹‹God›› is not stupid. We’re stupid. We just have no choice but to believe ‹‹God›› has a just and righteous answer, because that’s the very definition of ‹‹God›› to begin with, and that’s where this all comes to.
‹‹God›› can destroy the world whenever he wants and we would never question him even once. He has that discretion.
‹‹God››, being the ultimate creator of the universe, has the sole right to end it, anytime, anyway, be it on a whim or for a greater purpose, and perhaps it’s exactly for this purpose that I’ve come to hate ‹‹God›› so much.
Let’s get one thing straight. I believe only in ‹‹God’s›› existence, not in ‹‹God’s›› authority.
I don’t believe the universe is fair when it created humans as humans, and created ‹‹God›› as ‹‹God››. All should be equal. No one entity should be able to look down on others, or to destroy anyone’s world on a whim, because if it was the case otherwise, then the higher being would become conceited, and the lower beings would have no choice but to submit.
I know it’s hard to imagine ‹‹God›› as being conceited. He’s ‹‹God›› after all! Again as I already said, he’s kind, he’s generous, he’s righteous all the time. He’s probably smart and handsome and all other good things as well. He’s everything, everytime.
He’s the ‹‹All››, the ‹‹One››, the ‹‹Universe››, the ‹‹Self››, and even went out of his way to teach the ‹‹Homunculus in a Flask›› a hard brutal lesson on humility. But trust me: that’s not the case in real life. And I’m not just talking about if Kobasen became ‹‹God›› here.
Let me give you an example. Have you ever looked down a line of ants and imagined what it would be like if you killed one? You are capable of killing one, of course. The question is: would you.
Theoretically, the world timeline diverges into two paths here, one where you killed the ants, and another where they lived safely. Needless to say, time splits and you determine which between these two possibilities will occur.
You have that power. You are a higher being, and the ants are lower beings. You have the option, to kill them with just a fingertip.
Now how does it feel like to be a high being. Feels good doesn’t it? It makes you feel important, like you’re a crucial parameter in the construction of the universe. It would just start out as one ant, and then a colony, eventually transpiring into bigger things with bigger impacts.
‹‹Butterfly Effect››.
This is a common theme in time travel movies, a phenomenon where changing something in a timeline, no matter how small, can propagate on and on until it drastically changes everything. The name is taken for how the flapping of a small butterfly’s wings can ultimately induce a tornado. Simply put, by entropy, small things bring unpredictable changes. It always does. That’s why Okabe Rintarou was an idiot for not realizing things are going to go horribly wrong the moment he met Moeka. Anyway.
Now then, reconsider that you are not the highest being in the universe. There is an even higher one, watching you, discerning the decision you’ll make whether you kill the ant or not.
Between these two future possibilities, you are no longer in control of the universe. Sure, you’re still the one responsible for your actions. But that’s it. You kill the ant, ‹‹God›› does the rest. You’re no longer in control of anything else.
The future becomes blurred. You don’t know the results anymore. You can’t judge if the ‹‹Butterfly Effect›› is getting stronger or you are just playing mindlessly into someone else’s plans. You’re now, at best a proxy and at worst a mindless instrument, that will determine for ‹‹God›› what happens in the future. If it’s good, you pass. If it’s bad, the blame will naturally fall on you even if it wasn’t entirely your fault.
It’s ‹‹God’s›› fault.
But ‹‹God›› is never at fault.
Therefore…
It’s your fault. It’s your fault no matter what.
That’s quite the different story now, is it? When it was just you, either way was fine. But now that there’s ‹‹God››, killing or not killing the ant is almost like a heavy responsibility, a burden even. If you killed the ant and it started a fire, you’re to blame. Even if say you didn’t kill the ant, but that decision brought about the destruction of the universe, then everyone only has you to blame.
‹‹God›› is immune to judgment, so the blame falls onto you, without you knowing any better. ‹‹God’s›› pressure is weighing down on you the same way a teacher looks down on students answer sheets during a big test.
That’s what it means to be a low being. It’s not so much as a question of free will. Will we still pull through with our own decisions? Without taking fear of ‹‹God›› into account?
‹‹God›› hasn’t even made a move yet, but despite this, he’s already exuding enough pressure to cloud your choice. ‹‹God›› exudes so much pressure we can’t help but worship him. That’s the worst part.
Just as much as you can kill the ants, ‹‹God›› can easily kill you any moment. He breathes down on us, walking on the streets and entering buildings, as though we are tiny insects frolicking on the ground.
That might even be an understatement! We could just be germs in the air to him. He might not be watching us because the difference in power is so great we’re not of interest to him anymore. That would explain why he’s not physically in this world right now, ruling over everything. He thinks we’re worthless trash, so worthless it’s not even worth ruling us, or destroying us, or even bothering with us at all.
As Komachi said, you can’t even imagine the things that would happen, if God were to move a fingertip.
How is ‹‹God›› not conceited after that? It’s clearly a fluke. The higher being gets conceited, and the lower being submits. ‹‹God››, being the highest of them all, would therefore be the most conceited of all. That’s how it goes, and that’s how everyone is a fool.
Everyone is a fool, for spending every day going to church, worshipping ‹‹God››. It astonishes me how people could stomach such things so nonchalantly.
It’s obvious enough why we worship ‹‹God››. Because we are at the mercy of ‹‹God››, but little do you realize that to worship ‹‹God›› is to acknowledge defeat, to accept fully that we are, far, far, far lower than ‹‹God››. Why everyone is so busy worshipping ‹‹God›› when they can hate him instead, I’ll never know.
Does it satisfy them so much to play by someone else’s rules? Like a puppet-bound string?
Is it the fear perhaps? But isn’t that all the more reason for us to fight off our fears and challenge ‹‹God›› face on? To confront him face to face?
I’ve tried again and again to tell this to people, but I really don’t have that much of an influence, most people take me for a joke, I’d be too lazy to explain if the argument will just get nowhere, and my sister would make me mop the second floor before she engages me in a serious conversation.
I hate ‹‹God››.
I’d defy ‹‹God›› if I knew the first step how.
If ‹‹God›› created me not knowing I would come to hate him, then ‹‹God›› is a fool. And if ‹‹God›› had half the brains we all have come to believe, then he’d destroy all of humanity before we destroy him.
Hey, that’s not such a bad idea. Maybe that’s why the ‹‹Apocalypse›› is happening tomorrow. ‹‹God›› finally came to his senses and realized that we would eventually find a way to rise into the hierarchy of beings. Maybe one day we’d be able to surpass ‹‹God››. So right now he’s being careful and making the most logical move, the so-called ‹‹Apocalypse››.
Just kidding. I’m pretty confident that’s not what ‹‹God›› would do.
Why? Because I’m not as much of an idiot as the average man. Don’t ever lump me in with you normals. ‹‹God›› is a higher being, and if there’s one thing inherent in all high beings, it’s pride. It’s the same with politics, with presidents and bosses, with every single consciousness in power.
‹‹God›› created humans.
If he destroys us just because of some lame reason, then it’d be the same as admitting he made a mistake, the mistake of creating humans in the first place. Who cares if 99% of the population still worship him, still think he’s right even as the world crumbles? If so much as one person realizes that ‹‹God›› regretted a mistake, it would change everything.
‹‹God›› must not show any weakness to humans. ‹‹God›› has his ego to protect. That’s why, ‹‹God’s›› pride would prevent himself from doing so.
And so, please never treat me like I’m an ordinary person. I want to achieve the position of ‹‹God››. To do that, I need to imagine what it should be like, what I need to be
in the shoes of ‹‹God››.
If I need as much pride as there are stars in the universe, then so be it. I’ll gather up my pride and look down on humans the same way ‹‹God›› looks down on them. Maybe then, I’ll come to realize a bit of the something that ‹‹God›› is keeping secret.
I stopped by a rustling of the bushes, just as a familiar skirt was protruding from the thicket. I need not see the face to know who’s behind that belongs to. How often do you see this on your way to school, and the day before the ‹‹Apocalypse›› no less? Maybe I’ll unravel the secret of this first before moving onto something bigger.
“Oi, prez,” I called out. “You’re underwear’s showing.”
And sure enough, a girl with shoulder-length pink hair shot up and took a reflexive glance at her back, then realizing that contrary her skirt was perfectly intact, she went on to look up at my face, pouting more than she had ever pouted in her life.
“Mind telling me what you were doing?” I asked, though it was not so much as a question of what anymore, but who.
She shifted her glasses, which she probably thought was cool but wasn’t.
“Nothing,” she said proudly.
I knelt down on the bush beside her, took a view of the other side and as it turns out, that nothing was a pair of baseball players walking down the far end of the street.
“Honestly, why does your imagination have to be so committed first thing in the morning?”
“I- I have no idea what you’re talking about!” she flustered in a denial-‘til-death manner.
“Is that so? Then let’s see, ummm…
Are you sure?
Don’t worry. No one will see us here.
“Oi! I haven’t even gotten to the lewd part and your nose is already bleeding!”
“Eheheh...”
Chifuyu snapped out of her reverie and began to wipe her nose with her sleeve.
“Hey use a handkerchief. Are you a kid or something? Here…”
I took out a hankie and covered her nose with it.
“Anks,” she chuckled, scratching the back of her head.
Chifuyu Kawazaki. President of the Game Creation Club. Compulsive fujoshi (likes boy x boy romantic pairings). Needless to say, she’s a hentai no sane person should ever associate himself with, and I’m not just saying this because she’s wearing a kunoichi ninja outfit under her uniform, or the fact that eight grader syndrome has her fully convinced she has 10,000 secret jutsu scrolls hidden somewhere in her memory. I’m only acquaintances with her since, as I have no friends, I really can’t be picky who I associate myself with.
“Hey, you’ve got something on your face, Jin,” Chifuyu said gesturing at my left cheek. As soon as she touched it, a sudden jolt of pain seared across my face. It seems I had a small wound, though I oddly hadn’t noticed it until now.
“You didn’t get into another fight again, did you? If you need help, I shall let you borrow the 54th hidden Kawazaki seal of luck!”
“I wouldn’t get just one scratch if I was on a fight, now would I?” I asked, wondering what kind of sink her brain drains down to everyday. “And stop it with the ninja nonsense already. That doesn’t exist.”
“Ah mou~”
It felt weird. I don’t recall anything happening this morning. I didn’t fall on the bathtub. As far as I remember, when I checked myself in the mirror before leaving the apartment, I’m pretty sure there was no wound on any visible part of my skin, plus I should have felt this m*****f***** sting like hell the moment I washed my face. It’ almost a wonder how I got this.
Well, small things like this shouldn’t be bothered with. One scratch is not gonna kill me, and I’d have no right to call myself a former delinquent if I’m worrying myself over something this trivial.
“Should we get going? If we waste any more time here we’ll be late for school.”
She nodded silenty.
“Anything wrong?” I asked once we resumed our walk. “Is it a bad day for Virgos again?”
She shook her head. “Fufufu, as if such a thing could even hope to happen. I’ll have you know Virgos have the best of luck today.”
“Ja, what is it then?”
“It’s just that… Don’t you think it’s a bit lonely that most of the houses here are now deserted?”
“Yea…”
As I have already mentioned, it’s the day before the ‘supposed’ ‹‹Apocalypse››. This road for example, normally has morning traffic of around 4 students for every 10 meters. I should know. It’s one of the most preferred routes for walking to school, perfect for trying to avoid somebody (lol). Right now however, it looks like the measure’s even less than 0.5.
Needless to say, all the people who believed that nonsense of the ‹‹Apocalypse›› drove out to find a safer place than this town. Where such a place exists I can only guess. Anyway, only about 30% of the original population currently remains, and because most of the believers left, it’s now the perfect place for a non-believer to chill in.
Well I say that, but the counts migrating inside are still rather small, so the town is still majorly deserted. In fact, I’d say all the new strangers are only making this place feel more desolate.
Funny how this town easily became a town of skeptics in a record night, though I realized the atmosphere had gotten quite heavy since the mention of the migration. It’s no surprise. Chifuyu is the typical genki girl who derives power from cheerful stuff. The thing about girls like her is that they’d get really depressed when shown something depressing.
“If you want something to cheer you up, we could practically break into every home down this block and make a fortune out of all the left furniture,” I suggested.
“You shouldn’t do that, Jin,” she scolded.
“I know, I know. It was a joke, geez…”
“I’m sure ‹‹God›› would not end the world tomorrow, and when everyone comes to realize that, they’ll all come back to this town. All the kids will be here, and all the empty blinds would be raised again, and I’m sure they’d never know what came over them, to leave this town in the first place.”
She said that with such a dreamy expression I almost agreed for a second, but I know those traitors are nothing but worthless scum. Their loyalty lies all over the place. If I were ‹‹God›› of this town and people knowingly left for their own safety, then the only penalty for that should be never being allowed back inside again.
True loyalty is something humans lack. Loyalty to a president, loyalty to a certain artist; times change, and people all the more. That’s probably why we’re lower than ‹‹Angels››. ‹‹Angels›› are always loyal.
They were not meant to change…
…so they could never betray ‹‹God››.
Part 3
Spoiler! :
“Yo,” a striking, black-haired girl greeted us as we came. She had a fierce face, with dark violet eyes and fair complexion. “What’s that wound on your face?”
“Nevermind that, this isn’t even your class. What are you doing here, Arashi?”
“I’m a ‹‹Delinquent››. Does that answer your question?”
So she says, and it has a bit of truth in it. Arashi has had a fair share of the delinquent life, I can testify, but right now her sphere of influence is far greater than I could have ever hoped to imagine five years ago. She’s now the president of the student council body, and you could say she’s slowly fitting back into the world of ordinary students.
Still though, she still has traces of her former delinquent ways, more like a coping mechanism or a form of denial actually, and mind you, her version of a delinquent
is getting shallower and shallower every day.
“Uhhh, no. Delinquents don’t go to school, that’s what they do, not barge into someone else’s classes.”
Her face contorted, to that of someone who just got called by the teacher but doesn’t know the answer.
“That’s… well…”
Her eyes scanned the floor, as her shoulders continuously shifted in a seesaw manner, and when she wasn’t able to give me an answer, pushed me into the wall. She ran past, opened the window and jumped out, her miniskirt revealing a flash of pink undergarments, screaming “Jin you idioooooot!!” as she fell away.
“Woah~” Chifuyu whistled. “How does she jump out just like that, and from the third floor nonetheless. As expected of the great Hanzo clan’s Arashi-dono…”
I didn’t bother checking out the window to see if she was okay. Past experiences have told me that she’s a monster compared to normal humans. She’s survived far worse actually.
“Honestly. I know you’re a delinquent and all, but that’s no reason to make a girl cry.”
“Chifuyu, the same goes for you too,” I retorted. “Get out of here already.”
“You know, if there’s a reason you still don’t have a girlfriend you’re pretty much staring at it now~”
“I don’t need a girlfriend,” I stressed, sandwiching her head on my knuckles.
“Why don’t you try saying that in front of Minako’s face then?” she taunted, breaking free.
“Why you little!”
“Haha! I hit a soft spot, didn’t I? Meeting at 4 o’clock this afternoon!!” she yelled as she stalked out of the room. “Make sure to tell Kannazuki and Rize as well!!!”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
“Looks like you’ve got it rough too, eh?”
I turned around. Sitting right behind me was a fine boy with foreign type blond hair that goes into a dark shade of brown as it goes down. He had electric blue eyes, and skin so fair you could mistake it for cotton. He was leaning enjoyably on his desk, his head resting on an arm, like a playful noble inviting his wingman for a cocktail drink.
I went over to my seat and propped my bag, opening the new volume of Denpa Kyoushi without a glance.
“Don’t you have something to say?”
“Not really.”
“Is that so? I’m pretty sure Prez just told you to pass a message for me~”
“If you were listening in on the conversation then there’s really no need to tell you now, is there?”
“Ouch,” he said innocently. “Ja, shouldn’t you tell Rize the news then?”
“You do it.”
“C’mon. You know she’s not too fond of me.”
“Isn’t that just your excuse for things?”
He stood up, as though taking a dare he was given, went over and stood in front of Rize. I closed my manga for a moment to watch.
Rize was also the non-Japanese type: light blue hair, soft, pink eyes and cerulean glasses to go with it. She was in the middle of reading our textbook, and did not spare him any attention in the slightest bit.
“Yo, Rize,” he greeted. “Chifuyu just came and told us ther’ll be a meeting 4 o’clock this afternoon. Same venue.”
There was no response whatsoever.
“We’ll be expecting you then. Ja ne!”
He returned shortly after that, a wide smile on his face as though to tell me I told you so.
“Fine, fine!” I surrendered. “Mattaku…”
I shifted from my seat.
“Hey Rize, we have a meeting later this afternoon.”
She slowly looked up at me, then looked down.
“I heard,” she nodded, before burying her face deep in the book.
“Must be nice to be you. I’m really stumped how you’re the only one who can make her say anything in response.”
“Well first off, I try not to approach her like a hentai creep.”
“I see,” he said amazed, though that was obviously filled with either sarcasm or outright ignorance. “Man, you really are something to be able to hit on Rize. I bet you’d
be able to pick up any girl that comes your way, without even breaking a sweat.”
“Oi, that was 120% sarcasm right there, wasn’t it?”
“Of course nooot, why would you say that~”
“Are you even for real? Me, hitting on girls? I’d rule Bosnia first before that ever happens.”
He stared at me intently, then after a few moments, broke into a teasing smile.
“What?”
“Being loyal to Minako again today?”
I nearly gagged on thin air. ‘Wha- Wha-”
“Awww, you’re actually cute when you blush.”
“Shut up!”
“Hey speaking of which, there she goes now,” he gestured oblivious to what I said.
Minako. Friendly. Kind. Shy. She’s the yamato nadeshiko of the class, the perfect example of a mountain princess. She’s grown, and in more ways than one, since the last time we hung out together. Back when I still wasn’t a delinquent, that is.
She had waist length blond hair, soft blue eyes, and a whole load of cherry related accessories. Cherry umbrella. Cherry hairclip. Cherry earrings. Cherry necklet. I’m guessing even cherry lipstick. She always was fond of those things. Even when we were little, she always had dibs on all the cherries, be it cake or ice cream.
“Hey Jin, I’m only teasing you okay? It’s kinda creepy when you space out like that.”
“Silence. How many times do I have to tell you, I don’t have a thing for anyone.”
Well, that was only partly true. I did like Minako at some point, back when we were still kids, but certain circumstances like ours aren’t meant to blend or even touch. You see, she’s the type of student to finish her homework the day before, go to class early so she can clean it before the lesson starts, and head various activities related to the school.
She’s liked by almost everyone, boys and girls, and add to beauty and brains, she’s fairly well to do as well. I, on the other hand, well… let’s just say, I don’t even have the right to lick her feet.
Our teacher soon came after that, so everyone returned to their respective seats. Little did we know what surprise awaited us. She was carrying a huge stack of paper, probably about half her height.
“Okay class, get your pens out. We’ll have our surprise end-of-term long exam right now.”
“WHAT!” the whole class chorused.
I was surprised too, though I kind of already felt something bad was going to happen. The ‹‹Apocalypse›› is not about burning mountains and freezing storms. For us students, the day Ms. Tokiwada told us we’d be having the final exam, when we’ve barely covered a tenth of the topics for the semester, that death flag was ‹‹Apocalypse›› enough.
“What’s the big deal?” she asked with a generous smile. It doesn’t take a Tokuchi to know that under that smile is a whole world of hurt. She’s probably even delusional right now, given her unkempt hair and creasy uniform. “Since it’s the end of the world tomorrow, we might as well get this over with right now.”
“Have you gone mad?”
“No, Isshiki, I am perfectly fine, thank you,” Miss Tokiwada said, accidentally dropping our exam papers all over the floor. She clearly had too much coffee to start the day.
Our teacher, Miss Tokiwada, Christmas cake over thirty, was generally a kind and smart person. Today though, her cognitive skills may not be as sharp as they were, and it’s not that hard to guess what’s causing her paranoia. She’d be one of those you call ‘believers’ of the ‹‹Apocalypse››, the only reason she’s not able to leave town is probably by orders of the principal or not enough money. Either way, she’s agitated she won’t be able to fulfill any of her lifelong dreams if the world ends tomorrow (which it won’t), and who to take it out better on than us, right?
I expected blood to come out gushing everywhere the moment this was mentioned, but surprisingly though, the class didn’t put up much of a fight. I’m not sure if they had a previous discussion in preparation for this, (I wouldn’t know, I’m not the social type), but their line of thought probably goes:
Let’s take a shot at this gamble. In the event that the apocalypse does not come tomorrow, we’d practically have the rest of the term free to ourselves,
…although that’s a too optimistic way of looking at things if you ask me. Best case scenario if we’re still alive tomorrow is we’ll go on with our class as usual; worst case scenario is that we’d fail the exam and be given twice as much work until new year. I stand firm that ‹‹God›› won’t end the world tomorrow, but between that and suffering twice the schoolwork, it’d be kinder if ‹‹God›› ended the world tomorrow then.
“Nevermind that, this isn’t even your class. What are you doing here, Arashi?”
“I’m a ‹‹Delinquent››. Does that answer your question?”
So she says, and it has a bit of truth in it. Arashi has had a fair share of the delinquent life, I can testify, but right now her sphere of influence is far greater than I could have ever hoped to imagine five years ago. She’s now the president of the student council body, and you could say she’s slowly fitting back into the world of ordinary students.
Still though, she still has traces of her former delinquent ways, more like a coping mechanism or a form of denial actually, and mind you, her version of a delinquent
is getting shallower and shallower every day.
“Uhhh, no. Delinquents don’t go to school, that’s what they do, not barge into someone else’s classes.”
Her face contorted, to that of someone who just got called by the teacher but doesn’t know the answer.
“That’s… well…”
Her eyes scanned the floor, as her shoulders continuously shifted in a seesaw manner, and when she wasn’t able to give me an answer, pushed me into the wall. She ran past, opened the window and jumped out, her miniskirt revealing a flash of pink undergarments, screaming “Jin you idioooooot!!” as she fell away.
“Woah~” Chifuyu whistled. “How does she jump out just like that, and from the third floor nonetheless. As expected of the great Hanzo clan’s Arashi-dono…”
I didn’t bother checking out the window to see if she was okay. Past experiences have told me that she’s a monster compared to normal humans. She’s survived far worse actually.
“Honestly. I know you’re a delinquent and all, but that’s no reason to make a girl cry.”
“Chifuyu, the same goes for you too,” I retorted. “Get out of here already.”
“You know, if there’s a reason you still don’t have a girlfriend you’re pretty much staring at it now~”
“I don’t need a girlfriend,” I stressed, sandwiching her head on my knuckles.
“Why don’t you try saying that in front of Minako’s face then?” she taunted, breaking free.
“Why you little!”
“Haha! I hit a soft spot, didn’t I? Meeting at 4 o’clock this afternoon!!” she yelled as she stalked out of the room. “Make sure to tell Kannazuki and Rize as well!!!”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
“Looks like you’ve got it rough too, eh?”
I turned around. Sitting right behind me was a fine boy with foreign type blond hair that goes into a dark shade of brown as it goes down. He had electric blue eyes, and skin so fair you could mistake it for cotton. He was leaning enjoyably on his desk, his head resting on an arm, like a playful noble inviting his wingman for a cocktail drink.
I went over to my seat and propped my bag, opening the new volume of Denpa Kyoushi without a glance.
“Don’t you have something to say?”
“Not really.”
“Is that so? I’m pretty sure Prez just told you to pass a message for me~”
“If you were listening in on the conversation then there’s really no need to tell you now, is there?”
“Ouch,” he said innocently. “Ja, shouldn’t you tell Rize the news then?”
“You do it.”
“C’mon. You know she’s not too fond of me.”
“Isn’t that just your excuse for things?”
He stood up, as though taking a dare he was given, went over and stood in front of Rize. I closed my manga for a moment to watch.
Rize was also the non-Japanese type: light blue hair, soft, pink eyes and cerulean glasses to go with it. She was in the middle of reading our textbook, and did not spare him any attention in the slightest bit.
“Yo, Rize,” he greeted. “Chifuyu just came and told us ther’ll be a meeting 4 o’clock this afternoon. Same venue.”
There was no response whatsoever.
“We’ll be expecting you then. Ja ne!”
He returned shortly after that, a wide smile on his face as though to tell me I told you so.
“Fine, fine!” I surrendered. “Mattaku…”
I shifted from my seat.
“Hey Rize, we have a meeting later this afternoon.”
She slowly looked up at me, then looked down.
“I heard,” she nodded, before burying her face deep in the book.
“Must be nice to be you. I’m really stumped how you’re the only one who can make her say anything in response.”
“Well first off, I try not to approach her like a hentai creep.”
“I see,” he said amazed, though that was obviously filled with either sarcasm or outright ignorance. “Man, you really are something to be able to hit on Rize. I bet you’d
be able to pick up any girl that comes your way, without even breaking a sweat.”
“Oi, that was 120% sarcasm right there, wasn’t it?”
“Of course nooot, why would you say that~”
“Are you even for real? Me, hitting on girls? I’d rule Bosnia first before that ever happens.”
He stared at me intently, then after a few moments, broke into a teasing smile.
“What?”
“Being loyal to Minako again today?”
I nearly gagged on thin air. ‘Wha- Wha-”
“Awww, you’re actually cute when you blush.”
“Shut up!”
“Hey speaking of which, there she goes now,” he gestured oblivious to what I said.
Minako. Friendly. Kind. Shy. She’s the yamato nadeshiko of the class, the perfect example of a mountain princess. She’s grown, and in more ways than one, since the last time we hung out together. Back when I still wasn’t a delinquent, that is.
She had waist length blond hair, soft blue eyes, and a whole load of cherry related accessories. Cherry umbrella. Cherry hairclip. Cherry earrings. Cherry necklet. I’m guessing even cherry lipstick. She always was fond of those things. Even when we were little, she always had dibs on all the cherries, be it cake or ice cream.
“Hey Jin, I’m only teasing you okay? It’s kinda creepy when you space out like that.”
“Silence. How many times do I have to tell you, I don’t have a thing for anyone.”
Well, that was only partly true. I did like Minako at some point, back when we were still kids, but certain circumstances like ours aren’t meant to blend or even touch. You see, she’s the type of student to finish her homework the day before, go to class early so she can clean it before the lesson starts, and head various activities related to the school.
She’s liked by almost everyone, boys and girls, and add to beauty and brains, she’s fairly well to do as well. I, on the other hand, well… let’s just say, I don’t even have the right to lick her feet.
Our teacher soon came after that, so everyone returned to their respective seats. Little did we know what surprise awaited us. She was carrying a huge stack of paper, probably about half her height.
“Okay class, get your pens out. We’ll have our surprise end-of-term long exam right now.”
“WHAT!” the whole class chorused.
I was surprised too, though I kind of already felt something bad was going to happen. The ‹‹Apocalypse›› is not about burning mountains and freezing storms. For us students, the day Ms. Tokiwada told us we’d be having the final exam, when we’ve barely covered a tenth of the topics for the semester, that death flag was ‹‹Apocalypse›› enough.
“What’s the big deal?” she asked with a generous smile. It doesn’t take a Tokuchi to know that under that smile is a whole world of hurt. She’s probably even delusional right now, given her unkempt hair and creasy uniform. “Since it’s the end of the world tomorrow, we might as well get this over with right now.”
“Have you gone mad?”
“No, Isshiki, I am perfectly fine, thank you,” Miss Tokiwada said, accidentally dropping our exam papers all over the floor. She clearly had too much coffee to start the day.
Our teacher, Miss Tokiwada, Christmas cake over thirty, was generally a kind and smart person. Today though, her cognitive skills may not be as sharp as they were, and it’s not that hard to guess what’s causing her paranoia. She’d be one of those you call ‘believers’ of the ‹‹Apocalypse››, the only reason she’s not able to leave town is probably by orders of the principal or not enough money. Either way, she’s agitated she won’t be able to fulfill any of her lifelong dreams if the world ends tomorrow (which it won’t), and who to take it out better on than us, right?
I expected blood to come out gushing everywhere the moment this was mentioned, but surprisingly though, the class didn’t put up much of a fight. I’m not sure if they had a previous discussion in preparation for this, (I wouldn’t know, I’m not the social type), but their line of thought probably goes:
Let’s take a shot at this gamble. In the event that the apocalypse does not come tomorrow, we’d practically have the rest of the term free to ourselves,
…although that’s a too optimistic way of looking at things if you ask me. Best case scenario if we’re still alive tomorrow is we’ll go on with our class as usual; worst case scenario is that we’d fail the exam and be given twice as much work until new year. I stand firm that ‹‹God›› won’t end the world tomorrow, but between that and suffering twice the schoolwork, it’d be kinder if ‹‹God›› ended the world tomorrow then.
Part 4
Spoiler! :
“Crap. I forgot my bento.”
“You weft your bento at home?” Kannazuki munched.
*Gulp. “Hmmm… That’s quite the unusual mistake, even for you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Eh?” he grimaced, pressing nearer and nearer to my face. “You don’t know? You really don’t know??”
“Wipe that smirk off your face. It’s creepy.”
He sat back down.
“Ma~ no use stating the obvious. Would you like half of mine?”
“Thanks, but no thanks. I’m heading to the cafeteria.”
“Ah~ While you’re at it, could you get me a juice box?”
I raised my hand to let him know I heard.
“Thanks.”
The hallway seemed a bit more spacious today, now that it wasn’t half as crowded as it usually would’ve been on a normal school day. Lines of 20 people should have formed by now, but much like how the streets were on our way to school, the lack of people made the sight look just plain sad.
Well, if there’s one silver lining to this cloud, it’s that when I reached the cafeteria there was no queue to wait for. I normally hate going here, it’s messy, it’s noisy, it’s too bustling with crowds… Come to think of it, when was the last time I came here? I rarely forget my bento, so I guess I didn’t have much of an opportunity.
I skimmed the list of items for something that looked good. Since I’ve barely been here before, it was hard to judge the food just from the names. ‹‹God›› has to pick out the bad and the good of peoples everyday, and yet I can’t even pick out which of these items is edible.
‹‹God’s›› work must be tough.
In the end, I decided I’d go for a simple yakisoba pan. I was about to order when a sharp tug at the back of my shirt forced me to stop and turn around. Coughing, I scanned the room for the perpetrator, but I didn’t see anyone.
“Down here.”
I glanced at the source of the voice, and found a short expressionless girl staring up at me. She had light eyes as blue as the sky, her skin white as the clouds, and her hair dyed in a sunset combination of yellow and red, a butterfly hair accessory to top off her ponytail.
It was hard to believe she was human. It’s like watching a captivating landscape scenery, personified into a doll-like form. She seemed familiar, yet I’m sure I had never laid eyes on anyone that beautiful before. I’d gladly quit chasing God if humans can be this beautiful.
The more I looked at her, the more I realized I haven’t seen her before. She does wear the school uniform, albeit rather messily. The sleeve buttons were undone, so was her collar, which ended up showing a considerable part of her cleavage as I looked down.
“Are you thinking of lewd thoughts about me right now?”
I snapped to my senses.
“Ermm, sorry, but I’m not into little kids.”
She glanced down, “Is that so?” and I saw a tiny paper bag held between her pristine hands. “You’re into older women?”
“No. That’s not necessarily the case either, and if you don’t mind, it feels uncomfortable to have a stranger I just met telling me what kind of women I’m into.”
Without still showing the slightest of emotions, she tilted her head.
“But you are into your older sister, are you not?”
I nearly choked on my own breath. “Wha- What are you talking about!”
“Tuesday, January 22nd. 6 o’clock in the morning you complimented her hair when she was having a bad day at work. After she thanked you warmly you shut yourself in your room and lay for an hour without moving. February 10th, Sunday, you agreed to let her use the shower first and even prepared her bath. February 14th, you sabotaged the chocolates she was trying to make, on account of the boys she might possibly give them to. Feburary 23rd, you brought her lingerie to the washer, but still did not sniff anythi-”
“HEY! This is practically sexual harassment you know! And don’t say anything that might be misconstructed!!! ONE, I wasn’t moving in my bed probably because I was asleep, TWO, putting the salt in the chocolate was an accident, and THREE I’m pretty sure it’s perfectly fine for a brother to prepare his sister’s bath!”
She tilted her head. “I’m afraid I don’t see the difference.”
I almost tore my hair in frustration. “How the hell did you even know all that???”
Crap. Who the hell is this girl? She seems far beyond a stalker, those details are way too exact to be the workings of a simple stalker. A spy perhaps? Was she watching me 24/7? Or is she just a proxy and someone is feeding her intel from the shadows? I may be reading too much manga as of late.
In any case, something tells me no good could possibly arise if I associate myself with her. While she doesn’t seem entirely dangerous, she’s creeping me out. I have to get away from her as quickly as possible.
“Would you…” she started again.
I took a deep breath and readied myself.
“Would you like to eat some of my fries?”
That was not the cut I was expecting. I raised my brow. “Excuse me?”
She raised the paper bag in front of her, and still, in a doll-like voice, “Would you like some?”
I hardly had any idea what she could possibly mean. Why in the world is a total stranger asking me to eat fries? Are those really fries? They weren’t poisoned, were they? No, I’m pretty sure I haven’t done anything to anyone that would warrant them to murder me.
My guts are telling me not to eat jack squat, but then again, if she’ll leave me alone after I eat those fries… On the other hand, she’ll probably have one more demand after that, and then another, and so on. I can’t take her up on every request like that.
“Do I just eat the fries?” I asked carefully.
She nodded.
“I don’t have to do anything else after that?”
She nodded again.
“You’ll leave me alone?”
*Nod.
I don’t know her and she doesn’t know me, or rather, it seems like she knows almost everything about me, (and at this point I don’t wanna know how), but I guess if she’ll leave me after I it, then so be eat. No, got that mixed up.
“Fine,” I said, “I’ll eat those.”
Her expression seemed to lighten up. Not that she was happy. She was still practically emotionless, like those famous archetypes you find in anime, especially in opposite twin sisters where the genki girl is extremely cheerful while the robotic one barely has any emotions.
I can sort of understand the appeal of that. Showing no emotions reduces a character’s flexibility, and usually all the other characters she communicates with will have trouble deciphering her true emotions. Even if there is someone, preferably the main character, who understands every bit of what she’s saying, it generally causes him great difficulty trying to relay it to others.
As it stands, the emotionless character is always the center of attraction, (with characters constantly trying to find a way to get closer to her and failing), while not entirely being attractive in of itself. However, the real magic happens when that emotionless character do, for once, succeed in finding emotions.
That moment when the robotic-android-cyborg-alien-ghost-and-other-things girl finally gets accustomed to human feelings, shines brightly as a one-of-a-kind moment, whether it be because of her own free will, or a magic curse was lifted, or what of it. Having a seemingly cold-hearted character show compassion, only after a long and restless journey of non-emotions, amplifies the drama in that instant a hundred fold.
Yuzuru, Nagato, Shiina, to name only a few. The list goes on forever actually. Even stronger is when these characters are given full emotions on a non-canon part of the show. I’m not a fan of happy smiles, but even episodes of that can throw me off my socks.
Case in point, Eucliwood Hellscythe of Kore wa Zombie Desu ka. Not the shit parts. I’m talking about Of the Dead. The mini clips at the end of every episode, with mini ‘Eucliwoods’ running around and doing everything they want in meek, waifu voices, creates a great contrast with the silent and wordless Eucliwood from the real show.
Another very good example here would be Raven from Teen Titans. In the actual show she’s mean, anti-social, and doesn’t care much about what happens around her. In Teen Titans Go, well, she still doesn’t care about a lot of things, but this time she’s small! Aand add to the fact that she plays with little ponies when no one’s looking, it stretches her appeal beyond the limits.
Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that, emotionless characters are like diamonds. Their emotions are like rare items, but not in a bad way, that only makes the time they do shine all the more dazzling. I believe that’s what I saw in her when I agreed to eat her fries. She showed a little bit of emotion, and a little bit of appeal, in contrast to being completely unfazed just a second ago.
Too bad stalkers looking for you to eat their lunch really doesn’t produce the kind of appeal you’d expect. I just ended up having a sick feeling in my stomach and wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.
I walked over to her, and relieved her of the paper bag.
“Are you a second year?” I asked as I rummaged through the contents.
She shook her head.
“A freshman then? You don’t look like you know much about this school yet.”
Once more, she shook her head. I’m feeling something rough and messily shaped.
“Do you like fries?”
She shook her head.
“Good, because I’d be totally pissed if you said you liked fries while not knowing what they are in the first place!!” I yelled, taking out the contents and handing it just an inch from her face.
She stared, cross-eyed, at the lump in front of her nose, then looked up at me in the same expression, “what do you mean?”
“This,” I explained, like a professor teaching the basics of chemistry, “is a potato. A raw one!”
She inclined her head, as though not understanding the point I’m making. “Do you not like it?”
I almost dropped the potato in amazement. How? Just, what kind of prank is this girl trying to pull off? It’s even too ridiculous to be considered a prank. I calmed myself, put the potato back in its bag, and then handed it back to her.
“Sorry, but I’m not going to eat a raw potato. Goodbye.”
I turned around, convinced that really might a prank, a pitiful last prank done as a celebration to the end of the world, but just as I was preparing to walk away, she tugged at my clothes again.
“How many times do I have to tell you, I-”
My sentence was cut short. It’s just like before. Her expression right now is not showing anything, physically, but under that I’m feeling an overwhelming abundance
of something. It’s like her soul was burning with passion behind window eyes.
“Please don’t go, God” she voiced out. “You’re my only hope.”
“You weft your bento at home?” Kannazuki munched.
*Gulp. “Hmmm… That’s quite the unusual mistake, even for you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Eh?” he grimaced, pressing nearer and nearer to my face. “You don’t know? You really don’t know??”
“Wipe that smirk off your face. It’s creepy.”
He sat back down.
“Ma~ no use stating the obvious. Would you like half of mine?”
“Thanks, but no thanks. I’m heading to the cafeteria.”
“Ah~ While you’re at it, could you get me a juice box?”
I raised my hand to let him know I heard.
“Thanks.”
The hallway seemed a bit more spacious today, now that it wasn’t half as crowded as it usually would’ve been on a normal school day. Lines of 20 people should have formed by now, but much like how the streets were on our way to school, the lack of people made the sight look just plain sad.
Well, if there’s one silver lining to this cloud, it’s that when I reached the cafeteria there was no queue to wait for. I normally hate going here, it’s messy, it’s noisy, it’s too bustling with crowds… Come to think of it, when was the last time I came here? I rarely forget my bento, so I guess I didn’t have much of an opportunity.
I skimmed the list of items for something that looked good. Since I’ve barely been here before, it was hard to judge the food just from the names. ‹‹God›› has to pick out the bad and the good of peoples everyday, and yet I can’t even pick out which of these items is edible.
‹‹God’s›› work must be tough.
In the end, I decided I’d go for a simple yakisoba pan. I was about to order when a sharp tug at the back of my shirt forced me to stop and turn around. Coughing, I scanned the room for the perpetrator, but I didn’t see anyone.
“Down here.”
I glanced at the source of the voice, and found a short expressionless girl staring up at me. She had light eyes as blue as the sky, her skin white as the clouds, and her hair dyed in a sunset combination of yellow and red, a butterfly hair accessory to top off her ponytail.
It was hard to believe she was human. It’s like watching a captivating landscape scenery, personified into a doll-like form. She seemed familiar, yet I’m sure I had never laid eyes on anyone that beautiful before. I’d gladly quit chasing God if humans can be this beautiful.
The more I looked at her, the more I realized I haven’t seen her before. She does wear the school uniform, albeit rather messily. The sleeve buttons were undone, so was her collar, which ended up showing a considerable part of her cleavage as I looked down.
“Are you thinking of lewd thoughts about me right now?”
I snapped to my senses.
“Ermm, sorry, but I’m not into little kids.”
She glanced down, “Is that so?” and I saw a tiny paper bag held between her pristine hands. “You’re into older women?”
“No. That’s not necessarily the case either, and if you don’t mind, it feels uncomfortable to have a stranger I just met telling me what kind of women I’m into.”
Without still showing the slightest of emotions, she tilted her head.
“But you are into your older sister, are you not?”
I nearly choked on my own breath. “Wha- What are you talking about!”
“Tuesday, January 22nd. 6 o’clock in the morning you complimented her hair when she was having a bad day at work. After she thanked you warmly you shut yourself in your room and lay for an hour without moving. February 10th, Sunday, you agreed to let her use the shower first and even prepared her bath. February 14th, you sabotaged the chocolates she was trying to make, on account of the boys she might possibly give them to. Feburary 23rd, you brought her lingerie to the washer, but still did not sniff anythi-”
“HEY! This is practically sexual harassment you know! And don’t say anything that might be misconstructed!!! ONE, I wasn’t moving in my bed probably because I was asleep, TWO, putting the salt in the chocolate was an accident, and THREE I’m pretty sure it’s perfectly fine for a brother to prepare his sister’s bath!”
She tilted her head. “I’m afraid I don’t see the difference.”
I almost tore my hair in frustration. “How the hell did you even know all that???”
Crap. Who the hell is this girl? She seems far beyond a stalker, those details are way too exact to be the workings of a simple stalker. A spy perhaps? Was she watching me 24/7? Or is she just a proxy and someone is feeding her intel from the shadows? I may be reading too much manga as of late.
In any case, something tells me no good could possibly arise if I associate myself with her. While she doesn’t seem entirely dangerous, she’s creeping me out. I have to get away from her as quickly as possible.
“Would you…” she started again.
I took a deep breath and readied myself.
“Would you like to eat some of my fries?”
That was not the cut I was expecting. I raised my brow. “Excuse me?”
She raised the paper bag in front of her, and still, in a doll-like voice, “Would you like some?”
I hardly had any idea what she could possibly mean. Why in the world is a total stranger asking me to eat fries? Are those really fries? They weren’t poisoned, were they? No, I’m pretty sure I haven’t done anything to anyone that would warrant them to murder me.
My guts are telling me not to eat jack squat, but then again, if she’ll leave me alone after I eat those fries… On the other hand, she’ll probably have one more demand after that, and then another, and so on. I can’t take her up on every request like that.
“Do I just eat the fries?” I asked carefully.
She nodded.
“I don’t have to do anything else after that?”
She nodded again.
“You’ll leave me alone?”
*Nod.
I don’t know her and she doesn’t know me, or rather, it seems like she knows almost everything about me, (and at this point I don’t wanna know how), but I guess if she’ll leave me after I it, then so be eat. No, got that mixed up.
“Fine,” I said, “I’ll eat those.”
Her expression seemed to lighten up. Not that she was happy. She was still practically emotionless, like those famous archetypes you find in anime, especially in opposite twin sisters where the genki girl is extremely cheerful while the robotic one barely has any emotions.
I can sort of understand the appeal of that. Showing no emotions reduces a character’s flexibility, and usually all the other characters she communicates with will have trouble deciphering her true emotions. Even if there is someone, preferably the main character, who understands every bit of what she’s saying, it generally causes him great difficulty trying to relay it to others.
As it stands, the emotionless character is always the center of attraction, (with characters constantly trying to find a way to get closer to her and failing), while not entirely being attractive in of itself. However, the real magic happens when that emotionless character do, for once, succeed in finding emotions.
That moment when the robotic-android-cyborg-alien-ghost-and-other-things girl finally gets accustomed to human feelings, shines brightly as a one-of-a-kind moment, whether it be because of her own free will, or a magic curse was lifted, or what of it. Having a seemingly cold-hearted character show compassion, only after a long and restless journey of non-emotions, amplifies the drama in that instant a hundred fold.
Yuzuru, Nagato, Shiina, to name only a few. The list goes on forever actually. Even stronger is when these characters are given full emotions on a non-canon part of the show. I’m not a fan of happy smiles, but even episodes of that can throw me off my socks.
Case in point, Eucliwood Hellscythe of Kore wa Zombie Desu ka. Not the shit parts. I’m talking about Of the Dead. The mini clips at the end of every episode, with mini ‘Eucliwoods’ running around and doing everything they want in meek, waifu voices, creates a great contrast with the silent and wordless Eucliwood from the real show.
Another very good example here would be Raven from Teen Titans. In the actual show she’s mean, anti-social, and doesn’t care much about what happens around her. In Teen Titans Go, well, she still doesn’t care about a lot of things, but this time she’s small! Aand add to the fact that she plays with little ponies when no one’s looking, it stretches her appeal beyond the limits.
Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that, emotionless characters are like diamonds. Their emotions are like rare items, but not in a bad way, that only makes the time they do shine all the more dazzling. I believe that’s what I saw in her when I agreed to eat her fries. She showed a little bit of emotion, and a little bit of appeal, in contrast to being completely unfazed just a second ago.
Too bad stalkers looking for you to eat their lunch really doesn’t produce the kind of appeal you’d expect. I just ended up having a sick feeling in my stomach and wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.
I walked over to her, and relieved her of the paper bag.
“Are you a second year?” I asked as I rummaged through the contents.
She shook her head.
“A freshman then? You don’t look like you know much about this school yet.”
Once more, she shook her head. I’m feeling something rough and messily shaped.
“Do you like fries?”
She shook her head.
“Good, because I’d be totally pissed if you said you liked fries while not knowing what they are in the first place!!” I yelled, taking out the contents and handing it just an inch from her face.
She stared, cross-eyed, at the lump in front of her nose, then looked up at me in the same expression, “what do you mean?”
“This,” I explained, like a professor teaching the basics of chemistry, “is a potato. A raw one!”
She inclined her head, as though not understanding the point I’m making. “Do you not like it?”
I almost dropped the potato in amazement. How? Just, what kind of prank is this girl trying to pull off? It’s even too ridiculous to be considered a prank. I calmed myself, put the potato back in its bag, and then handed it back to her.
“Sorry, but I’m not going to eat a raw potato. Goodbye.”
I turned around, convinced that really might a prank, a pitiful last prank done as a celebration to the end of the world, but just as I was preparing to walk away, she tugged at my clothes again.
“How many times do I have to tell you, I-”
My sentence was cut short. It’s just like before. Her expression right now is not showing anything, physically, but under that I’m feeling an overwhelming abundance
of something. It’s like her soul was burning with passion behind window eyes.
“Please don’t go, God” she voiced out. “You’re my only hope.”