Winter break was over, the time for relaxation and remembrance was done. Now, it was time for an annoyingly long and tedious day, worthless pain of the ass nobody likes. The only upside was that some of the best songs were recommended whenever he walked to school. His boot entered a puddle, water splashing out from the impact his boot made, then it left. As all things eventually do. His hands were in the pockets of his black hoodie, the hood over his dark brown hair, and on his ears, were headphones. To be specific, The Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7NC headphones wrapped around his head perfectly. Presumably, they canceled the noise around him and gave him complete bliss in the sounds that he liked listening to. The puddle, that was stepped on by the ignorant masses that followed him, that was left alone, forgotten as something that nobody thought of… gained a friend. Droplets of water started to fall from the grey clouds in the sky, time seemed to slow around him, as he looked at the drops falling in front of his face. He blinked, and his hands reached up to grab his hood, pulling it off from over his head. The puddle's friend was... the rain.
Arriving at his destination, his feet stopped, and his pupils dragged up to the school. Honestly, he didn't care whether or not his hair got wet or not. Honestly, he liked the way it felt on his skin and the way it smelt after it rained. It looked so beautiful, and it was such a unique phenomenon to look upon. Despite what other people thought of the rain, it struck him as… profoundly beautiful. It was beautiful, he felt.
August Rivera was the middle child of Ben and Cecilia Rivera, the only boy, but easily the one with the most potential. What he wore on this cold winter day were, as previously stated, a black hoodie with the Grim Reaper on it, wielding his signature scythe. Underneath that, a normal very dark green turtleneck. He felt no sense of heat or chill, he was so devoid of either temperature that whatever he put on mattered not, it was just throwing whatever was comfortable over his skin. The jeans he wore over his legs were visibly ripped, though just at the bottom above his Timbs boots. Courtesy of New York, despite the Paris location. One after another, his feet pushed him down the narrow road carved toward the entrance, plains of grass on either side of the road stretching out till their end.
Something interrupted his strafe toward the education center. The high squeaky voice of his younger sister, head-spinning to see her running. Though the eyes of the students seated on the miniature class fields traced her, as if a cat following a laser, she continued her pace,
"Wait up!!"
To which he stood still, a comforting smile on his face. That was his younger sister. Well, she was the same age as him, but he was 40 seconds older, so he was technically older. Her name was Genesis Emma Rivera, the youngest of the children of Ben and Cecilia Rivera. She wore a puffy black coat over a very oversized red hoodie, and under all that, a white shirt. Like her older brother, she wore bright blue jeans, that had cute designs on them like a cute pink bear, a pink cupcake, and even more. The edges of her long beautiful hair had pink dye in them, she had always loved the beautiful color of pink. Maybe it was because of an older sister who had beautiful pink eyes, while her own was just some boring brown. Genny bent over as her movement halted, the soles of her boots screeching to a stop as she held her knees. Ruffling her hair, her older brother stepped forward and press his lips against her forehead. Bouncing up, she sent her sibling a tired smile and wrapped her arms around his chest. She was one of those few people that still cared, it wasn't just some fake facade she had covering the truth, the truth of her actual intentions and feelings. It's what made him feel so attached to her. Though, their short affectionate reunion was abruptly ended by his spotting of their shared older sister. By two years, she was 18 years old and a senior, along with being President of the Student Council. As she reached her collective relatives, she slipped one of his items from the darkness of her hoodie pouch,
"You left these, A,"
Emma Rose Rivera was the second eldest of the children of Ben and Cecilia Rivera. She had long black hair that, for today, was tied into a bun. What she had on, was a hoodie, same as her little brother, but it was rainbow-colored. Under that was a cyan t-shirt, that read the words, 'lover' on the front and 'fighter' on the back. She wore some usual jeans, nothing that special. What was special were her glasses on her ears that covered her cyan-icy eyes, her father gave them to her, she was such a daddy's girl. Both Genny and August knew it. Em reached even higher, high enough her feet allowed. Which, just caused August to stare at her trying to reach the sky, just like any human would. Well, with belief, she could do it. But, belief cannot make your height grow magically, so, there's not a point. A snatched the glasses that were in her hand and placed them over his green eyes, his pupils shooting down to the spot where Gen was, her arms still around his body. Having caught her breath, she pleaded out to her brother,
"You need to stop leaving so early! You're supposed to walk with us, remember?!"
A voice was directed specifically into her brain, to which her eyes widened, and her head shifted up and down. Following that, she smiled like an idiot, and she reached out to grab onto her brother's arm hugging it tightly. Emma shook her head, and ruffled her sister's hair, waving bye to them both, then walking ahead. The time was getting to when they needed to enter the school. August decided he and she should do the same. He looked to his sister, who gave him the most precious smile that makes you want to protect her forever and ever.
"C'mon! We don't wanna be late!"
Having now finished his introductions with his sisters, he gave his two siblings two kisses on the cheeks, though his mental state was screwed beyond belief, he couldn't just reject them. They parted ways to take the same path, August's bottom already against the wooden seat. Tunes of music swaying to his brain through his eardrums, for example, Japanese music was one of the things he found dear. That style was discovered by him when he was secluded from the World, surrounded only by thoughts of hate... and guilt. Abruptly, he was taken from his unique experience of anime harmony by his cousin, a Japanese 17-year-old girl by the name of Mei Rivera. The song's flow ceased abruptly, a glimpse of her purple glow radiating from her eyes before dissipating quickly. Like the boy's Godmother, she wore no paints, a skirt was better. With tights and a long hoodie that extended down to cover her skirt but it was visible, which was tinted a dark purple, the same palette as her eyes. It didn't have any pictures or writing except for being comfy, it did have a design, though. Pink lines next to blue ones moving vertically downward. Sliding to the side so his two childhood friends could reveal themselves, Beau Edmund and Matthew Johnson,
"We'd like your opinion on where you'd like to eat after school! Your… FRIEND- {Johnson: H-hey, I resent that! I-I'm your friend too, ya know!} Yeah, yeah, whatever, Matty says we should get McDonald's, but I disagree. I wish to get some rice bowls, I was passing this place in my dad's car, and I saw this place. It looked pretty good, honestly. And Mei agrees, mostly since it's been forever since she's eaten at any rice bowl place, so, what about you?"
Matt wore a simple outfit, a shirt with buttons on each side, that, if buttoned together, would form and make some sort of... formation. It was blue, not light blue, mind you, but the color blue in general. Under that was a regular white shirt. He wore normal. Compared to Beau, there was an obvious contrast in style from the loud words on his bright crimson red sweatshirt. A comic book bubble surrounding the words, 'Strength Is Key,' he wore some black slacks. A gift from his fathers around his neck, that being a golden necklace, with a simple of a fireball in the middle. But, back to the inquiry. August knew whichever decision he made would impact how hungry he'd be in the future... but, on second thought, he thought back to winter break. How they'd always get McDonald's together because there was nothing rather unique about heading to that washed-down fast-food establishment. As a signal, he spoke without words and made a 'two' with his index and middle finger.
"Told you, Matty!"
Beau ecstatically gloated, to which Matt just rolled his eyes, gagging playfully as his friend shook his arm around his neck. Mei beamed, the boys arguing in the background before her eyes examined August's. Se noticed something in them, something different. The way that his eyes sparkled, and that he just looked blankly at the floor, with his hair covering his eyes, and the smile immediately turning into a frown, she just knew something was wrong. But, what? Searching through her mind, she couldn't find anything. Nothing, no reason. But, it didn't help that she barely knew anything about his thoughts when he barely said a word. So, she had to ask him herself,
"Are you okay?"
The people around him were so nice, and they thought about what he was feeling. What he wanted-desired. Well, here, at the very least. August took his phone out of his pocket, and his fingers moved seemingly at lightspeed. He was texting someone. Then responding to his cousin with,
"Fine-I'm fine,"
The truth, something people try to avoid in their race to the end, forgetting everything that pushed them to that goal. The truth of his situation, however- was the truth. There were no lies in that reassuring statement to his cousin, it was plain, simple truth. Nevertheless, he couldn't help the tears that threatened to spill from the corners of his eyes, August tightened his grip on the wood of the desk. Slowly but surely, it changed the state of matter it had from a solid. The pain was visible, as her hands aided her cousin, lifting his face from the ground, she gazed into his pupils. Filled to the brim with the pain of the loss he'd endured, so short of a time ago, forced to be 'normal', because that is how 'society' operates.
"Let's go.."
With that signal, she interlocked his hand with her own. Reaching into his pocket as Johnson followed the related duo exiting the classroom, Beau pushed the button that had a picture of a man with curly brown hair and bright fiery orange retinas labeled, 'Pops.'
Hours later, it was halfway through the day. At 2:39 P.M., all of them were inside a rice bowl establishment with Japanese culture littered around this location. The steam hovered from the heated meal, fogging up his spectacles, as flashes of the past entered his brain. How she used to hug him, how they used to stay up past midnight to see the sun as it rose from over the horizon. No matter how hard he tried, it couldn't fade away... feelings of wanting death to engulf his very presence. Was there any point in living without someone to love him here...?
"Are you feeling okay, man? You barely touched the rice in that bowl!"
With a simple asking of a question, August was brought back to reality, realized he'd been shed of his green turtleneck. Staring at his bare arms, biceps and all, the signature Rivera look. Sighing dejectedly, he used the chopsticks, attempting to lift the rice to push it into his mouth. His efforts were to no avail, and the utensils clattered to the floor. As it by instinct, they were caught by a stray tendril that popped out of his flesh, oozing with shadow energy from another dimension. Ominous whispers seeping into his ears, before an auditory mechanical whirring articulated pushed its way into the air, crawling back into the shoulder of Death. That was after the chopsticks were subconsciously dropped into his flat palm. Extremities closing around them, Death shook his head to his comrade. He couldn't keep doing this. A tender exhalation crawled from the depths of his throat, from the way he restlessly snaked his arm around the bowl, carrying it to put a plastic wrap around it, Mei could tell he hadn't slept much. That was all she could tell, though, even when she could catch a glimpse of his eyes, there was nothing, no sense of sadness, hatred, instead, there was just an apathetic expression. Filled to the brim... with guilt.
His boot entered the house, automated voices coming from the TV, a girl sitting on the couch, legs crossed, and throwing popcorn into her mouth. It was his younger sister, she didn't have anything else to do after getting out of school, so she just headed home to wait for her brother. Immediately she spotted him in front of the door, his back to her as he locked it, then magically, she appeared in front of him. A pink glow escaped her eyes before they returned to the usual normal brunette color. Smiling, she held up her hands and revealed it to be a box. But, what was it exactly? August took the box from Gen, who was talking as he walked to the kitchen to place it down on the island.
"Since I usually hear you watching anime, I got something for you! I don't know if this is the correct one you watch, but at least I got you something!"
As she spoke, the same tendril from earlier emerged from his skin, blood dripping but soon, the wound was healed and cauterized. The tip of this extremity sharpened itself, following the commands of its user so it could slice open the tape concealing the box's interior gift. The contents of the box were a black hoodie, with the words, 'Darling in the Franxx' written on it while above them was two x's, one red and another black. A.'s face lit up, his hands gently grabbing onto the sides of each one, and then pulling it up. It was just his size,
"Do you like it? I was going to go with the one that had that dino-girl on it, but I thought, if you were going to wear it to school, then it'd be pretty embarrassing for you! Also, it was $46 so you better appreciate it! Oh, and I also got you this!"
August's head turned to see her holding a phone case in her hand, his eyes shining brightly with that green hue that caused his chin to unhinge, with a happy smile, his hand reaching out to grab the phone case from her. It was the girl that she talked about, from that anime. He took the phone out of his pocket, taking off the old boring black phone case that his father gave him and then putting on the new phone. At least someone acted as they cared. He shoved his phone into his pocket once more, pulling the old case off the island where he had put it. All he could do… was pat her head, not even give her a thank you, and then take the hoodie with him, as he left up the stairs. Leaving Gen alone in the kitchen, with that smile of hers slowly dwindling and rubbing her eyes. Nothing she ever did could work, it all failed, in the end. Useless efforts, attempting to make him feel some sense of happiness fell flat on their face. The unbearable sight of hearing his cries late at night, unable to aid her only brother from the feeling of guilt- as if it was his fault that SHE died that day. Collapsing onto the floor, she held her face in agony, her heart's rhythm proceeding as if she was confronted for doing something she didn't do... there was no catharsis. No sense of release or ecstasy that could free her from this cycle of responsibility. And- she hated it.
The sight was beautiful, the colors of the lights in front of him dancing in the moonlight, as he and the girl with red eyes bathed in it. The night sky was filled with darkness, no stars in sight. But, despite that, with the moon there, shining over him, he still felt as though it was... profoundly beautiful, even without the stars. It was beautiful, he felt.
"Are you just gonna sit there or are you gonna eat the food?"
A.'s eyes met her own, her red orbs sparkling in the light of the moon, as his green optics did as well. Although it would seem to her that he would be silent to her, just as he is to most of his family and some of his friends... he spoke to her, even if his words did not reach her,
"Of course!"
The teenage boy exclaimed excitedly, taking the chopsticks off the platform beside him and digging in, eating like the way he would when he was alone, throwing the rice into his mouth like a disgusting big. Not like how he'd eat with his family and friends. It seemed it was a matter of seconds before he finished the bowl, and let out a huge burp into the chilly winter air. For a second, his eyes closed, enjoying that brief moment of ecstasy you feel whenever your hunger is satiated. But, his head turned, and he saw her... Celine holding in a laugh, her hand over her mouth. The thing was, he couldn't care any less about that than he already did at that moment in time. He felt stuck in the past, and as she moved her hand from her lips, he saw the thing he'd been wanting to. That smile. Her smile. It was so beautiful, so wonderful, he had been longing to see it for some time now. Everything felt good-right when he was with her. When he was together with her, it felt... perfect.
'
The date was now January 2nd, 2037. At lunchtime, August was still pondering about the events that transpired yesterday. How he missed hearing her voice already, the way she wittily teased him.
His teeth sunk into the burrito, pieces of cheese, egg, and bacon escaping the interior and squirting out onto the edge where he sat. The sun shined on his head, in contrast to what it did yesterday. Maybe because of him? Heh, that's immature to think about. The World doesn't revolve around him, after all. His sleeve came up, wiping off the remnants of his lunch and then shoving the rest of it into his mouth. This time, he didn't get any on the edges beside both of his thighs. Gulping after he had swallowed the food, he let out a long sigh of relief... and turned his head. His hand dug into his pocket, his index finger rubbing the back of the phone case of which his baby sister had gotten her, his eyes looking down at the black screen which had reflected his face. How disgusting. The only thing he had wished to see, he could not get. August stepped off the edge and onto the roof, and upon heading to the exit to walk down the stairs, the door creaked open. It was a girl, she was in the same grade as him, a different class though. Her name was Iana, that's all he knew. She wore glasses, her hair black and in pigtails, and a birthmark underneath her right eyelid. She arched her back so her ass and boobs would stick out more, so guys like him could notice her. But, if she was coming to bother him right now, then it seemed she was getting desperate and upset with no one liking her. Maybe it was because of her bitchy attitude and the way that every guy that dated her reported bad experiences. From horrible communication, to talk about the person behind his back. The last thing he wanted was to date her, so when she said,
"I've had feelings for you for a while now,"
He couldn't share those feelings back with her, as he knew that in the end, if he were to date her, it would just end in disaster. Plus, he's already hung up on another girl. Even if she wasn't here at the moment.
"Pass,"
"H-Huh?"
"As much as I'd love to stay quiet, I doubt you'd get what I was trying to say, without my words, as my sisters and friends do. I'm not interested in the type of human you are, may I get to class so I can leave already?"
"Human? As in girl-?"
"As in a heartless bitch. Now move,"
August pushed her out of the way, his right foot hitting the first step in front of him, his fingers gripping onto his headphones, but, once more, her voice reached him,
"YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE YOU KNOW THAT?! WHY'RE YOU SO QUIET ALL THE TIME ALL THE TIME ANYWAY? YOUR MOMMY NOT GIVE YOU ENOUGH MONEY?!"
"It's none of your fucking concern why I'm quiet. Why're you such a fake piece of shit?"
Her eyes widened, his head turning and his feet stomping on the ground angrily as he pushed her to the ground, causing her to groan once her bottom hit the roof. The edge of her eyes was filled with tears, ready to stream down her cheeks as she stared down at the man towering over her with his eyes glowing a brighter green, visible even with the sun shining onto the spectacles.
"Don't get mad at me because every fucking boy you've dated has broken up with you, or your mom and dad abuse you every day, you worthless piece of shit. Just because you have boobs doesn't mean you're worth anything, if you were to die, you'd just be forgotten by everyone, and remembered as that piece of shit nobody likes. Now, get the fuck out of my sight, YOU LITTLE BITCH!"
Tears streamed down her cheeks, he was right... How could he know so much about her? He had just met her. ..What the fuck was wrong with him? The girl grabbed her bag off the floor beside her and ran down the stairs, tripping on the last step and falling flat on her face right in the hallway. Still, on the roof, A. sighed, taking his phone from his pocket, he just wanted to see her already. Why did it have to take so long? No matter, it was only a matter of time, anyway,
Before he could see her again.
It tainted the walls of the abode, gloved fingers around a razor-sharp sound with a pattern that resembled a razor used to trim hair. Cackling, his voice held the edge of sanity, as if at any moment, he would dare the tip of the sword used to slice his head in two. And then push his exposed entrails, blood leaking from the organs onto the floor, down his throat. However, his job was done. Fixing his suit, the Murderer gently lifted his mask from the arm of the chair the body was perched against, concealing his features. As he exited the lifting room on the right side of the house, he was met by the stairs leading up, where his other victim was seen. His specialty, a woman, no older than maybe 33, was hung by her next. But only her neck, as her limbs were torn off, the splatter of blood that attack had created covering the wall behind her hung corpse. Finally, his boot crushed the chest of the teenage daughter, bits of her heart sticking to the sole, annoyingly using his boot to kick her head off. Decapitating her instantaneously, the force he used for her head to be knocked off of her shoulders was just what he needed for his leg to escape. Shedding himself of the mask so he could avoid the cameras the family placed near this area to survey their daughter, only his glowing ruby pupils would be visible through the darkness of the house.
As a goodbye to the butchered corpses, his palm pushed against his forehead, saluting them all and whispering gently with a sadistic grin shining through the gloom,
"Arriverderci."