The things that you cherish the most are the first to go....

Humans aren't the sort of creature that have a short life span, even with unhealthily and unfavorable conditions, a human is still built to live and last for at least ten years.

So when we lose something we cherish, we can usually find something new pretty quickly. But some people aren't so lucky to find those cherished things. And I'm one of those guys.

But...

Just when I started to think my life was looking up and I found a reason to get up in the morning, I had to go and get stabbed.

As if this were some sort of cliched novel, I left my house for a date just to get stabbed by some deranged lunatic! I mean, he didn't even stop to register what he did! He just kept going, running away like a damn madman.

And now...everything is getting to be so cold. Ah...Just when I started to have fun...Damn...It's cold...

* TAP *

CHAPTER 1

"Damn...Such a basic isekai. I mean- the protagonist is always getting stabbed in the prologue...where's the nuance?!" 

The loud and boisterous boy threw himself back in his chair, nearly falling back but catching himself just before his chair fully tipped over.

A few of his classmates looked over at him and chuckled, loving the enthusiasm.

"That's just how that kind of thing goes, Haruo. You can't really expect authors to want to do something different if that already sells."

A more calm and quiet voice said, directly address the loud Haruo.

"But that sucks man! It's like all these weebtoons are just tailored to be copy and paste stories!!" 

"Then stop reading them..."

Weebtoons were a kind of digital comic story that swiftly became popular with the youth. Everyone was reading at least one. The genres were simple and the plots all seemed similar as if they were mass-produced. There were some gems in the crowd but you'd usually have to fish for those.

* SLIDE * 

The door to the classroom opened, a slight thud sounding out when the sliding door hit the frame. 

Through the recently opened door were two very popular kids, considered "idols" to the school.

First it was the tall, slender, elegant, and rather charming Hikari Takumi, the kind of guy that the girls always fawn over. He always had a way with words and managed to make others feel kind of empowered through them. 

And just behind was the other "idol", Kurogane Ryota, a towering athlete with muscles that made you question if he was even really a junior in high school. He used to be seen as a sort of "delinquent" back when they were all freshmen but when the new wave of freshman came in that year, he was regarded as the cool and rugged senpai by the younger guys.

"Hey-"

Just as Takumi began to talk, he had been immediately cut off-

"Taku-chan, don't you agree?!" 

Haruo had swiftly shoved his phone toward Hikari, or as he called him, 'Taku-chan', and asked for his opinion on the matter. 

And while Takumi was bombarded, Ryota walked past the two, straight toward the quiet and rather bored looking guy, slouching forward in his chair.

"Sora, class is startin' soon, right? Are we gonna be gettin' borin' ass Byakuya-san?"

"Yeah...And considering what he said last time...he wants us to start learning quadratic functions...It's a big pain having to learn something so complicated."

Sora sighed, his body slouching forward more until he actually laid his head down completely against the desk he sat at.

"Yes yes- Haruo-kun, weebtoons are so simple, I know..."

Takumi waved his hands in front of his face in an attempt to not only push Haruo and his phone back a bit but to also dismiss and separate himself from the matter of the weebtoon entirely. 

Once Haruo finally let him pass by, a few words began to come from their classmates.

*"Akahoshi-san is really passionate huh...While Yumeji-san somehow puts up with it."*

And that wasn't really too far off. Akahoshi Haruo had been the life of every party he ever went to in the sense that he wouldn't be able to put a damper on his loud personality even if he wanted to.

And Yumeji Sora was often called the drifting cloud of the classroom, just going along with everything. 

But despite their personalities being so different, they meshed together quite well.

"Though, I think it's quite interesting, y'know."

"Waddya mean, Takumi?"

Ryota asked with a bit of a turn toward him.

"Reincarnation! Those isekai weebtoons always have the protagonist reincarnate into a super cool fantasy world, right? Isn't that kind of cool?"

Takumi sat down at his seat, just next to Sora's, and continued.

"I think it would be fun to have powers like that."

"Don't those sorts of stories usually have like- cheat powers or something...?"

Sora asked as he raised his head, propping it up on his hand while his arm rested on the desktop.

"Yeah, they've always got super busted powers! But the best kinds of guys always start as adventurers and climb the ranks!"

Haruo exclaimed and sat down in front of Takumi, fully turning around in his seat to hang on the back of it.

"Nah, the real badasses are the Demon King guys. They've got hella aura."

Ryota spoke as he pulled his seat out and sat down with a bit of gusto, leaning back and propping up his legs on the desk.

"Well for me the cushy prince life is what would do it for me. I'd get to live a life of luxury...Who cares about the powers at that point, right?"

"Haha, you're definitely that kind of guy, Sora. But for me, I'd rather be the Hero! I mean, you'd get to have the strongest powers AND you get to save the world. Isn't that every kid's dream? Especially if you watched Super Ultra Sentai."

They all joked around with their preferred role in an isekai world, coming up with their own reasoning. 

The four boys were something of a quartet, always seen together for the most part. Though, it wasn't always like that. Back when it was their freshman year, they had all seemed rather hostile in a way.

It was even to the point that other students called those that respected and adored them the 'four factions'. People seemed to really like to sit in the background and make jokes about just how different they were.

Takumi was considered the goody two-shoes that didn't have a shred of rebel in him. That gained him points with the girls and the moral compasses. And that made him a direct target of Ryota's inability to keep his mouth shut.

Often students would get dragged into their spouts, forced to separate them. But now, whenever they're around, people can't help but smile at the progress.

Some girls even fawn at the idea of them being a gay couple.

While the class went about their morning, some girls fixing up their makeup, some guys still playing on their handhelds, and the four students in the front still laughing about their preferred isekai tropes-

A bespectacled man with slicked black hair walked to the front podium and rested his books down, immediately beginning to speak about formulas. It was as if he had no time to waste at all to start the lesson.

Originally guys like Ryota would've been told to put his feet down and pay attention but with how intimidating Ryota's piercing glare was and his striking tattoos on his arms, peeking out from under his uncuffed sleeves, the teacher simply ignored it. 

And with Ryota right in front of Sora, he had the opportunity to do his favorite thing during that class. Sleep.

Haruo was far too ditzy and out of it to keep up and so he slipped right into a boredom induced slumber. 

But the most surprising thing to happen during that class happened just after Haruo had nodded off. Despite his usually amazing class participation, Takumi laid his head down on the desk after noticing his friends had started sleeping themselves.

"You guys are too much..."

He softly said before falling asleep himself.

The teacher had noticed all four of them had fallen asleep and with a few attempts at it, he tried waking Haruo up. To no one's surprise it didn't work. And he hadn't even tried Ryota or Sora, knowing they would never wake up until the bell rang.

But he made a few spirited attempts at waking Takumi up, hoping at least one of the four would learn the work so that he wouldn't have to deal with any extra tutoring. However, despite all the calling of his name from both the teacher and the student behind him, Takumi just wouldn't wake up.

And eventually, the teacher gave up.

Just as the teacher had given up trying to get them awake, a light began to faintly come from Haruo's neck. Just at the nape, a mark began to form, giving off a strong golden glow. It was as if his neck had been branded.

Ryota began to glow as well but not in the same way. 

The bits of his tattoos peeking from under his uniform started to glow, leaving one to assume the rest were also glowing that same bright color. However, despite this, there was no movement from him at all.

Sora too started to glow, his fingertips taking on that same color, soon his palms being completely enveloped in the golden glow. 

And Takumi soon followed, his pale blue hair starting to turn into a strong golden glow, his hair even lifting a bit as if some sort of invisible force acted upon it. 

Each of their glowing parts had started up at nearly the same time, causing the teacher and students to all gasp in surprise and genuine curiosity for what had been happening to all four of them.

However, before the teacher could call their names to get them awake, they vanished into thin air. Nothing being left behind at all. As if they hadn't even existed. They were gone.

Completely gone.

The teacher adjusted his glasses and with a soft-

"What was I saying?"

Continued teaching as if nothing had happened.

CHAPTER 1 END