The next day, Heath didn't come to school. Or rather, he couldn't. He had caught a fever by the end of yesterday. Still, he refused to go to the hospital and even told his housemate that it would be fine to leave him for work."...It's not like I'll be going anywhere. Just sleeping, probably," he rasped while rolling his eyes when Henko went into full mother hen mode that morning. Heath had to throw things like pillows and his alarm clock just for his cousin to reluctantly leave.And so here he is, suffering from feverish dreams all on his own.His family's sad, betrayed look as they turned around and walked away... that image keeps repeating in his mind and triggers even more anxiety in the brunet."I-I'm sorry. It was my fault! P-Please don't leave me alone...! T-Take me with you! Mother! Mags! Atlas! Master! Everyone...! Don't leave me alone!" Sobbing in his dream as well as in real life, the agony is far too much to bear alone.[...Give yourself to Us....]And that mystical whispe
"Shut up...!" In a moment of desperation, He stabbed the knife at the cutting board, hard enough to make a crack in the piece of wood while barely missing his own hand. Grabbing a fistful of his hair, he slowly slouched down, coughing softly as he only felt even worse due to the additional stress. For a moment, the world fell away, leaving Heath alone with his pain and his guilt. But as the fog cleared, he felt a strange sense of clarity wash over him, a newfound resolve born from the depths of his despair. The fallen royalty wasn't a foreigner to this kind of situation. He had his own portion of panic attacks and breakdowns in the past. After all, The promised crown he was destined to own is heavy on his back before it even officially his. So yeah, voices are normal. Screams of those he killed, shouts of his enemy, dying words of his family. Those voices never really left him, and he knows that they would only get worse as he goes on. That being said, however, it has never been thi
"Right. Want. Need. Escaping is a want, not a need?" He breathed out heavily as if he was exhaling toxins that were poisoning his lungs. A bit of conscience returned by a sliver. 'Do I really want to do this...?' He stared at the taunting blood on his hand. It's not like anybody cares, right? So why should YOU care? He gritted his teeth before loosening up after reconsidering a few points. He might get some relief. But the thought of his late family getting disappointed because he wasted the life they sacrificed so much for... it was far more painful to keep in mind. And thankfully, that was the final conclusion he reached. His hand still shaking ever so slightly, he put the knife down before sliding it away from his reach, just in case the devil decided to tempt him once more for the sweet escape. He stared emptily above, taking some deep breaths to calm his aching heart. He ended up slouching down to the floor, sighing heavily. 'To think that longing for death would be more
"I’m done for, aren’t I?" he muttered, dazed and barely able to form words in his buzzed mind. Heath wiped the blood coming out from his nose, uncaring that his hand was also bloodied, though it wasn't his own. He couldn’t finish them off; he was out of battery to do that, and his hits were not strong enough to be lethal. However, the twin assassins were unconscious now, thankfully, since he was not in any better condition. He couldn’t even tie them up or something, you know, as a precaution for when they woke up seeking vengeance. Heath could barely feel parts of his body; every inch of him was buzzing as if it were made of ants instead of muscles, bones, and organs. ‘Well, at least it’s not sharp pain, aha ha ha,’ he thought, though he was glad that was the case. Anyhow, "Man, I really need more exercise," he chuckled breathlessly, though what he noticed firsthand was how peaceful his head was compared to earlier. 'Wait. Is this why Master always kicks me around and drags me to
In the end, the excuse Heath came up with was, "Prank gone wrong, one could say," as he puffed out a hot breath and shrugged. But really, who could blame him? His head felt like it was about to explode. Each pulse of pain was like a sledgehammer against his skull. It was enough to make him question if he was even still in the same reality. God, wouldn’t the universe give him a break? Yet his plea went unheard, as his dumb reasoning only raised even more questions than it was worth. "So bad that you got this injured?" He heard someone asked. "Yes? Or perhaps they are robbers? They don't really dress like it though?" he shrugged, continuously making an excuse as he feigned innocence. "Really, sensei?" Kai definitely didn’t buy that excuse, but Zane, being the sweet angel that he is, tapped her shoulder, stopping her right there. "Shouldn't we be calling the cops then?" The blue-eyed boy asked worriedly. "Why are you dealing with them on your own?" Heath hummed. "You know my name,
The brunet blinked in surprise, genuinely caught off guard by the turn of events. After enduring mistreatment from the majority of individuals in this world, save for a scant few exceptions, he hadn't anticipated such a positive outcome. Upon that question, Zane asked back, “I mean, why would we be disappointed…?” Truthfully, he doesn’t feel good asking that question; he just has a bad feeling that whatever he’s about to hear next would be heartbreaking just from the way their teacher genuinely questioned their motive before. Oh, how he hated to be right. Heath's head throbbed with the effort of holding himself upright, his weakened body protesting every movement. Yet, his determination to maintain a stable facade in front of his guests remained steadfast as he opened his mouth to answer, "Because you guys ended up walking all the way here instead of studying in our usual classroom?" Heath said, as if stating the obvious. "I mean, isn’t that extra hassle? How come none of you p
"Speaking of, what time will your housemate be back?" Kian asked after they finished cleaning up the utensils they used and tossed the trash away. "Well, he said that he needs to prepare for the school assembly as well. So perhaps later in the evening?" Heath replied easily. "Should we stay until then? It shouldn't be that long, right?" Kai asked the others, especially their homeroom teacher. Unable to see the clock clearly with his blurry sight, the brunet shrugged instead. "Nah. I really think you should go home." "What? Are you kicking us out now?" "Despite his wordings, for once I agree with Kobayashi-kun's disagreement, sensei," Zane frowned. "What if something else happens? You can barely stand up now," all the while the delinquent clicked his tongue since the pipsqueak he used to bully basically put words into his mouth. The brunet snickered, "Aww~ So you do care, Kianichy!" His eyes genuinely lit up. "Shut up!" A small tint of blush was caught by the keen eyes. "Yeah ye
To prevent its underachievers from negatively impacting the rest of the student body, Class I-9 was relocated away from the main building. It had become a tradition for 'the worst of the worst' to utilize the old building instead of integrating into Aetheridge Academy's main campus. This segregation practice had been ongoing for years prior to the government's secret deal with the chairman. Normally, neither the students nor the teachers of this class were allowed to set foot on the main campus. The only exception was during the school assemblies held every semester, of which, of course, Class I-9 members were not informed beforehand."I swear, this is some sort of torture," Jitsuo exhaled heavily, while Jiro huffed while wiping the dust and mud from his glasses, "It is. Knowing them, it was meant to be a form of torture," he said in agreement.Not only did the assembly occur in the middle of a hot day, but the students also had to trek all the way from their secluded class location,