In a Daze I

Five times One and the King Demon

The sun rises over the horizon. The streets seem much steeper than they really were, his legs really hurt. There was not enough time to think the 'why' of his misfortune, getting up late had not helped either.

'Bad luck'

You can search for yourself the definition of bad luck in some dictionary or you can research on the internet the different points of view that different cultures have about bad luck.

However, no detailed definition, no old and dusty book with the wisdom printed on its pages, much less the grimoire found in the library of this school could help you understand that simple words.

If you want to understand what it is like to have 'the curse' following you, such a wild beast with its jaws hunting its prey, you are in the right place. Because he and no one else but him could be the perfect description of 'misfortune' and this is his typical day ...

The sidewalk had suddenly become in a running track, similar to the big sporting events that were held long before this city became so developed and vivid, with its huge concrete and iron structures, with its stores, parks and even the old church near the hill.

Of course, the sidewalk was not a running track and there was no one here competing for a prize or for the satisfaction of beating others. None of that, there were only people, women, men in business suits talking on their phones, children holding the warm hand of their mother, merchants preparing to receive customers, students waiting for the bus at the stop.

Also, could be seen on top of a roof a black cat looking with its intriguing eyes its next prey.

So, why was there someone different in that scenario? That someone was a boy in a uniform that probably belonged to the academy that was 15 minutes from here.

He was the competitor of that imaginary 'race' and only he could see the running track. His legs moved at a surprising speed and it was not a lie to say that he was on par with the great sprinters. He doubled the left and then the right, dodging all kinds of pedestrians, of course many of them shouted all type of things to him. However, he did not pay attention.

I don't have enough time to listen to the complaints of these random people.

He thought.

In his chaotic mind there was only a clear objective.

They had told him a dozen times, 'listen this is the last time, your qualifications are regular, but your behavior is the problem here. I do not want to see you late for classes' That was the warning they had given him the previous week.

Was that boy really a fearsome criminal?

Was that boy really that bad for the other students?

That boy really is a lost case?

Nothing of that, those are lies!

The boy shouted to himself.

They had misinterpreted it from the beginning, to be exact from the first day of classes.

Where did this misreading of facts begin?

Probably, that was the time they found him in the alley. That day marked the beginning of his true misfortune.

Some students had begun to spread numerous rumors about something that lurked the darkest alleys of the city. Although this city was in constant development, both economic and technological, there was still much to be done. There were very dangerous areas everywhere. The alleys used to be the habitat of malicious people, strange groups that met at night, and a woman, who according to some was a witch of more than two thousand years.

Of course, some were just fantasies, but some of those fantasies were unequivocally real.

Returning to the point, some students who used to skip classes had encountered the most impressive image in their young lives. The biggest alley, which served as the main meeting point and where many fights of gangsters had been held, was the place of that fateful day.

As soon as the four students reached the alley, one of them took out a pack of cigarettes. It was illegal to smoke at school, and especially if you were a minor, but here there was no law to stop them. He started to distribute it among the other three and then one of them noticed something strange a few meters away. There was an old, rusty door that opened onto a kind of warehouse.

He could see a slight river of a dark reddish liquid that seemed to go in that direction.

He cleared his throat and glanced at his other friends. The four nodded and, driven by curiosity, entered. There were steps that led to a huge dark room. Since there was no light to illuminate, one of them took out his cell phone and used it as a lantern.

The atmosphere was really tense and gave no assurance that they would leave without any harm. But they were young and stupid, that as a whole never leads to anything good. One of them had noticed a strange smell, like metal, but different.

They knew well that it was that particular aroma.

Blood, of course there was blood everywhere. It's as if a battle took place here, but it was no surprise to them. Everyone knew that these places were where criminals and people of the 'underworld' met to 'solve' their conflicts.

If you were lucky enough, maybe you could find an awesome show or at least that's what they thought. However, what they saw was not what they had expected. In the middle of that dark warehouse full of objects and old shelves, was a simple figure. There was a person standing in this place.

That's all there is nobody but a weird guy, what a disappointment. One of them commented with a fake smile. But that did not solve the main doubt that had clung to their minds. They had been searching for bodies or something, the blood had to belong to someone.

That doubt could not get out of their heads.

Then the guy who was still standing, in the middle of the darkness, turned his head slightly. His eyes were something hard to forget.

And then they realized their error. They had been looking for the origin of the blood in the wrong place. The blood came from that boy. His face, his hands, on his clothes, it's as if a bear or something had hit that boy who just saw them as if they were something insignificant.

"Yo."

He smiled slightly as he raised a hand.

One of them focused his gaze on his right hand.

His hand was not 'there' of course. The place where there should be an arm, with its respective bones, flesh, veins and skin, is not there. Instead, there was a gigantic head of one of the most fearsome creatures of fantasy.

A dragon.

The four released a single noise.

They shouted as much as their lungs allowed and with the scanty reaction of their bodies, they began to run as they had never done before. The fear itself had taken over them. They could not process what they had seen, they even believed that everything had been a simple trick of their imaginations.

But ... a roar echoed throughout the place as if it came from all directions.

Time later, the rumors began.

That first-year boy, was actually the reincarnation of some king demon.

As if it were true, stop reading manga!

The boy shouted to himself as he continued his career.

Of course, there was an answer for what they saw, but they had misinterpreted it, as well as all the actions he did.

He had remembered that incident, there were many explanations for 'it' that they had seen. Now people thought that there was a serial killer or monster around the alleys and had even begun to avoid them.

The boy was about to start crying, but the fatigue was too much to lose more energy in such a useless act. People will not understand his explanations anyway. Luckily, nobody believed a single word of those four students, in the end they received a punishment for not going to school and smoking.

He had managed to arrive on time, enough time to avoid 'that' teacher. Whether it was incorrect clothing, tattoos, piercing, or other things forbidden by the school, it was that teacher who was in charge of applying the well-deserved corrective.

Specifically, today is Monday, today is a common, sunny day, full of laughter, voices and students walking towards their future. For some of them it is a bright future full of joys and youth, but for some others it will be a road full of obstacles, darkness and eternal but always reliable solitude. Because not everyone has the ability to engage in a conversation as if it were a professional speaker.

Damn riajuu must simply explode!

The boy had managed to arrive on time for the first time, it was an almost perfect day.

He was about to form a triumphant smile on his face when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

It was a girl, a small hand, thin and feminine. She was beautiful, good body and smelled good. Any man would notice her without hesitation. But he knew very well that her face and body had nothing to do with her personality.

"I'm... finally... found you!"

She seemed fatigued.

Do not tell me she ran after me.

He thought with a slight grimace.

"By the way, who are you?"

He had avoided asking that uncomfortable question, but there was a reason why he was not able to know who that face belonged to. Even when they have been several weeks as classmates.

Five of 'her' were in the same classroom. Their faces were practically the same, it is as if someone had printed an image five times. It was impossible to know who was who.

And his relationship with her was nothing more than mere strangers.

So, why does she continue to bother me?

There was not a reason why one of those girls was interested in him. Or maybe there was a reason, but he did not know who he had helped at that time.

After all they are quintuplets.