This is what they deserved. Yes, this is what they deserved. This is what they deserved! Gundam repeated those words in his head as he stared at a group of people with his soulless red and grey eyes.
The group was visibly trembling in fear and words were unable to form from their shaking lips. However, if they were able to speak, it would simply be a hopeless feat. No one will save them, no one will care to come.
While puffing out a disgusted sigh, Gundam raised his hand and said,
"Devour your prey at once."
Immediately, a group of bloodhounds surround the group and teared them apart. The ripping of the group clothes and flesh, the gnawing and growling from the dogs, and the terrifying deathly screams of the victims formed a despair filled orchestra. The only one to see this orchestra in action was Gundam and he felt nothing towards it. No guilt, no hatred, no sympathy, no anger, no happiness, no queasiness, nothing.
Soon the show came to an abrupt end and all that was left was a pile of very unidentifiable meat. Though most people would run away at the sight of it, Gundam just moved toward it and started throwing the questionable meat in a trash bag.
How long has it been since he had an ordinary life? It wasn't so long ago that he was attending class, tending to his animals, talking to his classmates, just living his life in peace with normal human emotions. If only that day hadn't happened, he would have continued his life. That day, the day he met despair in human form.
...
"Tis a wonderful day to be living in the human world," he said to himself the minute he woke up as if he was the main character from a fantasy manga.
Slipping on his school uniform jacket, he went over to check on his "Four Dark Devas of Destruction". Though you might believe from the name of it that they are some kind of magical creatures, however, they are simply Gundam's favorite hamsters.
It seemed like San-D finally made peace with Jum-P, and Maga-Z was eating a sunflower seed at the moment. However, Cham-P wasn't looking too good. In fact, Cham-P was feeling ill for the past few days which made Gundam worried.
"Stay strong and fight the demons inside you, Cham-P. Your pact with me is still not over," Gundam stated while lightly brushing Cham-P's bright orange fur.
Sadly, it was time for him to get going. After wrapping his important velvet scarf and combing up his messy hair, he left the dorm and headed straight to class. Normally, he would be carrying his hamsters in his scarf, but due to a certain incident with a classmate named Souda, he was banned from bringing his hamsters in class for two weeks. However, he promised himself to rushed back to his hamsters the moment morning classes ended.
While walking, his mind was preoccupied on the thought of Cham-P's condition. He was so worried about Cham-P, that he didn't notice a certain classmate a few feet in front of him. However, that certain classmate noticed him instead from the corner of her eye.
"Ah! Good morning, Gundam!" The classmate turned around to greet him with a smile and a light giggle while her long blonde silky hair perfectly flapped in the wind.
"Good morning, Sonia." Gundam replied and lifted up his melancholic face a bit to make eye contact. Suddenly, Sonia smile transformed into a somber look.
"Is Cham-P still not doing well?" she asked in a monotone voice.
"He is still in a fierce battle with his inner demons. However, you do not need to worry. For anyone who forges a pact with me cannot be destroyed so easily!" Gundam mustered out a tiny mischievous chuckle to comfort her. He didn't really like bringing people down, so much so that he dealt with the "poison" his mother gave him as a child.
However, it took Sonia a little bit of time to process before she could get rid of her somber look.
"Well, if I can be any assistance to you, please don't be afraid to ask me!" she exclaimed while pumping out her fist.
Sonia's smile could always cheer up the lone breeder in any situation. Maybe she can help him in something, however,
"It is a kind offer, but I am afraid of the possibility of your arm disintegrating if you touch the all powerful Cham-P in a wrong place."
Sonia gave out a light sigh followed slightly disappointed smile.
"I believe you are right. Unfortunately, I have no experience in raising animals other than the Makango. But, I will at least pray for Cham-P's return from the battle!"
With that, the princess and breeder made it to their morning classes. Nothing really happened in class that shifted Gundam's attention away from the ticking clock. He decided not to even take notes today since, he knew that skipping one meaningless day won't affect him. Only thing the teacher said that got him listening was,
"Alright, class is over. Please be cautious when eating lunch and make sure to pick up her trash."
Swoosh! Immediately, the breeder hopped out of his desk and zipped out of classroom. He zigzagged his way through the opposing crowd of Reserve course students franticly heading to the Cafeteria. Apparently, Teruteru, the Super Duper High school cook, was preparing some special meal today. But it didn't matter to Gundam today; he just wanted to get to his dorm and- BANG!
"OW!" By a tremendous force, the breeder crashed into the polished hallway tiles, almost taking out the student behind him. His head received most of the fall damage.
"Ugh, man, watch where you're going!" shouted a male Reserve course student helping up a fallen one, though it didn't resonate with Gundam's bobbing head. Without taking time to recover, Gundam slowly picked himself up and dashed out of the scene with wobbling legs.
"Where are you going? How about helping the person you shoved down?" screamed the male student.
"Hmph. The Super Duper High schoolers are so full of themselves just because they have talent."
"Yeah, and the school always treat them the upmost respect."
"Those guys all look down on us like were trash on the side of the road. Don't they know we're people too?"
Countless whispers flooded the crowd just from that one incident. All of them stared daggers at the fleeing breeder as if all of their problems were his fault. However, Gundam didn't take notice on their prejudice thoughts.
He had to go; his hamsters were more important than the chance of him being a menacing villain at this school. Plus, he had no problem continuing to live the lone wolf lifestyle.
Finally, he reached his dorm just when he loses the last ounce of his breath. Though his feet were begging to rest, he still adventured on and turned the knob on his dorm.
Instantly, his face was hit by a slight musky odor. Perhaps it was time for him to do his laundry, so he didn't mind the smell for a second. However, the smell wasn't coming from his clothes.
He approached the cage, keeping hope in his chest that Cham-P had miraculously recovered and was dashing on the little wheel. It was impossible hope of course, but some signs of it happening would make him happy.
That must have been the first sign he saw. The sign of how hope is simply an empty wish that will never come true.
Gundam was instantly shocked at the sight he saw. Strange heaps of reddish white liquid were slowly dripping out Cham-P's mouth and his eyes were unnaturally rolled back. Cham-P was dead… he was dead….. and Gundam couldn't do a thing to stop it.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he let out a deathly scream as his knees gave out. Tears were flowing out of his eyes like a river as his nose was kissing the floor.
"G-Gundam, what's wrong?" shouted out a concerned student. His eyes were blinded by a mixture of snot and tears, so he couldn't exactly see who it was. However, from their voice, he could tell it was female underclassman, the swimmer.
Soon enough, most of the Super Duper High schoolers came rushing over to Gundam's room, even Sonia. He wasn't mentally able to tell them what had happen. But Sonia knew what it was. She told all of the High schoolers who came over curiously the situation and kindly asked them to leave. Thankfully, all of them left, leaving a devastated Gundam behind with Sonia.
At this point, Gundam was not longer able to cry. His eyes almost looked and felt like they were on fire and his nose was out of snot to expel. However, he still didn't have the energy to turn to Sonia or even say a word. He wasn't even worried about the fact that the hamster's food bowls were empty at the moment.
Sonia, on the other hand, understood. She understood the entire situation as if it she was Gundam herself. She knew what he needed right now.
Without making a sound, she took a seat next to Gundam and started lightly rubbing his back like a mother. Normally, he would not allow for Sonia to touch him since the "poison" inside him might "kill" her, but he gladly accepted her comfort.
Her hand felt so soft, so warm, and so comforting. It was almost as if he was being wrapped around in one of his precious childhood blankets.
"Should we offer a proper burial fit for a Dark Deva of Destruction?" she suggested.
Gundam nodded silently in agreement.
They decided to bury it behind the dormitory. Luckily, their kind classmate, Mahiru, was able to convince the teachers to let them skip afternoon classes without any penalty. Sonia prepared everything for Cham-P's burial and his small funeral. A small little rock with his name on it, a decorated box for his coffin, and a fitting song to play during the burial.
Gundam still remained silent through all of it, as if he lost his ability to speak. Any death from his precious animals made him like that, but somehow he would be able to recover from it after a few days. Unfortunately, this rule didn't apply today.
After the small funeral, Gundam took care of his other hamster's needs and crashed into his bed. All of the crying he did earlier made him exhausted. He was passed out for about an hour or two, all all that he knew is that he slept pass the time afternoon classes were over.
Other than his homework, he really had nothing to do. Well, he did have his blog to update, but he decided to just skip a day of updating. He decided to take a walk to a nearby park outside campus grounds which people would consider weird for a Super Duper Highschooler. Since the academy's campus had basically all living necessities, only the Reserve Course Students who don't live the dorms go through the entrances daily.
The park actually cheered him up a little bit. He even fed some the birds cheap bead from the convince store. Taking a deep breath, he proceeded back to the academy. That's when it happened.
While walking back, he noticed two familiar Reserve course students. It was the boy he bumped into during lunch and the friend that helped him up. Both of them were crouched down and seemed to be doing something.
Curious, Gundam decided to take peek at what they're doing and violently gasped.
In the shadows of the crouched boys was a squirrel coated with tire prints. One of them was dissecting the corpse with a stick while the other watched. However, the two stopped and turned around when they heard Gundam gasped.
` "Oh, it's the Breeder. What the crap do you want?" one of them said nonchalantly.
"H-h…. h-how, HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO A POOR DEFENSELESS ANIMAL! REMDEM YOURSELVES FROM THIS WRETECHED SIN!" exclaimed Gundam while thrusting his right pointer finger in both of the boys faces.
He was expecting both of the boys to be on their knees apologizing for the heinous crime they did but…., they didn't. Instead, they narrowed their eyes in disgust and scoffed at him.
"Shut the heck up! You think you can make us? Huh? HUH? Go ahead and try!" the one with the stick proclaimed while standing up and acting like a target.
Agitated, Gundam lifted up clenched fist almost bleeding and pushed it forward.
He thought it would make contact with stomach. He thought that it be enough to make him pay. He thought many hopeful things about the situation that were a dream within a dream.
Instead, his punch was easily pushed aside by the other boy before it made contact with the rude boy's stomach. With no time to think, the boy who pretended to a target earlier went in for the kill and landed a kick onto Gundam stomach.
Gasping, Gundam unwillingly crashed into the concrete sidewalk. It was the first time a person actually caused damage to the self- proclaimed powerful breeder, so everything to him at this point was new. The surging pain coursing throughout his body, the involuntary action of coughing whatever was left in his system and the stinging aftertaste on the wound; all of that was new to him.
"Pfff, just cause you have talent, doesn't mean you're better than us. Without that stupid academy, you don't have any power to fight BACK!"
POW! Another kick landed straight on Gundam's back as two new points of pain were created. One plastered on his back and the other on his concrete kissing cheek.
Lightly lifting his face up, Gundam flinched a bit the moment he saw the boy getting ready to kick him again. Then,
"Stop it, Yamada. I think the guy has learned his lesson. Plus, we might miss One Piece tonight if we continue." said the friend of the boy.
"Psst, whatever, I'll see ya tomorrow."
And with that, Gundam's attacker stomped away.
Though the friend of the attack might be considered a hero in this situation, Gundam could tell from his tone of voice that he honestly didn't care about his condition. It had no sympathy; it was just the tone of a bored teenager. It was made even clear when he left and didn't even bother to help Gundam up.
The rest of the Reserve course students passing by on their way home that day didn't help him up either. No one helped him up, not even the breeder himself. He no longer had the energy to do it.
Soon enough, the breeder was left alone with the dead squirrel. Made by pure coincidence, the squirrel's blood shot eyes were locked straight onto Gundam's. It disgusted Gundam, made him feel guilty. Another small life passed by him and he wasn't able to get revenge for the poor guy. How many more animals will he be unable to save?
"How pitiful." Out of nowhere came a voice followed by a pair of stylish high heels in his view. A voice dripping with despair.
Gundam didn't even bother to look up at the owner of the high heels' face but decided to listen. He had no reason not to.
"A breeder like yourself is unable to do anything when an animal is in peril. In my opinion, I would blame this world. These slightly advanced animals allow themselves to rule the world and they kill the ones that are weaker for no reason. Don't you think that's messed up?"
Click. Clank. Click. Clank. The person took a long stride slowly around the breeder as the sound of its high heels echoed throughout Gundam's mind.
She's right, it is messed up. Gundam thought.
"Every single one of these slightly advanced animal wouldn't give a crap if a species lower than them just died. They eat whatever animal they want, destroy whatever animal's home they want, and kill whatever animal they want for simple entertainment and give no sympathy to the said animal."
Suddenly the person stopped right in front of Gundam's head and crouched down to his level. He was finally able to see with his own eyes, despair in human form.
Her hair was in two puffy stylish pigtails. The designer clothes she wore matched her perfect makeup and along her crimson colored lips was an extremely devilish smile.
"I guess it's going to be our duty to destroy to teach these animals a little sympathy by showing them what it's like to be the lower race. Don't you agree?" she said while holding out her hand for him.
Gundam didn't hesitate; he accepted the hand without any second thoughts. And by grabbing despair's hand, he sold his everyday life, his parents, his friends, his mind, and his body.
He never looked back on that day, he never thought of what would happened if he didn't accept the hand. Not when he witnessed all of the Reserve Course Students committed suicide, not when he and his former classmates picked up the name tags off their dead body, not even when he stumbled across the name tag of a boy named, "Takeo Yamada".
Now here he was, collecting the flesh of his victims for despair.
"Hey, hey, how's the cleanup going?"
Speak of the devil, she came at the right time. Gundam didn't respond to the Super Duper High School Despair, but she knew he was listening. Staring at the corpses, she let out an unnatural giggle.
"How despairingly amazing! I would give you an 7.6 out of 10 for the way you killed them. Extra points for creativity."
He didn't respond.
"Hmmm, tough crowd. Oh! I know how spice up this performance!"
The Super Duper High school Despair's smile started to stretch like salt water taffy and giggled a bit more
"Say, hypothetically, if you heard that someone fed poison to your hamster that day, what would you do to that said person?"
That peeked Gundam's attention.
"What are you implying?"
"Oooooooooohhh, NOTHIN'! Upupupu, well, I'm going to spread some more despair. Later!"
And with that, she left. Gundam was almost a second away from chasing after her but stopped himself.
What's the point, anymore?
Nothing matters in his world. The rest of the four Devas of Destructions were already dead; there was no one left in this world he cared for, and he was no longer Gundam Tanaka, the Super Duper Highschool Breeder. He was just a Despair Breeder,
and nothing else.
