Beep beep. Angst train coming through.

- Mira

The ringing of an alarm awoke the boy. Rubbing his eyes tiredly, he sat up slowly, staring blankly at the white sheets. Another school day, another meaningless waste of time. Strangely enough, Ayano hadn't bothered calling him last night, not that he minded much. After a few moments, he swung his legs off the edge of the bed, sitting on the side, his hands supporting his body.

Shaking his head, he cleared the sleepiness from his mind and stood up. Quickly and soundlessly pulling on his summer uniform, a white dress shirt and black pants, he made his way downstairs to the kitchen. Ignoring the greeting from his parents, they only liked him because of his genius, he knew, he grabbed an apple and his bag. Walking out of the house soundlessly, he opened the door onto the empty street.

The morning air was cool on his face, it was one of those fresh summer mornings. Beginning his trek, he paused for a moment, at the playground. Just yesterday he had yelled at that annoying girl and left her here, something in his heart pulling at the thought. Shaking it off, he continued on his way, noting her absence. Usually the other would meet him halfway and walk, pestering him all the while. That's not to say it was every day, Ayano was the type so sleep in after all, so he didn't think much of her not being there.

Finally reaching the school, he walked in and switched out his shoes, making his way towards his homeroom. Taking a seat in his usual desk, he rested his face on the palm of his hand and stared out the window, glad his usual seat partner was gone. It was much harder to see the sky when she was there.

When the bell rang and the other was still absent, a strange feeling began to pool in his stomach. Shrugging it off, he reasoned that she was just sick or something of the like, although rare it did happen to everyone. Besides, his day would certainly go smoother without her.

Of course, that all changed when he noticed the girls approaching with flowers.

Ayano was dead.

As days passed, Shintaro continued to attend school. Something within him felt lost, broken, not that it hadn't been before, but more so. He had assumed he would feel better with the other gone, but it proved to be the exact opposite. Perhaps it was because he had never fully understood that strange girl, still couldn't. To Shintaro, Ayano was an enigma of her own, annoying, but ever-present and curious. With her gone, everything felt so..wrong.

Not to mention the whispers. Ever since his classmates learned of Ayano's death, they had all looked at him differently. Many knew of their, for lack of a better word, relationship, and blamed him for her suicide. Shintaro always brushed it off, knowing it not to be true, but even he was beginning to doubt it. He had always been cruel to Ayano, whether he meant it or not, and it was entirely plausible to believe that he had been the cause of her untimely death.

That is, of course, only part of it. Not only had Ayano died, but his only two other "friends" had died on that day as well. Takane and Haruka. How such a thing could happen, with all three dying on the same day, he couldn't say. His classmates, on the other hand, had their own ideas. They blamed him. Calling him a bringer of death, they would whisper and taunt him.

Shintaro was used to this. Even before Ayano came he had been bullied, it had just lessened with her defending him. Being smart wasn't all good, and he marveled at why Momo would be jealous of it. Obviously she was not aware of the downsides. People did not like him. They called him a cheater, jealousy burning their eyes as they spat at him, the boy who could ace any test without even trying.

At first, it had hurt. When he was younger, much younger, he had tried to make amends, fight back, anything. It never worked. He had learned, though, that it was better to be on your own. Humans were disgusting creatures. If someone among them was better or outside the norm they attacked, relentlessly pushing and pushing until they broke them down. Shintaro refused to be broken down. So he sealed himself off, ignoring the comments he continued to live.

He was different now. Ayano had broken him down, if only a little. Making friends with Ayano, Takane, and Haruka had been a mistake. He was once again vulnerable to the verbal and physical abuse. Shintaro was too proud to ask for help, hiding the bruises and refusing to explain to teachers what was going on. Things only got worse as time progressed.

In the end, he couldn't handle it anymore. His heart hurt, filled with fresh wounds and raw, missing the armor that had once protected it. So he dropped out of school. Since then he lived at home, hiding away from even his family, who he believed regarded him less for leaving his one field of talent, in a small dark room.

"Eh, you see that boy over there? That's Shintaro. Don't go near him, he drives everyone around him to death. Bad luck Shintaro. Death bringer Shintaro. All in all, stay away from him. He's no good, and he doesn't like people either. There's no reason to, he's too smart for us anyways. You wouldn't want to get infected with his bad luck, would you? Come on, let's go, I think he's going to turn his death eyes on us."