You start to die the moment you are born.
Well not literally, as that's not how biology works and until cells start to die, the organism it makes up is considered 'healthy' and 'living'. Fauna and flora both fall under this category, but regardless, they are in a sense dying as well. All life ceases to exist at one point or time, which is why the world as humans perceive it is two dimensional, because we cannot see the third dimension from a higher state. As they are given such a limited lifespan, one is advised to enjoy it while it lasts. Because while time never stops, humans can only live for so long. Sometimes though, it can get really really difficult to enjoy life.
The idea of bending time as a physical dimension is ludicrous, however theorizing about it makes it seem plausible, feasible even. Supposedly time is the fourth dimension, however it isn't simple as that due to dimensional science being nuanced, making it hard to categorize time to a particular order of dimensions by means of a precise number. That, or something along those lines. Whatever.
Issei sighed. It's not like he was going to take physics in university or anything like that. Maybe. Probably. Hopefully. Unless, it's required of course, and until then-"Hyoudou-san." An exhale through the nose.
A mound of messy brown hair lifted up from the arms that their head was resting on. With the face finally visible, it is obvious that the messy brown hair belongs to a boy. With a almost-pale tan complexion and half-open empty chestnut colored eyes, he wasn't much to look at.
He wasn't chubby or skinny, the boy looked completely average and seemed uninteresting enough to blend in any crowd of one's choosing.
"Hai, sensei?" The teacher in question grimaced. He really didn't want to call on the student that clearly didn't want to be disturbed, however to keep his job at the prestigious private school that he worked at, he would have to follow procedure. If it were up to him, he would leave the student to do whatever he pleases. A teacher cannot teach a student who doesn't wish to learn or put in any effort.
He wasn't arrogant enough to fool himself into believing that the subject he was teaching was foolproof and interesting to everyone. It was history for crying out loud, which had little enthusiasts as it is; not only that but it was U.S. History to top it all off. It didn't even concern the country that they were in; they were on the opposite side of the globe after all.
The remaining silence broke the teacher from his thoughts. Looking at the student, if he cared at all about the time wasted, he didn't show it. It seemed as if the student had everlasting patience. The teacher's eyes resting on the student's half lids, he cleared his throat. "Ahem. Mr. Hyoudou, what can you tell us about how the final push the Allied Powers made on Germany prior to the surrender of the Nazis?"
Looking at the whiteboard behind the teacher for guidance, the now named Issei Hyoudou, formed a conclusion in his head and said out loud, "Well, after America decided to help out Europe, they joined the rest of the Allied powers to flank the Nazi Germany from the West, while the Soviet Union came from the East. It was a war on two fronts. The last major battle of the second world war was called-" Issei's left eye shifted right, while the rest of his body remained rigid. "The Battle of Okinawa."
Issei had the eyes of the entire class on him, including the teacher and the two students that sat behind him. God, he wished the dress code allowed for a hood; it would make being invisible that much easier. Although, even if Kuoh allowed for such wear, perhaps being the only one having their hood up would make him stand out more than he intended. The class was silent, and Issei's eyelids remained at half height even though he felt a little bit anxious inside.
Was his performance adequate? Did his teacher notice him look at the whiteboard? Did it even matter? No, that's stupid. There's no way he could be punished for utilizing his resources; if he was to be reprimanded then it would be for sleeping in class, not staring at a whiteboard. Oh well, another detention on Saturday then. It wasn't like he had things to do anyways.
The bell rang, signaling the end of class and the beginning of passing period. Issei almost gave a sigh in relief, but didn't move his body from the slouched position it had on the chair, with his hands spread face down on top of his desk.
The teacher narrowed his eyes and pushed up his glasses. "Class dismissed, remember our homework due next class is a three-page essay on Buchou no Roosevelt. Issei, stay after class."
The rest of the class packed their bags and started to head out. Matsuda, and Motohama patted both sides of his shoulder from behind him. "We'll see you after school, Issei." Issei paid them no visible attention, except his right eye following them as they left the door of the classroom. His eye turned back straight to the teacher, awaiting a follow up statement or perhaps an explanation.
Silence prevailed once again, and finally the teacher sighed once more. He took his glasses off his face and cleaned it with his cloth before putting it back on; the glare of the light reflected off his now cleaned glasses. "Mr. Hyoudou. No, Issei. Are you aware of your current situation."
Issei didn't seem to react and simply responded, "I'm not exactly sure what you mean, sensei."
The teacher sighed again and rested his face in his right hand, covering Issei's view of his face. "I'm too old for this shit. Issei, you're failing my class. You refused to do the classwork that we did today, and I don't have high hopes for you on the quiz this following class. I'm not too sure what else to tell you. How are you doing in other classes?"
Issei looked down on his desk, finding the classwork in question. It was a paper stuck underneath his palms. Completely stark white and blank, with the only signs of usage being the wrinkles that his arms no doubt made when he slept on it, yep; this was definitely the classwork in question. He looked back up at the teacher, the teacher's expression unimpressed.
'Ah' Issei realized. He forgot; this teacher was new. He probably had been trying to fill out for this position for a few years with this one finally being the one in which his application was accepted. He hadn't taught in this school long enough to be acclimated with the standards of the school and more importantly he wasn't quite acquainted with disappointment; specifically disappointment in Issei.
It always started like this for the first month until it turned to acceptance and then indifference. People see the high ranking of the school, and assume since the scores are good, then the students have to be avid learners by result. It wasn't the case with most of the school, and it certainly wasn't the case for him.
The school was more concerned about the new rumors and gossip than actual productivity. They maintained their image of pristineness with high scorers that increased the bell curve, while the rest of the students sustained above average marks with relative ease.
"S'okay." It wasn't a lie. His marks were quite literally okay. Above passing margin and right around average, but nowhere near the top of the class. He always tanked the first few weeks, and brought up his grade right before the end of the cycle. He aced all his quizzes, and turned in all the homework that he completed during the time his insomnia prevented him from sleeping. It really would seem as if he genuinely put in effort if it wasn't so blatantly obvious that he didn't.
Some teachers even tried to throw him a bone when he was failing, but after realizing that he didn't need it, simply let him do his thing. This teacher however, had no clue at all what was going on and had no idea on Issei's counterproductive habits.
The teacher would probably say that he wanted to know what's going on and ask why and what can he do to help out. He would say that he cared, and perhaps he did and his underlying motivation wasn't his paycheck. It didn't matter in the end. Care or not, it all remained obsolete.
The teacher started at Issei, and Issei started back at him. Once the teacher realized he wasn't going to get any further explanation, he sighed for the final time today and relented. "I'll see you next class, Hyoudou-san." Issei took it as his cue to leave and stood up, grabbed his bag, and headed out the door in silence.
Once Issei was out the door, the teacher slumped down on his desk. The other teachers told him about Issei, and predictably he said he would try to help, and they just shrugged and told him that he would find out for himself. Now he understood their plight.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Issei slept in all his other classes, while Matsuda and Motohama leered at the attractive girls in the class from behind them. There was a reason they chose to sit all the way in the back, even behind Issei. It didn't matter; they always took down notes and wrote down the assigned homework in case Issei needed to catch up or be informed of what was due.
The last bell of the day rang, this one being longer than the rest to indicate its significance. Issei walked out of the class with the rest of the students. He wasn't the first one out or the last; that title goes to his friends who purposely stalled behind long enough that they could see the backs of the girls when they walked out.
Issei waited patiently on the concrete bench of the courtyard for his friends to finish whatever they were doing before they would come out to drag along Issei to their daily routine afterschool. Afterschool is when all the extra-curricular activities occurred since there were no more official in-school classes happening at the particular time. Issei was broken out of his thoughts by two figures approaching him.
"Hey, Issei." A tall, lengthy boy with glasses waved at him. Issei fought the urge to smile. Motohama always knew how to light his day up, one of the main reasons why they were best friends. Matsuda was still his friend, but he was more of Motohama's friend than he was Issei's.
Issei didn't wave back or go to dap, handshake, or hug his best friend, as it would be out of character. He never displayed that type of physical affection to Motohama and Motohama understood and didn't seem to mind. Issei knew if Motohama actually had any problems with him, then he would just address them immediately.
Motohama was blunt and honest like that and hated beating around the bush; he always just got to the point and that was something Issei really liked about him.
Matsuda showed Issei the same treatment Issei gave Motohama and simply said "Issei." while nodding his head.
Motohama, being his usual buoyant self, took charge of the conversation. "Issei, we're going to go peek at the Kendo Club. You coming or nah?" Issei simply agreed every time he was asked and Motohama knew him well enough to know that if Issei didn't want to be here he would simply leave. However, he still extended good will and voiced his question, just in case.
In fact, this time, Issei actually didn't seem to be in the mood. "Nah, you guys go ahead. I'm going to go home and talk to my mom." It wasn't exactly a lie. He always talked to his mom when he came home, what son didn't? However it wasn't anything urgent, but Issei never said it was; just implied it.
Motohama narrowed his eyes behind the shades of his glasses. He knew that Issei wasn't exactly being the most helpful in his explanation, but he knew that he wasn't lying. Issei never lied to him. He just wasn't exactly giving the whole story, but Motohama didn't say anything.
Turning serious for a second, he patted Issei on the shoulder and said, "Alright. If you need anything, you can call us. We'll always be here for you. We'll see you on Monday then." What was left unsaid was that Motohama really meant 'me' when he said he said 'us'.
Matsuda and Issei had both exchanged contact information, but no conversations ever occurred between them and their messages remained dry. It was more of a formality than anything, and when Motohama was sick during school, it was ever more so apparent that Issei didn't really value conversing with Matsuda and Matsuda didn't push the issue. It was extremely awkward to Matsuda, but it didn't seem like it bothered Issei at all.
Motohama's hand resting on Issei's shoulder for a few seconds, it became obvious that Issei wasn't going to give any verbal or visual confirmation, but Motohama knew that Issei had heard him. Motohama's infectious smile came back, and he removed his hand from Issei's shoulder and put his arm over Matsuda's neck.
"Alright. Well, Matsuda and I are going to go by ourselves then. You don't know what you're missing out on, Issei. I heard from someone that 40, 24, 26's [1] attend today's meeting." He said the 6 digits so reverently like it was a well guarded secret; that or a url on nhentai. "Oppai await. Onee-sama would definitely notice if I wasn't here today and would certainly miss me. Come on, Matsuda. Cya Issei."
Motohama slung his arm over Matsuda's shoulder and tugged him in, turning them both around to walk in the opposite direction as Motohama's hand waved behind him. Issei continued to look at their disappearing figures as they walked away. The edge of his lips curled up as he remembered what Motohama told him. Not quite yet a smile, but it was forming into one fairly quickly.
Motohama was always there for him, and was never annoying or intrusive. He was a really good friend and it was quite a shame that he only had Issei and Matsuda there for him; Issei knew of Motohama's dream of getting a girlfriend, eventually settling down with her, and spoiling their children.
Issei sighed. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like his best friend's dream was going to happen anytime soon as not even the skankiest of whores were attracted to Motohama's perverseness. It wasn't like Motohama was unaware of his current predicament though.
He was a lot smarter and more perceptive than his appearance gave off and knew when to get serious when necessary. Motohama was simply enjoying high school like the rest of the students at Kuoh Academy and who was Issei to blame him for just wanting to have some fun?
As he heard high pitched cries of pain in the distance, his lips finally formed a nostalgic smile. He knew it wasn't any damsel in distress or anything like that. It wasn't anyone important, just Motohama. Oh, and probably Matsuda as well. Issei knew exactly what they were doing, as they did the same routine every day.
Afterschool each day, Motohama and Matsuda would go look at the female students of the Kendo Club through a peephole imbedded into the side of the building. Issei usually goes along with them, because he doesn't have anything better to do and he didn't want to leave Motohama alone with Matsuda.
The peephole was extremely small, probably a tear in the wall from a drill or something of those sorts. It was only large enough to fit one eye, so Matsuda and Motohama took turns peeping through the hole, while the other person stands watch, tries to be inconspicuous, and warns the other if someone is coming.
Matsuda tried to get Issei to stand watch, as a third person is practically useless, but Issei couldn't be arsed to put in that much effort just so his friends can sate their horny desires. Motohama didn't care enough to ask Issei, and both of them knew that if he did, Issei would say yes. It didn't matter too much to Issei anyways, but he would just prefer not to.
The person that stood guard didn't matter anyways. They never reacted in time and were always caught by another girl or the Kendo Club and then subsequently beaten into a pulp.
Issei wasn't an exception, even though he didn't actually look, and simply took the punishment in silence. Today wasn't any different, with the only exception being the absence of Issei and Issei not being able to see what happened in person.
Issei never participated in the actual peeking, but was still placed in with the rest of the group, with their group name deemed "the perverted trio" by the populus of Kuoh Academy. Issei didn't bother to correct them and simply chilled on the ground next to Motohama and Matsuda.
Issei turned around and started walking home quietly. He was alone since the rest of the students were already home or were watching Matsuda and Motohama get beat. Once he reached the door of his home, he stopped in his steps, and pulled out the house keys from his pocket. Unlocking the door, Issei turned the doorknob, opened it, and walked inside.
He set his belongings on the kitchen table and walked to the refrigerator. "Issei is that you?" a feminine voice came from the other side of the house and he heard footsteps approaching him.
The footsteps progressively got louder while Issei's upper body was inside the refrigerator, looking for something. Issei found what he was looking for: the tofu and scallion. He was going to make a simple miso soup as his appetite wasn't there during lunch and now he was hungry.
He grabbed them and set them on the stove counter along with the other ingredients and closed the refrigerator door. The footsteps were now silent and he heard "Oh, Issei." from behind him and was suddenly hugged at the stomach from behind him. A female's chest was pressed against his back, but he already knew who it was without needing to turn it around. After all, there was only one female that Issei knew: his mother.
"I was so worried about you. How was school? Did you do well in your class? Find any girls? Tell me about your day."
Issei told her the same thing he did everytime. "I'm okay, mom. It was a rather uneventful day, I just did what I normally do. My grades are fine."
He chose to ignore the question about girls. He knew his mother cared about him dearly, but he didn't want her to worry about him. She already had enough on her plate, well not really, but regardless, she didn't need to worry. He never told her about his detentions, and always said he was hanging out with Motohama on the weekends, with Motohama confirming his cover up story.
She was the only person Issei ever lied to, and his teachers respected his wishes enough to align with whatever lie he told her this time. Unlike Issei, they never lied to her, they just withheld information about his sleeping in class and his failings. They always said he was doing well in their class, which wasn't exactly a lie. Even failing would be considered well for Issei since his grade never dropped low enough that he couldn't bring it back up, and he proceed to do exactly that later on in the cycle.
Issei felt his mother's hair tickling him as she rose her head from against his back and her cascade of hair left his forearms. She let go of him and said, "Okay. If you're so sure. I'll be with your father in our room then. Tell me if you need anything." He heard her footsteps leave as she walked away and Issei didn't move until her footsteps went quiet again.
His mouth was in a sad smile as he moved once again, cooking his miso soup. The house was in silence, with the only noise being that of Issei stirring the pot of bouillon. Once the soup was finished cooking, he poured it out in a bowl and started slowly eating.
The food went down his throat as he swallowed, and paid it no mind. It wasn't bland in practicality, but it certainly was in metaphor. His tongue registered the taste, but his mind ignored it. Food was food, Issei considered himself an above average chef, but that wasn't to say much as the average wasn't really anything special to go by.
Soon without realizing it, the bowl of miso soup became empty and even though Issei felt full after the first bite, he continued to haphazardly stuff the rest of it down his throat. It was a bad habit that Issei got used to doing at this point, since his appetite was sporadic and fluctuated all the time, but he never wasted any food. Issei slowly stood up to walk towards the sink and started washing his dishes.
Once he finished, Issei left them out to dry and headed upstairs to get to his room. He entered his room and closed the door behind him. He looked at his computer to see if he wanted to play games or watch any videos, but he decided that he wasn't in the mood for recreation and just laid down on his bed.
Issei closed his eyes, but couldn't go to sleep even though he was extremely tired. Nevertheless he held his pose and laid still, hoping to finally drift off to sleep but after the thirty minute mark. Issei realized that it was futile.
He got up to his desk to start doing homework. He finished his math and science homework, but as he looked at his literature homework, he realized that he could just breeze through this one. He quickly glanced at the prompt and just wrote down whatever bullshit Issei was thinking about writing today.
He made sure to add some fancy words and put in random book titles that were covered the previous school year and related them to the ones they were currently studying. It wasn't anything special, but it would pass him and that's all he cared about.
He nodded to sleep in his chair on top of his essay paper, and drifted to the realm of Morpheus. He awoke sometime later and checked his clock. 7:00 AM. The first bell rang at 7:30 and it took him 20 minutes to walk to school. He looked down at his paper, and saw that it was unfinished. Oh, well, he would just do it in first period.
He went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and take a cold shower. Once he finished, he realized he slept in his school uniform, so he simply grabbed a new pair and would wash this pair today. He grabbed a couple of snacks from his kitchen in case he got hungry during lunch and headed out, grabbing his backpack that was still left on the kitchen table from yesterday. He locked the door behind him and started walking.
As he arrived at the courtyard, he was greeted by two waves. Unfortunately both were from the same person; Motohama was waving both his hands at Issei for some reason. Issei simply attributed it to just being 'Motohama things' and walked towards his best friend.
Matsuda was right besides Motohama as well, just lackadaisically tending off to the side. Matsuda had one of his hands in his pocket, and lazily waved his other hand at Issei before dropping it back down to his side; getting his meaning across without saying a word.
Motohama gave Issei a troublemaker's smile. "Issei, buddy. You missed yesterday, there was this one girl with really big oppai at Kendo yesterday. Not as massive as Rias-senpai or Akeno-san's, but it was still very impressive. It alleviated the pain of my bruised jaw just thinking about how good of a day it was."
Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima were considered the two most attractive females that attended Kuoh Academy. The saying goes: 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder', but it was an understatement to say that most people in Kuoh Academy had a crush on them. Or at least, that was all in accordance to what Motohama says, since Issei had never seen either of the two before.
Matsuda shared a similar sentiment, so there's a high chance that Motohama's statistics at least somewhat true. But then again, their standards aren't really the highest, with only Aika Kiryuu being the only girl in the school so repulsive that even they are in fear of her.
With Issei's uncaring expression showing his indifference, Motohama finished, "Whatever man, I won't bore you with the details. Did you talk to your mom?" Motohama wasn't talking in a serious tone, but not really his usual joyful tone either. It was something in between and had an undertone of offered assistance if need be.
"Yeah." was all that Motohama got, and if he was displeased with the lack of a response, he didn't show it.
"Alright. Let's head to class. What's our first period again?" Motohama said, ready to start the day. Taking his schedule out of his backpack to look at it, he looked at the name of his first class.
"Oh, it's just chemistry. Ya know Issei, we share this class with-" Motohama started once he saw what the name of the class was. Issei stopped listening as Motohama started listing off names of girls and their measurements that he couldn't give a single shit about. This was going to be a long day.
The rest of the day followed in ordinance with the rest of Issei's time at Kuoh Academy: utter boredom. Issei spaced out for the rest of the day and suddenly found himself right next to Motohama and Matsuda, sprawled on the ground adjacent to them.
Issei didn't even look at their prone forms, got up, and proceeded to walk home in the opposite direction; paying no heed to his two friends that he just left behind.
Everyone in Kuoh was pointing at his closest friends and laughing except one girl that was walking in front of him. She had a petite figure and was significantly shorter than him, which was pretty surprising considering he was only 5'9 which would make her about 5'1 or 5'2.
She had long black hair that covered his view of her face, considering she was looking down at an open book held in her hands. Noticing her obliviousness to not only the situation but her surroundings, Issei simply moved a little to the right and continued on passing by, her lack of awareness irrelevant.
He felt the sensation of being watched and heard hurried quiet footsteps behind him. His arm was grabbed from behind "Ano….Matte!" He turned around just in time to see the girl from earlier fall forward on to him, surprised by his swift turn and stop in motion, but he balanced her with both of his hands on her shoulders at arm's length away.
He held a firm grip on her, but her knees caved in and she started to collapse to the ground. Luckily, he moved his hands from her shoulders to grab her arm and pull her back up so she could stand straight. Hmm, this girl was very clumsy it seemed.
Even though she was saved from the impact of the fall, her bag, and her books were not. The bag hit the ground with a thud and additional books and writing utensils fell out of it. The strap was already loosened and it looked like it would take some time to pick up her belongings.
He let go of the girl's arms and hoped that she wouldn't fall down the moment that he left contact. "Arigato. Sorry about that. My name is Amano Yuuma." Her voice was soft and calm and while she didn't stutter, she seemed really shy and introverted.
Issei didn't respond and instead was looking behind her, seeing Motohama looking at them with an unreadable expression in his eyes. The glare of the sun reflecting off the lens of his glasses didn't help to guess what he's thinking either.
Realizing the girl was still talking to him, he watched her mouth move but her words went in his ear and out the other and he simply looked down on the ground beside her. She followed his gaze and exclaimed "Oh. My stuff!"
She bent down to pick it up while Issei just looked down at her, waiting patiently for her to finish. It seemed like she was taking her time; whether that was on purpose or not, Issei had no idea. After a minute, she was finished and stood back up. Issei took that as his cue to leave and turned around to walk home again. "Wait!" He heard from behind him again and turned to look at the same girl calling out to him.
"I didn't get your name." She remarked.
Issei fought the urge to reply 'that's because I didn't tell you it' and simply said, "Hyoudou. Issei Hyoudou."
"Oh. Nice to meet you Issei Hyoudou. I'm sort of new to this town. Can you show me around Hyoudou-san?" Issei noted her Kuoh Academy uniform and knew that he had never seen her before. Then again, he never really paid attention to anyone around him so he really had no idea if that was actually true information or not.
"I can't today. I'm going home to talk to my mom... didn't you say you had somewhere to be?" Issei didn't actually know if she did, as he didn't pick up a single tidbit of what she was babbling out to him earlier, but it seemed like either he guessed right or she didn't remember what she said either.
"Oh, that's right. Well, see you tomorrow Issei!"
She waved at him as she went in the direction of the courtyard. "I didn't say yes" Issei murmured as her figure disappeared into the school grounds. He watched her leave as well and it seemed Motohama was as well, keeping his glasses on her leaving figure.
After the last trace of her was gone, he walked towards Issei and asked "Who was that?"
Issei responded "I don't know. Some girl I think." It wasn't like Issei never had a girl talk to him in his life before. He never dated anyone, but a conversation with a girl wasn't anything too out of the ordinary. Motohama continued to look at him with a serious expression on his face.
"Violet eyes." he simply said. Seeing Issei's silence as a sign to continue, he elaborated. "That's not a normal eye color; especially not here in Japan. Violet irises are so rare they aren't even considered an ophthalmological pigment. Only about two percent of people in the world have green eyes, which is the actual rarest eye color.
"Violet eyes, however, are only known to show up as a genetic mutation in albinos and only 1 in 20,000 people in every country have albinism. That doesn't even count for the fact that violet eyes are a rarity even for albinos. Additionally, that's the worldwide statistic, not Japan; which would without a doubt be an even lower percentage."
"Ah." was all that Issei said. His response could mean literally anything, but Motohama seemed to understand or at least have an idea what was going on through Issei's head or perhaps what wasn't.
"You weren't watching, but as you walked past her, she immediately closed her book and turned around to talk to you. Just be careful, Issei." Motohama finished, and turned around to walk in his own direction.
"Mhm." Issei duly noted what Motohama said, and turned around to walk home himself.
Once he stepped into his house he heard a worried "Issei! You came home late today. Did anything happen?" Issei smiled. His mother truly did care for him and her love was obvious.
"No, mom. Nothing happened. It was just the same old day." She seemed to calm down after hearing that.
"Oh ok. Did you talk to any girls?"
"No." Issei replied instantly. Perhaps too instant. She raised her eyebrow at him. He went to affirm what he said earlier by distracting her about what she noticed. He lightly hugged her and kissed her cheek.
"Don't worry about me Okaa-san. I'm okay." He didn't see her face because it was covered by his chest, but he knew she was smiling. His mother always smiled when he showed physical affection back to her; she was a tactile person like that. He let go of her, and sure enough she had a huge smile on her face.
"Okay, Issei. I'll let it go this time. You better tell me tomorrow if that girl talks to you again though." She pointed her finger at him in feigned anger but quickly smiled as she dropped her finger and her stern display. He broke eye contact with her as he turned around to walk upstairs to his room.
He dropped his backpack on the floor, took off his shoes and flopped on top of his bed. His mother was very protective of him, and loved him dearly. She knew her limits though and didn't smother him with love and he was extemely thankful for that. She never called him 'dear', 'honey', 'baby', 'my sweet', 'my little flower', 'my child', or any other hypocorisms.
He appreciated it more than she knew. He always found any types of those nicknames patronizing or condescending, especially if they came from a parent. To give your offspring a name and not use it is extremely insulting, considering that the name written down on the birth certificate wasn't chosen by the child in the relationship.
Suffice to say, Issei worried about her every day, and she was his main motivation to keep moving forward. He never showed it or expressed it in any way, but Issei cared for his mother immensely. Not as much as she cared for him, but that wasn't really a good comparison. His mother was the nicest person he knew and he didn't deserve her as a mother.
Neither did his father for that manner; if soulmates existed, then his mother was convinced that his father was her's. However, Issei wasn't so sure if the feeling was that strong the other way around. The love in his family was mutual, but both Issei and his mother knew that his father just wanted a family that would love him.
The fact that it happened this way stayed consistent, but love isn't an ideal weak enough to be constricted by fate. Whatever. It happened this way so there was no point in talking about what could've or couldn't have been.
His father loved him and he loved his father that was for sure, but he interacted with his father about the same as he interacted with his classmates besides Matsuda and Motohama. His father didn't seem to mind too much, since both Issei knew that his father loved him and his father knew that Issei loved him back.
His mother on the other hand, Issei didn't know what he would do without her. Not in actuality, it wouldn't be that difficult to live on his own, he was at the age after all, but rather in practicality. He wasn't sure the exact severity of his feelings during the event that he would lose her, but Issei knew that he would be devastated.
Issei closed his eyes in forlornness. Maybe he would get a girlfriend, just so his mom can rest easily. Or maybe just tell her that he did; it wasn't the first time that he would've lied to her. Issei cringed, the reminder of his dishonesty to his mother disgusting him. His mother made him apply to Kuoh Academy not for him to have the best possible education or because it would look on his resume.
No, she did it because she knew it held predominately female attendees and by increasing the percentage of the other gender being around Issei, they would talk to him and the other way around. To her credit, it worked to a certain extent; he did have to interact with more females, but his feelings toward them never changed.
Issei wasn't searching for any romantic relationships, and while his hormones were off the chart due to his pubescent mind, he had enough resemblance of self control to have a modicum of responsibility and proceeded to never act on said feelings.
His constant 'no's' didn't stop his mother from asking about them every day, and Issei was actually a little bit curious to see what would happen if he said yes. Would she be happy? Would she be sad? Would she tease him about it? Would she give him relationship advice and/or play matchmaker?
Issei didn't know if he wanted to find out, and it was a bit of a shame that the only time it would actually be the truth was today. Just thinking about it just made him tire out, and Issei fell to sleep on his bed quickly after.
Issei opened his eyes, becoming aware of his surroundings. Not sure when he fell to sleep, Issei reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Flipping the lid open, he looked at the top right of the screen and saw the time; it was 5:30 o'clock AM. There was still an hour and a half more until he had to walk to school.
Groaning in exasperation, Issei reluctantly sat up in his bed and turned on his computer. He supposed he could play a couple of flash games to spend the time. It was not long after that Issei realized that watching paint dry would provide more entertainment, indicative by Issei slouching against the back of his chair as he stretched his fingers to loosely press the WASD buttons on the keyboard.
Issei's fingers slowed to a stop as they lazily rested on his keyboard and his character sprite did their little idle animation, jumping from side to side. Issei brought his hands up off his keyboard and started rubbing his eyes. Turning off the computer, Issei took an early cold shower and put on some casual clothes. Brushing his teeth, he decided to omit shoes from his outfit as he stepped outside the house.
It was still dark outside, the sun hadn't risen yet, and the soles of Issei's feet shivered against the cold concrete of the sidewalk. Issei put his hands behind his head, leaving the armpit area of his shirt exposed with his elbows sticking out in the air. The shine of the street lamp was the only source of light on the street and Issei was naturally drawn to it. Issei walked towards it and rested his back on the pole of the light post.
Issei's pants had no pockets so Issei was palming his phone this entire time, but only now did he flip it open to check the time. 5:45 AM. Issei pondered closing his phone again, but decided to check his messages with Motohama. Even as best friends, they didn't exactly send each other that many texts. It was more of Motohama just asking Issei if he wanted to hang out and Issei replying "sure" since he had nothing better to do.
For the first time in their relationship, Issei strongly considered starting up conversation with Motohama but he wasn't sure what exactly to say. Thinking to himself for a few minutes, Issei sent a simple 'You up?' to Motohama.
Surprisingly, he got an instant response not two minutes later 'Actually, yeah. Been up all night thinking. Couldn't sleep.'
Issei texted back 'Thinking about what?'
Usually Issei wouldn't bother asking, but he was bored and texting didn't require too much effort. Hopefully, Motohama would keep it PG-13 and not talk about breasts for once. 'That girl from yesterday. I can't seem to shake the feeling that I know her from somewhere.'
Hoping to give his friend some consolation and maybe some sleep, Issei simply wrote 'Don't worry about it. If you saw her or didn't see her, I don't think it matters. It's just a girl.'
Issei's thumb was next to the enter button, but decided not to press it and erased his last sentence before sending the message. He didn't want Motohama to go on another tirade about how 'she wasn't just any girl' or some other thoughts lathered in perverseness.
'If you say so. It's been a while since I've done an all nighter. I feel like I'm in middle school again, back during the time before I perfected the art of procrastination. What about you?'
Issei wrote back about the same time Motohama sent a follow up, however his message was delivered a few seconds later.
'Nvm'
'Insomnia' Issei smiled.
It wasn't like Motohama to forget about Issei, he practically knew the man inside out. It wasn't really that much of an accomplishment, since Issei wasn't that hard to read, but whatever. Semantics.
Issei looked down at his phone and saw Motohama's message back. 'Ya. I figured.' Motohama left it at that and for that Issei was appreciative. Issei wasn't looking for sympathy or pity or anything of those sorts. It just is what it is and nothing short of a miracle can change that. Well, that and pills but those were a temporary solution.
Issei removed himself from the position of leaning back on the pole. He stood up straight and started to walk home. It got a bit warmer outside and Issei could see the sun rising in the sky, illuminating the morning a little. Issei unlocked his door, headed inside, and exchanged his casual wear for the newly washed school uniform folded neatly on his bed.
Huh. He could wash his own things perfectly fine and he didn't want his mom to do anything unnecessary, but he took it anyways and put it on. He'd talk to his mom later on today about it, hopefully remembering to say 'thank you' before politely declining any future assistance.
Issei put on his shoes and checked the time. 6:45 AM. Oh well, he would just walk to school a little early today and perhaps sleep on the benches. Issei got more snacks from the cabinet, he actually ate the ones from yesterday at lunch surprisingly. It was especially surprising, since Issei didn't recall any of yesterday at school, but no one else could've eaten them so it had to have been him.
Issei exited his house and calmly locked the door behind him. As he walked, he pondered on what to say to Motohama. He seemed really worried for Issei and Issei wanted to show his appreciation. Motohama had always been there for him and it was time for Issei to be there for Motohama if he needed it. He thought of ways to cheer up Motohama, but all of them revolved around the opposite gender.
Running his fingers through his hair, Issei remembered the times that Motohama and him hung out without Matsuda being there to make it awkward. They went to the movies and it was actually quite fun, but it was pricey and Issei fell asleep more than a few times. He supposed he would have to ask Motohama if he wanted to go to the arcade this weekend. Today was Friday after all; all the worries could wait until after school.
As he was stuck in his thoughts, Issei almost didn't notice the girl standing in front of him. It was the black haired girl from yesterday and it seemed that she was more attentive today. "Hey, there Issei. It's a good morning isn't it? How are you doing?"
Issei paused in his steps to assess just what was right in front of him. The girl from yesterday was in front of him, slightly leaning down with one hand behind her back and the other one in front of her mouth with her index finger on her bottom lip.
She pulled off an innocent look, and her leaning forward gave Issei a view at her chest that was pushing out. She seemed oblivious to her posture being possibly interpreted as suggestive and merely glanced at him with wide eyes. Additionally, she didn't seem to notice her breasts practically ready to bust out of her shirt and pop the buttons that held it in place.
Issei continued on looking at her eyes however, only noticing her chest because it was quite literally 80% of his current view. Her eyes were the same purple hue as yesterday and it was quite fascinating.
It was a solid color and had a subtle shine to it; not glowing but definitely noticeable. It reminded him of kaleidoscopes, but since it was only one color, it was more like amethysts. Hmm. It was too natural to be some sort of colored contacts.
"Issei?" The girl repeated, obviously not aware of Issei's usual lack of response. Whatever. While Issei was introverted, it that didn't mean that he was socially awkward.
Talking wasn't something that he enjoyed, it wasn't like he was afraid of it; he just refrained from doing it most of the time as it required energy and attention. Speaking of introverts, the girl in front of him didn't seem as shy as yesterday. If anything, she seemed really energetic and cooperative today.
"Sorry. What was the question again? I must've missed it. My apologies." He didn't actually miss it, but he was just trying to stall enough time.
"Oh, don't worry. I don't mind repeating it. It was-"
"Issei!" a much louder noise came from behind Issei and he turned around to see Motohama running directly at him.
Once he caught up to them, he stopped and put his hands on his knees in a slouching manner, catching his breath. Finishing hyperventilating, Motohama rubbed his hand behind his neck in a sheepish manner and said "Sorry about making such a ruckus. I was just going to talk to Issei about something important, before I noticed him talking to such a hot babe.
"Issei you never told me you had a girlfriend! Whatever, it's fine. Just leave us behind like that. I'll exact my revenge on you someday. Mark my words Issei, I will have my revenge!" His right hand was clenched up in a fist, and he raised it up in a comedic manner while narrowing his eyebrows and gritting his teeth.
"Actually, Issei's not my boyfriend. He-" the girl tried to correct Motohama but didn't get a chance to finish as Motohama interrupted her yet again.
"Oh, so you're single then? Oh well, how about that? You have the most beautiful purple eyes and-"
Issei stopped listening as he saw the glare of light of Motohama's glasses. He realized what Motohama was doing and inconspicuously walked at a fast pace to class. He would have to thank Motohama later on today when they were at the arcade.
The first class of today was math and Issei came in early so he could sleep on his assigned desk in the back. He put his backpack down underneath the desk and went to sleep. Not long after, people started to file in as the bell rang.
He heard two bags be dropped down onto the floor next to him. Good. That meant Motohama and Matsuda were both here today. Audible footsteps were heard as someone breathed next to his ear.
"She seems perfectly normal. Perhaps a little too normal. A bit too naive and a little on the innocent side, but other than that she seems fine. If anything it's probably a fake facade she is pulling off, but on the other hand she could be not quite all that there mentally, or it could be some sort of coping mechanism.
"She's definitely sheltered though; she doesn't exhibit any resemblance of any modern high school teenager's behavior as far as I can tell. I know you don't care too much, but stlll. Be careful, okay? Remember, nothing good comes out of courtesy."
Motohama backed away from Issei's ear, knowing he heard him since he he wasn't actually asleep. Issei had a couple of mannerisms when he was actually asleep and there were none currently shown, so Motohama knew he was awake.
Issei heard Motohama's footsteps back away from him and then sit down in his chair. The bell rang again and he heard his teacher's voice. "Okay class, today we have a new student." Murmurs of who it was and interested whispers went around the classroom.
He then heard a female voice "Hello everyone, my name is Yuuma Amano. I'm new to this school, but I look forward to acclimating myself with you guys. I look forward to this school year!" He could practically see her smile after hearing her voice. Definitely energetic.
There was the sound of clapping, and after it died down he heard his teacher's voice again. "That was very well spoken, Ms. Amano. I look forward to getting to know you as well and I'm sure so does the rest of our school." If Matsuda, Motohama, and the rest of the class' cheers were anything to go by, that was probably a true statement.
His teacher spoke once more "Okay, Ms. Amano. You can choose whatever desk you want to sit at. Wherever you want, you can sit wherever." A moment of silence as there was a pause. Then he continued "Okay. Welcome to Kuoh Academy, Ms. Amano."
Silence again, except for the sound of footsteps that got louder and louder before it stopped. He then heard someone sit down near the desk in front of him. It didn't take a genius to guess who that person was.
"Hello again Issei. It lools like we just keep meeting each other!" Issei didn't respond to her, deciding to continue to keep up his image of lethargy.
Motohama said, "He's sleeping, don't disturb him." Thank God for best friends.
"Oh. Sorry about that, then." she said back in an innocent voice.
He zoned out for the rest of the class, but eventually heard the bell ring and his teacher said "Class Dismissed. Iseei, stay after class please." He heard the footsteps of students getting up and leave and there was a small pause until the teacher said "You can talk to him later, Ms. Amano. Go to your next period."
"Oh, okay then. See you later, Issei!" Issei continued to have his head down in his desk after hearing her leave. The sound of high heels approached him and his shoulder was shook by small hands.
"Wake up, Mr. Hyoudou." A feminine voice said.
It was his math teacher, but to keep up appearances, he groggily lifted his head up, opened his eyes half way, and groggily stuttered out "H-hai, senpai?" while having a newly awoke look on his face.
The teacher walked back over to her desk and sat down. "Glad for you to join us in the world of living, Mr. Hyoudou."
He didn't react to her joke at all. It was in dry taste and cringeworthy, and Issei didn't even grace the teacher with a reaction of cringe. His math teacher continued "Mr. Hyoudou. It seems that Ms. Amano has chosen to acquaint herself with you, and she appeared to already know your name before she came into class today.
"You are to show her around the school to represent Kuoh Academy. You aren't exactly my first choice of an example student, but Ms. Amano seemed to take a liking to you so it will have to do for now. Think of it as a learning exercise; it will help you get out of your chair and stop sleeping all the time. Dismissed."
Issei got up out of his chair and walked to his next period. Of course he wasn't going to actually listen to his teacher. It wasn't a real assignment after all and while ordered, he knew that his teacher didn't bother enough to care about if he did or did not follow through with her instructions. She seemed way more interested in that Yuuma girl anyways.
The rest of his day went by smoothly, boring as it was it still passed on like every other day. During his second passing period he texted Motohama 'Wanna go to the arcade today? Just the two of us; it's on me.' Already knowing he would say yes, especially since he offered to pay, Issei called his mom to notify her of his plans today.
It rang for a few seconds before the ringing stopped, indicating that the call had been picked up. "Yes, how can I help you?"
"It's me mom."
"Oh my god, Issei is that you? You almost never call me, do you need help? Is there a problem? I can pick you up anytime you want."
Issei audibly chuckled and said, "No, mom. Everything is fine. I would just like to tell you that I'm going to be home late today. I'm going to be hanging out with Motohama afterschool today. It's not weekend tutorials or detentions or anything like that, we're just going to the arcade."
"Oh okay. You made me worry, I didn't know what to think since I haven't gotten a you in so long. I don't know why you care so much about detentions or tutorials anyways. You know I don't care what grades you get. Just remember to get home safely to me, okay Issei? Say 'hi' to Motohama for me, would you Issei?"
Issei chuckled again. "I know, mom. I know. I'll tell Motohama 'hi' for you. See you tonight, love you." He folded the lid of the phone down, ending the call. 'I know.' Issei repeated to himself somberly. He knew that in the end, his mom wouldn't care if he failed high school, she would still love him for what he was.
Still, not only did he not want to bother his parents for the rest of his life, if there was even a single moment of hesitation from his mom caused by thinking about how he's doing, Issei wanted to avoid that at all costs. Yes, it was much safer this way; she didn't need to know.
The school day finished and while he waited outside for Motohama and Matsuda, he was greeted by the girl from yesterday and today pestering him again. "Hey, Issei!" she loudly exclaimed as she waved at him not 10 feet away from him.
Other people hearing her, looked at them and started whispering to each other. Issei silently cursed obscenities at the girl under his breath for drawing unneeded attention to himself. He ignored the other people and closed the distance between him and the girl, stopping just few feet away.
"Issei, do you think you can show me around the town today? We don't have school for another three days and I've been looking forward to this all week."
First name basis, alright then. Looking straight at the girl, Issei attempted to get out of the situation. "Sorry, Ms. Amano. I'm going to hang out with Motohama today."
Issei knew for a fact that his phone hadn't vibrated at all since this morning, but he hoped that Motohama somehow saw his message and just chose not to respond for some reason. Where the hell was Motohama?
Having a sad look on her face, Yuuma relented. "Oh, okay. I'll just wait here with you then until Motohama shows up. By the way, you can call me Yuuma, you know. We're out of school, so there's no need to be formal, Issei." Issei didn't say anything back to her, and instead sat on the bench waiting for Motohama to save him.
There was no headrest for the concrete bench unfortunately and sitting up straight hurt Issei's back. For a minute, Issei considered just laying down hirizontally on the rectangular bench, but decided on just putting his elbows on his knees and his face in his palms and proceeded to close his eyes.
Five minutes later, with no sign of Motohama showing up, Yuuma sat down on the opposite side of the bench, and as five minutes turned into ten, she slowly scooted closer and closer to Issei, eventually coming to a point where she was close enough to rest her head on his shoulder.
It had to be a really uncomfortable position, but she didn't seem to mind and Issei just paid no attention to her, letting her do whatever she pleased. After an additional excruciating 2 minute wait, Issei got up off the bench and stood up.
Yuuma had to catch her balance with her hands gripping the concrete bench, as the sudden loss of a certain shoulder rest surprised her. Issei silently went into the direction of his house and walked home. "Wait. Issei!" Yuuma called from behind him. Issei paused in his steps but didn't turn around.
"Motohama doesn't seem to be coming. Does that mean you're going to show me around the town now?" Weighing his options, Issei finally turned around to face Yuuma who had, in the span of the time where his back was turned, closed the distance between them again.
A whole minute passed by in silence as Issei struggled to find an answer to her question and then a deep rumbling sound followed. Yuuma embarrasingly laughed "Sorry. That was my stomach. I didn't eat lunch today, because I didn't bring my own and I was trying to be polite to the other girls."
She looked down on the ground and Issei could see a blush forming on her cheeks. She waited a few seconds, before adding "I want to go eat somewhere Issei, but I don't know where all the good places to eat here are." Then she waited a few more seconds and added, "Can you show me?" Those pauses were definitely on purpose, it seemed like she was waiting on something or perhaps someone.
Issei looked at her and surprising both himself and her, he said "Sure. I already told my mom I'd come home late today." Both of their eyes widened. He did not mean to say that. Whatever, it is what it is; roll with it.
"Oh, my God. Thank you Issei!"
Yuuma's arms wrapped around his right and she hugged his arm while he just stood still. She tugged him in the direction of the shopping district and not really wanting to let her fall flat on the ground, he let her drag him.
Once they arrived at the district, Yuuma started pointing fingers at shops and asking Issei questions. Issei started listing the names of the establishments and what kind of food they specialized in. She finally got around to asking him the main question "Which is the best place to go?"
Issei couldn't give her the straightfoward answer that she was looking for. "Best is subjective. I don't actually frequent restaurants a lot. I normally cook at home. It's been a while since I've actually dined and my only memories of the taste are when I was a child. Hardly anything substantial enough to go off of."
Yuuma leaned forward again but instead of putting her finger on her lip in a thoughtful expression, she put her hand over her mouth and giggled. "Wow, Issei. You're boring. Like, really boring. Wait did you say that you cook at home? Oh, so you're that kind of guy. You're a grown man, aren't you Issei?"
Her voice got predominantly deeper and it didn't go unnoticed by Issei. It seemed like she was straying farther and farther away from the helpless persona that she displayed not two days ago. Her voice was a little more sultry, but still had that bubbly undertone to it. She just seemed more aware than she originally let on.
Issei narrowed his eyes, but didn't call her out on it though and simply said "If that's how you want to interpret it, then go ahead."
"Well, Iiiissei" she stretched the 'i' and the 's' syllables of his name and it definitely made his name sound a lot more important than it really was. "Where do you wanna go?"
Issei was about to repeat the same thing he told her earlier, but as he opened his mouth to talk, he was interrupted by a middle aged man from right next to them. "Good evening, is this your boyfriend, ma'am?"
Issei looked at him and expected Yuuma to correct the man like she did Motohama but she proved him wrong by saying "It is in fact. You just interrupted our conversation." She stared at the man who interrupted them, he had salt and pepper hair and rectangular glasses on an aged face.
Yuuma didn't look angry, but seemed rather vaguely amused. The man's face morphed into an apologetic expression but finished by saying "Apologies ma'am. It wasn't my intention. I was just trying to inform you that we are the finest cuisine in all of Kuoh. Lovers come here all the time to celebrate their anniversaries or dates."
Yuuma looked back at Issei and licked her lips. Issei had literally zero yen on him and wasn't about to pay, but Yuuma brought out some yen from her purse that seemed way too much for a teenager to have, took the correct amount of money out, and put the rest back in her purse.
"Apology accepted. Well, my boyfriend and I are going to head in now. Hopefully this restaurant is as good as you make it out to be, for your sake." They headed inside and were quickly seated to a table by a waitress.
Looking at the menu, Yuuma ordered a dish for herself and after noticing Issei not ordering his own, told the waiter that he'd have the same as her.
As they waited for their dinner, Yuuma was looking longingly at the liquor bar on the other side of the restaurant. Not out of curiosity, but she looked like she was borderline craving it; an alcoholic. Looking back at him, she sipped water out of her glass and smiled at him while doing so.
After a few seconds she lifted her lips off the glass and said, "Tell me about yourself Issei." Wasn't he supposedly the one to show her around? Issei thought about how much to tell her. In the end, he decided: nothing at all.
"There's not much to be said about me. I'm just a normal guy trying to get by."
Yuuma laughed; not giggled, laughed and gave him a smirk instead of a smile. "I like you, Hyoudou Issei." What Issei said wasn't exactly humorous, but perhaps she was laughing at an inside joke or some sort of dramatic irony. It didn't bother Issei too much, but it did make him feel like she knew a bit more about him than he did himself.
The rest of the dinner proved to be uneventful as Yuuma kept on asking random questions about Issei. The only reason the conversation kept going on was due to the unimportance of the questions because Issei wouldn't tell her any substantial information, regardless of how hard she was going to pry.
Day turned to dusk and then dawn outside, and while Yuuma had long ago finished her food, Issei's had gone cold. He asked a waiter for a takeout box and after the waiter wrapped the box up in a plastic bag, stood up and started to head out. He thanked the employee at the front and walked out of the restaurant with Yuuma hurrying to follow him.
They passed the man from before and watched him turn his wrist over tk check his watch, before proceeding to head inside the reataurant. Yuuma continued to follow him as he walked home and interlaced her arm with his.
All of a sudden, Issei stopped at the lightpost, not wanting Yuuma to know his actual address. She stopped alongside with him and untwined their arms and stepped back. She continued "Come here, my 'boyfriend'." and leaned forward, raising a leg in the air behind her, supporting her upper body by placing both hands on Issei's chest.
She stood on her tippy toes as she pulled his shirt so he was at her head level and gave him a quick peck on the lips; his lips were unmoving so it was kind of hard to go for anything more than a peck anyways.
Still holding on to his shirt she asked him "Can you do me a favor, darling?"
"It depends on what it is." Issei responded back. She leaned by his cheek and put her mouth next to his ear and whispered
"Can you die for me?"
A/N:
[1] Going to use inches, instead of centimeters. I know that almost every country in the world uses the metric system of measurement, but I live in the U.S. so that's what I'm familiar with.
Also, don't worry. Issei will start to talk a lot more and find motivation in the near future.
Happy New Years, no idea when I'm going to update this story, but it will be finished eventually.