Rin was exhausted inside and out after dealing with Nao. He willed himself not to collapse before reaching his room and started up the pathway to his house, every bit of his body feeling leaden.
He hated Nao’s face with every fiber of his being, but he’d made Rin laugh for the first time in weeks. It only made him feel more complicated inside.
When he stepped inside and closed the door, Sandie found him in seconds. Seeing his expression, she only opened her arms and hugged him for a good minute or two, softly rubbing his back. When he pulled away, she spoke in a gentle tone, “Go and get some rest. Dinner will be done soon, I’ll bring it up.”
“Thanks, Aunty,” Rin said.
He slid out of his shoes and into house slippers, then climbed the stairs with tremendous effort and at last made it to his room, where he flopped onto the bed like a dead fish, every last bit of energy spent.
Tomorrow was a school day. Court proceedings wouldn’t normally have happened on a Sunday, but for the sake of leaving Rin’s schooling undisturbed, the rebirth trial had been set for today. The funeral had also been on a weekend, scheduled on Saturday.
Rin thought of that day and felt his body weaken even further.
Contrary to the atmosphere of the occasion, it had been a bright and sunny day, without even a single cloud. The service felt incredibly stolid. Even when the twin coffins were lowered into the dirt, all Rin could feel was irritation. It wasn’t until much later, when he lay unsleeping, that he felt pain and shed the first clear-headed tears.
Rin thought back. The last month and a half of his life had been an utter hell, filled with one misery after the other. Everything had lost its color and life; the world was desolate. Even the dream he’d held in his heart since childhood now seemed like a pointless and naïve ambition.
But however much he wished he could turn it back or stop it, time would continue on as it always had, unrelenting in the extreme. And if time went on, so did school; whether he liked it or not, he had homework to finish, so he pushed himself upright and sat at his desk, taking out the stack he’d gotten on Friday and finally setting to work on it.
He blew out a sigh and rested his forehead in his left hand, holding his hair back from his face. The problems weren't hard; he barely had to think to solve them. It was just tedious to sit there for so long. Doing homework during the week was no problem, with his friends there. Doing it over the weekend was boring enough to put him to sleep.
At least it was a mindless distraction.
Sandie brought Rin a bowl of rice with a hearty serving of sweet-and-sour pork over the top, setting it beside his arm on the desk. She ruffled his hair and planted a kiss on his head, then left him in solitude again. Rin finished his homework over the next couple of hours, then washed up and went to sleep.
The next morning, he roused himself with difficulty and attended school as usual, yawning and rubbing his eyes the whole way.
It continued like this until someone touched his shoulder with the timidity of a butterfly. He turned as his name rolled off their tongue.
“Rin-san. . ?”
His eyes fell on a familiar face, framed in light orange hair. A shiver of disgust brushed down his spine; he suppressed it but couldn’t help making an irritated expression. “Let me guess, you don’t know how to get around the school.”
“Actually. . .that is and isn’t the problem,” Nao said, his voice quiet and soft, pleasing to the ears. “I know the building. It’s just that I’m not sure if the layout is still the same, after. . .um, such a long time.”
Rin frowned. “You used to attend here?”
“Mm. It was called Schola de Futuro when I attended,” Nao said. “But, back then, it was only one building, and it was also a specialized school. It doesn’t look like the first building has been modified too much, but since it’s just a regular school now, I don’t know which classroom I’m supposed to go to.”
Rin let out a long sigh. “We’re in the same class. Just follow me and you’ll be fine. Don’t be too annoying or I’ll leave you to fend for yourself.”
Nao smiled, making that deplorable face a little less unbearable. “Thank you, Rin-san.”
Rin turned away and continued walking. “I’m only helping you because we’re going to the same place anyway. Don’t thank me.”
Something occurred to Rin as they walked; he couldn’t help asking it out loud. “You were alive in the same time period as Takara Nao, and you went to the same school. Did you ever meet him?”
Nao seemed taken aback. “Oh. . .Yeah, I guess you could say that. . .”
“What was he like?” Rin asked.
“Um. . .Nothing super extraordinary,” Nao said. “He. . .didn’t really socialize a ton. He mostly only talked to his lab partners and spent all of his time studying. I. . .don’t really remember him that well. . .I think most people would tell you the same, if they had the chance.”
“. . .For someone who sparked such huge changes, you’d think he’d have had more of an impact in life,” Rin said with another frown.
“Did—did he really make such a difference?” Nao asked, tilting his head.
“Takara Nao was the basis for more than eighty percent of the tech used today,” Rin said. “His death also brought about the beginning of the Human Alliance and the Organic Protection Act. For those studying Earth Science and Reclaim especially, as well as anyone studying tech, he’s one of the first historical figures they learn about. Even the metamatrix was one of his creations. He was truly a pioneer of the future.”
Nao was silent for a stretch before saying, “Oh, is that so?”
“. . .You might want to ask for catchup materials from the teachers,” Rin said. “You’re a little behind on history, at the very least. Anyway, this is our first class. Come on, I’ll point out your desk.”
❏❏❏
Nao sat on the steps outside the school and unwrapped his lunchbox, then found that he had no desire at all to eat.
He had spent the longer part of yesterday trying to stretch his mind to accommodate the sudden and insane facts of his death and reincarnation. Between bursts of panic, hysteria, and grief, he had taken stock of his surroundings and his own body.
Everything on this body from the base of the neck and downward was Inorganic, all metal plates over synthetic muscles over titanium bones. Upon a thorough inspection of his systems, pump, engine, and lungs, he’d discerned the models—after all, he’d designed them.
The engine wasn’t the most efficient model on the market these days. It was a four-cylinder biomatter engine, with a furnace-category generator—meaning that whatever food he took in was ground down for nutrients and burned for energy. It was necessary for him to eat regularly in order to maintain his body’s condition.
There were other engine models available now. Nao had learned this after browsing several databases in the metamatrix. Some ran on water, others relied on movement. One that ran on oxygen was yet to be seen; Nao had always wanted to design a model that did such.
Now all he wanted to do was go to sleep and never wake up. The egg rolls in the tin on his lap may as well have been dirt for all the effect they had on him.
Nao lifted one with his chopsticks and forced himself to take a bite, chewing and swallowing as quickly as possible.
Let’s look at the bright side of things, he told himself as he ate. I’m alive. That’s a good thing; to die at just sixteen would really be pitiful. I also accomplished something; Rin-san said that over eighty percent of today’s tech was built upon my concepts, and that the Human Alliance and Organic Protection Act were kickstarted after my death. Those both sound like good things. And I have a chance to design an oxygen-fueled engine model now. I also have a chance of becoming an earth scientist. All of those are pros.
He categorically refused to think of the cons. His mental state was far from optimal, but it was at least a step up from yesterday. If he didn’t want to collapse on the stairs again (and he definitely didn’t) then he couldn’t let himself ponder too much on the unfortunate side of things.
Life was hard enough the first time around; no doubt this time would be even harder. Nao was determined to live as well as he could, and that started with being a good student. He also wanted to get a job, catch up on important events, learn today’s slang, and hopefully make some friends.
Nao swallowed another bite of egg roll and sighed to himself.
Being a living person was so troublesome.
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