*Buzz! Buzzz!!

Staring aimlessly at his ceiling, he couldn’t help but feel like he had an unscratched ich on his back. He’d accomplished the very thing all anime lovers dreamt of. I mean he had powers now! And to top it off, he was good at it. And even still, the prison known as “school” still haunted him.

The crushing weight of reality was enough to start his day with a fat, hateful sigh.

***

Like always, Alice sat in her usual seat on the right side of the bus. And like always, some snobby, monkey of man, homosapien dashed over to sit beside her. In which he attempted small talk but was ignored like the roach he was.

(Serves you right, Baldie.) Akuma thought, a smug face running across his face.

He was surprised to see that his usual spot behind Alice was preoccupied by someone.

She had tall brown hair, long enough to touch her lower back. She wore a short blue skirt and an all-white blouse. And like he suspected, her silver-colored eyes were buried inside a book. The person in question was a girl named Emily, and she was well known for being the school nerd. Or was it school geek? Eh. Trivial details.

They spoke on a couple of occasions but not enough to make them what one might call “friends”. Honestly, he forgot she even rode the same bus.

He decided to start something up since... well... small talk never hurt any of us, right? Or rather, he was just trying to distract himself from the dog sitting next to Alice.

“Already reading this early huh?”

“................”

*Swooosh

Failure. Met with the same outcome as the plebian in front of him. Who the hell said small talk couldn’t hurt any of us!

(Alrighty. You can go die in a hole.)

Feeling a bit annoyed by her rudeness -and a tint of embarrassment- he decided it was best to give up on this woman all together. Instead, he turned his gaze ahead to the brown seat in front of them, his death-like glare piercing the seat and drilling right through the heart of whoever was hitting on Alice.

For a moment, he almost cried tears of blood when he heard him ask, "So hey, me and my guys were thinking of going bowling this weekend. You wanna come?"

"I'm alright." was her reply, as cold as she always was to guys.

(That's the way, Alice. Destroy this bastard's self-esteem!)

While celebrating today's victory in his head, he heard a faint voice coming from his left.

“I-I umm… I’m sorry for ignoring your question.”

“?”

The girl who had just ignored him moments ago, said something to him. She was still glued to her book, but he could tell she was just trying to avoid eye contact.

“Oh... uh... no it’s good.”

(Of course, a moment ago I wanted nothing more than to eliminate her entire lineage, but that's all water under the bridge.)

“Umm… D-Did you study... for the test we have today?”

“…We had a test?”

The concept of “studying” was native to Akuma. You see, while others felt the need to study and cram knowledge into their brains, he was one of the lucky few who could get by no matter what he did. And not just pass the exams but ace them with excellence. It was a trait that made him truly pity the “lesser folks”.

“W-Well, it's supposed to be really hard.” She went on while attempting to finally look at him. She could only manage a few glances in-between words, but that was enough for him to know she was a sincere and kind girl.

“I’ll be alright. Actually, I’ll be more than alright, I’ll be splendid.”

“…………”

*Swooosh

(Crap. Did I say something weird…)

“*Pfft. You’re so weird.”

“Gah-! You’re laughing at me now?”

“No. No. It was the face you made when you said that. 'I'll be splendid'. I mean who even says that.” After wiping away her tears, she gazed into his eyes with a gentle and warm expression. The kind of expression he’d never expected from anyone but Alice.

“W-What's up?” he asked, trying to doge her intense eye contact.

(What's up with the total 180... This girl is so strange.)

“You're pretty amazing, you know that?”

Of course, he was expecting praise and openly welcomed it, but he wasn’t expecting her to say it so directly. “Y-Yeah, of course I am…”

(I really hope my face isn’t red right now. That’d be beyond embarrassing.)

Unknown to Akuma, Alice -who sat only a seat in front- pouted in jealousy from their conversation.

“So... What's -that -book you're reading?”

“I-Its uh… A light read about World War 2.”

For some reason just mentioning the name turned her into a gloomy doll. Now he wasn’t one to judge, but how in the hell was a book on WORLD WAR 2 a "light read"? This girl is definitely a nerd.

“...That's, uh...*Ehem. Very interesting… What’s got you so hooked? The murder or the um... murder?”

Her earlier nervous and shy tone flipped to a clear and almost sadistic one as she cackled:

“It’s fun seeing the masses repeat the same dumb mistakes. Ehehehe.”

“A bit... sadistic, aren’t you?”

“I mean they just don't learn anything at all. The wars fought between countries, the poverty, the pollution, the corruption; it's all there, just under the surface. It has always existed, but now it's more rampant than ever. You want to know why? Because most people are content to live in ignorance, not wanting to learn. They would rather watch tv shows and gossip about celebrities, instead of learning something new. If they did, then perhaps their lives could improve."

(What the hell is this girl talking about...)

Honestly, he wasn’t sure what was more impressive. The fact that she had this kind of energy in the morning, or that she had such a thing weighing on her mind.

“Don’t worry. I plan on changing that one day!” he announced while pointing at himself with his thumb.

“Hm? What do you mean by that?”

“Well, I am God you know. So, I'll just fix the world."

".........”

*Swoosh

"*Pfft. You're funny Akuma. I appreciate you cheering me up."

“Uh... A-Anytime.”

(I didn’t even know she was sad.)

Unknown to Akuma, Alice who was seated in front also chuckled at his ridiculous claim.

With the bus coming to a full stop, everyone grabbed their bags and left the bus one by one. Naturally, he followed suit. He timed his exit, so that he could walk just behind Alice. Of course he had plans on talking to her, but you have to get mentally prepared for things like that, you know. Things like these are very delicate matters that must be managed with an ample amount of care.

The entrance was littered with students and in the middle of the horde, was yours truly. The star of the show and currently feeling like a background character.

After he finally gained the necessary mental barriers to talk to her, he motioned his hand to reach out and tap her on the shoulder, when suddenly Emily startled him. “Is she the one you have eyes on...? Yeah, better luck in your next life.”

“Gah-! I-I don’t have eyes for her... You're reading too deep into it.”

(Who says something like that?! This girl is so weird.)

“I don't blame you. She’s pretty. She’s smart too. All the guys in our class like her.”

“I have no comment…” I said to cover my embarrassment. “…Wait. Did you say our class?”

“Yeah…?”

“Wait you’re in our class?! For like how long?!”

“Gah-! ...Am really that unnoticeable.” she muttered to herself in gloom.

“I’m so sorry about that. I guess I’m just too busy taking notes for class.”

(Like hell I take those notes. My notebook’s as empty as an old tin can.)

“Do you… wanna grab breakfast together?”

That might’ve been the biggest curve ball she’s thrown all morning.

Akuma usually wasn’t one to dine in the slop served by the cafeteria, but today he was absolutely starving. Not only had he skipped breakfast this morning, but I’m fairly sure he didn't even have dinner last night.

“Sure. I’m a little hungry.” He was more than “a little hungry” but the last thing he wanted was to look like some airhead who skipped breakfast. Especially to a girl like her.

“Great, ‘cuz I skipped breakfast.” She said, brining a sparkle to Akuma’s eyes. In the moment he grabbed her hand and pressed it between both of his, nodding as the tears rained down his cheeks. “W-What is it?”

“Nothing.” he replied as he sniffled from the tears.

***

“Sooo…Why did you wanna eat together?” Akuma asked, surprised at how quickly Emily devoured her French toast. However, instead of answering, she continued to chomp down on her food and was just now moving to the strawberry cup. Seeing that she was clearly “busy” he quietly waited for her to finish. By the time Akuma had finished his French toast, she’d already cleared her plate. Clearly he was the more elegant of the two.

“S-Sorry about that…” For someone so shy, she sure does express herself quite freely. “…I just wanted someone to sit with." Her expression was just so sorrowful when she said that. It was like watching a sad kitten. Could you blame him for feeling a sense of pity for her?

“Oh-Ahh… It’s good. Sorry for asking that.”

“*Pfft. You don't have to apologize... Y’know your pretty weird.”

(HUH!? I'm pretty weird?! Is this girl for real?!)

“…G-Glad to know you're getting more comfortable” he said in an irritated tone.

“Yeah, it's the strangest thing. It's like I can talk to you about anything.”

Without a care in the world, they continued their leisurely chit chat. It wasn't the best time ever -and honestly, they were just talking about useless things- but it was a fun time. I think deep down he enjoyed this girl's company. But as anyone can tell you, all good things must come to an end.

Within the span of only half a day, the apocalypse itself knocked on the world's doors. And in a comparable way to how this all started…

Everything ended.