Arata Natari's Story

"You're going to be alright, Rise. Just get some rest, okay?"
"Y-Yeah... Thank you, Arata. You seem so nice."
Arata stretched after leaving the hospital room. It was another hard day at work. One of the nurses called in sick so he had to work overtime. He usually wasn't here by this hour but he was glad he was.
'Anything's better than being at home with that monster.'
Arata frowned as he thought of his father. No doubt he was going to be drunk at that point. He didn't want to go home, at least not yet. He decided to roam around the hospital for a bit, thinking about the patients he treated.
'Alexa Flarea and Ataro Hatsuyuki... They were accompanied by Ayano Kujikawa...'
He had briefly heard of all three. They were each known for their depressing atmosphere from what he had heard. Ayano was the diligent type but she never seemed to care. Ataro came to class so very little and he had a tense aura to him. Alexa seemed schizophrenic and people never know that much about her.
'I wonder how the three of them even met... Maybe Annabel came with them as well?'
It was no secret that Arata had a bit of a crush on Annabel. Well, at least in the hospital staff. They would encourage him, tell him to ask her to go out with him, but he would always ignore them, content with just staying in the background.
'I'll never amount to enough to go out with her anyway.'
Arata eventually came out of his self loathing when he noticed Ayano and an unfamiliar orange haired girl leave the room Alexa and Ataro were in. He walked over to Ayano.
"Are you two planning on going home? At this hour, it's probably not safe. Here, I'll walk with you."
Arata was never one to take no for an answer so he walked alongside the two girls.
"My name is Arata Natari by the way."
He smiled warmly.
"It's probably none of my concern but why were you hanging out with Ataro and Alexa anyway, Ayano?"
He was a curious boy and looked at Ayano questioningly.

Ayano was just about to leave when Ataro's younger sister, Momoko caught up with her, asking her if she can accompany her. "It's all right I guess." She accepted the offer. Besides, her brother may be creepy and insane but the little sister seems welcoming.

As they were walking, the nurse who treated them earlier walked to them asking to accompany them as well. She found it a little rude that he just walked in without waiting for a response but she reckoned that it would be safer with him around. Since he's a nurse, he would be able to point out which passengers are already in a state of "rigor mortis".

"It's probably none of my concern but why were you hanging out with Ataro and Alexa anyway, Ayano?" She heard the nurse, Arata ask her. "It's just a coincidence. We just happened to be around for an activity and ended up hanging around together." She answered in a slightly bored way. She glanced around the place, still debating whether she takes the train or not.

Ataro scratched the back of his head. "Hey, no need to apologize. The situation was taken care of, so it's not much anymore." "E-Enough about that... Um... Regarding your sister... Are the two of you close? I remember how close I was with my twin sister Maria. We used to play all the time together, but..." Alexa trailed off. Ataro sighed. "Momoko and I? Well, we used to. But when we hit our respective ages, I don't know.... She just started... drifting away from me." He sighed sadly again. "I steal food from her and tease her every now and then but she just gets angry at me. I'm not even sure if she can still see me as a brother. That's why I got the Cheshire hoodie, it's because I feel like I should at least try to reach out to her." He was half-ranting, half-self loathing.

It was his fault Momoko started acting like that. He hadn't been a good big brother to her at all, he just started locking himself away because she -Ayase- died. It wasn't something he was supposed to do. He shook his head, sighing again.

On the other hand, with Arata, Ayano and Momoko...

"It's probably none of my concern but why were you hanging out with Ataro and Alexa anyway, Ayano?"" Momoko heard Arata ask. "Yeah, why were you? Brother rarely hangs out with girls--" Then she let out an exaggerated gasp. "Don't tell me my brother is a two-timer!" "It's just a coincidence. We just happened to be around for an activity and ended up hanging around together." Ayano answered.

Momoko sighed in relief and pulled the Cheshire hoodie around her as a cold gust of wind blew. "Did he really get this for me..?" She smiled a little. "At least he acted like a big brother for once."

Arata nodded.
"I see. So that's what happened. It must have been very fun."
Arata was lost in thought for a bit before speaking.
"Well, the doctors have been telling me that the bus is much more dangerous at this hour so why don't we take the train instead?"

Alexa listened intently to Ataro's self loathing. She walked up to Ataro, took his hand in hers and looked him dead in the eyes as she talked.
"Don't degrade yourself like that, Ataro-kun. You're trying to make up for time lost with your sister and that's admirable. So... don't speak about it like you're a monster. I've seen what monsters are like. I've seen tragedies that I can never get out of my head. You're not a monster. You just... act differently than most people."
'Besides, I'm the one who's a monster. Not him...'
Alexa felt bitter about the whole situation. Here she was, trying to tell Ataro that he's better than he thinks he is when she was a horrible monster. Did she even have the right to comfort him...? As she finished her scentence, she let go of his hand.
"Was... Was that too much...?"
A small blush made its way on her face. She never held the hand of someone of the opposite gender before so it was all new to her.

Ayano heard the nurse say that the train was safer around this hour so she agreed to it. The incident at the empty train was still fresh in her mind though, so she still couldn't help the feeling of dread that enveloped her as she approached the train station. Thankfully, she managed to board a train that still has passengers.

"Hopefully, he'll be able to point out which people are already in a state of rigor mortis." She thought as the three of them sat close to each other during the long train ride home.

Ataro shook his head, a slight blush on his face while Alexa took his hand in hers. He wasn't used to contact these days- The only ones that have ever held his hand was Ayase and Momoko. Bonus for Momoko since she didn't only hold his hand, she would beat the living hell out of him. That was more contact. "Don't degrade yourself like that, Ataro-kun. You're trying to make up for time lost with your sister and that's admirable. So... don't speak about it like you're a monster. I've seen what monsters are like. I've seen tragedies that I can never get out of my head. You're not a monster. You just... act differently than most people." Alexa had spoken those words to him.

He frowned and sighed. "I don't know. In this society, humans see those who act differently than them as monsters or crazed people." He muttered. He looked down at the ground, black hair hiding his equally dark eyes. "I hope Momoko's alright..." He thought.

On the other hand, Momoko sat near the two, Arata and Ayano. She pulled the hood over her head, to avoid being seen by too many people. Of course, she was an aspiring idol, but she, like her brother, wasn't used to too much attention. "Wonder if he's still back at the hospital."

Alexa sighed.
"You're right but that's just how society views things. I believe that people have goodness in them, people are just too ignorant to see it."
Alexa noticed that Ataro was worried about his sister Momoko.
"You can go after your sister if you want to... I'm used to being alone anyway."
Alexa's eyes slightly widened as she realized she spoke the last thought aloud instead of in her thoughts. She was internally praying that Ataro wouldn't ask questions.

Arata kept an eye on the passengers. None of them had died or looked injured. Despite this, Ayano still seemed in a tense state. Arata kept looking and no one looked suspicious.
"You can relax. Everything's fine."

"All right." Ayano answered back in response to Arata's question. She gave the place one good look before staring out the window. A lot of things sure have happened today. She met a couple of people, had some snacks and maybe even got caught up in a tense situation. It just reminded her that humans have two sides: good and bad. She waited until she had to alight at the third-to-the last stop.

"Well, I'll be getting off on this one. Guess I'll see you around." She bade the two goodbye and walked the rest of the way home. She looked up at the sky. "Maybe this world isn't so bad after all." She thought, though she was sure that her opinion could quickly change once she gets home.

Back at her house, her parents rushed in, asking her about all sorts of things; why she's so late, where has she been and things like that. She gave only short answers and evaded the rest of the questions as she goes inside her room. Still, she didn't feel too down now. At least she managed to make some acquaintances.

Ataro sighed. "No, she knows how to defend herself pretty well." He said. "She even beat me up in her childhood." He thought. "Anyway, are you sure you're going to be okay alone? If you need to, I'll stay with you for the night. My parents don't mind, and Momoko will be fine, I'm sure." He assured her. "Damn, I'm really nice today." He thought. "It's getting pretty dark, too." He pointed out the night sky.

At the train, Momoko waved goodbye at Ayano. She was left with the nurse now. Her stop was nearing soon- She wondered if Ataro had already gotten home before her. Shrugging, she just twiddled her fingers together quietly. Finally she reached her stop. "Well, I gotta get off now. See ya!" She bade the nurse, Arata goodbye as she alighted. Walking into the house, her parents looked up at her. "Momoko, where's your brother?" Her father asked. "Well--" "--Oh my god, is he dead?!" Her mother gasped. "--No, mom, he's not dead. He said he would catch up with me, and he's perfectly fine." Momoko sighed.

"Plus, he even got this hoodie for me." She raised the Cheshire hoodie. "Well, that's nice of him to be doing something so brotherly." Her mother said. "I'm going back upstairs, I'm tired." Momoko yawned and went upstairs. She sent a text message to her brother. "Brother, when are you getting home? I'm bored here...."

Alexa smiled a bit when Ataro reassured her that he could stay with her.
"Well... I have been pretty lonely..."
Alexa was silent for a bit, debating whether or not to tell him the truth about herself.
'Don't tell that guy anything, Lexy.'
'Huh?! Oh... Eradicator.'
'I'm serious... Don't say anything.'
'Jealous.'
'I am not. What do I need to be jealous of this insomniac for anyway?'
'Please, just go away for now...'
'Tch, very well. Besides, those kills were incredibly satisfying~'
Alexa had decided to tell him half of the truth.
"Do... Do you know how I said I was okay with being alone? That's because I've been alone for ten years now. My family had burned to death ten years ago. It was an accident that had left me devestated. I thought that by coming over to Heavenrend, I could be happy. But, turns out being homeless only drives in that you're all alone even more. I can't remember my last proper meal and I'm pretty sure my skin is always cold due to there being nowhere to sleep. I... I understand if you're disgusted with me now."
Alexa shyly turned away and looked out the window to the night sky.

Arata made it home okay. His abusive father was out of the house so that meant he could be safe for now. After changing into pajamas, he thought back to Ayano, Ataro and Alexa.
'I'll talk to them tomorrow...'
With that resolution, he fell into a dreamless sleep.

Alexa felt a smile enter her face as he regarded her as a friend. Alexa nodded.
"I would really like to stay with you."
The thought excited her. She was going to stay in a house!
"Um, so where do you live...?"

Arata awoke slowly and saw that his father was passed out on the table. He snuck out and went to school almost instantly. Wandering around the student lounge he found Ayano and smiled.
"I'm glad to see you are still safe."

"Arata-san, good morning." Ayano politely greeted the nurse as he walked by. She felt some sort of safety that night, knowing that she was with others during that journey home. "I should thank Ataro as well...". She looked up at the nurse. "Please don't mind me, I'm just trying to kill some time." She smiled at him as she wondered whether the others would be coming over.

"It would be nice to see them again. Otherwise the day may just go back to those cold days." She remembered something in her bag. She reached in and took out the porcelain things she bought the other day. She realized that she forgot to take them out. "Maybe, I can use one as a gift."

Alexa flashed Ataro and Ayano a worried glance. Would they confess what happened or would they not...?
'Oi, this attention is getting a little over-bearing... Maybe I should test these kids with their abilities-'
'Atticus! Don't you dare!!'
Alexa blinked a bit. That name took her back...
(Flashback)
A six year old Alexa was playing alone in the garden. She had finished her studies and was waiting for Maria to finish so they could play together. Bored, she wandered around. She heard the crunching of leaves and saw a boy with short white hair stare at Alexa.
"Who are you?"
Alexa smiled warmly.
"I'm Alexa! Who are you?"
The boy seemed confused.
"I... I don't know... It's all hazy... I think... Adi...ca..."
The boy shook his head. Alexa then smiled.
"Atticus! I was reading a book and that name suits you~ Let's go play!"
The boy then smiled shyly and played with Alexa.
(End of flashback)
Eradicator was furious at this point. Alexa could tell. He never spoke after that. Then, the school intercom rang.
"Alexa Flarea, Ataro Hatsuyuki, Ayano Kujikawa, Annabel Lee and Arata Natari, please report to the counseling department. Alexa Flarea, Ataro Hatsuyuki, Ayano Kujikawa, Annabel Lee and Arata Natari, please report to the counseling department."
Alexa was curious.
'Is it... because of my paper?'
She then stood up and walked to the counseling department.

Ataro narrowed his eyes when the intercom rang, calling his group to the counseling department. "Tch, did they find out?" He thought as he shoved his scissors into his pockets and started walking to the counseling department, catching up with Alexa. He held his head as the voice sounded again. "Kill them. Kill them." Again and again, it repeated. "No...shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!!" He screamed in his mind angrily.

"Who do you think you are? Are you really Ataro Hatsuyuki?"

Then he snapped back to reality as he continued to walk. "T-Tch....those sounds again..."

"What's going on?" Ayano muttered silently as she heard the announcement calling them to the counseling department. All four of them who went to the mall were called, along with the nurse who treated them, Mr. Arata Natari. She quietly picked up her bag and joined Alexa and Ataro as they were also called through the intercom.

"Maybe our homeroom teacher really is one of the rouges yesterday..." She now thought that this theory has become more possible. It's just too good a coincidence that all four of them were called. She doesn't even see Anna anywhere yet. Would they be blamed for that event? At most, she was just a witness. The ones who were responsible for the actual assault was the weird white haired guy and...

"Hatsuyuki Ataro..." She secretly glanced at his direction. "Just how dangerous is this guy?"

Arata was sitting in one of the five seats. He was just as confused as everyone else was.
'I wonder why I'm involved... I don't know what had happened back there. All I knew was that I had to treat Ataro and Alexa. Thank god...'
Arata saw Alexa, Ataro and Ayano walk in the building.
"Oh... There you guys are. So, why are we here?"
Alexa frowned a bit.
"I'm not entirely sure... I think it might be because of the homeroom teacher..."
"Actually, you're wrong, Miss Flarea."
A woman walked in with a serious expression on her face.
"Please, all of you have a seat."
Alexa and Arata did so.
"You'll have to inform Annabel about this later but for now, I need to talk directly to all three of you. You were aware of the essay you had to write for detention, right? Well, when I read over them, needless to say I was... concerned..."
Alexa felt nervous.
'Oh god... here we go...'
Arata looked at all three with concern.
'I wonder what the woman wants them to do...?'

"When I read over them, needless to say I was...concerned..." The woman's words resonated a bit in Ayano's mind. Concern? First time she heard that coming from an institute that only recognizes those with talent and potential.

"This woman is making me laugh. What is this? They want to council us, and for what? Isn't it all just for the sake of appearances?" Ayano thought as she sat on one of the chairs in the waiting area. She remembered what she wrote on that essay:

What is life? How many times has humanity asked that question. Per se, life is just the small time we spent on this world. It is pointless to discuss it as it is. Maybe it's better to reflect on its concept in parallel with another aspect of life: death.

When someone dies and his body is laid to rest, there are engravings placed on his tombstone. There we see the date from when he was born up to the point where he passed on, separated only by a dash. That dash is what is called life. It is the culmination of all experiences, emotions and knowledge that a person has a accumulated throughout the short time he has spent on this world. Depending on how one has lived his life, the value and quality of that dash may vary.

Personally, I find life as just a simple chore. It is just another task that one has to finish. Some people choose to live a life of virtue, following the ways of a saint, granting them immortality. They live on in the hearts and memories of the people whose lives they've touched. Some spend it in a pursuit of power. The drive to prove to the world how they are the best among the rest. They may or may not attain immortality but people will remember them just for their power. I'll admit that I found the latter a little worth pursuing. It didn't work out for me. Nobody can please everyone. I learned that the hard way. The world is just this unfair.

Living a saint's life is no assurance that everyone will treat you like how you treat everyone. Pursuing power still won't be enough to save you from your ultimate fate: death. There is no way one can live without risk. So I guess I'll just go on my own pace. I'll move on, like how this world is supposed to be. I think I'll live it in pursuit of my own happiness.

You may have noticed that my personal output probably has nothing to do with what I've stated earlier. It's because when the time comes for my body to be laid to rest, I want that dash to be a dash of happiness. To be known as the girl who chose to live on her own terms, as the girl who escaped the shackles of the expectations placed on her without reward. To be the one who has gone over the horizon.

She wondered what part of her essay have actually gotten the attention of these guys. "Wait, wait. That means they still don't know about what happened at the mall yesterday." She glanced at Ataro. "Should tell them if they ask or..."

Ayano sighed. This was completely unrelated. If anything, she owned him one. She waited just a bit more until they were finally called in.

The woman who called them had started talking about how she was concerned because of what they wrote on their essays. He rolled his eyes, looking to the side. Who cared? It was all just an act in the end. He was pretty sure this woman was just trying to look good in front of them. Good. As if he ever saw anyone who was good. "What about it, ma'am?" Ataro tried to keep the bite and poison out of his tone.

He still had his hands shoved into his pockets and his hood up when he sat down, his fingers running up and down the blade of his scissors. Yeah, he knew he was kinda "rude" if his essay was ever recited aloud. Due to his vocabulary, it just sounded rude. But what was this coming, all of a sudden from someone who only recognized people who had talent?

The counselor could feel the disdain coming from the three students.
"It's your attitudes that intrigue us... Plus, your essays were very... negative. Each one of you at least touched that you were not satisfied with your life. That is why I would like the two happiest students I know to help you three recover."
Alexa was trembling, her bangs shadowed her eyes. When she spoke, her trembling voice was deeper than usual.
"Recover...? Do you honestly believe that what I'm going through is an injury that can just go away?! It never does! Do you have any idea how hard I try to forget it all?! The fire, that blood, the fact that he was standing there... I can't get over it! They're gone and it's my fault... Because I trusted him..."
Arata looked over at Alexa.
"Miss Alexa, please calm down. I don't know what happened to you but I believe that anything can improve... I'd be happy to help."
The counselor smiled, not caring about Alexa's meltdown.
"Splendid. Now, this is an order from the school. You four, Annabel and one other person will be assigned to meet in classroom A-199 every day from 4 PM to 5 PM effective immediately. If you choose not to do so, you will be taken to juvie. This may seem like a waste of time but it will do you some good..."
Alexa scoffed.
'This is stupid. All of this is stupid...'
'Eradicator...? What did you do?'
'Nothing much. I just revealed your true emotions. I won't kill these kids but I am sticking around. I promise that I'll be a good boy~'
'No... Get out!'
Eradicator ignored Alexa. He had to admit, it felt weird being in Alexa's body instead of his guise but he ignored it.

"And so the fact that I haven't done anything to warrant this kind of treatment completely goes unnoticed. Seriously, it was just a little essay, some people make up things to put in there. I haven't been causing trouble for anyone, you can even check my guidance records. If anything, those high-schoolers smoking, drinking and doing drugs are those you have to council." Ayano tried to calmly explain her predicament but somehow, her voice is almost at the brink of breaking down. It's not that she didn't want to be with the others but if her parents learn of this, surely she'll get berated more.

The woman merely told her that it's alright, they won't tell her parents. "Great." She thought. "Like I'd be able to explain why I suddenly have to do extra hours." She swallowed down her own feelings and looked at the woman straight in the eye. "There's just no changing your mind, is there?" She merely sighed.

"I guess I'll just have to lie about it. There's no reason for my parents to know my problems." She recalled the time when she was still a kid when she reported about the other kids bullying her. Her mom was reviewing some papers while her dad was typing down on their computer. Annoyed, her mother lashed out at her when she tried to get their attention.

"Listen Ayano! Can't you see we are too busy to deal with your stupid problems right now!"

Those words...those words stuck with her til this day. That's what made her think that her family just doesn't care much. but despite that, anything less of excellent and satisfactory would only earn her a beating or further berating. She curled up in her seat, her head buried in her arms, trying hard not to break down.

"I feel like I'm being pushed into a corner here..."