Tou grabbed the copper coin newspaper on his way to school, opening it calmly. It was a quite cold morning, and spring was starting to really show its vibrant colors. The smell of coffee and smoke was quite apparent at this time.
Tou read the paper as so,
"Young female student, presumably 15, found dead at Linkon's Academy. On the fourteenth day of the ninth month, the body was brought to a nearby hospital. The female was pronounced dead on the scene, with the cause of death still being currently speculated."
Reading this, Tou's spirits lifted. He began humming, whistling, even jumping off his feet dancing. His body felt lighter. Though, his fun was caught short, as he quickly tripped. His crutches broke his fall the best they could.
"Agh…"
He slowly got up.
Although she has been disposed of, and there's not any evidence that would point toward me being the main reason— well, was I really the main reason? She jumped herself. I was going to kill her, but I didn't. Anyway, that's not important. I have not even a second to rest, when I know someone is out there.
He let out a sigh of grief, before dusting the dirt that had collected on his backside. The day was still young. There were many ways for someone as intelligent and as strong as him to get what he wanted.
Besides, that's how it's always been. Tou never really faced any problems. For quite a long time, his life has always gone his way.
"That rat Cerat, I bet he's some kind of unlucky charm. None of these problems began happening till he arrived."
Tou walked alone toward his school, finally reaching the gates. After that, school went as so. Classes, lunch.
Tou sat at a table with Ailsa. Normally, they would be eating alongside with Marcus. However, currently, he was situated in a one of the school training grounds, sharpening his swordsmanship.
"He's really working hard, huh?" Ailsa noted. She had that kind of, proud but a little worried smile on her face.
"Yeah."
Today's lunch was an assortment of choices. Tou went with the steak drizzled with gravy, sided with soft mashed potatoes and greens. Eagerly, he bit down, and his mouth full of food is what caused his short, muffled responses.
Ailsa took a similar meal, portioning a lot more meat than potato, and having no greens at all.
"I think it's a waste of time. The guys already talented enough, no?" Tou spoke after a long pause, in which he took the time to chew and swallow.
"It's never a waste of time loving."
"Hm. That does make sense. I guess that's why I spend so much time with you and Marcus, and don't feel guilty about it."
"…"
"What? Why are you staring at me like that?"
"That's— that's probably the sweetest thing you've ever said, Tou."
"Really? Well, I was just being—
Ailsa reached over and hugged Tou, softly.
"…truthful."
They spent their lunch period eating gleefully, talking about their future, topics and such.
During his break period, he was caught off guard by someone tapping at his shoulder.
He quickly turned around.
Amidst all the movement from the filled hall, of people getting from class to class, he was yanked harshly, pulled into a room. The door slammed shut.
Tou was thrown onto the ground. He slid a bit before finally settling in the dark room. A light overhead was lit, illuminating it dimly.
"Strange. Before I pulled you into here, I almost saw a real smile on that face of yours, Tou. Perhaps I was imagining it?" a voice somewhat familiar to Tou called out to him.
It came from a masked figure.
To start, there were five masked figures in school uniforms that surrounded him. They kicked his crutches to the side, and bound him with rope.
The voice who spoke belonged to a boy Tou had encountered once. Alem Yue. His voice was a little shaky, timid. But there was conviction behind it, nonetheless.
"Is that you, 'ashtray'?" A dull chuckle escaped his lips. Calling out his name made him remember his humorous pleasure time.
Tou was swiftly kicked in the side by the masked Alem. He grunted, rolling, before recovering his breath.
This is starting to remind me of something. I had spoken to a fortune teller the other day who visited the hospital.
This must be the 'Serious unfortune' that I'm subjected to.
"Listen, you all. I'm not sure what I did to you guys. But I'm sure it couldn't be anything more than harmless fun."
"No, you're right. It's harmless fun, Tou."
This time, a more feminine voice spoke. The voice was again, familiar. Ami was the name, Tou never took the time to learn her last name. Since that wasn't really needed.
She took her hood off.
The tied Tou remained unamused. He had seen it before.
Most of the right side of her face was scarred, a terribly painful looking wound. Of course, it had mostly healed now.
"You got a little hyper-fixated on the properties of acid, and thought that it would be exciting to see how it works. Do you remember, Tou? Maybe you don't. It was a while ago."
"Of course I remember. How could I have forgotten, haha. Your screams were quite pleasing to the ear."
A disgusting grin stretched across his face. Ami's jaw clenched.
Crsh!
Glass shattered.
"Keuk!" Tou yelled out, the glass piercing the skin on his face.
Then, sizzling was heard. His yells grew louder.
In a fit of rage, Ami had thrown a vial of acid at Tou's face. An incredibly potent vial, at that. It festered and dug into his skin.
[Cast: Barrier]
One of the masked students, on the larger side, generated a thin layer that covered the walls of the room. Sealing it, preventing sound from escaping.
Tou flailed around. The group rushed out the door, slamming it shut. He cried out in agony.
"D-damn it!-"
The ropes were tight.