Chapter 2 : School life and A Stalker

"…And if you combine these, you'll get an acid salt. In this case, sodium hydrogen carbonate, or NaHCO3 for short."

The chalk scratching the blackboard as it wrote down chemical formulas and the constant scribbling of pens doing the same were the only sounds in the classroom.

Takeshi's classmates had a hard time with chemistry. Most of them couldn't get a higher score than 70 percent on any test. Hence, the need they had of writing every single detail to at least get a passing grade later on.

He liked chemistry. Not the subject, of course. He liked the silence that came with chemistry class. One of the perks of having mostly dumb classmates.

Unfortunately, he also had to write. If he didn't do that, he would doze off and sleep, which meant his teacher would get angry and his classmates would actually realize he exists. It was a double-edged sword for a class to be so silent.

At some point, the teacher sighed and left the chalk aside.

"I suppose that's it for today." A collective suspire of relief resounded all across the classroom as everyone let go of their pens. "Now, settle down kids. I have your last test's results."

And just like that, relief turned into groans of exhasperation.

Takeshi sat with a straight back and a poker face –normal face, actually– as he waited for the man to give him his test. He wasn't particularly preoccupied about it, given that he tried to study. He got bored halfway and stopped.

It was like a domino. With every test given, there was a groan, which made the next student flinch in anticipation, before doing the same. It felt slightly amusing. They seemed aware of how bad their scores were before they even knew what they got.

The teacher approached Takeshi. There was a short-lived silence.

"Good job, Hyoudou-kun. You got 97 percent," praised the man with a somewhat upbeat tone. "You tripped at some specific details, but aside that, your test was enjoyable to correct. I'm sure next time you'll get a perfect grade."

Takeshi took that as a cue to smile.

"Thanks, sir."

And just like that, he stiffly retrieved his piece of useless paper with chemistry formulas written on it.

Just when the man walked past Takeshi, the latter's smile disappeared and was replaced with a scowl.

'Damned old fool,' he spat inside of his mind. 'Say my name a little bit louder, if you want. I so want people to know me as the pervert's brother.'

There wasn't much variation in the scores, with some people coming close to the 75 percent mark. It was almost pitiful. But of course, that didn't mean another person couldn't get an actually decent grade.

"You're full of surprises, Himejima. You just keep getting better and better. You got 90 percent of the total score."

Takeshi committed the error of diverting his attention towards the voice of the teacher. As the old man went away, the girl caught sight of the boy staring. She showed him her test while giving him a peace sign.

He visibly scoffed for a second before looking away.

The classed passed by quickly. The bell rang all cross the school, signaling the end of a period. Almost everyone instinctively got up from their seats, ready to continue with activities they actually found interesting.

The young Hyoudou was just about to do that when an invisible force in the form of a high-pitched voice fell upon his shoulders, impeding his movements almost completely.

"Not so fast, Takeshi-kun~" said the female pest. "I heard how big your score was. I might need help of that cute little brain of yours to pass chemistry. Would you mind?"

He didn't bother to make eye contact.

"You got 90 percent in the exam," he stated skeptically. "I'm pretty sure you're just asking for my help only to exert your ulterior motives, whatever they may be."

She put on a convenient surprised face. Akeno almost seemed like she was actually hurt. Takeshi had the advantage of living with a buffoon every single day, so he had a knack to unravel clownish attempts to fool him. This was surely not the first.

"No at all, Takeshi-kun. I'm just an innocent classmate asking for you disinterested help~" cooed Himejima, clearly not trying to hide her dumb intentions, or maybe not having the ability to do so. "What could I give you in return for your oh-so mighty intelligence?"

Akeno ignored all kind of personal space and put a hand on Takeshi's shoulder.

"Maybe I could give you food…"

She got slightly closer.

"…Or money…"

Her fingers started massaging his shoulder, dancing upon his black blazer and the muscles underneath. The boy could almost feel her sweet-scented breath, being as close as she was.

"Or perhaps… you want… me?"

"Not in a million years."

Takeshi shook her hand off of him.

"Go tell all of those things to your husband, if you ever get one," told Takeshi to the girl, who didn't seem shaken in the slightest at the sudden change of tone.

She smiled again.

"My, my, Takeshi-kun. Don't get too feisty on me because of a joke~"

He reclined on his seat. After some second of silence, he twirled his head on her direction. Dull-spirited blue eyes stared at her with an indiscernible look as brown bangs sprawled across his face.

There was a choked message in the air. The boy had lots of unpleasant commentaries to make, and he couldn't decide which one was more fitting for the conversation at hand. Before he was able to express himself, Takeshi's voice was overlapped by another.

"Good morning, Akeno." The aforementioned girl's attention was drawn to the new partaker of the conversation. Takeshi did the same.

It was another girl. Her unnatural red crimson hair cascaded down her back, and some bangs sat on her perfectly squared shoulders. Her pristine skin stood out more with the lively color of her mane, and the emerald orbs that served as her eyes seemed conspicuous for the same reason.

Quite funnily, she also gave him the feeling of knowing same as Issei and Akeno. Takeshi didn't remember her name. He knew she was treated as some kind of celebrity in school grounds, but never bothered to investigate.

"Good morning, Buchou," greeted back the raven-haired girl with her trademark smirk. "What may bring your highness to my humble classroom today?"

The other girl let out a lighthearted giggle. "Surely not just to enjoy your overdramatic responses, Akeno." Takeshi's presence became fully known moments later, which prompted her to follow her dialogue. "And who is this young man?"

"Oh, we're very good friends. His name is-"

"None of your business," interrupted the boy who remained silent until now. "Stop throwing my name around as if you're advertising my political campaign. We're not friends."

Both girls remained static at the dry response.

Akeno let out a very fake cough in her hand. "Don't mind his bold attitude, Buchou. He just expresses his shyness in a different manner. Quite the specimen he is~"

"Don't treat me like a guinea pig."

Red girl put a hand beneath her chin, an understanding smile embellishing her face.

"…I see," she simply said. "Of course, it is natural to introduce myself first to know someone else's name."

She stretched out her right hand towards him.

"Rias Gremory. It's a pleasure to meet you," she spoke with a closed smile.

The words slithered from her lips, a warm lilt accompanying each letter of her name and surname. It was welcoming, backed up with proudness behind. Anyone could describe it as melodious.

Her voice was good.

It was… too good.

It sent shivers down his spine. It was like that voice was trying to get inside of his brain forcefully, disguising its true intentions by making him think otherwise. He couldn't stand it. It was the voice of someone who didn't exactly mean what he or she said, much like Akeno's.

"I wish I could say the same," came out his unfitting response as he got up. "But, actually, no, I don't feel the same."

Takeshi's hand never went to greet Rias's. The air turned awkward, and even Akeno had gotten strangely silent.

"I can see why Akeno enjoys hanging around you," said Rias while retracting her hand, smile still on her face. "You're lacking in courtesy, but I suppose that acting respectful all the time would make interactions boring if there was nothing to talk about."

Takeshi stuffed his hand in his pockets, walking past Rias.

"I'm not lacking in courtesy. I just don't have any reason to think you deserve my respect."

And quite anti-climactically, he left, cutting the conversation short.

They both remained completely speechless for a short amount of time. Sounds of classmates talking near could almost be snuffed out by the uncomfortable silence that was present. Rias crossed her arms.

"He has a higher awareness than most people. He seemed awfully quiet when I tried to give him a simple handshake."

Akeno hummed with clear interest on the find.

"Maybe that's the reason he doesn't like it when I'm around? Who knows~" Her upbeat tone of voice changed when her next thought was spoken aloud. "We do cause that kind of effect when we try to interact with people who either are too religious or those who have some kind of… natural affinity."

Rias bobbed her head to one side, wordlessly accepting Akeno's analysis.

"He doesn't strike me as a devout believer, so I'm bound to think he does have an affinity. Or untapped potential, if we want to go down that path," stated the redhead. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking…?"

The other girl shrugged her shoulders. "As I said, who knows? It seems to be the most immediate explanation, but we're not going to know for sure if we don't keep an eye on him."

Akeno felt a hand on her shoulder. Rias was smiling again.

"You seem to be acquainted with him already. I suppose I can trust you with that little mission, Akeno. We never know what kind of surprises we can find if we look hard enough." Her raven-haired nodded with subtle enthusiasm. Her smirk gave out what she obviously felt about the matter.

"Understood, Buchou," said Akeno as she gleefully accepted her task.

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Takeshi's days were mostly the same. Maybe there could be some slight variations. Maybe he would talk more or less. Maybe he would talk with someone different, or maybe he would do something different, or maybe he would go to a different place.

But it was just that. Unsubstantial changes of a routine that started and never seemed to end.

An old garment used too many times that was finally losing its once vivid color. That delicious food with a wonderful taste that made him develop nausea and stomachaches, because he knew the flavor too well. Or that sweet perfume that made his nose wrinkle at its putrid smell affecting his already overused nostrils.

It was like those things. Things he already tried. Things he was too tired of. And even if there was something 'new', he knew it would turn into another routine element of his life. Trying wasn't really appealing anymore, so he was stuck in a cycle. Even after a reincarnation, his life is still as boring as previous one.

This life was no different from a person watching its own life in the third person, a spectator constantly staring at its own body from afar, watching it do repetitive things for the sake of doing something, anything at all.

A memory of physicist Albert Einstein and one of his many famous quotes came to mind. 'Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results'.

It was like that. Takeshi was aware that, no matter what he did, it would have the same result. He tried to not fall into that pool of repetitive insanity, but in consequence, he fell into another.

Takeshi wouldn't consider himself mentally unstable. Yet, the dullness his life was subjected to was maddening, and he accepted it with emotionless glee. It wasn't just frustration or sadness. It was a lack of sentiment. He wasn't even able to fake happiness, because there was no point. There wasn't anything to hide behind a false smile and pretty words. There was nothing.

If he didn't have a small ounce of respect for his worthless existence, Takeshi could have very well thrown himself off a building and get it over with.

Looking at the other side of the coin with perverse tranquility, he also saw many flaws that impeded his death. Or prolonged the span of the miserable dark comedy show that was his life.

His parents would need to waste money for a coffin. His face would probably appear on the news, and he would be seen as a coward. Literally anyone else that wasn't him would be pitied and comforted, because no one cares about the dead. 'It's too late for him anyway' and stuff.

His daily experiences were a vicious cycle. He didn't want to do anything because he knew it would be pointless. Not doing anything soured his mood even further, because he wanted to do something that actually made a big change in his life. This made him unable to definitely take that step forward.

Takeshi envied Issei in that regard. The later was so short-sighed he didn't need to think about lasting happiness and whatnot. He was just happy with carnal lust. An insatiable, superficial desire that would always leave him wanting for more.

He looked around. He was sitting on a lone swing chair, staring at the mildly full park he was in.

He found the children's playground numbly comforting. It brought him memories; times when he just enjoyed the present and wasn't pondering about things he didn't know how to fix.

The sky was darkening, the cloudy blue of the coming night mixing with the distasteful orange light of the hiding sun. It was getting late.

Takeshi would have normally gone home with his younger brother by now. He felt slightly more susceptible than normal, which is the reason he decided to take a breather of fresh air.

He had enough of mindlessly admiring the scenery, though. His legs were starting to push him upwards, but…

He noticed a glimpse. There was someone staring at him, behind a tree. Peeking, there was a girl with raven-black hair curiously watching him in the distance.

'…You gotta be kidding me,' he thought dryly.

Dealing with dumb shit in a daily basis was something he was accustomed to. However, there was a limit to his patience.

He grabbed a small rock on the ground. After calculating the shot a little, he threw the stone.

BAM!

"Kyah!"

It hit the tree, making a loud sound. The conspicuous stalker girl let out a surprised yelp and fell on her butt, making a quite ridiculous scene Takeshi had the misfortune of watching in all its glory.

Sighing, he got up and approached the girl with accentuated steps.

The boy stared at her, unsure of what kind of insult he could use to express his annoyance.

"Who the hell are you? Why are you watching me?" he told her. "I don't exactly care about your weird fantasies or whatever is pushing you to stalk me, but I would appreciate if you directed it to someone else."

After the initial shock, the girl seemed genuinely confused at Takeshi's accusation. She stuttered some things as she struggled to get up.

"Oh, eh…I mean…I-I'm sorry…" she apologized, not actually managing to talk like a normal person. "It's just that… I…. T-This is not what it looks like…"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Explain yourself. Your answer will decide whether I go away or bother to keep listening to you."

She slapped the dirt away from her skirt, and fiddled with her fingers.

"Eh… Well, my name is Yuuma Amano…" she said with the same nervous tone, albeit she kept some composure now. "I… I know it looks super weird for me to be watching you from afar, b-but… I do have a reason…"

"Which is?"

She looked down, unable to clear things up right away. After a bit of mental preparation, she actually spoke up.

"I'm… I'm in love with your brother!"

…

…

…

Takeshi was, all things considered, pretty much impervious to almost anything. He just didn't care enough for anything to impact his conscience that much, no matter what it was.

But he was still a human. More or less functional, but a human nonetheless. Some things were able to make him question his own sanity, tickle his funny bone just a little, or just make him give up hope on humanity as a whole.

This situation managed to cause the 3 aforementioned effects on him, and he wasn't exactly sure which one was stronger.

But, first things first.

"…You picked my interest, but I'm confused," he admitted while stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Why my brother? And most importantly, why are you telling me about this? I'm not Issei."

Yuuma started scratching her head with a quivering smile, seemingly trying to find the perfect explanation for such an unreasonable action.

"W-Well… I have been observing Hyoudou-kun for quite some time," she admitted. "I guess it's wrong to call it love just yet, but I like him. I like how honest he is with his feelings. I like how he doesn't back up from doing what he wishes, even if others tell him he's an idiot or such. And… well, he seems like a focused person. Maybe, if I make him fall in love with me, he will abandon his… perverted attitudes. Maybe he just needs someone who loves him in a way no one else does."

Takeshi thought this girl was one of many idiots when he met her. And he was right, but she turned out to be an articulate idiot. Someone who actually believed her own lies.

'…Love. Yeah, right. As if such a thing made sense.'

The boy adjusted his scarf a little.

"You are aware that this is incredibly suspicious, right?" crudely said Takeshi. "A girl I have never met in my life just comes and tells me she likes my brother too much, and I'm just supposed to believe it? What's more, why are you even telling me about this? Why should I care?"

A faint blush could be seen on her cheeks. Her sight diverted to the ground again.

"I… I don't know how to approach him." Her voice lowered, product of embarrassment. "He's pretty straightforward, and I have the feeling he would be overjoyed if I told him my feelings… but I'm afraid he may take it the wrong way. I don't… want to be just an eye-candy for him… I thought you, his brother, would know."

Takeshi huffed heavily in response. He never thought he would get involved in something that might as well come from a romantic show for teens or something, but he disliked it already.

Yet, however acidic it may sound… this was beneficial for Takeshi.

If Issei got a girlfriend, God forbid, maybe he would actually become a mildly dignified individual. He would still be an annoying pest, of course, but at least he would seem more respectable.

He didn't really care about the girl's feelings, or how his idiotic brother would accept them. He just wanted tranquility.

"…Just tell him."

Takeshi's quick response rewarded him with Yuuma's disappointed expression. He proceeded to explain himself.

"Issei is not as complicated as you think he is. He's like a little kid. The thing he wants the most is attention. He will most probably accept your confession, and if you stay with him whenever he wants to do something stupid, he may just change." Takeshi walked past the girl, not bothering to look back. "Don't talk to me again. If you want something, and you know how to get it, then do it already. It's not that hard."

Yuuma stared at the boy's back, who lost himself in the distance. The chilly winds of the evening blew every now and then, moving the trees.

The girl's lips formed a smile moments later. It wasn't the smile an innocent high-school girl would wear after knowing she could confess to the boy she liked.

It was the toothy, macabre smile of a predator seizing up her prey.

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