Life.1 I Quit Being a Human
[WAKE UP! WAKE UP! IF YOU DON'T WAKE UP I'M GOING TO K-KISS YOU...]
"...Umm."
It's an alarm clock which wakes you up with a tsundere voice, but it doesn't have a function to wake up its owner from his bed. That owner fell to the floor and has just seen a nightmare.
That's me.
...It's the worst way to wake up.
I had that awful dream again.
Lately, I've been having that same dream. The dream where I was killed by Yuuma-chan.
But since I'm here alive, it has to be a dream.
"Wake up! Ise!"
Mum's voice comes from the stairs. Just like every morning.
"I know! I will get up now!"
After giving a reply like that, I pick myself up from the floor.
Haa...
My day is off to a bad start again. I feel so down...
I put on my uniform while making a deep sigh.
Part 2
"I'm off then."
I yawn as I leave the house.
During the walk to school, I can't help but close my eyes due to the sunlight. Aaah, it's so bothersome.
Lately, I've been starting to feel weak under the sun.
It feels like the sunlight is piercing through my skin and I can't stand it.
Anyway, the morning sunshine is no good to me. I can't wake up in the morning at all.
Since I haven't been able to wake up lately, my mum has been coming to wake me up every day.
On the other hand, I become more active at night. There is something inside my body that rises up and makes my tension go high.
I've completely become a night person.
It's weird.
Something is wrong. I often stay up late, but it's a miracle if I'm able to even stay awake till 1 o'clock.
But now, I can easily stay awake till 3 or 4 o'clock. I've been going to sleep after the sun rises lately, and that has been my daily routine.
I'm not addicted to on-line games nor am I addicted to night shows.
...What's happening to my body?
Is my brain trying not to sleep so I don't have to see that dream where my girlfriend kills me?
...Well, that's what I feel personally so that can't be it. It's natural for the body to feel the need to sleep.
The feeling I have at night, —I think it's something completely different from before.
I don't know how to explain it, but my body feels pumped and I have a feeling something mysterious is rising from the depth of my body.
So I went out at night to test it. The walking pace of my feet increased, and my heart shook with joy when I blended in with the darkness of the night.
I dashed out at night on a whim and to my surprise it gave me incredible speed.
If I join the track team, I can easily become the main runner. Also, I don't run out of stamina. I have so much stamina that I can do a full marathon as if I'm just jogging.
I became over-confident and when I sprinted during the day, it was so horrible that I thought my stamina at night was a dream. No, it's an average speed for a high school student, but there's a huge difference when comparing my night-self and my day-self.
I become weird at night.
It might sound like a phrase coming from a weird person saying it like this, but the feeling I have at night of being unleashed and the excitement I have is changing me into a different person.
Uggh...like I thought, the sunlight is giving me a hard time...
Unlike at night, I become totally weak during the day.
No matter how much I think about it, something is definitely wrong with my body.
I can't help but think that my body changed ever since that day I went on a date with Yuuma-chan.
Part 3
A private school. Kuou Academy.
That's the school I go to.
It's a co-Ed school right now, but since it was a girl's school until a couple of years ago, there are more girls than boys.
As the grade goes down, the number of boys increases, but there are still more girls than boys overall.
I'm a 2nd year high school student and the ratio of girls and boys in my class are 7 to 3. For 3rd year students it's 8 to 2.
Even now, the girls have a much stronger authority than boys, and the majority of the students in the Student Council are girls, and the Student President is also a girl.
It's a school where boys can't stand tall, but I still joined this school.
It's a simple story.
This place has more girls. That alone is a wonderful thing!
The reason why I was able to pass the entrance exam for this school which is said to be really hard, is due to my perverted guts.
I want to study while being surrounded by girls—-
For that reason alone, I am currently attending this school.
What's wrong with that!
What's wrong with being a pervert!?
It's my life! I won't let anyone argue against me! I'm going to build a harem at this school!
And so, that was my mission when I first entered this school.
But now I feel depressed. I was naïve for thinking I can make 2 or 3 girlfriends at this school where the majority of students are girls.
Only one group of good looking guys are popular and girls don't even look at me. To be more precise, they ignore me like trash lying on the floor.
Shit!
This wasn't in my plan!
Nonsense! In my plan I was supposed to get my first girlfriend straight after I entered this school!
After that, I will have broken up with her and started dating a new girl and by the time I graduated, heaps of girls were supposed to fight over me in a Battle Royale!
A-At this rate, my objective will end in a dream!
Wait, is that already a dream!?
What was wrong with it!? The era I was born in? The law? Or...is there something wrong with me...?
Uwaaaaaaah! I don't want to even think about it!
Those are the things that go through my mind every day.
I arrive at my classroom while making a big sigh, and sit down on my chair.
"Hey, buddy. How was the DVD I lent you? It was some good stuff, wasn't it?"
The bald head guy who spoke to me is my buddy number 1, Matsuda. He might look like a sportsman, but he is a pervert who makes sexually harassing comments every day.
He was a sports-boy during his time in junior high school where he broke many records, but he's in the Photo-Club now. He is really open about his ambition of wanting to take photos of every part of the girls' bodies through the camera lens.
His nickname is the "Perverted Baldy" and the "Sexual Harassing Paparazzi".
"Fu...the wind sure was strong this morning. Thanks to that, I was able get a good view of the girls' panties."
The guy with the glasses who is trying to act cool is my buddy number 2, Motohama. He has a special ability called Scouter that lets him get the numerical values of the girls' measurements through his glasses. Along with a special body where his power level plummets down when he takes his glasses off.
His nickname is the "Perverted Glasses" and the "Three-size Scouter". These two are my evil buddies.
Seriously, seeing these two faces in the morning really makes me feel down. I feel sick.
"I got some nice stuff".
Matsuda opens his bag, and tips out the things inside his bag without any hesitation.
The books and DVDs which are being piled up on my desk have suggestive titles.
"Hee!"
A small scream comes from a girl far away from us.
Well, of course she will react like that. After all, something like this is happening in the morning.
What I hear next from the girls are discriminating comments like "You guys are the worst~" and "Die, filthy brats".
"Silence! This is our entertainment! Girls and kids should look away and keep away! Or else, I will rape all of you inside my head!"
Your words are vulgar as always, Matsuda-kun.
Not long ago, I would have said, "Wow, where did you get these treasures from!" with sparkling eyes at the things piled on my desk. But since I've been in a terrible state every morning lately, I'm not in the mood.
Matsuda sighs while looking at my dull face.
"Hey hey hey. Why do you have a face like that when there are so many treasures right in front of you?"
"You haven't been in the mood lately. Weird. It's definitely weird. You aren't the same as before."
Motohama also says that while poking his glasses as if he finds me boring.
"I also want to say, "Wow! Where did you get these from!? Are you trying to turn me into a monkey!?". But I've been lacking energy lately."
"Do you have some kind of illness? No, it can't be. There is no way that you, the manifestation of all sexual desires, would fall sick."
Motohama makes a rude comment about me. He really is a rude guy.
Then Matsuda makes a gesture with his hand as if he realised something.
"Oh, is it that? Is it the side effect of that hallucination about the imaginary girlfriend you have? Yuuma-chan, was it?"
"...Do you guys seriously not remember Yuuma-chan?"
Both of them look at me with sympathetic eyes at my question.
"Like we said before, we seriously don't know her. You should really get a doctor to check you. Right, Motohama?"
"Yeah, I'm going to repeat this again but we weren't introduced to a girl called Yuuma-chan."
...They always act like this every time I ask them about Yuuma-chan.
I thought they were just teasing me.
But after talking to them seriously, I found out that wasn't the case.
I definitely remember introducing Yuuma-chan to them. They said things like "How come a beauty like her is Ise's girlfrieeeeend!?" and "There must be a system error happening in this world….. Ise, you haven't done anything illegal, have you?" and kept on making rude comments.
I remember I was getting cocky and said, "You guys should get a girlfriend as well".
I remember that time very clearly.
But they don't remember it. No, what they don't even remember is Yuuma-chan.
It's as if Amano Yuuma never existed.
It's as if the time I spent with Yuuma-chan never happened. Like these two said, it feels like it was just my imagination.
Like these two proved, there is no record of Yuuma's mobile number or mail address in my mobile phone.
Was it deleted from the memory? Did someone delete it? That can't be! There's no way I would delete it, so who did!?
I called the number that I memorised in my head, but that phone number wasn't currently in use.
So does that mean she doesn't exist? Was it all my imagination? Something crazy like that isn't possible...
I want to deny it but apart from my memory, there is no evidence to prove that she existed.
If I think about it, I don't know her home address. She was a student from another school. I found the school where they wore the same uniform as her. So I asked the students from that school about Yuuma-chan.
But there wasn't a student fitting her description. She wasn't there.
So who was my girlfriend?
Who was I dating?
So the dream I've been having is just a fantasy that I made up?
Was I talking to Matsuda and Motohama about my dream as if it was all reality?
What am I, a pervert?
I clearly remember her face you know?
...There's something wrong about all of this.
Like the strange strength I get at night. Something is definitely wrong.
But what is it?
While I'm thinking about the past incidents, Matsuda rests his hand on my shoulder.
"Well, we are in the middle of our youth so something weird stuff like that can happen to us. Okay then, you guys come over to my place after school. Let's watch my secret collection together."
"That's an excellent idea. Matsuda-kun, you should definitely invite Ise-kun as well."
"Of course I'm going to invite him, Motohama-kun. We are high school boys who move with sexual desires. If we don't do anything perverted, it would be disrespectful to our parents who gave birth to us."
The two of them smirk lecherously.
Perverts. No matter how you look at them, they are just some perverted creeps. And sadly, I am one of them.
Well, never mind. I also live for these kinds of things.
"Okay then! Today, we won't hold back! We'll get some fizzy drinks and chips while watching porn DVDs!"
I say because I can't be bothered to think.
"Oh! Yeah, that's it! That's definitely the Ise we know!"
"That's the spirit. We need to enjoy our youth even more."
Matsuda and Motohama are getting all excited.
I will leave the incident about Yuuma-chan on hold.
I need to take a break sometimes as well! Today I will forget about that incident and get hooked into porn like how a boy in our age does!
It happened after we made the plan for the afternoon.
There was a crimson colour that caught my attention.
A brilliant crimson colour—
The school yard can be seen from the classroom window. I have my eyes glued towards a certain girl.
The girl with crimson red hair. Our school idol whose beauty is beyond a normal human's. Her slim proportions aren't the shape of a Japanese girl.
Of course. She isn't Japanese after all. I heard people say that she is from Northern Europe.
It seems like she is attending a Japanese high school due to her father's work.
Anyone will get their heart taken by her after witnessing her beauty.
Rias Gremory.
She is a 3rd year student of this school. So that makes her my senior.
When I realise it, everyone including me is looking at her as well, both boys and girls. Matsuda and Motohama are also looking at her.
This happens every morning. Everyone looks at her when she walks past them. Some people stop walking. Others stop talking. Everyone turns around to look at her.
The wind gently blows her crimson hair while every student in this school watches her.
Her long crimson hair which comes down to her hips makes her surrounding look like it's coloured in crimson as well when the wind blows her hair.
Her beautiful skin, which is white as snow, is remarkable.
Beautiful.
That's the only word to describe her in one word. That's the only word you need to describe her.
I was also fascinated by her beauty and noble atmosphere.
I'm so fascinated by her that I always stop what I'm doing every time I see her.
But lately, the way I see her has changed.
She is definitely beautiful. But she is too beautiful.
I start to feel a little bit scared of her beauty and fear her from the bottom of my heart.
I don't know why I start to feel like this. But I've started to feel like this ever since Yuuma-chan's disappearance.
Then, her eyes move. Her clear blue eyes grasps hold of me.
—!
I feel as if my heart is being grabbed by her.
What is this feeling? It's that feeling you get when someone who is more superior to you is standing in front of you...
She narrows her blue eyes and it seems like she is smiling.
Is she looking at me?
It can't be. I don't have any connection to her.
Then, I suddenly remember something from the dream I had.
At the end of the dream, there was a person with crimson hair who spoke to me.
The person who seems to be gentle, but also cold.
While I'm comparing her with the person from my dream, she is already out of my sight.
Part 4
"I seriously want to grope some tits!"
I'm hugging Matsuda who can't stop crying while all of us are watching the last video for our porno DVD marathon.
After leaving school, we started watching porno with high spirits. We were all happy and excited when we started watching porn straight after school, but as we watched more porn, we started to get depressed instead, because the question of "Why don't we have a girlfriend?" came into our discussions. I felt like crying after we discussed it seriously.
Matsuda hasn't stopped crying since 3 movies back.
Motohama is trying to act cool, but there are tears flowing from his eyes behind his glasses.
Thirty minutes ago, Motohama said this with a low voice, "...I was asked to come behind the gym by a girl….. That was my first time getting mugged by a girl...", so even I was about to cry after hearing that.
I wonder what three boys who are all glum while watching porn look like?
Obviously, the answer is three unpopular guys.
Damn it. I feel like hating this world after thinking that there are guys of my age who are having sex with a girl right now.
While thinking about it, the last film ends and it is already dark outside.
When I look at my watch, it's already 10 o'clock. I already told my parents that I'm at Matsuda's place, but they will worry about me if I stay here any longer and I will also be late for school tomorrow.
"Anyways, I'll get going now".
After I said that, all of us stood up and got ready to pack up.
"See ya."
After we split up with Matsuda at the entrance, Motohama and I headed towards home.
"It's a beautiful night. Since it's a good night, it's normal to feel like watching porn."
Motohama said some weird crap while looking at the sky with a big sigh.
He looks really down.
Well by tomorrow, both Motohama and Matsuda will return to their usual selves.
"See ya tomorrow."
"Yeah, have a nice dream."
I split up with Motohama on my way home, but he doesn't seem energetic when he's waving his hand to me.
I will probably send him a text message afterwards to cheer him up.
A few minutes pass by after splitting up with Motohama.
I'm walking towards home, but the energy flowing within my body is rising.
It's a symptom of the "overflowing with power at night" thing.
Like I thought, there is definitely something wrong with my body.
This isn't a normal phenomenon. My eyesight improves along with my other five senses.
My eyes and ears became especially good. I can even hear conversations from other people's houses and see the street even though it's night.
This is really weird since I can even see clearly at places where there are no street lights!
It feels like this strength is getting stronger day by day.
That's because the chills I'm feeling all over my body right now is the real deal!
I can feel I'm being watched by someone for a while now. And the chills I'm feeling.
I can feel a mysterious atmosphere ahead of me.
My body is shaking insanely. The shaking gets stronger.
It's a man. There is a man wearing a suit, glaring at me. He is glaring at me with fierce eyes.
It feels like my body will freeze just by looking into his eyes.
Isn't this what you call killing intent?
I can definitely feel hostility from him. No, this is something more dangerous. This is definitely killing intent!
The man walks closer, silently. He's walking towards me! So he is after me!
A pervert!? A dangerous person!? Am I in trouble!?
This is bad! That's because my body hasn't stopped shaking!
Why did I have to encounter some dangerous guy on my way home!?
"This is rare. To meet someone like you in a place like this."
...?
What is he saying?
No no, it isn't weird if crazy people like him talk nonsense.
So he is a dangerous guy after all!
Oh shit! What should I do if he takes out a knife!?
I don't know any self defence martial arts, nor have I ever had a fight before!
I-I know!
My strength which powers up during night! That's it! I can use it to run away from here!
Walking backwards, I put some distance between us.
The guy who is releasing a perverted atmosphere starts to walk towards me.
"Trying to run away? Who is your Master? It must be a person with a very low rank or with a weird hobby to choose this place as a territory. So, who is your Master?"
I don't even know what the heck you are saying!
STEP!
I turn around and sprint to the place I came from at full speed.
Fast. I'm insanely fast. It's weird for me to say this, but the speed of my legs during night is insane.
I just continue to run while going through different streets at night.
I keep on running and go into unfamiliar streets.
I haven't lost my breath yet. I can keep on running. If that's the case, then I'm going to run until he can't catch up to me!
After around 15 minutes, I come into an open area.
—It's a park.
I stop running, and walk instead.
I walk up to the water fountain while inhaling some air.
I look around the park under the street lamp. Something feels mysterious about this place.
—I know this place.
I remember this park...
That's right. This is the last place I visited on my date with Yuuma-chan!
Man, what a coincidence, or should I call it a miracle?
Did I come here unconsciously? That can't be...
CHILLS
I feel chills on my back.
Someone is behind me... That's what I feel.
I turn around slowly, and a black feather drops in front of me.
Is it a feather of a crow? No, this isn't.
"Did you think I'd let you escape? That's why lowly beings are a pain to handle."
The person who appeared in front of me is a man wearing a suit and he has black wings growing out of his back.
It's the suspicious guy from before.
…An angel? No no, this isn't a fairy tale, so that can't be!?
Is it cosplay? It looks too real for cosplay. Are those r-real wings? No way!
"Tell me the name of your Master. It's a hindrance to get bothered by your kind. For that, we will... Wait, are you a "Stray"? If you have no Master, then that will explain the worried expression on your face."
The suspicious guy is mumbling to himself. Don't make up stuff on your own!
The situation is serious, but I suddenly remember the incident I had in my dream.
The dream about that date. At the very end of that dream, I was killed by Yuuma-chan exactly in front of this water fountain.
Yeah, by the Yuuma-chan who had black wings growing out of her back.
And there is a guy with black wings in front of me. …Is this the thing where a dream becomes reality?
Hey hey, how did a hot chick turn into a guy!?
No, that's not important! What's important is the situation I'm currently in!
If this is going according to that dream, then the next thing that will happen to me is—
"Hmph. I don't feel any presence of your Master nor your comrades. I don't see anything that is trying to hide its presence either. And there's no magic-circle appearing here. According to the current situation, you are a "Stray". So it won't be a problem if I kill you."
The guy who just said some scary stuff raises his hand.
No matter how you look at it, his hand is directed towards me!
I can hear a noise. I know this phenomenon.
Something that looks like light starts to gather in his hand. Hold on a sec, this fantasy stuff should just stay in the dream!
The light then shapes itself into something resembling a spear.
A spear—
So it is a spear!
I was pierced in my stomach by that thing in my dream, and I went through hell!
—I'm going to get killed!
By the time I realise it, it has already pierced my stomach.
Then something comes out from my mouth.
Gough.
Lots of blood comes out of my mouth, followed by intense pain.
It hurts. It hurts so much!
I fall down on my knees, on the spot. I can feel my insides getting burnt.
The pain spreads throughout my body, and it hurts so much that I can't stand it.
Intense pain...doesn't even start to describe this pain!
I try to pull out the spear with my hand, but the pain spreads to my hand as soon as I touch it. It's hot. It's extremely hot. There are burn marks on the places that touched the spear.
"Guu...aaaah..."
I start to whine. It hurts. It hurts so much!
Since my hand is in this state, is the spear burning my insides?
When I thought like that, the pain increased. So this is how it feels like to get your inside burnt?
My tears aren't stopping due to the intense pain.
Step, step. Then there is the sound of footsteps coming towards me.
I look up, and the mysterious man makes another spear in his hand.
"It must hurt. Light is poisonous to beings like you. Getting hit by it will result in fatal damage. I thought this weakened spear would be enough to kill you, but your body is tougher than I thought. So, I will hit you with it again. But this time, I will put a bit more strength into it. Now you are done for."
Is he trying to finish me off!? I'll be killed if I get hit by that thing again!
As I'm thinking, I start to look back on the dream I had.
Crimson.
The brilliant crimson colour will...
No, there is no way she will help me. That was a dream. So is this also a dream, then?
If it's a dream, then please help me. Even if it's a dream, I don't want to be in this situation!
HYU
When I thought I heard the sound of the wind, an explosion materialises in front of me.
When I look up, there is smoke coming from the palm of that man's hand. There is blood spilling out of his hand.
"Don't you dare touch him."
A woman walks past me.
Crimson hair. I can tell who it is, even just by her back.
It's that person I saw in my dream—
I wasn't able to see her face in that dream. But now I'm certain that she was the person from my dream.
"...Crimson hair... You must be a woman from the House of Gremory..."
The man glares at the woman with crimson hair with eyes full of hatred.
"My name is Rias Gremory. How are you doing, Fallen Angel-san? If you are trying to hurt this boy, then I won't hold back. "
Rias Gremory.
Yes, she is the senior student at my school. The beauty with crimson hair.
"...Fufu. Well, well. So this boy belongs to you. So this town is also part of your territory then. Well then. For today, I will apologise. But I advise you not to let your servant loose. People like me might slay him while having a walk."
"Thanks for the advice. This town is under my surveillance. So if you get in my way, then I won't hold back."
"I will say the same to you, heiress of the House of Gremory. My name is Donaseek. I hope we won't meet again."
The man spreads his black wings, and his body starts to float. He then flies up into the sky.
The man glares at Rias-senpai and me once, and then disappears into the sky.[1]
So it's safe now...?
I feel a bit relieved, but my eyes get blurry and it feels like my consciousness is disappearing. My eyes blurs.
Huh? Isn't this bad? This is definitely bad, isn't it?
"Ara, are you about to faint? This is certainly a fatal wound. It can't be helped. Hey, where is your house—"
Senpai speaks to me while I fall down, but I can't hear what she is saying.
Then, my consciousness cuts off.
Part 5
[...I WILL KILL YOU IF YOU DON'T WAKE UP ...YOU WILL BE CUT INTO PIECES IF YOU DON'T WAKE UP]
When I woke up, it was morning.
What is the meaning of this?
...Did I have a bad dream again?
That has to be a dream. But it looks too real.
Now I'm here, sleeping in my bed.
I was woken up by the alarm clock with a yandere voice. Looks like I was dreaming after all.
This time, it wasn't Yuuma-chan, but a weird guy who was chasing after me. But they both had black wings.
I shook my head.
Pull yourself together, me. Why do I keep on seeing those kinds of dreams?