Everywhere was white.
Everywhere was warm. Not that kind that offered true warmth but the kind that hovered right between slightly cold and heat, keeping one in an uncomfortable, itchy stasis.
"R..e..De...! D.t!"
'Shut up.'
"R...el...et!"
'Can't I get five more minutes?'
"Ra...l...De...h"
'Why can't you just all leave me alone?'
"Rael Deth! Get up right this instant!"
"I said shut the fuck up asshole! I'm trying to sleep!"
Rael snapped without thinking. Then blinked as he noticed a strange silence.
He noticed that he was standing in the middle of a classroom. Numerous children were staring at him with various expressions ranging from utter shock to dark amusement.
He raised a brow.
"Eh...why are you staring at me like that?"
Someone barely managed to suppress a laugh. Another just rolled his eyes.
'what are these guys snickering about?'
Suddenly he felt a chill crawl up his spine.
"Rael Deth." A chilling female voice spoke right before him, cracking slightly.
Lifting his head, he looked at the woman who had spoke. Stern blue-grey eyes. Pale skin. Short blonde hair with traces of grey despite her age.
And obvious, excessive makeup.
He gulped audibly as he realised who it was.
"Oh h-hello Miss Vecht. Nice um...weather we're having."
"Principal's office. Now!"
A few minutes later Rael was sitting in a line of chairs near a door labelled Principal with a thick-cased book in hand.
Well, he wasn't really reading it, it was just a cover for the manga hidden behind it.
He was so immersed in it that he didn't even notice the person approaching him until they nearly bumped into him.
"Hey Rael~"
The person suddenly yanked the manga from beneath the book, holding it out in front of her in the air.
Rael's eyes widened as he quickly snatched it back and shoved it into his backpack. He quickly looked around to make sure no one was looking before exhaling deeply and turning to face the uninvited guest.
A girl with long black hair appeared in front of him. Her eyes were a sparkling green and her face was set in a mischievous grin as she stared down at him.
"What do you want, Vanessa?"
She smiled cheekily despite his threat and just sat down on the chair beside him.
"Seriously, this guy." She muttered incredulously.
"I told you to call me Ness. Ness."
"Can you not be so annoying?" He raised a brow.
"Can you not be so boring?" She responded promptly.
Both of them were silent like that for a moment before Vanessa leaned in on the armrest right as Rael was about to continue reading the manga.
"Hey Rael..." She began quietly, the teasing smile never fading.
"What is it now?"
"Is it really true that you called Miss Mara an...you know?"
Rael flinched and mechanically turned his head away so that she wouldn't see his face.
"Maybe."
Vanessa's face frozen for a second before she burst out laughing as she pointed at him.
"Wow, the ice King finally cracked. Hilarious."
Rael simply ignored her with a sigh and continued reading the manga. It was finally getting to the part that-
"Vanessa, a little space please?"
The girl was leaning a little too close for comfort. Plus, the fact that she had her top button open was a little...
"Annoying."
She blinked innocently, tilting her head to the side.
"Your chest is kinda in the way."
Vanessa deadpanned before crossing her hands with an unsuprised expression on her face.
"Rael. You don't say that about a girl."
Rael arched a brow.
"You're a girl?"
"You little..."
Vanessa's face turned a little red as she punched him in the shoulder, causing him to wince slightly. For a moment, he thought he saw her eyes glow--
—————
Eventually, they both got sent to detention where they kept to themselves for entirely different reasons. Vanessa, because she wanted to keep to herself and Rael because he simply wanted to finish his manga.
Outside, there was a gentle downpour of rain pattering softly against the window and the concrete paths behind the class. The rhythm of softly falling rain was honestly calming for him. Good things always happened when it rained.
It was peaceful. So much so that Rael wouldn't have really minded staying here for a few more hours. Or days.
As long as it kept raining.
All the while, she kept staring at him intensely with something indescribable in her eyes.
'What's wrong with her?'
Eventually, the allotted time was over and they were finally released to go home for the day.
Rael simply closed the book with a sigh and began packing up to head home.
'Hm, I wonder what's for dinner tonight? Since mom and dad are out, I guess is is cooking again. I just hope she isn't--'
She...?
He cocked his head to the side lightly. Now that he thought a out it, he couldn't really remember her name. The name was slightly escaping his mind, like mist that refused to be grasped no matter how much he tried.
He looked over to see Vanessa quickly shoving her books back into her backpack in a hurry.
As soon as she turned, her eyes met his and she hurriedly left the room without a word.
Rael simply raised a brow and forgot about her weird attitude. Vanessa was always weird. She even --
Rael simply raised a brow and forgot about her weird attitude. Vanessa was always weird.
Ignoring her strange actions, he simply stood up from his desk and left the room.
Despite the rain, he simply walked under it, letting it drench him in it's cold embrace as he made his way through the bustling city streets.
His full black hair was messy and clung to his scalp weirdly, making his head tingle for some reason.
'Something feels off--"
'r...n'
A slightly off voice seemed to whisper something in the rain. Somehow it seemed both close and far at the same time.
"What was--"
A sweet smell of pastries wafted from a nearby ramen shop. From it's window, a kind-looking man waved at him with a smile. He couldn't hear what he said.
He simply waved back slightly out of reflex.
'G...h...me'
And went on home.
Throughout the walk home, he couldn't shake that feeling that something was wrong. He tried to brush it off as his sister's --
He tried to brush it off as his sister's --
But it came back worse.
Something was wrong.
Something was definitely wrong.
's...l...ie'
He picked up the pace as he noticed the apartment block block when he and his sister--
He ran faster. He didn't notice when he passed a black car. Someone came out and yelled at him in something resembling panic.
He didn't listen, or rather couldn't.
'h...ry'
The world had narrowed to the soft patter of raindrops and the distance between him and that door.
He didn't notice when he pushed someone aside on the steps in anger.
Before he knew it, he was sprinting up the stairs in an apartment block, breathing heavily as he hurried to get to his apartment.
Soon, he reached the door. And stopped.
The living room was a mess, piles of half-finished abandoned manga panels lay strewn haphazardly across the room, the scene would have been comedic in another setting. Yet his eyes were focused on something that made his heart clench painfully in his chest, making the room narrow almost imperceptibly into a state of white and black.
There was a trail of red blood leading past the living room, as if someone had bled while backing away from something. Or someone.
It lead to to her room. Her--
'No...no...no.'
It lead to his sister's --
HiSsister's --
hIsSiS#/@%~
HiSsIsTeRsDeATh.
His sister...was dead.
Rael remembered screaming.
That was the first time he ever screamed that loudly before.
He didn't know why he did it. Rationally, screaming did nothing. No one could save her.
No one.
Then suddenly he laughed despite himself as he knelt by her body.
No. No one could bring back the dead for him.
Not anymore.
Soon, he was laughing hysterically as tears flowed freely down his face.
That day, something inside him broke.
And that day, something inside him broke out.
"Ah...yes. I remember now." A voice echoed with something unreadable in it's voice.
"That was the first day I killed."
That day, excluding the death of Rael's sister, seven delinquents found to be a part of a local gang were all found gruesomely murdered in an alleyway near his apartment.