The Unwanted Reincarnation

Chapter 2: His Death

It's another new day for everyone. The bright sun lit up the world, it's rays trespassing a certain someone's room as he was in a deep slumber. His curtains flattered with the refreshing wind, making him shiver with the additional cold breeze.

Hisashi slowly opened his eyes, a puddle of saliva coming out from his mouth was created on his pillow. He groaned while sitting up, and rubbing his eyes from the drowsiness at the same time. He glanced around his room, seeing that his windows were open again. His mother probably did that. When he saw the time from his alarm clock, he gasped in shock.

Without thinking twice, he bolted out of his bed and stormed inside his bathroom. He stripped himself within a few seconds, and finished taking a bath after a couple of minutes. He mentally scolded himself for not being aware of the time. He wore the usual set of uniform – after getting washed by his mother – and didn't even bother checking himself out on the mirror before running down the stairs.

He panted, heading towards the kitchen. He saw his mother placing down a lunchbox for him at the table. "Mom! Why didn't you wake me up sooner?!"

His mother shot him a stern look that made him cower in fear, obediently stuffing the food inside his bag. "I told you to sleep early, right? But you didn't listen to me, you're up until dawn. That's your punishment, honey."

"But I was reading..." Hisashi pouted.

"Yeah, whatever." The older woman chuckled, fixing her son's disheveled black hair. "Your father left an hour ago, and your sister have decided to go out and shop at the mall. And you, young man, should hurry up because you're already late."

Hisashi bobbed his head up and down, pecking his mother's cheek. "Alright, bye, mom!"

She whole-heartedly laughed, waving a hand at him as she watched him sprint out of the house. "Have a good day, sweetheart!"

Hisashi picked up his bicycle, riding on it after closing their gate once he was outside. As he pedaled on the road, several students who were also catching up on time greeted him. Hisashi returned the kind gestures, speeding up more with a soft expression. Last night, he spent his time reading Quixotic Romance. Even though he barely had his eyes open, he forced himself to read most half of it and admitedly enjoyed the novel. After discovering about the handsome male characters with awesome personalities, Hisashi couldn't blame his crush if she fell in love with those fictional guys. He would be lying if he didn't say that he's jealous over them, because he does. Those men are beyond perfect and meanwhile, Hisashi was just an average boy that doesn't have any S-Rank magic powers and ruling over kingdoms.

Hisashi, who was cut off from his train of thoughts, shook his head to erase the voice in his head that kept degrading him. The corner of his lips curled upwards, getting more and more excited when he saw the figure of his school from the distance.

He parked his bike on it's usual spot and made sure that it's locked before rushing upstairs to his classroom. The dark-haired male sucked his breath in anxiety when he heard their strict science teacher discussing lessons inside, he knew he's in a big trouble remembering that she doesn't want her students late. Lifting up his fighting spirit, he quietly inhaled before opening the door.

"You better have a good reason for being late, Hisashi Tadaomi." The teacher spoke with an angry tone, though her beautiful face remained calm and calculated as she looked at him.

Hisashi froze, shivers ran down his spine as he felt the whole class staring at him. However, the thought of Hanamizu gazing at him brought butterflies inside his stomach. He was about to grin like an i***t, when he realized the situation he was currently in. He coughed on purpose, lowering his head in shame. "I... I helped the homeless man find his house, I gues... ?"

Laughters erupted the room, which made Hisashi relax for a split second and turn back to his frightened state when the teacher slammed the book at the table. Everyone fell silent again.

"Who do you think you're joking with?" She asked, venom lacing her voice.

He mentally shrieked, "N-no one, ma'am."

"I don't want to repeat myself again, Hisashi Tadaomi. Answer my question." She demanded. "I'll kick you out of the room if you don't give me any valid reason."

"F-fine," He sighed, defeated. "I woke up late, ma'am."

The teacher let out a breath, shaking her head in disappoinment. "You may now sit down."

Hisashi faintly nodded, striding towards his seat beside the window. The teacher continued with her lesson and everyone listened attentively, writing down important details on their notebooks. It's been a couple of minutes since Hisashi focused learning against his will when a small crumpled paper was thrown at his desk. He lifted up his gaze from his papers and glanced beside him, found the culprit.

He raised a puzzled brow at him, whispering: "What's wrong with you?"

Watanube brightly smiled, "Nothing's wrong, bro."

He rolled his eyes, "Come on, I know you're holding back from laughing because of what happened earlier, you traitor."

"Don't blame me, it's just too funny for me." Watanube let out a stiffled 'pff'. "You should have seen your face, you look like a zombie."

"I'm just sleepy. I don't get to have enough rest last night." Hisashi replied, breaking their eye contact and went back to writing the lessons when he saw the teacher looking at them. "Let's talk later at break time, that woman's watching us."

Watanube pretended to be studying, nodding. "Yeah, wouldn't want to get scolded like you."

—

"I woke up late, ma'am." Watanube mimicked Hisashi with a high-pitched voice, pouting like a duck as he kept teasing his bestfriend.

Hisahi sipped the last remaining of the sweetened milk on the small carton and threw it at the other male's face. He cackled with Watanube's hilarious reaction, seeing him stand up from the surface of the desk and childishly protested.

"Oi, don't you know how to discard your waste properly?" He frowned.

"I do know." Hisashi grinned. "Aren't you a trashcan?"

"You..." A vein popped out on his forehead, clearly annoyed with the joke. He huffed, wearing his sulking expression. "How dare you do this to your awesome and amazing friend? I'm gonna tell this to Rurumi-neechan."

Hisashi shrugged his shoulders, seemingly not to care. His pair of orbs scanned the noisy room and spotted Hanamizu's circle of friends sitting down at the corner with phones in their hands. He already knew what they're talking about, those excited and blushing face were proofs that they've been reading the novel again. He really wanted to stand up and walk away from his talkative bestfriend to join the girls. But he eventually erased the idea because he find it embarrassing, it's better to talk to her once they're alone.

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?" Watanube exclaimed against his ear, which made him jolt with the sudden booming voice.

Hisashi grumbled, craning his neck towards the side and saw the other male's apologetic smile. He wore his dissatisfied face, "I can't hear you, speak louder."

"Oh stop being so sarcastic, my dear friend." Watanube said. "But it's better that you didn't heard what I said."

Hisashi's curiosity rose up upon hearing his words, he pain him full attention and forgot a certain group of girls. Watanube shook his head, sternly keeping his mouth shut from saying the news to him. Hisashi's glare deepened, his lips drew into a thin line.

"Tell me."

"No."

"Tell. Me."

"It's your fault anyways, you're staring at Hanamizu again."

"That's out of the conversation, just tell me what you said and I might treat you ice cream later after class."

Watanube halted, squinting his eyes to see if he's serious about his words. A second later, he sighed, caressing his nape. "Alright, but I think it'll crush you down, man. It'll be bad now that you look grumpy today, too."

"I just lack sleep that's why I'm a bit out of energy." Hisashi responded. "I'll be fine, it's not like the news you're going to say was about someone's death or something."

"I don't know, bro. But it's the talk of the entire school, I'm confused that you still didn't know." Watanube nervously chuckled. "You see... Zen Kaisen of class one and our classmate Hanamizu Saiko were rumored to be dating."

Hisashi's eyes extended in size with disbelief. His whole body was frozen, no words came out of his agaped lips as if he's a fish out of the water. His head was immediately filled with negative things, not quite processing Watanube's words to him. He knew his friend was undoubtedly not lying with his sullen and serious face, because he knew that Hisashi would be way more devastated than him after discovering the painful news. Hisashi leaned his head backwards, and lifelessly laughed.

"You've got to be kidding me..." The black-haired boy mumbled, you could say that he's not affected with it due to his stoic face but hurt was visible in his eyes. He refused to steal a glance from Hanamizu's direction as his heart ached.

Watanube approached him, patting his shoulder in sympathy. "I don't know if it's true, man, I just heard it from our schoolmates. But if it's real, I suggest you to forget about her and move on. There's a lot of better girls around you, don't waste your time with someone who can't even give you her entire attention."

Hisashi sucked in a breath, groaning in frustration. "But–"

"Hanamizu! Someone's here for you!" Their classmate's booming voice immediately interfered his words, making the two of them to whip their heads towards the door.

And what they've witnessed made everything clear for them. Everyone whistled as the mentioned girl stood up to talk to the handsome boy outside of the room in private. They teased the new couple before they walked away and disappeared from their sights. The rest of the class gossiped about the cutest lovebirds of the campus, oblivious about Hisashi's hurted feelings. Some of Hisashi's friends neared him to cheer him up, saying plenty of encouraging words to eradicate the sullen expression imprinted on his beautiful face.

"Aw, don't be sad, Hisashi-chan!" Megu, one of his girlbestfriends, said. She pumped her fists in the air, making her large chest to slightly jump up and down. "Women like her are the type of people that you should avoid, if she don't find you useful, she won't acknowledge you. That's just how it is."

"She's right," Hotaku, also his friend, agreed with her. "Maybe the reason why she kept rejecting you was the fact that she won't have any benefit if she's with you."

"What do you mean? Do I look that useless to you?" Hisashi asked, scowling.

Watanube cackled, "i***t. What he meant was her beauty's inferiority to yours. Of course, it'll be insulting for her if her boyfriend was more prettier than her. Don't you think?"

Hisashi glared at him, "What's the point?"

The other three shrugged, "We don't know, bro. Just move on, she's basically a used toy now."

"Why are you so mean, though?" Hisashi's lips formed into a faint smile, his friends were successful for making him happy after the unpleasant event a while ago.

"Stating a one-hundred percent fact, sweetie." Megu grinned, her charming deep dimples appeared for them to see.

"Yeah," Watanube nodded. "Set aside about her, do you guys know who got scolded today for being late because they woke up late?"

Hotaku and Megu laughed, "Are you talking about Hisashi Tadaomi?"

Hisashi frowned, "Oi, you'll all mean!"

—

"Ah!" Megu let out a loud sigh, stretching her slim body as she walked ahead at the side of the road. "I'm so hungry!"

"You're not alone," Watanube spoke behind her, yawning. "Man, I'm starving I could eat a horse."

"Ahem, Hisashi," Hotaku cleared his throat. "Remember our rule? The late among us four would treat the rest for food after classes."

Megu excitedly bobbed her head up and down, "I want vanilla ice cream! Ice cream!"

Hisashi stared at the three of them, before smiling. His bike was on his side, joining them on their strides towards the ice cream parlor a few meters away from school. "I guess it's alright. Also, it's a token of gratitude for cheering me up this morning. Thank you, guys. I'm so lucky to have you."

Megu turned around to look at the three men behind her, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. "You're always welcome! We're lucky to have you, too, Hisashi! This group won't be complete without you."

Hotaku couldn't hide the small blush tinting his pale cheeks now that Megu began teasing him about it. "That's f-flattering me, actually."

Watanube winked at him, forming a heart with his hands. "Oh honey, I'm falling for you again!"

Hisashi rolled his eyes, chuckling with their response. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I love you, too, guys."

The day was about to end, students exited the school to go back home and rest. The sun was setting, displaying orange and pink hue across the sky. Hisashi and his friends have decided to get icecream to aid their hunger before parting ways. They talked a lot of things through their walk, making fun of each other and laughing with joy.

Hisashi gazed up to see a flock of free birds flying in the air, peacefully inhaling the air and exhaling it. It's been a stressful day, and it mentally drained him out. Finding out that the girl that he have been pursuing all this time had finally got a boyfriend that was not him. His efforts were technically thrown at the side, all useless and won't probably be any useful in the future. He's a little bit mad at Hanamizu with the fact that she's the reason why he didn't get enough of sleep and was late at the first class on this morning. For Christ's sake, he spent the entire night reading her favorite novel to get her favor. But everything ended up as a trash when she chose to date someone way better than him.

He admit, it won't be easy to move on because he would still see her around. Nevertheless, he'd try his best so that he won't feel the pain in his heart anymore. He will move on, not now, but soon. He was just really glad that Watanube and the other two didn't bother bringing her up in their conversation, he was thankful for that. They really knew that he'll broke down once she was mentioned again, he would cry his eyes out and Watanube will call Rurumi for help and the older female will beat up Hanamizu into a pulp for hurting her little brother's feelings.

Hisashi jolted when his phone started vibrating inside his pocket. He quickly fetched it and answered the call, gesturing his friends to continue messing around as he talked to the device. "Hello?"

"I'm so happy that you picked up, sweetheart!" He heard his mother's enthusiastic voice on the other line, making him smile. "I just want to tell you that your father got home early to celebrate his job promotion! Isn't that nice? He bought two cakes, and your sister bought you something."

"Wow," Hisashi widened his eyes in surprise. "What did nee-chan got for me?"

His mother giggled, "I promised her that I'll keep it a secret, so I won't tell you that she bought you a new laptop!" Hisashi heard Rurumi's noisy complaints on the background. "I guess, oops?"

He cackled, shaking his head in amusement. "Yeah, I'll pretend that I didn't hear anything."

"That'll be wonderful!" She chirped. "You better go home to celebrate with us, help me prepare the special dinner."

"I'll be there after going to the icecream parlor with my friends, mom." He said. "Tell dad that he's awesome and congratulations. And also tell nee-chan that I still didn't know that she bought me a new laptop. I'll be home soon."

The woman hummed in satisfaction, chuckling afterwards. "Okay, okay. I love you, sweetheart. We love you, we'll be waiting for you. We couldn't start the celebration without you. Just be safe going back home."

Hisashi nodded, genuinely smiling. "Yes, yes. I love you, too, guys."

After bidding goodbye to each other, he hung up and put back the phone inside his pockets. He looked at his friends beside him, who were talking merrily. The four of them stood patiently beside the road, waiting for the traffic lights to turn red and cross to the pedestrian lane.

"Aunt called you?" Megu questioned, her hands were intertwined on her back.

Hisashi nodded, "Yeah, dad was promoted and nee-chan just bought me a new laptop."

"Wow! I must attend the celebration party!" Watanube exclaimed.

"You're not part of the family, don't expect to go and join them party for the good news." Hotaku deadpanned.

A vein popped out on Watanube's forehead, "Hey! I knew you want to eat Aunt's delicious dishes, too! You dare say that to me?!"

"Yeah, I love her foods! But aren't you embarrassed that you're crashing in their family's celebration? Are you their lost family member?"

"But I'm her son's awesome friend!"

"Come on, you noisy men, don't you know that I'm the most awesome friend of Hisashi?" Megu grumbled, participating in their childish arguement as she was also attacked with words. Not long after, the three of them bickered as Hisashi remained silent beside them, telling to himself that he didn't know them.

Soon enough, the yellow light turned red. The four of them began walking as a couple of vehicles halted for them to cross. Hisashi's friends were still arguing, they were too loud that they didn't even heard the upcoming truck's beeping horns.

Hisashi glanced to the direction where it was coming from and saw the truck bumping to cars, causing slight destruction as it approached them. It looked like it lost control, the brake wasn't working at all. Fear dominated his system, sweat trickled down his forehead as he didn't know what to do now that in any seconds, the truck would hit the four of them. Megu, Hotaku, and Watanube doesn't have any clue about it and resumed their tiny quarrel.

He clicked his tounge, letting go of his bike as he pushed the three of them on the side. His friends were caught off guard, screaming in fright as they fell on their bums. They were about to curse Hisashi out loud for pushing them when everything happened too fast they couldn't even react, tears suddenly broke down from their eyes.

For a split second, Hisashi sent them a one last smile before getting hit by the monsterous truck.