The Depra King 9 Fall: A Confident Plan Knocks Down; Greed

I yawned as I lazily turned off my alarm clock, lightly stretching upward to only help me slightly wake up. I really hate school days.

I went through my usual routine, brus.h.i.+ng my teeth slowly, eating my oatmeal slowly, getting dressed slowly, just really having a slow morning.

As I slowly put my clothes on, a pair of sweatpants and a baggy t-s.h.i.+rt, I stared at the time on my phone, wondering if I should just skip today. It had only been a couple weeks since school started, and I was already sick of it. I'm just so tired, I really need sleep.

I watched a notification pop up on my phone, and I let out a slight groan, realizing who it is.

"Don't keep me waiting too long Depra!" It was Pandora, and I typed a quick response before sending it.

"Do I have to go?"

"I'll make it so you can't sleep even if you do stay home."

I let out another, more audible groan as I put my phone in my pocket. I put on my worn-out shoes, grabbed my bag, and headed out the door.

"Aha, knew that would work!" Her purplish-orange hair, a color that a Padparadscha Sapphire would rarely have, looked more purple than orange in the shade, and she gave me a grin as she walked towards me. "Shall we go?"

"Can't even let me skip a day," I grumbled as I readjusted my backpack. "Yeah, let's go."

We walked in silence for a while before Pandora turned to me. "Hey, you feeling alright? You looked even more dead than usual?"

"Geez, thanks for the compliment…"

"No problem! I personally think the look suits you, but you're too dead for my taste right now."

A joker through and through. "I haven't been able to sleep lately. Nightmares."

"You have nightmares?"

"More often than you know. It gets especially bad during this time of year," I said, glancing at the girl next to me. "It's as if they want to take away my only sanctuary…"

"Hmm? What was that?"

I sighed. "Nothing at all Pandora. C'mon, if we don't hurry, we might be late." I sped up my pace lightly, trying to shake off the tiredness that

"Says the reason why we might be late, Depra." She also sped up, the sun finally touching upon her hair, which was now glowing orange.

"Your hair really is amazing," I accidentally thought aloud, and she stopped to look at me.

"Weird time to get a compliment, but I like your messy hair more, if we're on the topic. It's as if you were made to have that type of look."

"I've had this hairstyle long before I started highschool."

"Wait, really! Oh, this makes me wanna see photos of lil Depra so bad! You have to show me later!"

"I really don't have any picture of back then," I mumbled, scratching my head. Well, it was more like I didn't know where they were, but I really didn't want to go searching, since…

(Are you trying to forget it now? Running away again, only relying on others to get by? How greedy of you.)

"Is it wrong to not want to remember painful things?"

(So, you still haven't learned yet huh?)

"Yoohoo, Depra!"

I was snapped out of my stupor by Pandora, who was holding my face in her hands. She was on her tiptoes, and her regal purple eyes were staring intently at me.

"You okay?"

I couldn't help but be mesmerized for a brief moment, staring into her eyes. "Uh, yeah." I felt like an idiot.

"Oh good, glad I was some help!" She gave me a quick grin before stepping away from her, her soft touch lingering on my face. "Hey, we really do have to hurry now, or we'll both be late!"

I nodded, still trying to get over what happened. I shook my head. I'll just ignore it for now.

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It was lunchtime now, and I was making my way to the roof alone when I noticed Aether staring at the stairs leading to the roof.

"Oh, hey Aether." He glanced over at me and nodded at me. "So, what exactly are you doing?"

"Trying to catch the one similar to me."

Huh? What did he mean by that? "Um, okay. Are you gonna stay out here waiting?"

He simply nodded. I sighed. I really didn't understand any of those guys. And by those guys, I mean Aether, Erebus, and Eros.

"Aren't you gonna eat?"

"Eating is for those beneath me. I have no need to eat." His stomach let out a loud growl as he said that, but he still managed to keep a straight face.

I looked down at my plate and hesitated. "Do you want some of my food?"

He finally turned towards me and stared at my plate. "I already said I don't need sustenance."

"Hey, you'll die if you don't eat you know." His stomach let out another growl, and I could see in his eyes that he was struggling.

"Here, lets split it. I'm not too hungry today anyway, so I'll be fine." He simply nodded, and we sat down in the hallway. I split up my food in half (steak, mash potatoes, and green beans), and put it on his half of the plate. I offered him my spoon, and he simply nodded in thanks before devouring his half.

"That was good Depra. I thank you."

"Um, it wasn't as if I could leave you hungry."

"I don't like accepting help from ones beneath me, but you're an acceptation I'm willing to make."

"How come you don't rely on others?"

"Because I can do everything I want to do by myself."

"But, aren't you bad at everything?"

He let out a hmph before shaking his head. "I just let you plebeians think that. I'm the greatest, but it's no fun if I always win, so I let others believe that I'm the worst to have them get their confidence up, only to destroy when it matters most to them."

I was at a loss for words. I put some food in my mouth before sighing. How does he have such confidence? Where does it come from?

"The only person you can truly rely on is yourself. Imagine if you couldn't rely on yourself. Who else could you reliably rely on?" He took a piece of my steak and nodded to himself. "That's how I see it anyway."

I felt a strange feeling stir within me as his words struck me to my core. "Rely on yourself? When was the last time I did that? I honestly couldn't tell you. h.e.l.l, I don't even have an ounce of confidence in myself anymore. I don't even like the person I see in the mirror, let alone want to rely on him."

Aether frowned as he heard my ramblings and closed his for a brief moment before sighing. He ran his hand through his grey hair and opened one eye to look at me.

"Haven't you ever thought to change who you are?"

I couldn't help but laugh bitterly. "They won't let me."

"Who cares? Do it to spite them." His sky-blue eye was staring intently at me, and I was at a loss for words.

(IMPOSSIBLE!)

"I…"

"Hang out with me for the next couple of days."

I looked at Aether, who had taken another piece of my steak. "I'll tell Lachesis, so skip your club and hang with me." He grabbed my plate and stood up. "You just lack self-confidence."

"Why are you?"

"I don't teach plebeians, but I'll always make an exception for you, Depra."

I was overcome with that strange feeling again, a feeling I should have only experienced twice, and I felt my head flash in pain before it vanished as quickly as it happened, and I was only left with confusion.

But even that fell to gratefulness.

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"Alright, you're basically just watching what I do."

It was the afternoon now, and I was hanging out with Aether in one of the school courtyards. I had texted Pandora that she wouldn't have to wait up for me, so all I really had to do was just follow Aether around.

"What do you plan on doing?"

"Showing off my innumerable skills," he said simply. "Also, we're catching the one similar to me."

"You still haven't explained who exactly that is."

He looked at me with his serious, sky-blue eyes. "I don't really know myself."

"Then how could you possible know who it is!?"

He simply shook his head, as if telling me I don't understand. "I'm just simply confident I'll know it's them when I catch them."

I was already starting to feel tired. "How long will this take?"

"I don't know." Strike that, I'm already full-blown exhausted.

He motioned for me to follow him, and I really couldn't help but feel like this was a horrible idea on my part. I mean, what could I possibly do to change? But I followed him, nonetheless.

I suddenly felt a sharp kick to my back, almost toppling me over. "First things first, fix that slouch of yours. How else can you properly look down on the peasants below you?"

"You didn't have to kick me to bring that point across," I muttered, and I straightened out my back, stretching out my pain before trying to fix my posture.

Whoa, this feels even more tiring than just slouching. "How is this worth it?"

"Another thing." I saw Aether suddenly appear in my vision, and I immediately darted my eyes to the ground. "You should look people in the eye when you speak. You're not trying to speak to the ground, are you?"

"Um, I guess you're right about that…"

"Also, stop mumbling! Speak your mind properly when around others, and try not to look so miserable all the time!"

"Why does it feel like you're just trying to change my entire being…" I started to mess with my long locks of black hair, twisting it anxiously.

Aether stopped in front of me, looking at me in the eye. "I mean, have you seen yourself Depra? A real long hard look at yourself? You're a mess, through and through. Of course it feels like you're changing every bit of yourself; at this point, you don't really have any good points if I'm being honest."

That was brutal. "Anyway, we're at the first stop." I looked up to see we were at the art room. I hadn't ever been on this side of the school before, since I never had a reason to take any art cla.s.ses.

Aether slammed open the door, surprising everyone inside. "Excuse me peasants, I have a need to show off my glorious skills to the boy behind me."

The teacher, stunned, just pointed at the back, and Aether nodded before whisking away, leaving me by myself. I decided to take an empty seat nearby, not wanting to bother anybody.

I scrunched up my nose as the smell of paint overcame me. I looked around the room, looking at most of the people here painting, along with many of the paintings lining the walls. They were all pretty good, although I wasn't really cultured enough to give a full review. It also looked as if they were mostly doing self-portraits.

Aether's words resounded through my head, and I tightly gripped my arms, my nails digging into my skin. When was the last time I had taken a look at myself? I honestly couldn't say. I haven't looked in a mirror in so long, I probably wouldn't even recognize the person I would see. Then again, it's not as if I like that person anyway, so maybe I'm better off not knowing.

I leaned back into my seat and let out a sigh. I'm so tired. I just wanna sleep.

(Who said you'll have peace even in your dreams?)

…

(No answer huh? You trying to ignore me now? You know that isn't possible.)

Let me sleep in peace.

(You know why the nightmares plague you.)

Shut up.

(What makes you think you can escape? You can't escape, not even in your dreams.)

Please, leave already.

(How long are you going stay wallowing in your self-pity, Depra King? You have one person to blame.)

So…tired…

(It's your fault.)

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I was in a pit, a dark, dreadful place, that no matter where I went, all I could hear were the cries of those abandoned. They would claw at my very being, taking something away from each time they did.

Punishment they called it, and I couldn't escape.

They would tear me apart, but I would feel no pain from it. They left deep gashes, but no blood would flow. They would sever my limbs apart, yet I kept moving, crying, screaming at me in their unyielding rage.

No matter how much I wished to stop, no matter how much they scarred me, they would force me to continue, clinging onto me like an albatross around my neck.

A reminder to never forget, to live the rest of my days in agonizing misery, to bear the burden for the rest of my days.

Punishment they called it, and I couldn't escape.

My Eternal d.a.m.nation.

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I woke up from my normal nightmare to see Aether just putting his paintbrush down.

"There, I'm finished." He nodded to himself before looking at me, realizing I had woken up. "Nice nap?"

I couldn't help but let out a sigh. "No, it just made me even more tired."

"Eh, sleep is for peasants anyway. It's why I don't do it." He admired his handiwork on his canvas before motioning for me to come take a look.

Is it really all that good? I thought as I made my way to him.

"Since you haven't gotten a good look at yourself, I decided to help you out. Be grateful I did this for you."

I took a peek at his work, and a resounding sigh soon followed after.

"Hey, could you explain what this is?"

"It's the look of yourself that you need."

I don't even know where to begin. The entire canvas was almost entirely black, with only six colors in the center shaped in a circular pattern if you connected them all. The colors, represented by circles, eventually faded to black in the painting. The colors, in no particular order, were yellow, orange, purple, pink, blue, and red.

"Oi, how the h.e.l.l does this represent me!? This makes no sense at all!"

"It's his first time, so cut him some slack!" The teacher yelled from the back, and that only made me even more bewildered.

I rubbed my face with my hand and sighed. "Alright, is this your masterpiece?"

"Of course, the best comes from the best."

I rolled my eyes. Seriously, where does this confidence come from? "Where to next?"

He nodded at me, and we continued our lesson together.

The next place we ended up in was the pool, which was empty since it wasn't swim season. The pool took up the entire building, being an indoor pool and all, and had multiple lanes barricaded off for practice. Aether immediately went for the deep end, 20 ft. deep, and I couldn't help but feel nervous.

"Um, I know you can't swim," I said as I watched him strip to his underwear.

"I can do whatever I want. I'm the best after all. There's nothing I can't do."

That doesn't say anything about you being able to swim! I decided to strip too, because I'm a.s.suming I'm gonna have to save his a.s.s.

"Watch and learn from the master." I can't wait to save the master. I watched him jump into the water and sink like a stone, not even putting an effort to try to swim.

Maybe I can just let him drown, I thought as I knelt next to the water.

(Coldhearted.)

I watched the bubbles rise before sighing. What the h.e.l.l am I even doing?

I jumped in, swimming down towards the bottom as I saw Aether's body sink. h.e.l.l, can I even reach him without running out of air? Panic flashed through me, but it was too late to give up. I just swam faster, managing to grab his arm and wrapping it around my shoulders.

I looked back up and saw that we were basically at the bottom. d.a.m.nit, this is a f.u.c.king pain. I'm not in any sort of shape to drag this guy back up, nor am I confident in me reaching the top without me drowning.

(Dying is the easy way out.)

Shut up! I don't have time to deal with you! I began to swim upwards as fast as I could, slowly making my way to the top.

(You're gonna die.)

f.u.c.k off! I don't need this right now! I began to swim faster, struggling as I carried the weight of Aether back up with me. d.a.m.nit, I knew I shouldn't have let him do this.

(…Are you going to use it?)

Like h.e.l.l I will! I could feel my chest growing tight as I was struggling to hold the air, but I was so close.

(Use it!)

Like! "h.e.l.l I will!" I reached the top and took a huge breath of air, my heart hammering after my too close brush with death. I managed to swim over to the ladder and drag Aether to the floor, where he started to cough.

"Ugh, too close Depra."

"And whose fault do you think that is!?" I yelled out, trying to catch my breath. "We almost died thanks to you!"

"But we got saved thanks to you, right?" He groaned as he sat up, pus.h.i.+ng back his wet hair. "I knew you could do it."

Eh? What is he going on about now? I pushed the wet hair out from my eyes, staring at Aether. "How could you have faith in someone as useless as me?"

"If you were useless, would you have been able to save me?"

I really don't know where he gets all this confidence in himself from, let alone from me. Honestly, that's just like-!

I stopped my train of thought, confused. "Huh? Why did it seem like…?" Like I already knew him before…

Before I could continue my train of thought, Aether was already back on his feet. I didn't notice this before, but he had a six-pack. "C'mon, lets dry off and get to the next place."

"There's more!"

He nodded as he grabbed his clothes. "Of course. You should consider yourself lucky that I'm spending so much time with you."

I let out a weary sigh. This is gonna be a long couple days, isn't it?

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After drying ourselves off and getting dressed again, we made our way outside the school. To where, who knows?

"Where exactly are we going Aether?" I asked as we exited the school gates, the sun on its way to setting.

"Back straight, eyes forward!" I felt another kick to my back, lunging me forward. "We're going to my followers of course."

I winced as I stood up straight, holding my back from underneath my backpack. "Your followers?" I asked, looking at Aether as he stopped in front of me.

"Yep, someone as glorious as me would have a fan-club. Come, let's go."

He then continued at a brisk pace, and I really didn't have a choice but to follow him. "Lead the way master…"

Huh, thinking on it, our eighth member called Hiro that all the time, I thought as I followed him. Honestly, she was kind of weird at times, but she was a good girl. I started to mess with my still wet, unkempt hair. I only knew her for a semester, but she was great. Honestly, those two were really close, Hiro and Anna. I wonder whatever happened to her?

"Depra? Why are you hanging out with this idiot?"

I was brought back to reality as I noticed a familiar voice, and I turned to my left to see Necessitas. We were in a suburban area, going near the city, and it looked as if she was waiting at a bus stop. She readjusted her gla.s.ses as she noticed the two of us, and Aether and I stopped when we noticed her.

"What does a peasant like yourself want with us?"

She ignored him and started to walk towards me. "So, what's up? Why aren't you with H.P.?"

"Oh, he's supposedly teaching me, um, actually, I don't really know what he's supposed to be teaching me. Self-confidence I guess?" I managed to keep my gaze going with her as she looked at the both of us, and she crossed her arms when she reached the two of us.

"Confidence? Well, I guess that's a thing he has in spades." She pushed her hair behind her ear and looked at me. "Where are you going?"

"No clue, although he said he has a fan club he wants me to meet."

She started to laugh. "Oh, so you're going to karaoke then?"

Huh? "What does karaoke have to do with anything?"

"Oh, whenever you finish a song, there's recorded applause that plays at the end of each song. He's talking about them."

I blinked a couple of times before sighing. "So, you wanna sing?"

"Nope, introduce you to my fan club, the most loyal of followers-!"

He got cut off by Necessitas, who threw a book at him. Honestly, I don't even know where she pulls them out half the time, and they always disappear afterwards.

"If it's karaoke, then I'll come along too, so he doesn't torture you Depra," she said, smiling gently at me. "Let's take the bus there, or where you guys trying to walk all the way?"

"I'm telling you, it's my fan club!"

"Of course it is, so that's why we're going to karaoke!" She had a smile as she said it to him, but the tone of her voice bordered on killing intent, and he quickly caught on.

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"Okay, let's get this started! I wasn't really planning on singing with you two guys today, but all's well that ends well!"

We were in the karaoke place, sitting down in the room while Necessitas happily chose a song for her to sing.

"Ooh! Do you guys mind if I sing a single!?"

"Uh, sure…" I've never seen her this excited before, except when she's talking about Erebus, although that's a different type of excitement.

"My fan club…" Aether said, his usual straight face now gone, as he sadly looked at the girl who took over his plans.

I placed a hand on his shoulder and sighed. "My condolences."

"Alright, here we go!" The music started, and the lyrics started roll across the screen, and the girl sung.

"Whoa, she's pretty good. And the song is…" I was at a loss for words as she sung. It had happy vibes from it, but the lyrics from it remind of her situation a lot. I can see why she likes it so much. (Heart Pattern)

When she was done, she nodded at the two of us, her happiness almost palpable, as if she had released some pent-up stress. She grinned as she handed Aether the mic, and he just s.n.a.t.c.hed it from her.

"This is for my fan club."

He started to search for a song, and Necessitas went and ordered us all drinks while he was busy choosing.

"Hey, what do you want Aether?"

"The drink of the G.o.ds! That'll only do for me!"

"Okay, so fruit juice for him. I'll take grape soda, and how about you Depra?"

"Root beer."

She finished ordering right as Aether decided on a song. "Okay, take it away Aether!"

He scoffed. "Be amazed by my musical talent." And he began to sing, and I wish I could've died right on the spot. It felt like his voice was grating away my sanity, although I really didn't need help on that front. The lyrics, or what little I hear of them, were interesting to say the least.

He nodded as the applause marked the end of the song. "Magnifique."

"Yep, it was amazing," Necessitas said, taking ear plugs out of her ears.

"Wait, why didn't you give me some!?"

She winked at me. "Oh, call it an initiation of sorts." Aether handed her the mic, and she pointed it at me. "Anyone, you're up next for our round of singles."

"Eh!? Oh, I can't sing."

"Sure you can! You must have something you like, right? Just choose the song and sing it. Oh, and I'll make sure he sings too." She thrusted the mic into my hands and started to drag me to the screen, where I could choose my song.

Even when I'm out with the Hidden Club, I don't sing solos. I often sing duos with Hiro, or group songs where we all sing together completely out of sync. Hmm, maybe we should go to karaoke again soon. I really enjoy doing it with them.

I sighed and continued to scroll through the songs. Well, that can be on the back burner for now. After struggling to choose a song, I finally managed to choose one I listened to on my own occasionally.

The slow start of my song began, and I started to sway back and forth, getting lost in the music. And then I sang. I don't think I did any good, but I for once, I didn't care, and let the music flow through me, channeling all the feelings I had felt into my performance. And when I was down, although brief, I felt as if the albatross around my neck vanished, leaving me free.

I turned around to see two very shocked faces, and I tilted my head in confusion. "Was it that bad?"

Necessitas was the first to recover. "Oh, on the contrary, it was quite beautiful. I was just at a loss is all. I never realized you were so good at singing."

"Not as good as me."

"Shut up Aether."

I couldn't help but chuckle, and the weight latched back onto me again, but for me, it was all that I needed.

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After that, we sang a couple of songs together, and before we knew it, night had already fallen. Aether decided to walk me home, and we said goodbye to Necessitas, who had to go another way to get home.

After a quick bus ride, we were only a couple minutes from my house, which me and Aether walked together.

"You didn't have to accompany me this far," I murmured. "You have to go home too, don't you?"

"I decide when I go home, and no one else," he said simply. Ah, what else did I expect at this point.

"I don't really think I learned anything today though."

"Back straight and eyes forward!" I fell forward as he kicked me, falling onto my face. "You learned that at least. And, that's what tomorrow is for after all, first thing tomorrow."

I managed to get back up, groaning as I clutched my back, which suffered severe abuse from the "master" all day. And tomorrow too? Maybe I should've just skipped today after all.

I nonetheless straightened out my back and tried as hard as I could to not look down at the concrete sidewalk. I instead decided to look at Aether, whose hair was s.h.i.+ning in the moonlight.

"Will all this really help," I thought aloud, and Aether nodded.

"Of course. I am the best at everything, including helping you."

I stopped, and Aether stopped and looked at me. "What's wrong?"

"I'm at my house." He looked at the house and then back at me.

"I obviously knew that."

I let out another sigh. "Good night Aether."

"First thing tomorrow morning, understand?"

I waved him goodbye and grabbed my key from backpack to unlock the front door, and as soon as I pa.s.sed through my front door, a heavy, constant wave of exhaustion overcame me, to the point where I almost collapsed on the spot.

"Ugh, I need to sleep," I moaned, as I kicked off my shoes and dragged myself to my dark room. I collapsed onto my bed, thinking over the events that happened today.

Is there really a point to this? I couldn't help but have that thought cross my mind throughout the entirety of today. I basically just watched Aether fail today. I glanced at my window, the moonlight filtering in, dimly lighting up the room.

(Greedy.)

…

(Always taking help from others, yet never trying to help others, least of all yourself. Greedy Coward.)

I clutched my stuffed bear, a recent companion I had gotten last year, hoping she would take away the voices that forever tormented me.

(Even relying on a stuffed toy? How miserable can one get?)

I clutched her even tighter, and I fell asleep, unable to get the voice out of mind.

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I woke up the next morning even more tired than the last, and I went through my morning routine so slowly that I was well on track for being late for school.

As I walked out the front door, instead of there being the usual purplish-orange hair that greeted me, this time it was a silver-grey. Aether looked at me with his usual straight face and nodded at me.

"We're gonna be late. So, let's make sure we're not." He motioned for me to follow him, and I let out a toothy yawn before following him. "Back straight, eyes forward!" I was too tired to even avoid the following kick, but I somehow managed not to fall down.

I'm too tired for this c.r.a.p, I thought as I tried to stretch the tiredness out of my body, reaching for the already bright sky.

"By the way, we're running there," he said quickly before das.h.i.+ng ahead, grabbing my arm and pulling me forward.

Isn't he super unathletic? I thought as I ran next to him, trying to keep up the same pace. We managed to keep up that pace for 30 seconds before Aether needed to stop for a break.

Is he serious? He's even more out of shape than I am. I watched as he tried to desperately catch his breath and let out a weary sigh.

"Why were you going that fast anyway?" He didn't answer, still trying to catch his breath. "Fine, you wanna go my pace?" He managed to nod as he finally caught his breath. He stood back up, acting as if he hadn't just been worn out.

Luckily, at going at my far more reasonable a pace, we just barely managed to arrive to school before the final bell, both of us sweaty and exhausted.

"We, hah, made it!" I managed to say, walking into the school, trying to reach my first cla.s.s before the bell rang.

"Indeed, knew you could do it Depra buddy." He patted me on the back, looking at the nearby clock. "We've got about a minute 30, so let's show these bottom feeders what's what."

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, lets make it." We ended up going the same way, with both our cla.s.ses next to each other. He waved me goodbye before entering his cla.s.s, and I wearily opened the door, the teacher having not arrived yet.

"Oh, Depra! I thought you were gonna skip! Whoa, what happened to you? You're all sweaty, and even wearing the same clothes as yesterday." It was Hiro, who frowned as he watched me walk to me seat.

"Oh, I didn't realize I was," I murmured, practically collapsing in my seat. I thought I managed to get dress quicker this morning. Guess that's why.

"So uh, what happened?" He asked, trying to get a look at my face.

I let out a long, exasperated sigh. "I don't even wanna talk about it right now," I said, and put my head down as the teacher walked in, right as the bell rang.

And so my second day of Aether training began.

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It was lunchtime now, and Aether had taken me to where we had eaten yesterday, at the foot of the stairs leading to the roof. He had gotten his own lunch today, a club sandwich with a bag of chips, accompanied by a bottle of water. I had the same thing, except instead of chips it was two chocolate chips cookies.

"So, today we're catching the one similar to me," he said simply, ripping a large chunk out of his sandwich using his teeth.

"You still haven't told me who that is," I responded, taking a moderate bite out of my own sandwich.

He quickly chewed his food and swallowed loudly. "Trust me, I'll know him when I see him."

My trust meter for you has already gone down to danger levels, so don't make it go any lower. I opened my water bottle and drank a little before letting out a sigh. "Do you have a plan to catch this mystery man?"

"Of course, it's why we're here today. The plan is simple: I point out who the person is, you distract them, I capture them, plan successful." He took out another large chunk of his sandwich. "A simple plan works the best for those inferior to myself."

You actually managed to make my trust levels go lower. I let out a sigh and leaned back against the wall, staring up at the ceiling.

"Your plan is stupid."

"It works wonders for those inferior to me."

"Don't say it twice!" I looked Aether in the eye, who, as usual, had his usual straight face on. "Ugh, I say we come up with a better plan than that. Do you have at least some hints as to who this person? You make it sound like he's a dude, so is there anything else?"

He thought for a moment before nodding to himself. "He's like me."

"That doesn't help at all d.a.m.nit!"

"I believe he has the same eyes as me, if that helps."

"Sky-blue?"

"Maybe slightly lighter, but they should look the same unless you're really close." He took another chunk out of his sandwich before opening his bag of chips and grabbing some. "You should at least know who they are too."

Eh? "I don't talk to that many people you know."

"That should make it easier." Wow, for once he had a point.

We continued to eat in silence as I tried to think of who it could be. Let's see, I talk to the people in the Hidden Club, Lachesis' friends, Pandora, and the nice old couple out in the farmlands. Oh, and Luna. I can take out the old couple, since I doubt he knew I talked to them. All the ladies are out, and so is Aether.

"So that leaves, Hiro, Heracles, Caelus, Erebus, and Eros." Eros has hazelnut eyes, so he's out. Hiro has dark brown eye, almost black, while Hera, well, I actually don't know, strange as that may sound. And I've only seen Erebus�� left eye, which is red, so I'm gonna have to a.s.sume he has two red eyes. All that's left would be…

"Oh, I guess you guy's eyes are pretty similar."

"You know who it is?" He finished up his sandwich along with his bag of chips, looking at me expectantly.

"Yeah but catching him is impossible you know." I ate the last of my cookies, surprisingly finis.h.i.+ng all my food for lunch. "Although, I do have an idea if you really wanna catch him. I'm not all too confident it'll work though…"

Aether finished drinking his water, letting out a satisfying sigh. "We'll go with it."

"Huh!? You haven't even heard it!"

He stood up, nodding to himself. "If it's you, then the plan will work, no problem."

The bell rang, and he looked at me, a small smile on his face. "Tell me what to do, and I'll leave the rest to you."

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It was the end of the day now, with everyone leaving to either their clubs, sports, or just going home. For me however, I had a plan I needed to enact.

I had already texted the person where to meet up, and I also enlisted the help of Hiro and Prez, for reasons you'll see later.

The meeting place was the courtyard, and I had arrived early to make sure it would work. There were couple students still around, but it shouldn't hinder the plan in any way.

"He's going to be late," I murmured, tapping my foot anxiously as I looked down at the gra.s.s. Could this really work? If he gets suspicious, then it's game over, and then no more plans afterward would work. In a way, he's just as hard to catch as Hiro.

"Hey, there you are!" It seemed he had arrived. I gulped, starting to get really nervous. Will this really work?

I sighed, knowing full well that I couldn't back out now. It's now or never.

I looked up at Caelus, who was grinning at me as he walked towards me. And suddenly, I could hear Aether screaming at me to keep my back straight and eyes up, and I stood up straight almost immediately, much to my surprise.

"You never call me out for anything. What's up, is something wrong?"

"Oh, uh no, not necessarily. I just had to ask you about something important is all." His light-blue eyes sparkled inquisitively. He stopped and gave me a knowing smile.

"Oh, is it about gentleman stuff? I can recommend you some good ones!"

"If I wanted to ask you about that, I would've just have you texted me links."

He laughed. "Good point. So, what did you need to talk about?"

Just talk normally until the preparations are ready. "I wanted to make a plan of attack with you against the a.s.s."

"Oh, I understand now. You wanna do something without him, right?"

"Yep, I wanna go to karaoke again with the Hidden Club, but I need to make sure everyone else is there but him. You have any ideas?"

"Well, besides using my trick?"

"As much as I would find that funny, let's avoid that scenario." I glanced up at a faraway window, where Hiro would appear to give me the signal. Still no sign huh? "Any ideas?"

"Well, we could always just tell him the wrong directions, or just plan it without him."

"Lachesis would stop us before we knew it though," I said, scowling. "I seriously don't know how she does it."

He raised his hand to his mouth, trying to think of something, and I glanced the window again, and this time I saw Hiro giving me two thumbs up, the signal. Good, now the hard part.

"Hmm, maybe we could try making him sick or something? No, because then Prez would wanna go on a trip to see him. Maybe if he's sick long enough?" Good, he was still distracted with my question. I did a small thumbs up with my hand at my side, and the plan was officially in motion.

As if on cue, the intercom clicked on, and we heard the next phase of our plan go into action.

"h.e.l.lO STUDENT BODY! IT'S ME, YOUR FABULOUS STUDENT COUNCIL PRESIDENT ONCE MORE WITH A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! IF ALL THE PEOPLE IN COURTYARD WOULD PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT THE BOY WITH THE DIRTY BLONDE HAIR FOR ME, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT HE'S MY FABULOUS VICE PRESIDENT!"

Caelus face warped into shock. "What the h.e.l.l is this!? What's she up to now?" Ah, but it was only the beginning.

"THE FIRST ONE TO TOUCH HIM GET'S TO PUNISH HIM FOR ALL THE MISDEEDS THE STUDENT COUNCIL HAS DONE! WELL, GO AT HIM GUYS!"

While she was talking, out of nowhere, it looked as if everyone who hadn't left school yet had been put into the courtyard, and they were all staring at Caelus eagerly.

And with that, my plan was almost complete. All I needed now was Aether to pull through, otherwise it would get very messy, very quickly.

"Hey, Depra, did you know about this?" Caelus asked, on guard as everyone started to inch closer to him.

"Well, I didn't know what she was gonna say, but for the most part," I said sheepishly, scratching my head.

"Don't act all shy about this! I'm a dead man, you hear me!? A dead man!" If Aether's going to do it, now would be the time.

"Hmph, I expected better from someone so similar as me." Caelus whirled around to the unexpected voice right as Aether's hand touched his shoulder.

"Check and Mate." And suddenly, just as quickly as they appeared, all the people disappeared, and in the distance, I could see Hiro and Prez walking to the three of us, with Prez cackling.

"Oh man, I didn't expect Depra of all people to come up with a crazy plan like that!" She said, laughing to herself.

"Easy for you to say. It was a pain in the a.s.s for me I'll have you know." Hiro sighed before grinning. "Still, it does make sense that it would work. After all, he couldn't exactly do anything with all those people watching. Smart play Depra."

I couldn't help but feel slightly embarra.s.sed from all the praise I was getting. "It really wasn't that big a deal you know. It could've gone wrong if he suspected something from the beginning, and then what would I have done?"

Aether was still staring at Caelus, and vice versa, as if they were reaching some sort of silent understanding. And then…

"Plebeian."

"Huh!?"

Aether let out a rare smile. "It was a joke. I wish to speak to you more, now that I've captured you." His hand was still on Caelus' shoulder.

"Um, I guess so?" He shrugged and looked back at Prez. "Sorry, I won't be able to come to the club today."

"Eh, I figured as much. C'mon Hiro, I'll race yah to see who's first!"

"A race you'll never win," Hiro snorted, and the two rushed off as soon as they came.

I guess my plan actually worked. "I guess it ended out okay." I sighed and was about to leave before I felt Aether grab onto my shoulder.

"Thank you, Depra King."

I turned back around to see hints of grat.i.tude in his face, and he released my shoulder to whip out his phone. "I never give those beneath me my phone number, but you are an exception. Let us exchange them."

Oh, I guess I don't have any of Lachesis' friends' phone numbers, do I? I nodded, not really sure if I should give my phone number to someone like him, but I relented all the same.

We quickly exchanged them, and he put his phone back into his pocket. "I have nothing to else to teach you. You have learned how to look down on others spectacularly."

"Hey, don't put it like that," I grumbled, and he let out another rare smile.

"You'll be alright, Depra King. If I ended up okay, then you can too. Now come on Plebeian, let's get a move on."

"Do you have to constantly hold onto my shoulder like that!?" I watched the two of their antics as they walked back into the school and I let out a sigh, not of sadness, but of relief.

"I owe you so much! Thank you! I'll never forget it!" I froze as I heard a kid's voice echo through my head, the unfamiliar voice bringing in a ma.s.sive wave of nostalgia, and although brief, I could've sworn the two walking away were replaced with two kids, one with black hair leading the way, the other with silver-grey hair holding onto his shoulder.

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I decided to head on home after my plan of action, and as usual, I saw the girl whose hair blazed in the sun, Pandora.

"Yoo-hoo! Miss me?" She was teasing me again, having a sly smile on her face.

"If I say yes, what do I get?"

"Nothing!"

"Then I didn't miss you in the slightest."

She laughed, and I couldn't help but chuckle along with her.

"You ready to go?"

"To sleep? Yep, I'm dead tired."

"Aw c'mon, just two more days until the weekend! You can make it; I believe in yah!"

And so, the boy's greed was replaced with confidence.