Alice perched on the edge of the worn down, wooden bench, her pink hair catching the morning light as she swayed her feet up and down. At least, that’s what caught Akuma’s eye while glancing over here and there. He chose to stand beside the bench, his posture stiff and uncomfortable. Maybe he was feeling self-conscious after his earlier fall, or maybe it was just his usual phobia for wooden structures. Then again, both options could be at work here.

  The silence stretched between them until Akuma finally broke it, his voice cutting through the morning air with an awkward hesitation.

  “I-I'm surprised you came to school today. If it were me, I'd have stayed home. Especially since it's Friday.”

  “You sound just like my grandma…” Alice replied with a small smile. “She told me the same thing this morning.”

  Hearing that comparison was like a needle piercing through Akuma's heart. He wasn't sure whether to take it as an insult or not, his expression falling slightly.

  Alice continued, unaware of his discomfort.

  “Honestly, it was unbearable missing four whole days of school. I mean that's four whole days! One or two is one thing, but four?! I almost lost my mind. I had to come back as soon as possible.”

  Akuma shifted his weight, counting the cracks in the sidewalk. Anything to dodge eye contact.

  “Wow... um... didn't know you felt so passionate about school.”

  “Well of course I love school! I get to see so many wonderful people. My friends, the teachers, and even the people in the hallways.”

  Her eyes lit up as she spoke, a genuine warmth radiating from her that seemed almost foreign to Akuma.

  It might be important to note that Alice was something of a school celebrity. It was rare to find her alone, which made these quiet moments with her all the more precious to him, though he'd never admit it.

  “Is that so...” Akuma muttered, unable to hide the shadow that crossed his face.

  Alice tilted her head, noticing his expression.

  “You always make that face when I mention wanting to see other people...”

  She paused, her voice softening.

  “Say, do you remember how we first met?”

  “Huh? Um... I was beating up some thugs, right?”

  He scratched the back of his neck, feigning casual indifference. In reality, he remembered the day with perfect clarity.

  “Yep. It was right after my mom had passed away. I got a text message from my father in the middle of class. I thought the whole world would end after I read that. I just couldn't believe it. I immediately asked to use the restroom and darted out the school crying. That was the first and last time I ever skipped class...”

  As she spoke, the memory flashed through Akuma's mind in vivid detail. That day, he'd been cutting class as usual, slouched against the wall in an alley when he'd heard a girl's muffled sobbing around the corner.

  Up till then, anytime he heard someone crying, it always sounded as if they wanted someone else to come fix their problem.

  He hated it.

  He absolutely despised people who believed themselves to be powerless. People who did nothing instead of something.

  And yet, there was something different about Alice's tears. Something about the sound had resonated with him, stirring something he couldn't quite name. Why did they sound so different to him?

  “But while I was out…” Alice continued, her fingers tracing invisible patterns on the bench. “I ran into a group of delinquents. They kept pressing me for my number, and when I didn't give it to them, they flipped. One even pulled out a knife.”

  She hugged herself slightly at the memory.

  “I was so scared, I really thought I was gonna die, you know?”

  Akuma remembered turning the corner and seeing her. That unusual pink hair. Her tear-streaked face. And how she was backed against a wall with genuine terror in her eyes.

  The sight ignited something within him. It felt different from his usual impulse to help people in need. It felt… Purposeful. As if he’d found his life’s purpose.

  “So, I just closed my eyes shut and waited for it to come. But it just never came...”

  Alice's voice grew softer.

  “And when I opened my eyes, I saw you. I felt like some main heroine from an anime. After that you beat the living daylights out of them, all by yourself. And when I asked who you were, you looked me dead in my eyes and said, 'I'm God.' That was my first time ever meeting the famous Lazy Demon.”

  Akuma hesitated, staring at Alice with surprised eyes. He remembered the exhilaration of that moment, how for the first time his cursed strength had protected someone instead of isolating him. It was the first time he felt special in a way that didn't leave him alone.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “N-Now that I'm hearing the story from you…” he stammered, his cheeks flustering. “I gave the worst first impression ever. Please, just forget that whole thing ever happened.”

  Alice giggled at his embarrassment. It sounded almost like wind chimes in the morning air.

  “Sorry but no can do. That memory is special to me. Just like you.”

  His heart skipped a beat, not daring to interpret her words. His eyes widened, the words echoing in his mind like an empty room.

  In his confusion, she'd scooted over to the other side of the bench without him realizing, patting the now-empty space beside her.

  As he slowly turned his gaze, she grabbed his attention with her pointed finger.

  “What I’m trying to say, is that you're one of the wonderful people I want to see at school too, Akuma.”

  He was left speechless, his eyes widened with shock as he tried to process what she said. But mostly, it was her eyes that captured him. There was just something beautiful about the way they looked at him—without fear, without persecution. They looked at him like he was human.

  Their silent exchange was cut short by the rumbling of truck-like exhaust, the vibration felt beneath their feet before the sound fully registered.

  Their yellow Uber had arrived, eager to whisk them away to their next destination. It halted right in front of them, its double doors swinging open in an inviting gesture that for once didn't seem ominous to Akuma.

  While any ordinary person might see it as just a yellow bus ready to transport students to school, Akuma usually perceived it as Cerberus, the mythical guardian, lowering its back to usher them into the depths of the underworld.

  But today was different. His attention was so fixed on Alice that he hadn't even noticed the bus had arrived.

  It took Alice getting up while commenting “It's here, Akuma” to snap him back to reality.

  Having no real friends on the bus—none at all actually—Akuma opted for the back seat, a place that felt like home. Since stepping into high school, he found solace only in the rear of the bus.

  In his mind, those who sat in the middle were decent enough, but the front seats? Those were reserved for serial killers, or perhaps people on illegal substances. Maybe even both.

  It might be important to note that Alice, as usual, settled into the seat right in front of him. Close enough that he could catch the scent of her sweet, strawberry shampoo, yet positioned so that he couldn't quite see her face unless she turned around. A perfect metaphor for their relationship:

  Close, yet somehow just out of reach.

  Saint Peters High.

  An ordinary high school, for ordinary students in this very ordinary world. Much like any other institution of learning, you'll find that one student who's outcasted by everyone around them. Here, that student was Akuma.

  It had its perks at times. No matter how crowded the hallways, they somehow always parted for him. Tables would clear at his approach, and he never had to endure the agony of waiting in long lines. His academic genius placed him at the top of his entire grade, allowing him to glide under the radar of teachers, despite his habitual tardiness and absences.

  But it goes without saying that it also had its cons.

  “See that boy over there? Don't go anywhere near him.”

  That's what he heard a girl warning who he assumed to be a new student, her voice pitched low but not quite low enough.

  “Huh? Why? Is he a delinquent or something?” The new student asked, her curious gaze lingering on him a moment too long.

  “More than that. He goes around calling himself God and even argues with himself sometimes. He's so cocky about his good grades that he refuses to work with anyone during group projects. Honestly, I bet the teachers only give him good grades because they're scared of him.”

  “Really? That's a shame, he looked kind of cute too.”

  “Blaming my academic excellence on intimidation, huh…” Akuma muttered to himself, a wry smile creeping onto his expression.

  If that wasn't bad enough, he heard another group of students chatting about him, this time a group of guys huddled near the water fountain.

  “Can't believe he has the guts to still come to school. I wouldn't be able to show my face if everyone hated me.”

  “What are you feeling bad for him or something?” Another boy nudged the first speaker. “Don't be. It's not like we've said anything bad about him or anything. All we're doing is just minding our own business–”

  “What are you guys talking about?”

  That interjection was his knight in shining armor. The only person who could set the Anti-Akuma propaganda straight, her voice cutting through the hallway chatter with the precision of a scalpel.

  “Oh… uh, Alice.” The group of guys stammered, shoulders collectively tensing. “W-Where did you come from?”

  “I've been here this whole time.”

  Alice crossed her arms, her usually cheerful expression replaced with something ferocious.

  “And I've gotta say you guys are all delusional. Don't you realize that not doing something is just as bad as doing something? …That goes for you ladies too.” She added, directing her gaze toward the first group.

  The awkwardness and sheer embarrassment of being called out prompted an immediate retreat by both groups, their shuffling feet and mumbled excuses fading as they dispersed. After they'd gone, Alice turned and winked at Akuma while giving him an “ok” sign with her hand.

  “Oh my god… One day I'm gonna marry that girl.” Akuma whispered, watching her retreating figure as she headed to her own classroom.

  As if mocking him, the spiteful apparition materialized beside him, its translucent form visible only to him. It started laughing at his declaration, the sound echoing inside his head like ringing bells.

  “Very funny…” Akuma sarcastically remarked to the empty space beside him. “Y'know, Tenshi's an idiot and he can be annoying sometimes but he's way better than hanging around you. I mean you are insufferable with a capital INSUFFERABLE!”

  A passing student shot him a concerned look before quickly averting their gaze and hurrying on. Though by now, Akuma was used to it.

  Room E4.

  That was supposed to be his homeroom class. But honestly, it just felt more like a cage trapping him. A place where the whispers followed no matter how loud the teacher spoke.

  As helpful as Alice's earlier defense was, there wasn't much she could do once he was inside his class.

  Their schedules only allowed them to meet during lunch and the final period, leaving him defenseless the rest of the day. It’s not that he couldn’t speak out for himself, it’s just that it really wouldn’t help his situation.

  The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting a harsh glare on the dull, beige walls that seemed to close in on him. Desks were arranged in rigid rows, each one occupied by students who found their place in the social ecosystem we call “class”.

  Though when he spotted a group of friends chatting about anime and manga, laughing over shared references and inside jokes, he realized with a pang that it was just his desk that stood apart.

  His desk was clearly the only island in the room. Like a small territory of isolation in a sea of friendship.

  Had he been a different man, he might’ve been driven to hatred long ago. He might’ve vowed to get revenge on the people who wronged him or something along those lines.

  But Akuma didn’t think like most people.

  For him, there was no reason to blame others for their actions, no matter how cruel. People, after all, are instinctually drawn to the masses. And to that end, they'll say, do, and even think pretty much whatever's necessary to fit in. So, it made sense why everyone avoided him like the plague.

  And what point would there be in faulting an animal for simply trying to survive?

  As the bell rang signaling the start of class, Akuma slid into his seat, already thinking about lunch period when he would see Alice again. Or maybe he’d just skip class again. For now, at least, he was happy with the fact that at least one person enjoyed his company.