Destined Death [Book 1: Fate]

~Just Like Them~

I sat down at the table with my lunch. It was extremely loud in the cafeteria, and I could barely hear my friend over the noise. He stopped talking and shouted at some people before talking again. "Kuro. It's important we get this project done." He said.

"Relax Katsu. We still have a month left." I mumbled.

He sighed and took a bite out of his sandwich. I heard a quiet clack of plastic against wood, and looked up from my lunch to see Aoi with her tray of food sitting in front of us. "Hi Aoi." Katsu said, and smiled. Aoi waved and began drinking out of her water bottle.

"So, what's up Aoi?" I asked.

She shrugged and set her water bottle down. Suddenly Katsu stood up and said he needed to use the bathroom. "Ok. See you soon." I said, and continued eating my lunch.

The entire time I was eating, I felt as though I was being watched, but whenever I looked up, everyone was too distracted by their conversations with their friends to be watching me. Aoi was doing something on her phone, and Katsu was heading toward us, grinning.

"Hey guys! You are never going to believe what I just heard." He said.

Aoi set down her phone, and watched as he sat down. "Are you going to tell us?" She asked. "Of course." He said. "Then tell away." I said. He opened his mouth to speak, but the bell went off, signaling it was time to go to class. I got up, and threw the remains of my lunch away, before exiting the cafeteria.

The hall was crowded, and people kept running into me. Aoi and Katsu had been pulled into the bustling crowd of people rushing out of the cafeteria, and most likely got stuck amongst them. I laughed quietly to myself as I unlocked my locker. "Kuro!" Someone shouted. Suddenly somebody slammed into me, almost knocking me over. I steadied myself using the lockers, and looked to see my little brother  standing in front of me. "Oh. Hi Aiden." I said cheerfully, and grabbed my science textbook out of my locker. Aiden said a quick goodbye, before running into the crowded middle hallway again.

After I found my notebook and pencil, I started towards Ms. Kikoma's classroom. Suddenly, everything faded into a grey color, except me and somebody at the end of the hall, wearing dark red. The person began to advance towards me, and a scythe formed in his hands. My body refused to move, even though I was mentally screaming at myself to start running. As the person drew closer my legs began to feel like jelly, and the rest of my body felt numb. Then, color returned to the world, and the person disappeared. I was shaking, but I could move, so I ran into the classroom and took a seat.

The bell rang a few seconds later, signaling the beginning of class. Ms. Kikoma walked in, carrying a stack of papers. "Alright everybody. Listen up." She said. A few students entered the classroom, laughing. Ms. Kikoma glared at them, and they shut up, taking their seats. She began talking about cell division, and explaining the assignment, but I was caught in a sea of thoughts.

"Kuro, can you please repeat what I just said?" Ms. Kikoma asked, standing next to my desk with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

Hesitantly I shook my head. "Please pay attention." She said, in a slightly kinder voice. I nodded and turned to a clean page in my notebook. Ms. Kikoma has assumed her place at the front of the room, and was shuffling through the papers, before passing them out.

When I received my assignment, I let out a small sigh, and picked up my pencil. "The assignment is open book, so nobody should have a problem with it." Ms. Kikoma said, and sat down at her desk. I wrote my name on the paper, and opened my textbook.