After School

2.45 Yuta

September 17, 1946: After School

"Which is why I made my decision. I am going to sacrifice myself."

Fate was as cruel as Death, which was something Yuta learned first hand. They were the demons in his life, the ones that held onto his neck so tight it squeezed the air out of him. Yet he hoped that at least Fate would get tired of suffocating and that its clutches would go numb. Love was like that because when it became its strongest, it always weakened and eventually let go. Even so, Love was powerful, but Fate was unstoppable. Fate would not get tired, he realized. It remained adamant because no human could save another from their Fate and what they were created for.

Yuta was no hero. If anything, he was selfish for wanting to do this. Yet, he could not disobey Fate and he could not lose his friends. He would rather allow Fate to bring down its hand heavily upon him and snatch him away than to watch his friends die.

Yuta was aware of the effect his decision had on all of them. All he had to do was kill himself so that he and Mr. Stevenson would die, and the curse would vanish for the rest of eternity. It was much simpler than the first option. It wasn't the easiest way out by any means, but neither was the first. He simply felt that it was right. It was right for him to die.

He retraced his gaze towards his friends, who crowded around him. Their bodies tensed against their shaking limbs and their lips were parted with shock. They all stared at him with wide eyes, unblinking and utterly still. The deadly silence was the most terrifying part. It clung to them like a poisonous cloud that could choke the life from them if a word was spoken to break the suspense. It was the ticking seconds before the pain occurred, and Yuta would rather face that pain than endure the silence.

Yuta bit his lower lip and ignored the guilt that churned in his stomach. He quietly inhaled the thick air to steady his nerves and forced an emotionless expression. From the corner of his eyes, he sighted Carter, who took this hit extremely harder than everyone else.

"Y-Yuta..." Carter croaked, streams of tears flooding down his face. "D-Don't," he breathed, stumbling with his words. "Don't do this!" he desperately shouted, jumping forward to grab his arms and twist his body to face him.

Yuta didn't budge. He sighed and averted his gaze from Carter, who clung onto his arms desperately. "You were the one who said I should make a decision now. So here's my decision," he remarked, solemnly and without emotion.

"No! I didn't mean a decision like that! I meant an idea of what to do about Mr. Stevenson! Or a way to escape! Or if you wanted to make a choice, then choose the first one-" Carter exclaimed before Yuta cut him.

"Never!" Yuta shouted, shaking Carter off his arms. He stomped forward and pushed past the others so that he was standing on the pool sidelines. "I am not going to choose the first option! I am not going to live forever as a slave! I am not going to become Mr. Stevenson's heir and continue the curse!" he bellowed, his black eyes bulging with fury. "I am not going to let Mr. Stevenson kill you all!!"

"But Yuta, we don't want you to die!!" Jessica cried, rushing towards him as her tears rained down. "We want you to live! If there is a possibility, we want to try and live together!"

"How blind can you be?!" Yuta screamed, his raging eyes darting around all his friends. "There is no other possibility like Carter said! Anyways, don't you think it's better that I die instead of the six of you? If you all die, I will have to spend the rest of my neverending years with that guilt! I will also have to continue the curse. Don't you know what that means? I will become Mr. Stevenson! It's better if I just die because then, you will all become unmarked and continue to live a normal life-"