A story about redemption, and the mysterious phone call

Warning: heavy subjects here, boys, and death is also here.

The boy awoke from his slumber, the atmosphere was quiet and soft, his sight was blurry, "Close your eyes and open it again," a voice from his head said, he did what he was told to do, slowly his sight began to go back.

"Nathaniel wh-what happened ye-yesterday?" he asked the voice inside his head, "All I remembered was... red.... red everywhere," he faintly remembered punching something into a tree, he had remembered that his friends helped him, but he didn't know what their names were.

"Well figure that yourself," the voice said, "Before you slept I saw one of your friends put your diary on the shelf on the right," the voice explained, the boy stretched his arm to his right, and there was a book, the boy then opened the book to read what happened yesterday…. well, what his friend saw.

He read the book for thirty minutes, a lot happened yesterday, but he was left speechless at the part when he read, "Samuel told me that Npc saved him from the gangsters but…. He was different from the normal Npc….. he looked more.... Vicious," this comment made Npc shake.

"I remember now," Npc's hands were shaking, causing him to drop his diary, "Nathaniel….. Why did you d-do th-that??" Npc said, his voice was frantic and worried.

"..... well, if I didn't fight, then you and your friends would be dead or fatally injured," the voice explained to Npc, but a door opening would interrupt their talk.

Samuel came inside the room to check on Npc, but he was shocked when he saw Npc who looked at Samuel with fear, "Guys Npc's awake," Samuel said to the people behind him, there stood Christian, Chris, Shinabaru, Jemuzu, Kurapa, and Yashiro.

"Npc you finally woke up," the small Shinabaru said to Npc, "You know it's been a year since you fell asleep," Npc looked shocked at this. His mind was twisting and turning.

"Nani the fu-"

"No swearing, this is a Christian Ninekraf server," Christian said referencing the triangle game, "Shinabaru was just trolling you Npc, it's only been a few days, actually tomorrow is our last day here, so get better tomorrow alright, we'll ask what happened tommo-"

"I'm a murderer," Npc said interrupting Christian, everyone in the room looked shocked, even Christian, but they didn't interrupt what he was going to say, it's either now or never for them to know what Npc's past was, "My name back then was... Nathaniel, and he….. I was a…... bully, I was a bully who liked the suffering of people…... I liked the pain on people's faces when I would either talk them down or…...beat them half to death," Npc said with a defeated voice, his voice didn't have the same happiness he had when he was talking about dogs.

"Npc if you don't want to talk about this, then let's not talk about this," Samuel said worriedly, but Npc just ignored him and kept talking.

"But from what I heard, there was someone who looked up to me," what he said next shocked them to the core, "But I probably treated him the worst..... His favorite thing to do was playing active sports like basketball, soccer, and rugby, it was pretty impressive for a short kid...….. But I staged a prank to...… b-b-br-bre-brea-break h-hi-his le-legs," this comment made Christian feel angry.

"WHY WOULD YOU DO THA-" Christian was pissed at Npc at this point, he thought, "Why take something that gives people joy?" it angered him more because he was a victim of someone taking something from him, he was holding Npc's shirt and was about to punch him, but Christian stopped when he saw Npc breaking down, streams of tears flowed from his eyes.

"Be-cau-se, he-he-he, pis-sed me off for be-ing to tou-chy," Npc could bearly talk at this point, Christian let go of Npc's shirt and backed off, Npc waited to regain some composure, "Th-th-th-the plan wa-was succ-esful, and I was sus-pen-ded" Christian was still angry at Npc. But when he saw how much Npc looked guilty about this, he let him continue, "But when I came back..... He co-commited suicide," everyone in the room looked shocked except for Jemuzu.

"What the hell, how could you do that," Samuel said, he was afraid of Npc at this point, but in some strange reason... he related with Npc.

"His mother gave me his diary….. And when I read it," Npc had the face of someone who had lost all hope, "He had a terrible childhood, his father abused him, they were also dirt poor, his father died in an accident with gangsters….. It was written that he liked sports because it's the only thing he could ever do, he wasn't good at school, he always failed his tests, and he wasn't popular, so he figured that the only thing he could do to release his mother from poverty was to play sports, he wanted to be a legend, that rags to riches legend," Npc explained in a depressed voice, "But I broke the things that he needed to do that," Npc then curled up into a ball, "So for his mother to not spend as much money for him he.... Killed himself," everyone was shocked at this.

Christian realized why Npc said that he killed him, Npc blamed himself, "I see," Christian said as everyone started to know it too.

"And after that, I was ridiculed, and my family's name was ashamed, I would get bullied everyday..... But I would just beat them up, but I never expected them to fight back," Npc then held his wrist and started shaking, "I wasn't the top dog anymore, I was ashamed by a little kid who knew judo and threw me to the ground... I was beaten that day, and I realized the feeling of my victims when they beat me," Npc said while shaking hard, his face the face of guilt.

But almost everyone in their mind was saying, "At least you got what you deserved," but the next line that Npc said made them regret thinking this.

"I was depressed, and I started no going to school anymore, I... read his diary over and over and over and over AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN!!!," Npc was shouting at this point, after shouting for a couple of seconds his voice was beginning to die out, "And over and over again, but I never find a way to release me from this point of depression.... So I followed his footsteps, and at the age of fourteen, two months away from my birthday...…. Nathaniel Cohen committed suicide by falling off a fifty-feet tall building," this shocked the whole room, Npc looked at his hand and clenched it into a fist.

"But you're still alive, how?" Samuel asked the atmosphere was in the room was intense, they were waiting for Npc to respond, Npc was shaking and he was fidgeting with his hands, he was looking at the group and then quickly looked away, he was weird, but not the weird Npc they got to know.

It took thirty seconds for Npc to reply, "That moment… in the hospital were my first moments of life," this confused the group. Still, Npc continued, "My eyes were covered in bandages, I couldn't see a thing, but I knew that I had tubes all over my body, it was wet, and it felt… painful?" Npc looked at the group with a hint of joy in his eyes, "I was reborn, I believed at that moment, Nathaniel died, and Npc was born," Npc said with an awkward smile, "I said this because when I fell, I received short-term memory loss due to brain damage, I didn't remember who I was and what I did…. But when I got home I saw a book at was laying in my room, and it explained everything," instead of a depressed face, this time Npc gave a weak smile, but it was still a smile, "I had the chance to change who I was and what I did," Npc said with a faint smile.

Christian was still angry at Npc for doing what he did, but there was still hope for Npc to become someone who will give joy, "You sure you've changed?" Christian said.

"Yeah," Npc said, "I even changed my name to Nathaniel to Npc," Npc told to the group, he was trying to go back to the happy and cheerful Npc.

"Why that name, though? I mean you could have the name, GALAXY," Chris said to Npc with an annoyed look, Npc was wondering why she looked annoyed, he turned to Christian.

"Hey Christian, why is Chris annoyed?" Npc whispered, but everyone in the room could hear what he was saying, and Chris got more annoyed.

"Well you see here, Chris didn't like her name, Christina, so she always complained to our parents to change her name to Galaxy," Christian said, Chris looked at her brother with anger in her eyes. Still, Christian looked at his sister with eyes that just said, "C'mon," the tense atmosphere was broken by Shinabaru, but he wasn't doing something foolish.

"Guys, I have to go to my room real quick," Shinabaru said, he looked exhausted and he was breathing heavily. He was also shaking.

"Oh no," Chris said worriedly to Shinabaru, "I'll go with you," Chris was helping Shinabaru get out, "I guess I have to go to, see you guys," Chris said to the group while exiting the room.

"What was that?" Npc asked the group, Shinabaru looked sick, and that was weird because Shinabaru eats a lot of healthy food even though he takes a break from it every Saturday to indulge in his desires.

"... Well, you see here," Samuel said, "Shinabaru is running out of his pills," this shook Npc.

"So his pills were for his body," Npc said, Samuel just nodded at this, "I see, so is he going to be ok," Npc asked worriedly.

"Well, he did tell us that he only had four left, and he needed to take three pills each day, so he made it two pills instead of three, and this was the result, but don't worry he already called his supplier for his pills," Samuel said to Npc who looked like he was thinking something.

"Wait, a supplier?" when Npc said this, it caught the attention of everyone in the room, "That sounds kinda suspicious," Npc said, but when he realized that he sounded like he didn't trust Shinabaru he felt like he didn't change at all, "Here I am not trusting one of my friends, I haven't changed at all," Npc said with a weak voice.

"Shut up Nathaniel," Christian said with a fiery voice, Npc looked at Christian with fear in his eyes, "Why did you look at me, you're Npc right? I was talking to Nathaniel," Christian said to Npc, he then poked Npc's forehead, "You still have Nathaniel in your head, you gotta get rid of him," Christian said, he believed that Npc was genuinely trying to change, but his past was pulling him like hands pulling him away from the light and closer to darkness.

"But….. he's my protector, I can't fight, so if I get into a tricky situation I would rely on him," Npc said fidgeting with his hands, Christian was speechless, but not the speechless that you don't know what to say, the speechless that you couldn't say it.

"I'll speak for Christian because he's too much of a tsundere," Samuel commented, this comment made Christian a little bit angry, "He was going to say, we can protect you, if you get into a tricky situation, just run or call us, we're friends aren't we?" this comment made Npc happy, "That was what you're going to say, right Christian Tsundere," Samuel said tauntingly.

"IM NOT A TSUNDERE," Christian shouted.

"You're kinda a tsundere, Tsunade," Yashiro said looking away from Christian.

"YOU TOO, WHY NO RESPECT!!" Christain shouted.

Npc looked at his friends with joy, he found a group of people who can accept a monster like him.

"Welp, I guess that's my cue to disappear," the voice said, this shocked Npc, "Calm down buddy, you can still fight, right? You can still kick some ass, or ya know, just run," the voice said, this made Npc feel a little bit better, "C'mon Npc, you said you don't want to be a monster right? Then I'll give you that freedom, I'll leave you alone, you won Npc, now live a life of joy," this was the last thing Nathaniel said to Npc.

Npc was a little bit sad, he had just lost a bit of himself, "Fine then Nathaniel, I'll live a life full of joy," Npc thought in his head, "Actually yeah Christian is a little bit of a Tsundere," Npc said with a sly face.

"NO I'M NOT," Christian screamed.

Meanwhile, in the hallway, Chris was holding a very sick Shinabaru.

"Shina can you make it, I mean I can just carry you," Chris suggested that she'll carry Shinabaru, Shinabaru wasn't that heavy, he only weighted forty-eight kilos, so she can easily give him a piggyback ride.

"Geez Chris, stop flexing on me with your muscles," Shinabaru said tauntingly, he was always talking how strong Chris is for her age, he tried working out with Npc and Samuel but he couldn't even do a three-kilometer jog so he just gave up.

"I'm genuinely concerned about you," Chris said a little bit annoyed how arrogant Shinabaru can be sometimes, so she decided to forcibly put Shinabaru on her back, "You should be grateful, a pretty girl like me offering a piggyback ride, that only happens once in a lifetime," Chris said with a 'Hmph' face.

Shinabaru originally tried to escape the piggyback ride, but he finally gave up in two seconds, "First things first, you always carry me, princess style no less, and I only carried you twice," Shinabaru said laying his head on Chris' shoulder, "Second things second, yes you have more than a beautiful face, but your personality is quite scary," this was one of the insults of Shinabaru that he uses on Chris, lure her in with a compliment and strike her with an insult.

"Hmph, because of that I'll not take care of you," Chris said almost at the boy's room now.

"I wasn't asking of it," Shinabaru said still laying his face on Chris' shoulder, this kind of hurt Chris, she wanted to take care of her friend to impress Samuel, or maybe just because she wanted to take care of someone sick, or maybe it was because of...

"Just like when something was wrong with mama, I was just useless," Chris thought in her head, she always hated herself for that, her brother and father were working as hard as possible, but she just did nothing, she blamed herself on how much of a shattered family they are now.

Chris opened the door of the boy's room, it was messy, but she cleaned up Shinabaru's place and plopped him down, she put a wet towel on Shinabaru's head and she was just about to leave, "Thanks Chris, and sorry for being such a jerk," Shinabru said to Chris.

"Heh, you think you were being a jerk, you're nothing," Chris said in a sarcastic tone, this showed how much Shinabaru hurt her, "Just call me if you feel sick," Chris said while exiting the room.

"Sorry," Shinabaru said while Chris exited the room, Shinabaru was alone, he put his arm on his eyes, "I messed up," Shinabaru said, he then got out his phone and called a number, it ringed for a couple of seconds, "Oi Angel,?" Shinabaru said to the phone.

"Woah there, it's been soo long since you called Luci," a feminine voice came on the phone, the voice sounded sarcastic and taunting.

"Shut up Angel, I called you two days ago, and don't call me that name," Shianabru said to the phone with an annoyed tone.

"Ok, how about I call you Prince of darkness, or even,"

"Angel can you please stop," Shinabaru said with an annoyed voice, "I need you to put the Nomura mission to Rogelio, I need you to give me the pills asap," Shinabaru said with a tone that sounds commanding.

"Woah there, alright I see that you're serious, you even called Relo by his real name, alright I'll be there at… wait I can do calculations… about two days," the voice said.

"Perfect, thank you, I knew I could depend on you," Shinabaru said with a thankful voice.

"No probs, anything for little Luci," the voice said with a proud tone.

"Can you please not call me that, it's Shinabaru now," Shinabaru said with now a strictness to his voice, "And please don't ever call me that in front of my friends," Shinabaru was beginning to get angry.

"Oh course a weeb like you would go for a Japanese name," the voice sighed at the name.

"At least I didn't go for the nickname Iscodaya," Shinabaru said in a taunting voice.

"ISCODAYA IS A COOL NAME ALRIGHT," said the voice, it had a bit of a annoyed tone with it, but Shinabaru then felt that the atmosphere changed, "Yo Luci, I feel like someone's watching me," this instantly got the attention of Shinabaru.

"Do you know who is it?" Shinabaru said, but he feels unsettled by how the voice in his phone said it.

"Luci, do you know the Nomura family's rival family?" the voice asked a question that Shinabaru already knew.

"The Yamashita family," said Shinabaru who knew what was going on.

"Yes, and they don't like the Arawan family teaming up with their rivals if they make a move, then it'll be an all-out war," the voice whispered, "And if they start a war, well we need either you or your parents, but I think Sir Angelo is busy with the American gangs, and Miss Alessia will be doing trying to get the Chinese gangs with us, so it's only you, wait maybe father can come," the voice said.

"I'll come, Uncle Jacob needs to rest, he's been working too hard, I mean he lost an entire arm," Shinabaru said to the voice.

"Alright, I guess father needs his rest," the voice said, "Welp, I'll come over to your home in about two days so expect me there, alright see you, Luci," the voice said tauntingly before hanging up before Shinabaru could even respond.

"Sometimes I hate you," Shinabaru said to his phone while turning it off, "And like uncle Jacob, I'll be having my rest," Shinabaru said closing his eyes.

But Shinabaru didn't know that someone was listening behind the wall, "What the hell was that," Chris thought, Chris stayed at earshot of Shianabaru, her Tsundere genes are with her and her brother, so she heard everything, "So his real name is Luci huh? And they were talking about gangsters, I guess everyone had their own story,"