Year 9 of Regression: Everyday Elementary... Shameful

Standing up from the toilet seat, I stood up as I stretched my body, releasing a soft yawn while I did so. It was still early in the morning after all. I still got 1 hour and thirty minutes to spend roaming around school so no point in being so serious.

I got out of the stall as propped myself in front of the mirror and stopped as I saw myself, sighing. "Hahhh… still haven't fixed the issue I see." I quickly fixed my messy hair. I swear, I don't know why but teleportation sometimes just flings my hair around, making a mess of it sometimes.

I swiftly got out of the bathroom as I beelined all the way to my nearby classroom and set my things down. I opened the sliding windows open on my side of the classroom as I felt the rushing air enter in and circulate around the room. Smiling, I sat down on my seat as I pulled out a sketch book.

I began to flip away at the pages to find a blank sheet to draw on, and as I did so, I was able to see the progress I was able to attain, starting from the very beginning, my first every drawing on this sketch book, all the way to my current page that had tons and tons of improvements, which brins joy to me.

As I was about to draw to wait for class the door abruptly opened with a loud slam as it violently impacted the wall to the side of the door frame, making me flinch in alert. Instinctively, time slowed down as I insta-casted a time spell that stops time for a few seconds.

I swung my head in the direction of the door as I instantly relaxed at what seemingly was the cause of the commotion. It was my friend, Shimizu Akari. One amongst many of the people I had mourned for after I got news of their deaths a few dozen minutes just as we got to 'that place'. I still do regret it.

If only I had convinced uncle that time, that it wasn't worth it to risk going after his ambitions. "Hahhh… again. Such depressing thoughts, I better stop now." I sighed and shook my head, finally diverting my attention back towards Akari… Shimizu my friend.

Seeing her dumb face frozen in time, I could help but chuckle at her stupid face. I grin crept up to mine as I took out my phone as I snapped a few pictures of her, making sure to do it in several angles just to make it even more hilarious than just the base image.

I slid my phone back inside my bag as time slowly returned to normal speed. "Ai-chan~! Good morning!" her annoying voice resonated in the air as I kept drawing and didn't bother to turn around and face. "Ari-chan, good morning, you're still as loud." I spoke.

Ari let out a gasp of mock surprise as she headed straight towards her chair. "I'm as loud as ever? I'm not even max, and you're out? Ai-chan, you won't match me in forever." Ari put her stuff down as she pulled her chair over and sat on it to face me.

"Hah! Being loud is all you've got; I don't need to run my mouth around for me to show I'm superior to you lot." I snapped back at her as she whistled at my rebut. "You're pretty good at saying you're good, yet where's the proof of your godhood?"

I stopped drawing as I placed my pencil down to look her in the face. "What do I even need to prove to you? If you can't even see the divinity, then you're proving yourself lacking. Make sense since all you do is barking and you aren't even capable of biting."

The air tensed as the both of us went silent, only bothering to look each other in the eyes. *Bang* The both of us blinked as we slowly looked to my right. "Ohoh? Look at we got here." Ari smirked as I relaxed my back into my seat, Kanae slammed her stuff unto her chair enough to cut the tension apart.

"You two, it's far too early in the morning for the two of you squabble." Kanae spoke as she sat on top of her desk. "Every day you do it, spending time in an endless battle of throwing each other pointless rabble." Ari didn't seem offended, if anything, jolly.

"Heh says the ever-silent quiet kid low enough to be satisfied thriving off food to sate her boredom. Can't you not butt in a fight you're not involved in just to be given attention to?" Ari jabbed. "Can't blame her, I mean, look at who I'm fighting, she's saving you from getting squashed any further."

"But hey, if she really was in to butting just so she could be attended to," I raised my hand and gestured toward her. "It'd be fine since she's not even a threat, just so-so." I shrugged my shoulders at them. Kanae threw an annoyed expression at me while crossing her arms together to intimidate no one.

"The two of you really like to run your mouths off, especially you, Ai-chan, you better take a one-way ticket to Antarctica and frick off." Her eyes swept to Ari. "And you, can't you even control your tongue? It's still 7:37 in the morning and you're already raging like a fricking King Kong?"

"Uh-oh, that's sharp. You're good at this, you made Ari go on a landslide that's quite scarp." I smirked at her while I closed my eyes in disregard for the two of them. "I really appreciate the compliment though; I know I'm too hot for even the likes you."

Man, I know it's childish, but running my mouth around at 'kids' who know how to snap back sharp rebuttals and jabs is fun though. Though they might be too good for their age at throwing imaginary Excalibur at other people, being shameless is a whole other realm they can't reach while being petty.

I felt it though, Kanae, being hot headed, might just take this mental warfare literally and go all berserk on us two. "Okay, okay. No one wins. This is just stupid to continue, and I don't want to spend my time in endless banter the whole day. Other than that,"

I stood up from my seat as I approached Kanae who sat to my right as I spread my arms around her and took her into a hug. "Wha-!" she exclaimed as I shoved my nose to her neck and rested my head on her shoulder and began to siphon negative emotions out of her. "Ohoh~ Spicy, let me take a few pics."

Ari took out a camera and began to frantically snap as many pictures as she could. "Wha-! Ai-chan stop it! Let me go! Damn it, why are you so strong!" Kanae spoke as her cheeks grew a tint of crimson after finding out Ari was taking advantage of the situation to obtain black mail material.

Back in the past, Kanae was always a hot-headed person. Before and after she got her S-rank, she was also impulsive in terms of anger. Just now, she was also on the verge of bursting inexplainable anger on both me and Ari. It was only at this turn that I was able to discover why she displayed such traits.

There was a huge amount of dormant mana inside of her, it was enough to make me wonder if she was secretly some dungeon boss that morphed into my best friend or something. The amount she had was simply… for the lack of a better term, monstrous.

Not for me though, but for normal people. This amount of mana could easily make any normal person contract 'eternal slumber' just from staying near her for under an hour of time. I'm very glad that this mana was dormant, otherwise it would really cause it.

"Oi, Ai-chan, stop it… I feel fuzzy with you hugging me this… tight." What I was doing right now was purifying her mana. Yes, "purifying" her mana. Thing is, her mana is so dark and murky, it's just like that from the giants from the disaster that engulfed the entirety of Tokyo, with abundant flames.

By taking in some her massive mana into me– "Hold still a little bit more, I just want to absorb a little more from you…" –I was basically ridding her of any heavy influence in her psyche. "Hmm~" I grunted as I let go of her. My mana is so pure and clear, it was rejecting Kanae's mana violently.

I stretched up my arms as I backed back to my seat, finally noticing Ari taking more pictures, about me taking a stretch that is. I ignored it as I smirked. I pulled my phone out of my bag as I gestured for Kanae to come over. "Kanae, Kanae… hurry over here!"

I spoke in a hushed tone as I took a brief glance towards Ari. Not much reaction as of now. Kanae raised an eyebrow at me before cautiously moving towards me, she was still panting slightly. "What is it?" she asked as I opened my phone's lock screen and showed her the pic I captured earlier of Ari's face.

"…The hell?" Kanae asked in a disbelieving tone as I struggled to hold my laughter. "Pffft… Hahahahaha!" Only to fail miserably as I joined Kanae who started howling in laughter. "HAHAHAHAHAHA!" I clenched my stomach in hurt from all the pain I experienced from laughing a bit too much.

"H-hey! What is this now, you guys are colluding and leaving me out on something?! What is it?!!" Ari exclaimed at us as if by a miracle, I promptly responded by showing her the picture of her face being all goofy and stupid with my very shaking hand. "HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Not forgetting to laugh.

"Where did you manage to get this?!" Ari exclaimed again as I held my laughter as I began to take pictures of her now crimson blushing face. "Pffft… Kanae… Hahahaha…! Its your chance to take revenge on her…! Pfft… Ahahahaha!" I gestured to Kanae as she took out her phone and took pictures of Ari.

I dialed down the amount of endorphins in my body as I took a moment to appreciate the moment. Instead, dopamine was rushing in my veins as I felt a sense of happiness over this simple event. It was something simple. I didn't fell a legend. I didn't achieve my dream. I simply… made my friends happy.

And my dream is to preserve this precious moment just the way I remember it. I remember the time Ari and Kanae went to Korea. Ari… she died, and Kanae returned home to the guild in a crying mess, she was enraged. Many others died too…

My dream… To keep the light that covers the entire world in hope. Even if that light may fade and flicker, even if it disappears. It is my dream; to reverse the events that transpired. To change their fate– no, the fate of the very world. "Oi, Ai-chan. Why looking melancholic?" Kanae asked while smirking.

I snapped out my thoughts as I looked at the two of them. "Yeah… you suddenly stopped laughing, Ai-chan." Ari spoke, revealing a smirk the next second. "You forgot something?" I stayed silent, looking at the two of them. "It's okay, right?" I muttered. "Is it okay, to enjoy the peace I have at this very moment?" I hesitated.

"OI! Ai-chan, what are you saying? I can't hear you!" Kanae spoke as she revealed a gentle smile at me. "Yeah, yeah!" Ari synched in. Yeah, yeah… "I guess its fine." I muttered inaudibly. "Nothing, don't mind me." I smiled. "But hey guys… you've done the assignment the teacher gave yesterday?"

I asked as they instantly paled, the blood seemingly draining from their faces. The said faces expressing something like they ate dog shit or something. "I take that as a no." I broke into howling laughter as I barked at their faces filled with shock. "Oh, I also won't be helping you guys." They simply died.