(no subject)
Kariya was sure he would make it into the university he had set his sights on, so sure that he celebrated early. A veritable ramen feast and his girlfriend at the time brought him a whole sack of his favorite lollipops. How could he fail to be accepted, after all? Straight A's his entire life and all the driving force a person could possibly muster. His father was a doctor and his mother a nurse, and they hardly needed to push Kariya hard for him to work hard; it was just in his blood. He had come with high recommendations all his life until now, and it was finally going to pay off.
So when he received the letter that informed him of his rejection from the university his whole world just about split down the middle. A lifetime of success only to end in agonizing failure was something he had no idea how to cope with and he appealed not once but twice for them to reconsider, upping the input for each attempt each time, but was unsuccessful even then. On the third attempt he was taken aside and actually told to give up.
Unsure how to give up but too beat up about whatever mistake he must have made, he made an attempt at complacency. It was easier to get into than he expected. Nothing about it was enjoyable; he spent his time laying around on his parents' couch, going through his portfolios, putting halfhearted attempts in finding a job but never could seem to secure an interview thanks to his defeated attitude. It was more depression than anything else but his parents saw it as laziness and finally cracked down on him one night when he came home with a bowl of takeout ramen that he'd bought with his father's money.
The neighbors heard a lot of yelling and screaming, then the front door slammed and Kariya came marching out, fists jammed in his pockets. The last people to ever see him again were the children on the bus returning from a field trip that hit him head-on, and maybe a pedestrian or two that swore up and down that they saw him go underneath the wheels and come out on the other side, still alive at the time but dead as a doornail by the time paramedics arrived.
Lacking a certain ambitious quality upon reaching the Reaper's Game proved disorienting. No goal, no desire to accomplish, no dreams. Kariya at first rejected the idea of playing the Game when the knowledge of its reward became known. Go back? To what? Crippling failure? Misery? Parents who only pushed? A dog-eat-dog world? The more he thought on it the less participation in ressurection seemed appealing, but disappearing from existence completely was too depressing a thought to embrace either. His partner was a girl half his age who couldn't speak but communicated excellently with Kariya in a way that was undeniably profound; they became very fond of each other and their teamwork was nigh unprecedented, ensuring their success.
Ultimately, the option of becoming a Reaper was a far better one than going back to the life he left, to Kariya. He utterly refused his entry fee's return, stating with one last fond glance at his former partner that he had learned something far more important during his week in the Game: what living really was (the irony of a dead man talking about the meaning life was not lost on anyone present), and that he could never embrace his discovery back in his old life, constantly being driven to the edge of his nerves, climbing higher and higher and higher until the view of the rhythmic city disappeared entirely.
His mute partner, with a parting hug, chose to go home to her family, and Kariya disappeared into the crowds of Shibuya, invisible, a bean paste lollipop stuck in his mouth and a set of wings protruding from his shoulders. All he wanted was right in front of him, and he didn't have to do a damn thing to have it, except for chasing down a few wayward players every-so-often to ensure his lifespan. Rewarding himself with a bowl of ramen on fruitful days became a routine until the habit began to get boring. It took nearly ten years for him to get completely bored of it, however.
And then, along came Uzuki Yashiro.
So when he received the letter that informed him of his rejection from the university his whole world just about split down the middle. A lifetime of success only to end in agonizing failure was something he had no idea how to cope with and he appealed not once but twice for them to reconsider, upping the input for each attempt each time, but was unsuccessful even then. On the third attempt he was taken aside and actually told to give up.
Unsure how to give up but too beat up about whatever mistake he must have made, he made an attempt at complacency. It was easier to get into than he expected. Nothing about it was enjoyable; he spent his time laying around on his parents' couch, going through his portfolios, putting halfhearted attempts in finding a job but never could seem to secure an interview thanks to his defeated attitude. It was more depression than anything else but his parents saw it as laziness and finally cracked down on him one night when he came home with a bowl of takeout ramen that he'd bought with his father's money.
The neighbors heard a lot of yelling and screaming, then the front door slammed and Kariya came marching out, fists jammed in his pockets. The last people to ever see him again were the children on the bus returning from a field trip that hit him head-on, and maybe a pedestrian or two that swore up and down that they saw him go underneath the wheels and come out on the other side, still alive at the time but dead as a doornail by the time paramedics arrived.
Lacking a certain ambitious quality upon reaching the Reaper's Game proved disorienting. No goal, no desire to accomplish, no dreams. Kariya at first rejected the idea of playing the Game when the knowledge of its reward became known. Go back? To what? Crippling failure? Misery? Parents who only pushed? A dog-eat-dog world? The more he thought on it the less participation in ressurection seemed appealing, but disappearing from existence completely was too depressing a thought to embrace either. His partner was a girl half his age who couldn't speak but communicated excellently with Kariya in a way that was undeniably profound; they became very fond of each other and their teamwork was nigh unprecedented, ensuring their success.
Ultimately, the option of becoming a Reaper was a far better one than going back to the life he left, to Kariya. He utterly refused his entry fee's return, stating with one last fond glance at his former partner that he had learned something far more important during his week in the Game: what living really was (the irony of a dead man talking about the meaning life was not lost on anyone present), and that he could never embrace his discovery back in his old life, constantly being driven to the edge of his nerves, climbing higher and higher and higher until the view of the rhythmic city disappeared entirely.
His mute partner, with a parting hug, chose to go home to her family, and Kariya disappeared into the crowds of Shibuya, invisible, a bean paste lollipop stuck in his mouth and a set of wings protruding from his shoulders. All he wanted was right in front of him, and he didn't have to do a damn thing to have it, except for chasing down a few wayward players every-so-often to ensure his lifespan. Rewarding himself with a bowl of ramen on fruitful days became a routine until the habit began to get boring. It took nearly ten years for him to get completely bored of it, however.
And then, along came Uzuki Yashiro.