He was Almost Absorbed by the System

Chapter Two - One Last Mission

Standing on the roof of the school, Kyan's host body swayed slightly in the gusts of wind that blew past him. He stared at the horizon, but his pale eyes seemed unfocused and clouded. The host body went by the name of Warren Tyler, aged sixteen as of two weeks ago and today was the day of his death. Suicide, by jumping off of the school roof.

The wind swept his slightly, overgrown hair into disarray, before it fell back tangled over his ears. With a heavy sigh, the boy glanced over the unsafe edge of the roof and peered at the hard ground some distance below. An odd feeling of envy came over him. One step forward and that would be the end of Warren Taylor. Wouldn't it be nice it were that simple for himself also.

The mission had been a fairly standard one, catch the eye of a group of bullies, allow himself to be physically and mentally abused by said bullies, then commit suicide. This would awaken a sense of justice in the formally indifferent female protagonist, who would then campaign against the rampant bullying within the school and catch the eye of the male protagonist, who was naturally handsome and either wealthy or due to be. They would fall in love, marry, have 2.4 kids (or whatever the average number of offspring per household were in this world) and live happily ever after. All thanks to the stepping stone once known as Warren Taylor.

Kyan took a small step forward almost dreamily as if beckoned by the persistent wind and the curling finger of Death.  Just one more step...

Just one more step!  The System grinned, wickedly as it watched from where it was hiding in glee.

Just one more step...! Before he knew it, the boy, who had stepped out onto the roof after finding the door curiously wide open, dropped his lunchbox, sped towards the other and grappled him by the waist, dragging him back from his imminent demise. There was an inaudible snap. The smaller boy screamed, clutching his head with both hands, before fainting in his saviours arms. Elsewhere, the System hissed beneath its breath as it too suffered the backlash, before fleeing, quickly and unseen, from the roof. The other boy just looked helplessly at the pale boy he held.

****

Aidan Levison had always been labelled as an odd child.  He frequently spaced out and showed little interest in people, potential hobbies or even his surroundings.  Rather than living and enjoying life, it always seemed to others that he was drifting listlessly.  Of course it could not be said that he was unique in this regard, but perhaps he stood out more as he simply didn't look like he would contain these characteristics. 

He was tall for his age and reasonably fit of figure, due to the fact that he would be dragged to play golf with his father or expected to play a round or two of tennis against his brother.  That and visually, his face was rather easy on the eye.  If it wasn't for the fact that his eyes lacked any intensity or emotion beyond vague, he would be considered quite the catch amongst the girls of his school.

His grades were passable, as he never put in any effort, his golfing average was fairly high above par as he didn't really care where the ball landed on the course and his brother usually beat the crap out of him every tennis match to the point of his brother bitching about it.  Surely he could at least attempt to reach the other side of the court when the ball was sent there!  But Aidan never seemed to be bothered about what said brother thought about it anyway.  So perhaps it could be considered even more surprising that he had voluntarily reached beyond himself towards another and that person was pretty much a stranger to him.  But for one moment, it was as if he had awoken from his own small world, felt an intense array of emotions beyond the scope of his normality and become driven to save the fragile life before him.

As quickly as these feelings came, they calmed once the boy was within his embrace, but there remained a memory of them within his heart.  Once he regained his 'normal' state of mind, he scooped up the smaller boy and carried him into the school towards the infirmary, forgetting about the lunchbox he'd dropped earlier, it's contents left to rot.

****

*Do you wish to save him?*

Aidan's stomach rumbled lightly as he sat besides the boy he had saved, whilst willing his eyes to open.  He ignored the slight pangs of hunger, he really didn't feel like eating right now.  He watched as if hypnotised by the slight movement of the blanket covering the boy as he breathed steadily in and out.  Aidan never thought to question why the boy felt the need to end his life, partly due to his own detached nature (he had never really questioned anything before) and partly perhaps because he didn't want to know the answer.  Knowing the answer meant attempting to understand the answer and that sort of thing required effort.  But if someone were to ask him if he were curious about it, he probably would not be able to deny it.  There was something about this boy that stirred even his silent soul.

*Do you wish to protect him?*

"Huh?" He wondered aloud.

"I said, are you going to sit there all afternoon?"  The nurse clucked her tongue, as she wondered why she had bothered to ask.  This was Aidan she was talking to.  He probably wouldn't move if he didn't need or wasn't told to.  She glanced at the occupant upon the bed.  "Ah, Warren again, I see.  What was it this time? 'Tripped over a stone?' 'Walked into a door?'"  She rattled off a few of the smaller boy's usual excuses for his bruises and abrasions.

"Tried to jump off of a building," Aidan stated carelessly.  The nurse almost choked on her own saliva as the words hit her. 

"Oh My God!" She cussed, panicked.  "I need to inform his parents! And the Principal needs to be told!" She rushed from the room, before swiftly returning to beg; "Just stay with him, okay.  Don't let him leave and don't let him do anything stupid."  Before he could ask her to 'define stupid', she had already left again.

Aidan sighed, but thought that was okay.  Deep down, he didn't think he wanted to leave the smaller boy's side anyway.  What had the nurse named him?  Warren?

*So you do wish to save and protect him?* the voice of unknown origin stated again.  *You know, I can help you with that.*