The Earth After Rebirth

They started on the toilets, unwillingly, that included Isaac. It wasn't an easy thing to endure, especially with Saanvi occasionally dirtying the place with her stomach contents.

She wasn't used to it, none of them were. But her stomach was particularly more sensitive than most. Even then, she wasn't allowed to pass on the punishments. She had to do her time and learn the lesson that came with it.

They were watched closely to ensure that everything went the way they intended as the school. The dean loved this part, he loved watching rich kids doing something they knew nothing about.

While some groups that were ordered to clean the school, had some lower district kids, there wasn't a lot of them. It was a kind of true entertainment for him. As he watched them even come to tears because of the smell of toilets.

He of course knew about the game and the event that would've taken the whole weekend. He took a risk, turning off the automated cleaning, but it seemed that this decision panned out.

On the other side, Isaac had started cleaning, albeit slowly and clumsily. It was clear that this was something he'd never done before. But this somehow rubbed Kiro the wrong way. He didn't put it past him to pretend not to know anything so that they would clean, mostly because the girls were doing a much better job than he was.

"If you don't want me to beat you senseless, and use you as a mop for this place, you better pick up the pace." Kiro yelled from the other side of the toilet, looking right at him.

Isaac wanted to hold himself back, especially because his father had told him not to cause any more trouble for him. He figured going after Kiro would just be asking for trouble again, that's why he had been a recluse lately.

But his ears were burning, his insides felt like they were on fire. He was being disrespected by someone he deemed inferior, it was the first time in his life that he even contemplated retaliating, that made him angrier than he'd ever felt.

The other three decided to ignore the pair, even if they were to fight, they weren't sure that they wanted to get in the way. Their hatred for each other felt like something that has spanned a few life times, they weren't sure they should get in the way of something they saw as nature taking its course.

"Hey sl—" the words died in his mouth when realised that, calling Kiro a slum rat would make him one too. He didn't just live in the upper district, he lived in area one, right on his street.

So he couldn't help but choke on those words, which gave both Kiro and Hiro a deep level of satisfaction, seeing Isaac fumble his words, like the idiot he was.

'Wait, am I the bully now? How the tables have turned, I can't say I like it but I don't mind if it's Isaac that's on the receiving end.'

Kiro couldn't help but wonder. The fact that he stopped to think was clear that, his mind was very sober doing what he was doing.

But he didn't wait for long, whatever was holding Isaac back was nothing but a thread that easily broke. He charged at Kiro with the mop he was holding. The other three stopped working and watched, they had no intentions to get involved.

Hiro especially new that, with their training, this would be a piece of cake for his friend. But he didn't account for the dirty, slippery floor.

Kiro tried to swerve gracefully to the side but was caught by the slippery floor, which gave Isaac enough time to tackle him to the ground.

He landed on his back, and Isaac landed on top of him. He didn't ask, he just threw punches at his face, Kiro used his forearms to block the incoming attack.

'Ah sh*t, I thought I was in-game for a second.' He was so used to fighting in-game that he attempted to blink.

He wanted the earth to open a crack for him, so it could swallow him whole. It was truly an embarrassing feat, that his mind wouldn't let him forget, not any time soon.

"I thought Kiro was the better fighter?" Saanvi asked chuckling.

"He is!" Hiro and Isla both said, looking at the pair in anticipation.

None of Isaac's punches were connecting. He was getting impatient and more aggressive, there was a bit of open space between them now. His knees were on the floor.

Kiro jumped, landing back hard on the concrete floor. Isaac bounced together with him, when he came down, a punch was waiting for him as a welcome.

He didn't expect it, so he unwittingly bit his tongue. He passed out immediately, lying on the dirty floor that he would never dare to be lying on, if he was awake.

"That was crooked, but smart." Saanvi complimented with a nod of appreciation.

"Fairness will never get you justice." Kiro told her, getting up from where he was.

He was about to wash himself when the dean himself walked in, his face wasn't at all pleasant. He didn't want to show it to them, but he quite enjoyed the little squabbling. That's why he arrived just after Isaac was passed out. Of course the three didn't know that, they froze in place at his appearance.

"You two, follow me."

"Uh. He's passed out?"

"You made him like that, make a plan. If you arrive a minute late in my office, you'll regret it."

Kiro wanted to pull his hairs out. He couldn't believe that even an unconscious Isaac was trouble for him. He didn't bother to think it through, he grabbed the guy by his legs and started pulling.

Everyone, even the dean was surprised. But Kiro wore a grin of absolute bliss. The dean never told him how he was supposed to be there, but that they weren't late, there was no way in hell he'd put Isaac on his shoulders. So this was the only way.

The dean shrugged and followed the pair. He was laughing on the inside, he couldn't believe how much he was like his grandfather and the unconventional ways of solving problems, just about everything.

If Kiro had been born the time he disappeared, the dean wouldn't have any problems believing reincarnation was a real concept.

Luckily for Isaac, the path the dean lead them to didn't have any lurking students that would've otherwise taken videos. It was a completely abandoned path.

Isaac woke up being dragged through a corridor, he violently moved his legs. Kiro let them go and they landed on the concrete floor with a thud. Which made Isaac let out a howl.

"You two, what the hell am I going to do with you?" The dean took his seat, prompting them to stay standing by his desk.

"Sir, he started, you saw it. He started it." Kiro started with his weak defense.

"How do you know I saw it?" He asked seriously.

"Huh? Because that's the last thing you said, how else would you know I was the one to make this brat faint?"

Isaac's anger flared. Not for being called a brat but to being reminded that he fainted, with a single punch. He didn't question why his father wanted to replace him, he was utterly useless, that's what he thought.

"I see. But you also provoked him, I watched the whole thing. You knew he'd be aggressive saying the things you said to him, why?"

"Why not?" Kiro blurted out with a dumb look on his face. He didn't think the dean didn't know about their hatred toward each other. He wasn't going to waste time explaining and making excuses.

The dean said a name under his breath, as if he'd dealt with this before and he was already exhausted.

Kiro's eyes widened. His ears strained in hopes of hearing more of what the dean had said, but he said nothing else. He didn't repeat it either.

'No, there's no way, I, I definitely heard wrong. It can't be.' He thought to himself, and studied the dean with the most curious eyes.

He bore into him with his eyes, as if he could penetrate his mind and read it but no such event occurred which frustrated him a bit. He decided to let it go.

"Kiro Waynworth, you can't provoke people just because. Isaac Blakeson you can't bully people just because they're poor and you think they're beneath you.

"Our society is one machine, without the lower districts there'd be parts of the machine that would stop working, making our country fall apart in all sorts of ways. We need each other, whether you acknowledge that or not.

"I don't see you as an idiot, you must learn and unlearn in life, don't take what you've been taught as the one truth."

Kiro wanted so bad to yell out that Isaac was indeed an idiot, but he stopped himself when he realised that Isaac was actually listening, like he was getting what the dean was saying.

"I wasn't going to punish you for this, but after you finish with the toilet, the forest and the fields, you're going to the kitchen. You'll be the ones cooking dinner tonight."

"WHAT!?"