"The beginning of the end. An origin of duplicity."
In a shack in the middle of the woods, an abandoned baby lies.
"I'm really sorry, forgive me". A woman's voice pleads.
She begins to tie a thin, gold, chain-linked watch around the baby's wrist, and another black/gold, chain-linked bracelet with a lemniscate emblem on the same wrist.
And as she finishes, the baby opens their eyes and begins to cry.
"There there. Don't cry, I'll be alright". She smiles.
"By good fortuity, a new fate has been proposed to us."
"I know you won't misuse this new opportunity"
And at once, she vanishes into thin air.
As she disappears the baby's crying intensifies. Throwing his arms around in a tantrum. Kicking his feet, and subsequently, breaking the watch endowed onto them.
THE PRESENT DAY
Gramps rests tranquilly on his wooden rocking chair, swaying back and forth.
"For as long as you live. CHANGE THE PRESENT WE'RE LIVING TO WITNESS!"
He hears an indistinguishable voice reaching out to him in his dreams.
His consciousness slowly begins to come back to him after his lengthy zone-out session.
He rolls his head over to see his grandson, Yarui, swinging his feet back and forth on a tree branch impatiently.
"How long are you gonna laze around for there Gramps?" Yarui questions.
He is met with no response, other than a gentle grunt.
"Mannnnn... Talk about boring." Yarui moans, But still in a good mood nonetheless
Yarui hops off the tree branch, landing semi-awkwardly on the ground beneath him. He picks up a broken wooden toy sword, hoisting it playfully. "I'm going to be a great man someday; someone people will remember! Like you, Gramps."
Gramps gets flustered and chuckles "Oh, I'm nothing great, really.... More importantly you should lead a simple life, an easy one, unlike that father of yours...".
Yarui stares hard at his Gramps "Oh what? So you're just a fraud then huh? Or are you trying to be humble?" he says with a joking laugh.
"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Gramps screams, withdrawing to the shack. "You ungrateful brat... All you do is cause trouble for me... I don't get paid enough for this."
Yarui laughs at his grandfather's peculiar statements and follows him into the house
He gently places his toy sword on the table and kicks his sandals off.
"What did I tell you Yarui?"
"No shoes inside!"
"Oops, sorry!" Yarui says with a chuckle as he picks up his sandals and brings them to the porch.
"Damnit! I coulda swore..." Gramps screams out in the distance. Yarui goes back into the shack to see his gramps rummaging through the pantry, desperately trying to find dinner.
"Looks like were going hunting tonight Yarui".
"No way! We just went hunting last night! I'm exhaust-"
Yarui's crying is cut off with an ear-grab from his gramps, which slowly turned into Yarui being dragged out of the shack.
Yarui and Gramps split up so they can find food faster.
"Dammit, this is so lame." Yarui moans.
Someplace else, in a mineshaft not too far from where Yarui lives from his grandfather. A young boy about his age slaves away, day after day. He goes to take a quick drink.
His name is Shiru.
Shiru Kikensha.
"HEY, what hell are you doing kid?" A mineshaft guard yells at him from behind, brandishing his whip, eager to scourge.
He is met with no response.
"HEY! you didn't hear me or something?"
Shiru slowly turns around to face this man. Emotionless eyes fixated themselves on him, displeasing the guard slightly.
"Huh? What's with that look kid? If you're so eager to get flogged, just tell me!" He yells as he raises his arm, ready to swing down on the poor boy.
Back in the forest on the outskirts of the country in which he lives, Yarui is currently hunting for his dinner. Some time has passed since they first set out.
He spots a nimble squirrel in the corner of his eye, and sets his focus on capturing his prey
Yauri approaches cautiously, and as it tries to outmaneuver him, he pounces predaciously.
"FINALLY!" Yarui exclaims pinning the captured squirrel, barely hanging onto its tail as it desperately tried to escape.
"I bet you'd make for a nice stew!" Yarui exclaims, licking his lips anticipatingly.
He chokes the squirrel to death and makes his way back home to the shack.
As he neared home, he noticed no one was home yet, however, he didn't think much of it.
"So I guess this time I win!" Proud of himself for being the first to return with a catch.
Time passes quickly, and with no sign of return from his grandfather; Yarui grows increasingly agitated. He draws his toy sword in preparation, however it breaks instantly.
Eventually, Yarui can hear unfamiliar footsteps approaching. Leaves crunching and crickets chirping. As the thin silence grew ever so loud, those eery footsteps drew closer by the second. Yarui's starts to fear for the worst, he gets butterflies in his stomach. The man's figure slowly becomes visible, with his face hidden. A slender, svelte character, with disclosed features. The lanky man lets out a few words-
"Hey, heyyy, take it easy little guy, I'm only here to help."
The tension Yarui feels eases slightly, and he lowers his sword.
The unfamiliar figure smiles menacingly.
Despite these words that were meant to be somewhat consoling, Yarui couldn't help but feel the exact opposite. A strange energy emanated from this person's very being. That of which caused Yarui to feel completely and utterly overwhelmed.
Almost like an aura of impendence.
In an instantaneous moment, a foreign yet somehow familiar voice imposed itself in Yarui's very being. It struck him like a sharp panging, that reverberated painfully through his spirit.
"Run..." "Run..." "Run Yarui..." "RUNNNNN!" In a static, unclear voice, it compelled him.
He dropped everything at once and hysterically dashed through the dark dense woods.
"ESCAPE!"
Yarui pants.
"SURVIVE!"
He hears it again. It obliges him.
His head throbs dangerously hard. His body rendered impotent by the jurisdiction of his instincts.
"HE'S ESCAPING!!" A young girl appears beside the lanky man, both in hopes of pursuing Yarui
"I can't let him get away..." She says to herself.
"WHERE THE HELL DID THAT BRAT GO?" Yells the unfamiliar man earnestly.
The young girl, knowing exactly the direction in which Yarui took off; deliberately points him in the wrong direction.
He gives the girl a cold dark stare, before going in the direction she pointed him.
After running for a while, he comes to realize that he isn't getting any closer to Yarui, and that he has probably been going in the wrong direction.
"That damned girl..." He immediately takes off in the opposite direction, back towards where he came from.
He sees the young girl on his way there.
"You meddling brat! Do you even understand what is at stake here?"
"Why are you set on hampering my motives?" He questions.
The man is met with no response, other than a faint whimper; as a singular tear rolls down her cheek.
He drops her on the ground and continues running.
The girl grits her teeth and braces herself. Ready to take matters into her own hands
As this man gains on Yarui, and is right behind him, he is stopped by a small person. He looks down to see...
"Izumi? So you still insist on impeding my business. I'm serious. If you continue to get in my way I'll simply get rid of you" He says
"Do it then..." She goads.
"I dare you" She provokes him. Her face apathetic, and her eyes drab and unfeeling.
The number of trees declines by the second. Yarui has never been this far away from the shack, he is unacquainted with this terrain, and scared. His lungs feeling as if they would implode, he struggles to find his breath after every stride. Yarui notices the lush, verdant green grass filtering out, subsequently perceiving a barren, desolate area in front of him, a wasteland.
The only thing visible, a vast city in the distance, and a collection of disarranged houses in close proximity, along with mineshafts scattered around. He had only been in the area for at most a couple minutes but was already drenched in sweat. He starts tugging on his shirt, gritting his teeth, tears near welling up in his eyes, before convincing himself not to cry. Yarui scans the area in distress, looking for a place of refuge. The man giving chase to Yarui, not letting up; continues to pursue him.
Yarui finally reaches what appears to be a miniscule village, he clumsily makes his way into a local pub. "help...please" Yarui says, bent double trying to catch his breath, before being carried out by the bartender. Before long, everyone nearby knows of Yarui's presence, and what they think to be his unwavering boldness. People lock their doors, not knowing Yarui's intentions. Nobody in town will lend aid to Yarui, each and every one of them facing problems which them deem bigger than his own. He eventually realizes this cold truth and continues down a sandy path guiding him through the village.
He finds what seems like a secluded corner at the base of a high hill. His knees buckle under the weight of the stress. He struggles to remain standing.
"This is no time to relax, boy."
Yarui's heart skips a beat the moment he hears the voice, in pure shock. Just when Yarui thought he could catch a break...
He hears
"Just leave me alone- please." A worn-out Yarui pleads with a somber tone. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU? WHAT DO YOU WANT? WHERE IS MY GRANDFATHER? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!"
"Where is gramps huh? How ironic you should ask that...". The man's bland face slowly turns into a wide, arrogant, amused smirk.
"You asked where gramps is, right?". The man says in a distorted voice.
"Well guess what Yarui!" He begins laughing under his breath.
The man waves his hand halfway across his face. His dark, hidden features slowly morph into a skinnier, more familiar face.
"It's me... Yarui." *Gramps* says in a powerful tone...