[Chapter 1: A New Beginning]
April has arrived, which means Spring has come.
Petals from Cherry Blossom trees began to fall, dying the road in this light-pinkish color.
The sun had just risen, birds were chirping a welcoming melody that we hadn't heard in a while, as they had just returned from migration.
Shops and stalls opened, for them, today is another day for business opportunities.
The streets have now become lively, as more and more people have started to walk by, filling the streets. You got to wonder, where are they all going?
However, it was quite noticeable that most of them were wearing school uniforms, so they're likely to be heading to school.
Well, it's already April after all, which means for most is the beginning of another term, the start of another school year.
Seeing all these students scattered around, commuting to school, there was some loitering at your local convenience store, and some who just woke up, tardily dressed and yawning. Seeing these youths, really gives off that new-term vibe every beginning of April.
The local elderly neighbor walking their dog, the chirping of the birds, students chuckling with their friends at trivial conversations.
Everything seems to be going as it does every fresh start of April. Nothing seems to be strange or out of the ordinary... Except for one particular person.
"The wind of change is approaching."
A young man with black and messy hair, his bangs blocking almost half of his face with only his left eye comes to view.
"How long has it been since I last basked in the sunlight? ...It's warm." The boy muttered to himself.
Along with his overly grown bangs, already blocking most of the view of his face, he also wears a black mask reaching up to his nose making it even harder to do so.
"The abyss is upon us... The hands of time, began to turn once more... We have little time remaining..."
The clothes he was wearing were not ordinary.
He wears a red long coat that seems to be his school uniform, modified to look like a long coat, and fingerless gloves on both of his hands, a sword hanging on his back, sheathed inside a scabbard as if telling he was a man of the swords.
"As for me? My name is... wait, who am I...?" he said, pretending to ponder as though he had forgotten who he was, then continued.
"Oh yeah, that's right..." He snickered, that slowly developed to frantic laughter, pretending as though recollecting something important about himself.
"I am, Phantom! The swordsman who dwells in the shadows!"
He clenched his fist, thinking to himself l, 'Kukuku, nailed the introduction.'
He self-complimented after delivering his chuunibyou dialogues.
"Now for some exposition" he mumbled.
He placed his foot on the bench, under the cherry blossom tree. He struck a cool pose, or at least he thought it was cool.
"The world might not remember my name, but I still remember the world."
He struck another cool pose, placing his hand to his face with one eye peeping throught the gaps of his fingers.
"Even if no one remembers, nor is rewarded for my deeds, I, Phantom will carry out justice, and vanquish all the evil of this world."
He clenched his fist tightly, as if making his resolution. The same time, felt satisfied with the delivery of his dialogue.
He sighs, thinking to himself 'Haha... I'm so cool...'
"What's up with that guy?"
A passerby said.
"Don't look at him, he looks very troublesome."
And another.
Who is this weird delusional boy who's clear as day a chuunibyou you may ask?
He's none other than this story's protagonist, his name is Yukiya Saito.
Hi, my name is Yukiya Saito, an average 16-year-old high school boy you could typically find anywhere.
Well... that would have been my introduction if I wasn't in fact "Phantom", the hero who lives in the shadows.
Yeah, a total chuunibyou.
Chūnibyō (中二病) is a Japanese colloquial term typically used to describe early teens who have grandiose delusions, who desperately want to stand out, and who have convinced themselves that they have hidden knowledge or secret powers. (Google)
I don't know when or how it started, from an anime perhaps? from a movie? Well, it's not that relevant. As long as you know that I like cool stuff like shadow heroes, magic, and such, that's all that really matters.
It's not like the things I like are limited to shadow heroes though. I like everything that I perceive as cool, and it just so happens that Shadow Hero is at the peak of them all.
Shadow heroes, also known as silent heroes. The main thing that sets them apart from your typical heroes is that they don't get recognized for their deeds. A person who helps people from the shadows without seeking recognition. In other words, the "ultimate vigilante".
Why are they the ultimate vigilante you ask? Because they're mysterious and cool! Everyone loves them mysterious characters.
That's the reason why I try to imitate them as much as I possibly could because I wanted to be cool myself.
In other words, I want to be the "mysterious character".
Yukiya Saito, is a 16-year-old chuunibyou who's just starting his new journey in life that is called high school. Is now currently walking his way to school.
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[Yukiya's POV]
On the way to school.
My house is just about four kilometers away from the school I'll be attending to. Some students with that distance prefer riding bikes, mostly by train or bus as form of transportation.
However, for me, I much prefer walking because, you know, there's no shadow heroes who commute to school riding on a bicycle.
Let's say if batman took the bus to the crime scene, wouldn't he look like just some guy in a bat suit on his way to a party? Or so I thought that bicycles doesn't match well to my aesthetic.
'What's up with that outfit.'
'Weird.'
'Is he a cosplayer?...'
'Ah, it's one of those chuunibyous.'
As I walked along with other people on the sidewalk, people stared at me weirdly.
People have mixed opinions judging by the flashy clothes that I'm wearing.
People move out of the way, trying to maintain distance from me, avoiding eye contact as much as possible.
You know, like people in clown costumes you try to avoid, fearing you'd be dragged along with his antics.
Though I thought of myself as the coolest person around.
Well, chuunibyous aren't really that welcome for their strange behavior, but I haven't really grasp that.
Back in my old school it wasn't treated as a bad thing, they just accepted it as my character trait. I just thought that they moved out of the way because of the intimidating aura of a shadow hero.
In other words, I just thought that my powers are leaking out and they probably feel my blood lust. Kukuku...
"Um, Excuse me. Do you know where- Eekk!"
A random girl tried asking me for directions, but as soon as I turned my gaze around and stared at her, she ran away.
She had mistaken that I was angrily glaring at her for bothering me, but it was actually because of my long bangs that were on the way making it hard to see.
I was just trying to focus my vision to get a good look at the person asking.
'Why did she run away? Was it because of my Phantom attire...? So, it was effective huh. Kukuku...
A shadow hero's character trait: [Intimidating.]
This is also one of the reasons why I don't find it strange that people are moving around me.
This is my first time wearing the "Phantom attire" out in public, as part of my highschool debut, and seeing that girl's reaction, it seems to be effective, which made me kind of happy.
"Kukuku... Ku HA HA HA HA!"
I started having a hysterical laughter, laughing like a maniac as if a villain had just achieved his purpose.
This is part of my shadow hero character. I thought this kind of laughter was really cool so I practiced a lot. So I'm putting it to good use.
To be honest, at first I was embarrassed wearing this kind of outfit back in middle school, but not anymore. Now it's just like any other outfit I have in my wardrobe.
While not being aware I was being avoided, I just took it as my Phantom attire playing at work, making me look intimidating and hard to approach.
And so, I continued leisurely walking my way to school.