It was warm that day. A little too warm.
"I shouldn't have eaten it. Now my life is over…"
The boy with white, messy hair woke up in his apartment room. The room wasn't too small, nor was it too big. The boy got out of bed, putting on a black t-shirt along with a white, unzipped hoodie with black lines across the sleeves and torso. He then put on some long, black pants with a belt to keep it from falling off. He proceeded to walk towards his mirror on the wall, where he then observed his appearance and sighed.
"I hate school."
As the boy left his room, he walked down the very short hallway, looking at several pictures of him, his mother, and his father, all as a happy family. As he exited the hallway, he found himself in the lounge room, where a huge window that overlooked the city of Tokyo sat. To his right, his mother sat. Her brunette hair was tied into a bun. As she sipped a cup of coffee, she noticed her son had walked into the room. "Ah, you're up early." she said, sipping her coffee once more.
"Yeah, the sun woke me up, unfortunately." the boy said, stretching out his arms. "Did you make breakfast yet?" the boy asked. "No, I haven't gotten to it. Sorry, honey." his mother replied. "Oh, that's fine. I'll just make it myself." the boy replied, going into the kitchen and preparing him and his mother some breakfast. His mother watched intently as the boy cracked several eggs on a stove and began to fry them.
This boy's name was Itsuki Makato. His mother's name was Mitsou Makato. "Itsuki…" his mother said, looking at the boy making scrambled eggs. "What is it, ma?" Itsuki responded, the sound of sizzling filling the room. "I know you want to be a hero, but, as you know, we're a little tight on money at the moment. Especially after your father's death and the rent prices rising…" she said to Itsuki.
"Yeah… I know, ma." Itsuki replied. "And we simply don't have enough money for the $50,000 entry fee you must pay to join the hero organisation." Mitsou said, but no response came. Before long, Itsuki quietly brought the eggs to his mother without saying a word. "Itsuki, I know you're unnaturally strong, but please… don't become a hero. How do you think I would feel if someone came to my door and told me you died to a Class A villain?"
"Yeah…" Itsuki replied, taking a bite of scrambled eggs. "Well, I'd better head off to school. See ya later, ma." he said, placing his bowl down and walking out the door with his bag. "Be careful on your way to school, Itsuki." his mother's voice echoed. "And please… don't punch anyone by accident this time." she said once more. "I won't." Itsuki responded, stepping outside before closing the door behind him to join the flow of the city.
The streets of Tokyo were this busy, even at this stage in the morning. Female students hurried past Itsuki, holding their bags with both hands while sprinting for something. Office workers clutched briefcases and coffee cups, and delivery bikes rode through small gaps in the traffic. Itsuki walked at a steady pace, his bag resting gently beside his waist.
He passed by a giant screen on the side of a building that was replaying footage from a recent hero battle. A masked hero with a red cape, and red suit stood on top of a destroyed car, surrounded by smoke and rubble. The commentary talked about rankings and approval ratings. A small group of kids near the screen stared up at it with shining eyes.
"Did you see that explosion?!" one of the boys said. "Yeah! I heard he took down a whole gang of villains by himself!" another one said. "Heroes are so cool!" the other said. "Itsuki stopped for a moment to watch the screen. The hero moved with record breaking speed, punching a villain into a sky scraper. The crowd down below in the video cheered. The energy surrounding the scene felt alive. Itsuki's heart beat a little faster as he watched.
He turned away and kept walking, but he couldn't forget the image of that red, caped hero punching that villain into a sky scraper. Not long after that, an explosion shook the ground so hard that it made dust fall from nearby window ledges. A deep boom rang out in the street ahead, followed by screams. Cars stopped immediately and people ducked behind whatever they could find.
Itsuki's body reacted before his brain did. He stopped and looked toward the source of the blast. A hero flew through a plaster wall and crashed onto the road, leaving a long trail of broken asphalt behind him. He groaned as he tried to stand, his costume burned and torn in several places. It was the same hero as before, wearing the same, full red suit, along with the same, red mask and red cape.
Several girls nearby gasped at this red hero's collapse, hovering their hand over their mouth. "It's Chaos Crimson! And he's collapsed!" one of the girls said. From the smoke stepped a villain with metal plates covering his forearms, shoulders, and chest. Steam poured from vents in his armor as he walked forward. His eyes glowed with a sick pale light.
"Stay down." the villain said. "You heroes never learn."
But before the moment could continue further, a voice echoed throughout the entire street. "CHAOS CRIMSON!" an elderly mother yelled, from the side walk. The villain turned his head 90 degrees to look at the very unpleased woman. Even Chaos Crimson slightly turned his head a few degrees. "MY SON... YOU KILLED MY SON!" she screamed, tears falling down her cheeks.
"MY POOR SON..." she continued.
"IF YOU HADN'T HAVE PUNCHED THAT VILLAIN THROUGH A SKY SCRAPER... IN YOUR LAST BATTLE..." she said.
"THEN MY BABY BOY WOULD BE ALIVE!!"
The whole street froze in utter disbelief. Chaos Crimson stood in silence, not daring to move. "DO YOU NOT WANT TO OWN UP TO YOUR DAMN ACTIONS?! PATHETIC HERO?!" the woman screamed once more. The man just stood there in silence. "Haha, that's right, lady! Let all your anger out onto him! He's the world guy I know! Everyone should hate him!" the villain shouted, responding to the lady. Then, several policemen grabbed her by the shoulders and escorted her away.
"NO, DAMN IT! STOP! GET OFF ME! I WANT JUSTICE, YA HEEEEAR?!" she yelled as they placed her in a police car and drove away. Chaos Crimson stood there for several seconds before slowly raising his arms up. "Let's just... do this..." he said, looking down at the ground. "Oh, is the poor hero embarrassed?" I would be too if a whole crowd of people knew I committed MURDER!" the villain said, poking his tongue out at the hero.
The hero tightened his fist and a blue, almost cyan, hollow energy formed around his arms. Then, Chaos Crimson launched himself forward. He moved so quickly that the air seemed to rip around him. His fist drove into the villain's side, cracking the metal and sending the villain tumbling into a nearby car. The car flipped over and fell onto its roof. People screamed. Someone yelled for everyone to run. Others pulled out their phones to record the situation.
Itsuki stood frozen, his eyes wide. He watched the way the hero shifted his weight, how he stepped in with his hips before punching, how the villain braced his shoulders before trying to counter His mind broke the fight down without him even realizing it. It was terrifying and beautiful at the same time. The villain roared, grabbed a traffic pole with one hand, and ripped it from the ground.
Concrete dust flew everywhere. He swung the pole widely. Chaos Crimson ducked under it, kicked off the ground, and slammed both hands into the villain's chest. The impact sent a shockwave through the area. Windows busted, a parked bike flipped over and a nearby street sign bent out of shape. "I wish I could do that..." Itsuki said to himself quietly.
The fight moved farther down the street, around a corner, out of his view. Sirens screamed in the distance. The crowd slowly began to move again. Itsuki forced his legs to walk toward school, his mind buzzing with images of the battle. "No...! No one else saw it, but Chaos Crimson's forearm and hand was covered in a blue, hollow energy..." he said. "But... why did he ignore that girl...?" Itsuki asked himself.
Fast forward to when Itsuki arrived at school.
The school grounds were loud, but the moment Itsuki stepped through the gates, something... dipped. Conversations stopped for a second. People glanced over their shoulders, and a few students leaned closer to whisper to their friends. "He's here." one said. "Don't stare." another one replied. "I heard he's fifty times stronger than a prime adult male... I also heard he broke a punching machine at the arcade just by tapping it!" a girl whispered.
"That can't be real..." someone replied to the girl.
"I saw the score. It was real..."
Itsuki kept his eyes forward and his expression neutral. Pretending not to hear anything had come part of his routine. If he reacted every time, he'd never stop reacting. He went to his locker, changed his shoes, and walked down the hallway. The smell of cleaning solution, chalk, and old air conditioning filled the corridors.
He entered his classroom and set his bag next to his desk. A few students sitting near the back tried and failed to act casual. "He threw a teacher once." a boy said like it was nothing. "That's not right. He barely touched him and he still went flying." another said. The words irritated him, but he didn't show it. He quietly opened notebook and began doodling.
"What a freak..." the group of boys said, leaving the classroom. Later that day, after school, Itsuki was walking out the gates. As he exited the school ground, he walked by a man with black, spiky hair that stuck out in all directions. The man was wearing a black long sleeved shirt and some black, detailed pants along with a black belt and a chain hanging off it.
"You are Itsuki, aren't you? Itsuki Makoto. Am I right in assuming you are Itsuki?" the man asked, arms folded as Itsuki walked past. Itsuki stopped in his tracks before looking back at the man with black hair. "Hmm... who are you?" Itsuki asked. "Who I am doesn't matter, but my name is Ryoku Kyugo. I work with the Hero Organisation. And we need your assistance in recovering ancient artefact that may or may not involve you." the man said, pointing a finger at Itsuki.
"Uhh... me? And what are you talking about an ancient artefact...?" Itsuki asked. "There's no time. Just come with me." he said, pointing a finger to a person with a black mask on, standing 30 meters away. "He's pursuing the artefact. Once he gets his hand on it, he can obtain infinite power." Ryoku explained, grabbing Itsuki's hand and dragging him back into the school.
"It's here... I can feel its prescience..." Ryoku said. "How do you feel something's prescience?" Itsuki said to himself, looking out a window. "It's a massive prescience... But I feel that it's most strong right here." Ryoku said as he stopped walking. "Find it. It should be somewhere over there." he said, pointing down the hallway. "Ryoku, just what exactly are we searching for, again?" Itsuki asked.
"We're searching for an eye ball, Itsuki. It shouldn't be that hard. It's about 500 years old, so it should be rotten by now or something." Ryoku replied. "A-An eye?! Ryoku, just what exactly are you doing here? And why do you need me? Why am I involved in this?!" Itsuki said. "Itsuki, the eye belonged to a demon 500 years ago. It holds infinite power. That's why we're retrieving it." Ryoku said.
"That... doesn't answer my question..." Itsuki replied. "Itsuki, we are bringing you into this because we have the assumption that you may be related to this 500 year old demon." he said, making the hallway go quiet. "Are you saying I'm a demon?" Atsuki asked after a few seconds. "Hardly. You see, this 'demon' named Atsuka, he used to be human. We believe that he started his lineage BEFORE he transformed into a demon." Ryoku replied.
"I... see..." Itsuki replied before he spotted the eye. "A-Ah! The eye!" he said, bending down beside a locker to reach it. "Ah, got it!" he said, standing up. "But uh... how hasn't it gone rotten yet? It's 500 years old..." he asked. "It doesn't matter. What truly matters is that we now have the eye." he said. "Let's go." he continued before walking down the hall.
'How am I taking all of this in so easily?' Itsuki thought to himself, holding the eye in his palms. Before he could start walking, something jumped up from the ground and cut his cheek open. It was the man with the mask from before. He somehow phased through the ground and jumped up to get the eye. "N-NO! DAMMIT!" Itsuki screamed, dropping the eye.
As the eye fell on the ground, the masked man rushed for it. At this point, Ryoku was a dozen meters away, so he couldn't get the eye in time. "I-Itsuki! Get that eye now!" he screamed before Itsuki jumped up and punched the man's head. This distracted him enough to take the eye off him and sprint away. "Hey! Come back here, fool!" he yelled, chasing Itsuki.
"Damn it, Itsuki!" Ryoku yelled, chasing after the two. Itsuki burst open the doors to the school roof, sprinting to the very edge. A lump formed in Itsuki's throat as he looked down to see how far it dropped. It was about 50 meters. The man appeared from the ground before him, not even giving Ryoku a chance to catch up. It seemed as if the man could phase through objects.
"Alright boy, give me that damn eye!" the man spoke in a low pitched voice. "No." Itsuki refused, hiding the eye between his hands. "Damn it... Give it to me!" he said, lunging at Itsuki. But before he could touch him, Itsuki swallowed the eye whole, forcing it down his throat. "UGH! IT TASTES HORRIBLE! WHY WOULD I DO SUCH A-" Itsuki said before something turned...
Itsuki's eyes slowly shifted into a pale, bright white colour, as the man slowly backed up. "Oh no... it's happening..." he said. Itsuki slowly laughed before looking up at the man with a serious face. It was clear that this wasn't Itsuki anymore, it was someone else. "I-I won't stand for this! Come at me!" he said, raising his claws up to defend himself, sweat dripping down his forehead.
But he appeared in front of the man, faster than he could react. "Oh shi-" he said before getting sliced up and turned to mush by a single hand swipe of this possessed boy. The sliced up flesh fell to the ground as Itsuki over looked the city of Tokyo. But before that, Ryoku busted down the door. "I MADE IT! ITSUKI, DID YOU MANAGE TO DEFEND THE EYE?!"
The boy looked back at Ryoku with those pure white eyes, piercing his soul. Ryoku understood perfectly what was going on, and he was fearing for his life. "S-SHIT! THE DEMON TOOK CONTROL OVER THE DAMN BOY!"
To Be Continued!