Chapter 1: Another Chance
In a hospital ward, in the middle of downtown Tokyo, a boy around 7 years old was sitting on his hospital bed staring through the window at the gray commercial building across the Tokyo children's hospital. It is a few floors higher than the thirty story children's hospital and it has a huge digital screen on top which runs various advertisement sporadically for every 5 minutes. On the screen, the boy caught glimpse of the recent virtual game which has been the talk of the town for the past few weeks. It is a Role-playing virtual reality game called Glory Road which is set in a fantasy world. The game requires the Seed headgear to play as what the advertisement said. Flashing at the bottom of the advertisement, in a light neon green font, is a caption "Dominate a world in another life."
It is the year 3010, and with the advancement in technology, comes a simultaneous advance in the gaming industry. Ten years ago, in the year end gaming convention outside Tokyo, gamers were surprised from the announcement of the fully developed virtual reality gaming console. The Seed Headgear. It allows player to experience a virtual reality where players can actually live inside the game like they are in the actual world. The headgear connects itself to the parts of the brain which stimulates imagination, senses and physiological needs and blocks the part of the brain that regulates body movements resulting to paralyzed-like-state while having the headgear on. It is an amazing invention no doubt. With the tremendous effort of scientists all over the world and after a millennium of passed down studies, everything has bear fruit. The celebration for the third millennium became a celebration for the birth of the seed headgear.
The frail body of the boy has started to feel fatigue from sitting upright for a long time. He slowly laid himself down on his hospital bed with the Glory Road advertisement on his mind. He wonders what it feels like to experience another world. A second world. A world where he is a different person; someone who is strong and can run a thousand miles per second! That must be fun he thought.
He has been coming in and out of the hospital since he was diagnosed with a rare heart defect when he was 2 years old. He is already used to the usual antiseptic smell of the hospital. The white wall panels and ceilings always stimulate his mind into feeling a sort of emptiness. It is somewhat comforting. The doctors said that there is no information about his disease and even with the advance technology on their disposal they still have no probable cure for it. He overheard the conversation of his doctor and parents once. He only have a 10 year life expectancy his doctor said.
"Ten years huh?! Three more years. That's a lot of time. They should have found a cure for me by then." The boy thought hopefully.
He has a lot of dreams. One of his dreams is to become a great figure someday. The same huge personalities that populate his favorite fictional war stories. He loves war and strategy as any other young boys around his age. However, unlike other kids, he has developed an unmatched talent for strategizing. He had played various scenarios in his mind and played various war games with his mini soldier toys. Sometimes he purposely drive himself in the corner by his enemies and let himself be killed a lot of times to test the strategies he came up with. His brilliant strategies was also honed through his routine chess game with his grandfather, who is one of the known grandmaster in his time.
He sat up once again and picked up one of his favorite mini soldiers, Mr. General, and positioned him at a disadvantageous position in his bedside table. "The right flank is closing in and on his back is an unideal open terrain. The left flank of the army is not moving. Hmmm…" He rest his face on his chin and look down on the mini warzone he had created. Multiple strategies came up in his mind in an instant. He lit up from excitement. He suddenly heard a beep from the rectangular digital hospital apparatus monitoring his heart. It was connected to him through a white wire attached on his chest. "I can't get too excited" he thought. He drop himself to the bed and fell silent for a minute. He blankly stared at the white paneled ceiling and listened to the almost inaudible IV drops feeding him his medication through a transparent tube connected to his left arm. His eyes felt heavier by the minute and by the time he can no longer hear the droplets of his IV, he became Mr. General.
It was already dusk the moment he woke up. Sitting beside him is his mother who is meticulously peeling the skin of an apple and setting it up on a platter for his consumption. She noticed him woke up and gave him a gentle smile full of affection. Her mom's long silky smooth black hair brushed his face as she gave him a kiss.
"Did you have a good nap Boruto?" She asked.
Boruto nodded.
Every after dinner, he and his mom always go for a stroll. They will give themselves a tour around the hospital and then wait at the parking lot for his dad. Her mom always seats on a wooden bench under an oak tree, three yards away from the parking lot, with him on the wheelchair. The cold night air bushed his cheeks gently. The sky was clear and full of stars.
Thirty minutes later, a light blue hover car, silently drift on an empty hovering spot in the parking lot. A blonde man 6 feet tall casually glides off the car into the pavement. He is wearing a double breasted black blazer paired with black slacks. His buttoned down white shirt underneath his blazer is unbuttoned up to his chest and his black leather shoes glistened as it catches light from the fluorescent street lights. As he approached them, a gentle smile can be seen on his face. He kissed his mom on her cheeks and lifted him up on his arms.
"How are you Boruto?" he asked.
"Naruto-kun don't suddenly lift him up like that!" His mom said worryingly
"It is alright Hinata! My son is tougher than you think!" He said proudly.
Boruto giggled. He admire his dad. He thinks he is the coolest dad in the world. He is the only person in the world who doesn't treat him like a fragile glass. People say he is the little version of his dad. They are both adventurous and carefree. If he has one regret in his life it is that he wasn't able to be the best son for his dad. He have that normal father and son relationship with him. It's nothing but a wishful thinking.
His dad is the president of the Seed gaming corporation, the company that invented and developed the famous seed headgear. His dad inherited the company from his grandpa and his grandpa inherited it from his great grandpa and so on. Their family have handled the corporation for generations and have produced countless amazing feat in the gaming industry. Recently, they have made the dream of a virtual reality a success and the company is now on its peak. However, the company's future is at risk now the successor may only have a few years to live. His parents have named Boruto the successor of the company regardless of his health condition. Despite the protest from the board of directors, his father's decision stood firm.
The family left the parking lot and headed towards the hospital. His dad did not put him down from his arms and his mom pushes the wheelchair glancing at him and his dad often times. She saw her smiling as he hug his dad more tightly. People gaped at his father as they pass along the narrow corridors of the hospital. Because his dad is good looking and had appeared in several television shows, he is quite famous. He felt proud. They arrived at his room and his dad gently laid him on his bed.
"You're getting heavier now Boruto" His Dad said as he ruffled his hair.
His mom parked his wheelchair close to his bed and went to the small kitchen to clean up. She needs to get ready because they will be heading home in a short while.
"Dad, How Is Himawari?" Boruto asked.
"She is with your grandpa Hiashi as always, we will be visiting you tom." He started tucking in Boruto.
He crouched and looked under the bed. He made sure that the brakes of the hospital bed is on. He raised the side rails to keep his son from falling off the bed while he sleeps.
"Dad, am I getting better?" Boruto suddenly asked.
His dad was caught off guard for a moment.
He slightly bent towards his son then patted his head.
"You're doing very well my son. You're doing very well." He said
Boruto smiled towards his Dad.
"Dad when I get home I will show to you how Mr. General has escaped another bad situation!" Boruto exclaimed.
"Oh! I can't wait to see."
"Yes Dad! If I am born again I will be as great as Mr. General! I will escaped life and death situations then lead my own men…"
Boruto's word trail off. His eyes were shutting down slowly and unconsciously. His dad watched him as he fall asleep. They both gave him a kiss on his forehead, closed the lights and then slowly and quietly left the room. They gently closed the door. Naruto pause in front of the door for a moment. He was unsettled. Hinata looks at Naruto worryingly. She wanted to comfort his husband but she knows that she has to give him space for a little while. She kissed him on his cheeks and told him she will wait for him on the car. Naruto nodded.
Boruto's voice keep ringing on his head "Dad if I am born…" He let out a heavy sigh. And then as if a flashed came up from his head. His blood rose up from excitement. "Dad if I am born again…" Besides his son's voice, In Naruto's mind there are only two things right now. Seed headgear and Glory Road"
"Yes my son! You will be someone Great! There is another chance."