As A Child
"So, are we fine now? I mean... I didn't mean to be your enemy and I would prefer to be your friend." Kiran asked, he was sitting on a chair near Robin's bed in the infirmary tent. She had been sleeping for hours after the battle. Being he who caused all those injuries to her... he had apologized to her.
"Y-Yes..." Robin still had that sad face.
"Seriously? still with that thing?" Kiran narrowed.
"I was thinking about what you said..."
"And?" he raised his eyebrow.
"It reminded me a lot to what I told to Chrom and the others when we had to choose between killing Grima or sealing him away..."
"Ah, yeah, Lucina told me something about that. However, the Robin she knew was a male."
"A.. a male?!" Robin was very shocked by this.
"Infinity timelines, infinite possibilities, all of them are a different universe, that Lucina I summoned is from a universe where you are a male. And due to the law of infinite, there's a female me having this same conversation with a male you in other timelines."
"So... our choices create all of them?"
"Pfff, humans wanting to be special." Kiran shook his head and gave a more bored expression. "There's no real proof of that, the existence of infinite timelines does not mean we have real free will, that happens when you presuppose new timelines are generated when the "decision" happens... however, it may be possible that all timelines existed since the beginning of the time. Since all the possibilities must happen, there's an infinite number of us and each one would have their own destiny to fulfill."
"But I don't want to be a pawn! I want to create my own path!"
"That is like saying, I don't want to get hurt by falling from a very high altitude, therefore I can fucking fly... it won't work, reality does not care about what you prefer, lady."
Robin looked at him, clearly sad and horrified.
"I once read a book," spoke Kiran. "It was written by the smartest man in my world... well, the smartest one in the present, in the past there was a smarter one called Isaac Newton... anyway. It said that the knowledge we have got about the brain pretty much confirmed our actions weren't really "our owns". Generating certain electricity impulses on a person's brain you can make them desire to move a hand, speak or anything, and since electricity is a product of matter and the matter obeys the laws of the universe, it's pretty hard to imagine how the free-will would work when the brain, as I said, obeys the laws of nature, it seems like we are just artifacts that are self-aware but our free-will is just an illusion. Of course, the number of variables to consider to be able to predict all your moves is insanely large. Probably over ten trillion variables. It's thanks to that we can still continue our lives, free-will may be fake but at least it feels real enough to enjoy it... besides, what else would we do? go insane? it's pointless, we cannot fight against this." Then Kiran shrugged and began to drink coffee as if he knew nothing about what he had said.
"T-This is crazy..." Robin placed both hands on her head as she felt the worst migraine of her life... well. It wasn't as bad as the ones Grima gave her time ago but... it still was very painful.
"I know, right? but again, there's nothing we can do about it."
Near that bed, another person also heard what Kiran had said.
"How are you able to sleep with all that stuff in your brain."
"Mmmh?" Kiran turned to see Alfonse.
"It is hard to comprehend what kind of events could create your personality... not that I have anything against you but... it's beyond my mental power."
"I can tell you about my past if you want to."
In other side of the tent, Sharena, Ephraim and Nino asked if they could hear, too.
"I would like to know, too." Robin said.
"Um... well, why not. Just three things, I'm gonna narrate as if I was an omniscient narrator, first-person narration is not of my liking. Second, if you ask questions, please wait until I decide to take a break. And third... since what part you want to know?"
"Since the beginning!" said Sharena.
"Since the first thing I can remember?"
"Yes." said Nino.
"Okay..." he drank more coffee before to start. "Well, here I go."
A certain little boy recently had obtained the skill to store memories in his brain. It perhaps was one of the most appreciated capacities by any life form intelligent and self-aware enough to be considered as a person. However, for such a young boy, those concepts were unknown.
What interested him was the environment around him.
He was... laying? he could see... a grey roof.
His bed was... not actually a bed. It was two couches joined to do not let him fall and rest peacefully.
On the wall of the room, there were... somethings the kid didn't know what they were. It would take much time until he realizes those were photos of himself and his four siblings, everybody when they were babies. There was also a clock and a mirror and a big real bed.
Then he noticed what unconsciously due to his lack of real memories he wanted. It was a toy on a table near the mirror.
He tried to stand up and get out from his "bed"... to fail epically because of the not flat surface he was on and his lacking experience at walking. This caused the boy to have his face on the cold and tough floor.
As anybody would expect, his reaction to this was to cry.
The logical thing would be that his mother entered the room to calm her little boy... right?
Well, not exactly, he continued suffering for a while until finally a person actually decided to help him.
It was a teenage girl, she took the little one in her arms, hugging him, comforting him. Fortunately, he stopped crying very quickly because she gave him what he wanted in the first place.
"Tranquilo (Tranquil)." her voice was kind even though the voice itself wasn't very cute.
He knew who she was... Mayra Enríquez... López, one of his three sisters.
She placed him on the big bed and patted him. "¿Tienes hambre?. (Are you hungry?) Luis."
Luis nodded, but if he was honest, he wasn't sure if he really was hungry or he just wanted cookies because they were delicious.
Mayra hugged him once more before she left the room.
Then Luis paid attention to the toy.
And what in the hell was that thing anyway?
It was what people knew as a train... or well, a steam locomotive, it was blue and had a number one on both the left and right sides of the toy. Strangely, it had a face, something real trains didn't have, but this was because this train was also a character.
"Chu chu!" Luis played with the thing on the bed, making it move and even pretend it was a flying train sometimes, all that using his left hand.
He then noticed he had at his reach an object that could turn on an artifact also present where he was. He didn't waste the time and in less than four seconds... he was seeing the intro of what could be described as a play of theatre. He smiled for the first time since he woke up and singed... and well, who wouldn't have singed considering the beautiful music.
¡Bing y Bong! ¡en el espacio está su hogar, del cosmos héroes son! ¡y cada día hay acción! (Bing and Bong! in the space their home is, of the cosmos heroes they are! and every day there is action!)
¡Bing y Bong! ¡Los llama un pequeño planeta, donde emoción tendrán! ¡ y en camino van! (Bing and Bong! a tiny planet is calling them, where they'll have fun! and they are on their way!)
Something his sister forgot was to close the door. This allowed a certain creature to get inside and by its own will, it decided to get on the big bed.
Luis wasn't scared though, he smiled even more after seeing that cute animal with black and white fur. The animal also wasn't afraid of him, it was the opposite. At the very moment both saw each other Luis extended his hand to caress its head and it began to make a sound that was so adorable that Luis replicated while hugging the animal, leaving his toy to carry that thing on his tiny legs.
When his sister finally returned, she had something better than the cookies he expected, it was a piece of cake!
It was sad to have to stop holding and caressing the cat to eat it but Luis did that and happily bite.
"¿Cómo se dice? (What you must say?) Luisito."
"Um... ¡gracias! (thanks!)"
Going out wasn't something this 3 years old kid enjoyed a lot. The outer world was unknown and because of that, it was scary. However, being so young, he didn't have any authority to opine.
He was inside a metal cart. the how it was able to move by itself without the help of an animal was a big mystery... and he wanted to know the answer.
The most logical person to ask about was that old man wearing glasses and cowboy clothes, he also had a beard and a mustache. He was Mr. Enríquez Escobedo... Luis's father. Well, it wasn't like there were more persons in the car.
"Papá, ¿cómo es que esta cosa... arranca? (Dad, how come this thing... runs?)"
The old man smiled as he answered, he never took his eyes from the road though. "Ah, pues es muy fácil, ¿ves la llave que puse allí? eso enciende la batería que a su vez enciende el motor (It's easy, you see that key I put there? it turns on the battery which turns on the engine of the car)"
This explanation didn't was satisfying though.
"¿Pero qué hace el motor? (But what does the engine do?)"
"Hace que un liquido llamado gasolina se combustione y con ello se pueda mover el auto. (It combustionates a liquid called gas and with that, the car can move)."
"¿Combustiona? (Combustionates?)"
"Se quema. (It burns)"
"¿Un liquido se puede quemar? (A liquid can burn?)" Luis scratched his hair.
"Quizá el agua no lo haga, pero otros liquidos sí lo hacen. (Maybe the water cannot, but other liquids can)."
"Chido... (cool)... ¿pero porqué no vamos tan rápido cómo ellos? (But why we aren't as fast as they?)."
"Mejor tarde que nunca (Better late than never)." the old man then extended his hand to pat his son.
The boy would have asked more things since he still had many doubts generated by the same answers he got, principally... why going slower meant better late than never? however a sound he knew so well made him change his mind and pay more attention to something that for any kid was epic. A locomotive Ferromex and all its wagons crossing through the railroad near the highway.
While Luis hadn't wanted to come to that enormous marketplace, he had learned he wouldn't want to complain about it in the future. His father bought a big bag filled with gummies for him. And while any child loved to eat stuff like that, Luis also wondered why they had that... beautiful taste... what caused it? how his tongue processed it? how they created these things?
Normally kids would be afraid of going to the bathroom during the night... and Luis wasn't an exception. It didn't help that to go there he had to cross a backyard which the family conveniently used to dry the clothes after washing them, making him encounter many "ghosts" since he could remember. Seriously, his parents should have installed a light bulb a long time ago. But all that didn't matter this time as he needed to go in direction to the bathroom, near to it there were the stairs to get to the roof of the house. Technically he could have reached that place by climbing the big peach tree they had in another backyard... but he wasn't stupid to try that... it also was even scarier than the "ghosts"
Once he was on the roof, he lied there, waiting for what they had announced in the news, a "stars rain". If Luis was honest, he wasn't sure about what the concept meant... according to his dad, the stars were giant suns very far from the planet... how they could fall like rain? wouldn't that be... something to be afraid of?
It was being hard to keep himself awake... why this kinds of events only happened after the middle-night?
And then he saw it... a light in the form of a white line... and then another! and another!
Luis smiled, raising his hand, he knew he couldn't touch them... so this is what a stars rain was... many shooting stars.
He began to count every single one he saw... that unfortunately worked for him as if he was counting sheep so he ended up sleeping there.
When there were two brothers, one being 4 years old and the other being 17 years old usually would have meant the younger brother would have become into a "slave" of the older one. Luckily for Luis, his brother Miguel was more interested in his videogames. The Play Station 1 already had some years since its release.
And for a curious young kid, seeing someone else playing was as entertaining as playing himself.
Between the characters his brother controlled there were three, Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockheart, and Barret... he didn't understand very well the plot, especially since everything was written in English and he barely could speak his mother tongue. He had to ask about everything he thought it was interesting. At least for the Gamers, asking them about the videogame they were playing never really bothered them if that wasn't interrupting them.
"¿Qué es esa cosa verde? (What is that green thing?)"
The screen displayed the image of a sub traveling under the sea... and a strange green creature swimming around. Miguel apparently got scared as if he was the little child and quickly raised the sub to the surface.
"Esa chingadera es Esmeralda, ¡si peleo con él ahorita me va a dar una putiza! (That shit is Emerald, if I fight it right now he's gonna beat the shit out of me!)." his brother scratched the back part of his head.
Luis raised his eyebrow "¿Neta? ¿ya te chingó antes? (Really? has it already kicked your fucking ass before?)."
His brother laughed. "No! pero un amigo me contó... y bueno porque no he pinches guardado en un buen rato. Se iba a ir a la chingada mi progreso. Es decir, Esmeralda es más cabrón que el jefe final. (No! but a friend told me about it... and it's really good because I haven't saved for a while. My progress would have gone to the fucking hell! I mean, Emerald is more bastard than the final boss)."
Luis grimaced "Ah no mames... no entonces que bueno. (Don't be fucking kidding... then that is good)."
"Pero ya pronto conseguiré el nivel y materia necesarios para romperle toda su puta madre (But I will soon get the level and materia necessary to make it cry like a bitch)." his brother make his hand to turn into a fist of determination.
"Chido (cool)." Luis just nodded.
It came that day when Luis had to enter the school... a kindergarten
If he was honest... the idea of being many hours locked with other kids was... weird. Having spent almost all his life inside the house, without neighbors that had a similar age to his... the concept seemed from a different planet. Even his siblings couldn't really spend time with him to play, as Mayra, Maricela, and Marisa were usually busy with their homework and all that stuff, Miguel only let him see but not actually play... and that only when he was enjoying his holidays. His parents used to be all day working and they only brought him to buy supplies for the Tortilleria when nobody would be there to give him food.
He was just very used to do the things alone... so when the teacher asked him to work with a classmate... it was just... strange.
Luis focused on drawing instead of speaking to other kids... especially since the "incident"
That day when... well...
"¿Porqué dibujas con la mano izquierda? (Why are you drawing with your left hand?)."
Luis turned to see a kid in front of him. "Siempre he usado esta mano... (I've always used this hand...)"
The other kid seemed to be alarmed. "¡Pero esa es la mano del diablo! (But that's the devil's hand!)"
It was just very stupid how he got accused because of that... of course, in the end, nothing happened.
He already had an idea of those beings called God and Satan also known as the Devil... and if he was honest, they were so boring... their existence seemed to ruin his Sundays every time. Unfortunately, if he didn't go to that cursed place called church his mom hit him with her shoes and punished him, not letting him play videogames...
Now he hated them even more so.
Once, when he was playing with his blue train in the distance. The other kids got on... some metal things that made them go up and then go down... and other things where they needed to use their hands to do not fall... he didn't want to go near.
But of course, being a good kid only meant he had to suffer.
"¡Oye! (Hey!)"
Luis raised his head to see a... a kid that clearly didn't seem to be likable.
"Lindo juguete, ¡¿es para niñas?! (cute toy, is it for girls?!)"
"..."
The next thing Luis knew was that he wasn't holding his precious train anymore, then he felt pain on his nose.
However, this Luis wasn't like his older self who would have grabbed that fucking asshole and collide his head against a wall to cause him brain damage, perhaps killing him in the best scenario so he wouldn't be a pain in the ass. No... he was just his stupid 4 years old version.
"Dámelo! (Give me back it!)" The only thing he did was to try to grab his toy... pathetic.
Then his toy train broke when it crashed on the floor.
And, again, being a pathetic, worthless to exist inferior version... instead of beating the shit out of that kid... he just cried... like a fag. Needless to say, the other kid was laughing at this.
Months happened and that other kid only got "warnings", which pretty much meant he never stopped bullying Luis, thanks to this Luis learned teachers and authorities usually are useless pieces of shit... and needless to say Luis was already fed up with the situation. Fortunately, he wasn't going depressive, rather, he began to feel hate, something he really needed.
The next time that fucking bastard approached...
"Hey, niñit-aaaaaah! (Hey! little gir-)." The kid had to place his hand on his eye since a stone hit him.
Luis quickly prepared another rock with his slingshot. And then he shot another, and another, and another... AND ANOTHER! AND ANOTHER!
When the bastard that made his life impossible was gone, Luis smiled in relief.
A fucking shit that now it was the moment the teacher decided to be "good at her job" and due that he wasn't able to go to the school for three days. At least when he came back nobody wanted to mess with him.
"Your name is Luis?!" asked Alfonse.
"Yeah." again, Kiran acted as if it didn't matter at all.
"But we all thought your name was Kiran!" Nino yelled.
"And it is, it's a self-given name." he closed his eyes and sighed.
"B-But... why?" asked Ephraim.
Kiran opened his eyes and gave a very stressed facial expression. "Because when you are born, they decide your nationality, your name, your family, your believes and then you spend your fucking entire life defending something you never chose just because "it is yours and you should be proud of it"..." Kiran said the last part trying to sound like a retarded. "I wanted a new start here, so I got a name that fits very well my purpose. Kiran means ray of light, and that's what I wanna be, a ray of light, the light of knowledge... and it also is similar to Kira. Kira is the name of a character that got the power of a god and killed an incredible amount of criminals on behalf of justice. I love justice, so... the name was perfect."
"But you decided to keep the last names." Robin pointed out.
"Yeah, they are cool, but if I had to have only one, I would keep Enríquez, I don't have very good memories of the López side of my family. It's a shame I wasn't able to dance over the tomb of my López grandfather. He's part of the reason why my mom was a terrible one during most part of my life."
Nobody was really sure about what to say then.
I've been working on this at the same time I was writing the previous chapter.
If any of you saw that Bing and Bong thing and you are wondering why the lyrics don't match the ones you remember... well, I'm using the ones of Spanish, since those would be the ones Kiran/Luis would have heard.
At least the next chapter is also going to be about the background of our protagonist.
Anyway, time to answer reviews.
Guest:
Yeah... it is fucking insane.
Half-BeastDragonSoul2013:
I know, I love this program now...
And well, I think I get it now...
Slavkow776:
His future what?
Nah, Poncho is not gonna end up like his dead counterpart.
Blexan22:
I'm glad to know you liked the fight, it relaxes me. Seriously, there are many times I think: Why do I have the feeling people are gonna say: What the hell is this shit?
While people may like Kiran, I knew he didn't have much background, even another person pointed out that, so, I hope you like his past, too.
