"Mom, Dad?" Subaru cried out, seeing the unresponsive bodies of his parents. He couldn't accept they were dead.
Subaru heard loud banging noise, like a hammer banging onto metal.
What is going on? What is happening?
Subaru looked at his parents again, blood flowing from their bodies, and understood they were dead. The person who killed him was most likely the source of the banging noise.
I must stop this. Why did this have to happen?
Subaru grabbed a kitchen knife and strolled toward where he heard the banging sound. He spotted a man much more significant than him with a hammer, attempting to break into a safe.
Why? Why did he have to kill my parents? WHY
Subaru slowly crept behind the man as the loud hammer banging made it easy for the young boy to sneak behind him.
You will pay for what you did to my parents.
You evil scum.
Subaru swung the kitchen knife with force toward the masked man's neck. The man figured out what had happened, but it was too late. He died moments after the wound was inflicted.
Subaru looked around him, the man's blood dripping on the floor. He was the only one left alive. Subaru quickly grabbed his parent's phone and called the police. When they arrived, they were horrified at the scene. Robberies were very rare in Japan, let alone three deaths. Subaru was informed of one thing, the name of the person who took the lives of his parents. Kenzo Nakamura.
Subaru was only ten years old when this event occurred.
A few months passed, and Subaru was getting used to his unfamiliar new life. His foster parents were wealthy but absent. The only time Subaru saw them as if they were arguing. Many times one of the foster parents would offer Subaru money to keep secrets, and the wife was constantly having affairs with her husband.
Subaru didn't understand what was going on or the importance of what the woman was asking Subaru to do, so he did so without even taking the money.
One day the man that was now his 'father' came home from work early. Subaru started to realize what would happen.
Subaru heard footsteps, slowly reaching a door.
"ARE YOU DOING WHAT I THINK YOU'RE DOING?" The man yelled through the door.
Subaru was shivering. He didn't want to see anymore… He didn't want to see any more violence.
Subaru ran to his room and closed the door. He was afraid.
Not this again. Not this, please, not this.
Subaru heard the sounds of screaming, which he thought was some sort of blunt object.
Did he? Did he kill her?
Subaru crew up into a ball. He couldn't handle this… not right after his own parents died.
"Subaru, open the door. I'm not going to harm you; I just need to talk to you," the voice said.
Subaru didn't know, but if he didn't open the door, the man could easily break through it.
His foster mother was a woman in her twenties, a gorgeous woman. His foster father was a CEO of a large company in Japan. He was also reasonably musclar, but he also scared Subaru.
"SUBARU?"
"Yes, I understand. I'll open the door," Subaru replied, shivering from the fear.
The man stared at the young Subaru, "Subaru, relax. As long as you don't mention what happened today, nothing will happen to you. I was told what happened to your parents… so you're a murderer too?"
What? I'm a murderer? Am I?
That man killed my parents, so… I killed him.
That wasn't the wrong thing to do, right?
"By the look on your face, you understand. I will send you to a nice, lavish boarding school where you can enjoy yourself. When you are fifteen, you will graduate. I have high hopes for you," the man said genuinely.
This man murdered his wife and whoever she was with… and is now calmly discussing my future?
What is going on?
Four years pass by. Subaru was making friends and even had a girlfriend in this higher-end school in Japan. His trauma, however, formed into something else he couldn't describe. He could read people. Most people he could easily read. He wasn't sure how or why he had this skill, but it made social interaction much more accessible.
Subaru never mentioned anything about his past. Making up an entire backstory for his life. The lie was reasonably close to the truth, so it was pretty simple for him to maintain.
His two closest friends were Kaneko Shichiro, the son of another wealthy man who owned countless properties within Tokyo. His other friend was Takata Kunio. Takata was unique as he did not come from any wealth. He had outstanding grades and was a prodigy in Japan. His girlfriend, Tsutsumi Kiyoko , was almost considered a princess at his school. Her family controls a massive tech conglomerate worth billions of dollars. He had no idea how he ended up with her, but she was the only reason he kept his sanity after the hell he had gone through.
She was beautiful, and her personality matched it as well. Subaru thought his life was turning around. A few days passed, and it was the weekend.
"Subaru! Since it's your birthday this weekend, we'll throw you a party at Kaneko's place!" Takata yelled at Subaru after school ended.
My life is so much better now. Even if I had to hide that man's murders, I never thought I'd enjoy life like I do now.
The following day he arrived at the party. He did notice someone strange, however. He was an older man who seemed to be a butler. But Subaru noticed a tiny part of a tattoo show when the man stretched his arms.
Just relax. Nothing will happen.
Subaru begins to enjoy his fifteen-birthday. He was dancing with his girlfriend, Tsutsumi.
"Tsutsumi, I just want to thank you" Subaru stared at the beautiful girl's eyes beside him.
Tsutsumi laughed, "You look so serious all of a sudden."
Maybe I should thank her. For what she really did. For saving me.
Subaru hugged Tsutsumi and whispered in her ear, "I love you, thank you for saving me from my past"
Tsutsumi seemed a bit shocked at first but accepted it. She was always treated as royalty, but Subaru treated her like a regular girl. Something she had never experienced.
Subaru kissed Tsutsumi and then excused himself to use the restroom. He then heard what sound like some sort of lock on the bathroom door.
What the? A prank?
Subaru tried to open the door but couldn't. He was locked inside.
Seriously pranking me on my birthday? How cruel.
*BANG*
*BANG*
*BANG*
Gunshots were heard. Subaru wanted to make the 'party' a small get-together so he could enjoy his time with his closest friends. He didn't know however the dangers of being around the children of the most powerful people in Japan.
"Did we get the three targets?"
"Yes, we can leave now."
Subaru overheard them only those two words.
One month passed, and Subaru returned to his foster home.
Why?
Why does everybody I care about just die?
Why can't I just be the one to die?
Why can't I suffer?
It's my fault, it's always my fault. My birthday led to Tsutsumi's death. My very existence itself leads to the death of those I care for. I'm cursed.
*KNOCK*
*KNOCK*
Subaru's foster father wasn't home, so he opened the door. It was the Japanese police.
"What is your name?"
Why do they have guns? What is going on? Is it something related to my father?
"Subaru"
"Come with us. We have some questions to ask you"
The police interrogated him, and the weapons left behind matched Subaru's fingerprints. They also found text messages on Subaru's phone that showed the planning he did.
I was set up. But does it matter? At the end of the day… I was responsible. Perhaps a jail cell will be more fitting for a person that brings nothing but death to everyone he cares for.
Subaru pleaded guilty and was sentenced to twenty-five years in maximum security prison. The court case was odd. Subaru declined to have a representative and acted more as a prosecutor than a defense. He told the judge he was a monster that should be put to death. The judge reviewing the evidence knew that Subaru was innocent, but even for a judge in Japan, the families involved with these murders are powerful people. The judge could only agree with Subaru's pleas and send him to prison.
This place doesn't look too bad.
Fitting for a monster like me.
A few months have passed by. Subaru was surrounded by the worst criminals in Japan, rapists, child predators, murderers, and everything else.
This may be where I belong. A jail filled with nothing but despair.
My parents are dead due to my failure to protect them.
My friends and girlfriend died due to me being a fool.
Everybody I've ever cared about is dead. And I only have myself to blame.
Subaru knew he was weak. He worked out, but his young age won't matter. He had to learn to adapt.
One day in the prison, a man approached Subaru.
"Hey there, youngster, I'm going to beat the shit out of you."
If I'm not mistaken, I watched this man's court case on television before I ended up here. He was a child rapist.
"HEY, KID WHY AREN'T YOU EVEN RESPONDING?"
In prison, child predators are the worst of the worst. There's now a group surrounding us. This is my only shot.
"Did you take some sort of plea deal to prevent the other inmates from knowing how you got here?"
The man froze as the others started to pay attention to Subaru, wondering what he was talking about.
"This man is here for child pedophilia. He raped four underaged women. I assume by the look you're giving me, the others weren't aware of this."
Good, this is working well.
"That's a lie! That's a lie! You simply made it up."
Subaru grinned, remembering something he saw from a prison show, "Got any paperwork to prove it? I'm not lying. I have no reason to accuse you of a crime that vial. Even if you beat me to a pulp, I won't make up something like this to get out of it"
The other inmates stared at the boy. Most of them believed him, he was young, and he had access to the outside world earlier.
"YOU LITTLE BRAT, I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU SORRY FOR SAYING A WORD," the man lunged at Subaru with a prison knife.
Subaru watched as he was about to be stabbed, but a giant man intervened before his heart would've been punctured.
What the?
"This boy is under my care now. Anyone that dares to harm him will pay the price of their life," the man yelled, and the other cellmates quickly left.
The man looked at Subaru just as Subaru looked at the man. He appeared to be in his thirties, had many tattoos, and was reasonably muscular, which is hard to achieve in prison due to the lack of high-protein food.
Two weeks pass. The man still had not told Subaru his name but taught him many things he wished he had known when he was younger.
The man saw the potential the boy had. Usually he would be a great con artist, but he has the potential to be even better than that.
"What are these?" Subaru asked
"I got you books, books about psychology, the human mind. I will never leave this cell for the rest of my life. You, however, are young and may get out." the man replied
I don't even care.
I don't want to see more death.
"I'm going to train you myself. The books and psychology you already seem to be gifted on. The only thing you need to learn is pain tolerance and basic concepts that this world has," the man stated.
Why does he want to teach me?
I guess it would be rude to ask why… perhaps he lived a similar life that I have.
"Subaru, the first and most important thing I will teach you is the value of your name. I've never told you my name as I feel it would be disrespectful to the person that gave me that name to use it. I've committed sins, and I'm aware of that fact. Names are a symbol of your value to yourself. Remember that you might not get it now, but later you will"
"Alright"
One and a half years passed, and Subaru was trained by someone he wasn't aware of being the previous Yakuza of the largest gang in Japan. Subaru would never learn of that. The man taught him everything he could, seeing the potential within the boy. Even torturing him, so he knew how to resist pain. Subaru felt a bond with this man, he wasn't sure what it was, but it was something.
"I need you to teach me something."
The man laughed, "That's a first. You've never asked me to teach you anything, specific boy. What do you want to know?"
Subaru gulped, "All throughout my life, everybody I cared about died due to my weakness or foolishness. I don't know how to continue if that never stops happening."
The man looked angry at the boy for a moment before responding, "This world is cruel, but blaming yourself for everything only makes you a coward. Afraid of the truth of the nature of humanity and the world. If you fear those you care for will die, become a man who won't allow such things to occur. If you think you are cursed, you are nothing more than a stupid brat trying to escape reality."
Subaru nodded.
He's right. All I have been doing is trying to escape reality. I have eight more years in this jail until I'm free. I'll be twenty-five years old. I will not waste the remaining of my life by then.
While Subaru thought he suddenly felt a bit tired, he didn't know why as he wasn't tired early. He couldn't stop himself from closing his eyes, and when he woke up, he saw what he couldn't comprehend.
Where am I?