My New Life

Sub Chapter 1: A Caretaker's Diary

I remember when I was first introduced to him, he was a small, young boy, who had a natural curiosity about everything.

The way it worked, why it was used, past models and potential ways to make it better.

He was always excited to learn new things, but I also remember the first thing I thought after learning so much about this boy.

It was a shame.

Such a kind smile, such bright eyes, and such a youthful passion.

This boy would be driven to his breaking point time and time again, and I remembered there were nights where he would just sit in a corner, hugging his legs up against his chest as he stared into the distance.

"I'm not a monster."

These were the only words he said.

And then there was one test, one test that even he couldn't figure out.

And out of all the things, it was chess, chess was the one thing he didn't understand, and couldn't get better at on his own.

His father did what only a sane person would do in his situation, he would find the best chess master of Japan to teach him, but that man had already been reserved by another person.

Chairman Sakayanagi.

He had gotten that man to work for him, to teach his daughter, and the boy's father? Well, he was friends with Sakayanagi, so he proposed to let the boy join as well, under the condition he paid for half of the tutor's fee.

Sakayanagi agreed.

As time went by, I remember seeing the boy's eyes gain back their shine, his determination had come back, ten-fold.

I speculated the reason, but came up with blanks, and so I had approached him.

"Isn't it obvious?" He had said.

"There are many things that can motivate a person to do something, it just depends on the person in question. For me, I found the thing that motivates me most. I found a girl."

Oh!

It made so much sense!

The boy's father himself had already figured it out, and I'd been too blind to see that.

The difficulty of his tests were upped to an even greater extent, it was not just mentally, but, physically, he was pushed beyond his limits.

He would fail, and then come back stronger, and succeed.

He never failed the same thing twice.

His determination to see the girl he'd fallen for always gave him all the strength he needed.

I found it touching, incredibly so.

However.

That all changed three years ago.

The boy's father made a terrible mistake, and his boss had come forward to eliminate this whole project, the idea, and the man himself.

"Flee from here, and take the boy, run!"

I had nodded, it was the first time I'd ever seen that man in such a panicked state, it scared me.

I remember making it to the boy's room, and standing in awe as the lights to the room flickered.

He was standing there, standing in a pool of blood, the bodies of four masked men laying around him.

He had no weapon, where did all the blood come from?

His fists were bruised, did he really manage to beat them to death?

"Is this a test? Or are we under attack?"

"Yes, we are under attack, we must flee quickly, you're father's orders."

"I understand."

The two of us quickly ran off, making it to the back of the large building, overlooking a cliff leading down into the ocean.

We knew how to get down safely, there was a hidden path.

"Watch out!"

I looked behind me, and my eyes widened as a large man with a brass knuckle, clearly meant to attack me, had instead been intercepted by the boy.

I watched in shock as time seemed to slow, the boy receiving a harsh, blunt blow to the side of his head, knocking him through the air, and down over the cliff.

I didn't think, I jumped forward, off the cliff after him, and into the water below.

He survived, I know that, but after examining the blow, I knew he'd never be the same.

So then I only had one choice.

...

"Thank you, mister."

"It's no problem kid, whatcha doing floatin around in the middle of a river?"

"I..." his face scrunched up in confusion.

"I don't know."

To this day, I don't know if he'll ever be the same as he was.

But I know one thing as a fact, getting him to go to Sakayanagi's school might help bring back his memories, and maybe, just maybe, he'll be back.

Chapter end,

The website I use to read the light novel is currently under maintenance, I don't know how long for, but there may not be an update tomorrow, and there won't be until the day after the maintenance is finished.

I'll try to improvise another chapter if it gets to the point, be seeing you.

Goodbye!