Forgotten World: The Promise We Made That Day

Prologue

"This way, young adventurer! In order to reach the lair of the demon king, we must traverse this treacherous path filled with monsters and enemies! Do you accept this mission?" The small black haired boy turns towards me and grins, his crimson eyes filled with excitement. He firmly gripped broken tree branch in his right hand as he asks me the question. I, who held my own two sticks in both hands, gave him a nod in confirmation to his request. "I accept." I say while swallowing my doubt and stepping forward. With a grin, he continues onward up the steep hill covered in grass and dirt.

The boy leading me on was my older twin brother, Tarou. Whenever the two of us played outside like this, he was always the leader. I just followed along with whatever he wanted to do since he considered himself "the big one". I wasn't much of a talker and I'm still not to this day, so I was incapable of speaking up for myself and explaining to my big brother that I wanted to do something different. Unlike myself, Tarou was confident and a go-getter. He knew what he wanted and would stop at nothing to make sure he got it. Even if it meant using me as a pawn.

What felt like hours of walking finally pay off as the two of us reach the top of the hill. The view ahead of us was of our hometown in Japan. A beautiful and peaceful city where nothing out of the extraordinary happened. This is why we use our imaginations to create vivid and wonderful new worlds. "That's it, Tak-kun. That's the city we must protect from evil, no matter what! These swords of ours will save humanity and keep our loved ones safe!" Tarou raises his stick in a triumphant manner, pointing it towards the sky. I do the same by raising my stick soon after he does.

A moment of silence as the sun sets is suddenly ruined by the giggles of an unknown presence. We both turn our heads to the side to witness a little girl about our age sitting in a tree. My brother takes a few steps towards the tree, now pointing his branch at the girl who watched us from above. "State your title, stranger! Depending on how you answer, I might let you live!" The girl bursts into laughter after listening to what Tarou says. It was as if his act was a complete joke. She jumps down from the tree and lands in front of Tarou, causing him to stumble and fall onto his behind. "My name is Mizuki Minatsuki. I'm new in town. My dad just got a new job here so we had to move. Hm?" She turns her attention towards me and smiles.

"What's your name?" She asks while keeping her hands behind her back. "T-Taku..." I say quietly while averting my eyes from her. "Nice to meet you, Taku!" Before she could get any closer to me, Tarou steps in. "Get any closer to my brother and I'll slice you down!" Mizuki puffs out her cheeks in annoyance and begins to pinch Tarou's face. "Oh yeah? Try slicing me down now, big guy! You can't, right? Of course, because you'd never hit a lady! Now.. What is your name?" Tarou drops his stick, his eyes filling with tears as he rubs his face. "I-I'm Tarou Kitazawa... You bully..." Now that she knew both of our names, she looks at us with a bright smile and hugs the both of us. "With greetings out of the way, I'm sure this is the start of a wonderful friendship! Nice to meet you, Kitazawa brothers!"

From that day forth, the three of us had become a trio. Besides going to school, we played together everyday. We'd spend hours doing all kinds of things. A year had passed and we were pretty much inseperable. There was no stopping us. Things, however, did start to change once we got into the 6th grade. I started to notice Tarou acting differently than he used to. Whenever Mizuki was around, he seemed more attentive of her. He stared at her a lot and always acknowledged her when she did something. If I wasn't mistaken, I think Tarou has a crush on Mitsuki. It's too bad, though... since it seems Mizuki has feelings for me.

School had just let out and I remember Mizuki pulling my hand and dragging me along to a secluded spot behind the school. At the time, I wasn't sure what she wanted, but it all became clear when she wrapped her arms around me and brought me closer to her. "Taku... I can't keep hiding these feelings any longer. I love you." Before I could even say anything, her lips press against mine. She kept me there for a good 30 seconds before slowly pulling away. In the distance, a mortified Tarou watched it all unfold.