Forgotten World: The Promise We Made That Day

Volume 2 Chapter 13

 "Alright, Dad! I'm off to school!" Said a young boy who was eager to make it to his first day of middle school. He grabs his backpack and exits through the front door of the 2 bedroom apartment. He stops, however, so that he can pay respects to his late mother. Her memorial shrine sat amongst a desk near the entrance. "I'll see you later, Mom." With a smile on his face, he leaves home and heads for school. The bright blue sky was always able to put hin in a good mood whenever he looked at it, unable to keep his focus on what's in front of him. He soon bumps into someone and has to apologize for not watching where he was going.

It wasn't long before the 12 year old boy made it to his school. During roll call, he waited for his name to be called. "Shin Kusunoki?" He brown haired boy stood up and firmly responded to the teacher. "Here!" His cheerful demeanor brightended everyone's days. Shin had become very popular due to his way of speaking and personality. There wasn't a single person in his class who didn't like him. He was a skilled gymnast, piano player, and painter. With so many skills, who wouldn't like him? This boy lived his days in happiness and bliss, but things had changed as soon as he entered high school. With the appearance of the smog, death was everywhere. All of those that Shin held dear to him had passed away. Living in a dome and in a world covered by smog, he could no longer see the blue sky that gave him hope.

Shin's father, Masaru Kusunoki, was an inventor and many times he was called a mad scientist. He studied the Uncontrolled and the smog, wanting to find a way to save humanity. That was when he had the perfect idea. Create the ultimate warrior able to fight on par or even better than the demon generals of the AUA and slay Uncontrolled. "C-Come this way, my son. I.. I have something I need to show you." Shin is lead into a room where a large machine was hooked up. "Dad... What is this?" He looked a bit worried about the machine. "D-Don't worry, son. This machine is my greatest invention. It's.. a machine that can alter the DNA of whoever enters inside of it. I... I want to create the ultimate fighter. Someone able to truly put an end to these creatures! S-Son.. I want you to go inside."

His eyes widen as he steps back. "Dad.. I really don't want to." Masaru was angered by this, forcefully shoving his son into the machine and activating it. Shin screams in agony as his hair turns from brown to a bright silver and his eyes turn red and gold. Emerging from the machine, Shin was a whole new person. "Ah, yes! Th-This... is what I have always wanted! We can finally put an end to the madness!" All of a sudden, soldiers of the Imperial Army of Japan break into the home and secret lab of Masaru, who had been creating illegal things since the smog first appeared. They were here to take him down on the command of their leader. The soldiers surround him with their guns at the ready, shooting down Masaru before he could do anything. As his body lies there, Shin was shocked. He hadn't seen someone die in front of him since his mother's death. This triggered something within him.

"I'd say take the boy in, but we..." One of the soldier's head goes flying off as Shin decapitates him using only a scalpel. "Wh-What the hell?! Get him!" The soldiers all attempts to take the new Shin on, but he makes quick work of them with his newfound speed and strength. The scalpel was all he needed to cut their bodies into pieces. With them all dead, he escapes hia own home and was on the run. Shin spent years away from Kyoto, fighting Uncontrolled day and night. "It's all your fault... If you never appeared, the AUA would never show up, my dad wouldn't have done this to me, and he wouldn't have died! I swear that I will kill every last Uncontrolled and discover the truth behind all of this chaos."

Shin ended up learning things by infiltrating the AUA base in Japan and reading up on the information they had. He learned about the Uncontrolled and how Divinity Arms are created, using their methods and his dad's old lab to create his own Divinity Arms weapon. He also learned how to control certain breeds of Uncontrolled to do his bidding, similar to the Uncontrolled summoning the hybrids can use. Shin ended up changing his name to just Shinku and was known all around the world as a mysterious Uncontrolled assassin. After a few espionage missions, he started realizing that the leader of the AUA, the president of the US himself, seemed like he was hiding things. Because of this, he wanted to seek the truth. He wanted to find out what was going on in the shadows. This was his new goal.

"And there you have it. The reason I tested you was to see if you had the potential to face future challenges. You do, but you have a lot to learn before I can acknowledge you. I still see you three as targets, but consider yourselves lucky for today. Next time, I will make sure to kill you three. Take care and enjoy your days while they last." Shinku calls upon his bird Uncontrolled and takes flight, leaving them behind to think about all that he had said to them. At this point, Tarou was able to sit up and move, but slowly. "Looks like he has quite the rough past as well, huh?" Taku and Mizuki look at Tarou. "What? He's suffered just as much as we have. I feel like I can sort of agree with what he wants to do. I.. I want to save this world and I seek an answer of my own. In order to do that, I need to get stronger."

Taku had a look of hope on his face. "Then... We'll get stronger together." These words rose a reaction out of Tarou, who would slowly stand to his feet. His wounds were still healing, but he had a little more energy now. He thought back to what Shinku had said to him about him being weaker than his brother. He clenches his fist and shakes his head. "No... I'll do it on my own." Mizuki goes over to Tarou and gently grasps at his sleeve. "Tarou, please... After all this time.. Can't we just work together like we used to? After all, we're a family." He quickly pulls his arm away from her and clicks his tongue. "Stop that, Mizuki. Look... I'm going to find a way to solve everything. I don't need your help to do it." Mizuki had a pained look on her face, which Tarou couldn't dare to look at. Despite all that has happened, he still loves her and doesn't want to hurt her. For her sake, he was determined to find a cure. Before anything else could be said, Tarou uses the smog to transport himself to another location far away from the two of them.

He reappears in Japan, heading to his original hideout back when he'd first parted ways with his brother Taku. All his things were still here, so he was going to use this place to rest up and recover after that battle. More healing was needed to make a full recovery, after all. Mizuki turns to look at Taku, who was looking down with a disappointed face. "I-I'm sorry, Tak-kun.. I couldn't convince him to stay.." He looks up at her ans gives her a reassuring, yet pained smile. "Maybe... it's for the best that we forge our own paths. Tarou has his own way of doing things and so do we. Instead of moping around. Let's do our best to figure out what we want to do as well." She nods to him before jumping into him and wrapping her arms around him. "As long as I have you with me, I feel like we can do anything." He laughs softly. "Of course. I feel the same way. Thank you for giving me strength, Mizuki." With the two now in better spirits than before, they are able to move forward with determination in their hearts.