1. Prestige, Despair, and Rebirth

"The Tanaka clan has thrived in Japan for as far down as lineage permits. One could simply look at a child of the prodigious Tanaka family and know their prosperous destiny. Each Tanaka brought pride to the name, and each bore the title with honor. Asahi was no different, being the eldest of his siblings he had the most responsibility of any, ever since his birth. He lived life as any Tanaka should, prodigious, bringing prosperity to his family, and aided everyone he could. He met the most beautiful woman in the world while he studied medicine at Nagoya University. He married that woman, Aneko, 15 months later, and had only one child. We did not come here to simply honor his life, but to honor his sacrifice as well," proclaimed Benjiro.

"He was my father, Aneko was my mother, both died that day. And both died as a result of my actions. They died from an accident caused by a man with nothing left to lose, as I pulled them on the street in a hurry to introduce them to my fiancé at our favorite restaurant. My dad trailed behind, and was the first to notice the driver. Before I knew it, I was thrown to the curb, and both my parents lied breathless on the street. He had the chance to save one, and he chose me. He is the man I called my hero, and now I will say it with no hesitation, he saved me so that I can continue on our family, so that I may live where they died. I will never forget his act of heroism, nor his selfless life. Thank you father, thank you mother. I will continue on with you both in my heart." Benjiro finished his eulogy in silence, while staring at the two caskets that hold his parents. After some time, he wiped away the tears that trickled down his face and walked back to his fiancé.

"Are you ready to go?" asked the figure. "This is sadly all the time I can give you both." Asahi and Aneko both tearfully faced the figure and nodded. In a bright flash, they no longer observed the funeral, but now stood in the presence of what the figure told us earlier is the great Gatekeeper.

In a terrifyingly booming voice, the Gatekeeper said, "I rarely give this opportunity to anyone, but because it was not your time Asahi, but that of Aneko and Benjiro, I shall grant you one desire before you are reborn." With no hesitation he looks at his wife, and asks, "May Aneko and I continue on together?" "Is that your wish?" "It is."

Before any more words could be said, there once again was a burst of light. Then a breeze of wind. Asahi looked around his new surroundings, and did not see Aneko anywhere, but only himself, in a field, with only a shovel. But before he could go searching, he felt different, almost like he wasn't himself anymore. He looked at his hands, and saw they no longer looked like the hands of a 55 year old, but the hands of someone no older than that of 18 or so. The old-man-look was gone, the color was exuberant, and quite muscly compared to his former hands. He then was in shock, not in a negative sense, as he finally felt young again, but rather out of intrigue for if he truly was young once more. He was wearing very worn down clothes. He had a large hat to cover him from the sun, a brown pair of pants, boots riddled with holes, and a shirt that must've been white at some point. Once he determined from the look of his body, he had to be about 20. But not only that, but what HE looked like when he was twenty in Japan. He was back to his strong figure from when he worked at his fathers construction company, when he was practically the most handsome, the most prime. He grabbed the shovel, and tried to see his reflection. Though difficult, as it seemed pretty heavily used, he could see bits and pieces of his face. He has longer, somewhat bushy black hair, dark brown eyes, and he could see the most clearly he ever could. If only Aneko could see him now! "Oh shit, Aneko!"

He quickly ran to the only structure in sight. He knocked on the door on what appeared to be a rather run-down shack, perhaps too aggressively, because the door fell down with little effort. Asahi shouted inquisitively, "anyone home?" But no one answered, he asked one more time before noticing an open notebook on a small round wooden table a few steps into the house. He needed answers, and so he walked quietly inside, just in case someone lives in this run down shack. He looked at the book, and realized what must be going on. The cover is a brown, very worn down, leather, the pages look poorly made, and the words were barely legible. However he saw on the inside cover, a name. 'Aneko Tanaka.' Well there's one answer, However there are still a few more questions left unanswered, and this book hopefully will tell Asahi where to start. As he continued to read, all that ran through his head was about Aneko. Where is she? Is this place ours? Why was I in a field with only a stupid shovel of all things? Simply put, the peaceful life he wanted with his wife was not going to happen.