1 1 Shin and Theseus (Part 1)
~Scroll of the Dead~
On a peaceful night at Aoi subway, Kyushu prefecture, all shops were closed and the streets were empty, one could make an echo from his heartbeat with this level of quietness. A black cat strolled through the empty subway before making its bed at the corner of the terminal, Aside from the bright light disturbing his rest he was as comfortable as ever.
-KRAKKAKAKAK
A brief crackling sound made the cat uneasy, but nothing he couldn't ignore since it was probably coming from the lights
-BOOM
A large portal manifested in the subway tunnels scaring the feline as he fled from the scene. Emerging from it was a cloaked figure.
"That was rough" he mumbled as he took off his cloak to reveal a dark-haired male, probably in his early twenties. He had blue eyes as clear as the ocean and he seemed to be wearing a navy blue button-up shirt. He wore a necklace with a golden diagonal cross. He looked around the structure for a while before letting out a disappointing sigh.
"So this is the mortal world huh" The man placed his arm on the walls of the tunnel "They really outdid the place"
"Not like I'm bothered" He reached for his pockets and pulled out something resembling a pocket watch "This is where the singularity was last spotted, gotta act fast"
He began walking, and each step brought a feeling of determination for this man. Each step he took determined the course of his fate. The man finally emerged from the subway and into the streets, where it was a bit more occupied. People turned their attention to the cloaked man as he kept on walking, ignoring all the scenery, and all the locals that slept there during the night. One would find him mad or insane, but not like he actually cared when he had a goal prioritized.
"I won't let anything hold me back…" he declared "…from becoming a god!"
~Scroll of the Dead~
'It all happened so fast' were the words of the brown-haired boy who stared at the deathbed of his father with his mother beside him - kneeling down and crying. Excluding his frail body, they shared similar traits via their brown hair and blue eyes. He turned his head round the room, maybe there could have been a solution they hadn't tried despite lacking zero medical experience.
'Huh?' he felt a shaking in his palms 'I'm cold? But the room is warm' Turning his head further he found a much younger girl with dark hair crying as well 'Hana…'
His blue eyes now turned to the doctor who just looked away, like he was trying to hide his self-disappointment.
'It wasn't as if it was some injury that couldn't be fixed despite him being a project manager in a well-known company' he closed his eyes in the hope that it was merely just a dream 'It was a disease that couldn't be cured even if you brought up all the riches this world had'
"Shin"
The boy felt the weak-sounding voice of his father call out once more, calling out his name for the last time. He opened his eyes to see his father's hand stretched out, gesturing him to come over to his side one last time.
"Dad… Why are you giving up now?" Shin bit his lip in frustration
"Shin!" Those words earned a hard look from his mother, her face which was beautiful on a normal day had been soiled through countless tears.
"It's fine Kaori" the man calmed his wife down before turning back to his son "There are times when you just have to sit things out"
"Sit things out?" Shin stared in confusion and shock "We're talking about your final moments here!"
"Listen, you are aware that this illness is incurable no matter what method you attempt"
Those words pierced through the boy like a dagger, but he could tell the man wasn't done.
He continued "All we can do is laugh, cry, love, and at last die. You can't avoid it, otherwise, how can you be called a human?"
"Then are you saying you're okay with dying like that? Ken hasn't even gotten enough time to know you and you're already-"
The boy cut himself off the moment he saw a kind smile form on his father's face, why was he trying to hide it? Doesn't he feel regret?
"I'd be lying if I said I don't have a sliver of regret as of now" he answered as if he read through his mind "But I'm glad"
"What are you-"
"I can die with the satisfaction of knowing my children – no - my family will be able to move on, they will keep living happily probably even happier…"
Shin bit his lip even harder as he had an idea of his father's next words.
"They have you with them after all"
Tears formed on his face as he rushed to give his dad a warm embrace
"I promise" he declared "We will be happy!"
This caused a grin to form on the man's face "Good!"
"Don't cry Hana" he turned his attention to the 9 year old girl who was still crying "Just think of this as one of Daddy's long trips"
The girl paused her crying to hear him out "What does that mean?"
"This isn't goodbye forever you know," he looked outside the window towards the sky "I'll just go to that place beyond our reach and build a house for all of us" he turned back to his family "And when the time is right we'll get to meet each other again, that's a promise"
'Screw that…' Shin bit his lip at those words as he saw his father consoling her. He knew there was no way of such things happening, after all…
'…Heaven, Hell, Demons, Gods…'
'…They were all fairy tales at the end of the day.'
~Scroll of the Dead~
A year later
-BEEP BEEP
A teen's room came into view, in it was a desk with a gaming PC on it right in front of the mini library which stored textbooks and manga. The walls were painted in cream color and decorated with posters of fictional shows like Dragon Ball and Bleach.
BEEP BEEP
The blanket on the bed made rustling movements as a groaning noise could be heard.
BEE-
The alarm was cut off by a hand grabbing it lazily, feeling the body of the device for the switch but couldn't find it due to his lack of motivation.
"Why don't you…" the hand grabbed the mechanical device as he threw it outside the window "Shut the hell up!"
The blanket came off revealing an older Shin, a year older to be precise. The only difference was his increase in height and slightly longer hair with a red strand at the side. He was wearing a light green nightgown with a wave pattern.
"Another one?" he muttered as he stood up from the bed "I gotta stop doing that"
Walking over to his desk, he turned on his PC as the only source of time in the room. Shin waited a few seconds before being greeted by a desktop with a wallpaper of Call of Duty Multiplayer match results. He had made it his wallpaper due to losing a bet against a friend.
[3 – 20]
[8thYonko vs KingRuto]
'Eh? I didn't change this yet?' Shin stared at his username on the left 'I still think he hacked me, but forget that' he turned to the taskbar clock where it was written in bold
[8:45 am]
"Eh? I really overslept?" he sighed "I'm lucky today isn't a school-" He interrupted himself as he checked the date below
[Monday 17th November 2025]
"Eh?" Shin cleaned his eyes as he refreshed his desktop five times before checking again
[Monday 17th November 2025]
"EHHHHHHH?????!!!!!"
For the first time in his life, Shin had overslept on a school night. He had recently come out of his rebel phase a while back after dealing with his father's death and now he was already missing classes. Like a blur, he dashed out of his room and quickly had his shower while brushing his teeth simultaneously, before running back and wearing his uniform which comprised of a white shirt, blue tie, and green trousers with a matching jacket.
"Mom?!" Shin called out from the room in the hope she was cooking Hana's lunch.
"Shin?" Shin's mother responded in confusion "I thought you left already"
"Ah don't mind that, could you just cut out of Hana's breakfast pretty please?"
"Oi what happened to yours, cheapskate!" the girl yelled out in a fit of rage
In a matter of seconds, the brunette was now in the dining room as he boosted towards the kitchen and grabbed a plate of toast.
"Why you" the black-haired girl with pigtails named Hana Matsumoto pounced at her elder brother and began dragging her food back.
Naturally, Shin being older and stronger ignored the punches as he prayed for the food "Thank you for the meal"
"No don't 'Thank you for the meal' ya NEET, buy your own food" Hana growled
"Dumbass I'm in high school" Shin replied with a smug as he struggled out of his sister's tight grip
"A NEET in training is a NEET by default" she shot back before landing a kick in his face which got him angry
"Do you even know what that means brat?"
"Yeah it means Shin Matsumoto"
The boy paused his eating as the insult struck him in the heart 'Ouch'.
"Hana please get off your brother" the mother of the two asked kindly but with a look of silent anger
On command, she immediately stopped as she stood up "Alright!"
'She just answered like a robot' Shin commented before hearing a childish laugh. Turning around he saw his baby brother Ken on the couch laughing at the scene. He looked more like him than anyone else except he had his mother's black hair and blue irises. Shin then molded his face until he mimicked a Sumo warrior which made the baby laugh uncontrollably.
Even though he promised to be a perfect student he saw no reason to spend some time with his family.
After all…
~ "They have you with them after all…" ~
He bit his lip as those words, no, that scene itself came back to haunt him. The boy shook it off as he stood up and finished his meal before taking a glass of orange juice as his mother began.
"You left your jacket at the store the other day"
"Oh did I?" he asked before letting out a laugh "I'll get it back later"
He tidied himself before heading towards the door, he felt a need to hurry up and leave before she brought up that topic like she always did on every special occasion.
"His anniversary is coming up in a few weeks"
Shin stopped in his tracks as he heard those words leave her mouth "I see"
"And I was wondering…"
'Here it comes'
"…If you'll be going to the temple to offer a pray-"
-THUD
The brunette smashed his fist against the wall as he stared back at the woman with a mix of contempt and anger.
'No' he took a deep breath, he already elaborated over and over so it wasn't something he should be flustered about "See ya"
He shut the door nicely before leaving the two females in the house speechless with Hana confused before sighing "I guess rebels will remain rebels, eh?" she tried consoling the woman 'What's wrong with that guy?'
Kaori was lost in thought, remembering his words at the funeral
~ "Why believe in a god that couldn't save someone who believed in him?!" ~
"He can't obviously be serious right?"
"Tch" Hana looked away with a frown "Who cares what that idiot chooses to believe in? It's every man for himself right?"
"HANA" in a fit of rage she corrected her daughter's choice of words before calming down "Remember what your dad said before he passed?"
"Huh?" she thought deeply before recalling the scene in the hospital room
~ "I'll just go to that place beyond our reach and build a house for all of us and when the time is right we'll get to meet each other again, that's a promise" ~
"Oh yeah," Hana tidied her books into her bag "But still what should we do? Beat ourselves to death cuz of one guy's beliefs?"
Kaori turned off the stove before grabbing a seat "If that's what it takes then so be it, especially when your father always did his best to uphold this household's religious beliefs"
"Alright if you say so" she shrugged before wearing her bag as she exited the kitchen "I'm off!"
"Have a nice day" was all she replied before hearing the door shut once more.
Kaori Matsumoto sat down to contemplate her son's behavior, she wasn't really the strict one in the house so her decision-making went as far as providing for the house. Ironic, a mother's role was to provide moral support but she hadn't been doing well even almost failing at a point when Shin began misbehaving not long after the funeral.
"Shohei" she called the name of her dead husband, or in this scenario, Shin's father "What would you have done? What would you have said to make him calm down?"
She turned to a wall in the living room with a bunch of framed photos of the family, with one being Shin and his father on a hiking trip with dirty clothes, taken a few months before his disease. Heck, it could have probably been the origin of the illness that took his life since it was common amongst marine life in rivers.
Ken stared at his mother in confusion, he didn't understand what was happening naturally but from what he could gather she upset Shin and he ran away. Something caught his attention as a gust of wind flew past the window. The baby tilted his head and focused closely as he saw a black blur burst past the window.
-CRASH
A street lamp was shattered
