(Morning)
In an apartment in the city of Aquebono, a young teenage boy was in his room playing on his computer. He was a young boy, about 15 years old. He had short black hair, an ordinary face, emerald eyes and an average build. Shinji Rioji, a boy student who had just entered high school in the city of Aquebono.
He was working on his computer while playing a game with his friends. He fiddled with his computer while eating chips and drinking soda.
"Come on, man! It's the last round and we win!" Shinji said while staying focused on the screen.
"Come on, just one more to go!" Shinji's friend says.
"Come on, come on, come on..." Shinji says nervously as he continues clicking on the keyboard. With a few more clicks, he eliminates the target. "That's it!"
"Yeah, Shinji!" Shinji's friend speaks excitedly through his headphones. "We trained for this the whole vacation!"
"Yeah, I can't believe we won that tournament." Shinji snuggles into his chair and sighs with relief. "I'm glad we made it before the summer break ended."
"Absolutely!" His friend celebrates. He stops talking and seems to hear something. "Hey, Shinji. Sorry, but I need to sort out some personal things."
"Oh, right. No problem." Shinji says saying goodbye to him. The chat call is disconnected and Shinji sighs.
He looks around his room, seeing his slightly messy bedroom, the weights for his training, and a picture, a picture next to his bed of him as a child and a hero who saved him, the blue Madan dragon warrior hero, Ryukendo.
"He really sacrificed himself to save us from that green monster... I wish... I wish I could see him again..." Shinji sighs with a sense of nostalgia.
"Shinji, darling! Could you come here for a moment?" A female voice calls out to him.
Shinji gets up and walks out of his room. "Hi, Mom! What do you need?"
"Could you go to the market and do some shopping for me?" Shinji's mother asks as she speaks with her voice coming from the kitchen.
"Sure, what do you need?"
Shinji walks through the streets of Aquebono, looking around he feels a sense of calm. People were walking along the streets, birds were singing, children were playing in a nearby park.
Shinji enters a market, picking up a basket, he walks around the place while picking up the goods. Shinji looked over and saw a child with a toy of one of the Madan warriors. Smiling contentedly, Shinji finishes his shopping.
Shinji finishes his shopping and pays for it, he walks back down the street. Getting pensive as he walked, Shinji thought about what he would do from now on.
"Okay... in a few days school will be back in session... I just hope there won't be any more problems..." Shinji thinks tiredly.
After returning home in the evening, Shinji helps his mother prepare dinner. Before eating, he decides to go back to his room and do some training. He picks up his weights and starts to do an arm workout. As he's doing his set, Shinji hears his bedroom door open.
"Training again? You're going to break yourself this way." A male voice laughs at him as he leans on the doorframe.
"Come on, Dad! I just want to be a bit stronger." Shinji laughs back.
"You say that, but you're still that little boy who cries when he sees a spider." The father retorts.
"You say that about me, but you scream like a girl when you see a flying cockroach coming towards you." Shinji snorts back while laughing.
His father chokes on his statement, but then resumes his stance. "Understand something, son. There are no men when a cockroach takes flight."
"You're right." Shinji agrees, knowing full well that he would have a heart attack if a cockroach flew towards him.
"Are you going to stand here barking at each other, or are you going to come and eat?" Shinji's mother interrupts the conversation, looking very annoyed.
"Hehe, sorry, dear." His father quickly apologizes.
"Sorry about that, Mom. It's just that it's fun to make fun of Dad." Shinji laughs as he approaches them, but ends up getting hit on the head. "Ouch!" He laughs after receiving the blow.
"Don't give me that, kid." Dad says a little annoyed.
After everyone had calmed down, Shinji, his father and mother were at the dinner table talking.
"So, dear. Are you ready for the new school?" The mother asked while smiling at her son.
"I don't know..." Shinji sighs. "I'm going to a new school, and my only friend can't even go with me."
"Don't take it to heart, kid." His father pats Shinji lightly on the shoulder. "I'm sure you'll make friends at your new school."
"Still..." Shinji rests his head in the palm of his hand. "It was hard enough making a friend, hardly anyone liked me at the old school. Only he... only he really liked spending time with me."
"Don't worry, darling." His mother reassures him. "I'm sure you'll make great friends."
"Maybe..." Shinji shakes the rachis on his plate.
After dinner, Shinji lies down on his bed, just staring at the ceiling while thinking. He's not sure if he'll really like the new school, but he decides to do it for his parents.
Days pass, now Shinji is wearing his school uniform, with his backpack on his back, he prepares to leave. But a voice calls him before he does.
"Hey, sweetie." Shinji's mother speaks behind him. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
"Pants, shoes, backpack, hair, school supplies, lunch... I don't think so. I think I have everything." Shinji says without understanding the question.
His mother just holds out a gray coat with blue shoulders and back.
"Oh, come on!" Shinji laughs.
"Do you remember that this was your favorite coat?" Mom asks with a nostalgic feeling. "After that hero saved your life, you insisted that I buy you a blue coat."
"Mom..." Shinji laughs a little at the memory. "You know how a child acts when he's saved by a hero, even more so by Ryukendo."
"Still, come on." Mom indicates, opening her coat.
"*sigh* right..." Shinji walks over to his mother, he drops his backpack and opens his arms, with his mother's help, he puts on his coat.
His mother approaches his face and gives him a kiss on the cheek. "Take care, okay?"
"Okay." Shinji bows in thanks for the kiss and the concern. He smiles at his mother before saying goodbye. "See you later, mom!"
~PAUSE~
Shinji walks through the streets, walking down a flight of stairs until he comes to a train line, he sits on a bench and waits for the train to arrive. Seeing the empty seat, he gets pensive, trying to think of what he can do to make friends at his new school.
He takes his backpack and opens it, taking out his Walkman. A present given to him by his father when he was younger.
~PAUSE~
"Here big boy!" Shinji's father says excitedly as he hands him a small box.
A Shinji aged about 7 takes the box and looks at it with confusion. "What's this, Daddy?"
"It's a little present to help you with your stress!" He says proudly.
Shinji opens the box and takes out a blue Walkman and looks at it curiously. "What's that, Daddy?"
"It's called a Walkman." The father crouches down to his son's height and helps him. "All you have to do is press this button and put the headphones in your ears."
Shinji's father puts the headphones in his son's ear, and the boy just listens to the usual songs with a look of surprise and expectation.
"If you want, I can help you put on more songs that you like."
"YES!" Shinji says excitedly, jumping up and hugging his father. "Thanks, Dad!"
"Hey, hey. There's no need to make a fuss." Shinji's father laughs at his son's joy.
~PAUSE~
Shinji puts the headphones in his ears and presses the button to play the music. Classical music. Shinji always liked listening to opera, somehow it always made him feel calm and relaxed.
But Shinji gets annoyed when he hears sudden screams.
"My baby! Help my baby!" A woman's voice screams in desperation.
Shinji takes off his headphones, seeing a baby carriage fall down the stairs and start heading towards the train tracks. Shinji doesn't think twice.
He drops his backpack and runs towards the baby carriage. He manages to reach the stroller, picks it up, pushes the stroller away, but ends up slipping and falling onto the tracks.
Shinji watched the world slow down, seeing the look of horror and relief on his mother's face. Horror that he had fallen, and relief that her son had been saved. Looking to the side, Shinji saw a strong light coming fast towards him.
Shinji felt all kinds of emotions. Terror, fear, anguish, disgust, dread, and... and sadness. Sadness at having to say goodbye and never being able to see his parents again.
The light gets closer and closer, and with tears in his eyes, Shinji closes his eyes and accepts his sudden fate.
~PAUSE~
[Apparently, there are still brave and heroic people in this city].
A male voice, considerably angelic, speaks to Shinji. Slowly, Shinji opens his eyes and looks around. Seeing all his surroundings black and dark, he soon sees a small sphere of light in front of him.
[Don't be afraid, come closer.]
Reluctantly, Shinji slowly approaches the light. Seeing that something seems to be inside, he moves closer. He soon sees a small being with a blue color and red eyes.
"Who... who are you?" Shinji asks while covering his eyes so as not to hurt his eyes.
[Well, it looks like you're confused, but I'll be straightforward.] The being now shows itself, displaying a kind of blue belt clip in the shape of a triangle with a golden dragon's head and red eyes. [My name is Gekiryuken, I am the bearer of the power of light and guardian of the Madan Warrior, Ryukendo].
"Madan Warrior?" Shinji asks confused, but then he gets a better look at the being in front of him and realizes something. "Wait, you look like Ryukendo's sword!"
Gekiryuken laughs at the statement, but then resumes the conversation. [But I'll be honest with you, young Shinji. An ancient danger called the Green Ghost, which was sealed away a long time ago and defeated a few years ago, seems not to have been completely defeated].
"Green Ghost?" Shinji wondered about that name. "Wasn't that the giant monster that Ryukendo, Ryugan'o and Ryujino faced?"
[Correct, but it seems not quite. Somehow, the Green Ghost managed to force itself into another universe. I'm not sure how, but he managed to escape from this universe and enter another one].
"Another universe... so the multiverse is real?" Shinji asks in shock."
[I know it may seem sudden and strange, but I've seen your willpower, your courage and your determination to save and help people].
"Help?..." Shinji quickly remembers. "Oh really... that baby... did he make it out alive?"
[Even in this state you still care about others, I can see I wasn't wrong in my choice].
"What?"
[Shinji Rioji, I offer you the chance to become my protégé, the chance to save people, the chance to become a Madan Warrior, the chance to become the new Ryukendo].
Shinji is shocked by this offer. He feels bewildered, anxious, and afraid, afraid of losing everything he knew.
"I... I don't know..." Shinji says. "I don't know if I want to abandon everything I've built with my life."
[I'll understand if you don't want to accept my offer, but since you're dead, the only other options are for you to be reincarnated without your memories, or go through the trial to go to paradise or hell].
"Do heaven and hell really exist?" Shinji asks in surprise, but he soon gets back to what he wanted to know. "But what about my parents? How are they?"
[Currently, about 7 months have passed in his old world].
A light flashes through Shinji's head, showing scenes from his world. His body almost whole and only a few parts destroyed. Him in the medical ward, the doctors seeing that he has died, his mother and father crying at his funeral, his burial.
Shinji feels the tears pouring down as he watches the scenes, but then he sees the rest. His mother and father extremely sad, his father comforting his mother. Soon after, his mother and father are in therapy, and little by little, they are living again, but they still resent losing him.
[I know you're broken and sad about your situation, but that doesn't mean you should give up. My former protégé was a complete idiot, but he never hesitated to save others when danger struck. And I know you can be just like him].
"I'm... like Ryukendo?" Shinji says in surprise.
[Then I'll ask you one more time. Will you accept my proposal?"]
Shinji feels anguished, but since he's dead and can't come back. With reluctance and a touch of determination. He faces Gekiryuken with determination. "I don't know if I can be better than the Ryukendo who saved me, but... I'll do my best!"
[Well, from now on, you'll be my protégé!]
A bright light illuminated the room. Shinji closes his eyes and feels his body being taken away.
~PAUSE~
Shinji opens his eyes, seeing that he is in some kind of park, with a fountain, trees, benches, everything a park should have.
"What? Where am I?" Shinji asks himself, looking around. He sees people walking and talking, and some couples in relationships.
[We're in the universe where the Green Ghost is hiding].
A voice from around Shinji's waist says.
"Gekiryuken!?" Shinji asks in surprise.
[This is no place for that, let's walk to find a more secluded spot].
Shinji understands the situation and soon starts walking down the street.
"So, what should we do?"
[For now, try to find a place to live. And maybe get a job to disguise our arrival here.]
"And how am I supposed to do that? I don't have the necessary documents to-" Shinji feels papers in his jacket and picks them up. Seeing that they are his personal documents translated into a strange language.
[I used my magic to retrieve his documents and translate them into the language of this world].
"Oh, thank you." Shinji says in surprise. He quickly looks around, seeing a store that looks like a bakery with a sign that reads Dupain Cheng Bakery. "Helper wanted... maybe-"
An explosion happens nearby, and he covers his eyes as he feels it. He sees people get desperate and run the other way.
"What was that?!"
[Come on, it could be danger!]
"Got it!" Shinji quickly starts running in the opposite direction to where the people were running.
End of chapter.