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CHAPTER START---
---Tokyo Olympic Museum, 2014…
"The peak of humanity, that's what they think of us, right?" Taiyo Daburu mutters to himself as he looks up at a mural.
On it, there was a Japanese man with two gold Olympic Medals around his neck, and on each side of him, slightly in the background, was him breaking the records he did to get those medals.
The man currently holds the Japanese Olympic Weightlifting Records for the Clean and Jerk and the Snatch.
This entire chamber, which usually has tourists, is currently empty as everyone prepares for or participates in the current interviews, inducting new Olympians into the halls of this museum.
This leaves Taiyo Daburu alone with his thoughts, staring down at the weights in front of him.
"235kg -518lbs- Clean and Jerk," he says while looking at one set of weights, before stepping back and turning to the other, resting beside it. "And 190kg -418lbs- Snatch."
Taiyo Daburu passes and hands through his blood-red hair, then straightens his Team Japan Olympic jacket.
Then spares a moment to look around, and finding no one, he moves toward the weights.
Taking a deep breath, he enjoys the sensation of the strange energy flowing through his body. Reaches down and lifts one of the barbells and the attached weights, easily holding it with one hand, causing the bar to bend slightly.
Then, with his free hand, he grabs the other bar, and holding one in each hand, arms outstretched at either side of him, he rises to his full height.
"The peak of humanity," he mutters. "Just before my second Olympics and now I'm…whatever the hell I am."
While holding the weights, he looks up at the mural and frowns, then gently places them back on the floor.
"Just when I became the King, I discovered something new to summit," Taiyo sighs as he rubs the back of his head, then smiles. "I really am God's favorite…"
"Mr. Daburu," someone calls out behind him, and he turns around to see a slim man in a suit with a clipboard in his arms. "We're ready for you now. Please follow me."
Taiyo smiles and straightens his jacket, passing a hand through his blood-red hair as he walks through the halls of the museum, past the murals and medals of Japan's greatest Olympians.
Eventually, they leave the athletics hall and arrive at a blocked-off area, where he can hear cameras clicking and people muttering beyond the barricade.
Moments later, Taiyo's name is called from the other side of the barrier, and the crowd cheers before he even reveals himself.
Stepping out from backstage, standing at 170cm -5ft8-, a Japanese man with a strong and lean build, short blood-red hair, matching his eyes, and wearing his Team Japan Olympic jacket over his team sports shirt and track pants, he smiles while politely waving to them.
The sensation of the cameras, the adoration of the world, it all gives him a peaceful and fulfilled feeling, a King in his element.
"Thank you, truly, I did this for everyone in our wonderful nation," Taiyo says as he signals the crowd to quiet down. "So let's all enjoy this together."
A cacophony of camera shutters and clicking echoes out as he gives them a gentle smile.
"Now, to unveil the newest display at our wonderful museum," the host says as she gestures to the large curtain behind them, at the back of the stage.
A moment later, the curtain falls to reveal a massive mural of Taiyo Daburu, and in front of it is a display of ten Olympic gold medals, the current national record.
To the left is another mural of him competing in archery from weeks ago, and to the right is him performing Olympic shooting.
Taiyo Daburu loses himself for a moment as the sound of the cheering crowd and their applause rises, and he takes in the sight of his achievements, immortalized for the entire world to look up to him.
A few minutes later, after pleasantries and gratitudes are exchanged, Taiyo sits on stage beside the host as she takes a much more serious tone.
"Taiyo Daburu," she says. "You've made history in Japan, competing in two Olympics and winning ten gold medals at the age of sixteen, but, while many eyes were on you this year, less than a month ago.
One week before you had to travel to Russia for your events, the nation mourned with you as you experienced two unimaginable tragedies.
And yet, despite this, you persevered and made history. Can you tell us just a bit of what you were going through and how it perhaps affected your thoughts and performance?"
"I, well," Taiyo takes a moment to compose himself, and everyone waits for him. "Well, my family had always been small. It was only my grandparents, my parents, and myself. And my grandfather actually taught me archery when I was younger. He was my reason for starting this journey.
And now I have medals in archery and sharpshooting. I'm just glad he was there to see me win some of them.
So, when he passed a few years ago, I was glad that he at least got to see me bring home three gold medals. But, this year, as I'm packing for my trip," Taiyo sighs as he looks at the floor.
"Take all the time you need," the host says.
"It's alright," he says, looking over to her. "When they pulled me out of the car, I could still hear them screaming, and I could hear the fire burning everything away. They said it was a miracle that I was alive, and many more miracles that I could still compete, not that anyone expected me to.
And honestly, I wasn't going to," he confesses. "When I got home, I walked over to the shrine my family has been taking care of for generations, and my grandmother was already there making arrangements for the funeral. I knew she'd need help, and that she needed me as much as I needed her, still needed her. After all, it was only the two of us left."
"Then the second tragedy happened," the host says quietly.
"Yes," he says. "They still aren't sure what it was. Perhaps the incense, but, what I know for sure is that I woke up and saw the shrine burning in the distance, and when everything was over, they said she never made it out."
Taiyo takes a moment to catch his breath before he continues.
"At that point, I knew everyone I loved was somewhere better, together, watching over me. So I called the team and told them I'd see them at the airport later that day.
I think they would have hated to see me waste away doing nothing, so, I pushed all those feelings down. Which may not be the most healthy thing, but I needed a distraction, and I had the biggest sports events in the world to help me keep myself together.
But, honestly, that didn't make looking into the crowd and not seeing anyone I knew any easier…"
The host reaches forward and gently touches his arm, "And still, even with such unimaginable pain, you put your best foot forward and won, for them."
He gently holds her hand as he looks at the crowd, "For all of us."
"I hope talking about that wasn't me overstepping," the woman says.
"It's fine, this is why the entire world was watching me, and besides," he lets go of her hand and gives what the public sees as a forced smile, as if hiding the pain. "If anything, I'd like to think what I did ensures that they'd never be forgotten, and that way, our small family grew to a few million."
After another 40 minutes of talking, mostly about his future and plans to compete in the next Olympics, Taiyo leaves the museum with a smile on his face, immediately greeted by two crowds of people and a path to his car in the middle of them, his driver waiting to open the door for him.
Once again, he takes in the sensation, drinking in the adoration of the crowd as he politely greets them and signs as many things as they present.
Eventually, he signals for his driver to get to his seat and opens the back door on his own, sitting beside a small box that's waiting for him on the seat.
"Sir?" the driver asks.
"Home. I have a lot to think about," Taiyo says as he closes his eyes and tries to clear his mind.
Taking out his phone, he sees his follower count on social media crawling past 120 Million, even higher than he expected since becoming viral at the Olympics.
He then checks his messages, and to no surprise, his phone is filled with sponsorship offers from local and foreign companies.
Not to mention the dozens of invitations to Archery and Sports Shooting events.
Over the next two hours, he replies to as many of these messages as possible, until they arrive along the coast of Japan, making their way to Suhara, Tokyo, then deeper into the rural forested area where his family lived.
"Have you ever been in this area before?" he casually asks the driver as the lush forest is on either side of them.
"No sir, I didn't even know there was a place like this so close to the capital," the driver says.
Taiyo chuckles, "Yeah, I'd imagine so. Most of this land is considered 'sacred' or 'spiritual', so aside from the shrine my family attended, there isn't anything else here."
"It must be quite a trip to school."
"I was homeschooled," Taiyo says. "But I suppose I'll have to transfer into a real school now…"
"I'm sorry, I—"
"It's fine," Taiyo cuts off the apology. "They are gone, now we make the most of life in their name. Besides, if I had to hear condolences from everyone I meet, I'd never get any work done."
"I suppose so," the driver says as he glances into the rearview mirror, seeing Taiyo lower the glass. "Sir?"
"Nothing to worry about," Taiyo says as he opens the small box on the seat, revealing three clay urns with the names of his parents and his grandmother on them.
The driver immediately looks forward as he sees Taiyo remove the urns from the box, and a moment later, he hears them shatter against the road.
He then looks into the rearview mirror to see Taiyo dust his hands and roll the glass up, then casually resume browsing on his phone.
A few minutes later, they round a corner to see a large hill with a gentle slope and stairs leading to the top.
At the top are the burnt remains of a temple, and the driver is immediately saddened as he realizes this is where Taiyo's grandmother burned to death.
At the foot of the hill is a traditional Japanese home, a large flat house with a short wall at the front and sides, but even as they approach, they can see that the backyard is open to a small lake hidden away in this area.
"Wow," the driver can't help but exclaim as he takes in the beautiful, lush forest all around him, and the pristine home nestled between it all.
"Yeah, it's pretty, and boring," Taiyo says. "Imagine trying to get a girlfriend when you live out here."
"Oh, right," the driver now remembers how remote and hidden this shrine is. "Our company offers annual plans for chauffeur services. I'd recommend the diamond plan, considering your home location and status, darker windows will help prevent you from being swarmed in public."
"Hmm, I'll be sure to look into that, and I'll remember your name."
"Thank you, sir," the driver says as they stop in front of the house.
The man begins getting out of the driver's seat to open Taiyo's door, but the boy is already out of the car before him.
"You can just open the trunk, I'll handle the rest," Taiyo says, and the man hesitantly obeys.
Reaching into the trunk, he removes his duffel bag and his archery kit before walking up the stone steps in front of his house.
He looks over to the driver and nods, and as the man drives away, he feels a weight leave his shoulders.
"I have so much work to do," Taiyo says with a smile as he begins a new journey, now having another aspect of life he can be King of.
END CHAPTER---
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pat.reon: Keanu_Eugene [Read ahead & support me]
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