" Don't run fast, Akira, you will fall."
Came a graceful voice as the little boy ran towards the centre of the village.
The boy had a sharp eye, as if it were carved by the god of craftsmanship himself.
His hair, silky and black, hung till his shoulders.
He was 12 years old, at a height of 5'2, surpassing his peers with great momentum.
'Sigh, this feeling in my chest, it's increasing every month, now it's unbearable, it feels like something will happen.'
Though Akira was running faster, he was an orphan, taken by the village chief, according to them, he was found outside the village in the mountains.
Akira knew this because he was not normal, or maybe he was.
His name was Nova, now Akira. At first, he thought he had come into some medieval era, where the world was in the process of advancement.
But as he grew up, he got to know that he was currently in a secluded village in a mountain called "Fuji-do".
Bearing his past life memories, Akira longed for the knowledge of where he is.
His Intelligence and quick wit made the villagers call him Akira.
In Japanese Akira means intelligent, brave, and a sign of strength.
And the quiet Nova, now Akira caught the meaning of his name, and knew instantly, it was somewhere in Japan.
While he didn't know why he came to be reborn as an infant, he noticed some abnormalities in his body.
As he grew up, Akira noticed he felt less fatigue even if he worked all day.
At the age of 6, he once ventured into the woods with the neighbour's grandma, she was gone to collect sticks for a fire, and he also played his sweet and innocent look.
That grandma couldn't resist and brought him to the woods, which was relatively safe from wild animals, which is why the villagers chose this area to collect wooden logs and sticks.
While strolling behind Grandma, Akira felt no fatigue; he figured it should be because he was as energetic as he was in his childhood.
But when he carried a batch of hundreds of sticks bound together to the village, he couldn't help but be surprised.
That night, he was awake, staring at the stars,
'What is happening with my body? I feel strange; it feels good, strong, but at the same time eerie.'
Akira couldn't point out the cause of this phenomenon, so he left it to his future self and lived an easy and happy childhood in the village, surrounded by dense mountains.
As time passed, Akira noticed he was really strange; he could recover very fast, he could run faster than adults, and he could carry more than adults.
Fearing that they would isolate him, Akira hid his abnormal strength.
And like every day, today was also an unimportant day for him; he was just running here and there and sitting in trees, contemplating what to do.
The village chief, Sakamoto, has some connections in the city. When the merchants come to deliver, or when the villagers go to sell something, the village chief is always present.
And he has already fixed a mentor for literature for Akira in the city.
Phew~~
Akira exhaled and grabbed the door, he knocked and an aged voice came from within,
"Coming."
Akira smiled at the voice, it was his grandpa, who had taken care of him from his birth, till he remembers.
Sakamoto came and opened the door, he saw Akira and stretched his hands to pat Akira.
Akira walked in, thinking about his future, the opportunity his grandpa had fixed for him.
He was 12 years old, and Akira now understood every situation of his, but even now, he didn't have any confirmation of where he was, whether he was in past, a parallel world, or a different universe.
He needed answers, and to find answers he needed to go outside of the secluded village and collect knowledge in the city.
Akira heard from his grandpa that the city is developing very fast, and many foreign products are being distributed in the big cities.
Akira also knew that his grandfather despised those who tainted his culture.
Even then, the fuel that carried Akira's resolve was his ambition; in his past life, he couldn't do anything significant.
Despite having friends like family, despite dying peacefully, he wanted to leave his name forever to the whole world; his ambitions stretched far wider than he ever showed.
Now that he has got another chance, Akira will fulfil his ambitions, his greed, his passion.
While Akira was lost in thought, his grandfather placed the dishes and sat beside Akira.
"Akira, do you know, this world is far more dangerous."
Akira's ears perked up, his hair standing, he felt it, he knew it, his instincts were on point.
From the time he became 12, his grandfather was always solemnly warning him not to run in the mountains.
He knew something was amiss, he knew this whole peace felt fragile.
He nodded at his grandfather's advice and resumed eating.
As he was thinking about what could be the thing that made him uncomfortable, that made his grandfather give him warnings.
His grandfather's words broke the silence again.
"Akira, prepare for departing from the village. I have talked with my friend in the city, and he has better work for you."
Akira paused his hands in front of his mouth, he nodded his head and shoved the chopsticks in his mouth.
"Noted, Grandpa, I will prepare."
And then they ate like they do every day.
Akira got up and closed himself in his small room, which was made up of wood. He sat on the bed.
Closing his eyes, he focused, and then he saw a black pitch, with nothing in it.
Not the darkness you see when you close your eyes. But it was different, it was something more, something dangerous.
Akira had no idea what it was. He could access that darkness from the age of 8. He once killed a rabbit accidentally and from then on, he could see the darkness in him.
Not metaphorically but the real darkness, he wondered, what it was, was it the cause of his rebirth, was it the cause of his other chance?
He clenched his fists, taking an oath in his mind to comprehend and find out about everything.
Bang~~ Bang ~
Ughhhhhh
"RUN, RUN."
Instantly, Akira's mind went blank. He was thinking about his strange darkness, and then he heard the screams of villagers, the sounds of bodies banging on houses.
He heard a creaking sound and stood up, running to the main gate of his house. There, he saw his grandfather shivering and shaking.
As his grandfather heard his running voice, he turned while shivering and barked.
"AKIRA, GO AND HIDE, DON'T COME OUT TILL I SAY."
Akira was confused, he darted towards the storage room, and hid himself in the box where grains were stored.
His mind raced, he had some guesses, he wanted to go and see what happened, but his legs refused to go out.
He felt fear, he felt dread, and Akira even tried not to breathe as he hid himself properly.
It's been more than half an hour since he had hidden himself, and Akira could hear the screams subduing.
And then he heard a familiar, utterly familiar voice.
[Chapter end]
[Note: First of all, he was not a criminal, not a killer, not a gangster; he was a normal human, maybe kind, so his reaction is valid for me; there will be character development.]