(This is a story set in the ToBeHeroX world. This is the origin story of a fan character known as the Silver Doctor. There will be mentions of canon characters. TBHX is owned by Billibilli, and this is written for fun.)
They say that you create your own fate, but in a world like this one, it was more like the people you knew controlled your fate. The trust system was seen as a blessing to humanity. If someone believed that you could do something. You could do it. Escaping the beliefs of others was near impossible.
Through this system heroes were born. The people of this world loved and cherished their heroes, some even worshipped them. The power of humanities belief even almost caused its demise. The dawn-fall incident, an event that was so catastrophic it ended up resetting the calendar, marking a new age for humanity.
(20Ac)
“The Dawn Fall incident?” A young boy sat on a swingset, he swayed back and forth while reading a history of heroes book. This boy was just as average as everyone else. He had jet black hair and light brown eyes. His face was average, other than the triangle he always drew under his left eye. His style of clothing leaned more on the monochromatic side. He wore gray jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt. His body build was slim; the only abnormal thing about him was that on each hand, he had an extra digit. Shiro was teased for this constantly, but he loved that he was different. He felt that being different made him closer to being a hero.
Shiro placed the book under his arm, pulling his sleeve up. He examined his wrist. Trust value gave you superpowers, so how would he gain one? At the moment, he had a big zero. He had tried for the first eleven years of his life to raise his trust value, but none of his ideas worked. Nobody believed in him, he felt. It would be easier just to become a villain, but no. He wanted to be a hero more than anything in the world. He just needed to keep working towards it.
“Hey, you! What are you reading?” Shiro looked up, hearing another voice. He jumped, falling off the swing backwards, seeing how close this new kid was to him. When did this guy show up? Was he a ninja? He sure didn’t look like a ninja. Shiro looked at the book, which had ungracefully fallen into the rock chips of the ground, open faced. He cringed at the pain in his back. The new kid watched Shiro fall, putting his hand out to catch him, but failing. He ran behind the swing, kneeling down. “Are you okay? I am so so sorry that I scared you. I just.” he spoke, tearing up.
Shiro tilted his head as he recognized this boy from somewhere. He could just not put his finger on it. The boy looked over at the book, picking it up. He dusted it off, holding it out to Shiro. “It’s all dirty now… don’t worry I will get my daddy to buy you a new one.”
Shiro blinked a few times. He reached out for the book before snatching it into a hug. “I, um, I am, I am.” he stuttered, looking to the side. Shiro could only describe the boy’s smile as bright as the sun. He looked like he was a bubbly happy-go-lucky guy. Shiro glanced back at the kid. His looks were almost average as well. Black hair, swept back and slicked back with grease, light purple eyes. Shiro looked at the kid’s hands, five fingers on each hand, so it wasn’t like he was abnormal. Shiro took note of how the kid was dressed. He was wearing a white collared shirt, tucked in. dark blue pants, a sweater vest with a silver snake pin on it and most notably were the white gloves the child was wearing. Shiro had never seen anyone his age dressed so strangely. He was average built. Although Shiro could tell that he was well fed. “Are you a secret agent or something?” Shiro spoke low to the boy. The boy seemed to tense up. He chuckled brightly. “A secret agent? No. I just saw you alone on the swingset and wanted to be friends.” he replied. “You see, I don’t have many friends. Mommy doesn’t let me out often” Shiro picked himself off of the ground, listening. He sat back on the swingset. “I don’t have friends. They all think I am weird. Not normal. If you hang around me. Then you will be seen as weird also.” Shiro closed his eyes, swaying slowly on the swing, he shook his head. Expecting the strange-dressed kid to disappear after that.
He felt a breeze on his left side. Opening his eyes, he looked over at the kid, standing on the swing, swinging high as if he was flying through the air. Shiro flushed, feeling flustered. “Didn’t you hear me!? Don’t you care if you are seen as weird?” The kid looked over at Shiro, smiling. “Nah, who in this world is normal to begin with? Being normal is boring. I want to be extraordinary! Someday, I am going to become a hero, and reach for that title of X, or maybe I can go even higher! I could be Y or Z!.” Shiro’s eyes widened as he heard the boy’s declaration. He couldn’t help but let out a snicker. “There is no Y, and I’m pretty sure that going higher would mean you reach Zero’s level of power, and he almost wiped out all of us people.” The boy swung higher on the swing. “I wouldn’t end up like that. I would be a super good hero. My name is Kaito Sato by the way. What’s your name?”
Shiro looked at his book. There was someone just like him who wanted to be a hero. He let a smile grow on his face. “My name is Hyun Shiro, and to be honest. I want to be a hero as well. Although I never would want to go as high as becoming X. I just want to be a hero that protects the people of this city. Maybe make my dad proud” Kaito leaped off of the swing. He landed with precision, holding his arms out. “Then let’s become the best heroes this city has ever seen. I bet we can figure it out together.” He placed his hand out to Shiro. “Together, we can reach the stars.” Shiro stood up from the swing. He walked over to Kaito, grabbing his hand. Kaito looked at Shiro’s hand, noticing the extra digit. He looked into Shiro’s eyes. “We will be best friends Hyun” Shiro nodded in agreement.
“Master Kaito!?” A woman’s voice rang through the air. Kaito let go of Shiro’s hand, his face filled with despair. “Quick hide me.” Shiro tensed up not knowing what to do. He looked at the woman who was wearing a long black dress and a white apron. She looked worried. Kaito rushed behind Shiro, kneeling down. This did not hide Kaito well. Shiro held his arms out, trying to cover his new friend better. For a moment it seemed to work, but the woman locked her eyes onto the two and beelined towards Kaito. Shiro looked back at his friend. Wondering why Kaito was reacting like this. As the woman stepped in front of Shiro. Shiro stepped forward, giving the woman a stern look. Kaito looked up, seeing Shrio’s brave move.
The woman spoke. “Who are you? Master Kaito, you can’t just run away like that. Could you imagine what would happen if your parents found out that I let you out of my sight? I knew that it was a bad idea to let you out of the house.” Kaito stood up. He looked to the side. “I-” The woman pushed past Shiro, grabbing Kaito’s hand. She gasped seeing the dirt on his white gloves. “Look at your gloves! What have you been doing!? Playing in the dirt or something? You look like a mess. When we get back, Hiroyama is going to have to clean you up before your parents get back. Is this how the successor to the Sato family should behave!?” Kaito clammed up. He looked at the ground.
Shiro froze at the woman’s words. That was where he recognized Kaito from. Kaito was the only son of the Sato family. Everyone knew of the Sato foundation. The mother was a famous actress, and the father was the CEO of one of Japan’s hero management companies. Shiro had seen Kaito on the cover of magazines before, but he always looked so sad. Kaito didn’t like seeing his new friend sad, but he was pushed out of the way by that woman so easily it was as if Shiro was just a leaf. He watched as Kaito got scolded. He could see how upset Kaito was getting. He couldn’t just stand there. “Hey! Stop being so mean! Can’t you see he is getting upset!?” The woman, mid-word, turned to glare daggers at Shiro. “Who do you even think you are, talking to Master Kaito?” Kaito spoke up. “He, Shiro, is my friend.” The woman scoffed, disgusted. “Friend!?” she turned back to look at Shiro. “Look, Master Kaito here is not the kind of child that should be making friends like…you. He is important, and you, you are not. If you know what is best for you, you won’t talk to him again kid.” Kaito narrowed his eyes. “Leave him alone! Come on, let’s just go!” he let a few tears fall. Every time he made a friend. This happened. He was sick of it. He looked back to Shiro, trying to show his new friend a smile. He waved.
Shiro watched as Kaito disappeared into the distance with that witch. He clenched his teeth. That was completely unfair. That woman treated Kaito more like an object than an actual person, and to call Shiro himself unimportant? No. That was unacceptable. He looked over at the mansion that was in the distance. That was the Sato estate. Kaito was sure to be there later. He clutched his book tightly before walking off.
~
“It’s unfair, everything is unfair.” Kaito sat on his bed after dinner. He looked out of his door at the garden. He was never let outside. He just wanted to be a kid for once. Not the heir to some stupid family. He shook his head. That boy, Shiro. After what happened with his nanny, he doubted that Shiro would ever want to see him again. This was the life that Kaito was learning was how it would always be. He looked at his gloves; a man of the Sato family always kept his hands clean. Those words were engraved into his mind ever since he started etiquette class at the young age of seven. “I just want to be free…” he spoke low. Kaito slunk his head into his knees, tearing up.
“Hey, hey.” Kaito tensed up at the sound of Shiros’ voice. He looked over at the garden wall. He tensed up more at the sight of Shiro on top of the wall. like a cat, climbing over. His eyes widened as he scanned the area for any of the guards. That couldn’t really be Shiro, right? How did he find where he lived? Kaito stood up, bolting over to the garden wall. “Shiro? What? How did you find me? Are you psychic or something?” Shiro dangled from the wall before dropping down. He stood up, smiling.
“Nah, I just know that the richest family in the city lives in this house. I knew I would find you here. Although your house is so big. I had to look around to figure out where exactly you were first.” Kaito stood in the garden, staring at his friend. He nodded. “You know if you are caught here you are going to end up getting into a huge amount of trouble.” Shiro shrugged. “I don’t mind. Hey, do you have anything fun to do?” Kaito darted his eyes around. He heard a few of the guards getting closer. “Come on, let’s get to my room before we are caught.” He grabbed Shiro’s hand tightly, before rushing back into his room.
Shiro followed Kaito. He sat on Kaito’s tatsumi mat, looking around the room. “You really are a rich kid. I have never seen a place so well guarded before.” Kaito leaned his head on the door, nodding. He turned around to look at Shiro. “What about you? Won’t your parents get worried about you?”
Shiro shrugged. “My parents don’t care where I go or what I do. They could care less if I disappeared completely. So I just go around the city and do my own thing. Whatever happens, happens.” Kaito looked into Shiro’s eyes. He sat down next to him, looking at his book case. “I wish my parents were a bit like that. My dad is always going off about succeeding the family name, and stuff. Taking over the company when I grow up. It’s annoying.”
Shiro leaned back. He looked at his wrist. “Well, then, why not tell your daddy no? Someday. We are going to become heroes, and then you can be free. Right? Sure, we might have zeros right now, but if you and I believe in each other. We can maybe get the zero to a one.” Kaito raised his wrist to show Shiro his zero-trust value. He nodded, placing his arm out towards Shiro’s. Shiro crossed his wrist with Kaito’s, making an X with their wrists. “That’s right. If we believe in each other, then we will become heroes for sure one day.”
(21ac)
“Come on, K-kun! It isn’t much further!” Shiro’s voice rang throughout the woods. Kaito was following close behind, although going into the woods near his home was always seen as off-limits. He held his hands in his new coat pocket, which he had gotten for his birthday. It was a pleasant surprise to figure out last year that he and Shiro had almost the same birthday, in the same year. It was almost as if fate had brought them together. Kaito’s birthday was day seven of month six, year nine ac. While Shiros was day eight of the same month and year.
For Kaito’s twelfth birthday, he was given a nice coat, a new pair of gloves, and a silver pocket watch that was a family heirloom. He ate the finest of lamb chops that night and was given an enormous cake that was his favorite flavor. Kaito was carrying leftover cake in his backpack for Shiro, as today was Shiro’s birthday.
Kaito was so in thought that he bumped into a tree. He backed up, looking up at Shiro, who was on a wooden platform in the tree. “Kaito! Are you okay?” Shiro asked, concerned. He gestured over to the rope ladder. “Come on. This is the big surprise.” Kaito watched as Shiro’s head disappeared out of sight. He looked at the rope ladder and grabbed onto it, attempting to climb it. “Are you sure this is safe? You brought me out here for some platform in a tree? This rope is dirty…” he asked, grimacing at the condition of the rope. Shiro’s voice rang down. “Stop being such a prissy priss and get up here.” Kaito looked at his new gloves before reluctantly climbing up the rope. He knew he would be scolded for this later. He slipped on the last rung as Shiro reached down and caught Kaito. Kaito gasped. He grabbed onto Shiro’s arm and pulled himself up. He went on all fours, breathing faster. “That, that was scary. What the heck, Shiro? Are you trying to kill me?” Shiro chuckled, shaking his head. He placed his hand on Kaito’s back softly. “I would never hurt you, K-kun. You’re my bestest friend.”
Kaito shakily sat on the platform. He found it surprising how stable it was in the tree. He looked out at the city’s view. Shiro stood on the edge of the platform. “This is going to be our super secret hideout! This is my present to you. When we get a bit older. We are going to make this super high-tech. Super hero tech, you know.” Kaito felt concerned at how close Shiro was to the edge. He admired how ambitious Shiro was. “That sounds like fun. Have you figured out how to raise our trust values yet?” Shiro shrugged. He walked over to another edge, grabbing a magazine. He then sat next to Kaito. “This is an old magazine I found up here. It is the year fifteen. This man on the cover, Ah Sheng, he is the current holder of the title X. In one of his interviews, he states that if you don’t believe in yourself, then the number on your wrist is just a useless number, so.” Kaito went to grab hold of the magazine. He stared at his gloves. Shiro tilted his head. He had always been curious as to why Kaito had gloves on. He remembered something about being told how Kaito always had to keep his hands clean, so did his family use those gloves to monitor him? Shiro leaned the magazine closer to Kaito before closing it. “Hey, K-kun. I have been meaning to ask. Why do you wear white gloves?” Shiro asked. Kaito looked to the side. “It is because a man of the Sato family must always keep their hands clean. Even my dad wears white gloves; it’s tradition.” Shiro looked at Kaito’s hand. “Well, if you have to keep your hands clean, and the gloves are white. They are obviously going to get really dirty fast. Why don’t you take them off to keep them clean?” Kaito’s eyes got wide. He looked at his hands. “I mean, then my skin will get dirty and.” Shiro scrunched his brow. “You’re just scared of germs, aren’t cha? Here I got you a second gift.” Kaito looked at Shiro, watching as Shiro reached into his jacket and pulled out a black, crumpled piece of fabric. “Happy Birthday, K-kun.” Kaito looked at Shiro. “A black cloth?” Shiro shook his head. He shook the crumpled fabric to shape. “Nope! I found these for you at the local thrift shop. If you wear these while you hang out with me, then put your white ones back on when you go home. You won’t get them dirty and get scolded. Kaito looked at the black gloves. He felt tears well in his eyes at Shiro’s kindness. Kaito hugged Shiro tightly. “You are a genius!” he let go, grabbing his white gloves, taking them off. He looked at his hands.
Shiro leaned forward. His eyes glittered. “Whoa, I guess a rich kid’s hands are just hands. Although I didn’t expect that scar. What’s that from?” Kaito shook his head. “When I was young, I got jealous that I didn’t have my dad’s super short pinkie, so apparently, one night I took a kitchen knife and tried to chop it off to look like my dad’s. He stopped me himself. I was lucky that he was home that night.” Shiro watched as Kaito placed the black gloves on. “Your dad seems like a really good guy. I think it is neat that he runs the Sato hero corporation.” Kaito’s eyes glittered, seeing his hands in the new gloves. He held his hand out to the sky. “Yeah, but if I run that place someday. Then I can never be a hero. Whoa, these are so cool,” he spoke in awe. “It is like the power of darkness is in my hand.” Shiro looked at Kaito’s gloved hand. “That sounds more like a villain thing to say,” he nudged Kaito’s side, snickering. Kaito shook his head. “Nope, not my darkness. I see the dark as something comforting when my parents’ servants are yelling at me. I close my eyes, and the darkness is there for me. It is always there for me. Like you are, Shiro.”
Shiro closed his eyes. He nodded, smiling. “Well, if your power is going to be darkness. I want mine to be time.” Kaito watched as Shiro looked out at the sky. The sky reflected in Shiro’s eyes. “Why would you want time?” Kaito asked. Shiro shrugged. “It might sound selfish, but if I could stop time. Then we could hang out for more hours of the day. I could use the power to dodge your family’s scary guards more easily. Wouldn’t that be fun?” Kaito flushed; he gently punched Shiro’s side. “You’re such a dork. You want to rule over time? That is so X levels of power.” Shiro pushed Kaito gently back. “You’re the one who wants to rule over darkness while being a hero. You’re the silly one!”
“Oh! Shiro! I got you a present as well.” Kaito calmed down. He smiled purely as he pulled his backpack to his front. He pulled the plate of cake out. “It’s a slice of cake. Happy birthday, Shiro.” Shiro’s eyes lit up. “Thanks!” Kaito unwrapped the cake, holding it out to Shiro. He placed his hand in his pocket. He looked at Shiro before pulling the pocket watch out. “Here, you can have this as well. If you are going to have power over time.” Shiro’s eyes lit up. He dropped the silver fork, grabbing the pocket watch. “This is the fanciest thing I have ever seen. Are you sure that I can have it?” he asked.
Kaito nodded. “It is a family heirloom, but I want you to have it.” Shiro carefully opened the pocket watch. He looked at the inscription “S?” Kaito nodded. “It stands for Sato, but now it stands for Shiro. It’s yours now.” Shiro held the pocket watch close to his heart. “I love it, thank you, K-kun. You’re the best. You know, my parents even forgot my own birthday.” Kaito’s eyes widened. “They sound terrible. You know. I hope I never get to meet them.” Shiro closed his eyes. Tears ran down his cheeks. “Someday, when we are older, we will fix this hideout up. I want to live here.” Kaito looked at his back gloves. “I hope that we both can. That would be so much fun.”
(24Ac)
Shiro held his hands in his pockets as he walked down the street. It was the first day of high school. Shiro was shocked that he even made it into high school. When he told Kaito, Kaito was overjoyed and they went for ice cream together. He wished that Kaito would join him at his school, but he knew that Kaito was probably enrolled in an all boys school. Shiro looked down. If he were to ask his parents to go to the same school as Kaito, would they let him? He shook his head. No he didn’t want to even talk to them.
A few months into the semester Shiro walked through the school’s entrance. He had heard rumors of a new transfer student, but didn’t think much of it. It was almost halfway through the semester and he had not seen Kaito once. This was driving Shiro into a mild depression. He would wait for Kaito at their hideout, but he hadn’t been coming by. Shiro was starting to feel nervous that something had happened to his best friend, or that maybe Kaito forgot about Shiro and made new friends at his new school. Shiro went to place his shoes into his locker as he turned around, seeing a few ladies approach. “Hyun-kun, I uh.” one of the ladies was flushed, she held out a letter. “Here!” she exclaimed, bowing towards Shiro. She held the letter out with both of her hands. Shiro carefully took the letter. He smiled kindly, looking at the lady. The lady looked as if she was about to faint. Her friend dragged her away. Shiro placed the letter into his locker, along with the others. He was unsure how it had happened, but he had somehow become popular. Sure that would make raising his trust value easier. He was sure that he kept his past a secret, so why was it that he was gaining popularity? Shiro went to place his school shoes on as he overheard a few people. “Did you hear that the new transfer student is arriving today. I heard he is some big hotshot. A rich kid.” A woman spoke up next. “I heard that he is the heir to the Sato family.” Shiro tensed up. He carefully placed his school shoes back into the locker as he about gave himself whiplash looking towards the entrance. Could that be true? He rushed back down the path to the entrance.
The moment that he arrived. A large limousine pulled up. The teenagers all turned to look over at the man who stepped out. Shiro’s eyes welled with tears as he smiled and waved. Kaito swung his bag over his shoulder, trying to make a good first impression on the other students as his eyes locked onto Shiro. His eyes glittered as he dropped his bag and bolted over glomping his best friend. “Shiro!” he exclaimed. Shiro yelped, falling back into the pavement. He hugged Kaito back before sitting on the pavement. “What are you doing here!?” At this point a few people were staring at Kaito and Shiro.
Shiro noticed the eyes on him and Kaito. He stood up, grabbing Kaito’s bag. Kaito was shaking with excitement. “I left that school. I wanted to live out my high school life with you, Shiro. I couldn’t imagine four years of being trapped in those dorms and not seeing you. It was like what I imagine prison would be like.” Shiro smiled more. “Honestly I was thinking that you forgot me or something.” One of the ladies who had a crush on Shiro glared at Kaito before switching to a kind tone to not upset Shiro. “Excuse me, Hyun-kun, who is this?” Shiro stood up. He pulled Kaito up gesturing to him. “This is my bestest friend. K-kun.” The woman looked Kaito up and down. She nodded before walking off. Kaito glared bullets at the woman who was talking to Shiro. “So! Shiro, mind showing me around?” he asked. Shiro nodded enthusiastically. High school was going to be so much better from now on.
~
“I noticed that you’re growing out your hair, Kaito.” Shiro sat on the fountain in the school’s courtyard. It was lunchtime. “I was unaware that your family would let you grow your hair out.” Kaito smiled as he took out his bento. He carefully grabbed a lock of his hair. “I remembered how you like longer hair, So I thought maybe if I grew it out then you would like me more.” Shiro chuckled softly. He watched as a lock of Kaito’s hair fell over his light purple eyes. “It does look nice on you. Although I bet having longer hair will make it tough to study. Oh!” Shiro looked at the bracelets on his wrist. He pulled one of the crocheted bracelets off and undid it. “Here, why don’t you tie your hair back with this? red will look nice on you.”
Kaito’s gaze softened as he looked at the red ribbon. He grabbed his hair and went to tie it back. “Thank you, Shiro. You know, I have noticed that you are shining more brightly lately.” Shiro flushed as he looked to the side. “Ah~ I uh, you really think so? Maybe it is just, puberty or something.” Kaito chuckled, nudging Shiro’s side. “What, it’s true.” Shiro covered his face before standing up. “I-I am going to go purchase some yakisoba buns. Do you want one?” Kaito shook his head. “No, but can you grab me some melon milk please?” Shiro nodded as he rushed off.
“So, you’re the mystery prince’s best friend?” A man walked over. He had his arms crossed. Kaito took a bite of his food as he looked at the man. He was very tall. “Prince? You mean Shiro?” The man nodded, a lady standing next to him spoke up. “We have known him for years. Don’t think that you are anything to him. How dare you call him by his first name. It is irritating to see you acting all buddy buddy with him.”
Kaito placed his food down to the side. “I still don’t get what you mean by prince.” The woman scoffed. “Hyun-kun is seen as the mysterious prince of this school. He doesn’t get close to anyone, nobody knows what he does outside of school, he is always the top of his class even though people see him goofing off instead of studying. He has his own fanclub. Seiji-kun is the president, I am the vice.”
Kaito smirked, he let out a snicker. “Really? You created a fanclub centered around Shiro? Don’t you understand that sounds insane? Shiro is a human being. Not an object.” Seiji narrowed his eyes. “Do you even know anything about him? He deserves his own fanclub. He is loved by almost everyone in the school. He is a mystery man”
Kaito took a step towards Seiji. “Of course I know him. Shiro is all I think about. He and I are going to become heroes together. If you are going to become Shiro’s believer then you better see him in the light I see him in.You are right about him being a prince. Shiro is the prince of time, and I am his knight.” Seiji narrowed his eyes. He took a step back. “You seem more like a villain to me.” the lady nodded, backing up. Kaito narrowed his eyes. “I am going to become X someday.”
Seiji tensed up before breaking into laughter. “You!? That is such a childish dream!” Kaito’s hands shook. Seiji approached Kaito, grabbing his wrist. Shiro watched the scene, processing what was going on. He grabbed his pocket watch and appeared in front of Seiji, pushing Seiji into the ground. Seiji froze seeing Shiro. He tensed up. The woman spoke up. “Hyun-kun!? Where did you come from?” Shiro glared at Seiji. “I overheard you bullying K-kun. That is completely unacceptable, so I used my power over time. Is this how you treat new people?” Seiji tensed up. “But, he.” Shiro looked back at Kaito. “I’m sorry I didn’t get your melon milk…” Kaito’s gaze softened seeing Shiro. He looked at Shiro’s wrist, noticing that his trust value was rising. Shiro picked up his things before walking off with Kaito. He headed to the roof.
“Was that an ability?” Kaito questioned as he entered the rooftop area with Shiro. “What is your trust value?” he asked. Shiro scrunched his brow, thinking about how those two jerks were treating Kaito. He pulled his sleeve up, showing off his trust value. “Tah-dah!” Kaito’s eyes widened seeing Shiro’s trust value. “How in the world did you get over a hundred points?” he questioned, pulling his glove down. “I still only have a one, from you.”
Shiro placed his bag down. He spun around on the ball of his foot. “That won’t be a problem. I have started a super secret club. I am known as the prince of time. Now that you are here. You can join and we can roleplay our hero persona’s after school together.” Kaito took his bento box out once again. He sat on the ground, eating his lunch. “Are you talking about live action role playing?” Shiro nodded. “Yep, I have quite the following. Even the people in this city are starting to believe that the roleplay is real life for some reason. This is your chance to become a hero alongside me.”
Kaito’s eyes lit up. He thought about reaching his dream with Shiro. “That sounds amazing to me. Although I got to ask. Who are you fighting? Who is the villain?” Shiro paused, he looked to the side. “Ah~ well for now, it is just a made up villain. I create the scenes and then play them out as if the villain is attacking.” Kaito thought about Shiro’s plan. He shook his head. “No, no that isn’t good. If people find out that you are your own villain. You might become one. The trust system is scary that way. It can take a man like you and flip you from hero to zero in a moment’s notice. You need a proper villain.”
Shiro sat next to Kaito. “Well, that is a good point. What do you suggest?” Kaito thought for a moment before speaking. “Why don’t I put on a mask and become the villain? If nobody finds out who is under the mask. My trust value will be safe, and you can keep rising up as a hero. Then someday. I can make the villain disappear and you and I can become heroes.” Shiro tensed up. He went to eat his lunch as well. “I mean, that is a plan, but if anyone figures out that it is you under the mask. You will become a real villain.” Kaito shook his head. “Then we will make sure nobody will ever find out. It will be like E-soul! Now that man has never taken off his mask, right? I can be like that. If I have to fall, so you can rise. So be it.” Shiro’s eyes widened. He leaned his head on Kaito’s shoulder. “You are really the coolest, Kaito. Truly.”
Kaito flushed softly. He closed his eyes. “Let’s go hang out at our hideout and plan this out more tonight. You know Shiro, those guys did have a point. I have realized I don’t know much about you. I know your name is Hyun Shiro. You are the same age as me, we are the same age. Your birthday is one day after mine, I know you dislike your family, but other than that. I know nothing.” Shiro looked at Kaito. Then at the ground. He crossed his arms. “Are you becoming curious about me?” he asked. Kaito shrugged. “It was just something that those people mentioned… I can’t say that I am not curious about you. We have been friends for almost four years now.”
Kaito looked into Shiro’s eyes. “I can see in your eyes, you become fearful when I talk about this stuff. You know that you can tell me anything. I won’t tell your secrets.” Shiro closed his eyes. He turned his head to the side. “I don’t want to talk about myself, please.” Kaito paused. He took a bite of his rice before carefully placing his hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “I understand. I won’t pry any further then.”
Kaito watched as Shiro opened his eyes. He shook his head, letting out a sigh. “I, have been working on our secret hideout lately. I built walls, added a nice roof with a skylight, and a solar power generator.” Kaito’s eyes widened hearing the improvement on their hideout. “Wow, that sounds like it was expensive. Where did you get the money? I told you that I would cover the expenses to fix up the hideout so that you wouldn’t have to spend anything.” Shiro shrugged. “It didn’t cost that much. Don’t worry about it. I extended the platform as well, so that we still have a place to watch the city together. Although I did put a railing on it, so that we have some safety.” Kaito looked over at the bell going off. He placed his empty bento back in his bag before standing up. He watched as Shiro waved “I will see you back in class K-kun.” Kaito could tell that Shiro was forcing a smile. He stood up wondering where Shiro had gotten the funds to fix up the hideout that well. He picked his bag up, watching Shiro rush off. He truly did not know anything about his best friend.
~
“So, from here on out. You are going to be known as Darkmeister. The villain who is plotting to take over the city and force the world into darkness.”Shiro took a few steps around the reinforced platform. He gestured to a monitor that was almost as large as the wall itself. Kaito was feeling surprised at how high tech their hideout was becoming. Shiro was talking about building more rooms earlier. Kaito watched as Shiro drew on the touchscreen. It was a very well thought out plan. Shiro would be the hero and Kaito would take on the role of the villain until Shiro became a well known enough hero. Then Kaito would switch sides in a final battle. This fight would end in a heartwarming speech which would warm the hearts of people and sky rocket Kaito’s trust value as well. Kaito had to admit. He was very impressed by how much of a mastermind Shiro was.
Shiro drew circles on the blank canvas on his monitor. “Any questions?” Kaito shook his head. He was noting how everything in the secret hideout looked new. “No, I got the idea. I think that this plan of yours is going to go amazing. We have never had a hero in this city before, right? If you are the only hero and I am the only villain. This will go perfectly. Shiro, you are going to be an amazing hero.” Shiro sat next to Kaito. He smiled before looking out of the window at the city. “Kaito, I am planning to move in here soon. I,” he shook his head. “I can’t stay with my family any longer.” Kaito tensed up. He looked at Shiro. “What if your parents call the police? Shiro, we are still minors.” Shiro shook his head. “I, I can’t handle it anymore. I can’t do it anymore. Every time I go home… I just.” Kaito saw Shiro’s hands shaking. His eyes got wide. “Are they abusing you? Shiro, you can tell me. If you want. I can talk to my parents and I bet you can stay with me.”
Shiro’s eyes widened. “I thought you wanted to live here with me someday.” Kaito nodded. “Of course I do, but Shiro. It is going to be getting cold at night, and sure you fixed this place up quite a bit, but it is nowhere near living conditions yet. Shiro, why don’t you just come back with me? If you stay here then I will get worried about you.” Shiro looked into Kaito’s eyes. He nodded slowly. “Alright, but what if your parents hate me? We have kept our friendship secret for four years.” Kaito leaned on Shiro’s shoulder. “Yeah, but I did just start school. Maybe this is the time to introduce you to my parents?” Shiro thought about it for a moment. He nodded, cracking a smile. “Yeah, that sounds good.”
~
Shiro walked up to the front door of the Sato mansion. This would be the first time that he would not be worried about avoiding guards, or climbing the garden wall. He glanced at Kaito’s white gloves. Kaito watched as the door opened. A line of servants bowed. “Welcome home young master.” they spoke. The butler Hiroyama walked over, bowing as well. “How was your first day of highschool? Might I ask who this is?” Shiro shook like a leaf. He carefully grabbed onto Kaito’s wrist. Kaito gestured to Shiro. “This is my friend Hyun Shiro. We are classmates.” Hiroyama looked Shiro up and down. He took a step forward. “Don’t I know you from somewhere?” Shiro shook his head. “I believe that this is the first time we are meeting.” he answered, looking into Hiroyama’s eyes. Hiroyama narrowed his eyes before pushing his glasses up. “Your friend can wait in the tea room while you go get cleaned up. Is your friend staying over for dinner?” Kaito nodded. “He is going to be spending the night.” Hiroyama tensed for a moment before bowing his head. “Your parents are throwing a party to celebrate their signing of a new hero. I doubt they will be alright with this man staying over.” Shiro stood up straight. He took a deep breath. “I am willing to stay in Kaito’s room as he attends the party.” Hiroyama took note of how Shiro was addressing Kaito. “First name basis? Ah~ I understand, then I doubt there will be a problem. Hyun-kun, if you will follow me to the tea room.” Kaito watched as Hiroyama directed Shiro towards the main building. Shiro glanced at Kaito. He smiled nervously.
~
“So, you are friends with Master Kaito. Who would’ve guessed. Small world.” Hiroyama spoke in a low tone.
“Whoever you think I am, I am not.” Shiro responded. He crossed his arms, looking forward.
“You’re Gure of the Hyun family, are you not?”Hiroyama looked back as he walked. “There is no need to lie. I don’t see why you would.”
Shiro felt a knot form in his stomach. “I am Shiro, not Gure. I would appreciate it if you dropped this topic.”
Hiroyama shook his head. “Your family and the Sato’s are business partners. I remember hearing about the death of Shiro years ago.”
Shiro walked faster. “Again, whoever you think I am. I am not.” He spoke low, his voice cracked. He entered the tea house, sitting down. “Just drop this topic. I am in no way related to, to those people. I just share the same family name.”
Hiroyama shrugged. “Your parents are going to be attending the party tonight.”
Shiro’s eye ticked. “Again, not my parents. I don’t have parents. Would you mind leaving me alone?”
Hiroyama took a deep breath. “Understood, but just know. You can’t hide who you are forever.”
Shiro watched as Hiroyama walked off. He clenched his teeth. His parents were going to be in the same building as him tonight? Just hearing that made him feel sick. He looked at his hands shaking. He tried to take a few breaths, but memories came flooding in. It was going to be alright. Kaito was there. Kaito was going to attend the party, but Shiro was going to hide away in Kaito’s room. There was nothing to worry about.
~
Kaito adjusted his collar. He carefully placed a blue S pin on the side of his suit. Why was he unaware of the party tonight? Was it a last minute decision? He wondered about how he would get time to talk to his parents about Shiro. He ran his finger on the red ribbon, smiling at the gift he was given. He hoped that Hiroyama was being kind to Shiro as well. He hoped that Shiro wasn’t feeling too uncomfortable being in such a large place, probably alone with a butler. He recalled the time that Shiro ran into his nanny. Now that was a mess.
Kaito felt so lucky to meet someone that didn’t get run off just because of his social status. He flushed thinking about the future. Someday. He was going to get a nice apartment with Shiro and live his life with him. He just needed to find a way to confess his true feelings to the man, without ruining their friendship. He covered his face. Although he knew that his parents would never approve. No, this was silly. Shiro was Kaito’s best friend. These emotions were just on the fritz due to puberty or something. Kaito slapped his cheeks, looking into the mirror. He was going to push these feelings to the side. They were silly.
Kaito adjusted his tie, and walked outside. He headed to the teahouse. As he approached, he froze in his steps looking over at Shiro. He wondered if Shiro would possibly want to join him at the party tonight. He wanted to see him all dressed up. He walked inside, waving. “Hey, I am back.” Shiro looked over. His eyes were shaking. “Kaito…” he spoke, holding himself together the best he could. “You look amazing, like ten trillion yen.”
Kaito flushed. He covered his face, preening his hair back. “Ah~ this old thing? I uh, are you okay? What happened? What did Hiroyama say?” Shiro looked down. “It, it wasn’t Hiroyama. Would you mind if we went to your room now? I rather not be here when the party starts.” Kaito nodded. He walked over to Shiro. “Of course, although I was wondering if you possibly would want to join me at the party. It will be a party full of blue bloods, but I feel if you were there then maybe we could have some fun together?” Shiro stood up, he walked over to Kaito shaking his head. “I, would love to, but I can’t. I don’t belong there.” Kaito shook his head. “No! If you are there with me. Then you can belong there. You can borrow one of my suits.”
Shiro took a step back. “Kaito, do you know about Nanocodex?” Kaito tilted his head. “Sure, they are a company that supplies the newest innovative technology to my parents’ company. What about them?” Shiro opened his mouth, but no words came out. He shook his head. He couldn’t tell Kaito. He would be treated differently. “Do, you think when we become heroes? We could make our own tech?” Kaito’s shoulders relaxed. He chuckled. “Of course we can. Are you sure that you don’t want to go to the party with me?” Shiro nodded. Kaito looked over at the time. “Then I guess I will have to raincheck with my parents as well. Why don’t we have our own party?” Shiro flushed. “How would that work?” Kaito shrugged. “Well, I will get you in a nice suit, and then we can play music in my room and dance and watch movies and stuff.” Shiro snickered. “You really want to see me in a suit that bad?” Kaito nodded. “Yes, I really do.”
~
“This is COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE!”
Shiro and Kaito looked over from Kaito’s room. The party had begun and multiple guests had arrived. Kaito was sitting on his couch, watching movies with Shiro before his door swung open, almost breaking off the hinges. There his mother was standing in an elegant red dress with a very bitter face. “KAITO SATO! What do you think you are doing!?” she snapped. Kaito slunk down on the couch. “Mother, I made a decision that I am not attending the party tonight. My friend and I are hanging out.” Kaito’s mother walked over. She glared at Kaito. “You get out there, right now. Or I am going to have to punish you!” Kaito tensed up. He stood up looking at Shiro. He mouthed. “Sorry, Shiro…” Kaito’s mother took one look at Shiro. She narrowed her eyes. “You there boy, who are you? You seem awfully familiar.” Shiro put his hands up. “I uh, I am just Kaito’s friend.” Kaito’s mom stared at Shiro for a moment before gesturing to the door. “You are dressed nice enough. I don’t trust you here alone. Go with Kaito to the party.” Shiro felt his heart drop. He looked at Kaito wondering if he knew that this was going to happen. “Mrs. Sato, could I possibly wear a mask or something? I am uncomfortable with all of these people seeing my face.” Mrs. Sato narrowed her eyes. “Why? Are you some sort of delinquent or something?” Shiro shook his head. “I just, I don’t want to be seen.” Mrs. Sato rolled her eyes. “I doubt anyone is going to notice a nobody kid. Just go before I get mad.”
Kaito walked over gesturing to the party. He tried to smile. Shiro walked over, not having a choice. He looked at all of the guards. During party time at the Sato mansion, even Shiro could not sneak in to see Kaito. “Did you know this was going to happen?” Shiro hissed through his teeth. Kaito shook his head. “I didn’t. Although don’t worry. I will make sure you don’t feel out of place. Besides, if you feel out of place, can’t you just use your ability to escape?” Shiro walked slower as he pulled out his pocket watch. “I used my ability for today to save you from those bullies. My ability so far is strong enough to stop time only once a day.” Kaito nodded. He was unaware of the limitations of Shiro’s ability. He glanced at the pocket watch. “Is that how you stop time?” he asked. Shiro shook his head. “No, I just grip it when I am feeling nervous, or in this moment. Horrified.”
Kaito paused. He stepped in front of Shiro. “Shiro, there is no need to be scared of blue bloods. They are just people like you. You’re not scared of me are you?” Shiro’s eye ticked. “I could never be scared of you.” Kaito’s mother approached as she grabbed Kaito’s hand. “Come on, you are taking forever. There are multiple people who want to talk with you. The prime heroics ceo’s daughter wanted to dance with you.” Kaito tensed as he reached out for Shiro. “K-kun!” Shiro exclaimed before chasing Kaito into the party. He tensed up feeling the familiar feeling. The people dressed impeccably. The judging looks from Shiro’s outburst. Shiro took a deep breath holding his arm. He scanned his eyes around the room for any signs of his parents before he sighed in relief, seeing they were not currently inside the building. He relaxed, straightening his posture before looking around to where Kaito went.
He knew in a party like this that raising his voice would be seen as rude, He walked over to the closest wall, tensing up. He breathed faster feeling pain radiating in his head from stress. His heart was beating in his head. This was too risky. He needed to find Kaito. He took a deep breath. What he would have given to be his brother at this moment, but he didn’t want to give into his family’s beliefs. He was Hyun Shiro.
As long as he didn’t believe what his family did. He would never fully become that guy, but would being him for the moment help? Maybe there was a way to temporarily trick the belief system, but if his plan failed. Then his family would have won. It wasn’t like he was ever going to completely believe that he was who they wanted him to be. Shiro thought for a moment about trying to cheat the trust system. He bet that Kaito could knock him out of it if he started to really lose himself.
I’m my brother, I am him. I am Gure Hyun. That is my name. I am the first born son and my little brother died.
Shiro thought to himself. His eyes trembled as he tried to cheat the system. “I am confident at parties. I…”he whispered low. “I am going to find K-kun. My little brother’s best friend.”
Shiro held his head as he let his family’s words flood and circle in his head. You’re not Shiro, you’re Gure. Shiro died when you were eleven.
Shiro let a tear fall as his eyes went blank. He looked around the room. A party. He loved parties. This was the best. He walked through the crowd grabbing a glass of sparkling cider, turning back around on the ball of his foot. His eyes glittered as he looked around. What was he there for again? Oh right! To find his little brother’s best friend. He walked over to a mirror, looking into it. Wow, looking good. There was nobody in the world that was better looking than him. He twirled a lock of hair in his pointer finger and let the curl sit on his forehead. He took a sip of his cider before turning to look for Kaito. He locked onto the dance floor, seeing Kaito dancing with a lady.
Shiro placed his empty glass down as he watched the others dance. His dead eyes locked onto Kaito. He stepped onto the dance floor, dancing with whoever he could. Making his way towards Kaito. His dancing skills were elegant. He had been classically trained since he was five
“Wow, that kid can sure dance.” Mrs. Sato spoke, watching Shiro. “He sure seems to be enjoying himself. It is almost like he belongs here.” Mr. Sato crossed his arms. smirking. “That kid is Gure Hyun, Chidori.” Mrs. Sato tensed up. She squinted. “By Zero it is…” she spoke in shock, her jaw dropped. “I thought that the Hyun family locked their son away after they lost their youngest.” Mr. Sato shrugged watching Shiro.
Shiro made his way to Kaito. He spun over, holding his hand out. “Sato-kun, care to dance?” The woman tensed up expecting Kaito to say no. Kaito flushed as he carefully grabbed Shiro’s hand. He looked into his eyes tensing up. “Wait no, who are you? Where is Shiro?” he recoiled. Shiro’s eyes flickered. Kaito was right there. He needed to snap out of it. Kaito tensed up. He wondered if Shiro was taken over by something. He grabbed Shiro’s hand, bolting out of the party.
“Shiro? SHIRO?” Kaito shook Shiro. He raised his hand to count the number of fingers. “You are Shiro, right?” Shiro blinked a few times. Shiro, that sounded right. No, he was Shiro. He cringed as his eyes changed back. He fell to his knees shaking. “That, that was a close one.” He looked over at Kaito. “Kaito, I did something really, really stupid.” He let tears fall. Kaito tensed up. He caught Shiro. “What? What did you do?” he asked. Shiro shook his head. “Kaito, I need to tell you. At least you. I shouldn’t have messed with the belief system like that, but I was desperate.” Kaito’s eyes went wide. “What did you do?”
Shiro closed his eyes. He sat on the ground. “So, I uh. I had an older brother. He and I were twins, although I was seen more like his clone… he was treated like the golden child of my family, and I was treated more like… spare parts.” he let more tears fall. “He was seen as a blessing. I was seen more like a burden, but basically one day he suddenly died. My parents had always treated me terribly, but suddenly it seemed like they were starting to care. I thankfully caught onto what they were trying to do to me early on. They let me sleep in his room. They called me by his name. I found out that they were…” Shiro choked on his tears. He shook his head. “They were trying to turn me into my dead brother.” Kaito’s eyes widened. He gasped. “That, is insane. Your parents sound insane.” Shiro nodded. “I figured out later that the moment that Gure died, they put my name down on the death certificate. Ever since then. They have been desperately trying to turn me into him. Every time I go home. I am called by his name. They have everyone convinced that I am Gure. I am not. I am not Gure”
Kaito sat Shiro on the grass. He sat next to him. “Did that party trigger all of this? That look on your face was scary. Your eyes were not your own”
Shiro shook his head. “I had a moment of weakness. I let my family’s beliefs take over and I became my brother for that moment. I was so scared when you were pulled away, I just needed to not be myself.” Shiro placed his head on his knees. “I feel stupid. I could have let them win at that moment, but I believed in you. Do you understand how grateful I am that you saved me? I am so mad at myself. I fight my family’s dumb beliefs every day, every moment of my life, and I let a moment of weakness change that? I constantly fear that if I let my thoughts slip for even just a minute. Their overwhelming beliefs will take over and I will lose myself. I’m telling you this. Because one I trust you, and two. I know it might not be possible, but I want your help. If I lose myself. Please don’t abandon me.” Kaito looked at Shiro. “Shiro, I promise that I will never let anything happen to you. If their beliefs take you over. I will save you.”
Shiro looked up, his eyes were full of tears. “I am sorry I ruined the party…” Kaito shook his head. “I didn’t want to go in the first place. Shiro, I know that you were possessed by that belief at that moment, but would you possibly want to dance?” Shiro snickered, seeing Kaito breaking the sadness. He stood up. “I am not a good dancer. My brother was.” Kaito shrugged standing up as well. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
~
“Gure Hyun” Mr. Sato strolled over a half hour later. He bowed his head. “I would have never expected you to show up.” Shiro ignored the name. He was drinking cider next to Kaito. Kaito looked over. “Hey dad, you must have my friend here confused with someone else. This is Shiro.” Mr. Sato walked in front of Shiro. He looked into his eyes, seeing the light brown eyes instead of the gray he had seen before when he had met Gure. He tilted his head. “Ah~ My apologies sir. I thought that you were one of my friends’ sons.” Shiro looked at Mr. Sato. He stood up, bowing. “It is alright. It is a pleasure to meet my best friend’s father.” Mr. Sato’s eyes glittered. “You seem like a class act. May I ask how you and my son met?.” Shiro smiled softly. “We are classmates,” Mr. Sato nodded. “It is only his first day of highschool, and you are calling yourself his best friend. Now for some reason I feel you are not telling me the full truth. You act like a business man.” he looked at Kaito. “Kaito, is your friend spending the night?” Kaito nodded. “Actually father, I would like to speak with you about him staying with us a bit longer.” Mr. Sato paused. “Alright. Let’s go talk in another room. Shiro, please stay here.” Shiro nodded as he sat back down in a lounge chair.
~
“So you are telling me that the eldest of the Hyun family passed away, and your friend is their youngest son?” Mr. Sato spoke low. Kaito nodded. He knew that his father would have the power to help. “Yes, they are trying to change him into their dead son. Dad, you said the Hyun family is friends with ours? Is that true? Don’t tell me we are related.” Mr. Sato walked over to his bookshelf. He shook his head. “We are not related to them. They are our business partners. They are the founders of Nanocodex.” Kaito’s eyes widened. All this time he thought that Shiro was just some random ordinary child. He never dressed like he was wealthy. Although from what he had just heard. How Shiro’s parents treated him. It made more sense.
Kaito sighed in relief hearing that he was not related to Shiro. “Do you think we can let him stay here? I don’t want him to be in danger at home.” Mr. Sato looked over. He raised an eyebrow. “Do you really care about that boy that much? How long have you known him, really?” Kaito looked to the side. “I met Shiro about four years ago. He and I are the best of friends.” Mr. Sato opened a book. He nodded. “I see, so that is where you disappear to. Since the Hyuns are one of our most important investors, I can not just cut ties with them. Even if after hearing what they are doing to their youngest is true and messed up.” Kaito leaned towards his father, taking a glance at the book he was reading. He noticed it was a photo album. He saw a family photo of the Hyun family. He recognized how there was only one son standing next to his parents. Kaito recognized the dead gray eyes. That child might have looked identical to Shiro, but that was Gure. Mr. Sato spoke low. “I was wondering why they never took a photo with their youngest son. You know what, sure. I will have to talk to your mother, but I do not have any problems with Shiro staying with us.” Kaito’s eyes lit up. He smiled purely. “Thanks dad!” Mr. Sato closed the photo album. He nodded. “I will talk to your mother about this after the party. You seem to really care about this guy.” Kaito nodded. “I bet you will like him as well when you get to know him.” Mr. Sato cracked a smile as he watched Kaito rush off
“Shiiroo!” Kaito strolled over to where Shiro was sitting. He hugged him from behind. “Dad said you can stay with us! He just needs moms approval” Shiro tensed up. He looked up at Kaito. “That’s great K-kun,” Kaito nodded. He closed his eyes, smiling brightly. “We will have to celebrate tomorrow. We can even go to school together.” Shiro let a smile grow on his face. He watched as Kaito walked in front of him. “I know! What about we do something crazy tomorrow? Something that will be life changing. Like, like we could dye our hair!” Shiro’s eyes got wide. He chuckled. “Like delinquents? Why not pierce our ears if you’re thinking like that.” he joked. Kaito opened his eyes. He snapped his fingers. “Now that sounds like fun!” Shiro tensed up seeing that Kaito was serious. What had he done?”
(24ac P2)
“Stop squirming. You were the one who suggested this.” Kaito spoke low. He and Shiro were sitting on the roof of the school together. Shiro’s ear was grasped tightly between Kaito’s thumb and pointer finger. He held a needle with the other. “We are going to look so cool with matching piercings.” Shiro’s voice cracked. “K-kun, I am scared of needles. I was just joki-” he yelped as Kaito forced the needle through. Shiro looked back at Kaito with tears streaming down his face. “That, HURT damn it!” Kaito put his hands up.
“Let me just grab the earring. You are going to pierce me next. Don’t move. The needle is still in your ear.” Shiro froze up. The stabbing pain in his ear was radiating through his skull. “I don’t want to hurt you like this, K-kun,” he spoke low. Kaito shook his head. He pulled out a pair of silver earrings with silver balls on the ends. He cleaned the earring with some rubbing alcohol as he had before with the needle and carefully pushed the earring in, replacing the needle. He screwed the silver ball on before admiring his work. He did not enjoy seeing Shiro in so much pain. He grabbed a cloth, wiping the blood away from Shiro’s ear before he went to clean the needle. “Here, it is my turn. We are going to look so awesome.” Shiro wiped the tears from his eyes. He shook his head. “My eyes are all blurry. I can’t put you through this,” he spoke low. “Does it really look that good?” Kaito gave a thumbs-up. He moved his hair out of the way of his ear. “Just stick it in and press on the ball until it goes through.”
Shiro examined the needle. He was unsure if using a straight pin for piercing was ideal, but that was what Kaito had brought. Shiro looked at the pin. He waited for his eyes to clear of tears before he placed it on the bottom of Kaito’s ear lobe. He looked at Kaito, noticing how Kaito flinched at the needle. “Are you sure about this dude? What if I mess up?” Kaito side-eyed Shiro. He smiled softly. “Just press it through. Pain is temporary. Fashion is forever. Besides, If I believe it won’t hurt. It won’t, right?” Shiro thought about the system. He nodded as he pushed on the ball of the needle.
Kaito clenched his teeth. Nope, that did seriously hurt. He closed his eyes. “Just, ack. Just push it through already.” Shiro tensed up. He pressed as hard as he could as the needle popped through. Kaito cried out. He grabbed the earring. “Dang it, I… Shiro, here’s the.” he broke into tears, shivering. Shiro froze. He looked at the earring and took it from Kaito. He cleaned it with the rubbing alcohol before carefully placing it in place of the needle. He carefully screwed the ball on. “Kaito, it’s in. Are you alright?” Kaito cried harder. “It hurts. Does, does it look cool?” he asked. “Here, let me see,” he blubbered and reached for his phone. Shiro placed his hand on Kaito’s shoulder. Kaito opened his phone camera. He turned his head and examined his ear. He then looked over at Shiro, pulling him closer so they could be in the same camera frame. “We look awesome, Shiro.” he leaned his head closer to Shiro’s shoulder, flexing his arm out to take a photo. “Smile.” Shiro looked at the camera as the shutter sound went off. “You are taking this worse than I am. I thought you were stronger than this.” he teased. Kaito nudged Shiro. “It looks like you are already over it.” Shiro shook his head. He winced. “No, I just know how to hide my pain more than others. I can cry on the inside.” Kaito tensed at Shiro’s words. Shiro was so strong… Kaito shook his head, trying to stop the tears. He looked at Shiro, then at the sky. “So, that woman today. Do you think she is going to confess her love to you behind the school today?” he asked, recalling the letter that Shiro had been given. Shiro took the letter out. He shook his head. “This? Of course, she is going to confess her love. She signed it with a heart and wrote me a poem.” he shook his head. “I don’t understand why all of these people are so in love with the thought of me. They know nothing about me. They just see me, and-” Shiro closed his eyes. “This lady isn’t even in the same class as I am. To be honest, all of these confessions are getting tiring, but if I don’t at least go behind the school to meet her. Then I will be seen as a big jerk.” Kaito tilted his head. “You understand there is a fan club centered around you, right?” Shiro’s eyes got wide. He snickered. “Now that just sounds insane. Are you serious?” Kaito nodded. He wiped his tears before lying back on the wall. “Yep, that is probably why the ladies are so interested in you. They probably see you as a prize to be won. Do you like any of them?”
Shiro shook his head. “No, I am not. I don’t really want to be in a relationship with anyone who just wants to solve me like a puzzle and then leave me. I want to find somebody someday who will love and cherish the real me,” he looked out at the sky. “Someone I would feel comfortable spending every day with, but to be honest. I want to focus on my studies. Once I graduate, I can find someone.” Kaito tensed up. He flushed, looking at Shiro. “That sounds like a good plan. You know, whoever you end up with someday. They are going to be the luckiest person alive.” Shiro flushed softly. He turned his head to look at Kaito. “Nah, that will be whoever ends up with you, K-kun.” he smiled more, ignoring the pain radiating in his ear. “What about you? Do you have anyone you like?”
Kaito flushed more. He itched the back of his neck. “I mean, yeah, uh, but it is just a crush,” he looked to the side. “They are someone very important in my life.” Shiro tilted his head. He flushed, shrugging. “Is it the lady you were dancing with at the party last night?” he asked, placing his hands in his lap. Kaito shook his head. “Not exactly, but I will admit that I did dance with them last night.” Shiro thought about all of the people at the party. He opened his mouth to ask a follow-up question before the bell went off. Kaito placed his small container with the piercing items in his bag. “We have our first performance to plan tonight. My debut as Darkmeister is tonight, right?” Shiro shook his head. “I am going to construct a mask for you tonight, your debut is tomorrow. Oh! Darn. I forgot to measure your head,” he spoke low before whipping out a measuring tape. “Stay still, K-kun. This will only take a moment.” Kaito flushed as he leaned closer to Shiro. He closed his eyes as Shiro measured.. “We are going to be late for class…” Kaito’s voice cracked as he could almost smell Shiro. Shiro shrugged. “I don’t mind. Heh, that was cute,” he spoke low. “I wonder how our voices are going to sound after they finish changing.” Kaito shrugged. “I personally believe you are going to have a voice as smooth as silk.” Shiro looked at the measurements, writing them down. “That would be nice.”
(29 Ac)
Shiro and Kaito chased each other down the street. Kaito swung his hand out, creating a shield of darkness. “You think you can stop me from taking over this city? I will make you all my slaves! I will cast this city into eternal darkness!” Kaito exclaimed. He smirked under his high-tech mask. Playing the part of the villain was fun. He and Shiro had discovered an app called FOMO during high school, and quickly, the Knight of Time, hero for the people, Chronos, became a hit. Shiro’s voice had deepened to be as smooth as silk, as Kaito had believed it would. Shiro had become fond of dying the tips of his hair different colors. Kaito, on the other hand, had a higher voice than Shiro. He was shorter than Shiro. He kept his hair in its natural color.
Shiro’s trust value was skyrocketing. The performances that Shiro and Kaito planned out were seamless, and with no other heroes emerging in the city, Shiro and Kaito had the whole city to enact their plays.
Shiro cornered Kaito. He reached his hand out. “No! I, the heir to time, Chronos, will stop you! These people deserve to live in the light!” he exclaimed as he bolted towards Kaito. Shiro appeared behind Kaito, punching him into the wall. Kaito let out a laugh. “You win this time, but one of these days. I will snuff out your light, Chronos.” Shiro crossed his arms, smirking. “There won’t be a chance, Darkmeister!” he bolted towards Kaito again. Kaito placed his hand on a shadow on the wall, disappearing. Shiro punched the wall, finishing his performance. He tilted his head forward. “Dang it, he got away. Again,” he spoke low. The civilians lit up with cheers. They ran over to Shiro, asking for autographs and pictures with him. “Chronos! Chronos! Will you be signing on with a hero management company soon?” a reporter shoved through the crowd. She held her microphone out to Shiro. Shiro brushed his hair back. Fans freaked out seeing Chronos. Shiro looked at the mic. “I have been offered to sign with quite a few companies, but I am unsure if I should. I am a hero for the people of this city. I save people not for fame or fortune, but to keep them safe,” he glanced back at the shadow. “But if I were to go with any hero management company. It would be the Sato’s.” The reporter seemed to tense up. “The Sato management company? Chronos, you are aware of the scandal surrounding Mr. Sato, right?” Shiro cringed at the mention of the scandal. He could not believe that someone who was as kind as Mr. Sato could have turned out to be part of the Yakuza. There was no way that, that was true. “Yes, I have heard of the rumors, but I believe that Mr. Sato is a good, honest man.” he looked dead into the camera. “I believe in my heart that the scandal is false.” Another reporter pushed a microphone through. “Chronos, how can you be sure!? Do you personally know the Sato family or!?-” Shiro looked over, hearing an explosion. He tensed up. There was nothing else planned for that day. “I need to check out what that was,” he spoke low as he grabbed his pocket watch, disappearing from the crowd. He pulled a hood over his head as he rushed towards the explosion.
~
As Shiro approached the explosion. He looked around. It appeared to be a fire that broke out in a building. Shiro tensed up, hearing the cries for help, as he stopped time once more, rushing into the flames.
Kaito sat on the balcony of his and Shiro’s hideout. He had placed his helmet on the counter and changed back into his normal clothes. He thought about Shiro, taking his phone out to scroll through Fomo. The tag HeroChronos was his favorite to doomscroll through. He loved to see all of the amazing things that people would post about Shiro.
Kaito looked towards the city, smiling softly. This was fine. Their plan was going well. Shiro was a real hero now. Sure, Kaito was going to have to wait to become a hero, but Shiro was so radiant as a hero. Kaito looked down. Would he hold Shiro back if he became a hero? He leaned back. Shiro was amazing. He was handsome, smart, and popular. He ended up rejecting so many women and a few men that Kaito was pretty sure that he had no chance. Over the years, Kaito’s feelings for Shiro became more intense. Kaito didn’t know what to do. He planned to confess to Shiro once they graduated high school, but then in year 27ac the scandal arose and Kaito’s life was flipped upside down.
Multiple investors backed out of supporting the Sato family and the news had hounded the house ever since. Kaito and Shiro both decided that the best decision was to move into their secret hideout together. Shiro had contractors come out and build a base floor that connected to the upper floor via a spiral staircase. Their base had expanded exponentially. It now had electricity, plumbing, heating, and air conditioning. It looked more like a house in the forest than just a treehouse now. Kaito had offered to expand their secret hideout himself, but Shiro insisted that he could pay for it using the grant that he had gotten from a thesis paper he had written on the topic of nanotechnology. Shiro was invited to attend the finest technological university in all of Japan, but Shiro declined and decided to take remote classes.
“He is sure home late…”Kaito looked over at the time. He glanced at his phone, making sure that the time was correct. He looked toward the city. Maybe he should call him? He looked at his smartwatch and called Shiro via speed dial.
About the time Shiro didn’t pick up, the front door opened. Shiro stumbled in, full of burns. He waved. “K-kun, I’m home…” he coughed before shaking his head, trying to ignore the pain. Kaito dropped his phone and looked over. He rushed over to Shiro. “Shiro! What happened!? Are you okay?” He held Shiro up and took him over to a chair. “Your suit is all charred.” Shiro looked down. “So, stopping time doesn’t stop fire from being hot. There was a gas explosion in one of the apartment buildings. Multiple people were trapped. I used my power so much, I feel exhausted.” Kaito watched as Shiro closed his eyes, smiling. He shook his head.
“You can only stop time for ten seconds.” Shiro put his finger up. “With a thirty-second cooldown. Ow…” Kaito grabbed the first aid kit. “You could’ve gotten yourself killed. What were you thinking!? Do you know how worried I was getting?” Shiro opened an eye. “A hero doesn’t just save people when they feel like it. They save people when they need to be saved,” he coughed, shaking. Kaito narrowed his eyes. “I know, but, but still. Shiro, strip.” Shiro flushed. He cringed, raising his arms to remove his shirt. Kaito shook his head and went to stripping Shiro himself. He looked at all of the scars that Shiro had accumulated over the time he had been a hero. He was horrified by how burnt parts of Shiro’s skin were. “I, I don’t have healing abilities, you know.” he looked into Shiro’s eyes.
Shiro sat on the chair in his boxers. He shrugged. “Neither do I, but that won’t stop me.” Kaito took some aloe out of the kit. He looked at the burns and went to apply the aloe to them. He measured the nastier-looking burns, making sure they were not bigger than his hand. He had been Shiro’s at-home makeshift doctor before, but this was the worst he had ever come back. “Shiro… is being a hero worth it?” he spoke low, being as careful as he could to not break any skin. Shiro nodded. “Being a hero is completely worth it. Seeing that a person’s smile will continue on tomorrow. Knowing that they are safe and will live on. It is the best feeling in the world.” Kaito nodded. He pulled a chair over and sat next to Shiro. “But, when you save someone that I am not holding hostage, you get hurt. Your life matters as much as the other people’s,” he teared up.
Shiro shrugged. “The life of a hero is putting the safety of others above your own…Kaito, are you starting to rethink being a hero? Don’t you want to be X someday?” Kaito tensed up. He thought about his childhood dream. “I, I don’t know anymore. Seeing you in this condition. I” he shook his head. “I wish that you would stop being a hero, but I know that you won’t.” Shiro snickered through his pain. “You know me well. I never want to stop being a hero. Do you want to stop being Darkmeister then?” Kaito shook his head. “I enjoy being Darkmeister, so I want to keep that going on just a bit longer. Maybe we can make a scene where I am defeated and we can make people believe that I went into hiding, then… I think I rather just cheer you on from the sidelines as your guy in the chair or something. I bet you could become X.” Shiro looked into Kaito’s eyes. “You know that I don’t want to become X. I just want to be the hero of this city.” he placed his hand on his heart. “Although I have to say, my heart feels strange lately. The higher my trust value goes. The more I feel, I don’t know how to explain it. Nevermind.” He looked to the side. “I should be heading to bed. Goodnight, Kaito” Kaito watched as Shiro stood up. He reached out for him before lowering his hand, not wanting to touch any of Shiro’s burns. He watched as Shiro disappeared into his room. Kaito looked at the time before he picked his phone back up. He tensed up seeing that his phone was on silent and there was six missed calls and a message from his mother. It read
“Kaito, come home NOW. Something happened to your father.”
~
Kaito rushed to his mansion. He tensed up seeing the news as he rushed over to the garden wall, pressing his hand on the shadow to disappear into it. He appeared on the other side and ran to the main building. “Mom!? What happened to dad?” Mrs. Sato was sitting in a chair. She held a paper, soaked in tears. She was inconsolable. Kaito grabbed the paper and tensed more at every word, he felt more horrified seeing the blood on the bottom of the page
To my family,
I am sorry I never told you the truth. I have dishonored my family and I have decided to no longer burden you. I am giving the company and all of my belongings to Kaito Sato, my only son. May he bring honor back to our family’s name. Just know I loved you all. – Takeshi Sato
Kaito held the note in shock. He glanced at the blood stain on the letter before looking up at his mother. “Mom, where is.” he choked on his words. “Where did he go?” Mrs. Sato held up what had caused the blood stain on the paper. It was Mr. Sato’s ring finger, with the ring still attached. Kaito’s eyes filled with terror. He ran to the bathroom emptying the contents of his stomach. There was no way that this was happening. His father, his father could not be gone. This had to be a joke. There was no way that. Kaito dry heaved once again. His heart pounded in his head. He flushed the toilet before shakily cleaning his hands in the sink. He looked into the mirror. His father left the company to him. The hero management company. That, that was unfair. He told his father years ago that he did not want to run the company. That he wanted to become a hero, but now… Kaito filled the sink with water. He shoved his head into the ice water before pulling himself out. He then headed back to his mother. “Mom…” Mrs. Sato stood up. She ran over, hugging Kaito tightly. “Kaito, I am so sorry.” she sobbed into Kaito’s shoulder. Kaito held his mom close. “I won’t leave you tonight. I will have Hiroyama make some tea.”
(30ac)
Kaito lost; that was the only way he could explain his last year. After his father disappeared without a trace and was presumed dead. Kaito ended up taking over the Sato family. He rebuilt the people’s trust in the company. His family was once again on the rise to becoming one of the most loved hero agencies. Kaito leaned forward on his desk in the company. He held his arms. Life was unfair. He and Shiro had gotten into a huge argument and Kaito hadn’t seen Shiro for almost a whole year. They played out their last battle perfectly, and Darkmeister was no more. Kaito thought about the things he had said to Shiro often. How absolutely wrong he was. He closed his eyes. Was Shiro still living at their secret hideout?
“Mister Sato, you have a call” Kaito’s secretary walked into the room holding a pile of papers. “It is the hero Chronos.” Kaito opened his eyes. He looked over at the phone. He reached for the phone, hesitating to pick it up. He took a deep breath, answering. “Chronos? Your ears must have been burning.” Shiro looked to the side as he spoke, his voice was shaky. “K, K-kun. I.” he looked down at the ground. “I need to see you. Are you available to meet up?” Kaito could hear the nerves in Shiro’s voice. He looked over at his secretary. “Clear my schedule. I need to meet up with Chronos.” he spoke in a serious tone. He looked out of the window. “Where are we meeting up?” he asked. Shiro looked at the blood on his hands. “I, at our base. I will see you there.” he hung up, He fell to his knees picking up a dismembered arm from the rubble. He dropped it. He was lucky that nobody was around, but he needed to leave before someone got curious. He took a breath before heading to his home.
Kaito made sure nobody was watching as he headed up the mountain. He looked at his trust value, it was still the same from when he was Darkmeister. He found it curious that it had never gone down. It meant that the people still believed that Darkmeister was still around. He looked toward the base, rushing over to the door. “Shiro? Are you there?.” Shiro approached Kaito from behind. His voice was almost above a whisper. “K-kun. Hey…” Kaito froze as he turned around. He looked into Shiro’s dead brown eyes. Kaito recalled the last time he had seen Shiro looking so dead was when he saw him as Gure at the party a years back. His hands were covered in blood. Shiro looked away from meeting Kaito’s eyes. Kaito pulled the key to the base out of his pocket, unlocking the door. He walked in. “Shiro, what happened?” Shiro followed Kaito into their home. He shook his head as he pulled up a chair, sitting down in it backwards. He learned his head on the back of the chair. “I fucked up. I don’t know what to do. I am going to lose it all. They might turn me into a villain. I am horrified” Kaito looked at the blood stains. He pulled up a chair. “Shiro, what happened?”
Shiro shook his head. He let a few tears fall. “I was walking around my old neighborhood and when I walked past my home. I sensed something was off. There was this, shadow man, and my old… The Hyun’s home suddenly blew up. I went to stop time mid explosion to save them as a hero would, but. I just, I just watched. I couldn’t get myself to save them. If anyone saw me…” he shook his head. “I was even smiling…” Kaito pulled his chair closer to Shiro. He slowly placed his hand on Shiro’s shoulder. He could feel Shiro’s breath rapidly increasing. He wondered how or if he could help. “Shiro, I doubt anyone caught you there. It would have blown up all over FOMO if they caught you smiling at something like that..” Shiro looked at Kaito. He sighed in relief, seeing that his old friend was still the same. “You still keep tabs on me? I thought that mister Sato would be all high and mighty ego man with no care in the world about me after that fight.” he crossed his arms. Kaito tensed up. He shook his head. “No, no way I would just leave you behind. Shiro, look I know that we both said things that were completely uncalled for. I am sorry.” Shiro shook his head. Tears streamed down his face.
Kaito held his arm “I just, with my father disappearing and my mother falling into a bottle. I couldn’t handle it when you came home with that broken arm. I am sorry I called you irresponsible and walked out on you like that.” Shiro shook his head. “I was being selfish. I deserved to be forgotten about you. I mean, look at you now. Without me you are single handedly rebuilding your family’s trust. I didn’t contact you once in all this time because I thought you didn’t care about me anymore.”
Kaito tensed up. He snickered. “You’re silly, Shiro. I didn’t contact you because I thought that you didn’t want to hear from me.” Shiro looked at Kaito with wide eyes. He snickered. “What? And you’re calling me silly? To be honest I was surprised you even showed up K-kun” Kaito flushed deeply upon hearing his old nickname. He pushed his glasses up and itched the side of his jaw. “Ah~ you really do it to me you know. I am happy to see your arm is doing better. Your believers are growing more even today right?” Shiro tilted his head. He pulled his bloodied sleeve up, showing off his trust value. “It has mostly plateaued, but I am feeling proud. One million four hundred and fifty one thousand and seven.” he showed off his value to Kaito. Kaito tensed up. He typed on his phone. “That is an insane number… I am surprised that no one has signed you on yet.” Shiro shrugged. “I have rejected quite a few hero management companies. I was kinda hoping that you…” he shook his head. “But I understand if you don’t want to sign me on after what happened today.” Kaito shook his head. “If you wanted to be signed on by the KSato management company, you could’ve just asked. Of course I would love to have you. I can’t have any other company take you from me.” Shiro’s eyes seemed to gain some life back into them. He nodded, chuckling, “Then I would be honored to sign on with you. What do you think I should do about today?” Kaito shrugged. He carefully helped Shiro strip off his bloodied clothes. “We pretend nothing happened. If something comes from this, then I will deal with it.” he looked into Shiro’s eyes. “I missed you Shiro.” he spoke softly. He ran his fingers across the scars on Shiro’s torso. “You have no idea how much I missed you.” Shiro looked into Kaito’s eyes. He smiled. “I missed my best buddy as well. ” Kaito cringed at being called Shiro’s best buddy. He nodded. “Of course, I know. Since I am signing you on. Why don’t I throw a party tonight?” Shiro thought back to his last Sato party. He was reluctant. Kaito placed his hand out. “It has been years since I have been to a party. You will be the guest of honor. Chronos, the hero of time.” Shiro looked at Kaito’s hand. He stood up. “I will go get cleaned up then. Kaito, would you want to move back here?” he asked. Kaito shrugged. “I would like to, but I now have to be careful. I used my ability to come here in secret. I don’t want the news or anyone to catch wind of the location of this place.” Shiro paused. He looked around. “Oh, I see. That makes sense. This is our secret hideout after all. I will be right down. Oh by the way, glasses really suit you. Makes you look like a stud” he headed up the stairs.
Kaito’s eyes widened at Shiro’s words. He gripped tightly onto his shirt, feeling his heart pounding. He felt as if it would beat out of his shirt. He then thought about how Shiro was taking a shower. He took a deep breath trying to calm down and walked over to the window, leaning on it. He looked at his reflection in the window and undid his tie, unbuttoning his collar. “Damn it, Shiro. You’re doing it to me again.” He took his glasses off and wiped the fog from the lenses. “All it took was the sound of your voice and I am lost in your world again. Jeez, if only you knew what you do to me.” He spoke under a whisper, placing his hand on his heart. Kaito thought about his love life over the year. He had ended up dating the ceo of Prime Heroics agency, but after a few months he realized that dating someone that he had no taste for, was never going to work out. Kaito had become known as a desired bachelor in the city, but he knew that he would only want to be with one person, and that was Shiro.
~
“Shiro, it is going to be okay.” Kaito walked into the bathroom in his estate. He could tell that Shiro was having a hard time hyping himself to join the party. Shiro looked back at Kaito. His eyes were shaking. He turned his head to look into Kaito’s eyes. “I am sorry. I just am having flashbacks to the last party. I don’t want to feel that way.” Kaito nodded. “You are the guest of honor. Not a single person is going to call you that other name. You are a hero, I bet they don’t even know who that other guy is.” Shiro took a moment before nodding. He sighed. “You’re right. You know K-kun… I really love your long hair.” Kaito nodded. He stood next to Shiro, grabbing some gel off of the shelf. “I grew it out for you.” Shiro paused. He nudged Kaito’s side. Kaito smiled. Reminiscing. He pulled his hair out from under his suit collar. “I remember when we were young that you commented on how you liked Vortex’s hair. You mentioned how longer hair looked awesome. I started growing it out then. I thought that maybe if I grew my hair out, then you would like me more.” Shiro watched Kaito twist his long hair around his finger. “I noticed that you still have that red ribbon I gave you.” Kaito nodded. “Of course I do, it is my treasure. You gave it to me.” he looked at the time. “It is time to party.” Shiro nodded. He adjusted his outfit. “Is showing up to this party in my hero uniform the best idea?” Kaito nodded. “Of course it is. Tonight is all about Chronos.” he looked into Shiro’s eyes. “I will be by your side. There will be nothing to worry about.” Shiro nodded. “Okay, let’s have some fun then.”
(36 Ac)
Kaito walked alongside Shiro. The last six years had been a blur. Everything had gone so fast. From Chronos becoming one of the most beloved heroes in all of their country to the rise of the Sato company becoming the number one hero management company in all of Japan. Kaito felt his and Shiro’s rise to fame could not have been any better.
All of it seemed too good to be true. The recent news confirmed this.
Kaito stepped into his office. He glanced at his trust value, which Kaito was now becoming afraid of. It was rising rapidly. Kaito had no idea how it got out, but somehow, someone released onto FOMO a video from when Kaito was younger, removing his helmet as Darkmeister. He wondered why in the universe that a video this old would be shown more than ten years later. Shiro watched as Kaito’s trust value was skyrocketing. He sat on the edge of Kaito’s desk. “Have you figured out who released that video? We were extra careful…” he spoke low, looking at Kaito’s wrist. Kaito held his arm; he felt the energy from his trust value rising, flooding in. It was making him feel sick; it was almost suffocating. He now understood what Shiro was talking about years ago. He cringed. “The media is requesting a press conference. They want answers. I don’t know what to do. This user, with my old villain name as their username, is posting this. It is defamation of character.” Shiro nodded. He took his phone out. “Darkmeister is Kaito Sato. The return of Darkmeister has the city torn…Darkmeister was spotted robbing another bank.” Shiro read a few of the news articles. “It seems this person took your villain name and is trying to frame you.”
Kaito ran his finger around the edge of his glass. He recoiled, seeing the dark particles flake from his finger. “Yeah, but if they wanted to take my persona. What was the point in them revealing who Darkmeister was in the first place. What is the point? I can’t figure it out. Do you think that, that new hero has something to do with this?” Shiro looked out of the window. “You mean Vinder? That plant controlling hero?” Kaito took a sip of his drink “I did kind of tell them that I was not interested in signing another hero at the time. Your merchandising and appearances have been my core focus. You are such an important hero. The poster hero for the KSato hero management company.” Shiro crossed his arms. “I am also the reason that you have no time to work on your own life. Are you even planning to ever find someone K-kun?” Kaito flushed. He looked to the side. “Ah~ uh, yeah. I was planning on asking someone out soon. I just worry about what they would say. I don’t even know if they feel the same way. Although you are one to talk. You have never dated a single soul. Have you even kissed anyone before?”
Shiro tensed up. He shrugged. “I am busy being a hero. I know someday I am going to find someone to be with. I just need someone who will love me, and not mind me being a hero. Coming home late” Kaito watched as his trust value climbed. “Well, I don’t mind that you come home late.” he grumbled. Shiro chuckled. “Well, yeah, but you are used to it. Someone who loves me would have to be as chill as you.” He stretched and typed on his phone. “I am going to meet up with Vinder. I need to figure out what happened. I will see you later K-kun.” Kaito looked over. “Shiro, that might be dangerous… do you want me to come with you?” Shiro shrugged. “If you want to, but you are kind of a huge deal to just be walking around with me.” Kaito stood up. He walked over to Shiro, stepping into his shadow. “I will just hide here then.” I don’t want anything to happen to you.” Shiro nodded. He looked at Vinder’s reply. “Warehouse twelve on the port.”
~
“Vinder, the plant hero. It is a pleasure to meet you. Chronos, hero of time.” An androgynous looking hero stepped forward. They had a hero suit with vines wrapped around the legs and arms. Their body suit was tight to say the least. Shiro noted how dark the warehouse was. He sensed as Kaito disappeared into another shadow to watch. “It is nice to meet you as well.” he bowed. “I apologize that we were not able to meet earlier. I have been busy lately. I do have to ask, why are we meeting in such a strange place?” he asked
Vinder shrugged. They created a chair out of some vines. “Well, I knew that you were going to ask about Darkmeister, my arch nemesis. Or am I mistaken. Please, take a seat” Shiro didn’t move. “Your arch nemesis?” Vinder nodded. They leaned forward. “Yes, mine. It appears to me that you do not remember me…” They spoke low. “Do you remember Secret Club?” they spoke low “Shiro, Hyun.” Shiro tensed up. He thought back to high school. The only people that knew who Darkmeister was, were the members of that club.
Shiro let his arms drop to his side. “I, see now. What is this all about? What do you have to gain from releasing the video of K-kun?” he spoke low. “What is your game?” Vinder crossed their arms. “You and Kaito Sato forgot about me. I raised my trust value through FOMO and plotted all of this. You became a false hero, and it was all because of my camera skills. I bet you don’t even remember my real name. Ah~ that doesn’t matter though. Kaito Sato will get his just desserts soon enough. Then, I will take him down.” Shiro froze. He took a step forward. “What!? What are you planning? What are you going to do to K-kun!?” Vinder took their phone out scrolling. “I can’t believe Dark Meister is Kaito Sato, Darkmeister is truly evil, Darkmeister making us all think he is a good guy. What an evil genius.” Vinder read a few of the comments “The belief system is so much fun to mess with. Through this video. The people now know who Kaito Sato truly is. He is a villain. Darkmeister, a monster who came from the void who wants to bring the world into eternal darkness. I wonder how the system is changing him. I can’t wait to defeat him” Shiro froze. He glanced around, looking for where Kaito had disappeared to. He froze stopping time as a vine flew through the air towards his torso. How, how could he forget about the two other people who were in the secret club. High school was such a blur to him that the live action roleplay club had completely slipped his mind. He took his pocket watch out, gripping it close. He moved out of the way of the vine. Ten seconds passed as time resumed. The vine ripped through the air. Vinder smirked. “Ten seconds, thirty second cooldown right?” They moved their hand to send more vines after Shiro. Shiro tensed up. It’s a ten second cooldown now. He jumped back, avoiding the next vines. “Come on Vinder. Can’t we talk about this!? You don’t really want to-” he turned his head, looking at a shipping crate which had a giant hole in it. “You’re, trying to kill me…” Vinder jumped onto a few vines which interwoven like a web. “Say my real name, and maybe I will stop.” Katio jumped out of the shadows. “Stop! This is insane!” he placed his hand out, shaking. Darkness was circling around him “Please, Itsuki!” Vinder tensed up. They backed off a bit, glaring “Well, that was not the deal. So, Darkmeister. You are working with Chronos here?” Kaito placed his hand on his heart. “No, I am keeping him safe from your insane ass.” he narrowed his eyes. Shiro reached out for Kaito. He could tell that the beliefs were getting to him. “Kaito Sato is a good guy. He is the most amazing man I have ever met. He is nowhere near a villain. Please. Just stop this. Can’t we come to an agreement!?” Kaito pointed his finger at Vinder. He closed one eye. “I will let you join Ksato managem-”he felt his heart skip a few beats as he fell back shivering. Vinder flicked their finger up. “It hurts, doesn’t it. You rich guys think that everything can be solved with money. Don’t you see what I want?” Kaito turned to look at Shiro, noticing that he had disappeared. Shiro appeared behind Vinder. He grabbed his throat. “You, you won’t get it. I am going to save Kaito. Even if it means taking you out of the picture. I am going to save him. Because I believe in Kaito Sato, Darkmeister. I believe that he is a hero!” Kaito stood up. His eyes widened as he saw a drill of vines heading towards Shiro. He bolted over, throwing his hand out. “SHIRO!”
Kaito could only stand and watch. He could not move fast enough, there were no shadows to travel through. The drill of vines went straight through Shiro’s torso from the back to the front. He broke into tears, filling the entire warehouse in darkness. He grabbed Shiro, disappearing.
~
“Shiro! SHIRO!? Stay with me.” Kaito sat inside of his and Shiro’s secret base. Everywhere he was stepping was turning to darkness. He laid Shiro on his bed, ripping his shirt off. There was no way… The vines had made several wounds. Most of them looked non lethal, but there were two that made Kaito’s heart drop. No wonder Shiro couldn’t speak. Kaito grabbed Shiro’s hand. “You, you will be okay. I, I can’t lose you.” he spoke low. “I, Shiro. Please don’t die. I know! If I believe that you will live… you will right?” he squeezed Shiro’s hand, shaking. Tears streamed down his cheeks. He tried to smile. Shiro weakly looked into Kaito’s eyes. He smiled, raising his hand up to Kaito’s cheek, caressing it. He was relieved that Kaito was safe. Kaito felt a knot in his throat. He leaned down, kissing Shiro softly. “Maybe, love can save you?” Shiro’s eyes sparkled from the kiss. He finally knew, who it was, Kaito was waiting for. He tried to laugh from the realization, but failed. Kaito thought about running to get the med kit, but after seeing the holes bored through Shiro. He knew that it wouldn’t help. All he could do is just be with him. He thought about Ah Sheng. The hero who could heal anything and everything. He wished that he had that ability. He wished that believing that Shiro would be fine would be all it took. He looked into Shiro’s eyes. “Shiro, I know this is going to be redundant, but I love you. I love you so much. Ever since we were in highschool, maybe even a bit before that. You are my light. No, You are my Zero. I worship you. So please, don’t leave me.” Shiro looked into Kaito’s eyes. His arm dropped as the light faded from his eyes. Kaito froze completely as he caught Shiro’s hand. His eyes widened as he saw Shiro’s light go out.
(36 Ac P2:)
(This story is about to get insanely dark and messed up. Beware or skip to the next chapter. )
“New Break: The CEO of KSato Hero Management has disappeared. Police have been called out to investigate. Hero Vinder claims Kaito Sato has dropped his good guy persona and returned to being Darkmeister. Vinder has reassured us that when Darkmeister attacks, they will defeat him for good.
On other news. Where has Chronos gone? The beloved hero of time has not been seen for a few weeks now. His social media has been updated regularly, so we all assume he is just taking a break.”
Kaito threw a remote through the television. He placed his hand over his eyes. This, wasn’t fair. Life wasn’t fair. He ended up burying Shiro below the cliff near their secret base, then a landslide happened which buried Shiro more than what Kaito did. He hated how the area was unsafe now. He couldn’t even go to visit Shiro now. At least he had his memories to comfort him, and… Kaito pulled out the silver pocket watch. He ran his fingers over the smooth silver cover. He held the pocket watch close to his heart, trembling. He opened Shiro’s laptop, entering his FOMO account. He scrolled through the comments of the last update he had posted.
“Taking a break. After hearing what happened to Kaito Sato. I need it.”
Kaito narrowed his eyes, focusing on the comments.
“Kaito Sato needs to be deleted.”
“Chronos, We will always be here for you. Don’t let that villain get you down.”
“Hopefully Vinder takes care of Mister Sato for you. Are you planning to split from the KSato hero management company?”
“We miss you already.”
“I heard Kaito Sato killed himself”
Kaito held his arms. He didn’t know how to respond to most of them, but he did his best. Shiro had to live. He was loved by the people. Nobody had suspected that Kaito had taken over Shiro’s FOMO account. He went to reply to some comments.
This had been Kaito’s routine for the last few weeks. It started a few days after Shiro died. Kaito was going through Shiro’s items at their secret base and located the password for Shiro’s Fomo account. What started out as just a trip down memory lane turned into Kaito responding as if Shiro was alive on a couple of videos. This soothed him.
“If only Kaito Sato died that day, and Shiro lived.” Kaito looked down, closing the laptop for the day. He glanced over at Shiro’s drawing pad. Shiro had worked on a new look for Chronos lately. He had light brown hair, which was tipped with purples and blue. It was dreamy. Kaito found the custom wig inside of the closet, but he left it alone. Kaito wondered how long he could keep up this facade that Shiro was alive. As long as he possibly could. He looked over at Shiro’s bed, walking over to it. He laid down, looking at a photo he had hung up on the wall. “I am tired Shiro… I am just going to take a nap.” he held his hand out towards the picture. “I love you. I… wish that you could just be here. I believe you should’ve lived. Because, I sure died that day.”
Kaito opened his eyes a few hours later. He stood up, placing his feet on the rug. He stretched, looking at his trust value. He tensed up. What, what was going on? He grabbed his wrist, shaking it. This must be some sort of glitch. There was no way. Two million one hundred and twenty six thousand, three hundred and six? HOW? Wait no. This was Shiro’s trust value. Kaito felt panic filling his heart. He shook his wrist. His heart was pounding fast. What was going on? He stood up, rushing to the bathroom. He checked himself out in the mirror. It still looked like him, but something was starting to feel off. He looked deep into his eyes in the mirror. He jumped back, seeing Shiro’s face glitch in for a split moment. He looked at his hands. There were still ten fingers. What the heck was going on? Kaito backed out of the room. He opened his laptop, looking at FOMO.
Kaito doomscrolled for about four hours. He commented on a few videos before an alarm went off. He closed the laptop and walked over to the alarm clock. “When did I set you…” he spoke low. He took the pocket watch out. He looked at his reflection in the silver lid. Shiro? Not this again. He threw the pocket watch onto the bed shaking. He backed into the wall, grabbing the edge of the doorway. He dug his fingers into the door frame. Why was he seeing Shiro? Was he going insane? What was with this trust value? He took a deep breath, raising his wrist back up to look at his value. It was still. Shiro’s
Kaito slid his back down the doorframe. He covered his eyes. This must have been some joke. There was no way that he had Shiro’s trust value. He clenched his teeth tightly, gritting them. Sure, it would have been nice if he would have died that day. That Shiro would have lived, but it wasn’t like it happened that way. Kaito thought back to the day.
The memories played out like a film in his head. Shiro was stabbed and killed by that, wait why was he seeing Kaito being stabbed? He snapped open his eyes, the room was spinning. Why was he seeing it as if Kaito died?…
Kaito died? Kaito couldn’t have died. He was Kaito. He was Kaito? Was he Kaito? Who was buried at the bottom of that cliff? Why couldn’t he remember? What was happening to him? Was he Shiro? Was he Kaito? Who was he? He remembered high school.
Kaito had his right ear pierced, while Shiro had his left. That could confirm who he was. He lowered his head, closing his eyes. He reached his hand up towards his right ear. He felt around his ear for any of Kaito’s earrings. He grabbed his ear. Where, were they? He reached for his other ear, freezing. There it was, a single silver ball. That meant he was Shiro? That was that, correct? It had to be. There was another way he could figure out who he was. He slowly opened his eyes, holding his hand up to his face. Six fingers. That confirmed it, he was Shiro.
(36 Ac: X City)
Shiro stood up off the floor. He wondered why he had ended up on the floor in the first place. He headed over to the closet, opening the door. He was a hero, sure, but the heartbreak he was feeling from losing Kaito was boiling in his heart. He grabbed his wig. He couldn’t kill another hero as Chronos, but he was going to avenge his best friend. He grabbed his new hero suit and secured the wig. Preparing for the inevitable battle. He walked over, grabbed the pocket watch, and opened it, looking at the inscription. The longer hair on the wig fell in front of his face as he looked down. He looked over on his nightstand, grabbing the red ribbon. “I hope you don’t mind me using this Kaito…” he spoke low, tying his hair back.
~
Shiro waited in Kaito’s car to hear any police chatter. He finally got a hit and headed over.
“They have hostages! Don’t provoke them!” a few civilians cried out. Vinder was looking out towards a bank. Their eyes were full of determination. Shiro walked over, glaring. “Vinder…” he growled low. Vinder turned around. “Who are you? Are you a hero?” they asked.
Shiro put his hand out to stop time as a dark shadow man appeared. The fake Darkmeister grabbed Shiro, placing a knife to his throat. “Vinder! Either you let my squad go, or I am going to kill all the hostages and this guy here.” Shiro grabbed onto the man’s arm. He clenched his teeth. Why did his ability, over time, not work? He side-eyed the man. “Let, me… go” he cringed. Vinder put their hand out. A woman approached wearing a hero outfit. The crowd cheered. “It’s Tokyo’s Ability Enhancing hero EnChange!” The female hero flipped her hair back. She waved her hand, creating a bubble around the entire area. “There! Vinder, now you can save everyone!” Vinder’s ability glowed with the blue from EnChange. They smirked, seeing a new hero join the fight. They had no clue who Shiro was. Shiro felt his heart sink. He wanted to destroy Vinder so badly. He felt the effects of Enchange’s ability. He placed his hand back, shaking if he could stop time, even for a moment. He could escape this fake Darkmeister and kill Vinder.
Vinder tensed up as they watched the scene. The moment that Shiro placed his hand on the fake Darkmeister. The Fake Darkmeister was consumed by what appeared to be pure darkness. Shiro disappeared into the dark vortex, and the fake Darkmeister lost his upper half. Leaving nothing but legs, which fell over a moment later.
~
“What is it?” A man spoke low. Shiro could barely make out a voice. He heard another voice. A woman who was getting closer. “Can’t you see? God sent us an answer to our prayers! This is an angel who was sent here to heal us all!” Shiro barely opened his eyes as he passed out from the shock in his body. That didn’t go as planned.
~
Shiro opened his eyes. He sat up, taking a wet rag off his forehead. He shivered, looking around. He was in a room that had one stained glass window. He was lying on a couch. “Pastor Cheng! He is awake!” A man went running out of the room. An older man walked in. He looked Shiro from head to toe before speaking. “Hello, can you understand me? What may we call you, divine one?” Shiro blinked a few times. Divine one? He placed his hand on his heart. “My name is Hyun Shiro.” The pastor nodded. “I see, so you were given a mortal name?” he asked. Shiro tensed up. “Mortal? I am mortal.” The pastor shook his head.
“You don’t need to hide who and what you are. We were all in service, praying for a miracle, and then you suddenly appeared right in front of everyone. We know you are an angel sent from the heavens to heal us all. To help us.” Shiro’s eyes widened. “What? No, I a-” The pastor grabbed Shiro’s hand. “You even have six fingers on each hand, how angelic. Please, angel. Tell us who you are.” Shiro looked to the side. What a situation he had found himself in. He quickly gripped his pocket watch. Realizing that these people would not listen to anything but what they believed Shiro to be. He sighed, giving in. “I uh, I am known as the angel of time…” he spoke low. One of the elders spoke up. “That is amazing…Pastor, were we not talking about how time can heal all wounds?” The pastor nodded. “We were. The heavens sent us the angel of time…” Shiro’s eyes widened. He went to pull his wig off, but upon further examination. He processed how his wig had become his hair. “Exactly how many people did I fall in front of?” he asked. The pastor put his hands together. “We were livestreaming our service on fomo. So I have no idea. About a couple hundred thousand. Does this please you, Shiro?”
Shiro looked into the pastor’s eyes. He stood up, wobbling. “Where is the bathroom?” The pastor gestured. “Over there. You may use my private restroom,” he bowed his head. Shiro darted to the bathroom. He pulled on his hair to confirm that, yes, this was his hair. He looked into his eyes. An angel? Him? No, no way could happen in this world. It wasn’t like a human like him could turn into an angel, but Zero turned into a god. Oh no. Shiro pulled his shirt off. He looked at his body. All of his scars were gone… Everything was healed. He gulped, reluctantly turning around. Did he have wings? No? Shiro took a sigh of relief. He ran his hand over his shoulder blade, making sure. They did feel very sore, though. Maybe it was from how he fell? It looked like the belief system hadn’t changed him that far yet. He closed his eyes.
What happened back there? He was trying to use his ability and then. He was guessing that the Fake Darkmeister’s ability went berserk and ended up sending him to this church. Wherever this church was, he put his shirt back on before walking out of the bathroom. He headed to the window, his eyes widening at the sight of the floating tower in the distance. There, there was no way. X City!? Shiro had only read about this place in Hero Magazine. He looked around before rushing outside. His eyes lit up, seeing the lights of the city—the hero advertisements. X City was where the hero commission was. Where the hero tower was, and… It was where hero X resided.
Shiro thought back. Watching the eighteenth tournament with Kaito was the most extraordinary yet most shocking tournament. Seeing the random, stylish, white-haired man in a suit strut out with an X already pinned on his tie. Shiro reminisced.
~
“The, Audacity of that man…” Kaito spoke low, watching the television. “Who does he think he is? Wearing an X on his tie like that. Ruining the fight I have been waiting for between Bowa and Queen…”
“Wow, now that is what I call style, though. Look at him. That white suit, that confident aura. He is so… COOL,” Shiro put his hands together as he leaned forward on the couch.
The feed glitched, and the fight was over. Queen had lost, but nobody knew how, ever since that moment. X became Hero X. It had been a few months since the tournament, and the general public had grown to love X, despite not knowing where he came from or who he really was.
“Well, it is official. Hero X is my favorite X of all time.” Shiro stood up, spinning on the ball of his foot. “Maybe someday he will come to Japan for a visit, and I could team up with him!”
“I feel you would have to go to X City even to catch a glimpse of X…” Kaito responded. “I can’t believe some nobody, who nobody knows, defeated the queen. How is that even possible in this world? How can somebody gain such immense power, with not a soul knowing who he is?”
Shiro shrugged. “I don’t know, but he is amazing. If he ever comes to Japan. You will get me a meeting with him, right?” Kaito grumbled. “Don’t tell me you have fallen for Hero X…” Shiro shrugged. “Maybe it is a bit of a crush, but come on. How can you look at him and not feel your heart pound? K-kun, have you ever been in love? Do you even have the capability of love?” he teased. He walked over to Kaito, leaning closer to him. He touched his forehead. “I have never seen you show interest in anyone before. Sure, there was that one lady, but she told me that being with you was like dating an emotionless brick wall.” Kaito flushed, seeing how close Shiro was to his face. He backed into the couch. “Shiro, of course, I feel love. It is not like I am a robot. I just. I am waiting for someone.” Shiro’s eyes lit up more. He leaned closer. “Ah! Really? Who is it? Is it someone I know?” he asked. Kaito’s heart beat faster. He nodded before pushing Shiro back. Shiro always smelled so sweet. “I, I’ll confess to them someday. I just, I don’t want to hold them back, you know?” Shiro raised an eyebrow. He ran his fingers through his hair, slicking it back. “I see. Hey dude, do you think that I should style my hair back like Hero X? He is so cool…”
~
Shiro stood outside thinking about the past. He snapped out of it, looking around the city. He was really in X City… the city where Heroes thrive. “Angel of time! Where are you going?” Pastor Cheng rushed over. He stopped behind Shiro. “Oh, this is probably your first time on earth, right? Welcome to X City. Come Angel. Shiro shook his head. He turned around. “Please don’t call me angel. My name is Shiro. I prefer to be called Shiro. Pastor Cheng went silent for a moment before nodding in approval. “Then you will be called Shiro. It is a pleasure to meet our Silver Doctor,” Shiro turned around. His eyes glittered. “Silver Doctor?” Pastor Cheng nodded. “Shiro means silver, right? And you were sent here by the heavens to heal us, so you are our Silver Doctor.” Shiro snickered. “Shiro actually means white, but close enough.” He turned his head to look at a building. His eyes glittered as he saw a pink LED sign of X walking across multiple buildings. Shiro locked his eyes onto the magical sight. He had a feeling that was actually X. He smiled purely. Maybe fate brought him here for a reason.