In my past life…
"You better go make money, Shinji!" my mother shouted.
"But how will I? I'm only 5 years old!" I replied, only for her to slap me across the face. I clutched my cheek in pain.
"Don't talk back to me!!" she snapped. This woman—gambler, cheat, and abuser—was my tormentor.
---
One day, while scavenging for scraps to eat, an idea struck me. I decided to visit a public library with some of my equally impoverished friends.
"Hey, Shinji, do you have money for the entrance fees?" one friend asked.
"Umm... no," I admitted, disheartened by my constant lack of money.
"Then, we'll sneak in," another suggested.
"What?" I was surprised but eventually agreed.
We snuck into the library and started flipping through books filled with school-level and general knowledge.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" A pat on my shoulder froze me in place.
"Umm... I'm sorry. We had no money," I apologized immediately, worried we'd be kicked out.
"Hahaha. This is a local library, so it's free," the librarian said with a warm smile. He was a kind man, never judging anyone by their appearance.
"I see..."
"Read as you wish," he said, patting my head.
Suddenly, the door to the library slammed open.
"WHERE IS SHINJI!!?" It was my parents. My heart sank—they were here to drag me back to my personal hell.
"You better go hide, boy," the librarian said, urging me to escape.
I ran, jumping out of a window and sprinting without looking back. My legs burned, but I didn't stop, not even when I fell. I just got up and kept running until I reached a park.
There, I saw a little girl crying—probably lost.
I slowed down and approached her.
"Are you lost, little girl?" I asked. She nodded in response.
"I see," I said, patting her head gently to calm her down. "What's your name?"
"T—" Before she could finish, a woman stormed over and yanked her away.
"You're talking to that filthy beggar, Tasuya?" the woman scolded her, glaring at me with disgust.
I stayed silent, watching them leave. The girl—Tasuya—looked back at me briefly before disappearing into the distance.
Then my parents arrived, dragging me by the ear back home.
"What do you think you're doing?!" they yelled, unleashing their fury upon me.
They beat me with sticks, belts, and anything else they could find. My body grew numb to pain, but my heart remained shattered.
I cried myself to sleep every night, imagining a better life.
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are..." I sang to myself, envisioning a world where I was free.
"Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky..." I whispered, my lifeless eyes staring into the darkness.
---
Fifteen years of torment passed. I had lost all patience.
One night, I sat in the living room, a crowbar beside me.
Creak! The door opened, and they walked in with a new cane—another tool of my suffering.
As they stepped closer, I gripped the crowbar and swung it, driving its tip into my father's eye.
"Ahhh!!! What—are you?..." he screamed before collapsing, blood gushing from his wound.
My mother stood frozen in horror.
"HELP!! MY SON HAS GONE INSANE!!" she screamed, turning to flee.
But I swung again, this time embedding the crowbar into her skull. Blood pooled around her as her lifeless body hit the ground.
The room was drenched in crimson, and I stood amidst the carnage, laughing hysterically.
"Ha... Haaaaa-ha-ha-ha-haa..." I laughed, tears streaming down my face. Finally, I was free.
I cleaned the scene meticulously, hiding their bodies in garbage bins that were taken away by the trash collectors. Then, I left the house and never returned.
---
A year later, the authorities found traces of my DNA, and I became a fugitive.
While on the run in Yokohama, I encountered a mysterious woman beneath a bridge. Her black hair flowed elegantly, and her eyes held a sharp, almost predatory glint.
"What do you want?" I asked cautiously.
"My~ a little handsome boy," she replied in a sultry voice. "Are you... Mortis?"
"That's not my name. And that's the name of the god of death in mythology. Why would I be him?"
"That's some sharp thinking, young boy," she said. "But I can assure you, you are Mortis."
Her words unsettled me.
"No, I'm genuine," she said as though reading my thoughts.
"Are you some kind of witch?" I asked, startled by her insight.
"My~ it's rude to call a lady 'witch,' little boy," she teased.
"...My name is Shinji," I admitted reluctantly.
"I know," she said, her tone calm and matter-of-fact.
She peeled away her skin, revealing her true form—a childlike being with white hair and glowing blue eyes, radiating an eerie, otherworldly aura.
"Are you some kind of kid?" I asked, trying to mask my unease.
"My~ it's rude to bluntly mention a lady's age," she replied with a smirk.
Before I could respond, she vanished, leaving behind a slip of paper that floated gently to the ground.
I picked it up and read:
"Come, and I will give you something.
—Sirius."
"Like hell I would," I muttered, crumpling the paper and tossing it into the trash.
---
Years later, I turned myself in to the Tokyo police.
"I came here to turn myself in," I said, removing my mask.
"You're... Shinji Tasuki?!" the receptionist screamed, alerting the entire department.
"I'm turning myself in, dammit!" I groaned as they restrained me.
I was sentenced to 20 years in prison with hard labor. Surprisingly, prison life wasn't too bad—I spent my free time playing chess, defeating everyone I faced.
After serving my time, I was recruited by the special forces as a hacker, thanks to the skills I'd learned in prison.
Though my life had improved, I couldn't forget the blood on my hands. And in time, I learned that the people I'd called parents weren't even my biological family. My real mother had abandoned me long ago.
---
Now, I live a quiet life as a hacker for the military.
"Aw man, this hacker job is boring!" I complained one day.
"Already whining?" a sergeant asked.
"Yeah, can I read some manga now?"
"Finish your work first."
"Fine, fine," I chuckled, settling back into my routine.
And so, my days continued…
---
This is the story of my past life. What follows is the present.