1 Hashimoto Ryo - Prologue I

Hashimoto Ryo was a young man who, through many misunderstandings and unlucky events, became the exception to a rule of life. In spite of being handsome, Ryo lived a shit of a life.

When he was fifteen, his first girlfriend cheated on him. To make it worse, when it was revealed to the public he was somehow painted as a terrible boyfriend who only played with her. The guy who had spread the rumour was none other than the guy his girlfriend had cheated with: his best friend. After that Ryo had a hard time trusting people again, but he managed to get over it after a few months. He understood people like that weren't worth his time. That was the first time he met betrayal, disappointment and sadness.

Somewhen through that period of time, Ryo also lost his first part-time job. A senior worker had stolen a month's worth of salaries and incriminated Ryo, all to look good when he snitched on him. When that happened, the only people who defended him and believed he didn't do it were his parents and his little sister. Thanks to their help, he got over it and managed to find another job as a mechanic. He always liked vehicles so he was good at repairing them. That was the first time he met cruelty, obsession and anger.

There was a short period were Ryo actually saw light in the world, but it vanished as soon as it came. His parents and his sister, while driving to pick up Ryo from school for his birthday, suffered and accident because of a sleeping truck driver. When he heard of the news, Ryo's life abandoned his eyes. To make things worse, the bastard that left his sister in a coma and killed his parents got away scot free after paying a good sum of money to him. That was the first time he met despair and hatred.

Since his sister needed a lot of medical treatment, all the money he received was spent on her. He dropped out of school and worked full time as a mechanic. A few months later, there was a fire in the hospital his sister was interned in. The firemen didn't make it on time to save the wing where his sister's room was. It was later revealed that the fire was started by a nurse because she was jealous of a patient's beauty. That was when Ryo lost hope.

One would think that such a series of events would make a person go crazy, and they would be right. But Ryo managed to hold onto his sanity. His eyes were dead, but he still lived by the code his parents raised him under. Act for good when possible, stay away from bad choices and always keep your head held high. Ryo was a person who would always help those he could help. After all, even if he felt like dying, doing so would be a disrespect for his parents. Not much later, Ryo was discovered by an agent from a modelling agency.

That was how he began working as a model. He did it for a year, until he turned seventeen. He was walking down the street when he met a few of his fans. Ryo always greet them when he wasn't on a hurry, since he knew they weren't bad people, just fanatical. Unexpectedly, a robber tried to take one of them as a hostage, which prompted Ryo into action. Grabbing the girls wrist, he pulled her behind him, standing in front of the robber. The man pointed a knife towards them, but that didn't scare Ryo, after all, he was so uninterested in life itself that no weapons could scare him anymore.

The reality was that, as much as Ryo acted and lived like a normal person, he was just a shell of his former self. He had kept going by force of will and habit, but the life never returned to his eyes.

"Motherfucker! Give me everything you have!" the robber screamed at Ryo, who didn't flinch at all. He knew that the one who was scared was the robber, whose hand was constantly shaking while threatening them with the cold weapon. Calmly, Ryo spoke to the thief "Why don't you calm down, pal. You leave and I don't call the Police, nothing happened"

The robber seemed to hesitate for a moment, but he lifted his knife again and began threatening them again. In between all the things he said, Ryo caught one important piece of information.

"My daughter... I need the money for her! So give me everything!" the robber said desperately. Ryo understood perfectly how the man felt. He also would've done anything for his little sister when she was in the hospital.

"I get how you feel pal" Ryo said with a little bit of real feeling on his face. The robber noticed it and soon lost all will to steal from them. He could see it in Ryo's eyes. The only emotion that could find its way to his face. Grief.

After the thief turned around and left, Ryo's fans almost began crying and quickly thanked him, but Ryo, who wasn't in the mood for people, said he was in a hurry and left them talking.

Later that same day, he was cooking his dinner while watching an episode of an anime. Anime, manga and literature in general was something Ryo used to escape for a while from his pain. He enjoyed seeing people thrive after rising from the ashes and how they grew in maturity and power. If anything, he wished he could be like them and overcome his emotional burden.

When he was finally over with his dinner, the fire alarm of the building he lived in went off. Ryo, before leaving the building, ran off to save the pictures of his family he had and his father's rosary. By the time he managed to take those things, the entire lower floors of the building were already completely on set on fire. Ryo, who lived in the top floor, had no way of escaping.

"So... this is it huh? The firemen didn't make in time again..." as Ryo said his last words, the building collaped on itself, burying him under a pile of debris.

Ryo Hashimoto's dead body was found mangled under the debris of the building. His once pale skin, which reminded many of the snow in the artic, was now darker than mahogany because of the ash. His trained body, which had reached the standard of professional athletes, was nowhere to be found. And his handsome face, which once held sharp lines, a strong jaw and a small yet sharp nose, was deformed and left unrecognizable. The only two things that remained intact in Ryo's body where, surprisingly, his full lips and his sharp, blue eyes. The former were curled up in a small smile and the latter -now truly dead- seemed to be peaceful.

After a life of pain, Ryo Hashimoto had passed away and left Earth.

*

Somewhere in the darkness of space, a bodyless soul that shined in bright light blue color, opened its eyes. When it realized it was in an unknown place filled with infinite darkness, illuminated only by also infinite lights, its voice was heard.

It was Ryo Hashimoto's voice.

"Where the fuck am I now?"

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How did you like Ryo's introductory chapter? It is relatively short, but I think it speaks volumes in spite of its length!