Two Meaningless Deaths

Sasuke was an ordinary 13-year-old Brazilian named after a famous fictional ninja that his father and mother were fans of. He was not just the average Brazilian, but a half-Japanese as well. His mother was Japanese and his father was an anime otaku shonen. Why so many details? It was because the term Otaku in Japan refers to people with fanaticism generally focused on manga, anime and other genres. For example, a stamp otaku in Brazil would be called a stamp collector. Another iconic example of an otaku who was not an anime addict can be found ironically in an anime. Nagumo Hajime, who was a fan of anything that refers to engineering.

Anyway, Sasuke was a half Japanese son of a Brazilian otaku who adored Sasuke Uchiha, from the Uchiha clan. But that was just one aspect of his life.

Sasuke was a genius. Not a specific genius. Like those geniuses in physics, or chemistry, or biology. He was a psychological genius. He understood the human mind to frightening levels. He could tell a person's motivation through unconscious actions that even said person didn't understand. He analyzed patterns of behavior and took notes. He read about great personalities and only from broken and edited information from history books did he draw a psychological profile. If such people were alive he could be considered monstrous, mainly because he never made mistakes. And he didn't go wrong in analyzing the dead from the past either.

But that didn't stop our hero from being amazing in other areas too. None of that. From an early age he realized that the world did not revolve around understanding people. Most of them did not like to be analyzed and treated as objects of study. He knew that his life would only be more difficult if he followed that path.

That's why he trained himself. Body and mind. Elevating your entire being to levels eerily close to perfection. His body was worked and well distributed after all the localized training he performed. His cognitive ability was simply amazing. In a world like his it was almost unimaginable that such a mind existed.

Of course Sasuke also had hobbies. He read a lot. Mainly case studies, but also a lot of literature. Books and more books of any kind. His father was worried because he never saw his son reading manga and watching anime, but Sasuke didn't bother to allay his father's worries. After all, he had analyzed the man and discovered enough insecurities and mental deficiencies that respect had eroded alarmingly over the years.

He also understood feelings and knew they weren't as banal as some try to claim. An example would be the fact that although his respect for his father was minimal, he still loved the man. Enough to jump in front of him and take a shot in his place.

Exactly how it was happening right now. He was thinking a lot about a lot of things. His body ached. His pierced chest... He knew the lung had been compromised. He would have a few minutes at most if he didn't get immediate help.

But that wouldn't be happening. The thugs were still in the bank and wouldn't let anyone in or out. His otaku father looked at him crying as he hugged. Sasuke could feel he was sorry. He wants to spend more time with his son. Spoiled more, taught more.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for repentance in this world. Now it was time to move on and maybe have more kids. Sasuke always wanted a sister. He was going to be the most loving kind of brother. Even if it was illogical.

"Don't blame yourself for this. It was my choice." The young man began to speak with difficulty. Still, there was purpose in his tone. "I never really felt connected to you. I would rather spend time with the mother." *Cough* Cough* "But she liked you. I don't understand why she likes it. I... still can't feel kinship with you. But... I love you, Dad. I didn't want to see you die so don't blame yourself. It's selfish now. You have to see me die and I... here saying it. No...I'm sorry...I...want to... *gasps*cough*cough* "Hurray...for me...and give me a cute sister..."

And so he died. A meaningless death. How many deaths would occur over many years in this world. After all, humans are idiots and kill themselves for the most idiotic reasons. Anyway, no one noticed the lady dressed in black looking at the corpse with morbid curiosity. Nor did anyone notice the beautiful little girl who had recorded Sasuke's final speech to this world.

If he hadn't died, he would have known that his father had more children after his death. Ironically none of these children were girls. Our hero didn't get his cute sister after all.

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Sasuke woke up in the darkness confused. He analyzed his situation and thought that maybe he hadn't died this must be one of those situations wherea person suffering from an NDE (near death experience) and waking up several years later at a time far from their own and had to adapt to the innovations of modernity? He ruled it out immediately.

If he was in a coma, his brain would have told him that. It was one of the skills he had after training himself for years. He was more machine than human since he was 9 years old and he didn't hate it. Of course, his parents were the only concession he made to connect with humanity. One last link.

He didn't want to be a machine, though. His reasons for isolating himself in his own mind weren't just for show. Everything happened when I was 4 years old. A maternal uncle came to visit him from Japan bringing a mamori (amulet) that had a supposed charm. Sasuke didn't believe in things like that even though he was a little boy with a runny nose. Your thought process was already good in the cradle. 4 years was 4 full years of passive cognitive development. Magical things didn't exist.

Or so he thought.

His uncle said that that amulet was made from a very precious paper that was produced 500 years earlier in Japan. They used minerals from a freshly fallen meteorite in the manufacture and so it had a crystallized appearance. It was very precious paper, in the man's words.

That's why he started using the amulet. Tied with a simple cord around the neck. And then, one day, the amulet disappeared. The only thing left was the string, as a reminder that it wasn't a hallucination. The boy was sad to lose the amulet and cried for a whole day. It was a gift and he had valued it as a precious commodity. It took a lot of comfort and affection from your okasan to improve your mood.

But what was his surprise when he slept that day and dreamed of the amulet. It was different from what he had touched before and its green glow basically turned into a green crystal that emitted green energetic pulses. The young man felt soft and comfortable every time he let himself be touched by the soft glow of green.

It didn't take him long to realize that the amulet had merged with him. His mind became stronger and more logical after that and the young man concluded that it was due to the amulet. He couldn't really investigate what the amulet was about. But he could feel himself getting stronger and stronger mentally.

But now he was dead and in this dark place the only company he had was the amulet that was still attached to him, still emitting pulses of green energy that warmed him and improved his mind.

He knew by now that it was his soul that was receiving such nourishment. After all, a mind would depend on a brain to function. But still, here he was, thinking like he was alive. What he had after training himself so much was only further enhanced by green energy.

"How peculiar. A divine artifact really clung to his soul." A voice was heard by Sasuke. He didn't expect there to be other creatures in this darkness. It didn't take long for the presence to manifest itself in the form of a woman, dressed in black, with greedy eyes aimed at him.

"Little soul, why did such an artifact choose you? I wonder what's special about you. Whatever, my luck. I never thought I'd find something so good in a low-level world."

"Who are you talking about?"

"I am Makeena, a traveller, or you can call me that." The woman smiled eerily. Sasuke didn't have good feelings.

"What you want?" He started to move away from the figure but didn't know how to move like a soul. Still, he couldn't run away from this woman.

"I want what's in your soul. Too bad for you. Since it will be dying so I can take possession of it."

That sent terror to the 13-year-old. The woman quickly reached out her hands, threading it through the soul body causing the boy absolute pain.

Sasuke felt pain being shot.

He felt pain in the hospital at birth and breathing air for the first time.

He felt pain when he broke his arm at age 7 in an attempt to improve his sense of balance.

He felt pain when he was hit by a ball right in the younger brother located between his legs.

But nothing compares to the pain he was feeling now, with that woman's hand inside him, like a damn centrifuge that ravaged his guts (If souls had entrails). Sasuke was dying. And he knew it was no ordinary death. His soul was dying. It would erase his existence, he didn't know how he knew that, but he did. That woman would destroy everything he was.

No. I don't want to die.

But I couldn't do much. The woman was very strong. What was a traveler? What the hell did she want from him? What did he do to deserve such things.

The woman, Makeena, on the other hand, was elated. She would take the divine artifact and grow stronger and stronger. She had devoured other souls before. Souls too strong to remain in their universes after thedeath. Souls with blessings from their respective worlds. She was a parasite. He didn't even care how many lives she erased and how many she would erase in the future. All she craved was power. Since she left her own universe, Makeena had started her campaign for strength and what better way than these people like her who were too much for their own worlds?

But she would understand that this time he took more than she could chew. For a simple reason. The divine artifact, as she called it, was no ordinary artifact. It couldn't even be considered divine.

It was an ethereal artifact.

An artifact even older than the ether that contained the universes. And they were alive and furious.

How dare a short woman try to harm the child she chose as her master? How dare she even consider taking the power he bequeathed to the chosen one?

Unforgiven!

"Arrrrgh" the woman let out a scream as she was impaled by the green light. Her hand still connected to the currently unconscious youth's soul body was being consumed by a blinding green glow. "What the hell, how is this artifact so strong?" she wondered before decisively slicing her arm, which glowed before becoming particles fusing with the artifact.

She looked at the remaining piece of his arm and raged. If she couldn't have that artifact... then no one could. Using her other hand, the woman began channeling exotic energy into her hands and aimed at the unconscious soul. But her action did not go unnoticed and she was attacked by the artifact again, this time with even more fury.

"No no why?" she asked as pieces of her body began to crumble and merge in the green light that bounced back to the artifact.

And so, Makeena died. A meaningless death. One of many that have already occurred and one of many that will still occur. After all, humans kill each other for silly reasons every day. At least this time, the death was caused by the dead person rather than by someone else. Greed is really an ugly thing and Sasuke would remember that in the future. After all, his artifact did not allow him to forget.

As for the unconscious Sasuke, he didn't realize that his existence was saved by what he considered an amulet. He also didn't notice his soul being held back by a green glow until it became a small glowing orb that began to run through the dark space towards the unknown. He didn't even notice that his soul-body, once teenage-looking, was now similar to a feat fed by the green orb, which protected him as a mother's womb does its tenants.