Another anomaly [1]

Chapter 4: Hiro

On a deserted island, also known as Midden, stood the largest junkyard in the world.

In the middle of it was a boy with bright blond hair that glowed in the sun.

He wore blue jeans and a faded white t-shirt covered in dirt and grime.

However, not a single speck of dust could be seen on his face.

The boy had lived in an abandoned, broken bus for as long as he could remember, with only crows as his family and friends scavenging around for food.

When he was younger, his crow parents provided him with food and water, but as he grew old enough to run on his own feet, he developed the habit of finding his own food.

He also discovered a pool connected to the sea where he would bathe.

His family still supported him, constantly worrying about their "useless son," who took a long time to grow up and couldn't even fly.

In his late childhood day to early teenage days, Hiro, a smart boy, compared himself to his baby siblings and noticed that he was significantly larger than them.

This made it impossible for his crow parents to have given birth to him.

As a result, Hiro concluded that his mom and dad weren't his real parents after all.

Rummaging through the trash, a crow landed on his right shoulder.

The crow held its beak closer to the boy's hand and placed a piece of meat in his palm with a proud expression, clearly wanting praise.

Hiro sniffed the meat and threw it away, causing the crow to protest, stomping its feet on his shoulder angrily.

The crow had spent a lot of effort looking for meat for his ungrateful human friend.

Another crow then perched on his other shoulder in time, offering a piece of slightly rotten bread and emitting a 'kaa' sound toward the other crow. 

Warning him to stop bringing rotten meat to their big human.

Hiro sat on the ground, chewing on the bread, ignoring the "Kraa" sounds beside his ears.

Munch! Munch! Munc-!

-Kaaaa!!

The loud noise of crows flapping their wings in the sky interrupted his munching on the bread as he looked up, and both 'righty' and 'lefty' flew away.

Hiro's face turned into a confused frown, knowing it wasn't the time for the airplane to arrive and throw garbage, which always scared his crow family.

He got up and ran toward his usual hiding spot. He had been taught to always hide, as bad people would one day come to take him away.

The sound of the crows in the sky ominously grew louder, and he knew they were trying to warn him.

He rushed into his hiding spot, crouching low under his makeshift bed, trying to make himself as small as possible, thinking he would be safe this time around as well, just like the countless times he was almost taken away.

-----

Ryan opened his eyes in the still darkness; he had a dream about the original body owner, Hiro.

"Hhaaa..." Ryan sighed. He had already accepted the fact he had transmigrated.

'I need to find a way to prevent my death.' Putting his finger on his lips and contemplated.

He had unexpectedly begun a second life and couldn't bear to die again, not even for a noble cause.

However, running away from the plot wasn't an option for the time being. 

He had been transmigrated into the body of the only one who could kill the villain protagonist and was now a powerless captive.

'I need to use my years of experience as a functioning social entity in the world, utilizing the people around me and the environment, as well as my knowledge of the future as a reader.'

He spoke almost self-deprecatingly in his mind.

After some time, he regained calm and sighed, 'What future knowledge and people surrounding me?'

From beginning to end, Hiro had been shunned and hated.

He was trying to save humanity, but mankind treated him as if he was the true villain. And unless he finds an opening, an escape, history will only repeat itself.

Not that he was going to give up just yet. After all, he wasn't Hiro.

Ryan thought about it.

The protagonist of this world was a man who loved toying with his prey.

He gave a quick death to those whom he deemed weak and a ruthless, torturous death to those whom he considered strong.

'Not to mention he's incomparably stronger than any other character.'

Remembering how he'd slowly play with his victims made Ryan shiver slightly. However, he was not of any concern at the moment, Ryan sifted his eyes slightly, even though he couldn't see anything, the person he needed to worry about was....

"You're finally awake."

The voice he had first heard the moment his consciousness slipped into this world spoke to him again, bringing him back from his thoughts.

It was none other then the man that made himself a guardian of his.

However, this time, he wasn't feeling as scared as before and slowly turned his head to look at him when the man's voice sounded beside his ears, "I'm over here."

He turned his head to the other side, and the man said with a benevolent smile as he came closer, patting him on the head, "I'm glad you're awake."

Ryan nodded but couldn't see his smile. He may have been fooled if he could, but he knew this man was not a kind person.

He was the man who brought Hiro, the original body owner, from Midden, the largest junkyard on the planet.

Ryan touched his eyelids.

In this unfamiliar space, the darkness truly bothered him.

He wanted to ask the man to turn on the light, but he should have been able to see even with the lights off.

He remained silent for a moment.

As if knowing the youth's thoughts, the man said, "You've slept since yesterday evening, and now it's already afternoon. It's bright outside and inside."

Unbeknownst to Ryan, the man was holding his hand in front of Ryan's eyes, looking at him with a scary glint in his eyes.

Ryan flinched due to the cold sensation, feeling as if something terrifying was crawling under his shirt.

The old man said, "Are you okay?"

Ryan tried to say something, but when he opened his mouth, only incoherent "kaa" sounds could be heard.

Confused, he remembered that Hiro, at the age of 16, couldn't speak.

Hiro hadn't been taught to speak. He had been abandoned by his birth parents in the farthest place they could think of.

Suppressing the growing anxiety and foreboding feeling inside him, he tried to focus on the man who had been patting his head just a second ago.

The man's name was 'the Seer.' His real name was never mentioned in the novel.

'The Seer' was a superhero who could see the past and the future.

His special eyes could detect lies from truths, and he was a once-in-a-century genius.

The headmaster of Erou Academy, a place that fostered humanity's future heroes in their struggle against villains.

He was not a kind, benevolent person, as he was the one who had brainwashed Hiro with an ability card, forcing him to dedicate his life to killing the protagonist.

Ryan felt a sudden rage building up inside him.

'Why was he being treated like this? Why did he have to suffer? Why did 'the Seer' do this to him? Why did he take away his freedom and make him a tool?' He tried to speak to...

Ryan blinked in confusion.

'What was that just now?'

These emotions felt like they belonged to him, yet they didn't at the same time.

Ryan doubted what he was feeling. Maybe he was indignant on Hiro's behalf? He felt doubtful.

Or was it Hiro's remaining emotions that he had left behind?

The last possibility sounded more plausible to him, as this was the second time he reacted to the seer's voice.

The older man's gentle voice snapped him out of his thoughts, "Can't you see me?"

Ryan shook his head, and 'the Seer' came closer, putting his hand on his face and examining his eyes.

Ryan reflexively retreated, yanking himself out of bed and falling onto a soft, thick mattress that cushioned his fall.

He knew that he had messed up in his anxiousness.

"..." Losing his eyesight caught him off guard, as he wasn't expecting this to happen.

In the novel, Hiro acted like a berserked monster who has to be pinned down by a dozen or more servants and maids at once.

Ryan acted nothing like him against a monster who could detect lies, someone who could control his life and death.

If the seer became wary of him, he was all too aware that his life was about to become increasingly difficult. Fortunately, he can't speak, otherwise the seer would have interrogated him on his suspicious behavior and his cover would have been blown the moment he opened his mouth.

"Don't be scared. No one is going to hurt you."

The seer's tall and robust body, unbefitting of an old-man his age, held the 16-year-old like a child and placed him back in bed.

He added comfortingly, "It may just be temporary blindness. Don't be anxious. I will arrange for a doctor to examine you tomorrow-."

Knock! Knock! Knock!

A knock on the door interrupted the conversation, indicating that the awaited guest had arrived.

The seer walked out, leaving Ryan alone, opening his eyes in bewilderment.