Absolution

"What does "strength" mean to a ninja? What does it mean to be "the strongest"...? In order to find the answer, at this moment...a new battle begins..."

December 2nd, 2020.

I was making my way back to my apartment, after taking a short trip to the store for some menial items, when all hell broke loose. Gangs, highly dangerous prisoners, and carnivorous animals began rampaging around the world, causing a never-before-seen death toll to rise up in the billions.

The world looked like it was in the middle of an apocalypse, and things seemed to be getting worse as normal people were even beginning to go wild and turn ravenous and eat other people, much like zombies but without all the rotting. So, now there were less than a hundred million humans left in the world, including the zombified people.

Me? Wait, you want to know how I'm doing...? Well, you'll see soon enough. On one particularly snowy day in New York, a man in his late twenties with long, grey hair and dark blue, almost black, eyes was running away from a veritable horde of crazed people and animals with a loaf of bread tucked under his arm and a piece in his mouth.

Who is that guy, you ask? Well, that's me. My name is Satomi Matsumoto and I'm just a normal guy who watched the world go to shit. Currently I'm hiding out in an underground basement that had the rest of the house collapsed, so I built a little tunnel to serve as the entrance and exit. I currently live with my kid sister, Hayori Matsumoto, and my lover, Ayame Kurosaki. Life is a hassle, and pretty damn scary, but it's filled with fun times and, most importantly, love.

I made a turn into an alley and quickly climbed up a ladder on the side of a building, narrowly escaping a horrific death. I sighed in relief before climbing up to the roof and searching for a safe path home. Unfortunately, it seemed like a herd was coming through the side of town I lived in today. I liked to call a mass gathering of the 'zombies' and animals a 'herd' for simplicity.

Wait, if a herd was in town, and they were able to locate the basement...then that means...

I threw the bread down and began to leap to other rooftops before jumping off into a nearby dumpster. I landed with a painful groan, but managed to get my feet under myself before sprinting off toward the entrance to the tunnel I had made. I managed to evade most of the herd in order to get to the entrance of the basement, but they had already found the door and were trying to break in.

I heard the screams of my sister and Ayame, but I couldn't move...I couldn't do anything but watch as they were beat and eaten alive. I felt my heart beating faster and faster until it felt like it would explode. My head gained a surprising amount of clarity as I tightly gripped the handle of a large Bowie knife that I kept within my pants.

Then, all of the rage and grief hit me. They were dead. I watched it happen. My knees almost buckled underneath me, but I recovered in time to dodge a leap from a nearby wolf and start to run in the opposite direction with tears blurring my eyes.

Damnit, I'm just a coward who runs away from everything...someone who can't save a single person. I'm pitiful, aren't I...?

I steeled my resolve and yanked my knife from its sheath before turning to stab a zombified human directly in their ugly ass face. If I wanted to avenge someone, I had to put my life on the line, and it seems like a noble and fitting death, I guess.

I stabbed, slashed, and cut apart the herd that surrounded me until nothing but a mass of blood and gore was left. I stood with my knife embedded in the body of a human with my left arm missing, part of my chest as well as a part of my left thigh were also missing, but I did it.

The corpse slid off of my knife and hit the ground with me following shortly after. I laid there and stared up at the darkening sky, wondering if I had done the right thing, and if I would be able to see Hayori, Ayame, and my parents ever again.

A weary smile crept up to my lips as I recalled my first, awkward date with Ayame, and Hayori's first sleepover with her friends. A smooth, gentle breeze ruffled my hair as I lay in a veritable ocean of blood and body parts, some of which were mine. A profound fatigue assaulted my body, causing my to carefully blink a few times in order to stay awake, even though I knew what was happening.

A single tear escaped from my eyes, but I was able to keep my composure as I croaked out the words "I'm coming guys...I'll...see you...soon..." before closing my eyes for one, final time. The gentle feeling of being embraced filled my senses, causing me to open my eyes and see my family, Ayame, and all of my friends who had lost their lives due to the damned virus.

I struggled to keep my composure as I gingerly embraced my mother and looked toward my smiling father. Words that fell on deaf ears were spoke as everyone began to walk away and disappear one by one until I was left with my mother, father, Ayame, and Hayori.

My mother looked up at me and smiled before saying in a wispy and gentle voice "We've been watching you for so long, and we are proud of you, son, but your time is not yet up...stay strong and live well...I love you..." before walking away into the void.

I helplessly reached out my hand, but caught nothing. My father walked up and put his hand on my shoulder before saying "Son, you know I'm not good with words..." He then embraced me in a firm hug before continuing "But know that we will always love and cherish you...so please, have more faith in yourself..." then he too, walked into the void.

I looked back to Hayori with an almost pleading look in my eyes as she winked at me and began to walk away, saying "I love you too, Big Brother...!" without turning back. A profound emptiness and melancholy filled my heart as I realized I wouldn't be able to live with my loved ones once more.

I didn't even dare turn toward Ayame out of fear that she too would walk away but, no matter how long I waited, the fated moment never came. I slowly turned my head to see her beautiful face smiling at me as she closed the distance and rested her head on my chest.

I returned her embrace and she said "We may not be able to live like we used too, but I promise that I will find you again...I swear it..." My mind stalled for a second and I was about to ask what she meant, but a painful ringing in my head stopped me. The ringing soon made my head feel like it was being ripped apart as I was forced to watch all of my memories over and over once more.

The part that was focused on the most were the various deaths of everyone I had held close to me, causing me to feel a massive amount of guilt and grief. My vision began to turn white with splotches of black as I felt my body getting tugged in various different directions.

I felt like throwing up, but I realized that I couldn't even open my mouth. Panicking, I tried to feel my body only to find that I didn't even have one. Suddenly, I was tugged forward and faint voices filled my ears. The light eventually got brighter and brighter until I could clearly hear the different voices of people.

I slowly peeled my eyes open to see a man that looked almost exactly like my father, and a woman next to him that looked identical to my mother. I reached out to them with tears flowing from my eyes, but then my eyes adjusted and I saw the two people for who they really were.

The man was wearing a green flak jacket, a long sleeve shirt, blue pants, and a headband with a metal plate tied around his left arm and short brown hair tied into a small topknot with cheerful brown eyes. He had a silly smile on his face as he gently grabbed my strangely small finger and said "Look at my boy! He's already making me proud!" with misty eyes.

The woman was wearing a pale blue doctor like shirt with a similar headband as the man, but hers was actually around her head. The woman had long, flowing blonde hair that was tied neatly into a bun, and two distinct purple eyes that radiated kindness.

If it wasn't for the ethereal, black haired beauty with two fiery red eyes laying on the bed behind me, I would've thought the blonde woman was the most attractive woman, well second most attractive woman, that I had ever met. The man carefully picked me up from the blonde woman and walked over toward the pale woman on the bed and said "Have you decided on a name, hun?"

Wait, I'm small, can't control my own body well, and I have a guy holding me like a small kitten. The hell is going on here...?

The woman nodded her head weakly and muttered "Ryuujin..." before smiling weakly and dozing off. The man had a somewhat worried expression in his face as he looked toward me and gave me a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes as he said "Our little Ryuujin is going to grow up and be an amazing man one day..."

My body was already severely fatigued, so adding that up with my mental fatigue was just cruel. I quickly fell into unconsciousness, yet I could still hear and see my surroundings. The man must have recognized something because he turned his head with a curious glint in his eyes as he stared at my closed eyes.

Suddenly, his own eyes went wide as he hurriedly fished in his pockets and pulled out a long piece of black cloth. He gingerly wrapped it around my head and over my eyes before examining me once more. With a nod of his head, the man seemed to relax considerably.

Even with a blindfold over my eyes, I could still 'see' perfectly. Anyways, this whole place was giving me bad vibes. It felt like my life was in constant danger every second...

A head splitting pain assaulted my head as the sound of a drill pervaded my ears and left me clenching my hands into tight balls in a feeble attempt to battle the all consuming pain. After around a good 20 minutes of having the three adults frantically running around and applying treatments while I was screaming, the pain had stopped and I was left with a faint echo.

Suddenly, a blue panel opened up in front of me and virtual looking pieces of confetti popped out from the side of the thing.

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Name: [Ryuujin Takizawa]

Age: [Newborn]

Race: [Human] [*Sealed*]

Level: [0]

Strength: 5

Endurance: 5

Dexterity: 5

Agility: 5

Chakra: 20

Skills: N/A

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I stared at the screen for what felt like hours until the mans worried expression knocked me out of my reverie. If I was their child and I was reborn, I may as well make the most of it. I extended my arms out and gave my best baby impersonation, seemingly fooling the man into thinking that I was perfectly okay.

I also discovered that no one else could see the large transparent screen except for me, so that was a relief. I had also discovered that I could make it disappear and reappear at will, kind of like those system manga and novels I had read before.

I felt my body getting weaker and my eyes heavier and I soon found myself drifting off into a comfortable sleep once more.

"Everyone trusts in you, Satomi, and only you can save this cruel and bloody world...live free and prosper, my love...I'll see you soon..."