Chapter 9: A Glimpse of the Past

"Who am I?"

"You are Hiroshi, Hiroshi Yamagachi."

Within his childhood, Hiroshi was trained each and every day by the mafia to become an formable assassin.

"What am I?"

"You are a weapon."

Killing foe after foe, the scent of blood, and violence filled his life, bullets piercing the flesh of his enemies, the metallic sound of bullet shells hitting the ground, as he stood in a sea of his enemy's blood.

"What is my purpose?"

"Your one and only purpose is to complete your mission, no matter the cost."

Coldly reminded that his only purpose in life is to complete his mission at any cost. As he stood atop a mountain of corpses. This was his life.

"You are a killer; whose sole reason for living is to kill all those who stand in your way."

Admits these gruesome memories, images of his mother's death flashed before his eyes. His inner demon, whispering cruelly, "You're propose to strong, huh? Yeah right.

You're weak, you're pathetic, you're the reason she's dead. You practically killed her yourself. You murderer."

Hiroshi then suddenly awoke from his nightmare, gasping for air. Witnessing a glimpse of the past. He had found himself in an unfamiliar empty room, bathed in a bright light.

"Ahh... why is it so bright? And where am I?" he wondered as he got up from bed. As he look around, memoires of his recent events floured back into his mind:

His escape from the underground solitary confinement, his battle with Matsumoto, joining Shadow Vigil, his tour of Tokyo, and his fight with the elemental.

All these events flashed before his eyes within an instant, "Oh yeah, so I guess it wasn't a dream after all. Heh, I'm actually glad," he muttered to himself.

He then got out of bed and began doing some light exercises, followed, a bath. Emerging from the bathroom, remarking his surrounding, "Man, I haven't had a warm bath in forever, not to mention a room of my own. At least not one this clean."

Then suddenly, he began hearing a strange ringing noise and got startled. "Huh! What's that noise?"

He spotted that it was a phone ringing "Oh, it's just the phone... wait, what bottom do I press to answer again?" he said struggling with the device itself.

After finally answering it, he then heard Director Yumi's voice on the other side of the phone. "Hello, Hiroshi, sleep well? How do you like your new lodging?"

"It's alright, I guess. However, I have to say, you sure have introduced me to quite the lavish dormitory. Anyway, why are you calling me?" Hiroshi replied.

"We need you for an emergency mission, so I need you at HQ immediately, Understand? You remember where it is, don't you?" Yumi asked.

Hiroshi acknowledging Yumi's orders, but did not agree. "Okay, but can I at least have some breakfast first? Because you don't expect me to run around on an empty stomach, do you?" Yumi hanged up ending the call "Hmm... Guess that answers my question," He muttered to himself.

Hiroshi prepared himself and stepped out of his new apartment, heading straight for Shadow Vigil's hideout.

In addition, as he walked through the quiet streets of the Suginami Ward, the hum of distant traffic mingled with the soft rustle of trees along the narrow road, a gentle reminder of the pleasant weather.

As a calm breeze brushed past him, and, for a brief moment, a sense of comforted filled his mind, putting him at ease.

Moreover, as he continued on foot, Hiroshi made his way to Ogikubo Station, where he stood waiting for the train.

While he waited, two children suddenly appeared, chasing each other around in circles around him. In addition, without warning, one of the children stumbled too close to the platform's edge, tumbling onto the tracks just as the train approached.

In addition, with a swift, practiced motion, Hiroshi grabbed the boy by the collar and yanked him out of harm's way, saving his life just in time.

No one else had seemed to notice it, but the boy stared at Hiroshi, realizing what had just happened. As the train doors slid open, Hiroshi released him, nudging the boy away with a firm push, causing him to stumble slightly.

With a sharp look, he scolded, "Are you stupid or something? Kids like you shouldn't wander around by themselves."

The boy's mother then rushed over, frowning as she helped her son up. "What do you think you're doing to my child? He's just a little boy!" she reprimanded, her voice tight with anger.

However, Hiroshi only glanced at her dismissively, stepping into the train without a word.

Moreover, as the doors closed, the boy tugged at his mother's sleeve, trying to explain how Hiroshi had just saved him, but she just looked at him puzzled, disbelief as the train pulled away towards Shinjuku.

Once he arrived at Shinjuku, Hiroshi exited the train and continued on walking until he reached an old, abandoned library hidden in a neglected corner of the district.

Stepping inside the dusty, dimly lit building, scanning the shelves, he pulled one of the books, revealing a hidden elevator.

Clicked open he entered the elevator then lead him down to Shadow Vigil's main base located beneath the library itself.

The elevator doors opened, and as he exited the elevator, he made his way for meeting room where Director Yumi was waiting for him, a small smile on her face as she greeted him.

"Hiroshi Yamaguchi, welcome to Shadow Vigil," she said smoothly. "So, ready to get started?"

Hiroshi then interrupted her, saying, "It's Hiro."

Yumi, confused, asked, "What do you mean?"

"My name is Hiro, Hiro Takashi, so I'd remember it if I were you" he said, as he pulled out an elastic bam from his pocket, tying his hair back.

Revealing the fiery determination in his crimson eyes.

End of the 9th Chapter.

End of the First Volume

To be continued in the II Volume.