The being trod through the blank space that was once a battlefield as reality itself was trying to patch up the cracks in space and time created by the combined attack of Absolute Nothingness and the Pandora Box. Everywhere he went, destruction followed, ripples of energy leaking out from his worn out body tore open those cracks before they even got the chance to repair themselves.

Despite all this, he didn't stop, he didn't even spare them a glance. He was almost there, the one who had taken everything away from him was finally within his reach. All that stood before him and his long awaited vengeance was a gate, seemingly made out of pure mithril at first glance, but the being knew what it truly was, he knew its true worth. That didn't stop him from destroying it however.

•▪•▪•▪•

Feeling embarrassed, Rito covers his face as he walks alongside his parents. If you pay enough attention, you'll realize he is actually standing as far away from them as he possibly can. Alas, the supermarket near their house isn't all that big so the distance between the three is relatively small coupled with the fact that he's always following them makes pretending to be strangers not an option.

While it is true that he wanted to mend their relationship, this romantic atmosphere and the judging gazes of others are killing him. With every step, his face continues to darken, part of him feels relieved that his plan was a success and they didn't break up, the other part just wants to kill itself out of shame.

"What's the matter, son? You look upset." Asks the Saibai, who Rito has recently been calling 'Dense Idiot' secretly in his head.

For a moment there, Rito thought he would flip out. It takes him everything he's got to contain his anger and shame. His eyes, which hold no emotion whatsoever bore deep into the young couple, making them flinch instinctively.

"Can we go home now?" He asks, his voice sounds unusually cheerful despite his expressionless face, completely ignores his father question from before. Such a sight is truly terrifying indeed. That night when they got home, a comical sight unfolded in the Yuuki's resident as the young couple got reprimanded by their barely four years old child about manner. After all, manner maketh man.

•▪•▪•▪•

Time flies by quickly and soon enough, it's time for Rito to attend kindergarten. While he himself opposes the idea intensely, mostly because he doesn't like the idea of hanging out with a bunch of snotty brats, his parents are weirdly forceful about this. They say he has been hiding in the house long enough and it's time for him to experience new things and make new friends.

'I wonder whose fault it was...' Thinks Rito as he clicks his tongue.

Eventually, he gives in to their desire. This would give him more time to explore the outside world while also makes his parents happy, it's a win-win situation no matter how you look at it. Beside, the students are all simple-minded children so how bad could it get?

"Do you remember what you need to do? Go to school, listen to your teacher and--"

"And get back home as soon as I'm allowed to. I get it! You've told me this dozens of times already!" Rito says, interrupting his mother before she could start lecturing him for another hour.

This brings forth a pout from Ringo, she wants to care for her child, but he's way too smart and mature, lately he even cooks for the family when she's busy with her work as a fashion designer.

At first he was very bad at it, the food he cooked, just from its appearance alone could barely be called food. Sometime he even got confused between sugar and salt which made the whole family fall sick that day.

But that's only at the beginning though. Starting from that day, as if feeling his pride has been damaged somehow, Rito focuses on learning how to cook and eventually surpasses Ringo herself. This causes her to feel depressed for several days, only returning to normal after successfully forcing out an 'I love you, mom' from her adorable son.

Remembering it brings a smile to her face. She kisses him on the cheek and watches him panick for a slight moment, the smug smile he has been keeping up for years slips off, revealing a flustered expression beffiting a child.

One of the few things she has learnt about her son througout the years is that he's really weak to affectionate actions. When facing such a thing, he'd always end up embarrassed, not knowing how to proceed or what to say.

While teasing him a bit more would be fun, Ringo doesn't want her son to be late the first day to school so she takes it upon herself to repair things before he gets upset. Looking at her son who has been standing there, rooted in place, she caresses his head.

"Go Rito, make mom and dad proud."

After receiving a nod from him, she's sastified. Yet oddly enough, he doesn't leave for school and instead gives her a kiss to the cheek in return. He also kisses her swollen stomach, saying. "That's for my little baby sister." Before running off. For awhile, Ringo just stands there, at lost for words.

•▪•▪•▪•

Ashamed, Rito grabs his bag and runs off. He doesn't know if that is a good move or not. Knowing his mother's personality, she'd definitely not let this go easily. To be honest, he didn't think much when he did it, now that he has the time, he is seriously regretting his desicion.

Just as he runs past the temple near his house, still deep in thoughts, he feels a slight pain in his left eye, slowly the pain becomes more intense, almost as if he was back into the energy storm that sent him here.

The more he tries to move away from the temple, the heavier his body feels. Knowing there wouldn't be a way out of this no matter what, Rito goes with the flow, letting the energy lead him.

When he arrives at the inner part of the temple, he sees something he didn't expect... He sees a dimensional crack. One much larger than the one that brought him into this world.

There it stands, glowing beautifully. As if possessing a will of its own, the purple colored light curtain dances excitedly in his presence. Rito also feels his left eye reacts to the crack. With a stomach full of doubts, he jumps into the crack, knowing full-well it could lead to his death.

"Oh well... My eye wouldn't let me leave anyway."

•▪•▪•▪•

A few hours later, when afternoon starts approaching, emerges from the crack is no doubt Rito. This time, his presence seems to have changed completely, his eyes shine in the dark temple while his body has grown at least two inchesvin height. The clothes his parents had just bought him a few weeks ago already feel stuffy from his point of view.

He pays it no mind however as he's reminded of his first day to kindergarten after seeing his backpack.

"I'm so fucked..." He says in a small voice, wondering what his parents would do to him when he returns home. Surely they won't kill their only son, right?

Thinking 'til that, he begins to head home, but when he comes near the house that used to seem so safe yet now feels like a execution block, Rito unconsciously diverts his path, walking aimlessly on the street.

After awhile, even he doesn't where he is anymore. That's when a faint cry for help lands on his sensitive ears, which have been enhanced many times by Ki.

Normally, he'd ignore such a thing, but this voice seems young, probably no more than four to five years old. Back in his past life, Rito didn't have a good childhood, he was an orphan that lived off of the meager amount of money he made by either stealing or robbing from other kids like him... Until he got captured by them.

Maybe it's because of his trauma, or his hatred for people who abuse the weaks, hell! It might be because he feels a certain familiarity to this cry, a cry that's very much like his own, the only difference between the two is that no one had answered his plea back then. And just like that, without an ounce of hesitation, Rito runs towards the cry.