Genre: adventure/action, drama, angst, mystery, suspense and romance…a bit of everything guess…

¯.. ºº..´¯¯.. ºº..´¯¯.. ºº..´¯¯.. ºº..´¯¯.. ºº..´¯¯.. ºº..´¯

Unveiling the forgotten

..Chapter One..

By Flipstahhz

¯.. ºº..´¯¯.. ºº..´¯¯.. ºº..´¯¯.. ºº..´¯¯.. ºº..´¯¯.. ºº..´¯

The figure quietly shut the door, stepping out the house. The figure stood there, caped in a charcoal coloured cloak as its body drew a silhouette by the torch clutched in on of its hands. He hurriedly bent his head down to blow the flames away, causing him to disappear in the black darkness of night. No villagers, from young infants to a elderly widows, were allowed to wander aimlessly amongst the empty streets. Peasants and people of the higher class had to obey the strong taboos that were distributed evenly amongst all of them. It had been one of the many strict rules of the taboo in the quiet civilized island of Aburméid. If you were to be caught by one of the guards disobeying their rules, it was an immediate death sentence.

But if you were foolish…If you were foolish enough to avoid and take the rules lightly, it was extremely dangerous and risky considering you were recklessly putting your own life at stake, signing your own death wish.

And foolish was the word that suited Taichi Yagami well…

Acknowledging the consequences, but not caring whatsoever, Taichi slipped through the narrow style streets of the village. Even though he was the peak of adolescent, the raw age of eighteen to be exact, his agility was still great. His feet silently pattered rapidly against the dusty dry ground like the raindrops falling from the sky. He changed direction, turning left. The bristling cold breeze hitting his body and lifting his cloak’s hood to reveal his dark cinnamon coloured hairs on his head that spiked out in numerous directions in a fashion. He squinted to evade any more dirt flying into his eyes, but he still kept running.

Footsteps were heard from the distance.

Guards… he thought instantly.

Not letting his fear get the best of him, he gulped down the adrenalin of panic and scurried faster, covering his mouth so clouds of white weren’t to escape from it. Taichi turned around the curb and skidded into an alleyway. He uncovered his hand from his mouth, letting a sigh of relief when the guards ignorantly walked past him not suspecting a clue. A smirk tugged on his lips, glad that they had lost his trail.

Straight in front of him was his destination. It was one of the filthiest pubs around, yet it was the most popular when it came down to criminals hiding, villagers receiving good quality wine, and of course to know the usual gossip of what was going around the village. Drinkery's were yet another rule against Aburméid… to cut it short, drinkery's of such were forbidden.

Taichi shrugged to himself and walked in, noticing the strong familiar combining mixture scents of both alcohol and cigars hitting his face. He blinked, adjusting to the new atmosphere and let himself mingle within the crowds of people either sitting or standing up playing a good game of snooker across the pool tables. He strode past a fair lot of tables and couldn’t help but overhear a conversation coming from a group of people huddled together in one of the corners.

“…you see, this was passed to me by my grandfather before he died. It’s called a clock!”

“A clock! Jacobs, let me see!” a boy - probably a year younger than the other boy demanded, snatching for the rather weird looking object.

From the characteristics that had been taught to him, by his mother, the object’s wristband was made of the material called gold. And in the centre of the prestigious little item, a glass circle round case was observed to be covering to a pair of arrows that were pointing to specific numbers.

Jacobs held the ‘clock’ towards his ear. “ It even makes a tick-tocking sound. I can’t believe it still works! This will be pretty expensive on the black market!”

“Yeah!”

Taichi frowned in distaste. It was interesting that the boy called Jacobs had managed to lay his hands on such a precious item, and yet he was planning to sell it?! Weren’t any of the inventions, made by their ancestors, worth keeping? And wasn’t the item named a watch…not a clock? He has surely captivated the image of a watch in his head, when he stole a book from the restricted part of the library.

Shrugging his thoughts aside, he stopped eavesdropping making his way to the bar. He let out a tiresome yawn escape his crimson dry lips, taking off his cloak and pulling a nearby seat to sit upon, he watched a figure’s back in front of him. She wore a brown ragged dress with a black apron wrapped around her slim waist, her dark flaming reddish brown hair held back in a tight ponytail.

“ You again? So what do you want this time? The usual?!” the female asked without turning around to get a glimpse of the person whom had seated himself behind her. Spinning back around behind the bench, she skillfully snatched a large glass and swiftly poured beer into it, shoving it towards the brunette haired boy with her head gazing down, not staring at her friend.

He accepted the glass, taking a swig and clumsily wiping the froth around his mouth with his sleeve. “ A nice brew. This joint has always had nice beer.”

“Why are you here again?” she arched an eyebrow at her younger friend disapprovingly, avoiding his compliment and getting straight to the point. She lifted her head and let her stern eyes see through Taichi's plans, “ This is your second time this week…coming here in the middle of the night…is just vainly wrong. What if you get caught? It isn’t a game. Life isn’t a game. You know that by now, especially after what occurred more than a decade ago. And it’s a waste if you treat life itself disrespectfully. You’re mother and sister will be worried of you if the find out…what’s your real business in being here rather than just to have a good drink?”

“To see you of course and your exquisite beauty,” he joked slyly and casually, but received a glare back. “ Alright already, don’t have to give me such a cold look, I was just complimenting you. So what? I come here for my reasons to come here. How bout you? You’re such a hypocrite! You work night shift…and we go schooling tomorrow! You shouldn’t tell me off when you work here, yourself. That’s much worse than me coming here for a drink.”

“You don’t just come here for only just a drink, Taichi Kamiya,” Jun sighed as she shook her head in dismay. “ You’ll never change will you? Always searching and getting tangled up into trouble, that’s just you … ain’t it?! You like to hear tales about our humanity's history? Give it up already. You’re pretty bright…but looking back in the time causes nothing but trouble…you, of all people, should know that by now. I don’t get why you can’t just stick with what the Council has to say about it and believe them with what has been published in those hand written books. It was the battle to end all wars. That’s as simple as you get, and it left death and destruction to everyone’s path. Can’t you just see that this village is the only one that was lucky to survive the disaster? You should just be thankful! Move on, Taichi.”

“ You know me too well,” Taichi laughed weakly. “ Too well for your own good. But how bout you?! Don’t you want to find your family…and see or even know if they’re alive?!”

“Getting meddled up in these issues just causes more problems. Anyway, I’m sure they’re all dead, and sticking to reality is better than dwelling. There’s no hope in searching, when I’ve searched half my life. It’s best to forget the past, and move on. And right now…it’s not that hard since what happened fifteen years ago has become a blur.”

“Mmm,” he agreed, deciding that it was best for him not to intrude into her private affairs, especially when he would see her face go all somber and masking the pain and sadness.

“Ms. Motomiya!” a voice warned from the room behind her.

“Sorry sir!” she exclaimed, getting back to work and pretended to be working by wiping down the wooden bench with damp cloth. From the corner of her mouth, she spoke to Tai, “ You’d better get away from me. My master probably thinks I’m trying to hook up with you or somethin’…later Tai! See you tomorrow!”

Taichi laughed for the second time, grabbed his cloak and held a hand up high in the air to farewell his friend.

As he quietly walked back out of the pub, he recalled the conversation he had with the girl. Even though Jun had lost her family, she remained strong and confident in what she did. Working to earn herself a fair amount of money for food and living and yet she even managed time for her education. She wasn’t those type of peasants or homeless orphans that begged and depended on other people for food. And she had gained her own sort of respect in the village. She worked for her own benefit of surviving, and the left over money or food that she worked for...she gave it to the peasants. It was lucky for Tai that he hadn’t lost anyone close to him during the war. He wasn’t even a peasant. To be precise, his father was part of the Council.

Letting go of the past, what Jun had mentioned to him earlier, was simply something he couldn’t do so easily. Tai knew, for a fact, that he wouldn’t. Forgetting history altogether was just simply wrong. It was ridiculous how the Council had restricted such information and how hardly his parents, or other people talked about their past before the war. He was only three years old, at that time, when total destruction took place, but didn’t have a clear memory of what happened…though he was sure there was something else occurred. That was his goal in life…to find completely everything there was to know about what happened on that terrible day that ended the war. It was going to take every ounce of courage he had, and determination…even if it was over an obscene childhood dream…

Almost everything about history interested him and filled him with such curiosity and wonder. He had gotten so sick of abiding the rules that were given by the Aburméid Council. The way everyday life took place, was boring and typical. So ordinary...being fashioned in the same tedious daily routine, which was clearly driving him to on the ridge to insanity. Since he was in his senior years at school they didn’t allow him to play sports, so History became a more interested subject that lured him to be focusing on it the most. He learned the transportation, architecture, the clothing, the food…everything that was high in technology while presently they were living in an island that had nothing associated to the past world.

His history lecturer had told him that after the Dark Era man had to rebuild over again, starting from scratch and inventing things that already had been invented. After that fateful day, society changed dramatically. Woman wore only allowed to be clothed in long dresses, and if they were caught showing too much skin…it was yet another death sentence against them. That’s how strict the daily life in Aburméid really was.

Taichi sighed in annoyance…it was already half an hour passed midnight and he’d have to be up at six in the morning.

Why did life have to be so…dull?

His ears suddenly prickled as he heard footsteps of a whole patrol of guards march by, in search for someone. Tai had to get away…if the guards caught him out in this hour… Taichi gulped for the second time.

The next thing he knew, he was on the dusty dirty ground, rubbing his sides in pain. He gazed up to the boy whom obviously bumped into him, pushing him over.

“Watch the hell where you are going!” Tai swore in furious rage.

The boy returned his gaze through his lingering dark grey blue eyes as his black (with somehow a twinge of purple) hair wavered with the soft breeze. A knife was clipped onto his leather belt around his waist, and he held a creased piece of parchment in his between his trembling fingers. Suddenly…Taichi remembered and wanted to take back what he had just said.

“You! You're…you’re that guy that everyone’s looking for! Kenneth Ichijouji!” he exclaimed, eyes widening. “ You were the guy that killed all of those people in the Counci-…”

“They deserved to die,” he responded ever so coldly.

“Well…Kenneth,” Taichi emphasized his name and continued, trying to talk in a threatening tone to hide his fear, “ You should at least offer a hand down to me, since you were the guy that pushed me over in the first place. It’s not polite to look down at the person you’re probably about to murder. ”

To his surprise, Kenneth held out a hand, which Taichi took to pull himself back into his standing position. Still, Tai was hesitant, unsure whether to run or hesitant to know why the murderer hadn’t killed him just then.

Kenneth raised an eyebrow suspiciously, “ Why are you even still talking to me? By now you should have probably ran away, yelled on top of your lungs or informed the guards where my whereabouts.”

“That’s where you got me wrong,” Taichi laughed nervously. “ I’m not that idiotic, especially when you’ve got a nicely tucked knife in your belt. Plus, I value my pride…that's why I'm probably going to die young from my recklessness and curiousness of everything...”

“As if a knife can inflict much pain!” Kenneth sighed shaking his head. “ There are many ways to avoid such a blunt knife as this. I’d rather use bombs, they have a much better effect and I wouldn’t have to use much combat.”

“Bombs?” Tai questioned. “ What are they…?”

“I guess Aburméid is really behind and wants to leave it all a secret after all this time,” Kenneth spoke with nothing but pure bitter then explained in a low voice, “ It’s a form of weaponry our ancestors used to use in terrible quarrels against each other.”

“ Aburméid is behind? What are you talking about?”

“Well…it’s better that you didn’t know anyway,” Kenneth ignored his question. “ Since all of you have been left innocent after all the bloodshed.”

Taichi frowned. It was pitiful how he was trying to get all this information from a criminal, since he couldn’t find anywhere else.

“Enough of my rambling,” he yawned casually, shoving the parchment, which he still clutched in his hands, into Taichi’s pocket. “ Look after it for me while I’m gone. I’m sick of outrunning these guards. Plus, I got no hope going west cause by now they’ve most likely surrounded the whole city.”

“What?” now the brunette haired boy was really confused.

“ So do want me to stab you to death with my blunt knife, or what? ” the other boy jeered as he began walking a few steps away from him, then his voice became serious. “ I have my reasons for giving it to you. Just keep the parchment, I need it in safe hands.”

“And you trust me that easily?”

“I could tell you not to open it, but I know your human instinct will no matter what I tell you. After all, you are an ignorant boy…and that parchment holds nothing but the not so innocent truth of this village…”

“But –”

“As well as I’d like to admit it,” Kenneth sighed at how long the conversation was going for, “ it is likely your going to get caught as well as me. So…I’ll be the distraction, and you’ll make a run for it! I know what the rules say about not being aloud to tread the streets at this time. And another reason why I trust an ignorant fool, such as yourself, is because you’re brave and willing to take a risk. Traveling in this hour, already proves you are man enough…man enough to hold that parchment I have given you.”

“What’s with this parchment?!” Taichi sighed in defeat and annoyance, but realized he wouldn’t be getting an answer. “ Fine. You win. I accept your deal. You get caught by all those guards and get taken to the palace dungeons, while I take “care” of your parchment and give the guards a distraction. Truce?”

“Truce,” Kenneth included with a toothy grin, “ Farewell Taichi Yagami! Till next time, my dear friend!”

Before Taichi could question back how’d he found out his own name, it was too late. Kenneth Ichijouji was already gone. He stood there dumbfounded for a while, until he was sure the group of soldiers walked by him again, carrying their new captive prisoner. And he was absolutely positive that the prisoner was staring at his direction. His eyes gestured to make a run for it.

And for the first time, in his whole life, he had never thought he was going to trust a criminal…and yet he did, taking Kenneth’s advice and running for his life. And yet…he didn’t know that what the parchment carried would change his peaceful life forever…

¯.. ºº..´¯¯.. ºº..´¯¯.. ºº..´¯¯.. ºº..´¯¯.. ºº..´¯¯.. ºº..´¯