HIstory- WIP

[changeyourself]

Childhood

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Yamada's parents were scientists who worked for the noble Hayashi Clan, who kept them close working from the Hayashi compound. He developed a close relationship with Mizuki Hayashi, the clan's eldest daughter, who was about his age. The pair were inseparable best friends, with the passive, go-with-the-flow Yamada naturally towing behind the assertive and proactive Mizuki. At the time, Yamada was a crybaby who could act that way because he had Mizuki to turn to whenever needed. Yamada appeared to have a bright future in academics ahead of him.

Unfortunately, his home city suffered a direct hit from a Moon Gaze. One that would go down as one of the worst in history and introduce the world to a new Phobia (the highest threat rank possible for a being created by a Moon Gaze). Yamada and Mizuki became Moonlit, and the incident created a sentient hive-mind bacteria, Neurosporidium, which controlled the bodies of those infected. Highly intelligent, Neurosporidium quickly targeted the Combatants dispatched by the Defence Force and took control of the city in a matter of days. Using the powers of the Combatants and the Warped in the city, it began rounding up humans to use as test subjects in experiments.

During the aftermath of the Moon Gaze, Yamada and Mizuki were forced into a harrowing struggle for survival. Yamada, now able to transform himself, and Mizuki, now able to conjure creatures and objects. For about two months, they navigated a city that had turned into a nightmarish landscape, filled with dangers at every corner. They scavenged for food, evaded the controlled and mutated inhabitants, and fought for their lives. Nearly a month later, a large enough team with equipment to avoid infection was put together, led by the head of scientific research of the Defence Force, Doctor Fenwick. Doctor Fenwick personally rescued Yamada and Mizuki from Neurosporidium's grasp moments before infection. By this time, their families and friends were all killed or worse. In the end, the Neurosporidium Incident reduced a population of approximately two million to fifteen survivors.

Mizuki was taken in by another noble family, while Yamada was placed into care.

Care

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Life as an orphan was challenging for Yamada. While the orphanage staff were well-meaning, he felt profoundly isolated and didn't have as much support as he needed. Yamada could not make friends due to his emotional turmoil and rejection of his bizarre powers.

Two notable events came out of this time. The first, at 11, he watched stray cats receive affection and people chasing their attention. Yamada was so desperate for some of it that he transformed into a stray cat. Undertaking this for a few hours a day for weeks, he was eventually 'adopted' by an elderly woman named Mrs. Nakano. Mrs. Nakano was kind to him, and he abandoned living as a human to enjoy feeling loved, even if not as himself. Mrs Nakano had problems of her own, however. Mrs Nakano had a complex relationship with her estranged family, who were distant and only seemed interested in her money. She lamented her mistakes as a mother, expressing sorrow that she couldn't find a way to reconnect with her children. Despite her sadness, she found solace in caring for Yamada, treating him like the child she wished she could have been closer to. Only right at the end, when her health was failing her, did Yamada reveal himself to call an ambulance for her and to apologise for deceiving her. The ailing Mrs. Nakano admitted she suspected something odd about him, leaving him with parting words about bringing her comfort.

After she passed away, her family wasted no time in demolishing her house to make way for development, and once again, Yamada lost a home. He returned to care, fearful of connecting with others for the pain of their loss.

The second notable event was years later at 15. Yamada had become increasingly proactive about keeping people away from him, his fear turning into fury and a surly attitude. This brought him to the attention of a young man called Kaze, who witnessed Yamada use his powers to escape the police after a minor shoplifting incident. Kaze was the leader of the small-time gang, the Devil Vipers. Possessing a silver and forked tongue, Kaze was able to offer Yamada validation and a new place to be. Amongst the tight-knit group of delinquents, Yamada was welcomed in and exploited. His powers proved helpful to Kaze, and the more valuable they were, the more valued he was. Kaze grew to view Yamada as an extension of himself, but he didn't understand Yamada as well as he thought he did.

At the time, Yamada was forced to attend a young Moonlit support group. His increasing antisocial attitude kept him from making friends, but he did develop a crush on a similarly aged girl who had been transformed into a plant. The kindhearted Lilya tried her best to pull him towards a brighter place.

Kaze, meanwhile, had developed an increasing sense of ambition, and a realization that Lunatics had such an advantage, he needed more under his control. He began pushing Yamada to recruit others from the support group. However, Yamada did not want to involve the good people he had met there, and headbutted the support group leader to get kicked out, attempting to protect them without jeopardizing his relationship with Kaze.

Kaze was displeased with this and went ahead with grooming support group members using various methods. When Yamada discovered that he'd used drugs to hook Lilya, Yamada was filled with immense rage. Yamada ended up severely injuring several of his friends, including Kaze, crushing his ambitions but terrorizing the other young Moonlit, too. Yamada was once again alone and now aware of how dangerous his abilities were.

Adulthood

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Yamada aged out of care at 18 and, by this time, had developed a new form of keeping to himself. He made a flippant shield to keep a distance between himself and others and developed a lifestyle of working small jobs that allowed him to avoid long-term contact. He found that long-distance delivery suited him best, although he occasionally changed his roles for variety including retail, janitorial and security. He could earn a good wage with long-distance delivery in particular, as the dangers of Lawless Lands made for high salaries. As a Moonlit, he could fight off or escape from Warped and Lunatics. He could meet people safely (i.e. briefly and shallowly) with this lifestyle and settled into it for many years.

During this time, Yamada lived in an odd mixture of peace and guilt, aware he could be doing more but afraid to do so. Yamada developed a wide network of contacts, though he had no real friends. He had a few one-night stands, but they were the sort of thing that stopped as suddenly as it started, always other lonely people who wanted to feel desirable, forget everything for a moment, or even spite someone else. He administered and received that medicine but never had a relationship.

He maintained an apartment in the city of South Mount, though was gone as much as he was there.

Second Moon Gaze

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On a night Yamada was in the city, South Mount was struck by a direct hit from a Moon Gaze. Filled with dread, Yamada attempted a solo escape without care for other residents. His panicked attempt to escape by air had him brought down by a Warped attack, and once grounded, he tried to navigate his way out. He met Emi, a young girl surrounded by danger. When she asked for help, what was he going to do, say no? His self-isolation cracked, and he took on the dangerous task of escorting Emi out of danger.

While hiding to recover strength, Emi found a mysterious cube. Yamada found it fascinating and had no idea how important that moment would be. He discovered he could resonate with it, restoring his energy, but was wary of it.

The pair managed to escape the city and joined a Defence Force camp for escapees. Much to Yamada's shock, but not to Emi's, he volunteered to go back into danger to help a Defence Force squad rescue more people. He made an excellent impression on Captain Alex, a non-Moonlit, and accompanied his squad. When they returned to camp, it was under attack from a powerful giant, Warped. The combined forces of the squad was not enough to take it down. In a last-ditch effort, Yamada resonated fully with the cube and merged with it.

This forced Yamada into a Limitless state, unlocking his ability to change into energy. Overflowing with power and euphoria, he dubbed the form Euphoverload and defeated the giant in the form of living light just as the sun rose.

He resolved then to become the person Emi thought he was, and to join the Defence Force.