The sun's rays fell right on the window. Kaoru sat on the icy bathroom tiles, hugging her knees so tightly it was as though she were trying to hold something alive inside her something that had died long ago. Water still dripped from the ends of her hair heavy, infrequent drops shattering against the floor, forming tiny trembling puddles around her bare feet. The soaked t-shirt clung to her skin, cold and alien, while her underwear was drenched through, making her flesh prickle with goosebumps. Her chin rested on her knees, eyes staring into nothingness past the fogged mirror, past the white tiles, into a place where reality simply ended.
The memory arrived without knocking, as it always did.
She was sixteen.
A dead-silent night. An abandoned garden on the outskirts of the city. Three men stood around a freshly dug pit. Shovels in hand, black wet earth falling in clumps. Laughter low, hoarse, laced with animal satisfaction.
"Hurry up before the moon sets," one muttered, wiping sweat from his brow with a sleeve.
"What's the rush? No one's gonna find it," the second snorted, spitting into the darkness of the hole.
The third said nothing just threw a black plastic bundle into the pit. It landed with a dull, heavy thud. Laughter flared again short, jittery, pleased.
They climbed into the car. The engine roared to life, headlights slicing through the dark. Music from the speakers drowned out the hiss of tires, and they kept chuckling, as if they'd just pulled off a clever prank.
Kaoru stood off to the side. The pistol in her hand felt like an extension of her arm. Her face was blank dead. She slowly raised the barrel.
One shot.
Blood sprayed from the driver's neck, flooding the windshield in a scarlet curtain. The car jerked, swerved, slammed into a tree with a screech of tortured metal. It flipped. Gasoline poured out in black streams. Flames erupted greedy, instant, unstoppable.
She stood at the heart of the fire. Heat licked her legs, scorched her skin, but Kaoru did not move. One of them the backseat passenger crawled out through the shattered window. He was burning alive. Skin bubbled and blackened, hair ignited like a torch. He crawled, gasping, leaving a smoking trail behind him.
"Jesus Christ…" he rasped, reaching out with a charred hand.
Kaoru stepped closer. Raised the pistol. One more shot. His head snapped back like a broken puppet. The body slumped into the flames.
She waited until the fire began truly devouring her own skin. Only then did she turn and walk slowly into the darkness, leaving behind the crackle of burning metal and the stench of roasted flesh.
The memory faded. Only the silence of the bathroom remained, and the slow drip of water from her hair.
Kaoru rose gradually. Water traced cold paths down her thighs. In the mirror she saw empty eyes and a wet face no tears. Just water. Always just water.
Morning arrived too bright, too merciless. Sunlight poured through the windows, erasing every shadow. Genzo stretched with a crack of his neck, glanced at his phone 7:12. First day at the new school.
Cold tap water snapped him awake. In the mirror an ordinary face, ordinary dark circles that had become part of him. He washed, dried off, pulled on the new uniform still smelling of the store and someone else's expectations. Popped flavorless gum into his mouth and stared at his phone screen.
Meanwhile, at the school gates, Aya ran up to her friend, beaming, holding out a palm full of candies.
"Mika-san, here!"
Mika took one, carefully unwrapped it, slipped it into her mouth.
"Thanks, Aya. You're always so… kind."
Aya's smile grew even wider.
A calm voice with a faint teasing edge came from behind:
"Ladies, enjoy your meal."
They turned. A tall boy in school uniform stood a few steps away tie loosened, smile easy and unforced. Aya smiled back brightly; Mika gave a small, slightly wary nod.
Genzo walked down the school corridor, eyes glued to his phone. Noise, smells, faces everything foreign, pressing in. Without looking, he bumped someone's shoulder.
A phone flew from the other boy's hand and struck the floor. The screen spiderwebbed with cracks.
Genzo froze. Looked up.
Renji froze too. He glanced down at the broken phone, then at Genzo. Real, unguarded surprise flickered in his eyes.
Genzo crouched first.
"Sorry… I didn't mean to. Really sorry."
Renji stared for a second two. Then he bent down himself, picked up the phone. The screen flickered but still worked.
"It's fine," he said quietly, without anger. "Happens."
He turned and walked away down the corridor. Genzo remained standing, watching him go, an odd emptiness settling in his chest.
Sunset poured over the city in thick orange syrup. At the old vending machine on the corner of Sakura Street, two guys had cornered an elderly woman. She trembled, clutching her wallet with thin fingers.
"Come on, granny, don't be stingy," one grinned. "You don't have long left anyway what do you need money for?"
Her lips quivered. She said nothing.
The second stepped closer, already menacing.
"Faster, old hag."
Raiden was passing by. He stopped. Looked.
"Extorting money from old people isn't right."
They turned.
"And who the hell are you? What do you want, sweetheart?"
Raiden gave a small, almost lazy smile.
One swung at him. Raiden didn't rush. He stepped aside, caught the arm, twisted it with a dry snap. A short, precise strike to the left ribs. The thug doubled over and dropped to his knees, gasping.
The second charged furious, wild. Raiden met him with a straight kick to the solar plexus. The guy flew backward, crashed into the vending machine, and slid down the metal.
Raiden exhaled evenly. He approached the woman, pulled several of his own bills from his pocket, and gently placed them in her palm.
"I'm sorry," he said softly. "That shouldn't have happened."
Then he dialed.
"Hello. There are two men extorting money from an elderly woman at the vending machine on the corner of Sakura Street. Please send someone."
He pocketed the phone. Gave the groaning pair on the ground a brief glance. Turned and walked away.
The woman stood watching him go. Wallet and money in her hands. Her voice trembled:
"Thank you…"
Raiden didn't look back. He simply kept walking until he disappeared around the corner.