But as the leaves fell from the trees slowly on the ground so did my tears, forgetting it was, The season of spring.

I was only seven years old when our mother died.

She was the center of our lives—warm, gentle, always knowing exactly how to calm us down or make us laugh. Every time I saw her, my world felt brighter.

But now she was gone.

It had been two days, yet I still couldn’t stop crying. My chest felt hollow, like the world had split open and swallowed all the happiness we had left.

As I sat alone, sobbing, Aiko suddenly walked in.

“Why are you crying, big brother?” she asked, her tiny voice trembling but trying to sound brave.

I wiped my nose with my sleeve, but tears kept coming.

“Mom is gone now… forever. How… how can we stay without her?”

Aiko reached up with her small hands and wiped my tears away.

“Don’t worry, brother. Mom isn’t gone.”

She pointed at my chest.

“She lives here now. In our hearts. She told me that. And she’ll stay with us as long as we let her.”

It was a lie our mom used to tell her to keep her happy.

But the way Aiko said it—so confident, so innocent—made something warm flicker inside me.

And for a moment, just a moment, I believed her.

“You dummy,” she said, tugging my sleeve. “Let’s go.”

We went to Mom’s grave together and planted the seeds of her favorite flowers.

“She said… if they bloom by next spring, we’ll know she’s happy,” Aiko whispered.

"So we must water them properly. Okay."

"Okay."

Just by those small, childish acts—acts far more mature than her age—she comforted me, healed me.

She gave me a reason to stand again. She silently helped that lonely, crying boy walk.

So on that day, I made a silent promise:

I would always stay by her side.

I would protect her—no matter what.

Because she was the reason I kept going. She was my sister.

---

Present.

BOOM.

The explosion echoed through the school, so loud it rattled the windows and shook the floor beneath us.

Chaos erupted instantly—screams, footsteps, panic.

But in that moment, only one name burst into my mind:

Aiko.

I rushed to the window and saw men in black masks forcing their way into classrooms. Students were dragged out into the hallway at gunpoint.

My blood ran cold.

I didn’t think—I hid in the back storage area of the class, heart pounding.

The masked men stormed into our room.

“Everyone out! Move!”

They pushed the teacher and students toward the door. But I stayed hidden.

One man almost spotted me—but then Hirata, in his usual clumsy way, dropped his books loudly.

The men whipped around.

“No smart moves, you little bastard,” one growled, pressing a gun to Hirata’s head.

“You try something again, and you die.”

“I—I’m sorry!” Hirata stammered, raising his hands as they shoved him toward the hall.

But I knew what he’d done.

He did it on purpose.

That idiot risked his life to distract them… for me.

Thank you, Hirata. Please stay alive.

I had to do something. Not just for Aiko, but for all of them.

A few minutes later, an announcement echoed through the school.

“We are members of the Abaki Freedom Group! This school is now under our control.

Any resistance, any stupid move, and children will die!

Our demands will be announced shortly!”

My fists tightened.

I already knew their demands.

They wanted their leader back.

The government wouldn’t give in easily—normally.

But this school had the children of influential families, including the daughter of a member of Parliament.

The terrorists had planned this well.

They wouldn’t hesitate to kill students to increase pressure.

I needed to move. I needed to think. I needed to find Aiko.

And fast.

---

I stayed hidden for a while, listening. The sounds outside—boots, shouting, the faint metallic click of a gun—echoed through the halls.

I couldn’t just rush out and die. But doing nothing felt just as unbearable.

The school was no longer a school. It was a cage, and we were the animals inside.

Damn it. I need to do something… I have to make a move.

From my hiding place, I caught pieces of conversation between the men patrolling the corridor.

That’s when I noticed something strange.

Their voices. Their tone.

Not all of them sounded like trained soldiers.

It’s impossible to gather thirty professional terrorists in Shibuya without getting caught.

They must’ve hired street thugs—small-time criminals. Maybe only a handful are real Abaki members.

That realization gave me a sliver of hope… and fear.

Even a thug with a gun can kill just as easily as a trained man.

My breathing grew shallow. Each step echoing outside sounded like it was walking directly over my chest.

Okay, Hayato. It’s time.

I picked up a chair, crouched near the doorway, and made a soft noise—just enough to draw attention.

“Who’s there?” a voice barked.

The door burst open. A man in black, gun raised.

I moved before I could think.

The chair came down hard—metal against bone. The crack rang out louder than I imagined.

He stumbled. I slammed the chair again, trapping his head between the wall and the frame.

His body twitched once, then fell still.

Silence.

My hands were shaking.

I looked down—and saw red.

His blood smeared across my fingers, warm and sticky. The smell of iron filled my nose.

For a second, the world went numb. The weight of what I’d done pressed into my chest until I could barely breathe.

I just… killed someone.

I’d thought about it before—how I’d act in an emergency, what I’d do if my life was threatened.

But the truth is never like the plan.

Nothing could prepare me for the sight of his face—eyes wide, gasping for air that would never fill his lungs again.

He wasn’t a monster. He was a man.

Maybe a criminal, maybe just desperate.

Maybe someone who’d never killed before today.

The color of his blood was no different from mine.

The fear in his eyes—no different from mine.

Does it matter why you kill? Whether it’s for justice or survival?

In the end, blood is still red.

The thought hollowed me. I sank to the floor beside the body, staring blankly.

For a long moment, I didn’t move.

Then Aiko’s face flashed through my mind—her smile, her voice, her promise at our mother’s grave.

I have to save her. I can’t stop now.

I wiped the blood from my hands, though it felt like it would never come off.

Quickly, I pulled off the man’s jacket and mask, forcing myself to stand.

She can’t see me like this. She’d look at me and see a monster.

I dragged the body behind a cabinet, hid the blood as best as I could, and put on the mask.

Forgive me… whoever you were.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the hallway disguised among the enemy.

I had only one thought left.

Find Aiko. Save her. No matter what.

---