“Sir…”

  A man with an umbrella approached him.

  “You shouldn’t sit here in the rain. You should go home.”

  He offered his hand to help Takashi stand.

  “Are you here alone? Do you need help getting home?”

  Takashi lifted his head. His eyes were red and wet as he looked at the middle-aged man standing in front of him... a stranger with a gentle expression.

  “Don’t worry,” Takashi said quietly as he took the man’s hand and stood up.

  “I can get home by myself. I just… lost track of time.”

  The man lightly held his arm and tilted the umbrella to cover him.

  “Go home and get some rest, sir. Some wounds can only be healed by time.”

  He guided Takashi gently under the umbrella.

  “I’ll walk you to your car.”

  Takashi accepted the man’s help without thinking.

  At that moment, the stranger felt like exactly what he needed, something steady to pull him back to reality.

  “When you lose someone… it hurts,” the man said quietly as they walked down the path.

  “I don’t think the pain ever truly ends. But with time, you learn how to live with it.”

  Takashi shivered from the cold as he held onto the man’s arm.

  “You lost someone close too?” he asked softly.

  “Yes,” the man replied.

  “My daughter. Two years ago.”

  He paused for a moment, looking ahead through the rain.

  “I came today to visit her.”

  They walked in silence until they reached Takashi’s car.

  The man held the umbrella over him until Takashi sat inside.

  As he did, the man’s eyes briefly fell on the folded clothes on the passenger seat.

  For a moment, his expression softened.

  There was sadness there but also calm.

  And somehow, that calmness eased something inside Takashi.

  “Loss is inevitable in this world,” the man said gently, preparing to close the door.

  “Eventually, you learn how to live with it, young man.”

  He looked at Takashi with quiet concern.

  “Go home now. You need to take better care of yourself. Whoever you lost… they wouldn’t want to see you punishing yourself like this.”

  Takashi started the engine.

  “Thank you, Mr…”

  “Tanaka…” the man said with a gentle smile.

  “Get home safely.”

  He slowly closed the car door and stepped back, holding the umbrella above his head as the rain continued to fall.

  For a moment, Takashi watched him through the rain.

  Then he finally drove away.

  The pain in his chest felt as heavy as the rain falling outside.

  He felt tired. Weak.

  When he lost his parents, he had been strong. He buried the pain deep inside himself and carried it for years.

  But now it felt like all of it was rising to the surface, forcing him to face it.

  Was it worth it?

  Was holding on to revenge ever going to make things better?

  Instead of healing him, it had slowly destroyed him.

  Sota was lying in a hospital bed now.

  A man who had never been guilty of anything except loving Takashi’s father.

  And Takashi had used him.

  When he entered his apartment, he stopped in front of the mirror in the hallway.

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  The man staring back at him didn’t feel like him anymore.

  His beard had grown uneven. His hair was messy. His eyes were hollow.

  There was no trace of the Takashi who had once been ready to fight the world.

  Now he was fighting something far worse.

  Himself.

  He wasn’t sure anymore if justice truly existed in this world.

  For years he had believed in it.

  Now it felt like every time one evil fell, another rose behind it.

  He had thought he had conquered them.

  Now he wasn’t so certain.

  He looked away from the mirror.

  He couldn’t bear to see the man staring back at him.

  He couldn’t even bring himself to take off his clothes.

  The rain had washed Sota’s scent from the fabric, yet somehow he still felt his presence in them... the closeness of his body, the warmth that had once been there.

  So he stayed like that.

  Standing in the quiet apartment.

  Drenched.

  Exhausted.

  He was desperately waiting for the phone to ring.

  From Dr. Akiyama.

  From Kenta.

  But the phone remained silent.

  Minutes passed… or maybe hours. Takashi couldn’t tell anymore.

  The man who had once been nothing more than a tool for his revenge had become the hero of his life story.

  Just as Takashi’s father had once been in Sota’s.

  And he had failed them both.

  He had believed that everyone belonged in his war.

  That they all had a place in his world.

  But he had been wrong.

  Sota didn’t belong to that dark world.

  He didn’t belong to Takashi’s world either.

  He had only ever needed one thing.

  Freedom.

  Freedom from them.

  Freedom from the organization.

  And maybe… even freedom from Takashi himself.

  Yet somehow they had trapped him between them.

  And in that moment Takashi realized something that hurt even more than the fear of losing him.

  He was not much different from the men who had tortured Sota.

  They had stolen Sota’s freedom.

  And Takashi had done the same.

  And finally, after what felt like hours of waiting, the phone rang.

  It was Kenta.

  Takashi answered immediately.

  “Is he awake?”

  His voice was tight with desperation.

  “Tell me he’s awake, Kenta.”

  He didn’t even give Kenta the chance to speak, drowning in his own fear.

  “He’s stable,” Kenta said.

  “They’re waiting for him to wake up. You can come to the hospital when you’re ready. But you still can’t see him… not until he wakes up.”

  Kenta sighed quietly on the other end of the line.

  “I’m coming right away,” Takashi said, already on his feet.

  Just as he reached for his jacket, he caught his reflection in the mirror.

  He was still wearing the same dirty clothes.

  I can’t face Sota like this.

  He hurried to the closet, grabbed clean clothes, and rushed into the bathroom to shower and shave.

  The weight in his chest felt a little lighter now.

  Sota was stable.

  That was the only thing that mattered.

  When he finished, he hurried toward the door, ready to leave.

  Then he suddenly stopped.

  He remembered something.

  He went back, picked up the pants he had worn the night before, and pulled Sota’s necklace from the pocket.

  I almost forgot.

  Even though he hadn’t slept the entire night, strength had returned to his body.

  Driving to the hospital, Takashi called Kenta.

  “Yes?” Kenta answered immediately.

  “Where are you?” Takashi asked.

  “At the police station. Why?”

  “Can you come to the hospital?” Takashi said.

  “I think so… Is everything alright?” Kenta’s voice sounded worried.

  “I need to talk to you about something.”

  Takashi spoke quickly, urgency in his voice.

  “I’m coming right away,” Kenta said before ending the call.

  Entering the hospital, Takashi asked to see Dr. Akiyama.

  The nurse sensed the urgency in his voice and quickly led him down the hallway.

  She knocked on the door and asked if the doctor was free to see him.

  Dr. Akiyama stepped out almost immediately.

  Her expression was gentle, softer than it had been that night in her apartment.

  “How are you, Mr. Mori?” she asked with a small smile.

  “How is he?” Takashi replied, brushing past the question.

  “The worst has passed, thankfully,” she said, relief visible on her face.

  “He’s going to be all right. You’ll be able to see him as soon as he wakes up.”

  Takashi exhaled deeply, his hands resting on his hips beneath his jacket as he lifted his head.

  “Thank God.”

  A faint smile almost reached his lips.

  Then his eyes met Dr. Akiyama’s.

  He lowered his gaze.

  “I’m sorry…” he whispered.

  “I didn’t keep my promise. I didn’t protect him, Dr. Akiyama.”

  She gently touched his arm.

  “Don’t be so harsh on yourself, Mr. Mori,” she said softly.

  “Sota’s life has always been difficult. He never had anyone truly standing beside him.”

  She sighed quietly.

  “I’m glad he has you now.”

  Takashi lifted his head, searching her eyes.

  “You didn’t fail him,” she continued with a warm smile.

  “You see, Mr. Mori… you showed up. You stayed.”

  Her voice softened even more.

  “He never had that before.”

  Takashi remained silent for a moment, staring at the floor.

  “He is very important to me,” he said quietly at last.

  “I know he is,” Dr. Akiyama replied gently.

  “He’s going to be all right. But now, as a doctor, I’m genuinely worried about you, Mr. Mori. It looks like you haven’t slept at all.”

  She studied his face for a moment.

  “Would you like to rest in my office until Sota wakes up?”

  Takashi shook his head slightly.

  “There’s no need. I’m waiting for Kenta.”

  “All right,” she said softly.

  “But you need to take care of yourself, Mr. Mori. You won’t be able to help anyone if you keep going like this.”

  There was real concern in her voice.

  “I’ll be all right, Doctor,” Takashi replied quietly.

  “I hope so,” she said with a worried smile.

  “I need to go see another patient. As soon as he wakes up, I’ll let you know.”

  She was already walking away as she finished speaking.

  Takashi sat down in the hallway.

  This time it felt different.

  He was waiting to see Sota.

  He leaned his head back against the wall, relief slowly settling in his chest.

  For a moment, he almost fell asleep there in the chair.

  Then Kenta’s voice pulled him back.

  “Hey… what was so urgent that you called me here?” he asked with a faint smile.

  He noticed Takashi resting there, looking calmer than he had that morning when they left the hospital.

  Takashi lifted his head and stood up, pulling Kenta into a quick hug.

  “Thank you for coming.”

  Kenta gently patted his back, saying nothing, not wanting to disturb the fragile peace Takashi seemed to have found.

  Takashi stepped back, looking at him with a tired smile.

  “It feels like we haven’t smoked together in ages.”

  He lowered his head slightly.

  “Do you want to go outside for a smoke?”

  Kenta nudged his shoulder lightly.

  “So… what’s going on?” Kenta asked, offering a cigarette to Takashi.

  Takashi took it, waiting for Kenta to light it.

  “What’s on your mind? You sounded urgent when you called me,” Kenta said as he lit Takashi’s cigarette.

  Takashi took a slow drag before speaking.

  “When Sota wakes up, and when he’s ready to leave the hospital, I need to find a place to hide him for a while,” he said quietly.

  “I don’t think my apartment is safe for either of us right now.”

  “Yeah… you’re probably right,” Kenta replied, slipping one hand into his pocket and shivering slightly in the cold.

  “I could offer you my place, but I don’t think it would be safe there either.”

  Takashi lowered his head.

  “No. They definitely know we’re close.”

  Kenta stayed silent for a moment, smoking.

  Then something seemed to occur to him.

  “Ryo has some real estate outside the city,” he said.

  “I think he rents a few apartments there. I can ask him if any of them are available.”

  Takashi’s eyes lit up slightly.

  “That would be great.”

  He exhaled the smoke slowly, staring into the distance.

  “What’s on your mind?” Kenta asked, leaning a little closer.

  “I know that look. Something’s going on.”

  He waited for Takashi to answer.

  “I’ll stay here at the hospital with Sota until he recovers,” Takashi said at last, turning toward him.

  “I can’t risk something happening to him again.”

  Then his voice grew heavier.

  “I’m trying to find a way to set him free.”

  “Set him free?” Kenta frowned, unsure what Takashi meant.

  “Do you think we could somehow convince the chief to put Sota under police protection?” Takashi asked.

  “To give him a new identity… at least until we finish dismantling the organization.”

  He looked almost desperate now.

  “I don’t know what else to do.”

  “I’m not sure about that, Takashi,” Kenta said, shaking his head.

  “Are you sure you’re thinking clearly right now? You know how these things work. You can’t just give someone police protection. There are procedures for that.”

  He paused for a moment before continuing.

  “And are you even sure Sota would accept it? You haven’t even asked him.”

  Kenta took another drag from his cigarette, clearly trying to stay practical.

  “What are we supposed to do without him?” he added quietly.

  “We still need him to finish what we started.”

  “I don’t think I can do that anymore, Kenta,” Takashi sighed.

  “Why? What’s the reason, Takashi? You’ve been waiting for this for ten years,” Kenta said, his voice rising slightly.

  “He wants this too. You know he won’t back away,” Kenta continued, shaking his head.

  “But I don’t want him to,” Takashi replied, his voice rising as well.

  “The night he was wounded… it felt like someone ripped my heart out of my chest, Kenta.”

  He looked straight at him, his eyes tired and raw.

  “Is that a good enough reason?”

  Kenta couldn’t bear the pain in Takashi’s eyes.

  Takashi — who had never shown his emotions.

  Takashi — who had buried his pain deep inside for years.

  Takashi — who never complained, never cried.

  Now he was standing in front of him, completely broken.

  Kenta pulled him into an embrace and held him tightly.

  “I’ll figure something out,” he said quietly, trying to reassure him.

  “For now, let’s wait for him to recover. We’ll find a place where you can hide him.”

  He paused for a moment.

  “If this is really what you want… I’ll find a way to make it happen.”

  Takashi gripped him tightly without saying a word.

  “I was looking for you everywhere.”

  Dr. Akiyama’s voice broke the silence.

  Takashi and Kenta quickly stepped back from each other, straightening their posture and adjusting their clothes.

  She looked at them with a gentle smile.

  “Sota is awake."

  Takashi froze.