No!
It can't be… Sai muttered, tears still streaming down his cheeks, his heart pounding like a bass drum.
"Hey, kid…"
A voice emerged from the crowd.
A bald police officer stepped forward, his neat uniform and composed posture suggesting a man in his early thirties.
"A young lad like you shouldn't get too close to the sce—"
His words abruptly stopped.
The officer finally noticed the tears pouring endlessly down Sai's face.
Overwhelmed with sympathy and guilt, the officer's tone softened as he gently patted Sai's head before pulling him into a hug.
Sai, broken and barely conscious from grief, sank into the officer's arms as he burst into uncontrollable tears. The wails of sirens echoed all around them, drowning out the cries of a child who had just lost everything.
The officer himself began tearing up.
"I'm so sorry, child… I'm sorry you had to see all this. I'm sorry you lost someone dear to you. A kid your age should never have to feel this kind of pain."
He tightened his grip slightly.
"But please… don't let this weigh you down forever. You still have a bright future ahead of you, so live… please live for whoever you lost here today. You can do it, lad. I know you can. I'm sure of it."
High above the incident, nearly eight hundred feet in the air, a dark cloaked figure stood motionless as though the sky itself were solid ground.
A hood concealed its face.
Beneath it rested what appeared to be a skull mask.
Sai, though overwhelmed with grief, couldn't help but notice the figure floating silently above the crash site.
Still drowning in tears, Sai's vision slowly began to fade as consciousness slipped away.
. . .
10 Years Later
Sincross Alleyway
10:59 PM
WHAM!
WHAM!
WHAM!
Sai's bruised fists repeatedly crashed into the face of a local Vandamese thug while his left hand gripped the man tightly by the collar.
The thug's fingers twitched weakly with every hit.
Behind Sai lay over ten battered men scattered across the alley floor, bruised and broken beyond recognition.
"Once I'm done," Sai growled, "you and your buddies will never mess with me again… even if someone pays ya."
He drove another brutal punch into the man's temple.
"SAI!!!"
Sai's fist stopped midway through the assault as a furious voice thundered through the alley.
A bright white light from a nearby vehicle illuminated the darkness.
Standing beside the car was Mr. Howard.
His bald head reflected beneath the headlights as he stood with the authority of a police officer… and the disappointment of a parent.
Sai immediately realized he was in serious trouble.
He glanced once more at the half-conscious thug before scoffing and tossing the man aside. The thug's head slammed against the ground with a sickening thud.
Mr. Howard stared at Sai in silence.
Disappointment filled his eyes.
Though Sai appeared unbothered by the glare, deep down, a faint feeling of resentment began to stir within him.
. . .
Cross Street Police Station
The atmosphere inside the station was cold and silent.
A ceiling fan spun lazily overhead, its constant creaking echoing faintly throughout the nearly empty room. The scent of coffee, old paper, and worn furniture lingered heavily in the air.
Sai sat quietly on a metal chair, his bruised knuckles stained red with blood.
Across from him stood Mr. Howard.
Disappointed.
Tired.
Angry.
The bald officer placed both hands firmly on the desk and stared hard at Sai, whose emotionless gaze remained fixed on the doorway ahead while his arms rested across his chest.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Sai?" Mr. Howard finally snapped.
His voice thundered across the station.
"You nearly killed that man!"
Sai remained silent.
"That's the twelfth incident this year!" Howard continued. "Fighting gangs, breaking bones, sending people to the hospital—what exactly are you trying to prove!?"
Still no response.
Sai slowly unfolded his arms and rested his elbows on his knees, fists clenched tightly.
Howard exhaled heavily before speaking again, this time in a calmer tone.
"I know you're hurting."
Sai's eyes narrowed slightly.
"I know you think this rage of yours is justified," Howard muttered. "But this path you're walking… it's destroying you."
Sai finally looked up.
"They deserved it."
"Maybe they did," Howard replied instantly, "but that doesn't give you the right to become a monst—"
"What the hell do you know about monsters!?"
Sai suddenly slammed his fist against the desk as he partially rose from his seat.
The room fell silent.
For the first time, Sai's expression shifted.
Mr. Howard slowly pulled a chair closer and sat in front of him.
"You think your parents would've wanted this?" he asked quietly.
"Not like you knew them," Sai muttered coldly as he leaned back into his chair, arms folded once more across his white T-shirt.
His jaw tightened.
"You think Joseph Takka and Ann Takka died just so their son could spend his life drowning in violence?"
Silence.
Howard leaned forward.
"The night your parents died…"
Sai's eyes trembled faintly.
"I still remember it clearly. You were crying so hard you could barely breathe." Howard smiled sadly. "Back then… I told you something."
Sai remained quiet.
"I told you to live."
The room became silent once more.
"You were just a kid," Howard continued softly. "A broken little kid standing in front of a burning wreckage. And even then… even after losing everything… you survived."
Sai looked away.
"But now?" Howard's voice hardened again. "Now you're throwing your life away with your own hands."
Sai clenched his fists tighter.
"They died because I was weak."
"No," Howard immediately shot back. "They died because of an accident."
Sai's eyes widened slightly.
"You keep blaming yourself for something you couldn't control," Howard said. "And every time you beat someone half todeath, every time you drown yourself in anger… you're trying to punish yourself for surviving."
Sai went silent again.
For once…
He had no words.
Howard slowly stood up and walked toward the nearby window, staring at the city lights outside.
"You know," he muttered, "I read your father's profile."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Over four hundred martial arts styles, huh? Impressive. Guess that's where you get it from."
Sai said nothing.
"Judging from the smile in his passport photo…" Howard chuckled softly, "he looked like the type who joked around a lot."
Sai's eyes flickered faintly.
"And your mother…" Howard laughed quietly. "I'm guessing she wasn't exactly the 'I love you' type, was she?"
Despite himself, Sai's expression softened slightly.
Howard noticed immediately.
Sai smirked faintly before folding his arms again and briefly closing his eyes.
"You… have… no… idea," Sai replied in playful agreement.
"They loved you, Sai," Howard said softly. "That much, I know for certain."
The gentleness in his voice carried more weight than any shouting ever could.
"They didn't die wanting this for you." He turned toward Sai. "They died wanting you to live a long life."
Sai slowly lowered his head.
For the first time in years…
The anger inside him hesitated.
Howard walked back toward him and placed a firm hand on his shoulder.
"You're still young, kid."
Sai slowly lifted his eyes.
"So stop trying to become a weapon."
Howard's gaze sharpened.
"And start living like a human being again."
A faint grin formed on Howard's face as he gently patted Sai's shoulder.
"Like I said before… you have to live for your parents. Let them keep breathing through you."
Sai's heart sank deeply.
A tear quietly escaped from his eye as he tried desperately to hold back the emotions swelling inside him.
The gentle pats on his shoulder continued.
. . .
THE NEXT DAY
CRASH!!!
The streets of Shibuya wailed once more.
But this time…
The victim was Sai.
Blood rapidly spilled across the road with no hope of recovery. His white T-shirt was drenched crimson as paramedics rushed desperately toward him.
But Sai already knew it was too late.
Everything they were doing was meaningless.
"Well… so much for living for them," Sai muttered weakly.
The paramedics immediately began performing emergency treatment, but Sai's vision had already begun fading into darkness.
His body grew colder with every passing second.
His eyelids became heavier.
Coincidentally…
It was the very same truck that had taken his parents' lives ten years ago that had now taken his as well.
Sai looked toward the sky one final time.
The same dark figure from ten years ago stood high above him, cloaked in black with a skull-like mask hidden beneath its hood.
Watching.