? ? ?

The city life is taxing. As it required a constant state of vigilance for the sake of doing 'well' in both work and keeping personal security. It offered many luxuries that required a hefty amount of yen to gain access to. Due to the high sums of money it required though, few ever truly got to experience it. However that didn't mean one couldn't try to save up for it and experience it at least once in their short lives. But of course, like most things in life, Living in the city had it's own kind of dangers.

A man groaned in annoyance. His stubble tickled against his neck and shoulders as he tried to shift to a better position. His legs, covered in thick gauze as they have been for nearly two weeks now, shifted slightly in discomfort. With a frown on his face he eyed the wheelchair next to his bed. Running a hand through his raven black hair he sighed. Using both arms he pulled it closer to him tried to climb into it. Keyword being 'tried'. The sound of a loud crash resonated throughout his apartment. Followed by a pained groan by himself. Then by the sound of rushed footsteps.

"Ojisan!" a boy, a couple of years shy of being a teenager. Rushed into the room. He wore a long sleeved T-shirt and a blanket tied to his neck. His dead fish like eyes scanned the man for any new wounds while helping the man up as much as he could considering his height. "Are you okay?"

The man chuckled a little even though his entire body hurt. "Y-Yeah. It'll take more than a fall like this to do me away. I survived even after my legs were crushed when that car ran me over you know." That was a gross overstatement of course. His legs weren't 'crushed'. Far from it. Broken? Yes. Crushed? No. His nephew looked so much like his brother that the man couldn't help it. Despite knowing his nephew for such little time, the emotions built from past regrets forced him to disregard his own pain to try and diminish the boy's concern.

The boy sighed in mild annoyance but gave his uncle a half smile nonetheless. "You gotta take it easy Ojisan."

"Yeah Yeah." the man said as the boy pushed him into the living room. "Listen Kid... I'm sorry." The boy showed his confusion even though his uncle couldn't see it.

"Why? It's not like you wanted to fall down." the boy asked, confused at his uncle's sudden change of demeanor. He stopped pushing the wheelchair and helped the man onto the living room couch.

"I'm sure you would rather be at home." the man said, eyeing the blanket the boy hand tied to his neck like a cape. He knew some kids liked to play 'superhero' while dressed up like that. "Instead of having to come literally hundreds miles away to look after this old man you barely even know." he wasn't exactly old enough to be called an old man. But he figured kids tended to see anyone the same age as their parents to be 'old'.

"..." a frown, the boy didn't answer. His uncle was correct. "It's not a... I mean... I just... don't get it." He didn't wait for the older man to reply. "Otou-san has plenty of unused sick days left from work. He could have been here... too. I mean, you're siblings aren't you? Shouldn't siblings care for each other?" It wasn't that he disliked his uncle. It was just that... Heck he didn't even know the man existed until two weeks ago.

"Ahah." the man chuckled. The expression on his face betrayed the lighthearted sound he made. "Your old man kinda hates me. Years of resentment is kind of hard to let go of you see. And well... I guess I can't really blame him."

"There's nothing new there." the boy scoffed. The cluster of hair at the top of his head twitches a little, like it agreed with his statement. "That man doesn't like me either." He couldn't help but wonder if his father would still be like that to him when he grew up. Like his father still is to the man in front of the boy. Even though the boy didn't get along too well with his father, for reasons his eleven year old mind didn't really understand, it still made him a little sad inside.

The man's eyes widened after hearing that. A sad smile on his face. "Our Oyaji... as in your Jiji wasn't exactly good at being a parent. When he was still alive, he used to favor me over your old man and... well... I-I know that it may not look like it but-" he stumbled to find the words he was looking for "-I'm sure your father cares for you too and He just... doesn't know how to show the thing he never felt is all."

The boy frowned. 'Then how come he... they... are so different with her?'

"I guess what I'm trying to say is-" the man rubbed the back of his neck. "Don't hold it against him. He probably just has too much going on at work. It's rough, providing for a family of four these days. Even with your mother's help. Making money isn't easy you-ah. What am I saying. You're too young to understand that."

'...' the boy looked down at the floor, his eleven year old mind was having a hard time processing all these complicated emotions. With a sigh he looked back at his uncle. "What do you want for dinner?"

"We're out of food already?" the man asked, a little shocked. He didn't know how to cook so he just kept store bought bentos in the fridge. They were all cheap and had the same things in them so there wasn't anything to choose from. That is until the time to restock came once again. His current stock shouldn't have ran out so soon.

"No. There's still a few bentos in the fridge but I'm sick of store food." the boy replied.

"But I can't cook." the man asked confused. "Can you?"

The boy nodded. "Just curry. I've been meaning to learn to make more things though. Oka-chan and Otou-san usually work till it's really late. So I end up cooking dinner and breakfast."

The man frowned. '... What are you doing to your children little brother?' he sighed. "I don't have the ingredients to make curry though."

"That's fine." the boy puts a hand forward with its' palm open. "I can go buy some."

"At this hour?" the man looked out the window. It was already dark. "I dunno kid. Strange things have been happening in the city lately..." The news said it was nothing to worry about. But people still talk.

"I'll be fine. I've gone out on later hours to convenience stores before." this wouldn't be his first time going out late night to buy groceries. And it probably wouldn't be his last. There was no other reason to go outside either, considering how his social life had always been. "I'll be back in an hour. Hour and a half at most."

The man thought for a couple of minutes then reluctantly gave the boy some money from his wallet. He too was getting a little sick of bentos. The boxed lunches were great and nutritious but they lacked the warmth of a home cooked meal. But without knowing how to and having the time to learn learn to cook he couldn't really do anything about it. Seeing as how his work had taken all of his time. "Alright. Be careful though. There's been news of kids going missing lately. Just give me a call if something happens, don't talk to strangers and stay where plenty of people can see you!" a would be kidnapper shouldn't act if there's a lot of people around right? Besides, his nephew had already shown he was capable of taking care of himself these past few days. Impressive even more so considering he had to look after an injured man older than his own father.

The boy nodded. A free hand went into his pocket to feel the cellular phone his parents had given him in case of an emergency. A bulky thing it was, bigger than his own palm even. Yet despite it's size the thing was light. If he had worn tighter cloths it's shape would have easily been visible to anyone that glanced over his pants. His father had been very insistent on him being careful with it. And he had every right to be, this thing had cost him quite a lot of money... Somehow he doubted that they would pickup. They liked to keep their focus on work. For a moment he was worried that she would be neglected while he was away but dismissed that thought before the concern would fester. There was no need to worry. She was their favorite after all. He couldn't blame them, she was his favorite as well. Not to mention he already talked to her yesterday... 'She sounded happy.'... A slight frown fell upon his lips. Dark thoughts of her being happier without him around plagued his mind like the seemingly countless times before.

He stopped right before grabbing the doorknob. The weather outside wasn't freezing but it certainly wouldn't be kind to him in his current attire. Doing a full 180 he headed back inside and picked up his jacket. It wasn't much. But it should keep him warm enough. He exits the apartment room he would be sharing with his uncle until his uncle gets better in a few more weeks. At least enough to move on his own a little better anyway. Turning to the elevator's direction he walked forward with his hands in his pockets. After pressing the button he waited for the elevator to open.

When it opened he paused. A man standing on the back of the elevator and a girl in red close to the elevator door. They waited for him to enter. But he didn't, he wasn't too keen on being in an enclosed place with complete strangers unless absolutely. He noticed the man looking slightly uncomfortable for some reason. It was almost unnoticeable. His eyes landed on the little girl. She was younger than himself if her size indicated anything to him. Although something about her face, as little of it he could see due to the hoodie she kept on, caught his attention. Specifically the dark patch of skin right under her eye. Or at least where her eye should be. The little girl turned away so that he could no longer see her.

The elevator door closed and went up another floor. He pressed the button again, the elevator came back up. This time there wasn't anyone inside. A sigh of relief later he entered the elevator. He kept walking after exiting the large apartment complex. Outside wasn't as cold as he had expected. But the jacket still came in handy against the mildly cold winds. So not a total mistake. Now all he had to do was wait for the bus to Shin-. A buzzing sound came from his pocket.

The bus had arrived at that moment and he boarded it. He pulled out the cellular phone from his pocket after taking a seat. It was an 'SMS' from his uncle. Telling him to buy the pain killers his uncle needed. The duration of the trip just got extended. He put the phone back inside his pocket and looked out the window. Despite being here for almost a week he hadn't really had the chance to explore the place. The large bridge in the horizon that connected the two halves of this city was completely visible even at this hour. He wasn't able to appreciate it's beauty for long as a flash of red light caught his attention. It was far larger than the yellow lights that kept the bridge lit. And far more... extraordinary... Powerful...

'What was that?!' he shouted in his head. He leaned in closer from behind the glass window of the bus. The flash of light was brief. If he wasn't paying attention to the bridge he would have surely missed it. In fact, he couldn't help but wonder if his eyes were making him see things that weren't there to begin with. Seconds passed and for reasons he couldn't even begin to fathom, he wondered what was on the other side of that sea.

The bus came to a stop signaling his time to exit the large vehicle. He walked through the streets. Unlike the more traditional part of the city, this one was far modern and western looking. He wouldn't have had to come this far out to just buy simple groceries, he was supposed to get out multiple stops ago but he needed to buy medicine for his uncle now. This specific brand was sold in a select few pharmacies. An annoyed sigh escaped his lips. Getting the medicine first would be the optimal choice since that way he wouldn't have to lug the heavier bag of groceries around. He wasn't really strong enough to actually pull it off as well. Suddenly a glint from the ground caught his eye. It was-

A 500 yen coin? By the looks of it no one had seen or did it look like anyone was searching for any lost money. He picked it up. Thinking of the possible ways he could spend it with a small smile.

He looked around for the pharmacy. Too his surprise he spotted one close by. And a convenient store was literally right next to it! The two were halves of the same building's ground floor, above it was another four floors of concrete walls. A visible smile graced his lips. This one, far larger than the one from before. Unfortunately a couple of high school girls walking by saw his smiling face and gave a reaction that implied they were creeped out by it. But that was fine, he was used to those kind of looks already. He was just glad he didn't have to spend too much time out here. He entered the pharmacy and came out it less than ten minutes later. His smile wider than before.

'40% discount? Lucky!' he was grinning at this point. He didn't question why medicine of all things were being sold at a discount. But as the saying went, 'Don't look at a gift horse in the mouth' he decided not to question his good fortune of the day. If he knew today would be such a lucky day he would have spent a little longer outside his uncle's apartment. Very few days could be considered as a lucky day for him.

He turned right and entered the convenience store. There were a few others inside whom he paid little attention to. He didn't take his time buying the ingredients for curry and used the 500 yen coin he found on the ground to buy a drink. The golden yellow colored steel of the canned drink reflected the light from above his head. It was his favorite even though he didn't get to drink it to often. The teenage employee behind the checkout counter looked as bored as he did when the boy entered the store, even with that smile. He always knew a fake smile when he saw one. The boy took the plastic bags full of goods and started to walk towards the glass doors of the convenience store. On his way he raised the canned drink to his eye level.

'Life can be bitter, so it's best to have something sweet once in a while.' he thought. The sound made by the can opening and scent it produced was music to his ears and heavenly to his nose. He brought the aromatic drink to his lips to get a taste of the contents inside.

The lights went out.

'A power outage?' he wondered confused. Looking outside there was barely any light outside. By the sounds of it the people outside were all as equally confused as him. Other than that, the darkness outside felt... unnatural... for some reason. He tried to walk forward to exit the building but a weak earthquake made him loose his balance. He fell on his rear. Fear from both the darkness and the earthquake began to set in.

*C-CRA-AK* The sound of something breaking reached his ears. Followed by the sound of explosions, rumbling and numerous screams. This time it sounded so much louder than before. Almost as if the world itself was being torn asunder. The bag of groceries and canned drink fell from his grasp long ago. Both of his hands clutched his head as he stayed on the ground. Waiting for everything to settle down.

"*coughcoughcough*" a sudden series of coughs erupt from his throat. It was hard to breath and his eyes began to water. Like that time when the kids at the playground threw sand at him and yelled things like 'Go away, creep!' 'your germs will infect me, kyaah!', laughing as they did so. Presumably something similar was happening this time. He held his breath in and clenched his eyes shut. Curling up into a ball, he laid near the entrance of the convenience store and feared for the worst.

He wasn't able to hold his breath for long as he began gasping for air. More dust enters his lungs. He fought to keep himself conscious. The dust settled seconds later. Seconds that felt like hours to him. His breathing stabilized. He looked around but couldn't see anything. It was so dark that he couldn't even see his own hands. He stood up. "H-Hello?! Can anyone hear me?!" there was no responses. He took a step back. Then another. And then ano-

"Ow!" the back of his head hit something. He turned and used his hands to get a feel of what he hit. It felt like... a wall? There couldn't have been a wall here! He just walked through this exact place. And why was this wall positioned so... oddly? He took out the flip phone in his pocket and used the light it emitted from it's screen to see what he hit his head with. What he saw made his heart nearly stop. He fell on his rear once again when the ground rumbled and bits of dust fell from above. He looked down to see dust and broken bits of concrete and glass on the ground then turned his head upwards. A portion of the ceiling had broken down from above. His heartbeat hastened. He swallowed the lump in his throat then turned to run out of the building. But it was no use.

His eyes widened because of what he saw. Panic began to set in again making his body shake. He slowly took steps towards the glass doors. The distance between the 'new ceiling' and his head increased with each step. His mind kept denying what he saw, as if doing so would change it somehow. "No... No... NoNoNo." On the other side of the glass doors was nothing but debris. Chunks of broken concrete, metal and glass had piled up outside the entrance. Piled up so high that the boy couldn't even see anything except the rubble. Seconds passed as his brain tried to accept what his eyes showed him. His lips still denying what he was seeing. He started to bang his palms against the glass door. "Help! Someone help me! I'm trapped in here! HELP!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, but there was no reply. Not a single sound reached his ears. Saved for the noise made by his palms hitting the thick glass. No sound of people rushing around or police sirens.

Help wasn't coming.

He couldn't hold it in anymore. The terror he felt was beginning to show. His hands were beginning to hurt as he started banging harder. Hope dwindled faster than the tears cascading from his eyes. His hands hit the glass doors again. This time the glass cracked. Even in his current state he jumped back. The debris on the other side was definitely heavy and was weighing down on the glass door by the second. His banging on the door didn't help in the slightest. If anything the boy suspected it was what gave the final push the glass needed to crack. The crack spread and the door breaks. Sending glass flying everywhere. He was able to shield his face before the glass could hurt him. A cloud of dust picked up but began to settle moments later. When his eyes opened he saw the debris had broken into the little space he was trapped within. But there was still plenty of debris obscuring his view of the outside. If anything, it looked like there was more debris blocking his path now. His legs finally gave in, causing him to fall down. He crawled back till his back hit against the fallen ceiling. Deep breaths were being taken in rapidly. A thought crossed his panicking mind.

"If you need anything just give me a call. I have my number saved on it."

Those words left much to be desired by the father who left him to take care of his injured uncle merely a handful of days ago. But at this moment they felt like words of salvation to him. He brought his phone close to him. His shaky fingers made it hard to press the buttons to open the call log. The darkness made it had to press the buttons. His father's number was the only one to pop up. He hit the call button and then pressed it against his ear, harder than necessary with both trembling hands.

*First beep* "Pick up!" He exclaimed. *Second beep* "Pick up." his voice lost much of the strength it had. *Third beep* "Pick up." his words trembled. *Fourth beep* ... ... *Fifth Beep* "...Please." he pleaded.

*Beepbeepbeepbeep*

The desperation on his face faded, only to be replaced by shock. He dialed the same number again. It didn't get the chance to ring this time. A white box with the Japanese characters for 'No signal' popped up on the small screen. The device slipped from his hands. The clattering sound it made upon hitting the ground didn't register in his mind. His chance at being saved... was lost. He was so caught up in his thoughts and sorrow that he didn't notice the temperature slowly but steadily rising. Sweat rolled down from his face and mixed with his tears to the point where they could no longer be distinguishable.

He hugged his knees close to his chest and buried his face in them then laid down on the side, silently crying. And then... he heard it.

Hope returned to him. A small smile on his teary face upon being able to distinguish it as a muffled word. He got up. "He-Hello?! Is anyone there?! I'm stuck in he-" he froze. His smile disappeared. That noise he heard. It wasn't made by someone that was going to help him.

"H-elp."

It was made by someone that needed help.

"H-elp."

It was coming from behind him.

"...H-elp."

It was becoming weaker by the second. His body trembled when the realization hit him. The person calling out... was dying.

"H-elp." another voice called out. It was deeper than the first one.

"Hel-p me." a third voice. This one belonging to a female.

He covered his ears with his hands, eyes clenched shut. The voices kept calling out for help. Begging to be saved from the clutches of death. They were undoubtedly crushed underneath the mountain of rubble and debris on the other side of the concrete slab that somehow broke off from the rest of the ceiling and diagonally fell down. Leaving him completely unharmed yet trapping him here. More voices joined in. All crying out for the same thing. His hands pressed harder against his ears. It failed to completely deafen out the pleas for help. He sobbed, his lips quivering as the voices calling for help faded to nothing. But even though they were gone. They still haunted his mind. The tears flowed freely.

"I'm sorry." he apologized. "I'm sorry." He just wanted to go home. "I'm sorry." He didn't know who he was apologizing to... Perhaps to-

"I'm sorry." - to the uncle that would undoubtedly be blamed for his death. 'Why am I so useless?' Why did he always have to be a burden to those around him?

"I'm sorry." - to the people calling for help. 'Why am I so weak?' Why did he always fail?

"I'm sorry." - to whatever god he had somehow angered. 'Why did I have to have these eyes?' Would people always hate him because of it?

"I'm sorry." - to the parents that rarely ever smiled at him. 'Why was I born like this?' Why was he never able to make them proud?

"I'm sorry." - to the si...

...

...

No...

His eyes opened. Tears still present in them but now they had determination. Only one objective remained. He took a deep breath to calm himself as much as he could. With the phone in one hand, lighting the way ahead, He stood up to near full height and climbed the heap of rubble inside till he was at the top. "I won't die here." he stated to himself. His palms descended on the debris.

"Agghh!" he hissed in pain, jerking back when the heated up rubble burned him. Combined with the rubble underneath him shifting positions, his sudden movement caused him to lose his footing and tumble down the heap of rubble. He held onto the phone, knowing that if he were to loose it here then it was all over. The concrete rubble dug into his back. The only reason his skin was still intact was because of the clothes he wore. Right at the end of the fall his body turned and the side of his face hits a rock. Momentarily unable to move because of his stinging palms and sore body, he laid there. He got up again and winced. But his conviction wasn't deterred in the least. Ignoring the fresh cut under his right eye that drew blood he rushed back up to the top of the pile again. He placed the rear end of the phone in his mouth. His lower jaw pressed the numerical buttons and kept it's display screen lit. This time he took off his jacket then wrapped it around his hands. Moving them now would be a little more difficult but at least he could touch the heated debris. He dug his covered hands into the broken pieces of concrete and pushed it aside. He did it again when more rubble replaced it. And again and again and again. Minutes pass repeating the same action.

'I won't die here.' he stated again in his mind. His arms were beginning to tire. 'I can't die here.' more rubble were removed. This time. a larger slab of concrete slid inside. It was bigger than the others and it definitely weighed around half of his own weight. He grabbed it with both arms. 'I REFUSE TO DIE HERE!' Using every ounce of his strength he heaved. The slab of debris came off the ground from its' side. When he pushed it aside it slid down to the very bottom of the pile Unfortunately, the slab of concrete wasn't the only thing to fall. He too fell on his side due to the momentum and during the fall his jaws unhinged, allowing the phone to fall from his hold as well. The device rolled down to the bottom of the pile, face down. And with its display no longer illuminating the area he was shrouded in darkness. His only light source had died but his will would not falter. He kept digging blindly in the direction he thought he had been till now.

He paused.

Dim red light came into his would be tomb from a crevice his digging had created. He pushed edges of the spot where light came from. It crumbled away and more light came inside. It was too small for him to get out of for now but that changed only minutes later.

The crevice, now a hole, was large enough for him to crawl through. The jacket, now sporting minor burn marks came off of his hands. The rubble outside would certainly be hot like the rubble inside when he first started digging. So he threw the jacket outside, in hopes to use it as a rug and crawl out on top of it. Much to his surprise it worked... At least it looked like it did, but he couldn't see the need to complain. His arms could not feel the heat radiating from the rubble underneath the jacket. And the rubble inside seemed to have cooled off enough for him to not feel it on his knees through his pants. So he crawled out as fast as he could. The light outside, as dim as it was, still blinded him momentarily but he still couldn't see the need to complain. His eyes adjusted to the light rather quickly. When he was able to see again. His eyes widened, a smile graced his quivering lips. Hope filled his being. Tears. Of happiness. Spilled from his eyes.

Not because of the people trapped under broken and burning buildings, much like him merely seconds ago, slowly dying yet still calling out for help.

Not because of the thick red mist in the sky, swirling around a void darker than black itself.

Not because of the small figure barely within eyesight, trudging forward amidst the sea of corpses and blazing inferno.

But because of the thought being able to go home again.

He tried to stand up. Only to fail . So trapped in his own world was he that he failed to remember half of his body was still inside what was once a convenience store. His waist hit the upper half of the hole he was crawling through. It sent a weak vibration throughout the fragile remains of the building, and that was all it took. A brick above him, barely holding onto its kin, separated from it's brethren. The brick fell down-

-and hit the back of his head.

His world shook. His eyes widen instantly in shock. The arms under him, over the jacket, barely able to keep him elevated till now gave away. His fingers went up to the back of his head, rubbing it gently then presented itself in front of his eyes. The normally pinkish white skin was now coated in dark red. It was blood. His Blood. His vision began to blur.

"N-no..." he managed to utter out. His body rapidly lost whatever strength he had. More rubble fell from above and onto his back till they covered most of it, almost like a blanket even... Like a mother's embrace... Right?... Even through his muddy consciousness he felt phantom pain as the heat produced by the debris began to eat away his T-shirt and then sink into the skin of his back. He tried to move. But he couldn't even do that. His strength had been depleted. His will had been broken. His bleeding head rested on the edge of the jacket, right under the brick that had stole his final chance at salvation. It was still warm, not that he could feel it. So warm that the small cluster of hair at the top of his head, along with many more strands, began to burn away. His eyes began to lose their light as they slowly closed.

Fate had reduced him to nothing. To Zero.

"I'm... sorry." he apologized... once last time.

To the little sister whose smile he would never see again.

Changes from the original: Some spelling errors fixed. A couple of lines added+tweaked. Hachiman' flip phone in the original version of this chapter is now a cellular phone. And yes, cell phones did exist back in the mid 90s. Even earlier than that actually. Not as commonly used as a telephone though.