Tagline: Not every fall is pushed. Some jump willingly.
---
2:04 A.M.
Rundown Warehouse – District 11
Rain hammers the broken windows.
Kai kneels behind a stack of crates, breathing through his mouth.
In his gloved hand: a sharpened ice pick. In his chest: silence.
He listens to the man pacing inside.
Toru Miyasaka — ex-security chief of a private girl's school. Fired after a scandal. Cleared in court. Whispered about online.
Silas gave Kai the file.
But this time, he didn't follow.
> "This one's yours," Silas had said.
"You choose how. You choose when."
Kai steps out from the dark.
Toru turns. "Who the hell—"
The first stab goes through his leg.
The second, his wrist.
Kai says nothing.
When he's done, Toru's no longer breathing.
And Kai?
Still is.
---
4:17 A.M.
Silas's Studio – Later
Kai stands in silence. Blood still on his shoes.
Silas waits. Doesn't offer comfort.
Kai breaks the silence.
> "He didn't beg. I wanted him to beg."
Silas nods.
> "Next time, choose better prey."
Kai nods back.
They don't celebrate.
This wasn't joy.
It was method.
---
7:02 A.M.
Naomi's Apartment
Naomi wakes from the couch. Eyes red. Stomach empty.
She replays footage of Reina again — the broken girl Silas once protected. Or used. Or both.
She's found Reina's younger brother. Souta. Ten years old. Lives with an aunt now.
Naomi visits the apartment.
She brings him books.
She brings him hope.
> "I just want to make sure you don't end up like them."
He smiles. "I won't. I'm not angry."
But as Naomi leaves, she sees something:
A photo of Reina on the table.
With the word "FAITH" carved into the frame.
Silas's word.
She's already too late.
---
1:41 P.M.
School Hallway
Silas passes by Mika.
She doesn't speak to him anymore.
But she doesn't report him either.
She just watches.
He knows what that means.
She's still thinking about it.
Still wondering what it would feel like to hurt someone the way they hurt her.
And he lets her wonder.
---
4:37 P.M.
Naomi's Office
She pulls every file she can on Kai.
Grades. Discipline records. Therapy logs.
One note catches her eye:
> "Displays obsessive patterns, but no signs of violent behavior. Detached, but cooperative."
From three months ago.
She flips the page.
Handwriting changes.
New note, recent:
> "Withdrawn. Delayed responses. Intermittent eye contact. Loss of emotional regulation. Suspected influence."
> Signed: K. Matsuura – Counselor.
She grabs her phone.
> "Get me Matsuura. Now."
---
6:00 P.M.
Counselor's Office – St. Gabriel's High
Matsuura is nervous. "I noticed it weeks ago. His emotional flatness, the way he avoids mirrors. Like he doesn't recognize himself anymore."
> "Did you report it?"
He swallows. "No one wanted another scandal after Suda. The school board told me to bury it."
Naomi clenches her jaw.
> "Do you think Kai's dangerous?"
Matsuura pauses. Then nods.
> "He's not scared of consequences anymore. He's just… hollow."
---
11:11 P.M.
Rooftop – City Skyline
Silas stands alone.
He's thinking.
He's remembering a phrase he read in an old philosophy book:
> "He who fights monsters should see to it that he does not become one."
He smiles.
> "Too late."
---
Final Scene
Kai walks home under the streetlights.
No police. No shadows. Just silence.
He stops outside a park where a child is crying.
The child says, "My dad hurt my mom."
Kai crouches.
> "Where do you live?"
The child points.
Kai looks up at the distant apartment building.
Then walks away.
He doesn't call anyone.
But in his pocket, he adds another name to the list.
---
Final Line:
> The world doesn't need heroes, Kai thinks.
It just needs fewer people to stand still.
---