Rain poured over Tokyo, tracing cold silver lines across glowing signs and glimmering asphalt. Mika adjusted her hood as she stepped out of the convenience store, her fingers still aching from scanning item after item nonstop since 5 p.m.
"Mika, can you help me change shifts today? I have to visit my grandma," Yuki had asked that morning.
"You owe me a snack and an anime night for this," Mika muttered at the time. She wanted nothing more than to be wrapped in her blanket, binge-watching her favorite fantasy series. But she couldn't say no.
The shift is ended at 11pm but the store manager finally showed up at 11:37 p.m., Mika was ready to collapse.
"Sorry, sorry, Mika! I'll give you extra bonus this week. Go home, yeah?"
She nodded, changed her clothes and ready to go home. She grabbed her umbrella, and stepped out into the quiet alley behind the store. Her sneakers—brand new, only two weeks old—splashed into a puddle. Dirty water soaked into the white fabric.
"What a great fate," she grumbled. "I was supposed to be under a warm blanket, and now this."
She sighed, turned the corner—and stopped. Her breath caught.
Across the dim alley, a man held a small child. The girl's mouth was covered, her eyes wide and teary. No one else was around. Mika checked her phone: 11:49 p.m.
Her hands trembled as she dialed the emergency number.
"119, what's your emergency?"
"H-hello? I think there's a kidnapping. A man, he's got a little girl—maybe six or seven years old. We're behind Lawson number 517, in Chiyoda. Please, hurry!"
"Can you describe him?"
"He's tall, maybe six foot, dark jacket, baseball cap. I think he's about to put her in an ice storage bin. Please, please—"
"Stay on the line. Officers are en route. Stay safe and keep hidden if you can."
Mika hung up.
"No time."
She took a breath. "This should've been a calm night."
Heart pounding, she picked up a discarded metal pipe. Without thinking, she hurled it at the man. It hit the ground near him with a loud clank.
"Hey, you scumbag!"
The kidnapper turned, startled. In that moment, the girl bit his hand and he dropped her.
"Run!" Mika shouted. The girl bolted. Mika turned to follow—but the kidnapper lunged.
He chased them both, rage in his eyes. His boots slammed into the wet pavement. Mika ran faster than she ever had. The girl tripped—Mika grabbed her hand and pulled her up. "Let's run to the nearest combini!"
They reached another alley. The kidnapper was closing in.
"No!"
Mika turned and shoved him with all her strength.
He stumbled—then snarled, grabbing a metal rod from the ground.
CRACK.
The rod slammed into her temple. Her knees buckled immediately, collapsing onto the wet ground.
THUD.
He kicked her in the stomach. A low, strangled scream escaped her lips.
THWACK.
He brought the rod down onto her back, sending her rolling until she crashed into the stone wall of a nearby building.
With a grunt, he lifted the rod again—
SMACK.
It smashed into her upper arm, just beneath the shoulder. She cried out, louder this time, a sob ripping from her chest as white-hot pain flashed. Something cracked—maybe bone.
STOMP.
He stomped on her stomach. Blood spurted from her mouth.
He grabbed her by the hair and yanked her up.
Tears streamed down her face.
"Stupid bitch! You don't know what you've done? Now eat this!" he shouted, and punched her face with his fist. "Yes, I don't know what I've done till I deserve this," she talked to herself.
Blood burst from her nose. Her vision swam.
KICK.
Once.
Twice.
She curled inward.
CRASH.
THWACK.
Her side.
SMACK.
Her broken shoulder. She screamed. "ARRGH"
CRACK.
Her hand snapped trying to shield herself.
THUMP.
Her ribs. Breathing became agony. "I can't breathe, ple. . ." Before she managed to finnsh it.
CRASH!! *CLANG!*
One final strike to her head. Blood pooled beneath her. Her vision blurred.
Rain continued to fall as the police arrived. Flashing lights reflected on the soaked pavement. The little girl screamed "Onee-chan!!" and pointed. Officers rushed forward.
But Mika couldn't hear them. Only a ringing sound.
A stream of blood slowly crept along the alley, mixing with the rainwater and slipping into the sewer grate nearby. It ran in dark rivulets across the concrete, far too much for any human to survive.
Her world began to spin. Her limbs felt heavy. Her whole body was numb, yet the pain pulsed through her bones like fire and ice colliding. She couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.
"Oh, the little girl, she saved. Thanks God. At least she's oke."
"It hurts... it hurts so much. But, why can't I feel anything anymore...?"
The pavement was cold. The blood, warm. The sound of crying and shouting faded.
"I was supposed to be at home. Watching anime. Eating chips. Laughing at nothing. Just... peace. Why did I have to be here? Why me?"
"What if I said no to Yuki? Would this have changed? Would she be the one lying here instead? Would the little girl saved?"
Her phone buzzed faintly in her pocket. She couldn't move—couldn't lift a hand—but the sound echoed in the quiet.
"It's 12 a.m" the phone declared.
"It's 12.am," the phone declared.
Again.
And again.
"Is this the end of my life...? Am I going to die... on August 20th? Or is it still the 19th...?" The thought floated somewhere between dream and delirium.
"How sad... A week before my birthday. I guess I won't be needing that cake. What about my aunt...? I'm so sorry..."
In the dimness, she heard a scuffle, the sharp cry of the kidnapper being subdued.
"Miss? Miss? Can you hear me? Ambulance is on their way. Please hang on. Miss?" a police officer called.
I can hear you, she wanted to say. But it's fading... I can't answer. My body... numb.
Her eyes fluttered.
"Was it fate...? Or was it destiny?"
A blinding light swallowed her.
She was floating.
In space. In silence. In pain. But she wasn't dead.
Not yet.
And somewhere else, in the same realm, she saw another soul floated—bleeding, broken, and destined to meet her.
Ah, so this is the end.. I vanished into the emptiness.
But a very gentle voice appeared.
The story had only just begun.