"Father!? Mother!? Where are you!? God, please let them be alive!"
"Spike! Is that you?! Get out of here! Run!"
"Listen to your mother. You can't help us anymore… It's too late. The ceiling crushed parts of our bodies, and the fire is getting closer. Go, my son."
"No! I'll get you ou—"
"Just go already!"
"Do what your father says…"
"There's someone else here."
"Wait! No, my parents are still inside! Please! No…"
"NO!" I shouted, waking up from my nightmare, completely out of breath.
"Oh God… not again," I muttered to myself. I'd had this dream more times than I could count—flashbacks of the night my parents died.
I didn't want to think about it any longer than necessary, so I started my morning routine. I switched on the TV for the news. They were still talking about the terrorist incident. Apparently, all they needed—or rather, wanted—now was my consent to make the story public.
Speaking of Rin… I wondered what she was doing right now. Maybe eating?
After making myself something to eat, I decided to visit my parents' grave. It had been far too long. How long exactly? Supposedly three weeks, I thought.
Just as I was about to leave, I got a message from Rin:
"Heyyy, thanks again for yesterday ⌒‐⌒. I totally forgot to give you your jacket back, so I wanted to ask if I should bring it over? ^-^"
"No problem. If it's okay, I'll just pick it up later," I replied.
"Oh yeah, sure, that works too."
I closed the chat and headed out. On the way, I thought about how life might have been if my parents were still alive.
Would I be happy?
The closer I got to the cemetery, the heavier that familiar weight in my chest became.
"Hey, Mom… Hey, Dad… Sorry it's taken me so long to come visit. The last two weeks have been… chaotic. I met the man who did this to you… but he survived. You'd probably be glad about that—after all, you never wanted my hands stained with blood. Other than that, life's the same as always…
Oh, that reminds me. I met this girl. Her name's Rin. You'd love her. She's lively, kind…
I miss you…
Also… I had that dream again. It… it hurts so damn much."
After standing there for a while, I finally said, "I should go. Hopefully I won't be late next time. The reason I'm a week late is… I was in the hospital. But don't worry, I'm fine."
I walked back to my bike, glanced back one last time, and rode off.
I figured I'd drop by Tonny's place. No real reason—I just wanted to. I called him to ask if it was okay.
Surprised by the call, he said it was fine. He was at work but could take a break since things were slow.
After being forced to close his shop, Tonny used his skills from working on his own bike to become a mechanic.
When I arrived, the first thing he asked was if something was wrong—since I almost never visited. I told him I just felt like dropping by.
"All right then. If that's the case, tell me—who's this girl?"
"You have no idea who she is or what she means to me, and you just gave her my spare keys?"
"Spike, she saved your life. Don't forget that."
"Touché."
"So? You still haven't answered my question."
"I dunno… friends, acquaintances, maybe more? We went to Liberty for dinner, but nothing beyond that."
"Liberty?!"
"Yeah. You remember when the owner's family got kidnapped? I was the one who got them back, so he owed me.
I figured it was a good time to apologize. Oh, and we're also going to the festival together—as a thank-you."
"I know you're not blind. You just don't want to face reality."
"That's possible," I said, lighting a cigarette.
I knew exactly what he meant and had thought about it before, but I didn't want to go any deeper into it.
"You'll realize it sooner or later—probably the day you quit smoking because of her."
"..."
"Anyway, I'm gonna grab a drink. Want something?"
"If you can, just a glass of cold water," I said, making myself comfortable on the couch.
I stayed another two hours, reminiscing about the old days—how we met, the first nights riding through the city, and so on.
When I left, it was around 7 p.m., so I decided to head over to Rin's place. I had promised her.
Ten minutes after telling her I was on my way, I was ringing her doorbell.
"Oh, hey," she said, handing me my jacket.
"Hi, thanks a lot."
"No, thank you. Also, I wanted to talk to you about something. I was thinking… if someone is so obsessed with revenge that they're willing to blow up an entire building, they wouldn't just give up because they lost their bomb, right?
What if he gets the resources again?"
"You're right. He'd see it as just a setback. Especially since he said his dreams haunt him."
Saying that made me realize how much we had in common—and it disgusted me.
"He even said he would've paid me seventy thousand to plant the bomb. So… I doubt he's short on money."
"That means it's only a matter of time before the headquarters goes up in flames…" she said gloomily. "Oh, and before I forget—this will probably catch you off guard, but the CEO of Arasaka contacted me. He wants to give us—well, mostly you—one hundred thousand credits each for our little 'heroic act.' But… the awards will be public. Next Monday, we'll be getting medals and all that live on air."
"So we're basically corporate and state heroes now?"
"Apparently."
"That also means it's highly likely he'll try the attack while the CEO is there…"
"That's the problem—because then there'd be two attacks."
"They must be taking precautions, right?" I asked.
"Yeah, there'll be a huge security team, bomb squad, drones, you name it. But it's still a major risk."
"Damn… there's no way to call it off?"
"Nope. All the networks will be there, and the president and mayor will be attending to shake our hands."
"They're acting like we saved the entire world."
"Well, Arasaka is one of the biggest corporations in the world."
"Fair point."
"Oh, sorry—kind of rude of me not to invite you in. If you want, we can brainstorm inside."
"No worries. But maybe we should just think it over first and gather ideas. Let's discuss it on festival day."
"Yeah… you're probably right. Well, see you the day after tomorrow, I guess," she said thoughtfully.
"Yeah, same time Saturday," I said, turning to leave.