Emotion. 感情.
Emotions are the essence of life itself—chaotic forces that surge through the soul, giving meaning to each breath we take. They paint the world in shades of joy, sorrow, rage, and love. They are the invisible currents that guide our hearts, the storms that break us, and the stars that give us hope. Without them, we are nothing more than hollow vessels, drifting aimlessly through the void.
But tonight... my emotions are dead.
Happiness, anger, fear—none of them stir within me. They feel like ghosts trapped behind a glass wall, far out of reach. And the reason? I'm leaving my homeland behind. Not out of choice, but necessity. There's a secret... a secret too dangerous to reveal. A message from my siblings, sealed in a letter that even my closest friends don't know about.
They'll find out soon enough. I have a plan—a surprise.
3:00 AM
Haneda International Airport, Tokyo
The terminal buzzes with restless energy. Boarding starts in 30 minutes, but my mind is elsewhere, lost in the web of formalities: passports, luggage checks, immigration scans—all meaningless routines that drag on forever. The plane waits patiently, like a silent beast.
In the boarding lounge, the announcements begin:
"Now boarding: First-Class Passengers..."
A few elegant figures rise. The world worships them, bending over backward in deference. Their tickets are punched with practiced ease as they glide aboard, oblivious to the rest of us.
"Now boarding: Military Personnel..."
A group of uniformed men marches forward, greeted with polite nods of respect.
Finally, it's our turn. Yuki, Sho, Ishikawa, and I rise. The attendants smile warmly, though it feels more like an obligation than genuine kindness. Everyone recognizes my friends—but not me.
Sho gets mobbed by fans; cameras flash as people clamor to talk to him. Yuki receives the same treatment, waves of admiration pouring toward her like a tide. Even Ishikawa, normally reserved, is greeted like royalty. I stand by the window, unnoticed—a shadow among stars.
I glance out at the city I'm about to leave, the lights reflecting my own insignificance. I've always been worthless, haven't I? A nobody with no value, no purpose—nothing but the scars left by years of mockery and cruelty. But that's changed now, hasn't it? Because of them.
Ishikawa. Sho. Yuki.
They pulled me from the darkness and gave me a reason to live when I had none. I smile at the memory, and before I realize it, Ishikawa notices. He nudges Yuki and Sho, who both look at me. Suddenly, their fans notice me too, and I'm no longer invisible.
"Hey, what's with the grin?" Ishikawa asks with a teasing smirk.
"Just... thinking about old times."
One of Ishikawa's fans approaches me—a young guy named Ryan, eager and energetic. He extends a hand.
"Nice to meet you," he says with a grin.
I shake his hand, feeling the warmth of his enthusiasm. This moment... it feels too good to last.
4:30 AM
The world changes in a heartbeat.
The cabin lights snap on, and chaos erupts. Three masked men storm into the business class, guns drawn. Passengers jolt awake, screaming, scrambling. Panic spreads like wildfire.
Yuki, Sho, and Ishikawa shoot awake too. But I sit there, oblivious, my headphones still on, immersed in a movie. A tragic climax unfolds on the screen, just as the terrorists pull me back to reality.
One of them yanks off my headphones and throws them to the floor. I looked up, my expression was cold and unreadable. He starts yelling at me—but I don't care. Slowly, I place my hand on his shoulder.
CRACK.
With a twist of my wrist, I send him crashing to the ground. Everyone freezes.
I rise from my seat, standing tall in the narrow aisle. The fear in their eyes mirrors the storm brewing inside me.
"He's pissed," Yuki whispers to Ishikawa.
The other two terrorists open fire, but I move like a phantom. Bullets whistle past me as I dodge, closing the distance in seconds. My kick sends them sprawling, their guns skidding across the floor.
I snatch both weapons and point them at their trembling faces.
"Why did you interrupt me?" I ask, my voice a dangerous whisper.
The man on the left stammers, pointing at his partner. I grin—a dark, unsettling grin.
Then, without warning, I shoot. Bang. Blood splatters across the cabin.
The passengers scream as the lifeless body slumps to the floor. The other terrorist whimpers, backing away in terror. I crouch down beside him, tilting my head with a playful smile.
"What was your plan?" I ask softly.
"W-we just wanted to rob the plane," he stammers. "Please... don't kill me..."
I chuckle, low and sinister, a laugh that sends shivers through everyone in the cabin.
"You think you can walk away from this?" I whisper, leaning closer.
I kick down the cockpit door. The pilot stares in horror as a masked terrorist aims a gun at me, but I dodge every bullet like a ghost. In a fluid motion, I disarm him and snap his neck with a single twist.
The second terrorist raises his hands, surrendering immediately. I kneel in front of him, patting him gently on the shoulder.
"How many of you are there?" I ask, still smiling.
"T-ten... including the leader..."
"Where is he?"
"In... in first class..."
I nod thoughtfully, still smiling. Then, in a flash, I pull out my knife and slit his throat. Blood sprays across the cockpit, painting the controls red.
"Let's keep that between us," I say to the trembling pilots with a wink.
I break through the door to find the leader holding a woman hostage, his rifle aimed at her head.
"Ah... so you're the mastermind," I say casually.
He sneers, pulling out a handgun and pressing it to my forehead.
"You're brave. I'll give you that," he growls.
I smile—a wicked, fearless smile.
"And you're about to lose that hand," I whisper.
Before he can react, I twist his wrist, shattering it. His scream echoes through the cabin, but it's cut short as I wrest the gun from his grip and fire. Two shots. Two bodies hit the floor.
The leader collapses, clutching his ruined hand, sobbing for mercy. But mercy is not something I offer.
"Humans don't kill each other," I say softly, my grin widening.
"But demons..."
I raise my knife.
"Demons must be slain."
And with that, I descend into madness, a frenzy of blood and violence, carving his soul from his body, blow by blow.
As the sun rises, the plane falls silent. I stand amidst the carnage, blood dripping from my hands, my white shirt soaked in crimson.
I turn to the passengers, smiling through the tears streaming down my face.
"Forget what you saw today," I whisper, my voice gentle but firm.
"And if you can't... make sure no one ever finds out."
The cabin remains silent, every soul bound by a shared, unspoken fear. And with that, I walk toward the dawn, leaving behind a plane full of people who will never forget... but will never speak of it again.
Everyone remained silent, processing my words. The atmosphere inside the plane felt heavy—fear, awe, and confusion swirled in the eyes of the passengers. My friends, Yuki, Ishikawa, and Sho, were frozen, unable to reconcile the person they knew with the one standing before them now. Blood dripped from my hands, staining the polished floor beneath me, and yet, all I could do was smile—a strange, haunting smile that even I didn't recognize.
The weight of the silence felt unbearable.
Then, the captain spoke nervously through the intercom, his voice trembling:
"L-Ladies and gentlemen... uh... w-we will be reaching our destination shortly. P-please remain seated, and... a-and... thank you for your cooperation."
I turned to the passengers with a playful smile, wiping the blood from my hands onto a napkin like it was an afterthought.
"See? It's over. Nothing to worry about now."
My voice was light—too light for what had just happened. Some passengers nodded quickly, desperate to believe me, desperate for this nightmare to end.
Then Sho stood up, his face pale but his eyes filled with something close to disbelief. He took a hesitant step toward me.
"Mikey..." he whispered, his voice breaking slightly. "What the hell... was that?"
I shrugged, tilting my head, still wearing that strange grin.
"That? That was nothing. Just another day, right?"
Yuki clenched her fists.
"That wasn't you... You're not like this. You never—" Her voice trailed off as she stared at the blood staining my clothes.
I took a step toward them, the smile fading.
"You think you know me? You don't." My voice turned quiet, edged with something darker—something they hadn't seen before.
I could see the unease growing in their eyes. Even Ishikawa, who rarely showed emotion, looked unsettled. They weren't used to this side of me—the side that didn't hesitate, the side that smiled while death unfolded.
But I knew this side well. Too well.
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down, though my pulse was racing beneath my skin.
"Listen," I said, wiping the sweat from my brow.
"We'll talk later. Right now, we need to clean this mess up."
Yuki grabbed my arm, her grip firm but trembling.
"Mikey... What's really going on? Why are you leaving the country? Why did you... do all this?"
I stared at her for a moment, feeling a strange sense of detachment. They wouldn't understand. Not yet.
"I have to go," I whispered, my voice hollow.
"There are things you don't know... things I can't tell you."
Sho stepped forward, his jaw tightening.
"Then tell us now. We've been through everything together, Mikey. Don't leave us in the dark." (Sho)
I shook my head. "Not here. Not now."
The plane's engines roared as it prepared for descent. I looked around, feeling the weight of everyone's stares.
Then, as if the gravity of the situation had finally settled in, I took a step back and forced a laugh—a laugh that didn't belong to me.
"C'mon, guys. It's just another crazy story, right? Like the old days?"
No one laughed with me.
The silence between us was louder than any scream.
I exhaled, running a hand through my hair. "Look... I'll explain everything. But first, we land. After that... we go our separate ways."
Yuki's eyes widened. "What do you mean, separate ways?"
I smiled sadly.
"This is goodbye."
Before they could say anything, I turned and walked toward the cockpit door. The captain glanced at me nervously, but I gave him a reassuring nod. "We'll be fine. Just land this thing."
He nodded quickly, eager to avoid any more trouble.
As I stood there, staring at the horizon through the cockpit window, I felt the weight of everything pressing down on me—the secrets, the lies, the mission that awaited me once I left this plane. I thought of the letter I hadn't shown my friends, the one that explained everything.
There was no turning back now.
The announcement echoed through the cabin.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are beginning our descent into Singapore. Please fasten your seatbelts and prepare for landing."
I clenched my fists, knowing that once we touched down, the world I knew would disappear behind me.
Yuki's voice echoed faintly in my mind:
"You're not like this."
But the truth was... maybe I was.
Maybe I always had been.
And soon, they would know the full story.
As the plane descended into the clouds, I whispered under my breath, more to myself than anyone else:
"This is only the beginning."