Reshi relished the cool wind that gently caressed his cheeks as he left the convenience store, the planting bag rustling softly as he made his way home. This night had been better than most. A night wrapped in the quiet embrace of a dark sky and a full moon. It was one of those rare, peaceful nights where Reshi could almost feel…at ease.

It had been awhile since he had a night like this. No, usually nights would spell hours of darkness, allowing him to remember everything he lost within its empty embrace. The darkness, suffocating, would encapsulate him in his misery, locking the grief within his heart, where it burned.

He would sit in his dead mother's room, rocking back and forth, desperately trying to summon the ghost of her warmth, her soft voice, and delicate laugh had always managed to shield him from the darkness.

But, she's gone now.

Instead of the memory of her kindness, instead came the vivid pictures of her death. Wide, lifeless eyes, staring in disbelief as her blood soaked the floor. His father, stern and unyielding, died as he had lived in life, collapsing under the weight of his wounds, his body still covering his younger sister in a final act of protection.

Not that it had helped.

And then there was his twin, his mirror, and most definitely the better half of the two. Now he was half a man, hobbling through life on a crutch of grief. Dragging himself through a world that had grown large and strange to him now.

Sometimes he felt like one of those protagonists in the web novels he loved reading. However instead of being a person with a sad past, transmigrating into a world of magic and happiness. He was the opposite, finding himself in a world that seemed two degrees too cold for him now.

He stopped walking, his breath ragged as those memories clawed to the surface.

"No", he whispered hoarsely, shaking his head in an attempt to banish the images.

"Aah fuck man, my night was going so well. I just had to ruin it, didn't I."

Reshi shoved his hands into his pockets, continuing down the dimly lit street, his shadow stretching long and lonely under the flickering streetlights. He had learned to live with this solitude, or maybe he had learned to survive it instead. There was no way he could ever truly accept it, and stay who he had been. His soul felt shrunken and brittle, like the dry husk of someone that had once been...beautiful.

As he passed a narrow alley, the distinct sounds of scuffling reached his ears, sharp and unmistakably violent.

'Who cares' he thought.

It had taken years, and the deaths of everyone he had ever loved, but finally, Reshi had abandoned his foolish hero complex. It had cost him everything in the end, and he wasn't about to lose what he had left by acting on it now.

'Guess it someone's else's turn to have a shit day.'

But then a scream rent the tranquility of night. A raw and desperate voice, unmistakably female, and filled with agony. Reshi froze, heart pounding against his ribs.

But then he continued walking, shaking his head. "Not my damn problem", he muttered under his breath. "Why should I care all of a sudden if it's a woman having a bad day."

And then came the second sound. A wailing cry belonging to a boy. Heart-wrenching and miserable. It was the scream of someone, crying for their mother.

Reshi paused in his tracks, the breath catching in his throat.

Before he realized what he was doing, his feet were carrying him back to the alley, in a desperate sprint, the noodles forgotten as they tumbled to the ground.

The scene that greeted him was like something out of a nightmare. A small boy knelt beside a bleeding woman, his tiny hands pressed against her stomach in a futile attempt to stop the crimson flood. Opposite them stood a man in a mask, a knife clutched in his gloved hand, still dripping with fresh blood.

Rage surged through Reshi like wildfire, burning away the coldness that had encrusted his heart.

"You fucker!" he roared, charging at the man without a second thought.

The attacker barely had time to react before Reshi was on him, fists flying in a blind, uncontrollable fury. The knife slashed out, catching Reshi's hand, but he didn't care. The pain was distant, drowned beneath the storm raging in his chest. He swung again and again, each blow landing with a sickening crunch.

He didn't stop. Even when the man crumpled to the ground, bloodied and gasping, Reshi kept hitting him. His knuckles split open, his breath came in ragged gasps, and tears streamed down his face as he screamed wordlessly into the night.

When he finally staggered back, his hands were a bloodied mess, trembling as they hung at his sides. He turned to the boy, who was still clutching his mother, his tear-streaked face filled with both fear and defiance.

"It's okay, kid," Reshi said hoarsely, raising his hands in a gesture of peace.

 "I just want to help."

The boy didn't move at first, but Reshi crouched beside him, his voice softening.

 "Help me carry her. My place is close. I've got supplies there to stop the bleeding."

Slowly, the boy nodded.

 Together, they lifted the woman, Reshi taking most of her weight onto his back. The boy grabbed Reshi's bag of noodles from the ground, cradling it like a fragile treasure as the made their way to his apartment.

When they entered, he laid the lady down on his couch, uncaring about the blood that was ruining the furniture. Quickly he rushed to his cupboard, where his medical supplies were.

Reshi worked with a practised precision of someone who had once been a healer. His hands, while shaking and bloody earlier, now moved with a deft speed as he cleaned and stitched the woman's wound.

It was Ironic, he had thought he had stopped playing the hero, yet here he was, ignoring what life had taught him.

'Isn't it madness, to do the same thing again and again, and yet experience different results' he thought bitterly.

Reshi had signed himself up to the army at sixteen. At an age where most didn't know left from right, he had been training to protect his country.

Back then he had been all about honour and helping the weak, the notion of a hero, firmly wedged into his soul.

Reshi excelled in the army, he was talented in death. A gifted murderer, but back then he had never seen that way. He was just a hero, serving the Republic loyally.

Much to the surprise of his men, Reshi had decided to specialise in being a medic. After all, wasn't a hero more about saving then killing? Then, after fighting on the frontline as a field medic and soldier for two years, he'd been given the opportunity for a funded army scholarship through medical school.

It had felt like a dream, as if all his efforts had finally paid off. That's what he'd been doing when his family died, that's when he realised what truly mattered.

But of course, life was a bitter bitch, only letting him learn that lesson when it was too late.

Sighing heavily he leaned back. He had ignored the gaping wound in his own hand as he worked. Almost by instinct, he disinfected his own wound, before bandaging it.

When he was done, he turned to the boy, who was watching him with cautious, wide eyes.

"Thank you, mister," the boy said hesitantly. "But…I don't have anything to pay you with."

Reshi snorted, shaking his head. "Don't worry about it, kid. I don't want your money."

He stood and began preparing the instant noodles, the simplest comfort he could offer. The boy devoured his portion, finishing the meal in moments. Reshi ate more slowly, savoring the warmth that flowed down his throat, as if it really could replace the cold emptiness in his heart.

"What's your name, kid?" he asked after a while.

"Judas," the boy said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.

Reshi raised an eyebrow. "That's a hell of a name to give a kid. Who named you?"

"My father," Judas replied, his expression darkening.

Reshi nodded. He didn't want to pry too much into Judas's life. It was none of his business.

 They passed the time in silence. Then Reshi got up. He returned carrying two spare blankets and pillows. One pillow he placed under the mother's head, before covering her with the blanket.

"I'm guessing you want to sleep here right?"

The boy seemed momentarily shocked, before nodding.

'Poor lad didn't expect i'd let him stay overnight.'

"Here then. I'll be sleeping in my room."

He turned away. The mother most likely wouldn't wake until tomorrow anyway, and it was pointless to kick them out now after he had risked so much to keep them safe. That's the reason he told himself anyway.

When he entered his room, he locked the door. Yes he had helped them, but only an idiot would trust strangers.

Climbing to his bed, Reshi found that sleep came easily to him. It had been a while before he'd been able to sleep without crying or gazing blankly at the ceiling for hours first.

It wasn't bad.