Ethan stepped off the plane, a whirlwind of despair and anger swirling in his mind, the memory of
his parents' brutal death haunting him like a hellish demon. He gazed out at the vibrant chaos of
Tokyo, a city that pulsed with life, indifferent to his suffering. He smirked amidst the pain when he
noticed, how life could be shattered in an instant, yet the world continued its dance, as if he never
existed. The promise he had made felt like a heavy chain, anchoring his seething rage. But
standing there, he knew he could no longer suppress his desire for vengeance. The need for
revenge brewing inside him getting stronger as the chains slowly grew weaker against his rage
and despair
In his new room, Ethan sat on the edge of a bed that felt foreign, unpacking his things. As he went
through his bag, he found a nearly charred notebook—one he had managed to save from the fire.
Inside were the poems his mother used to recite to him, her voice a soft lullaby that now echoed
painfully in his mind. A bittersweet chuckle escaped him as he recalled a particular poem and it
went something like,
"Once there was a curious boy, Who wonders how creatures could fly.
He thought a chicken's fate to try, By making one from a height to fall.
Off the perch the chicken went with ease, The boy stood baffled, in disbelief.
He pondered if he too could take wing, With a leap and a hope, he tried within.
With a thud, the boy fell with a thump, His body hit the ground, in a painful
clunk.
The pain was searing, the impact too strong, His confidence in flight, had gone
all wrong.
He cried out in pain, the tears streamed down,
His foolish plan had gone all astray. He learned the hard way, gravity's rule,
That humans and chickens, could not take to the cool. "
He recalled how after listening to the poem he asked "Why is he so foolish?" with a laughter
mingling with confusion. She had smiled gently, "He wasn't foolish, darling. He was just curious. If he hadn't tried, how would he ever know he wasn't a silly chicken?" A smile broke through his
grief, but it was fleeting, and soon tears streamed down his face as the memories of her warmth
and loved filled his heart and mind.
For a week, he had buried his grief beneath the weight of enrollment at a nearby college. The
institution had a notorious reputation, one steeped in darkness: fights, drugs, and rapes of
women were common occurring around and inside the campus . Rumors of girls found battered
and lifeless near the campus spread like wildfire. Local whispers spoke of the victims—young
lives discarded like broken toys, their bodies found bruised, hair matted with blood, stripped
naked with their arms and hands broken, there legs wide apart with marking of ripping above
there vagina. Those who dared to speak out against the horrors were silenced; their homes
burned, their children snatched away. The most defiant often ended up displayed brutally, hanged
from buildings, their lifeless forms a grim reminder of the price of resistance, there family
specially the woman in the same state as the girls found hanged along them, there were mothers,
girls, teens, kids heck even infants. The neighborhood was named "Hell's Place," a fitting title for
the place where shadows loomed larger than life and fear was the currency of survival.
Each night, Ethan lay in the stillness, sleep evading him as nightmares clawed at his
consciousness—the visceral images of his parents' demise replaying in an endless loop, filling
him with a desperate longing for retribution.
As he closed his eyes, he felt the darkness creeping closer, a suffocating presence that echoed
the pain of his loss, whispering promises of revenge that both terrified and exhilarated him. The
visions of his parents death, there corpses in his hands, the promise he made was all like a bullet
piercing and killing him again and again.
The night was restless, as always, and Ethan barely got any sleep, but now it was a new day—a
new day of his new life at Momoshiki University of Tokyo. With a heavy heart, a tired body, and a
restless mind, he stepped onto the campus.
The college was quiet, but the silence felt dark and unsettling. Immediately, Ethan witnessed
chaos: a guy was getting beaten in one corner for being weak, a girl was being harassed nearby,
and some guys were doing drugs openly. This was why they called it "Hell's Place." Only crime
and foul acts lurked around, with screams and pleas echoing through the campus.
As Ethan walked toward his class, a group of boys stopped him. They looked at him with smug
expressions, as if he was a cockroach, and one of them sneered, "New here, boy?" Ethan didn't
say anything, only gave a silent nod. The boys laughed, grabbing him by the collar. "Listen, you
little piece of shit, we run this place. If you want to survive here, worship us like a good little Bitch.
Got it?" Ethan nodded again, his face neutral, but inside, the rage and anger grew stronger trying
to break that chain of promise and leap out. One of them smirked and said, "Good. Then lick the
dirt off my shoe." Ethan felt a surge of rage and wanted to fight back, knowing he was more than
capable. But the promise he'd made weighed on him like chains, his mother's words echoing in
his mind. Reluctantly, he kneeled and wiped the dirt from the boy's shoe with his tongue.
The rest of the day passed with Ethan enduring relentless bullying from the boys, bearing it all for
the sake of his promise. As he was leaving campus, he heard a faint rustling coming from a
secluded corner. Curious and concerned, Ethan approached and saw three men raping a girl. The
girls clothes were ripped apart, her hands constrained by two men as the other one spread her
legs, and started forcing it in, the girl was crying and pleading for them to stop "Please stop, let me go" was all she was saying while crying, on a closer look the three men were actually the
one's that bullied him the whole day.
Ethan looked on in disgust, his anger rising, yet with a heavy heart, he began to walk away. He
knew that confronting the three men could very well lead to his own death. He wanted desperately
to help, but his promise echoed in his mind like a gun to his head, holding him back. Just then, a
memory of his father's words during training resurfaced: "Ethan, never use your strength to harm
or fight for pride, but never back down when an innocent life is at stake. Use your strength to
defend, to protect the weak instead of overpowering them. Be the better, kinder person." With his
father's words resonating in him, Ethan turned back and rushed to help.
"STOP IT!" Ethan yelled, tackling the man who was forcing himself on the girl. The sudden
interruption caught the men off guard, giving the girl just enough time to break free. "RUN! DON'T
LOOK BACK!" Ethan shouted, keeping his eyes on her as she escaped. The men, regaining their
senses, turned on him with fury. "YOU HAVE GOT SOME FUCKING BALLS, TO MESS WITH US"
one of them sneered, "BUT YOUR BRAVERY WILL COST YOU YOUR FUCKING! LIFE, BITCH"
They circled him, but Ethan's focus remained on the girl, relieved that she was out of harm's way.
He turned to face the men, ready for what was coming. "I am gonna play with your fucking head,
after this" one growled, lunging with a knife. With a quiet, "Sorry, Ma," Ethan prepared himself.
The fight was short but brutal, with Ethan taking a few punches to the gut and a shallow knife cut
to his face. When it was over, he stood undefeated, looming over three men on the ground, one
with broken arms, the other with a broken leg. The third guy lay dead with a knife in his throat,
spraying blood all around him, painting the things and Ethan in the dark red blood, staining his
shirt as a reminder of what he just did.
In that moment, Ethan made his decision: to fight to protect, to defend those who couldn't defend
themselves. Looking up at the sky, he murmured, "I'm sorry, Ma. I couldn't keep the promise, and
maybe I never will. But I swear, I'll use my strength to protect the weak, just like you and Papa
taught me. I swear it on my life. And…I love you both."