The air outside was colder than before.

  The sound of waves brushing against the shore echoed loudly, mixed with the rustling of tree branches in the courtyard, shaken by the strong wind announcing the coming rain.

  Takashi stood still in the courtyard, his hands resting on his hips beneath his jacket.

  He lifted his gaze toward the sky as the clouds rushed past, moving fast and heavy.

  He tried to calm the storm raging inside him.

  For a moment, it seemed as if he were ready to turn back and storm into the house, to release his anger, but instead, he remained where he was, standing still.

  His colleagues were already waiting outside the courtyard.

  “Are you coming? Or do you plan to stay there forever?”

  A loud voice called out from the street.

  The voice pulled Takashi out of his thoughts.

  “I’m coming” he replied.

  Finally, he started walking toward the exit, catching up with his colleagues.

  Some of the officers were already inside their vehicles, engines running, ready to leave.

  Kenta stood by the gate, waiting for Takashi.

  “Are you alright?” he asked.

  “What just happened in there, Kenta?”

  Takashi said, still processing the scene inside the house.

  “Probably a false alarm” Kenta replied.

  “Someone was messing with us.”

  “No. Something was off.” Takashi said quietly.

  “He was clearly mocking us. You saw it, didn’t you?

  As if he already knew we were coming.”

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  “Yes, something was definitely off” Kenta said.

  “But you saw it... everything was clean.

  We can’t prove anything, and we can’t act on assumptions.”

  Takashi nodded.

  “Yes, I know… but it pisses me off. His face...”

  He stopped himself.

  As they walked toward the cars, his face burned with restrained anger.

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself” Kenta said calmly as he approached his car.

  “We’re doing our best. Maybe not tonight… but one day. Mark my words...you’ll get your justice.”

  He opened the car door and leaned inside.

  “Some of the guys are going for drinks. Are you coming?”

  He glanced back at Takashi with a small grin.

  “You need to live a little, you know?”

  “Go on…I’ll catch up” Takashi said, picking up a pack of cigarettes from the car seat and pulling one out.

  “I know, I know” Kenta replied with a grin.

  “You always say that, and you never come.

  See you tomorrow.”

  He closed the door and started the engine.

  Takashi took off his jacket and bulletproof vest, placing them on the seat.

  He loosened his tie, as if everything around him were suffocating him.

  He took out his lighter and lit the cigarette, leaning back against the car.

  Smoke curled around him, briefly blurring his face.

  Kenta’s car disappeared down the road.

  Only the sound of waves and wind remained.

  Takashi was alone with his thoughts.

  He was finishing his cigarette when a sudden female scream startled him.

  “Let me go! Stop it!”

  Her voice was desperate.

  Then... silence.

  Takashi froze, trying to figure out where the sound had come from.

  Then it came again, the crying voice of a woman.

  “Let me go!” she screamed.

  Takashi crushed the cigarette beneath his boot and ran toward the sound.

  Within seconds, he found himself in a dark alley.

  Two drunk men stood there...one of them gripping a young woman tightly by the waist.

  She was terrified. Desperate.

  “Let her go!” he shouted, moving quickly toward them.

  It didn’t seem to bother them at all.

  They simply stood there, faint smiles spreading across their faces.

  “I said let her go!” he shouted again.

  Their expressions changed only when they saw the gun Takashi pulled from behind his back.

  The man released the woman at once, raising his hands in the air.

  She didn’t hesitate.

  She ran past Takashi, escaping into the night only glancing at him for a brief moment, gratitude shining in her eyes.

  “Take it easy, man” one of them said.

  “We were just having some fun.”

  The man stepped closer, his hands still raised.

  “Don’t come any closer” Takashi warned.

  “Okay…okay. No worries” the man said quickly.

  “Look...we’re leaving.”

  He began stepping back slowly, walking away from Takashi without turning his back.

  Takashi’s eyes stayed fixed on the man in front of him...so focused that he didn’t notice the other one pulling a gun from his pocket.

  In a split second, the sound of a gunshot rang out.

  Pain exploded in his stomach, stealing the breath from his lungs.

  They disappeared into the darkness of the street before he could even react.

  He tried to raise his gun...to shoot...but he couldn't

  He stood alone beneath the dim streetlight, the weapon trembling in one hand, the other pressed against his stomach.

  Warm blood began to seep through his fingers.

  He leaned his body against the wall of the building and slowly slid down into a sitting position.

  Pain darkened his face.

  Rain began to pour, followed by distant thunder.

  There was no one in sight.

  No one to call for help.

  Only darkness… and rain.