“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

The voices of the overworked employees echoed gleefully throughout the lobby of the company building as they gathered their belongings, grabbed their umbrellas, and left through the front door, asking each other which izakaya they were to visit this evening. As they left one by one, a stout man with a curled moustache turned back and shouted with a snicker.

“Now you don’t even think about going home until you finish filing all those documents, you hear me? I have my daughter’s 16th birthday party to attend, so I’m sure you won’t mind finishing everything up by yourself. Oh, and remember to mop the floors when you’re done. I expect them to be spick and span~.”

The morbidly round man chuckled as he exited through the sliding doors and entered his black limousine. It skidded off without a glimpse of hesitation.

“I guess I’m getting the short end of the stick this time again,” said a man in a worn-out black suit. While it wasn’t tattered to the point where it was distinctly noticeable, you could still tell that it was worn without regard for the material it was made out of.

Soon after, the man walked back up to the 10th floor of the building, incessantly mumbling under his breath, complaining why they would turn off the elevators so soon, even though there would be people still working. With every step he took, the sounds made from the soles of his shoes making contact with the concrete stairs became louder, his breath became heavier, and his clothes, sweatier, until he finally made it to his destination.

“This is seriously killing me… If only it weren’t for my back.” The man grumbled as he made his way back to his desk in the corner of the room. Compared to the adjacent tables of his coworkers, files and documents were piled high, double, no, triple the amount of others.

“I guess it’s time to get to work.”

Despite his complaining, this man was exceedingly proficient in his job. What would have taken others two to three hours, he could finish in half the time. At break-neck speeds, the seemingly mountainous pile of documents dwindled away. After finishing up with the documents, the floors then proceeded to become spotless, clean to the point where if you were to run your fingers against it, you would be able to hear a slight squeaking sound. For good measure, he also wiped down the tables and windows.

As per his routine, the man gathered his belongings into his backpack and descended down the ten flights of stairs. Nearing the lobby, he grabs his umbrella, says goodbye to the security guard, and prepares to leave.

As he was about to take his first step out of the building, the guard asked, while puffing on a cigarette, beckoning him over.

“You know, in my 16 years of working at this company as a security guard, I’ve seen a whole lot of people come in and out of those doors, though I’ve never seen someone as talented as you. You’re still young. 25, was it? What are you doing, wasting your time here?”

The man in the black suit looked back and answered. “I thought you weren’t allowed to smoke within the building.”

“Just answer the question, boy. No need to be a smartass.”

“The job market isn’t that good with the global pandemic right now. I’m just sticking with what I got to support myself. The less risks I take, the better.” The man retorted with a serious, yet sad, look in his eyes.

The security guard looked down for a bit, scratching his head. “If that’s what you really think, then go ahead. But take this from an old man like me; sometimes you should be adventurous and take risks for a change. You never know what the future might have in store for you.”

A small smile appeared in the corner of the young man’s mouth. “Thanks, old man. Have a good night. I’ll see you next week.” Quick and concise, he said his goodbyes and promptly left.

“That might have been the only time I’ve seen that kid smile at work.” The security guard chuckled to himself.

__________________________________________________________________________

Umbrella in one hand and a phone in the other, the dichotomy of this man could be seen as he walked down the bustling, rain-soaked sidewalk.

“Man, that was an amazing chapter! Definitely worth waiting a week to see Kaido get smacked around like that.” excitingly muttered the young man under his mask.

*bzzt bzzt* *bzzt bzzt*

The man’s phone started to ring as he stopped in front of a red light, waiting to cross. His phone’s screen lit up white, displaying a caller by the name of Jonathan.

“RYUUJI!!! DID YOU READ THE NEW CHAPTER OF ONE PIECE YET?! IT WAS SICK!!!” screamed the man named Jonathan for the other end of the call.

“Quiet down, you damn otaku. Everyone five feet around me can hear you.” The young man, Ryuuji, angrily replied. “But yea, I read it. Oda-sensei is indeed a genius.”

“You think Luffy is going to unlock his fifth gear during this fight?”

“Nah. His devil fruit is going to awaken for sure.”

"Same thing."

"It is not!"

The two raved about one of their favorite manga, to the point where the people around them gave mean stares of disapproval. It was hard to imagine that this exuberant young man was the same person with lifeless eyes working severe overtime at a black company.

After roughly 10 minutes of constant chatter and bickering about the latest anime and manga theories, Jonathan abruptly asked. “Hey Ryuuji, why don’t you hang out with the rest of us anymore. We miss you.”

The smile that was on Ryuuji’s face instantly disappeared. “I… can’t.” Ryuuji expressed in a solemn voice. “Things aren’t going that well for me financially and I have to take care of Nana. I just don’t have the money to go out anymore.”

“She’s still in the hospital, isn’t she?” Jonathan asked sadly.

“Yea.”

Moments of silence passed with neither of them making a sound.

“Well, if you have the time tonight, I’m heading to an izakaya near Shibuya station with Akito and Celine. I’m sure that they would love to see you again.” said Jonathan.

A few more seconds of complete silence passed.

“My treat!” Jonathan, once again, spoke up in order to cheer up his friend.

A few more silent seconds passed for the last time until Jonathan spoke once again. “I have to go now, so I’ll talk to you again later. Cheer up man. Hope Nana makes a swift recovery.”

“Thanks. See ya.”

*click*

Ryuuji let out a long sigh. His breath white in the cold rain.

“I might as well head home now and go check up on Nana first thing in the morning. I doubt that it’s still visiting hours now.” said Ryuuji as he looked up into the cloudy night sky.

“Move! Get out of the way! Now!”

Yelling and screaming came from the direction behind Ryuuji. While it was normal for such sounds coming from a city as busy as Tokyo, these could be described as much more violent. Ryuuji, who had just put down the phone after such a depressing talk did not notice a disheveled man, with his arms wrapped around a young woman’s neck, rushing at him from behind. As soon as he felt that something was off, he turned around… unfortunately.

“I said MOVE!” exclaimed the man as he shoved a broken sake bottle deep into Ryuuji’s abdomen.

First, he could smell the stench of alcohol coming from the breath of the drunk man. Then, he felt the impact of the broken glass in his stomach, followed by a hot, piercing heat. As more and more blood dripped from his body, that heat quickly turned into a cold, shrilling pain. Even with the amount of adrenaline that was pumping throughout his body, he could still feel the sharp edge of the glass slice through his skin and flesh.

Despite being suddenly attacked, the first reaction Ryuuji had was not to grasp his wound or fall onto the ground, but instead, he tightened his right hand into a fist. And with said tightened fist, he threw out a straight punch with devastating speed and accuracy, sending the drunkard tumbling backwards and releasing the young woman from his grasp. With this, the broken bottle was also released from his abdomen, causing more blood to be spilled. However, this altercation was yet to be over with.

Regaining his balance, the drunk man shook his head vigorously and proceeded to charge towards Ryuuji, who was bloodied and pale. To the onlookers, the time that it took for the drunkard to reach his target seemed only like a couple of seconds, but, for Ryuuji, it felt exponentially longer. It was unsure whether it was because of the adrenaline and endorphins that were coursing through his body, or the realization that he was inches from Death’s Door, but in those couple of seconds turned eternity, Ryuuji’s concentration rose to superhuman levels.

In the moment that the man was but a couple of inches away from him, Ryuuji immediately stepped to the side with great swiftness, and began to tense his muscles. It happened in less than a second. The pivoting of his right leg. The twisting of his hip. The stabilization of his core muscles and torso. Followed by the swift extension of his right arm, clenching his fists the moment they made contact with the drunk man’s face. The force from the punch immediately knocked the man out, making him fall to the ground unconscious.

‘Damn… That was probably my best straight yet.’ Ryuuji thought as he was gasping for air. ‘I think I’ll sit down for a bi-’

Before finishing his thoughts, a strong feeling of nausea followed by drowsiness suddenly hit Ryuuji, making him fall to the ground as well. As he put his hand on stomach, he looked down to see that an unhealthy amount of blood had stained his white dress shirt and made crimson red patches on his tattered black suit. Beads of sweat started to trickle down his forehead as an intense headache followed the lethargy.

‘Looks like I won’t make it.’ His consciousness started to fade.

‘I hope that that lady made it out alright.’ People started to gather around him, calling for help.

‘I hope that John won’t hate me for this.’ He could hear the faint sound of sirens in the background.

‘Sorry, Nana. Looks like your idiot of an older brother won’t be there for you when you wake up. I love you.’

*Ba-dum* *Ba-dum* *Ba-------dum….* ……..

_____________________________________________________________________________________

A lone figure in a black robe slowly walked towards a crystal ball, located in the center of a pure, white room.

“That doesn’t seem right… But I’m not complaining.” The figure snickered. “Looks like we have an interesting one on our hands this time.”

_____________________________________________________________________________________

-Subject: Nakamura Ryuuji-

-Age: 25-

-Cause of Death: Exsanguination-

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.

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….

-Executing body reconstruction. Reverting subject to prime status.-

-Executing Talent System… &Sf%t^7-

-Bestowing Gift-

-All processes complete-

-Initiating transfer in 3...2...1