A.R: 2

Apathy.

The feeling that allowed one to live their life without feeling any emotions whatsoever. The feeling that enabled a person to do what people saw as “good” and “bad” without worrying about its consequences or punishments.

Everyone held a portion of Apathy within them, whether they chose to ignore it or befriend it. Everyone, at least, has had a moment where they could not have cared less about something and just desired it to vanish or be silent.

Most people decided to deny that they had any ounce of apathy, claiming to be an all-round “good” person, while others relied on the one emotion to feed their empty souls.

Nevertheless, no matter how anyone treated the feeling, it would always be there with the same effect, cause, and name:

Apathy.

Crowds of people swarmed the streets of Tokyo, eager to get to their destination, like birds circling trashed food. The street shops sat in their rows, their neon lights attracting the attention of many, luring them into a night which would surely be followed with a hangover. Advertisements of the thousands lit up the sky like fireworks while buildings produced lights of their own.

It was a typical night.

Busy, boisterous, and crammed. Most people did not even have a specific place to go, just simply desiring to take in the colourful dimension just outside their doors.

Rae sighed, avoiding any type of contact from another person as he walked through the tide of humans. His height and size gave him an advantage to easily manoeuvre through the bustling crowd, letting him reach point B quicker.

He needed to return home before the police caught on. It would be inconvenient, Rae knew: the police in Tokyo were not like all the other polices forces where they only become enforcers of law to get paid and sit around and eat. No, the Tokyo police were thorough.

In all the noise around him, Rae managed to hear his phone vibrate in his jumper pocket. He pulled it out, making sure he had a good grip so it would not get shoved out of his hand. He answered the incoming call.

‘Moshi moshi?’ Rae answered, speaking closely to the mic on his phone. The other line was silent, though it could have simply been zoned out by the racket he was stuck in. Just as he was about to end the call, the person on the other line spoke,

‘No! I’m here!’ The caller screamed into their phone, temporarily deafening Rae. Nevertheless, he identified the caller just by the pitch of the voice and scowled,

‘What is it?’ Rae growled into his phone, realizing that there was a chance he could not be heard.

‘It’s the police. They’ve discovered the building and they’re going to block of the road you’re about to turn into.’ V informed; her voice barely audible compared to the commotion. Nonetheless, Rae heard the necessities: police and block.

He ended the call abruptly and started to sprint through the ocean of people.

Who had walked into the building, saw the bodies, and reported to the cops? Rae had made sure that there was no one nearby when he had carried out his business. And yet, there he was, using unnecessary stamina when he was uncertain if he was even identified.

Taking a sharp left, Rae sprinted up the hill, passing many groups of people, either drunk or planning to be. He was not tired; he had gone through many instances where he had had to run whether it be from the police or just from people who had a bone to pick with him.

Rae took a right, sprinting to the end of the street before entering an apartment building. The accountant greeted him as he raced past her, but he had no breath left to greet her back. Instead, he zoomed up the stairs, being careful not to crash into the wall – he did not want anyway expenses under his name – and into his apartment room where he was presented with a very flustered girl, sitting at a desk, biting her nails.

As he shut the door stridently, the girl jumped up from her desk and pulled out a gun, pointing it straight at Rae who sent back a grimace. Realizing that there was no threat, V lowered the gun, gasping for air. She hung her head low, her frizzy orange hair following along.

‘You trying to kill me?’ Rae asked, unamused as he snatched the gun out of her hands. V would not be the first person a police officer would call if they needed back-up in a shootout. She would be a last resort.

Rae dumped his bag onto the bed, spilling its contents out in the process.

‘No.’ V replied, chucking herself back onto her chair, her glasses falling off her face, ‘I thought you were the cops.’

Rae threw himself onto the bed in exhaustion, ignoring V’s comment. From where he had sprawled himself on the bed, he could hear the sirens shriek from the street he had just escaped from.

Rae suddenly remembered that he had not had a shower since he had come back: his clothing were soiled with dried blood. Groaning, Rae sat up and made his way to the en-suite,

‘I’m taking a shower.’ He announced.

He entered the shower, letting the water run down his body and drown the outside sounds. All the sirens, the chatter, the cars, the nocturnal animals were blocked out as Rae immersed himself into a world where he could roam Tokyo freely, doing whatever he wanted.

He stood in the shower, allowing himself to be swept away by his delusions, when he heard a knock on the door, followed by a complaint from the other side,

‘Are you planning on finishing all the water?’ V questioned; her tone annoyed. He glowered at the door,

‘Shut up.’ He cursed as he got out. He stared at himself in the mirror, taking in his dark damp hair partially constructing his vision, his scar underneath his left eye, and his pale skin.

Looking at himself, he remembered that he was the very reason he had turned out the way he was.