Riza Umeka, mother of two children, ran through the streets of Tokyo as fast as her feet could carry her, holding her sons by each hand, trying to escape from the chaos and destruction that had befallen her city.
Struggling to maintain her balance with every step she took, weaving in and out of the crowd as the noise of gunfire and blades clashing grew louder behind them. The shouts and screams of frightened civilians added to the cacophony of noise, adding to her own terror as well.
Everything had happened so quickly; one moment she and her family were minding their business by having a stroll in the park, and then next, her husband was killed by an arrow from an unexpected portal with soldiers appearing out of nowhere. She, her children, and other survivors fled in an attempt to escape the battle zone, but unfortunately, this only proved futile when more of these invaders arrived.
Wearing only her blue casual dress with a green and yellow scarf around her neck, she frantically searched for any possible way to find a safe place to hide, one where she and her sons would be able to wait out the carnage. Her brain raced as she tried desperately to think of something, anything, that could help them out of this situation.
While doing so, a bullet flew past next to her left cheek; her heart skipped a beat as she gasped, turning around to see one of those strange invaders being shot in the head as he immediately fell on his back, creating a loud thud from impact as her sons screamed in horror at seeing a dead man lying lifeless on the ground.
"You, get out of here!" Her rescuer said, waving his hand in her direction, catching the woman's attention, "There is a bunker not far from here! Keep going forward now!!" Gesturing her to go somewhere while she can, "I will hold them off for as long as possible; just focus on saving yourselves," he continued firing his firearm at incoming enemies who relentlessly pursued them.
Upon realizing what the person was doing, especially recognizing the man's military uniform, she wasted no time in lifting her six-year-old sons with both arms before dashing as quick as her legs could take her while keeping an eye out for the enemy ahead as well.
With her husband and many others being killed, all she has left for her kids is their lives, and if she fails to protect them, then her husband's death would have been meaningless. She wouldn't allow that to happen, not when she still has a chance to make it through alive with her two young boys, no matter how bleak or hopeless the situation may appear.
She can see them crying, their tears streaking down their faces as they sobbed uncontrollably. Seeing their father struck down by these invaders before their very eyes was traumatizing for them. They'll need proper counseling after this incident, which is assuming they even make it through the day alive.
As they kept running forward, along with the scattered terrified crowd running for safety, a ten-year-old girl in a yellow sweater tripped over, causing her to fall on her knees as an arrowhead of a spear impaled her back in a split second. She screamed in pain when blood came splattering from his mouth, dropping herself on the ground before bleeding to death with her eyes slowly fading away.
Just seeing this girl's death, who looked no more than ten, made her realize something: these invaders, or whoever they are, aren't going to spare them regardless of their gender, race, age, or even occupation; everyone is being targeted and slaughtered like animals, including the innocent children being chased by these relentless barbarians.
Their only choice is to flee, because no one is the hero in a place filled with war and chaos; there's no such thing as heroes or justice; only survival of the fittest as a sort of natural selection is what's happening today. After seeing so many people being killed or dying left and right from what she had witnessed so far, those that helped would soon meet a gruesome end.
No, she can't keep looking back at these unfortunate souls being taken by their clutches, no matter how much the sight sickens her; she must continue on, for the sake of herself and her kids. Nothing else matters now except their safety, as their lives are far more important to risk while escaping from hell on earth.
Still using her last remaining bit of strength, she glanced at an empty alleyway on her left in the far distance, allowing this opportunity to hide instead of following the man's instructions when her own energy was slowly dissipating from having to carry her kids on the way.
Entering this alleyway, it was narrow, damp, and filthy, with discarded garbage piled up high in every corner, giving off a pungent odor that made her wrinkle her nose in disgust. There were cracks and chips in the walls, and broken bottles littered the ground, making it difficult to walk without tripping over anything.
Seeing this as a potential hiding spot, she quietly but quickly made her way towards the dumpster and opened it up, revealing a pile of rotting, maggoty refuse that made her gag when she saw it. It smelled horrible, and this is not a great choice when being exposed to chemical waste that might make them sick.
The only choice they have is to hide behind the side of this dumpster container, sitting down on their feet while covering their mouths with their hands to prevent themselves from being detected; seeing no other alternative available to them as they were out of options at this point, they pray in hope of surviving this tragedy.
Taking a peek at her side, she can see a few remaining civilians running through the streets until they eventually left her view or were mercilessly killed as men got impaled by the tip of a sword from behind as the killer smirked with satisfaction, causing her to scream in pain before falling flat on her belly with blood pooling below her body.
Feeling her sons grasp tighten around her arms, Riza knew they were scared out of their minds after witnessing all the death and carnage in their city, but she knew it was best to stay quiet for the time being and hope for God that someone would save them before these invaders reached them.
Seconds became minutes; the silence seemed to stretch on forever, and with every minute that passed, her hope of surviving this massacre began to fade, until suddenly she heard footsteps approaching in their direction, which caused her heart rate to increase with every passing second.
Many things ran through her head as the three sobbed quietly in their hiding spots, thinking of many possible outcomes: what will happen if they get caught, what will happen to her if she can't defend herself against those monsters, and what will happen to her little ones as well?
Her train of thought was interrupted when someone knelt before her; her body stiffened up at the presence as she remained completely still, trying hard not to look at this would-be attacker, praying that their deaths would be swift.
Instead, a calm and soft-spoken voice brought her back to reality: "It's okay, ma'am," it was a voice everyone recognized from anywhere in the city; a familiar deep, calm, gentle voice with a soothing tone, one that has charmed many throughout the city's population; "You and your kids can come out now, it's safe," with him gesturing her to stand up.
Looking at his face, her eyes lit up with joy in seeing who it was: "Akito...?" The famous superhero who fought many criminals in their city, although he seems to be slightly taller in her eyes, is still wearing his red cape, headband, and white shirt as usual.
His eyebrows furrowed in worry, seeing a trail of dried-up tear marks on the sides of their cheeks. "What's your name, miss?" Standing up with a smile on his face, trying to ease the tension in their minds with his eyes moving between her and her kids, hoping they weren't hurt during the initial attack.
They looked up at him with trepidation in their eyes, afraid and uncertain what to do next, but they hoped this person would be able to lead them out of here safely, like he usually did every time he fought against criminals back in the day.
Standing up while carrying her sons, she couldn't believe in what she was seeing: the hero who saved Tokyo so many times, the one that kept their city safe, standing before them is the symbol of justice himself. "I was so scared that we were going to die," Riza tearfully admitted, trying her best to suppress her sobs.
Tilting his head, he gave the answer, "It's alright to be scared; everyone is terrified by this invasion. But trust me, it's going to be over soon; everything's going to be alright after this." His voice calmed them down a lot, causing the two kids to also feel relieved by his presence and comforting words.
"Hero!"
A police officer entered the alleyway, carrying a rifle as sweat dropped down on his forehead. "Their already retreating when we showed up!" Smile plastered on his face with victory gleaming in his eyes, "These maggots are going back to the hole they crawled from!" He informed the superhero after having a brief interaction with the man.
"Who are these two?" The man with the rifle turned to look at the woman with her two sons. "Survivors?" His facial expression softened from seeing their miserable state while glancing between Akito and the family, saddened but relieved to know an innocent person survived despite what happened.
Akito nodded, "Bring them to the bunker," requesting that he take this unfortunate family somewhere safe. "They don't need to see any more of this tragedy," he said, seeing they had witnessed more than anyone should. "We better go while there's still some time."
Nodding in agreement, he said, "Of course, please follow me," motioning the mother and her kids to follow, which they did while the hero himself stayed in his spot, looking down with shame as he clenched his bandaged fists from not being able to save everyone.
Despite his superpowers, he couldn't go super fast, fly, or even teleport; he just ran and shielded them with his body as much as he could while knocking out some of those bad guys that tried to harm more of their people until he met up with several of the armed civilians, military soldiers, and the HPD altogether.
Even though he had made his promise of protecting this city and the citizens within, he felt like he failed to keep that vow. No matter how much he put himself in danger to try and make a difference, it appears as if this nightmare will never end.
Sighing tiredly, he looked ahead and exited the alleyway, seeing many of the arriving armed soldiers and police officers securing this section of the streets, including the rescued survivors. With some of the soldiers guiding the people towards the military vehicles that started to appear before him, Akito's thoughts wandered to three police officers beating up an injured invader.
They were yelling, shouting, and even screaming obscene words while punching and kicking his already battered body. Some even took turns stomping on his skull, much to the hero's horror as he watched helplessly before deciding to intervene.
"Enough!"
Akito yelled at them, putting himself between the terrified invader who was speaking an unknown language and the angry crowd that is beginning to grow by the second while being shocked to see their beloved superhero defending the very monster that killed their people.
"He surrendered! There is no need to continue this brutal torture!" He continues his speech, hoping to reason them out of this situation.
"Why do you defend this bastard? He murdered many of our own loved ones! You should be ashamed of yourself, son!" One of the older policemen, who sported a graying, short afro, glared behind their hero with one hand firmly gripping his pistol holster in case Akito resisted further.
Others murmured in agreement with the statement; their eyes were all fixed upon him, staring daggers as the atmosphere became tense once again. Everyone began murmuring amongst themselves, debating whether or not to back the hero up in his actions, knowing full well that such acts like this won't help anybody in the long run.
Akito grimaced at the thought, knowing full well that it didn't help his case either since he never liked violence anyways and chose to find more peaceful means of solving his problems. "I know what he and his people did was wrong, but that doesn't justify torturing him in such an inhuman way!" He pointed at the wounded invader behind him and said, "If anything, it will make us like him and his kind even more than before. We must not stoop down to their level of barbarism!"
Some agreed, while others denied it; most of them were willing to listen as long as they stopped fighting. Seeing this as his opportunity to make them see reason, he then continued his speech: "Have you ever thought for a second that they also had friends and family back home? That they, too, are terrified of their own loved ones being executed for such trivial things?!" The crowds all stood silently, listening intently to what else he had to say, while the police officers remained silent.
He took a deep breath before continuing, "We may be on opposite sides in this conflict, but this hate and animosity that we all feel against them isn't getting any of us anywhere near to resolving this dispute with the use of violence, making it worse for everyone involved. No one can blame each other for their actions in this situation; both sides had their reasons for doing what they did, and there is no way of knowing whose side is correct." His gaze turned back at them.
The people who were injured during this attack remained silent as he finished his final remark, "So please, we don't have to kill each other if we are not the same as them!" His plea caused an uproar amongst the gathered crowds and even some of the police officers that stood guard nearby.
One of them then spoke out angrily at this, "You expect us to show mercy and compassion after what they did to us?" He glared at the hero before spitting on the ground in front of him, showing their true colors in this debate: "How dare you sympathize with these monsters! Have you lost your goddamn mind!? Your fucking stupid or something!?" He yelled with venomous rage, pointing his finger at him.
Ignoring his insults, the superhero clenched his fists, understanding their sorrow and rage but still holding a compassionate heart of doing the right thing: "I may not have any power over them or what they choose to do in this situation; however, what I do have power over is preventing further senseless killing amongst ourselves because if we don't, then this war will continue until none of us is left alive by the end of it!"
"I'm disappointed with you," a police officer said, shaking his head as he frowned at their behavior while others stared back in shock at their actions. The man's voice was filled with sadness, disappointment, and frustration, if he had wished for this situation to end differently.
One by one, the crowd departs in separate groups while leaving their captured invader alone with him, who is standing there unsure of what to do next until he feels his hand being held by the terrified invader, prompting him to turn his head back at the person, seeing him looking up at his face with scared eyes.
Just seeing the boy's face made his own eyes widen; he looked no more than fifteen years old, and judging from his expressions, he really seemed to be sorry for his actions and was simply following orders, like an obedient soldier who did what his commanders told him without question.
Giving him a reassuring smile, Akito knelt down with tears streaming down his eyes, promising one thing even though the teen wouldn't understand what he was saying: "no one is going to die under my watch," a promise that he is willing to keep as long as he lives in this world; "nobody else will suffer or die again," his voice quivering from this overwhelming guilt of not being able to stop this war in the first place.
He isn't sure if he could prevent anymore deaths from both sides; war is terrible and painful for everyone involved, yet this is how the world works sometimes with all its tragedies and injustice; but still, he believes in giving everyone another chance to change themselves for the better, even if that means fighting against his fellow man for such an ideal goal, despite not liking violence much.
Because he has a heart of gold in helping everyone see their errors and fix their mistakes with the desire of wanting peace above all else, even if it means sacrificing his own life for a chance at redemption for those who truly deserved forgiveness.
"I promise..."
