The Slums of Rinsho did not wake; they groaned.
Every morning felt like the world sighing under the weight of too many forgotten souls. Wooden shacks leaned against each other like dying men trying to stand. Smoke from burnt trash hung in the air like a curse, while muddy water flowed through narrow alleys carrying rot, insects, and discarded dreams.
Kaizen walked through it barefoot.
His feet were numb to the cold, sharp stones that cut him daily. His skin was used to the sting of wind and the bite of hunger. The slums shaped him like sculptors shape clay. At age twelve, he already had the expression of someone who had lived three lifetimes too many.
He had grown tall, but thin, so thin that his bones shadowed his skin. His hair, once dark black, had lose colour into a near-black shade, always messy. His eyes were hollow, almost dull… unless someone pushed him. Then something in them flickered, like a spark that refused to die.
That spark was the only reason he was still breathing.
Kaizen stopped beside an abandoned stall, crouching as he tried to pull a half-rotten potato from under the wood. The smell was terrible, but he didn't flinch. He bit into it without hesitation.
It was disgusting.
But it was food.
He chewed slowly, swallowing bitterness with bitterness.
Around him, the slums continued their morning ritual, shouting, coughing, beating, begging. His mother was long gone, his father never returned, and every day felt like a reminder that no one would save him.
He was alone.
And he preferred it that way.
Or so he told himself.
That morning, as Kaizen pushed deeper into the market ruins in search of scraps, he heard two voices.
One male.
One female.
Both young.
He ignored them at first, but the voices grew closer.
"…I'm telling you, he's over here! I saw him come this way!"
"Why would he run? He didn't even talk to us…"
"Exactly! That's suspicious!"
Kaizen sighed.
Not again.
He quickened his pace, slipping behind a cracked pillar and flattening himself against it. His breathing slowed. Years of hiding had trained him well. He shut out every emotion, every softness.
Attachment was a weakness.
People left.
People died.
People betrayed.
He wouldn't let it happen again.
Footsteps splashed through the dirty puddles.
"Kaizen! Oi! We know you're there!"
He closed his eyes.
Maybe if he stayed quiet,
A head suddenly poked around the other side of the pillar.
"Found you!"
Kaizen jerked back a full step, fists tightening, his instinct screaming fight. But instead of an enemy, a boy about his age grinned broadly at him.
He had messy amber hair, sharp brown eyes, and the biggest smile Kaizen had ever seen in the slums. His clothes were torn, patched multiple times, but he wore them like they were armor.
"I told you he'd be here," the boy bragged loudly.
A girl peeked from behind him, small, thin, with short-cut silver hair that shimmered even in the dirty sunlight. Her eyes were a soft lilac, but they carried exhaustion and hunger much like Kaizen's. Her hands were behind her back as if she were hiding something.
Kaizen glared. "What do you want?"
The boy stepped forward and pointed at him dramatically. "I'm Riku! And this is Hana. We saw you fighting those older bullies yesterday."
Kaizen's jaw tightened. "So?"
"So it was cool!" Riku declared proudly. "You fought them like a cornered wolf. You didn't even cry when they punched you."
Hana nodded softly. "You're… strong."
Kaizen looked away. "Go away."
Riku blinked. "Huh?"
"I said go away."
"Why?"
"Because I don't want friends."
Riku crossed his arms. "Good thing we didn't say we wanted to be your friends."
Hana sighed. "Riku… yes you did."
"Oh. Right."
Kaizen turned to leave, but Hana stepped in front of him gently, not blocking forcefully—just enough that he had to meet her eyes.
Her lilac gaze wasn't sharp or judging.
It was… warm.
Kaizen hated warmth.
"Here," she whispered, revealing what she had been hiding behind her back—a small loaf of stale bread. "It's not much. But… you look hungry."
Kaizen froze.
He stared at the bread.
He stared at her small hands.
He stared at her eyes that didn't look away even once.
A memory stirred, his mother handing him food with the same soft expression.
And like a knife, it hurt.
So he stepped back violently, knocking her hand away. The bread fell into a puddle.
Hana gasped.
Riku shouted, "Hey! Why'd you do that?"
Kaizen's voice cracked with anger, and not just any anger but anger born from fear.
"I don't need your pity."
"It wasn't pity!" Riku snapped. "We're all starving! We just wanted to share."
Kaizen shook his head.
"You don't understand. If you give something, people want something back. If you care, people suffer. If you stay close, people leave. I don't want anyone near me."
His voice trembled.
Hana swallowed, watching him with sadness. "You're scared…"
Kaizen's eyes widened.
Riku blinked. "Scared? Him? No way, he punched a grown man the other day!"
Hana shook her head gently. "Not scared of fighting. He's scared of losing."
Kaizen felt something twisting in his chest rage, shame, and something else he couldn't name. His voice lowered to a whisper.
"leave me alone,"
"Just leave me alone."
He turned and walked away.
Riku shouted after him, "We're going to talk to you again tomorrow!"
"No you're not."
"Yes we are!"
Kaizen didn't respond. He disappeared around a corner, his shadow merging with the dim alley.
---
But as he walked, something strange happened.
His chest felt tight.
Not physically but emotionally.
He thought avoiding them would bring relief. Instead, it brought discomfort. A heaviness. A strange ache he couldn't understand.
Why couldn't they just leave him alone?
Why did they smile at him?
Why were they kind?
People in the slums weren't kind.
People in the slums took, hurt, survived.
No one offered food without expecting something.
No one except… them.
Kaizen clenched his fists.
He didn't want this.
He didn't want hope.
He didn't want company.
He didn't want to care.
Caring was dangerous.
Caring led to pain.
He repeated the words over and over like a prayer, but somehow… they didn't feel as certain as before.
Lost in thought, Kaizen didn't notice the two men trailing behind him until it was too late.
Someone grabbed his shoulder.
He spun around, and a fist slammed into his cheek.
Kaizen hit the ground.
Two older teenagers, thugs of the slums. Towered over him with cruel grins.
"Well, look who we found," one sneered. "The little rat who fought back yesterday."
The other cracked his knuckles. "He thinks just 'cause he's fast, he can dodge us."
Kaizen tried to stand, but a kick sent him collapsing again.
Pain shot through his ribs.
He tasted blood.
The taller boy grabbed his hair. "Your mother died owing us money."
Kaizen's world turned white with fury.
"She owed us," the boy continued. "Meaning you owe too."
Kaizen growled. "I don't owe you anything."
The boy punched him again. "Wrong answer."
Kaizen tried to fight, swinging desperately, but hunger weakened him. His punches were slow, sloppy. The boys laughed as they kicked him again and again.
His breathing became ragged.
His vision blurred.
Then....
"STOP!"
Hana's voice.
Kaizen's eyes shot open.
Hana and Riku stood at the end of the alley.
"No," Kaizen whispered, terror clawing through him.
Not them. Not them. Not them. Stay away! Don't come here, don't get hurt because of me.
But Riku charged in recklessly, swinging a wooden stick at the bigger thug.
"Leave him alone!"
The thug caught the stick and snapped it in half with one hand.
Riku froze.
Hana screamed, "Riku run!"
But before he could, the thug grabbed Riku by the shirt and threw him into the mud. Hana rushed to help him, but the second thug shoved her hard, sending her crashing against the wall.
Kaizen's heart stopped.
Not from fear.
From rage.
From something far darker.
A scream ripped from his throat, not human, not controlled. He lunged at the thugs with a wildness that startled even them. His fists flew faster, instinctive, claw-like. He didn't know where the strength came from, pure fury, pure instinct.
He bit.
He clawed.
He struck at their throats.
"GET OFF!"
One thug shoved him back, trembling. "What the hell is with this kid?!"
Kaizen's eyes were unfocused, filled with something feral.
But hunger and exhaustion betrayed him again. A final punch sent him crashing into the wall near Hana.
The thugs spat at him.
"This is what you get for fighting fate," one muttered.
They walked away.
When they were gone, Kaizen lay on the ground, trembling.
Riku crawled beside him. "You okay?"
Kaizen didn't answer.
Hana knelt on the other side, touching his bruised cheek gently. "You protected us…"
Her touch stung him more than the wounds.
Because it scared him.
He turned his face away, forcing his body up despite the pain. "Don't… follow me."
Hana frowned. "We're not leaving you alone."
"I said leave!"
His voice cracked.
Riku stood too. "We're nobodies, same as you. That's exactly why we're sticking together."
Kaizen shook his head violently.
"No. You saw what happens. You get close to me, you get hurt."
Hana whispered, "We get hurt whether we're alone or together. But… together hurts less."
Kaizen's brain told him to run.
His heart told him to stay.
In the end, he walked away again, limping into the shadows until their voices faded behind him.
But this time…
He looked back.
Once.
Just once.
And it scared him more than any beating ever had.
Because for the first time in years…
He wanted to go back.
That night, Kaizen sat on the roof of an abandoned shack, staring at the dying sun. His body ached, but his mind was worse.
He muttered to himself, "Why… why did I try to protect them…?"
He wanted to believe it was just instinct. But deep down he knew the truth.
He didn't hate them.
He pushed them away because he didn't want to lose them.
He pushed them away because he was afraid they would suffer because of him.
He pushed them away…
because he didn't know how to be happy anymore.
A cold wind brushed past him.
And for a brief second, he heard it
A whisper.
Faint.
Dark.
Calling his name.
"…Kaizen…"
He shivered.
But when he looked around, no one was there.
The slums were silent.
Too silent.
Kaizen stared into the deepening night, unaware that the shadows had started watching him more from that very day, drawn to the loneliness in his heart.
They had found him.
And soon…
he would hear them clearly.