Monday had arrived. I stood in front of the mirror, staring at my own reflection. The white jacket my father had given me fit perfectly. Today was the day of the honors ceremony, and my feelings were mixed. Being the center of attention was the last thing I wanted—but I knew I had to be there. (Even if, to be honest, the most important part for me was the money.) With a deep breath, I slowly but surely stepped out of my apartment.
A black car with tinted windows stopped at my door. The driver politely opened it, and I slid into the luxurious interior. Rin had been picked up first, so she was already there. She smiled at me, and I returned the smile faintly.
"Are you ready for today?" she asked gently.
I nodded. "I hope so..."
On the way, she told me we had already received the 100,000 credits—which, for me, was the best part of the whole ceremony.
The Nexus was an imposing hall, filled with important figures, media, and cameras. The president, the mayor, and the CEO of Arasaka thanked us profusely. We were given medals and certificates, the mood was festive.
Rin was the first of us to give her speech. Her voice was clear and resolute:
"When I learned there was a bomb in the van, I was shocked. But when I saw Spike's determination, I knew: we had to act. We pushed the vehicle into the water to disable the bomb. This experience showed me that courage in difficult times can make all the difference."
The whole Nexus erupted into applause. As she stepped down from the stage, our eyes met for a brief moment. For that instant, everything else was irrelevant.
Then I stepped up to the microphone.
"Rin already said a lot. I'm not a man of many words, but one thing's for sure: we're all just human. Anyone could've done the sa—"
A loud beeping cut me off. The screens flickered, and the terrorist's face appeared.
"Citizens of Neo-Tokyo," his distorted voice boomed. "Arasaka betrayed me. Because of them, my daughter died. Today, I'll show you the truth."
He turned the camera—revealing a bomb blinking inside Arasaka headquarters.
"Spike... you made things difficult for me. But my suffering is greater! I have the RIGHT!"
Panic broke out. Some people rushed to the exits, others froze, not knowing what to do. Everyone was completely overwhelmed by the situation. After all, no one had expected this... at least not in this way. It reminded me of the disaster back then. My stomach turned.
And I haven't even tried the buffet yet, I thought with a pained smile. Seriously? Cracking jokes now? I scolded myself.
Amid the chaos, the CEO of Arasaka apparently couldn't hold back anymore and shouted,
"You ungrateful piece of trash! We gave you more than most other corporations ever would!"
"Then you shouldn't have hidden behind fine print! You shouldn't have pretended to be more righteous than you are!" the terrorist yelled back.
Anger boiled inside me. I dashed toward the car, but Rin ran after me and jumped in.
"I'm coming with you! Last time I saved your life. I'm not letting you die!"
"No. I promise I'll come back..." I said, quickly getting out of the car and locking it before she could follow. Without the keys, she couldn't even open the doors from the inside.
I hurried to my motorcycle, which was still parked outside my apartment. Luckily, it wasn't far. As I ran, I could hear her banging on the window and shouting something after me. Probably something like, 'Hey! Spike, come back! You can't be serious!' or whatever. I didn't know, and it wasn't my priority to find out. My ears were ringing unbearably. I felt deaf.
After about five minutes, I reached my bike, got on, and sped off. I was confused. I hadn't even realized I'd already started riding. It was as if I wasn't controlling the bike at all, but merely watching myself do it.
As I raced toward headquarters, my phone rang. It snapped me back into reality. It was an unknown number—but I had a pretty good idea who it was...