Chapter 23 — A Suspicion in the Rain
The rain had not stopped since the night before.
It fell in long silver lines across the city, washing over rooftops, streets, and broken alleyways where crime still thrived in the darkness. The storm made the city feel quieter than usual, but beneath that quiet, tension crawled through the air.
Inside the café, Lena Arashi wiped the same table for the third time.
Her coworker noticed immediately.
"You're doing it again."
Lena blinked. "Doing what?"
"Thinking about him."
Lena sighed and leaned against the counter.
"Is it that obvious?"
Her coworker nodded with a teasing smile.
"You've been staring out that window all morning."
Lena followed her gaze toward the rain-covered street outside.
Cars passed slowly.
Pedestrians rushed under umbrellas.
But the person she hoped to see never appeared.
Kael Riven.
He had been gone for months.
No messages.
No calls.
No explanation.
Just silence.
And yet… lately something strange had begun to bother her.
Something she couldn't ignore anymore.
The Punisher.
---
Rumors Across the City
The first rumor appeared two weeks ago.
A criminal gang had been found in an abandoned warehouse—completely burned. No survivors.
Then it happened again.
And again.
Every time the same thing appeared in the reports.
Burn marks.
Unnatural flames.
And witnesses all described something impossible.
"A figure with wings."
Lena held her phone in her hands, scrolling through a news article.
"Another criminal group destroyed last night," she whispered.
Her coworker leaned closer.
"Is that the Punisher again?"
Lena nodded slowly.
"They say he only attacks criminals."
"Sounds like a hero to me."
Lena didn't answer.
Because something about the story disturbed her.
The fire.
The wings.
The anger.
It reminded her of someone.
Someone who used to sit quietly at the back of the classroom.
Someone who never fought back when bullies pushed him around.
Someone whose eyes sometimes looked like they carried too much pain.
Kael.
"No," Lena whispered to herself.
"That's impossible."
But the doubt remained.
---
Taro's Investigation
Across town, Taro Kiyoshi crouched on top of a building.
His jacket was soaked from the rain, but he didn't seem to care.
Through binoculars, he watched a group of suspicious men loading crates into a van below.
Weapons.
Illegal ones.
Taro lowered the binoculars.
"Found you."
He had been tracking these guys for two days.
They were part of a small criminal group known for trafficking stolen weapons.
And lately, something strange had been happening to groups like them.
They disappeared.
Burned.
Destroyed.
By the Punisher.
Taro leaned against the wall.
"If this guy really hunts criminals…"
He stared at the gang below.
"…then he'll show up tonight."
The thunder rolled across the sky.
And almost on cue—
The air suddenly grew hot.
Taro froze.
The rain around the alley below began to hiss.
Steam rose from the ground.
Then fire appeared.
Not ordinary fire.
This fire moved like a living creature.
The criminals shouted in panic.
"What the—?!"
"RUN!"
A shadow dropped from the rooftop above them.
Taro's heart nearly stopped.
Red wings spread across the alley.
Flames danced across a tall figure's body.
The Punisher had arrived.
---
The Burning Alley
The criminals fired their guns wildly.
Bullets struck the mysterious figure.
But none of them worked.
The bullets simply bounced away.
"Impossible!" one man screamed.
The Punisher walked forward slowly.
Each step left scorch marks on the ground.
Above the criminals' heads, invisible to everyone except him, red crosses burned brightly.
Guilty.
All of them.
The Punisher raised his hand.
Fire spiraled outward.
Within seconds, the alley became a battlefield of flames.
Taro watched everything from above, completely frozen.
The way the Punisher moved…
The way he fought…
Something about it felt strangely familiar.
Too familiar.
Finally the flames faded.
The criminals were gone.
Silence returned to the alley.
The Punisher turned.
For a split second, the fire around his body dimmed.
And Taro saw his face.
His eyes widened in shock.
"No way…"
But before he could see clearly, the red wings spread again.
And the Punisher vanished into the storm.
---
Lena's Uneasy Feeling
Back at the café, Lena suddenly dropped a cup.
It shattered on the floor.
Her coworker jumped.
"Whoa! What happened?"
Lena stared at her trembling hands.
"I… I don't know."
A strange feeling crawled through her chest.
Fear.
Worry.
And something else.
Outside, thunder echoed loudly.
Lena looked toward the distant skyline.
For a moment, she thought she saw a flash of red light far away.
Her heart beat faster.
"Kael…"
She whispered his name without realizing it.
---
Watching From the Rooftop
High above the city, Kael stood silently on a tower.
Rain fell around him, but the drops evaporated before touching his skin.
His red wings slowly faded away.
Below him, thousands of crosses hovered above people moving through the streets.
White.
Red.
Orange.
The world looked different through his eyes now.
Corruption was everywhere.
The devil's voice whispered again.
Punish them.
Kael clenched his fists.
"I will."
But deep down…
A memory surfaced.
Lena's smile.
Taro's laugh.
For a brief moment, the Punisher felt something unfamiliar.
Loneliness.
---
Meanwhile…
Taro stood frozen on the rooftop where he had witnessed the battle.
His hands trembled.
"That face…"
He shook his head.
"No."
"It can't be him."
But the thought refused to leave his mind.
Because for a split second—
The Punisher had looked exactly like Kael Riven