[...do not forget your belongings. If you need assistance, please stay in your seat. Once again, welcome to... Local time is...]
Even though Adam had no sleep at all, he still didn’t get a single wink of sleep on the plane. And now, its wheels had just touched American soil. He’d been gone only around a week, but the country all of a sudden became foreign to him.
Perhaps it was because he’d already gotten a glimpse of what it was like to live comfortably, without having to worry if anyone was following him from behind. But... then again, if anything, he’d always been foreign to these people.
[Passengers arriving from international flights, please proceed to immigration...]
Adam followed the rest of the people heading to immigration. He kept his head up, scanning everyone’s faces to see if he recognized anyone there... or if there was anyone wearing a suit similar to the men of the Hospital.
But... then again, most of the people he passed by wore suits. The sisters had provided him with a new visa—an actual visa with his actual name on it. Well, not his actual name, since he didn’t really have a last name whatsoever.
"Next."
And as it was Adam’s turn, his eyes still moved constantly. Checking exits, noting the cameras, and even looking at security personnel.
He... was a little nervous. This was the first time he was actually going through immigration. He should be nervous—but after going through everything he did, he wasn’t feeling anything at all.
The immigration officer, a tired-looking woman with graying hair, barely glanced at his documents before stamping them and handing them back.
"Welcome back, Mr. Smith."
"...Thank you."
...It would seem that even if he was worried, it would’ve been needless.
Adam nodded his thanks and moved deeper into the airport, weaving through the crowds toward baggage claim. It didn’t really take long for him to see his luggage from the carousel, given how long it was. It was a long, black, oversized bag.
And of course, it carried the Shion.
He flung the bag behind him, careful not to hit anyone... but no one really cared for anyone.
Nothing had really changed. These people were all still unaware of everything else happening around them, or perhaps they just don’t care... not until they were involved in it.
"Ha..." Adam sighed at his thoughts. Not even an hour back in the country, and he was already brooding again. Nothing... nothing has changed.
No. There was a change.
He caught his reflection in a mirrored pillar and paused. No hoodie. He wasn’t wearing a hoodie, and his face was completely visible for everyone to see.
He didn’t realize it at all... but he wasn’t hiding at all.
"Huh." And he didn’t think much of it, either.
He made his way through the crowd, and for the first time in years, he wasn’t ducking behind other people’s backs or keeping to the edges of groups. The world may not have changed... but he surely did.
Adam joined the long line of travelers waiting for a taxi outside the airport. He propped the Shion against his leg while holding his duffel bag tight in his arm.
He was about to look at his phone while waiting, but his eye caught a massive billboard dominating the view across the street.
A woman’s face, impossibly beautiful, smiled down at the city while holding a bottle of expensive perfume. Her red hair caught the artificial light, and her eyes seemed to follow every passerby.
Adam thought the image was eerily familiar, but then remembered that this was one of the last images Adam had seen before everything went to shit. It was quite ironic...
...since this time around, he was the one who was going to start shit.
He stared at the billboard again, studying the woman’s perfect features. Beautiful. Survived to become a Hero. What a life she must have—fame, fortune, adoration.
But then... Adam knew this woman also went through the same hell he did in the Game. It—
"You a fan of Katherine?"
And before Adam’s thoughts could go deeper, he turned to find a middle-aged man in a wrinkled suit standing beside him, following his gaze to the billboard.
"Katherine?" Adam blinked.
The man pointed at the advertisement. "Katherine Thorne. The Radiant Shield. You were staring pretty hard there, buddy."
"Oh... her?" Adam shook his head. "So... that’s her name?"
"Oh, not a fan, then?" The man laughed. "So, what are you? A tourist? I don’t think there are any nice fishing spots near here."
Adam noticed the man’s eyes had drifted to the long bag holding the Shion. Did... he think he was a fisherman, or something? And why was this man even talking to him?
"Uh... something like that." Adam responded, glancing at the billboard again, then shrugged. He was about to use his phone... but the man kept talking.
"Heroes, man. Lucky bastards, all of them. Never have to worry about rent, or food, or any of the shit the rest of us deal with. Just fight a few times a year, maybe not even, and live like kings."
Adam said nothing, but his grip tightened on the bag’s strap.
"But then again, my brother was summoned to the Game two years ago. He never came back to sell perfume, of course. That stupid bitch. I still miss him."
"...Right."
Fortunately for Adam, a batch of taxis started to pull up to the curb, saving him from the conversation. He climbed into the first available cab, sliding the Shion across the back seat.
"Where to?" the driver asked.
"To... the nearest train station, please."
***
"...This place is still exactly the same."
Several hours later, night had fallen like a curtain across the city. Adam stood outside his old apartment building, the familiar smell of people who haven’t showered for a year filling his nostrils. Nothing had changed here either.
"...Excuse me."
He walked inside, stepping over the people sitting in the hallways—most of them drugged to the gills, eyes vacant and staring at nothing.
"Ah, sh... sorry." He almost stepped on someone, but he quickly moved between everyone and headed to the stairs... only to find he also needed to dodge people sleeping there.
But finally, after several minutes of struggle, he’d reached his apartment door.
Well, not really. Someone had stolen the door.
"Great..." Adam muttered as he stepped inside.
The inside was completely ransacked. Furniture was also stolen... well, at least the bed was still there, but the walls were now marked with stains he didn’t want to identify. He could also see syringes and spoons on the floor—and he was sure they weren’t his.
Adam dropped his bags in the center of the apartment and looked around. The place felt smaller than he remembered, more... pathetic. A reflection of what he was... and maybe what he still is.
"U...ugh..."
"Hm...?" Adam’s eyes narrowed as he heard a voice coming from the bathroom. He carefully made his way there... only to see someone lying in the bathtub.
"Hey." Adam shook the man’s shoulder gently.
The man’s eyes opened, unfocused and extremely bloodshot. Even then, however, he looked at Adam with that beautiful, toothless smile of his.
"W-what’s up, man?"
"You need to leave the building," Adam said, helping him sit up.
"Sure thing, Hoss. Sure thing." The man laughed. But surprisingly, he didn’t even resist. He stumbled past Adam and wandered out, still giggling to himself.
And after he was sure the man was gone, he walked toward the broken window, sighing as he pulled out a thick wad of cash from his pocket. And then, with another deep sigh...
...he threw the cash out the window.
The money was almost like leaves falling down. Nothing happened at first. But then... someone spotted the bills scattered on the pavement.
And that was all it took; within minutes, everyone from the apartment building was rushing outside, fighting over the money like animals.
Adam watched them scramble from his window, gripping the Shion tight through its bag.
And just like that... the building was completely empty. The only thing Adam needed to do now was wait.
Wait for whoever the Hospital would send.