how do you make amends (when you're gone from me)

As the violet hour ceded to the dull-black night’s losing battle with Shinjuku’s neon glow, Akira Kurusu, cocooned in a gray cashmere overcoat and nestling his face in a dark green plaid scarf, single-mindedly marched along past the simple, tempting pleasure peddled throughout the red-light district. It was the second of December, 2025, a day continuing the sub-zero cold wave dry-freezing Tokyo’s streets, that politely convinced most to avoid extraneous outdoor time.Akira Kurusu hadn’t been content to be ‘most’ for a decade, and had convinced himself that even were he working in Europe the morning of, he would still manage his way to this door before this night was over.

Almost seven years into full-time work with the Shadow Operatives, Akira and a colleague still meet yearly on a specific night to share drinks and remember the past as it truly was. Reopening those wounds doesn't feel good— but he's far more terrified of ignoring them.