Keichi Inukai quickened his pace, the morning sun casting long shadows as he navigated the city streets toward the imposing facade of the Columbus Grand Hotel. At 25, he was a diligent worker whose martial arts training had always been a quiet hobby—nothing he ever anticipated putting to use outside the dojo.
As he neared the corner of High Street and Broad, a commotion caught his attention. A woman stood surrounded by three men, her elegant suit sharply contrasting with their rough appearances. She looked visibly distressed.
"Come on, don't be like that!" one of the men shouted as he stepped forward, reaching for her.
"Help!" she cried, stumbling back as he pushed her hard onto the pavement.
Adrenaline surged through Keichi. Dropping his bag, he sprinted toward the group. "Hey! Back off!" he shouted, positioning himself between her and the men.
"Who do you think you are?" one of the attackers sneered, throwing a punch.
Keichi deflected the blow smoothly and swept the man's leg, sending him crashing to the ground. "I'm someone who doesn't tolerate bullies," he replied, quickly dispatching another assailant with a controlled kick.
The last man, realizing the tide had turned, hesitated for a moment before running off. The others scrambled to follow, muttering curses under their breath.
Breathing heavily, Keichi turned to the woman, extending a hand to help her to her feet. "Are you okay?" he asked, concern etched on his face.
"I… I think so," she stammered, brushing dirt off her suit. Her eyes were wide with a mix of shock and gratitude. "Thank you for intervening. I didn't know what to do."
"No need to thank me. I'm just glad you're safe," he replied, offering a reassuring smile.
She reached into her blouse pocket, pulling out a sleek, minimalist business card. "Please, take this. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to reach out."
Keichi hesitated for a moment, then bowed deeply, accepting the card with both hands. "I appreciate it. But I'm just a regular guy."
"Perhaps," she said with a small smile, "but regular guys can still be heroes."
With a nod, he glanced at his watch and realized he needed to hurry. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. I'm late for a meeting."
"Of course," she replied, understanding in her eyes. "Stay safe out there."
Keichi grabbed his bag and turned towards the hotel, the encounter replaying in his mind, a mixture of pride and concern swirling within him.
He was barely through the employee entrance when he was intercepted by two co-workers: Sarah, the front desk lead, and Mark from maintenance.
Mark was the one who spoke up, his expression cold. "We saw the whole thing, Keichi. Touching that woman inappropriately on the street like that."
Keichi stared at him, bewildered. "What? No, she was being attacked, I helped her! They were harassing her!"
Sarah shook her head with an air of practiced disappointment. "We have proof, Keichi." She produced a phone and showed him a photo. It was undeniably him and the woman, but the angle was damning—it looked completely doctored, twisting his act of assistance into one of aggression. The scene was perfectly framed to show him with his hands on her in a deeply inappropriate manner. Keichi tried to explain, his words tumbling over each other, but they dismissed him with disgusted looks. However he didn't have the time, or the proof that it was wrong to argue back.
The next few days became a living nightmare. Keichi was assigned every mundane task the hotel had, from scrubbing grout in the public restrooms to hauling heavy laundry bags up flights of stairs when the service elevator was 'mysteriously' out of order. He was overworked, exhausted, and his paycheck was consistently shorted. Every time he tried to clear his name, he was met with contempt and closed off faces. The entire staff treated him like a pariah.
He finally complained to his supervisor, a man named Henderson with a perpetually unimpressed face.
"Mr. Hendersonn this is ridiculous," Keichi stated, "Everyone is treating me like dirt, and they're being completely unreasonable. I'm trying to explain what happened and nobody's-"
Henderson just shrugged and said, "Suck it up, Inukai. Own up to your wrongdoings. We're being lenient not firing you on the spot. Now get back to work! And make it snappy!"
The final straw came a week later. It was 8 PM, his shift long over, and he was told to stay late and clean the entirety of the fifth-floor guest rooms—alone. He'd had enough. He found Henderson in his office and laid out his frustrations about the unfair workload.
"You have NO RIGHT to make me do this task by myself without any help!" Keichi shouted.
Henderson leaned back in his chair, a smirk playing on his lips. "Listen, you little bum, if you keep up this 'disrespectful attitude', I'll make sure you don't see a paycheck for two months." He stood up and jabbed a finger into Keichi's chest.
"And don't you forget it was you who touched that woman inappropriately." Henderson held up the same doctored photo, waving it in his face like a banner of Keichi's manufactured shame.
Enraged, the dam of Keichi's patience finally broke. He slapped the photo out of Henderson's hand. "I quit!" he shouted, the sound echoing down the empty hall.
Henderson roared with laughter as Keichi stormed toward the exit. "You can't quit! Who would hire a bum like you, Inukai? You're finished in this city!"
Keichi didn't look back. He just kept walking, out the door, into the cool night air, leaving the toxicity of the Columbus Grand Hotel behind him forever. He was unemployed, falsely accused, and adrift, but he was finally free of their suffocating judgment.
He pulled the sleek business card from his wallet and looked at the name: Akari Tanaka, CEO, FoxHound Security Solutions.