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Hanta was previously having a fairly good day.
Of course, that was before they watched someone plummet to their probable death over the edge of a railing. That definitely wasn't 'fairly good'.
Hanta isn't even sure how it happened. One second they were fighting a villain that had somehow gotten onto a roof and trying to get the hostage out of the guy's grasp. Then the next the hostage was falling, a strip of tape sent out a fraction too late curling just before their ankle.
They fell so fast that Hanta felt their heart plummet with them. They fell so fast that Hanta couldn't save them even if they tried.
And they can't even do that anyway, since the villain is still here on the roof with them, just like the afterimage is still busy burning itself into Hanta's brain forever.
There's no time to even look and see if the hostage was caught before they hit the ground.
Hanta desperately hopes to themself that they're fine. It feels futile, like they're lying to themself to make themself feel better about killing someone.
A small voice whispering that Hanta didn't kill them gets ignored in favour of ducking under the villain's next attack. There are more important things to worry about right now. Block it out.
Blows are exchanged at a brutal pace that Hanta barely keeps up with. Time seems to be going both too fast and too slow. The person didn't even scream as they fell.
Hanta gets in a punch to the face, and they weave out of the way before it can be retaliated. Hanta didn't- doesn't even even know their name. That makes it feel worse, somehow.
The fight doesn't last too much longer after that, a hero Hanta is too out of it to recognise bursting out of the stairwell and taking the villain down easily.
There's the standard moment of self-doubt that follows seeing such an easy defeat where they struggled so much. But it feels so much more intense with all the other emotions weighing down their shoulders.
A second goes by where they wonder if it'd be worth it to follow the person over the edge.
It gets brushed aside so ferociously that Hanta full-body flinches at it. The hero handcuffing the villain beside them looks up worriedly.
Hanta waves her concern off easily with a smile that feels too fake to be believed. She definitely doesn't believe them, if the look she gives means anything.
The three of them make their way down from the roof to the elevator. The villain is being dragged. Hanta drags their feet. The hero is the only one of them walking normally.
She presses the button for the lobby.
It's a long journey down.
They all three step out, and she grabs Hanta's arm after someone takes the villain from her.
She tells them that 'you can't save everyone'. Hanta clenches their jaw and swallows painfully.
The words ring hollow in their ears.