As the sun set and the first day of experiments on the Hive came to an end, a young blue-haired boy stepped out of the Kokuto café.
He wore a hoodie pulled low to cast a shadow over his face.
A black-haired girl working the counter called after him:
"Don't stay out too long! It'll be completely dark soon. Got that?"
"Yeah, yeah, I heard you," the boy replied arrogantly and stepped into the alley that led toward the street with the Hive.
Meanwhile, Yushin and I had gone to grab a soda from a nearby vending machine.
Removing his gas mask, the burly man said:
"Finally, I can breathe normal air again. I'm not entirely sure if the flu spreads through the air, but I'm going to lose my mind in this mask."
"No kidding," I replied, tossing a few coins into the machine.
A can of soda clanked down, which I took and opened. Yushin did the same.
We leaned against the wall and rested in peace. Only the soft light of the vending machine remained, as darkness had fully settled in.
