00:47 AM – Old Tokyo District, Near the Freight Yards
Rain whispered against rusting tin roofs as the two of them stepped out from the narrow alley.
The neon glow of Tokyo's main streets was far behind now. Here, the lamps were few and far between, pools of light hanging lonely in a sea of shadow.
Arata kept one hand on the pistol tucked in his jacket, the other holding Yuiri's wrist. Her hand felt cold — always cold — as if the warmth refused to reach her fingertips.
She didn't complain about the pace, even though her steps were uneven. She hadn't spoken for nearly fifteen minutes.
Only the sound of the rain, the faint hum of old power lines above, and the steady beat of Arata's heart kept him company.
"Where are we going?" Yuiri's voice was low, hesitant.
Arata glanced at her, but his eyes kept scanning the street.
"Somewhere they can't find us," he replied.
Her brow furrowed. "And where is that?"
He almost smirked. "If I told you, it wouldn't be safe anymore."
It was meant to sound like a joke, but the truth was, he didn't know either.
They crossed an abandoned lot where weeds pushed through cracked asphalt. A toppled vending machine lay against the fence, its faded logo for iced coffee peeling away.
Arata stopped suddenly.
The silence had changed.
It was subtle — the kind of change you only notice if you've been hunted before.
The rain still fell, but the background hum of distant traffic was gone. Even the sound of dripping water from a pipe nearby seemed to pause.
Yuiri noticed it too. "Arata…"
He raised a hand, signaling her to stay quiet. His ears strained.
Then he heard it — faint, mechanical, almost like the whine of a mosquito, but deeper.
00:52 AM – First Sign of the Hunter
He looked up.
Through the mist and the rain, a small red light flickered in the sky, bobbing slowly, deliberately.
Drone.
It wasn't a police model — too sleek, too silent. NOKRA tech.
Arata's jaw tightened. These machines didn't patrol; they tracked.
"Move," he whispered, and they broke into a run.
They weaved between rusted shipping containers, their boots splashing through shallow puddles. Yuiri kept up better than he expected, but her breathing was ragged.
The drone's hum grew louder.
"Down!" Arata pulled her behind a stack of pallets just as a beam of white light swept over the yard.
It passed a meter from their hiding spot.
Yuiri gripped his sleeve. Her eyes were wide, her lips parted in a silent question: What now?
He didn't answer — because the beam returned.
The drone hovered overhead now, scanning. A thin needle-like device extended from its underside, clicking softly.
Arata had seen that weapon before — it didn't shoot bullets. It injected. And what it injected was worse than death.
00:55 AM – Breaking for the Rails
The nearest cover was the freight yard ahead — hundreds of idle train cars, steel giants standing silent under the storm.
"This way," Arata hissed, pulling Yuiri along.
The drone followed.
They darted through a gap in the fence, the cold metal scraping Arata's jacket. Inside, the smell of rust and oil filled the air. Rainwater ran in silver streams along the rails.
They ducked between two cars.
The drone zipped past overhead — too fast. It didn't see them yet.
Yuiri leaned against the side of a train car, clutching her chest. "I… can't…"
"Yes, you can," Arata said, more sharply than he meant to. He saw her flinch and immediately softened his voice. "We're almost there."
They started moving again, slower now, using the train cars as cover. Every clang of their boots on the metal walkway felt too loud.
Then Arata froze.
Ahead, at the far end of the line, a second red light hovered.
Another drone.
01:03 AM – The Trap Closes
Two drones. That meant they weren't just being hunted — they were being herded.
Yuiri followed his gaze and whispered, "They're pushing us somewhere…"
Arata cursed under his breath. "We're not going where they want."
He scanned the yard and spotted a half-open service tunnel hatch between two cars. Without thinking, he shoved it open and pulled Yuiri inside.
It was pitch dark, the air thick with the smell of damp concrete.
They descended the ladder, every step echoing.
When they reached the bottom, Arata switched on his flashlight. The beam cut through the gloom, revealing narrow maintenance tunnels running under the yard. Pipes lined the walls, dripping with condensation.
Yuiri's voice trembled. "How do you know this place?"
"I don't," he admitted. "But NOKRA doesn't like dirty places. That's why we're here."
01:10 AM – Underground Shadows
For a few minutes, they just walked. The sound of the rain above faded, replaced by the distant groan of shifting pipes.
Yuiri spoke again, her voice quieter. "You keep risking yourself for me. Why?"
He glanced at her. In the dim light, her brown hair clung to her face, her eyes searching his for an answer.
"I don't know yet," he said honestly. "But I think… you're the reason I came back."
"Came back from where?" she asked.
He didn't answer. Because he didn't know. Not fully.
01:16 AM – Back to the Surface
They reached a rusted door at the tunnel's end. Arata cracked it open and peered outside.
They were now at the far side of the yard, beyond the drones' patrol zone. The city skyline glimmered faintly through the rain.
He exhaled. "We're clear."
Yuiri stepped out beside him, tilting her face to the rain. For the first time since they'd met, she smiled — small, fragile, but real.
That's when Arata's instincts screamed again.
A shadow moved on the rooftop above.
Not a drone.
Human.
The figure stepped into the glow of a broken streetlamp — masked, armed, and wearing NOKRA's insignia.
Arata shoved Yuiri back behind the door just as the first shot rang out.
The hunt wasn't over.
It had only just begun.
End of chapter 5