Bio Defense ~A City Built in a World That Has Ended~

Chapter 1-2

After parting ways with Haruka at the school gate, Kanata and his friends waited for the town-bound bus at a nearby bus stop, engaging in lighthearted conversations. Due to the rural nature of the area, there were fewer buses outside of peak hours in the morning and evening. Even Tajima and Nakai, who usually didn’t talk much, quickly warmed up and started chatting about silly jokes and television shows.

A figure was slowly approaching the bus stop. Unaware due to their engrossing conversation, Kanata’s friends seemed to be struggling to find the right moment to speak.

Daigo, who wasn’t part of the conversation, noticed the approaching figure and grabbed Kanata by the body, turning him towards the person. The person was wearing the uniform of a nearby middle school, and both Daigo and the person looked at each other with confused expressions due to Daigo’s sudden action.

“Oh, it’s Hinata. Are you heading home now? Why are you here? This route is a detour to get home…”

“Onii-chan, you’re not going home?”

Before Kanata could voice his curiosity, the girl who had interrupted with a question was Kanata’s younger sister, Kenzaki Hinata. She was four years younger than Kanata.

Kanata couldn’t immediately respond to his sister’s question. There were reasons why he found it a bit difficult to talk to Hinata, and as he tried to recall if he had told her about going straight to play after school today, he realized he hadn’t mentioned it at all.

“Hello.”

Seeing that Kanata wasn’t responding quickly, Hinata smiled and greeted the friends behind him. The friends responded with much more enthusiasm than they had shown towards Kanata, and even went so far as to tell Hinata that they were going to town to play, and offered to escort her home, completely disregarding Kanata.

The high school where they were located was in the northern part of Suou Town, and Hinata’s middle school was also nearby. Both were closer to their home in Hosaka Town, so it was a walkable distance. However, it would be a significant detour for Hinata to walk around the high school on her way home.

That was probably why they offered to send her home, but if anyone other than Daigo had said it, Kanata would have needed to give them a lesson as her brother. Daigo, however, was genuinely concerned without any ulterior motives, so Kanata let it slide. He was a genuinely kind man, and Kanata trusted him.

Hinata understood this, so she smiled and thanked him, turning back to Kanata.

“Okay… if you’re going to be late, please let me know. Bye.”

After saying that, Hinata greeted her friends and turned back the way she had come. It didn’t seem like she had any specific errands that required her to take a detour. In fact, it was closer to turn back from here. Kanata was confused by Hinata’s intentions.

“Is that alright? Don’t you have any plans?”

Daigo asked Kanata with a worried expression, and Kanata, who had been deep in thought, shook his head.

“No, I don’t have any plans. I’m fine.”

Kanata tried to recall if he had made any promises, but couldn’t think of anything. That’s why he said he was fine, but Daigo still didn’t look convinced.

“But she came all the way here… did you intend to walk home together?”

Daigo looked back and forth between Hinata, who was now quite far away, and Kanata, looking genuinely worried.

“You’re such a worrywart!”

To change the atmosphere, Kanata put Daigo in a headlock and said it brightly on purpose. It had absolutely no effect, and Daigo’s worried expression didn’t fade.

As they were about to board the bus, which had arrived, Kanata recalled Daigo’s words from earlier. He didn’t think Hinata would come all the way to walk home with him. Maybe she had intended to return home with Haruka. Haruka would be going to the Nishina Dojo for practice today. But Haruka hadn’t said anything, and she had already left.

As Kanata sat deeply in his seat on the bus, half-listening to his friends’ lighthearted conversations, his thoughts turned to Hinata. He remembered the thoughtless words he had said to her last year, and felt that a slight rift had formed between them since then.

If he had apologized with a smile that same day, it probably wouldn’t have been a big deal, but he hadn’t done so, and now time had passed, and he was still in the same situation.

However, at that time, Kanata still believed that he could apologize later. Tomorrow would be fine. They were family, and they lived together, so there would be opportunities. As he gazed blankly at the passing scenery, he made excuses to himself and stopped thinking. The tests were over, so he decided to enjoy the day.

However, Kanata didn’t realize that such opportunities had to be created, and they didn’t just appear out of nowhere.

Kanata and his friends got off the bus at the nearest stop in the center of Suou Town and felt their spirits lift. The central street had a bus center, and the area was filled with old buildings and shops, with many alleys and a maze-like layout. Some buildings stood out, but there were also many shops with closed shutters.

In recent years, the area beyond the central street had been developed, and large shopping malls, game centers, and karaoke places that young people liked had been built on the wide plots of land that had been wasteland or rice fields. During the development, many offices and warehouses were also built to attract businesses. Clearly excited, the group walked down the central street, heading towards this new area.

However, just a few minutes later, they found themselves entangled in trouble.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying!”

When they took a side street as a shortcut leading to the suburbs, they heard a voice coming from a slightly shadowed alleyway. As Kanata and the others stopped in their tracks, exchanging glances, they could faintly hear the voice of what seemed to be an elderly woman, expressing indignation, along with a few words in a language other than Japanese.

Kanata and Subaru stole a quick glance at Daigo’s face, and it was clear that he was intrigued.

“Come on, let’s go. It’s better not to get involved. It’s a hassle.”

Tajima urged them to leave, his face expressing the word “hassle.” Nakai didn’t seem to care and had already walked a few meters ahead. However, Kanata and Subaru, who could see what was coming, smiled wryly.

“Go ahead, we’ll catch up later.”

Sure enough, Daigo spoke the expected words. Based on past experiences, Kanata and Subaru knew that Daigo wouldn’t leave an obviously troubled elderly person to go play. They had both given up as soon as Daigo reacted to the elderly person’s voice.

“Ah… so that’s the deal. Please go ahead, we’ll come later.”

Subaru repeated Daigo’s words to Tajima and Nakai. It seemed that neither Kanata nor Subaru intended to stop Daigo. Tajima hesitated for a moment, but then grabbed Nakai’s arm and said, “We’ll go ahead,” and left quickly.

“You two could have gone ahead too.”

Daigo, who said this happily, made Kanata and Subaru want to laugh.

“Alright, let’s solve this quickly and go play!”

Subaru said this boldly and started walking towards the direction from which the voice was coming, with Kanata and Daigo following close behind.

However, at that time, no one could have imagined that this choice would save Kanata and his friends’ lives.