Bio Defense ~A City Built in a World That Has Ended~ - Chapter 1-3

Chapter 1-3

“Phew. I’m home.”

Hinata opened the front door of her home and announced her return, as if speaking to no one in particular. She knew no one was there, so she didn’t expect a reply. In the Kenzaki household, where both parents worked, it was rare for anyone to be home at this time. Sometimes Kanata would be home early, but today, she knew he wasn’t.

The silence in the house made Hinata feel like no one was waiting for her return, and she shook her head to dismiss the thought. Hinata locked the front door with her back to it and then went upstairs to her room on the second floor. There were two rooms on the second floor, with her room at the back and Kanata’s room at the front.

“Haa…”

As she entered her room and closed the door, she sighed again. She had been feeling a bit distant from Kanata lately, and it was bothering her. Her friends told her that it was normal for siblings, especially during their teenage years, but she felt like there was something different about it. So, she had decided to walk home with Kanata today, making a special trip to the high school, but… it was unfortunate that he had made plans to go out and play with his friends today.

Well, she hadn’t made any promises or contacted him, so there was nothing she could do. She would talk to him properly next time. After all, tomorrow was the start of winter break. She should be allowed to ask him to take her somewhere, shouldn’t she? They were siblings, after all.

Hinata took off her uniform and hung it in the closet to avoid wrinkles. As she looked at the mirror attached to the door, she saw her reflection in her underwear, with a frown on her forehead.

Thanks to the training she had been doing, her body was well-proportioned. The lack of curves was something she hoped would change as she grew older. She was still in middle school, after all. She forced her mind to think of something else and smiled at her reflection, then clenched her fists to pump herself up before grabbing her bag with her kendo uniform and changing into more casual clothes.

If she was alone in her room, she might start overthinking things again. The best thing to do in such cases was to go to the dojo and work up a sweat. Hinata left the house, determined to shake off her thoughts, and headed to the Nishina Dojo, which was only a ten-minute walk away.

As she arrived at the Nishina Dojo, she passed through the gate, which had an air of formality, and walked towards the dojo, keeping the main house on her right.

The dojo master, Haruyoshi Nishina, was the grandfather of Kanata’s classmate, Haruka, and he was now Hinata’s kendo teacher.

Originally, Kanata, who loved swords and knives and admired swordsmen, often went to the dojo and stayed there, and Haruka, who also had an interest in it, joined him, and the two of them would swing their bokken (wooden swords) around. Hinata, who was always following Kanata around, joined them, and the three of them would play-fight. Gradually, they became more serious about it.

Kanata lost interest and stopped going to the dojo, but Haruka started practicing seriously, and Hinata also officially joined the dojo when she entered middle school, becoming a disciple.

Whether it was Hinata’s talent or the result of her master’s teaching, she was now a regular at the prefectural tournament, representing the dojo.

“Huh?”

As Hinata walked down the wooden-floored corridor leading to the changing room, she noticed how quiet it was. Usually, someone was practicing, but she wondered about it and tried to open the changing room door when she felt a presence behind her. And before Hinata could turn around, the person moved.

“Welcome! Hinata-chan!”

The person who hugged Hinata from behind was Haruka Nishina, whom Hinata had just been thinking about. It was nice that Haruka treated her like a little sister, but she wished she wouldn’t sneak up on her like that.

“Hello, Haruka. It’s pretty quiet here today, isn’t it?”

Hinata, still being hugged, greeted Haruka and asked about the unusual quietness.

“Hmm, yeah, I just got back too.”

Haruka, still hugging Hinata, walked with her and answered as they entered the changing room. It didn’t seem like the dojo was closed, and it seemed like Haruka hadn’t gone out to play with Kanata and the others. Hinata felt a little glad about that.

By the way, Haruka was Kanata’s classmate, and naturally, she was four years older than Hinata. Hinata had started calling Haruka by her first name, just like Kanata did, when she was a child, and it had stuck. When Hinata entered middle school and thought it was inappropriate, she tried calling her “Haruka-chan,” but Haruka made a strange face. When she called her “Haruka-san,” Haruka looked sad. When she tried “Haruka-oneechan” (older sister), Haruka looked confused, but in the end, she said, “Just call me Haruka,” and that’s how it has been ever since.

As they reached the lockers, Hinata heard a faint vibration and a short melody coming from Haruka’s pocket. Finally, Haruka’s arm, which had been around her, was released. When Hinata turned around, Haruka was taking her smartphone out of her pocket.

“…?”

Haruka looked at the screen with a puzzled expression and immediately started calling someone. Hinata could barely hear the ringing sound.

After waiting for about ten seconds, the person didn’t answer the phone, and Haruka muttered, “Darn it…” and stopped calling.

“Who was it?”

“It was Dad. He was saying something weird, so I thought I’d call him directly and ask… but…”

Haruka showed Hinata the screen of her smartphone, which had a commonly used messaging app open, and the tab was labeled “Dad.”

“Hurry to Grandpa’s place or, if he’s not there, lock all the doors at home and stay there. I’ll contact you again later.”

It was written in a way that seemed to have been typed in a hurry, with meaningless line breaks and typos, but that’s what it said.

“What does it mean?”

There was no indication of what had happened or why, and it was indeed hard to understand, but the vague and ominous message made Hinata feel anxious, so she asked Haruka, but Haruka also didn’t know, which was probably why she had tried calling her father. She shook her head silently.

It was probably a message to stay in a safe place because of some kind of danger, but without knowing what the danger was, it was hard to take action. Japanese people, who were not used to disasters or crimes being close to them in their daily lives, tended not to panic unless they felt the danger was real.

“I wonder if some serious crime happened nearby?”

Haruka said this in a casual tone. Haruka’s parents both worked for the police, and her father, Kousou-san, was a hard-core detective. It was natural for her to associate it with crime… but Haruka didn’t seem scared at all. In fact, she seemed to be thinking of fighting back if something came her way, which was scary to think about.

The two of them decided not to change into their uniforms and instead went to the dojo, searching for news online. Just then, Master Haruyoshi arrived, and it seemed like he had been napping, as his hair was a mess.

“Oh, Haruka and Hinata. Your father, Kousou, called me in a panic and just said a bunch of stuff and hung up, so I don’t really understand what’s going on, but he told me to protect the children.  Did something happen?”

Kousou was Haruka’s father, who had contacted them earlier. It seemed that Haruyoshi had also been contacted, but unfortunately, he had been woken up, and he didn’t seem to understand the situation very well, as he still kept shaking his head.

At this time, cracks were beginning to appear in their peaceful daily life, but most people were not aware of it.