Yuuto woke up with a small smile.

  For a few seconds he just lay there, staring at the ceiling. The feeling in his chest was strange. Excited. Nervous. Alive.

  Today was the day.

  He reached for his phone.

  His eyes widened.

  “Ah—damn.”

  Several messages from Mamoru.

  Mamoru:

  You alive?

  Mamoru:

  Don’t tell me you overslept.

  Yuuto jumped out of bed.

  “I’m late.”

  He quickly threw on a shirt, grabbed his hoodie, and rushed toward the door. On the way downstairs he slid past the kitchen counter and snatched an apple.

  His shoes were already by the door.

  He shoved his feet into them while biting into the apple.

  Crunch.

  Behind him a calm voice spoke.

  “So much noise this early in the morning.”

  Yuuto froze for half a second.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  His grandfather was sitting at the table, barely looking up from a pile of tools and wires.

  “I can’t even sleep properly,” the old man muttered. “Running around like a wild animal.”

  Yuuto spoke with the apple still in his mouth.

  “Sorry grandpa, I’m in a serious rush.”

  The old man sarcastically.

  “Did I ask?”

  Yuuto laughed.

  He grabbed his jacket and opened the door.

  “Byeee!”

  And he was gone.

  The morning air was fresh.

  Yuuto ran most of the way.

  When he arrived, Mamoru was sitting on a bench, leaning back with his arms crossed.

  The moment he saw Yuuto, he sighed dramatically.

  “Jeez,” Mamoru said. “Why do I always have to wait for you? I’m bored sitting here doing nothing.”

  Yuuto walked up, slightly out of breath.

  “Sorry, sorry.”

  Mamoru raised an eyebrow.

  “So?” Yuuto asked. “What’s the plan? What’s the job?”

  Mamoru stood up and stretched.

  “Nothing crazy,” he said. “Some guy in red territory contacted us.”

  Yuuto immediately paid attention.

  Mamoru continued.

  “There’s this couple. They fight all the time. Screaming, breaking things, causing trouble for the whole building.”

  Yuuto tilted his head.

  “Police can’t take care of it?”

  Mamoru snorted.

  “They stopped coming. Apparently it’s a waste of time.”

  Yuuto chuckled.

  “So one of the neighbours just applied for help from vigilantes.”

  “Yep,” Mamoru said. “The client basically said: fix her brain… or his brain… or both.”

  Yuuto laughed.

  “Nice.”

  Mamoru shrugged.

  “So the job doesn’t sound hard,” he said. “But for our first one in red territory? Kinda cool, no?”

  Yuuto’s grin slowly grew wider.

  “Jeez,” he said. “I’ve been waiting for this day.”

  He stretched his arms a little.

  “Today our story starts.”

  Mamoru looked at him for a moment and smirked.

  “Nice seeing you this happy.”

  Then he squinted slightly.

  “By the way… I see you slept better?”

  Yuuto blinked.

  “What?”

  Mamoru pointed at his face.

  “I can tell, you look better.”

  Yuuto shrugged.

  “Yeah. I guess.”

  He rubbed the back of his neck.

  “My muscles hurt a bit from training last night, but it’s fine.”

  Mamoru nodded.

  “Good.”

  He turned and started walking toward the deeper streets.

  “Alright bro,” he said. “Let’s go see what that noise is about.”

  Yuuto followed with a small grin.

  Red zone was waiting.

  And today was their first step inside it.