A Breath of Fresh Air

Asahi adjusted the strap of his bag, taking a quiet breath as he followed Haruto down the dim stairwell of their apartment. Their steps were light, careful, each one a calculated effort to avoid making any sound. The air was thick with the acrid scent of smoke and decay.

Then, from below, voiced echoed through the narrow corridors.

“Are you sure they're here?” one of the thugs asked, his patience running loose.

A familiar cold chuckle followed. “If they ain’t, they will be soon enough. But we should’ve done this last night,” another grumbled.

“I had more important things to do,” the leader said. “Besides, I want to see his face when we drag him out and hand him over. They're gonna pay for the humiliation.”

Asahi felt his pulse quicken. The thugs from the alley were looking for him. Haruto shot him a glance before motioning for him to move faster.

They crept along the corridor, pressing against the wall as they reached a corner. The voices grew closer. Asahi and Haruto ducked into a darkened alcove just as the men trudged past, their boots heavy against the old wooden floor.

Just as Asahi exhaled in relief, the strap of his bag snagged on a broken railing. A sharp metallic clink echoed through the stairwell.

Silence.

One of the thugs stopped. “What was that?” he muttered before turning towards their direction. His narrowed eyes swept the corridor. Asahi could feel the weight of his stare and his heart pounding against his ribs.

The man stepped closer. One foot. Then another. He leaned forward, peering into the shadows.

Nothing.

He exhaled, scratching his head. “Must’ve been a rat,” he muttered. Just as he turned around to leave –

A sharp crack rang out.

The thug crumpled to the floor, unconscious. Haruto stood over him, gripping the same metal rod from the previous day. He shot Asahi a small smirk before dragging the body into the shadows.

“Let’s go.”

They hurried down the remaining stairs, slipping out of the back entrance. Every step sent a jolt through his bruised ribs but adrenaline kept him going.

The thugs’ voice echoed up the stairwell, sharp with impatience.

“Oi, Kenji! The hell’s taking you so long?”

A beat of silence. Then –

“Shit!” A boot kicked the railing which reverberated through the corridor. “He’s down! They’re close. Find the bastards!”

By then, Asahi and Haruto had already slipped into the maze of alleyways. They kept their heads low, moving with urgency until the distant yells faded into the chaos of the city.

When they emerged onto the main road, the sight before them was worse than Asahi had imagined.

The city had become a warzone. Stores were being ransacked, their windows shattered and their shelves stripped bare. People ran through the streets, some clutching whatever supplies they could steal, while others lay motionless on the ground. The distant sound of gunfire cracked through the air, mixing with the screams of the helpless. Smoke billowed from burning buildings, casting eerie shadows against the bloodstained streets. Somewhere nearby, a child wailed, their voice lost in the relentless chaos.

Asahi swallowed hard. “We can’t go through here.”

“Come on, I know a better way,” Haruto muttered.

They veered off the main road, cutting through an abandoned field. The golden crops swayed gently despite the destruction around them, untouched by the city’s madness. A lone scarecrow stood in the distance. Crows perched on its outstretched arms, their beady eyes tracking their movement with eerie patience.

After walking for what felt like hours, they finally reached the outskirts of the city. Asahi finally broke the silence. “Where exactly are we going?”

Haruto shot him a sideways glance. “No idea. Just letting the wind take us wherever it wants.”

Asahi scowled. “Are you serious–“

Haruto chuckled. “Relax, I’m kidding. We have a destination.” He glanced at the setting sun. “There’s talk of a place – a ‘safe haven.’ Somewhere untouched by all this. A place where the disaster won’t reach. That’s where we’re headed.”

Asahi frowned. “And you actually believe that?”

Haruto shrugged. “Doesn’t matter what I believe. What matters is that there’s a chance. And right now, a chance is better than nothing.”

Asahi hesitated before asking, “And where exactly is this ‘safe haven’?”

“That…” Haruto said with a grin. “I don’t know. But I do know someone who does. And that’s where we’re heading next.”

Asahi let out a slow breath as they continued walking through the field. The sun dipped lower in the sky, casting long shadows across the ground. The journey had been exhausting, and Asahi’s stomach growled in protest. Haruto must have noticed because he motioned towards a fallen tree at the edge of the field. “We should rest here for a bit. Eat something.”

Asahi didn’t argue. He dropped his bag and rummaged through it, pulling out a few ration bars and a half-empty bottle of water. They sat in silence as they ate their food.

“How much farther do you think we have?” Asahi asked.

Haruto took a sip from his can before responding. “Well, we have made some considerable progress. We are currently in the outskirts of Tokyo now. It should be only about 60 kilometers from here.”

“Oh, only about 60 kilometers… that’s go- Wait… 60 KILOMETERS? What do you mean ONLY 60 KILOMETERS?”

Haruto smirked, popping a pickled radish into his mouth. “Pretty much.”

Asahi let out a dramatic sigh, staring up at the darkening sky. “Great. So, what’s the plan? Walk until our legs fall off and hope we wake up in paradise?”

Haruto shrugged. “Sounds about right.”

Asahi gave him a deadpan look. “Fantastic.”

Haruto chuckled. “You’ll survive.”

“My legs better,” Asahi muttered, shaking his head. “Otherwise, you’re carrying me the rest of the way."

Haruto scoffed, tossing a small pebble at him. “Not a chance.”

They both shared a good laugh before Haruto started, “Jokes aside, we won’t be walking the entire way… hopefully.”

“Hopefully?”

“We’ll take any means of transportation we may come across.”

“Hmm… Makes sense. I wasn’t gonna be walking that long anyways.”

The lighthearted exchange lifted the tension, if only for a moment. Asahi still wasn’t thrilled about the long journey ahead, but at least he wasn’t walking it alone.