"Dammit… Dammit!"
His breathing grew shallow. His hands shaking as he tried to push himself up, but his body refused to move. Rain drops pattered faintly against the floor corridor mixing with the pool of blood beneath him.
He coughed, hard red blood spilling from his lips."Is this… really how it ends?" he whispered, his voice breaking and low.
His vision blurred.
Blackout..
Hearing sounds of birds tweeting,he woke up.....no blood, no rain, no pain. Just the slow and easy sound of his old ceiling fan and the soft glow of morning light ays entering through the window.
He sat upright on the cheap bed he bought 3 years ago, clutching his chest."...A dream huh?" he said his voice low, trying to calm his racing heart. His body still felt heavy, as if the pain from that nightmare had followed him back into reality
MEEP MEEP MEEP!!.
The alarm clock beside him beeped . 06:00 AM.He groaned, dragging himself out of bed. "Great start for today dying in my sleep," he said dryly, rubbing his neck.
He caught his reflection in the mirror near his bed,tired eyes, messy hair and the same dull stare he worn for years.
He leaned forward, sighing.
"Still the same loser face," he said like it would satisfy him.
The floor creaked as he walked into the tiny bathroom. He turned on the faucet, splashing cold water on his face before brushing his teeth.
Another day, huh.
After a quick shower, he swore into his darkblue uniform shirt and black work pants—the standard outfit for his organisations's lower-grade workers.
The clouds above Tokyo hung low, reflecting dull red back at the city, but a breeze was now blowing, he felt it on his skin and in his hair, a sense of brine and slight chill.
Kaito held his work bag tight and stared at the faded badge on his chest:
"Municipal Cleaning Division – Zone 5."
That was his job cleaning duty. Not appealing,not heroic. Just scraping dirt off the walls of a city that never ended.
At 23, this wasn't how he imagined life would go.
Most people his age were already working stable jobs, some even climbing ranks in private defense corps.
Kaito? He was still sweeping the underground train stations and mopping rain-soaked corridors.
He grabbed his keys and headed out, locking the door behind him.
The hallway outside his apartment was quiet. Rent was cheap here for a reason.As he went down the metal stairs, he muttered, "Still no neighbors awake, huh…"
Tokyo had changed over the years—massive, bright, and hollow. Towering holograms painted the skyline, showing ads for AuraSync Gear, things Kaito couldn't even dream of affording.
He walked to the vending machine by the corner, bought a can of cheap soda can, and stared up at the morning sky.
"Twenty-three and still mopping floors," he whispered, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "Guess I'm living the dream."
He cracked open the can and took a sip. It was lukewarm, bitter, and tasted like metal — but it did its job.
The city was already awake. Drones zipped overhead, checking IDs. Billboards flickered with the morning news, flashing headlines.Kaito didn't bother looking. He'd seen them all before.
In this world, power meant everything.
Your job, your salary even your seat on a train depended on your Grade.
Most people like 98 percent of the population of the human race posses this uncanny abilities. Grades went from Zero all the way up to S.
Kaito didn't have a Grade at all.
He was what people called a Zero-Grader. The invisible ones.
The train station was packed by the time he arrived. Hundreds of people went out passing doing what they mainly do, their badges were made different in colors blue, silver, gold representing one's rank. The world had turned into one big hierarchy chart after the appearances of corrupted core spirits, and he was stuck at the very bottom.
He scanned his ID at the side gate and stepped into the maintenance corridor.
Another day. Another tunnel. Another floor to mop.
"Yo, Kaito!"
He turned. Haruka was jogging over, waving a cleaning rag like a flag. Her brown hair was tied in a messy bun, her smile way too cheerful for six in the morning,she is always like this cheerful and confident,we have been friends ever since middle school.
"You look dead," she said, looking straight at his eyes. "Rough night again?"
"Same nightmare," he said, scrubbing at a stain that wasn't even there.
"The one with the rain?"
He paused. "…How'd you know that?"
"You mumble in your sleep during breaks." She smirked. "You scare the hell out of everyone, by the way."
"Great," he muttered. "Just what I need — a fan club."
She laughed. Then her voice dropped a little.
"You ever think about redoing your Grade test?"
Kaito looked up, surprised.
"I told you," he said quietly. "The machine never detects anything. It's a waste of money."
"Yeah, but—" she hesitated, twisting the rag in her hands. "People are saying the scanners have been bugging out lately. Showing weird readings. Negative values and stuff."
"Negative?" He raised a brow. "Figures. That'd probably suit me."
She rolled her eyes, smiling, but he didn't. Not really.
He went back to work, but something felt… strange. The air felt heavier. The lights above them flickered for a second.
And for just a moment, he felt something deep in his chest like a fadaing pulse. Cold. Slow. Not his heartbeat. Something else.
"Kaito?" Haruka's voice cut in. "You okay?"
He blinked, forcing a small smile. "Yeah. Probably just the coffee hitting wrong."He lied
But when he bend down to pick up his mop from the floor, he caught his reflection in the wet floor and for a split second, his eyes looked different.
They burn bright.Blue. Sharper .
"ChooChoo"!!!
A train pases by snapping him back to normal.
What's taking you so long"Haruka's voice echoed from the other side
"Jeez am coming"he responded