There is a city called Tokyo. It’s the capital of j.a.pan. A metropolis where over 10 million people carry on with their lives. In one corner of this city at the scramble crossing in front of Shibuya Station…
Akizuki Renji, a second year middle school student, stood in a daze surrounded on all sides by people waiting for the light to change.
Around them, the sunlight reflecting off the many high rises could be seen. The July heat was rising up from the busy street.
The light changed and the crowd began to move as one. But Renji, as if frozen, was unable to move.
The people walked past him, looking at him with calm expressions. They all seemed to have a sense of refinement suitable for inhabitants of a big city. Meanwhile, Renji had to have his unruly hair trimmed down and was wearing a T-shirt that he bought for only 1000 yen from a chain store, so he felt ashamed.
In other words...he felt crushed in this urban atmosphere.
“Well,well...Akizuki Renji. This is the tenth time you’ve run away from home. We should celebrate.”
Standing in front of him was a girl, staring at him.
“You can’t take that first step now! Even though the light has turned green, you can’t move an inch.”
So sly.
Just like everyone else from his hometown, this girl was dressed very fashionably. She had her long hair tied back and wore a nice blouse and mini-skirt.
“Since I made the effort to come all the way into the city, I thought we should do something. Now I can keep an eye on you. So, where should we go?”
The girl, two years Renji’s senior, didn’t stop with her live commentary.
This girl was smiling at him with a mischievous look in her eyes. Back in her hometown she was well-known as being very beautiful. She was as lively in the city as she was in her hometown.
”Yea..."
“Ooh, Akizuki Renji. He’s glaring at me, Osato Yui, with watery eyes. Is this an angry outburst? Or is he just going through a rebellious phase? I guess I have no choice but to put up with it and keep an eye on where he goes. Well, where to?”
“...”
“His face became very flushed, and without saying anything he pointed to… It couldn’t be. Shibuya Station! Or could it be Hachi-ko! Do you give up? Are you already getting homesick?”
As Renji glared at her, the older girl just smiled back at him. So sly.
It’s always been like that. She had always been able to see through his feelings.
Moreover, she was waiting enthusiastically for him to concede.
“Yuu-nee, if there’s someplace you’d like to go… We can go there.”
“Really? Thank you! That’s so nice of you, Ren-kun.”
Taking the initiative was not her strong suit anyway.
It was frustrating to be led around by the nose, but seeing how happy she was, he could put up with it.
Middle school second year student Akizuki Renji and high school first year student Osato Yui were both born and raised in a corner of Chiba Prefecture with only a two-year age difference between them. They both held onto the memories of that first day of summer and their relationship since then had remained the same.
Renji had come to Tokyo on a whim.
“Now that you’ve come to Tokyo you have to go to this really stylish cafe in Shimokitazawa. A few years ago I read in a magazine about how it’s a popular spot among fashionable women.”
Yui, who was in high spirits, dragged him to a cafe near Shimokitazawa Station.
Inside the wooden cafe there were practically only adult couples and elegant female customers.
Even though the two of them were completely out of place Yui seemed not to notice, but instead turned to Renji.
On her smartphone she had saved a special picture of the two of them with expressions that contrasted with the other.
“...”
“Oh come on, won’t you cheer up? Sorry I got a bit carried away, Ren-kun.”
They took their seats as she excitedly locked her phone screen before folding her hands together.
Renji still had on a gloomy face. He was given some unknown drink and he took the straw into his mouth without turning to it.
“But Ren-kun, you’ve always been like that. According to your brother, you’re going through a rebellious phase.”
“...”
“Yea, I’m talking about Shoichi. I heard he was awarded the MVP from his high school baseball team.”
“...”
“And I heard that Asahi won an award in her elementary school piano recital.”
“...”
“They have both done really well.There’s going to be a party at your house tonight to celebrate..”
She had touched on a sensitive issue and Renji became more sullen. He was neither smart nor physically apt. He was the second of three children, but the only one that didn’t excel at anything.
A small problem like that was enough to make this p.u.b.escent boy run away from home any chance he got.
”... That"s why... Were you at my house?”
“Yes, but I knew for sure you had run away.”
She nodded. She didn’t look the slight bit timid. On the contrary, she seemed quite proud.
“The timing is perfect, isn’t it? I’ve never taken off before.”
“...”
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
Renji’s heart started pounding and his whole bodied stiffened.
It was because Yui took his hands into hers.
He felt her warmth. On the contrary, he felt as if his blood was going to boil.
“Ren-kun, you’re definitely more kind and cool than anyone else.”
Yui’s tone was not quite as calm as it had been up to now. But he smiled.
“You helped me before Ren-kun. That wasn’t an accident.”
“I helped you…? Um, oh. You mean that time when we were kids?”
He had planned on denying that, but he lost to her smile and it kind of fell out.
Osato Yui was very sly. At the very least, no boy back home could resist her charming smile. Of course, Renji was no exception.
“Wah, is there some kind of event going on?”
Yui’s face lit up as she looked out the window.
The cafe was facing the shopping street and a whole troupe of people playing wind instruments were going by.
“There’s a music festival going on today,” said one of the employees, showing them a brochure. It contained information about a parade happening on the shopping street as well as a notice regarding a concert that was going to take place in the area.
“Ren-kun, let’s go.”
With a big smile on her face, she pulled him by the hand. He didn’t look enthusiastic, but had no choice but to comply.
It had always been like this. He would continually run away from home for no reason and every time Yui would find him and drag him around before finally taking him back home.
He’d pretended to be strong when he ran from home, pushing himself to come all the way to Tokyo. But in the end, he was still the same.
He’d see Yui’s smiling face; she’d tell him how she believes in him. And hearing that, all his worries would melt away.
“Hey… Wha… What’s that instrument? I’ve never seen one before. Hey, Ren-kun, did you see it?”
Looking at Yui who was looking back at the parade, he responded with a sharper tone.
“Of course, you had to bring them up.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“The baseball tournament and piano recital. Of course you heard it from them.”
“Them…? Oh you mean Shoichi? Why?”
“It seems you’ve been keeping contact with him. Asahi said that.”
Yui went silent.
Why did she go silent? He had a bad feeling. He nervously turned to her. Contrary to what he expected, she was stifling a mischievous grin.
”Ha… hahaha. No way. You don’t think...Shoichi and I?”
“Well… I’ve heard rumors. Compared to him… I...”
“It’s ok.”
His older childhood friend had an honest smile on her face, but she was, of course, sly.
She knew his feelings and calmly took his hands. She knew why he started to blush, so she said.
“I will definitely wait for you.”
She’d wait for him. Wait for him to express his feelings from his own mouth.
But on the other hand, he thought that it was cowardly of him that he had to rely on her cunningness.
“Yeah.”
There was no point in his being such a coward. However, he tried to convey his feelings as best as he could.
“I… definitely. I will be a suitable boyfriend for you.”
Yui looked like she was honestly taken aback. However, she cracked a genuinely happy smile.
“Yes. I’ll wait.”
That day. That moment.
The one thing that he remembered was how pretty her smiling face was as he held it in his hand.
The music of the parade and the bustling of the crowd livened up the area.
Then, almost out of his field of vision, he saw something sparkle. His attention was drawn to the small glimmer.
They were still holding hands as they were pa.s.sed by a couple and their child. What they couldn’t see from behind was that the little girl had a bracelet on her arm.
Dice. Around her thin arm was a bracelet of metal thread with some six sided dice interwoven in it.
He didn’t know her, so why did he recognize the bracelet she was wearing?
Out of nowhere a light shone into his face, causing him to squint. And that’s when it happened.
“Huh? What… What is this?”
”Huh? Fog?"
They looked at each other and all of a sudden purple fog began to rise up.
They weren’t the only ones who were bewildered. The pedestrians pa.s.sing through the shopping district and those playing in the band were just as surprised.
It was if a TV image changed and everything was painted light purple.
Yui jumped back as she looked behind Renji.
“Ren-kun… Behind you.”
“Huh? Aaah?”
He looked behind him to see something bizarre occurring.
The purple mist enveloped the entire shopping street. Behind him deep purple-colored gla.s.s was appearing.
It extended on all sides like walls and rose high into the sky.
It’s range was large; it seemed to have completely covered all of Tokyo.
“Wh… What the heck is this?”
“I don’t know. All of a sudden… But.”
As expected, everyone who was in the shopping street began to murmur among themselves.
They tried to fan the fog away from their faces and covered their mouths to avoid breathing it in.
What just happened was causing a commotion among the people over by the wall. However, instead of looking around at their surroundings, all eyes were concentrated on the purple wall.
“Is the fog...only on this side?”
Yui muttered taking a guess. At that moment...
“Gaaahhh!!!”
“Huuuh?What?”
“Whaaaaa!!”
Something strange was happening to everyone’s bodies.
Their shoulders and head… The outline of their bodies began to evaporate and turn into smoke.
Like a wool sweater being unwound, the smoke drifted into the sky and their bodies lost their shape.
“Yui!!”
The same thing was happening to Renji and Yui. From their shoulder and neck their bodies were dissolving into smoke…
Renji was starting to panic, but there was nothing he could do.
However…
“Ren-kun!”
Renji would never forget the look on Yui’s face at that moment.
Yui had always been kind. Renji’s best childhood friend. But in this moment, she had a desperate look on her face as she pushed him away.
Renji was sent flying backwards violently.
“Whaaa-”
Feeling numb, he was sent flying over the purple wall like a streak of light.
Renji landed on his back, then looked up.
As Yui had expected, the outside of the wall was not being engulfed by the purple smoke. Renji’s corroding body returned to normal.
But for Yui, who was still behind the wall -
His childhood friend, the one he had fallen in love with…
Yui looked relieved that Renji was safe as she became a wisp of smoke.
“UWAAAH!”
Wise and kind Yui had sacrificed her life to protect Renji.
But Renji did something immature and foolish. Completely wasting what she had done for him, he did something extremely stupid.
“YUU-NEEEE!”
He went back for Yui, heading back for the wall. He wasn’t the only being so foolish.
The family from before was there. Their young girl was making a run for the wall. She was going back for the dice that had fell off her bracelet.
Akizuki Renji and the unknown girl.
These two foolish people made it halfway to the wall.
“Shhhhh!”
At that moment...
The purple world and the original world that the humans inhabited.
Both worlds were completely separated.
And then Renji, who was at the purple wall which had become the boundary between the two worlds, lost the right half of his body.
He had run right into the wall. Half of his head and face as well as his right arm and right leg became wispｓ of smoke and soared high into the air.
His right eye, which had also become smoke, saw Yui, who had completely evaporated and disappeared into the sky along with the right half of his body.
Not just Yui. Every single person on the inside of the wall had also become smoke.
Having lost half his body, the left half of Renji’s body fell to the ground and became more distant.
Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands. The amount of smoke that went into the sky continued to increase without limit. Soon the sky was completely blanketed. He could no longer tell which was Yui.
“Am I going to die?”
He pa.s.sed over Shimokitazawa and Shibuya. Renji looked down on the spectacle at the Roppongi buildings and Tokyo Station as if from someone else’s perspective.
Never mind pain, he didn’t feel like he was in reality.
Renji was traversing Tokyo through the air when he felt a sensation of falling rapidly towards the ground.
He had been added to the millions of wisps of smoke and now he was heading back to the ground.
He saw a large paper lantern with the words ‘Kaminari-mon’ written on it, as well as a building that was topped with piece of art modeled after a golden flame. He had seen both of those things before and he knew where he was.
It was Asakusa.
On the red bridge over the large river was the figure of a lone person, standing still.
No - could it be a doll?
If it was a human, she was the perfect female.
Her feet were completely hidden by her long dress which let off a mysterious radiance. Her chest and hips were covered by a piece of metal that looked like sh.e.l.ls or fish scales.
Her exposed skin looked as lifeless as porcelain and her hair as radiant as fibregla.s.s.
Her whole body was composed of a dark and light purple. As far as I was i could see this. Even her eyes. Everything.
She didn’t appear to be a person; a deep purple horn-like protrusion extended from her forehead to the back of her head. The horn had an intricate pattern and split from the forehead, gently curving upwards and backwards.
The figure appeared to be singing.
The reason for this was that her mouth was opening wide enough for it to tear.
All the people who had completely become smoke were inhaled one by one into her mouth. Then it was Renji’s turn and he, too, was swallowed down into the figure’s mouth.
“-ugh”
He was now looking at a complete different scene.
If what he had been seeing up till now was the view from his right eye. Now what he saw must be the view from the remnants of his left eye.
He saw the missing right half of his body. As if time had stopped, it was frozen in the position where it had fallen.
It wouldn’t matter if he died-
Seeing as his body had been separated in half, death was inevitable.
He was amazed by his own sense of regret. But the fate of one more fool came into sight: The girl with the bracelet…
It seemed that she had accomplished her goal. She was holding her hands to her chest like she was holding the most precious thing; he saw the dice in between her fingers.
But after having crossed the boundary line… She was missing everything above the neck. She too, would die along with Renji.
“...”
But while Renji was waiting to die, a bizarre substance appeared in front of him.
In this purple world, the substance that appeared was also dark purple.
This substance did not have a definite form. For some reason it suddenly stopped in front of Renji. The girl without a head also noticed it.
As if lost, the substance started going back and forth between the two… And in so doing, it was split into two.
It split into two pieces like a mochi cake being ripped apart. It jumped at Renji and the girl.
It was above their severed bodies when it began to change shape… One piece became the right half of Renji’s body.
The shoulders and neck. The right side of his head. It began to transform back into the parts that he was missing.
The girl with the bracelet also had her missing parts returned. However, her downcast face was indistinguishable.
What the h.e.l.l was this?
Time changed back to its original flow.
There was a huge impact followed by an explosion in the shopping street where the purple wall was.
Renji was blown away and all of the buildings crumbled.
That was the day Tokyo was. .h.i.t.
The heart of the city had been taken over by the wall and the fog. Millions of people went missing and tens of thousands were injured, making it an unprecedented disaster.
This disaster would come to be known as ‘The Unfortunate Attack on Tokyo’.
There was a city called Tokyo. But that was in the past.
Akizuki Renji was still a middle school second year student. Two years before Tokyo was transformed.
The Enemy of Mankind.