Chapter 1: Lucid
Finally, after living in fear for months, I found some semblance of peace and tranquility. Settling by the sea was a wonderful idea of ours, though it was a bit risky because of the frequent storms and all... I had always loved water even with all of its dangers.
I had been sitting by the shore for a while, watching the waves crash into the nearby cliffs. A calming sight, really. Maybe it was a bit foolish of me to let my guard down, but I didn't seem to care about that.
"Something on your mind, Yuuya?"
I turned my head and noticed Seiichi standing right next to me. Even though his voice was soft as always, it startled me for a brief moment.
"Ah, it's nothing. Just admiring the view," I replied.
Seiichi smiled. Oh, this smile of his, subtle but expressive at the same time. I remember the fans loving it so much. To be honest, a lot of things had changed for sure since the collapse, but DAYSTAR's "prince" never had.
After a few minutes of awkward silence, Seiichi spoke again, looking at me with his warm brown eyes: "You're getting bored of idling like this, aren't you? You can follow me to the base if you wish. I think Inshik is already starting to get worried because of our absence..."
So I nodded and stood up, stretching my arms a little before following him to our little camp. It was a rather modest place for sure, but it was enough for all of us to rest at for hours without worrying about being seen by the "zombies", as Inshik called them. Those things with huge empty eyes were certainly repulsive, but they quickly became mere nuisances to our group because of Katsuhide. Maybe his fangs scared them off, who knows.
When Seiichi and I arrived at the base, I decided to pay Katsuhide a visit. Honestly, I had been fascinated by the odd beauty of his tent since when it was built: the variety of colorful fabrics, the overall amount of space inside of it, most of which was filled by the enormous bed in the middle of the tent. At that moment, Katsuhide was lounging there with Ren by his side.
"Are you feeling happy today, my boy?" Katsuhide crooned, leaning in to caress his friend. When he saw me enter the tent, he stared at me, eyes narrowed, before properly greeting me. "Oh, it's you! Inshik talked about you so much before he finally went to his abode. You wandered along the coastline, right? Maybe you should bring Ren with you next time, he seems to miss the waves. Don't you, my boy?"
Ren didn't reply, but he looked cheerful. Always so joyful, I envied him a little deep down.
Ray's note: there's something going on with Ren that I'm going to hint at soon.
