Akagi looked at me and told me, “I’ll give you the injection!”

— — — — —

I wasn’t ready to take the vaccine. I looked at Akagi and said nervously, “I can’t do it…not yet. I’m sorry.”

Akagi looked serious at me and said, “That’s fine. Sit down at least, I’ll mark the spot where the injection should be made. I will give it to you and if the day when you need it comes, you’ll know exactly where to inject it.”

I hesitated for a moment but then sat down on the cold wooden chair. Akagi opened a drawer, took out a long needle, disinfected it, and dipped it into a small jar of black ink from his desk.

“What are you doing?” I asked, stressed.

He looked at me and replied, “I’m tattooing a small point right above your heart. That’s the exact place where the injection must go. It has to be perfectly straight, directly into the artery.”

He made a few measurements with his fingers, then pressed the cold tip of the needle against my chest slowly. The sharp sting made me flinch, and I felt the cold ink under my skin.

The cold touch of the needle sent shivers down my spine. I couldn’t help but wonder if this mark meant I was already half-dead.

Akagi carefully cleaned the spot and disinfected it. He said, “There. If you ever need to use it…you’ll know.”

He handed me the syringe filled with that strange colorless liquid and smiled faintly. “Keep this safe.”

I nodded, put it carefully into my pocket and said, “Thank you…I guess.”

“Go get some rest, you’ve had a long night.” Akagi said.

Aya and Miho stayed in a corner of the lab. Aya walked up to me and said softly, “See you soon, Ryuu.” and wrapped her arms around me.

I left the lab and walked through the empty streets as dawn began to rise. When I reached home, it was 6 AM. Mom was still asleep, so I quietly went to my room, hid the syringe in my drawer and collapsed on my bed.

The moment my head touched the pillow, I fell asleep.

Six hours later, I was awakened by the sound of my phone ringing. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the screen, it was Yoshio, my best friend.

I answered the phone and he said cheerfully, “Yo, Ryuu! Are you coming out today?”

For a moment, I thought about saying no. But after everything that happened last night, I was hoping to get back to my normal life so I said, “Yeah, sure. Let’s go!”

After I closed the call, I saw that mom had left me a message on my phone. She said that she went out to meet some friends.

I quickly took a shower, ate breakfast, and headed out.

When I met Yoshio, he immediately noticed my hand. “What happened there?” He asked.

“Oh, that? Just a scratch.” I said, trying to smile it off.

He looked closer and noticed the cross tattoo on my finger. “Whoa, since yesterday you tattooed a cross on your finger? It looks awesome, it suits you.”

I smiled slightly. “Yeah…I’m glad you like it. So, what do you wanna do?”

“Let’s grab a drink at the café.” Yoshio said.

We sat at the terrace, ordered something cold, and the atmosphere finally felt peaceful again.

I thought maybe things could go back to normal, it felt so good, staying there on the terrace with Yoshio, drinking something cold and talking casually.

That’s when I felt someone’s hands gently grab my shoulders from behind.

“Ryuu, how have you been?” said a familiar voice with a soft smile in it.

I turned around in shock. “A-Aya?”

Yoshio blinked, completely stunned. “Ryuu…you didn’t tell me you have a girlfriend?”