Kento

This is the future of new beginnings it rained a lot Rain painted the city in ribbons of violet and blue, sliding down chrome towers that vanished into fog. Protesters filled the streets, their holographic signs flickering: “ROBOT LABOR KILLS US!” Sirens wailed in the distance as I slipped through a drenched alley, heart pounding. Kento’s father was out there, leading the government’s purge, hunting both of us now. I reached his sealed apartment and punched in the code. That he has saved up to buy The steel door hissed open, flooding me with warmth and the scent of solder, noodles, and candle wax. Quiet Japanese music played in the background soft, haunting, human. Kento spun around in his chair, face lit by streams of data. “You got it?” he asked. I nodded, handing him the stolen drive. “It was harder than anything we’ve done. They’ve got a pro hacker guarding it.” Lines of encrypted code shimmered across the screen until one word appeared: ECLIPSE PROJECT. My breath hitched. Thousands of erased citizens. Black-market robot orders. Execution lists. My mother’s name flashed red: OBSTRUCTION. “They killed her,” I whispered. Kento’s fingers flew, tracing connections between officials, weapon tests, disappearances. “They’re replacing us every worker, every protestor.” Outside, thunder cracked. “We’ve got three minutes before they find this signal,” he said, pressing a spoof chip into my hand. “Go, now.” I hesitated, staring at him. “Your father ” “I know,” he muttered. “He’ll find me first.” Just go I ran out the back door, rain hitting my face like shards of glass, the koto melody fading behind me as the storm swallowed the city whole.