Location: Smile Mart Break Room (The Back)
Time: 4:05 AM
The break room of the Smile Mart smelled like stale coffee and ozone. It was a cramped concrete box filled with cardboard boxes, a flickering microwave, and a poster of a smiling cat that said "HANG IN THERE!" Someone (GiGi) had drawn fangs on the cat with a Sharpie.
Dante sat on a stack of soda crates, holding a bag of frozen peas to his face. His piercings were finally cooling down, but his head was pounding.
"So," Benji said, typing furiously on his laptop. "I checked the footage. Matsuzaki didn't trip any of the city's mana-sensors. He just... appeared."
"He's a Highborn," GiGi mumbled. She was sitting on top of the lockers, swinging her legs. She was eating the dumplings Sora had brought, dipping them into a cup of cheese sauce she found. "They don't use public transit. They Shadow-Step."
Sora was leaning against the doorframe, his sleep mask pulled up onto his forehead, revealing his violet eyes. He was reading a crumpled receipt.
"Dante," Sora said. "You let them break the window and the spicy noodle display. Tanaka is going to have an aneurysm."
"You broke the laws of physics to save us," Dante shot back. "I think a noodle display is acceptable collateral damage."
Sora grinned. "Fair point. But I'm not the one filling out the incident report."
He tossed a small, plastic vial onto the table. It rolled toward Dante. Inside was a thick, glowing red liquid.
Dante picked it up. "What is this?"
"We found it on the Ghouls," Sora said, his voice dropping the lazy tone for a split second. "It's not normal blood. It's Red-Eye."
Benji gasped. "The street drug? I thought that was just an urban legend. Like 'tax refunds' or 'happiness'."
"It's real," Sora said. "Someone is synthesizing vampire blood, diluting it with curse energy, and selling it to humans. It gives them a temporary high, then turns them into those mindless Ghouls you just fought."
GiGi stopped eating. "That's disgusting. Only low-tier trash would dilute blood."
"Exactly," Sora said. "But here's the kicker. The chemical signature in that vial? It matches a warehouse down in the Container Yards. District 9."
Dante groaned and let his head hit the wall behind him. "Please don't say it."
"It's a raid," Sora said cheerfully. "Tonight. Well, technically tomorrow night, since the sun is coming up in an hour."
"I have a shift tomorrow night," Dante said.
"Call in sick," Sora said. "Tell Tanaka you have... leprosy. Or that you died."
"He'll still make me come in," Dante muttered.
Sora clapped his hands together. "Alright, team meeting adjourned! Benji, write the report. GiGi, stop eating the cheese sauce, it expired in 2019. Dante, go home and sleep. You look like a raccoon that got punched in both eyes."
Sora pulled his sleep mask back down over his eyes and turned to leave.
"Wait," Dante said.
Sora paused.
Dante touched the black leather choker around his neck. "Matsuzaki... he said something about 'Mother.' Is GiGi in trouble?"
GiGi froze on top of the lockers. She didn't look at them. She just stared at her combat boots.
Sora didn't turn around. "Everyone in this room is in trouble, Dante. That's the job. But as long as you wear those chokers, the Dominion can't track you. You're ghosts."
Sora waved his hand lazily. "Now go home. And don't forget to clock out."
The sun was beginning to rise as Dante walked out of the back door. The rain had stopped, leaving the city of Kagura-Zaka glistening in a pale, grey light.
He opened his umbrella—not for rain, but for the sun. The Hello Kitty keychain jingled softly.
He walked past the shattered front window. He saw a piece of yellow tape that Benji had already slapped over the glass: CAUTION: STRUCTURAL MAINTENANCE.
Dante took a deep breath of the rusty air.
"Red-Eye," he whispered.
He looked at his phone. He opened the group chat.
Sora: [Image sent]
It was a picture of a stray dog wearing a tiny raincoat.
Caption: "This dog has better gear than Benji."
Dante almost smiled. Almost.
He put his headphones on, blasted The Cure, and started the long walk home to his empty apartment.
The Night Shift was over. But the real work was just starting.