Chapter 1: May

Ritsu was always the first one out of bed. He did his normal routine before getting dressed and making breakfast. Taking some smoked salmon out the fridge, he prepared the smoker as he put a few spices and olive on, coating the piece of meat before throwing it in the cooker. "News on." He said, gently

As the news played in the background, he began peeling and chopping avocados. The two of them decided to eat more of it after the small heart murmur scared Misaki. Looking up at the holographic image, he could only shake his head at the imagery. Everyone was still fighting overseas for resources. Syria refused to lend the country any more oil, citing that the country owed more debts. Ritsu could only nod his head at the statement. Even now, other countries were knocking down their doors, asking for their money back. With the world economy in shambles, everyone had their hands out, looking for help. As the smoker dinged he sighed, knowing this would be last piece of salmon they would share for a long time. Still, he could always fish in the creek if he was careful.

The bread smoked open and he smiled at the crust. He made the rising dough last night and put in the bredmaker, setting for bagel. He head a yawn and Misaki came lumbering in. Abs tight as usual, creamy skin, and only wearing pajama pants. "Hi." Kissed Misaki

Ritsu only nodded, cutting up onions. His husband looked up at the screen and sighed. "Change to business."

The screen obeyed and Ritsu could only see numbers and graphs. "You need to stop the world news. It's only going to make you more depressed."

"I just wanted to see if there was any news about our home country."

Both of them said nothing about that. Japan had gone dark over a month ago, and no country seemed to want to investigate, not even their neighbors China, Vietnam, or Korea. Of course, they knew that blaming them wouldn't bring their home back, or their friends and family.

After eating, Misaki had Ritsu tie his tie and kissed him on the head. "Don't go out today."

"Didn't you want me to see if there's any discounted seafood left?"

"Not out there. Ritsu, this resource thing is ony going to get workse, and I don't want anything to happen to you. Besides, you have the roof garden that needs to be weeded out. And, the prescription can help my heart until we find more natural alternatives. I have a buddy of mine that's currently bringing over a mini fish farm for saving his business, so we may be be good in a few months."

"And you'll be safe with all the crazies out there?"

Misaki reached for his back pocket and Ritsu held up a hand. "Right. The gun."

His husband left after kissing his head again and Ritsu listened for the deafening foosteps. Snorting, he walked over the the widow and looked down at the city below. It was true, there were crazy people out there, but they were few an and far between. Right now the city looked trash, but this was because of the current city strike with waste managment. He blew a kiss to his husband as he got in the car and drove it. Smiling and waving, he waited until his husband was down the street before he walked over to the closet. Kneeling, he pulled out a box and revealed a tackle box and a screwable fishing. Smiling softly to himself, he remembered when his father and grandfather took him out to fish as a child, a crying, whining little thing who wanted nothing to do with fishing. Now he was grateful that he could provide for his pescatarian husband. He wished he could raise some chickens though, but they were restricted to govenrment farms inside the zones. Snorting at the thought of raising a fish farm, he could envison his husband bringing down a baby fish not ready to be cooked, and then whining about not having enough food.

Dressing in a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt and a regular shirt, he looked at himself in the mirror. Huffing he blew some of his jet black locks of his hair. Cutting his hair would be somehting he considered, but Misaki pointed out that his hair was uneven and the barber had to shave most of his hair off. Of course, seeing a barber would be the best thing to do, but he had a mission today. Using his trusty hair tie, he pulled the unruly locks into a small ponytail before brushing his beard. Admiring himself, he left with the tackle box and hoped that nobody would recognize him leaving the zone for a few hours.

Ouside the, the city was a mess, with people packing their things and some glaring at him. He tried to keep as descreet as possible, knowing that saing osmething about the annoying looks would just start an unnecessary fight and he didn't need to hear his husband's consternation about leaving and causing a fine. He couldn't blame them being angry. The resource wars had deemed anything that didn't contribute to the country's economy or military was a waste. Many schools were shut down, forcing most households to go to a single income one, with one parent staying home to homeschool the child with a teacher encompased by a digital classroom. He then remember the little girl Laura who lived next door. Her mother was a single woman who lost her job as a textile worker, and then her life as she moonlighted as a stripper. The girl was in their hoe at the time, and she was taken to who knows where by the govenrment. His fingers tightened around the tackle box, wondering how many children also were rounded up by the govenrment.

Walking up four blocks, he looked at the abandoned church, where some guys sat, trying to talk about trading goods for food. They stopped and stared and Ritsu merely nodded his head while kept moving. Hesitating for a second as he hopped over the stone fence of the abandoned cemetery, he wondered if the men would follow him. He cut through the long grass, stubbing his toe on a overturned tombstone and then paused. He looked back as he heard ruffling, and a lone bird flew in the air. Sighing at his own cowardice, Ritsu continued to the opening in the stone wall. A big shimmering fence stared at him. Taking off his bracelet, he laid it there, confident that nobody would bother it

The fence was a warming sensation, making him shudder a bit. Before him were the trees, and then the abandoned road with grass poking out. Being cautious, he watched for military drones, and saw one buzz overhead, scanning. Quickly hiding behind some debris, he listened as it beeped, watching it's wandering eye from a safe distance. It had gotten closer, making a beeping noise at something in his direction, and he held his breaath. Being discovered would give him a jail sentence, but then a frog jumped out, making the drone stop beeping, scan again, and then kept moving. Ritsu let out a breath and then quickly ran across the abndoned street for the creek.

Like normal, his fishing line was in a knot in the tree, covered by leaves. The young man quickly assembled his foldable fishing rod with the line and the bait. Leaning against the wood, threw his line, pulling the line slowly, trying to bait something. It wasn't long beore he had something pull on his line. Reeling it in, he sighed at the small perch, but beggars can't be choosers. He then scooped some water and let the fish go in the nearby bucket. He looked in his tackle box and pulled out a fake worm, hooking it, and then letting it go. He heard footsteps, and he sat down his fishing pole. Ritsu knew the risks coming outside the zone, and he was going to make sure that he wasn't someone who would be kidnapped. He reached into the other knot in the tree for his gun when he heard a snap.

As he turned, he felt the worst pain his chest as it felt as if he were pushed forward. He tasted copper in his mouth. "That's for your husband making me lose my by business you little fuck." he heard

He tried ot respond, figuring out what was happening. His heartbeat rung out in his head, gasping for hair as his lungs filled with the coppery taste. Struggling to move, he heard another gunshot, and then a loud thud. He tried to call out, but he merely coughed. Limbs felt numb and his body felt cold. Then, his entire world turned spotted...then black....