The Moon to the Night

Botan awoke in bed and noticed that in his arms were empty. He looked around the bed squinting and then looked toward the window where Daichi was standing there without clothes.

He got up from the bed butt-naked and walked up to Daichi.

"What's wrong?" He said groggily as he embraced Daichi from behind.

Botan was a head taller and so rested them on Daichi's head and kissed his hair.

"I just couldn't sleep," Daichi replied without looking away and placed his hand on Botan's arm around his chest.

Botan looked out the window and saw the sentry guards standing around the house and patrolling. One group began entering the house while another exited for their shift turnover.

Although the house already had a couple of outdoor lights, they had installed extra to have better coverage around the house.

Daichi's house was the best to shelter the procreator because it was the biggest but also a somewhat secluded house on top of a hill.

The nearest houses around the hills and valleys were 50 metres away but they had all be taken over. So, there was a lot of security. The closest human houses would be 100 metres away.

Kuniyuki Atsuo, Daichi's dead father had bought this house 10 years ago when Daichi was five. Since he was forced to continue writing romance novels because of pressure from his wife and the fact that he had to support Daichi's sudden conception, the quality of each of his successive titles were gradually getting worse.

With his dwindling passive income, he bought the house before he couldn't anymore. He could even sell the house 10 years later if he needed to because it was a property that appreciated.

He died shortly after Eriko found out that he was going to leave. This house is the only thing left of him.

Daichi missed his father-Daichi the parasite- both Daichi's' missed him.

This feeling was just like his own. It was confusing. Although Kuni would sometimes be in Daichi's mind, it wasn't the reason he couldn't sleep.

Botan could see that Daichi wasn't looking at what's in front of him but was staring off into space. He was seeing something that Botan couldn't.

"You could tell me you know? Was it the meeting?"

Daichi and Botan had a telepathic trance meeting yesterday.

Ikuyo, Midori-ward's wave controller, laid her hands on their shoulders and connected them into a telepathic conference room. It was a mental world, where the officer parasites held their meeting.

One could see holograms of each other but they were black shadows and so concealed their identities.

Ikuyo did not create this conference. Only advanced wave controllers could do such a thing. The wave controller who made this telepathic conference was probably an officer.

Many officers including Daichi stood before a semi-circle of captains. The one in the middle was the commanding general leading this operation.

There they discussed the recent exposure of their activities. They placed it on the work of the renegade parasites. Specifically, the ones that retained their humanity.

The liberated.

With the massacre in Izumi ward, where over a hundred were killed, it revealed another slaughterhouse in Aoba ward.

The police were still opening doors and tagging the crime scenes, that they couldn't keep up. Even as Daichi was looking out the window, the police and a group of volunteers from various organisations - particularly the missing people non-for-profit organisations, support groups, support centres, search projects, missing people Inc. etc. were uncovering the scenes.

Even Interpol and FBI were sent to a joint task force in Japan as this was the biggest clue they had so far. They were one step away from having the JDSF patrol the streets.

As of now, they've confirmed roughly 7000 "possibly" missing from Aoba ward when they cross-referenced the census and testimonies. However, that number was still rising.

Earth's inhabitants were stepping on the lion's tail as the parasites' existence was about to be revealed. Just from one major incident.

The command authority members believed that a large group of liberated attacked these wards. It was probably a group assembled from the surrounding wards or perhaps from the state. The liberated might have a base of operations like they did.

With just 20 or 50 people raiding 10 houses each minute or so, it would be easy killing ten thousand. They didn't have to worry about the cleanup. The process probably took a couple of days.

Daichi thought it didn't sit right with him. If the liberated cared about the human lives, they wouldn't have the guts to kill that many innocent people and it was strange they didn't just leave the bodies there as proof.

Too many group members would have conflicting ideas. The massacre seemed to be the work of a single person. Chills went down his spine.

Which one among them was the perpetrator? If it was the work of one, they had to be very strong. Was it an officer? A captain? Could the general himself be a spy?

He remembered watching Hikaru absorb the body of a casualty at the gym.

What are the chances?

"Yes... Maybe you shouldn't go raiding when it starts."

"... You're that worried?"

"I just have a bad feeling."

"Are you asking me to stay here with you?"

"That would be nice." Daichi smiled.

Botan moved his head around and Daichi turned to kiss him, smiled and looked back to the window.

"I'll be fine. You said it yourself, I'm as strong as a regular officer."

Right now, the priority was on uncovering the culprits, their command structure and combat ability. This is war after all. It will always be dangerous as long as it hasn't ended.

"Besides, I want to protect you."

Daichi chuckled.

"Who's protecting who?"

Botan turned Daichi around and looked at him in the eyes.

"I'm not as strong as you... I'm not as smart as you... But I'll find a way to protect you somehow... because I am the moon..."

"to my night sky... Since when were you this good with your words?" Daichi gave a teasing smile.

Botan leaned over and they kissed passionately. Then Daichi rested his head against Botan's chest.

"Don't die."

"I won't..." Botan promised.