A boy stood on a white beach, watching the still-luminous sun as it began to fall below the horizon. Birds flew above the vast stretch of water, mere silhouettes in the brilliant light. Small waves repeatedly climbed up the pale, seemingly crystalline sand, then falling back into their cold resting place.

Two others were there with him, a brother and a sister, actually. Another male, being a few years older, possessed sand-colored hair and dark blue eyes that were almost black. The girl was considerably shorter than both of them, with chin-length black hair and wide, violet eyes.

It was when the boy looked at where the older one had been standing a few seconds before that he realized the space beside him was now empty, with not even footprints remaining. The girl was still there, although her expression had changed from awe to depression in the blink of an eye. He wanted to say something, but nothing came. The brilliant light in the sky had faded now, leaving the endless sea cloaked in darkness.

"Osamu!"

Osamu Mikumo, fifteen years old, was jolted awake by his name being called. He felt the last scraps of the dream slipping away as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and proceeded to reach for his glasses. As he placed them on the bridge of his nose, he heard his name again, this time accompanied with a knock on the door.

"Osamu! Are you awake yet?"

Osamu jumped out of bed after a quick glance at the clock, which read seven-twelve. School started at eight-thirty at his junior high, and it was about a ten minute walk there. He liked to leave the house at eight, in order to avoid the risk of being late. He had plenty of time to get ready, so long as he didn't distract himself, which was a relief.

"Y-yeah, I'm up," he replied to the female voice, stretching his arms as he spoke. "I've still got to shower, but I'll be quick."

"Alright. Just don't take too long!" The girl outside laughed in response, and footsteps were audible as she walked back downstairs.

After a short shower, Osamu dressed in the typical Mikado District school uniform and brushed his hair. Still feeling somewhat tired, due to the fact that he had stayed up far later than usual the previous night, studying for an exam that was to take place in a few days, the brown-haired boy pushed his door open and headed down the stairs.

In the kitchen, a short girl with black hair was the only other person present. On the table sat two bowls of steamed rice, and a plate of tamagoyaki.

"Hey, Chika," Osamu greeted her, grabbing one of the omelet-like foods off of the table. "Did mom already leave for work?"

The girl, whom he had addressed as 'Chika', nodded. "You just missed her, actually."

"Hm." Osamu didn't provide a spoken response, busy with his food. The dream he had woken up from was bothering him, especially since he was almost certain that Chika was in it.

The young girl had been living in the Mikumo household for about a half of a year at this point. Chika's mother had died when she was very young, so she never knew her very well. Her father, as well as Osamu's, was both killed in the line of duty not long after this event, having served in the military. Even so, Chika still had an older brother, Rinji Amatori, who served as her guardian for the following years.

However, Rinji mysteriously vanished one day, not leaving any clues to his whereabouts. He hadn't appeared to have taken anything from the house, either, which seemed strange. There were no reports of anyone leaving the walls the day he disappeared, which led a few people to believe that he was hiding somewhere within the city. However, those who knew him well had come to accept he was gone now, and there was nothing that could be done.

That had happened about six months ago. Eight years before, a large-scale assumed kidnapping led to nearly thirty people in total, most of them being children, vanishing from their districts within the span of a week.

Chika trailing a few steps behind, Osamu exited the small house after locking the door. All houses were small in their district, since it was one of the smaller areas, and there were still a lot of people to shelter. The military base took up a considerable amount of space, and yet not one person had questioned it. The soldiers who risked their lives outside of the city were the people's hope, and the only defense they had against the humanoid alien race that were eventually called "Neighbors". Therefore, no one dared to oppose their actions.

A person had to be at least sixteen years of age to enlist. Osamu had decided that he wanted to join them not long after his dad died, although his motives were not to seek revenge, but to prevent other families from losing people as his had.

One more year... He thought to himself, glancing over his shoulder at Chika. She was another reason that led to his motivation to join the military, along with his other family and friends. Despite the fact that they were responsible for the death of his father, Osamu didn't hold a grudge against Neighbors. He figured that humans could be good or evil, so Neighbors would be the same, wouldn't they? There had to be Neighbors out there that would rather help humanity, or not even get involved in the fighting. Naturally, not many people agreed with him, but his opinion had never changed.

There was no conversation as they continued on; Osamu was busy in his head, and Chika never talked very much on a normal basis, so it didn't feel awkward for either of them.

Very few cars passed by on the streets, but the sidewalks were full of people travelling to various places. Not many people owned cars in their district, not only because of the cost, but because it was far more convenient to walk. The Mikado District wasn't exactly a big place, which deemed having a car as unnecessary. At least, that was what most people thought.

In what you could call eight or nine minutes, the pale-colored school building loomed in front of them. Students were filing through the main doors, chatting among themselves. Osamu and Chika made their way up the stairs, and continued through a wide hallway before parting ways.

Chika waved as she took a left turn, down a smaller passageway, while Osamu's class was upstairs. "Don't forget that we're walking home with Izuho today, since her parents are out tonight!"

Osamu returned the gesture, halting his steps for a few seconds. "Yeah, I remember. Bring her with you; her class is closer to yours."

"Mm-hm," Chika replied cheerfully over her shoulder. "See you!"

Osamu was continuing down the main hallway that he had started on, passing by the principal's office as he went. There was a strange man inside, one that Osamu had never seen before, talking with the staff. He had light brown, perhaps even ginger-ish colored hair, and wore a blue jacket that carried the vibe of a uniform, but Osamu had never seen any like it before.

A new employee...? The brown-haired teen thought as he unconsciously slowed his pace, curiosity peaked. However, even though the man's back was to the window that allowed people to see into the front room, he looked pretty young to be working at a school.

It's probably not important, Osamu decided after a second or so, not intrigued any longer. He continued on his way, going up the stairs that led to his classroom. He was a few minutes early, which made him quite satisfied, when he reached the class, although most people had already arrived.

Osamu sat in silence, patiently awaiting the loud ring of the school's bell. His teacher was seated at her desk, organizing papers in the drawers below, a bored expression on her face, which was amusing to look at. Others were still coming in through the narrow door, usually looking tired or rushed, which was also somewhat entertaining.

After a few more minutes, Osamu glanced at the clock mounted on the left wall, to see that it read eight thirty-six. The first bell should have gone off at approximately eight-thirty, and the late bell was scheduled for eight thirty-five.

Why didn't it ring...? Osamu asked himself, wondering if it had anything to do with the person he had seen in the office. Meanwhile, the teacher had got up and walked out of the room, perhaps going downstairs to ask about the bell. It was probably just broken, and in that case, the staff would simply announce the changing of subjects over the intercom.

Not expecting it whatsoever, Osamu jumped at the screaming noise of the emergency siren. The students around him froze, staring at each other in a mixture of shock and sudden fear, until a computerized voice rose above the noise.

"Warning. Large amount of Neighbors spotted near the city. Please evacuate to the underground shelters. Warning. Large amount of Neighbors spot...ted ne...ar... the... ci...ty..."

The voice began to glitch, until it stopped, along with the siren. Nothing but silence filled the room. A strange, horrifying silence, it was. And then, it was broken.

A loud explosion could be heard from across the city. Osamu rapidly got up from his chair, and followed his panicked classmates to the window. What he saw, and what they saw, was a sight that no one had ever wanted to witness, at least, in their lifetime. He felt like his heart had stopped, and his blood had run cold.

Nearly the entire side of the east wall had been demolished. It wasn't a hole, and it wasn't that the gate had been blown off. The entire area had been reduced to rubble. Screams of terror filled the classroom, and for Osamu, no words would come.

"Oh my god, they broke the wall!"

"M-My house is over there!"

"This isn't happening… This isn't happening... This isn't real..."

Osamu was shaking. Even though he lived on the opposite end, and his mother worked in the southern area, there was no telling what would happen if an army of Neighbors invaded the district.

Backing away from the window, and unsuccessfully trying to stop the trembling in his limbs, only one thought echoed in his head.

We're all going to die.