Chapter 6: Playing Dress-up
Lanz woke up feeling like someone had replaced his spine with a brick. He rolled over, groaned into his pillow, then rolled back because groaning took effort. His arms ached. His legs ached. His eyelids ached. Hey! That was new.
Still, he got up. Couldn’t limp around like a weirdo or Miko would never let it go.
In the background, the apartment’s tiny living room TV was already on. The volume was just low enough to be passive-aggressive.
A hunter news anchor gestured dramatically toward a frozen image of a half-collapsed gate with glowing residue on its edge.
"...stabilized before a full break occurred. Officials confirm no casualties, but at least three E-ranks were hospitalized due to shock. Again."
Kaz was zipping up his courier jacket, half-toast in mouth, shoulder bag already slung. "Don’t forget to lock up when you leave."
"I’m not a dog," Lanz said, stretching like a dying tree.
Kaz shot him finger guns before slipping out the door.
Their mom was already gone, a post-it note on the fridge with a scribbled heart and something about picking up an extra shift at the café.
Miko shuffled past in socks, staring dead-eyed at her phone. "Your failure memes are still trending," she said. "That’s kinda crazy."
"Thanks, gremlin."
She flipped him off with her pinky.