Chapter 17: Ep 17 - Her Reason
Chapter 17: "Her Reason"
The sky above Shinjuku was a bruised violet, streaked with smoke and the dim silhouette of helicopters that never came close enough to save anyone.
The group had holed up in an abandoned government archive building—thick concrete walls, broken windows, and faded posters for disaster preparedness programs from decades ago. The power was long dead. Only the faint flicker of solar lanterns they had scavenged gave any light to the shadows around them.
Kanata stood on the rooftop, looking down at the distant perimeter of Shinjuku Base. He didn't blink as a pair of searchlights swept past the streets below, illuminating a burned-out van and three shambling corpses dragging one leg each.
Footsteps approached from behind. Soft. Hesitant.
"You always run up here first," Serizawa said quietly. Her voice held no edge this time.
He didn't turn.
"Easier to think alone," he replied.
She stepped beside him, her eyes scanning the distance. "You always liked quiet more than I did. I used to think it meant you didn't care. But now... I think it was me who didn't know how to listen."