The halls were already a little more alive when Akami led them out of the room.
Soft lights glowed along the stone-and-wood corridors, casting long shadows across the floor. Somewhere deeper in the hideout, someone was cooking - oil popping, something sizzling faintly - and the muted murmur of voices drifted through the ventilation shafts.
Yasuko walked close to Kanesaki, still tying her hair back, eyes darting curiously at every door they passed.
'So,' Akami said over her shoulder, hands clasped behind her back as she walked, 'Ryuu and Sho asked me to bring you two up to the garage. They've been… impatient.'
'Sounds ominous,' Yasuko muttered.
Akami chuckled. 'Not like that. More like "we saved two idiots in trouble and now they're awake" impatient.'
Kanesaki frowned slightly. 'So they both brought us here?'
'One of them carried you two,' Akami said. 'The other helped keep you alive when you were bleeding all over the rocks, so you should probably say thanks.'
They rounded a bend in the tunnel and came to a wide metal platform set into the stone — an industrial-looking elevator, cables vanishing upward into darkness. Faint blue lights glowed along its edges, humming with power.
Akami stepped onto it and tapped a small control panel. 'Upstairs garage. That's where we bring in supplies, vehicles, and — occasionally — half-dead Chimeras.'
Yasuko winced. 'Comforting.'
The platform began to rise with a low mechanical groan, lifting them up through a vertical shaft of rough-hewn stone. Cool air rushed past, carrying the faint scent of oil and metal.
As they ascended, Yasuko glanced at Kanesaki. 'So… this Ryuu guy. That's the one who pulled us out of there, right?'
'Sounds like it,' Kanesaki said. 'The masked one.'
Akami nodded. 'Yeah. That's him. He doesn't talk much. But when he does, it's usually worth listening.'
The elevator slowed, then stopped with a dull clang.
A heavy door slid open, spilling bright white light into the shaft.
Beyond it lay a vast underground garage carved into the rock — floodlights illuminating parked vehicles, crates of equipment, racks of weapons and cloaks lining the walls. The space felt half military depot, half scavenger's den.
And waiting near the center of it, two figures turned toward them.
Yasuko swallowed.
'…Guess we're about to meet our saviours. Properly, this time,' she whispered.
Kanesaki squared his shoulders and stepped forward beside her.
'Yeah,' he said.
The garage smelled of oil, warm metal, and old fuel – comforting in a strange, lived-in way. Massive floodlights hummed overhead, throwing stark white beams across parked transports and racks of salvaged tech. A battered supply freighter sat in the center of it all, its side panels peeled open, cables and hoses spilling out like exposed veins.
A figure was halfway inside its engine housing, boots sticking out as sparks crackled.
'–and if this stabilizer fries again I swear I'm gonna–'
There was a loud clang, followed by a muffled yelp as the figure slid out from under the panel and popped upright.
'Oh! Hey! You're up!'
She wiped grease from her cheek with the back of her glove and grinned at them.
Akami lifted a hand. 'Kanesaki, Yasuko – this is Akamine Mitsuko. Our miracle worker.'
Mitsuko waved enthusiastically. She stood with an easy confidence, as if the future was something she was already eager to meet. Dark curls spilled freely from beneath her bright orange cap, framing her face in soft, lively waves that bounced with every small movement. Her wide eyes shone with warm curiosity, instantly disarming.
Her cropped orange jacket and fitted top stood out sharply against the dull stone and steel of the garage, a splash of brightness in a place built to hide. Dark-grey gloves covered her hands, stained with oil and wear, but well cared for – hands that built, fixed, and refused to give up.
'So you're the two everyone's been whispering about,' Mitsuko said, stepping closer, eyes lighting up as she looked them over. 'The fog survivors. The ones Ryuu dragged back half-dead.'
Yasuko blinked. 'Uh… hi?'
Mitsuko laughed. 'Sorry. I get excited. Not every day we get new people down here who aren't broken wrecks or grumpy loners.'
She offered a hand. 'Mitsuko. Engineer. Human, in case that wasn't obvious.'
Kanesaki shook it, still a little wary. 'Kanesaki.'
Yasuko didn't move out a hand, remaining cautious. 'Yasuko.'
Mitsuko's smile softened. 'Really glad you made it. Truly. Ryuu doesn't go out into the fog for just anyone.'
She glanced back at the half-dismantled freighter. 'This old girl's one of our supply haulers. Not pretty, but she keeps us fed and armed. Kind of important when the world wants you dead.'
Yasuko shifted uneasily at that.
Akami folded her arms. 'They wanted to meet Ryuu and Sho. They got a brief introduction yesterday, but I Figure they deserve a proper one.'
Mitsuko nodded, stepping aside. 'Yeah. They're over by the racks.'
As Kanesaki and Yasuko followed her gaze, their eyes were drawn toward the two waiting figures across the garage – one tall and cloaked, mask faintly gleaming under the lights.
Yasuko's breath caught.
'That's him,' she whispered.
Mitsuko glanced between them, her bright expression dimming just a little with understanding.
'Yeah,' she said quietly.
***
The far end of the garage rang with sharp, hollow thuds – flesh on flesh, boots skidding against concrete.
Ryuu and Sho were already in motion when Kanesaki and Yasuko looked over.
Sho lunged first, fast and aggressive, a blur of fists and sweeping kicks. Ryuu barely moved – just enough. He slipped aside, caught Sho's wrist, twisted, and used the momentum to fling him into a roll across the floor. Sho popped back up with a grin, charged again, throwing a flurry of strikes.
Ryuu stepped through them like smoke.
A knee snapped into Sho's ribs. A palm strike knocked his guard wide. Then Ryuu's leg whipped out in a brutal arc–
THUD
Sho slammed onto his back, skidding several feet before coming to a stop.
'Okay–okay–time!' Sho groaned, holding up both hands. 'I yield. Again.'
Ryuu stepped back, breathing steady, not even winded. He reached down, hauling Sho up by the collar and letting him go with a small shove.
'That was sloppy,' Ryuu said flatly.
'Yeah, yeah, you're terrifying,' Sho muttered, rubbing his side. 'We've established this.'
Ryuu turned and froze, his sharp gaze locking onto Kanesaki and Yasuko.
The air shifted.
He didn't step forward, not did he speak. His posture tightened, shoulders subtly drawing back as if bracing for something.
Yasuko swallowed. 'We just wanted to talk...'
Ryuu turned away abruptly, walking a few steps toward the weapon racks. 'Sho. We're done here.'
Sho blinked. 'Uh–hey, man, come on.'
Ryuu's gloved hand rested on his belt, knuckles tightening. 'They shouldn't be here.'
'They're here,' Akami started, 'Because I felt like you lot needed a proper introduction.'
Ryuu didn't answer.
Sho sighed and stepped between them, flashing Kanesaki and Yasuko a crooked smile. 'Sorry about him. He's not the best with talking.'
Kanesaki's jaw tightened. 'We just want to understand.'
Ryuu's head tilted slightly, but he still didn't turn.
Sho glanced at him, then back to them, his face growing more intense. 'Look. You two are alive because of him. That's not nothing. But out here, nothing's free.'
Yasuko frowned. 'What does that mean?'
Sho crossed his arms. 'Means you owe us a bit of work. Supply runs. Bounties. Maybe some… less official jobs. You help keep this place running, we keep you breathing.'
Kanesaki looked to Ryuu with inquisitive eyes. 'You saved us. Why?'
Ryuu was silent for a long moment, avoiding any eye contact with either of the pair.
'…Because,' he finally said, voice deep with a tinge of rasp, 'I know what it's like to be hunted.'
Sho smiled faintly, his expression rolling back to appear relaxed again. 'See? He does have a heart, it's just buried deep.'
Ryuu shot him a look.
Sho laughed. "So yeah. Welcome to the rogues' little family."
The words hung in the air between the sparring ground and the humming freighter in the garage.
Kanesaki stood with Yasuko at his side, both of them tense, eyes moving between Sho, Ryuu, and the strange, half-familiar safety of this rogue haven.
'We appreciate you saving us,' Kanesaki said carefully, 'but… we don't want to stay hidden forever. We just want to get back. To the humans. To our units.'
Yasuko nodded quickly. 'we have people – they're still out there. They're not our enemies.'
Ryuu's reaction was something vicious.
He turned so fast his neck may have snapped, his eyes shooting toward them.
'Back?' he spat. 'Back to what? To being leashes on a battlefield? To being thrown into meat grinders?'
Sho's easy grin melted away.
'They don't see you as equals,' Ryuu continued, voice rising. 'They see tools, assets, broken weapons that get scrapped. Chimera who are too strong, too weak, too disobedient–' his gloved hand clenched, '–we get erased.'
Kanesaki stepped forward avidly. 'That's not true.'
Ryuu laughed – short and bitter. 'It is.'
'No,' Kanesaki said, heat building and pressure racking in his chest. 'The people back there – those are my friends. They fought beside me, bled beside me. They didn't treat me like a tool.'
Ryuu was in front of him in a blink.
SMACK
The blow came from nowhere, Ryuu's palm crashing into Kanesaki's jaw, sending him sprawling across the concrete.
Yasuko cried out. 'Kanesaki!'
Akami snapped, hands on her hips. 'Ryuu! That's enough!'
But Ryuu stepped forward, looming over Kanesaki as he pushed himself back up, blood on his lip, eyes blazing.
'If you believe in them so badly,' Ryuu said coldly, 'prove it.'
Kanesaki rose to his feet, fists shaking. 'What?'
'Beat me,' Ryuu snarled. 'You win – you go back to your precious humans. I won't stop you.'
Kanesaki wiped the blood from his mouth. 'And if I lose?'
Ryuu's eyes were rigid, sharpened. 'Then you stay. And you learn to live out here, how to survive.'
Yasuko rushed forward, grabbing Kanesaki's arm to murmur behind him. 'Listen, I know you wanna try knock this guy's top off, but just think whether it's worth it, he's clearly dangerous.'
Sho stepped beside her, lowering his voice. 'We've all been through hell,' he said gently. 'We didn't end up here because we wanted to. But together, we survive it. Let him fight, Yasuko. He has to choose this himself.'
Kanesaki slowly pulled his arm free, never taking his eyes off Ryuu.
'I'm not staying because you beat me,' he said. 'I'm leaving, so I won't give up.'
Ryuu raised his hands, his gaze piercing, almost as though he could see right through Kanesaki. 'Then come on.'
Chapter 65 - end