The fight became something else. A rhythm.
Harumi's water slashed, my gun cracked, the detective's fists broke through bodies like stone. We fought as one.
But my head burned with too many voices. Fear. Anger. Desperation. They all screamed inside my skull. I forced it back, aimed, fired. Another body fell.
Through the blur, I saw it—a guard raising a rifle at the detective's back.
I didn't think.I fired.
The man fell.The detective turned. Met my eyes.Nodded once.
That was the moment we stopped being strangers.
When the last guard hit the ground, silence flooded the hall. Only dripping water and the rattle of chains remained.
The detective stood tall in the ruin. His shadow long in the dim light.
"You did good," he said softly.
And for the first time in years, I believed it.