There was nothing dramatic about the moment the mass evacuation began.
To Hikigaya Hachiman, there was always something inherently dishonest about a fire or any other drill. It was like a performance where everyone pretended to care about their lives while secretly wondering if they would have time to stop at a vending machine on the way out. But in Tokyo-3, that performance was suddenly becoming the grim reality.
The school grounds and the surrounding area had devolved into chaos by now, not the wild, uncontrollable kind, but more like an organized frenzy where everyone moved with purpose amid the panic.
As Hachiman walked with the other students, he could see teachers shouting instructions over the blaring sirens, trying to herd everyone into lines that barely held shape as panic and discomfort seeped in among them.
'I bet everyone's regretting not taking those evacuation drills seriously now,' Hachiman thought sarcastically.
The announcement kept repeating from every speaker, calm and mechanical in a way that only made it worse.
[PROCEED TO YOUR DESIGNATED EVACUATION CENTER.]
[PLEASE REMAIN CALM.]
[FOLLOW STAFF INSTRUCTIONS.]
Hachiman walked in the middle of the pack, but his mind was miles away. Every few seconds, his thumb would twitch, sparking the screen of his phone to life. His eyes were on screen like he was expecting something to appear any second.
Still nothing. "...Tch."
"Hikki?"
He didn't look up.
"H...hey Hikki, look out!"
A hand grabbed his collar and yanked him back just as he was about to collide with a student walking in front of him. He blinked, finally focusing on the peach-haired girl walking beside him.
"You're going to get run over if you keep doing that," Yuigahama said, her voice trembling slightly. "What are you even looking at on your phone? You shouldn't be so distracted right now."
"It's nothing. Sorry," He replied.
Yukinoshita, walking beside Yuigahama's other side, glanced sideways at him. "You've been doing that a lot since we left the classroom. Hikigaya-kun."
He clicked his tongue under his breath. 'Great. Of course she'd notice.'
"Fine uh I'm..." Hachiman hesitated, his gaze flickering toward Yukinoshita.
"I'm waiting for Komachi," he said, a brief pause slipping into his voice. "She hasn't messaged me yet. I'm just worried she didn't make it to her school's shelter in time."
It was the ultimate conversational dead-end. You can't argue with a brother's paranoia.
Yuigahama's expression softened immediately. "Oh... yeah. That makes sense." She nodded a little too quickly, as if reassuring herself as much as him. "Komachi-chan's still pretty young. I'd be worried too."
"...She'll probably be fine," Yukinoshita said after a moment. "Evacuation procedures for middle schools are usually faster and more controlled."
Hachiman gave a vague nod. "Yeah. Probably."
He checked his phone again anyway.
Nothing.
Yukinoshita glanced at him once more, her eyes lingering for half a second longer than necessary. She neither called him out nor tried to push.
But she didn't look completely convinced.
"Try not to walk into anyone else," she said, turning her gaze forward again. "This isn't the time to lose your footing."
"Yeah, yeah," Hachiman muttered.
They kept moving out through the main gates and down the wide street, joining the bigger river of people heading toward the nearest emergency civil defense shelter located around the city perimeter.
Parents held small children's hands tightly. Some people carried bags or pets. Mostly sounds of footsteps, the siren, and the occasional sharp shout from a teacher or officer could be heard.
Then the ground started to shake.
It wasn't violent, just a deep, rolling vibration that came up through everyone's shoes. A tectonic groan echoed throughout the city and it was louder than the sirens.
Then it started.
One by one, the buildings of the city began to move. The skyscrapers, those gleaming towers that made Tokyo-3 feel like something out of a sci-fi movie, started sinking into the ground.
'I'd seen it happen before. Once or twice, when they tested one building or two. It was cool in a weird way, like watching a controlled demolition. But this? Every single building going down at the same time? The whole city disappearing underground?'
It was stunning and at the same time equally terrifying.
Yukinoshita stared up, her eyes wide. "This must be the full Geofront activation. I've only heard about it in reports. No one's ever seen all the buildings go down like this at once. Usually, it's just one or two for maintenance."
Everyone there looked awestruck by the scene. It felt like the world was folding in on itself. Massive hydraulic plates hissed as they moved, venting steam that rose like white clouds against the darkening sky. Giant structures slid into the earth with terrifying grace, sinking into the Geofront below.
Within minutes, the horizon was erased, replaced by flat, armoured plates.
The city was literally hiding.
"It's never... it's never all of them," Yuigahama whispered, clutching her chest. "Hikki, what's happening?"
Hachiman didn't answer. He knew exactly what it meant. It meant the threat wasn't just "near." It was already here.
But saying that out loud would only cause panic. He kept his mouth shut, his eyes drifting back to his phone.
The closer they got to the designated emergency civil defence evacuation centre, the denser the crowd became. The wide road narrowed into a funnel, barricades guiding people into organized lines. Police officers and evacuation staff stood along the route, their voices firm, leaving no room for hesitation.
"Please keep moving."
"No stopping."
"Stay together."
Somewhere ahead, a child started crying. Nearby, someone was arguing with an officer, their raised voice quickly drowned out by the sirens still echoing through the air.
Up ahead, near one of the massive blast doors, a commotion broke out. A woman was pleading with an evacuation officer, her hands gesturing wildly toward the darkening streets they had just left.
"Wait—please! I can't just leave him!"
Yuigahama froze, her eyes widening as a look of instant recognition washed over her face. "Mom?!"
Without waiting for a response, she bolted toward the woman. Hachiman and Yukinoshita shared a brief, puzzled glance before following close behind.
As they got closer, Hachiman couldn't help but feel a familiar sense of disbelief. Yuigahama's mother looked younger than Hachiman expected more like an older mature sister than a parent. She had the same peach-coloured hair and the same expressive eyes, though right now, those eyes were rimmed with red and filled with silent panic.
"YUI!" her mother cried, grabbing her daughter's shoulders as if checking to see if she was not hurt anywhere.
"Mom, what happened? Why aren't you inside the residential shelter?" Yui asked.
"We were nearby, but the crowd... it was so loud, and the sirens..." her mother stammered, her voice breaking. "Sable got spooked. He started barking and pulling, and then the collar just snapped. He ran off back toward the 4th Block, and I couldn't catch him! The officers won't let me go back to look!"
Hachiman, listening from a step back, felt a familiar headache forming behind his eyes. 'Seriously? Again?'
A vivid memory played in his head. The first day of high school. The squeal of tires. The flash of a black limousine. And that stupid dog, Sable, breaking its collar and dashing into traffic like it had a death wish.
'And then there was that time at the mall, too,' he recalled. 'Yukinoshita and I were shopping for Yuigahama's birthday, and that dog came out of nowhere and started licking my face. Probably escaped his leash then, too.'
'That dog really is a homing missile for disaster,' Hachiman thought as he felt the familiar urge to rub his temples carrying more amusement than frustration.
Before the silence could stretch into awkwardness, Mrs. Yuigahama's eyes shifted from her daughter to the boy standing awkwardly behind her.
For a moment she just looked at him, like she was trying to place a face she'd only heard described. "Wait... you must be Hikki!"
Hachiman froze, his dead-fish eyes blinking in confusion. He looked around as if expecting another Hikki to be standing behind him. "Uh, yeah... maybe? I mean, I'm Hikigaya Hachiman."
"I knew it!" she said, clutching her hands together. "Yui talks about you all the time! She said you have these really unique eyes and—"
Yui's head snapped in embarrassment toward her mom so fast it looked painful.
"M-Mom! Stop it! Not now!"
Hachiman, meanwhile, felt a cold sweat that had nothing to do with the looming threat. 'What the heck does she talk about, me? Is she making me sound like some sort of weird urban legend? Or worse, a charity case?'
Yukinoshita cleared her throat, stepping forward with her usual grace, "I am Yukinoshita Yukino. We are Yuigahama-san's clubmates. It is... a pleasure to meet you, though the circumstances are incredibly unfortunate."
Mrs. Yuigahama gave a weak, apologetic smile. "It really is. I'm so sorry you kids have to see me like this. But Sable... he's just a little puppy, he won't survive out there alone."
"Then let us help you, Mrs. Yuigahama," Yukinoshita said calmly.
Hachiman nodded. "Yeah. We'll find him."
The trio quickly coordinated with the panicked mother and approached the nearby evacuation officer. Between Yukinoshita's sharp, logical negotiation and Mrs. Yuigahama's tearful pleading, the officer finally relented.
"Fine! Five minutes. That's all I can give you," he said, eyes flicking to his watch. "Please don't go past Block 4. The gates are already starting to close."
They didn't waste a second. The three of them, along with Yui's mom, fanned out near the intersection of the 4th Block.
"Sable? Sable, come here boy... it's okay..." Yui called out, softly.
Hachiman checked behind rows of abandoned vending machines and under the heavy transport trucks left in the middle of the road.
"Come on, you troublesome mutt... don't make me work this hard for nothing."
Hachiman kicked aside an abandoned backpack in the hope of spotting movement, but only dust rose up.
Yukinoshita checked behind signs and under parked bicycles while moving quickly but not carelessly.
Yuigahama ran a little ahead, calling his name over and over, her voice growing thinner with each try.
"Nothing here," Yukinoshita said, glancing back. "What about you, Yuigahama-san? Hikigaya-kun?"
"Me neither," Yuigahama whispered, panic creeping back in.
"Nothing on my end," Hachiman replied, straightening up. "Not even a paw print."
"Then... then let's keep looking," Mrs Yuigahama said, forcing steadiness into her voice. "There's still some time left. We can't give up yet."
Yukinoshita nodded once. "Agreed. We should spread out a little farther, but stay within sight."
They split up again, moving faster now. Hachiman scanned the darker corners of the street, peering between parked vehicles and behind barricades. Yukinoshita checked the edges of the road and nearby alleys, while Yuigahama and her mom kept calling Sable's name, their voices growing more strained with each attempt.
The distant sound of gates closing echoed through the block.
But their time had run out.
"Alright, that's plenty! Everyone please behind the line, now!" the evacuation officer shouted.
"We have to clear the sector! The shutters are moving!"
"Wait, just a second more! He's really small, he could be right around the corner!" Yui pleaded, her hands clenched into tight fists.
The officer looked at her, his expression softening for a fraction of a second before he checked his watch again. "Kid, I get it. I really do. But if those plates lock and you're still on the street, you'll be in serious trouble. Please move."
More evacuation staff stepped in, guiding the remaining people toward the wide concrete entrance of the shelter. One of them gently took Mrs. Yuigahama by the arm. "Ma'am, please," they said. "You and your daughter need to go inside."
Yukinoshita stepped forward. "We understand," she said quietly. "But he's still out there."
The officer shook his head. "And that's exactly why you need to move. Now, please."
"But Sable..."
Hachiman stayed near the back as they all started moving toward the shelter entrance, but his eyes were still darting across the 4th Block, searching every shadow and gap his dead fish eyes could force themselves to catch.
That was when he caught it a brief flash of fur near a half-sunken maintenance hatch.
'...Was that him?'
He blinked once, then twice, trying to fix the image in his mind. It could've been anything. Maybe a stray or a trick of the light, or just his brain filling in blanks it really wanted answers for.
And even if it was Sable—
They were too far.
The group had already moved forward another twenty meters. The massive blast doors in the distance were groaning louder now, the metal plates sliding together with a slow, unstoppable rumble.
Yuigahama's mom walked between her daughter and Yukinoshita, one hand clutching her daughters sleeve like she was afraid to let go. Yuigahama kept glancing back over her shoulder, her eyes shiny, her cheeks already streaked with tears she was trying and failing to hold back.
Hachiman slowed his steps as that familiar feeling suddenly began to twist in his stomach. 'It's as always like this.'
Just when a girl you know is close to tears right in front of you, it makes everything inside churn like someone's squeezing it. You hate it. You hate how it makes you feel responsible, even when you're not.
He exhaled through his nose.
If they all turned around now and ran to that hatch, they might reach it in time to grab the dog. But by the time they got back...
The gates would be shut. The officer's five-minute grace period was already over.
And if he ignored it, if he convinced himself, it was nothing and kept walking, then what?
'What if it really was Sable?'
And if tomorrow, or the day after, they came back out and found a collar lying next to a stain on the pavement...
Hachiman imagined Yuigahama's face then. He imagined the guilt that would itch at the back of his own mind, knowing he could have checked but didn't because it was "too much effort."
And he really, really hated that kind of feeling like he owed someone something.
Hachiman's feet came to a complete halt just meters from the shelter's threshold.
Someone brushed past his shoulder, another muttered an apology, but he barely registered it, his attention fixed on the space behind them rather than the gate ahead.
"Hey! Kid, what are you doing? Keep moving!" the officer barked, reaching out to shove Hachiman toward the safety of the interior. "We're on the gate! Get inside!"
Hachiman didn't move. He looked at the officer, then at Yuigahama's trembling shoulders, and finally back at the half-sunken hatch in the distance.
"Hikigaya-kun...?" Yukinoshita's voice reached him from behind, "What's wrong?"
"I think I saw him," Hachiman said, "I saw Sable! I'll find him—go on ahead!"
He turned around.
"What—Hikki, wait!" Yuigahama cried.
"Hikigaya-kun, don't be reckless!" Yukinoshita added, her voice sharp with concern.
The evacuation officer stepped directly into Hachiman's path, his expression hardening. "That's enough. You're not going back out there. Get inside. Now."
Hachiman shook his arm free as the man reached for him, reacting more on instinct than thought. Another hand grabbed at his sleeve, but he twisted his shoulder and slipped sideways, the sudden movement throwing the guard off balance for just long enough.
Before anyone could properly react, Hachiman dropped low and darted forward, sliding beneath the guard's open stance and scrambling back to his feet in one smooth motion.
"H—hey!" someone shouted behind him.
"Hikigaya-kun! Wait"
"Hikki, stop!"
The guard stumbled, cursing as he turned around. "Dammit—get back here!"
Before anyone or any of the guards could catch up, Hachiman was already out of the outer gate, sprinting at an incredible speed into the darkening streets.
The heavy blast doors finished sliding into place with a low, final groan, metal sealing against metal and cutting off the street beyond. Warning lights blinked once, then settled into a steady glow.
Yukinoshita stood frozen for a split second, staring at the space where Hachiman had disappeared.
"...That idiot," she muttered under her breath.
Her hands clenched tightly at her sides as she turned sharply toward the gate, eyes darting between the closing entrance and the dark streets beyond. "What was he thinking? Running off like that—during an emergency evacuation of all times!"
Yuigahama hadn't moved either.
"Hikki..." she whispered, her voice shaking. Then louder more forcefully, "That idiot... such a dummy. A total dunderhead."
Yukinoshita exhaled sharply, frustration and worry bleeding together. "Exactly. This isn't just reckless—it's dangerous. If the shutters close while he's still outside—"
She didn't finish the sentence. Her hands trembled as she pressed them against her chest.
"I know... I'm worried too. Really worried. But... I don't know, I have this feeling he'll be alright. Like, deep down, I think he can handle it."
Yukinoshita tilted her head slightly, her worry shifting to curiosity. "Why? What makes you say that? This isn't some everyday emergency—this is a full-scale evacuation."
Yuigahama hesitated, then took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "Remember the accident at the beginning of our first year, Yukinon? When Sable ran into the road, and that limo almost hit him?"
Yukinoshita stiffened as the memory surfaced.
"He didn't even go to the hospital after getting hit like that," Yuigahama continued. "They gave him just some basic first aid, and he stood up like it was nothing. Everyone else was panicking, but he didn't look all that affected. It was... kind of weird, honestly. Anyone else would've been taken away in an ambulance. B-but he just... looked fine."
"...That still doesn't mean he's invincible, Yuigahama-san. He could have just been lucky."
"I know, maybe" Yuigahama replied quickly. "But even though he looks kind of thin and gloomy all the time, he's actually quite strong. Even though he never shows it."
She tilted her head slightly and asking curiously. "Though... didn't he still take, like, a whole week off after that?"
Yuigahama nodded. "Yeah, but Komachi-chan said he was mostly just being lazy. He was sore and all, but since the school already had the accident on record, he totally used it as an excuse to stay home and skip classes."
Yukinoshita let out a soft huff, almost like a laugh, though her worry didn't fully fade.
"That does sound like him. Always finding a way to turn everything into an opportunity for slacking off. Still... this situation is different. I hope your feeling is right."
Mrs. Yuigahama stepped forward then, wrapping an arm around both girls. She looked younger than her years, but in this moment, the maternal strength she possessed was undeniable.
"Don't worry too much, you two," she said softly. "Hikki has eyes that look like they've seen their share of trouble already. He seems like the kind of boy who knows what he's doing, even if he acts on impulse sometimes. I have a feeling they'll both be back. Whatever is happening outside... let's just pray it stays far away from them."
And with that, the three of them were left standing in tense silence, the gates sealed shut and nothing left to do but wait and hope.
-----0-----
Hachiman stopped running once he was sure he was out of sight.
The street was eerie. The noise of the crowd was gone, replaced by the mechanical hum of the city's ventilation systems and the distant thud of... something massive moving.
He was panting, but not from exhaustion. It was from the adrenaline of the act.
He did not have to search for long. Almost without thinking, Hachiman headed toward the same maintenance hatch where he had thought he saw something earlier, the doubt still lingering in the back of his mind as he moved closer.
Part of him fully expected to find nothing at all and feel stupid for running back out here in the first place.
But the moment he got closer, that doubt disappeared.
There he was, crouched beside the half-sunken hatch, pressed low against the concrete, trying to make himself as small as possible.
"...There you are," Hachiman muttered, keeping his voice low as he crouched down. "You know, for a friendly dog, you really have a talent for causing trouble."
At the sound of his voice, the small body flinched.
For a split second, the dog just stared at him, like he wasn't sure whether to bolt or freeze. Then recognition finally caught up. His tail twitched once, then started wagging so hard it threw his balance off.
Before Hachiman could react, the dog scrambled to his feet and launched himself forward.
"—Hey, wait—!"
The impact hit him directly in the chest. Hachiman stumbled back a step, instinctively catching the wriggling weight in his arms as a frantic tongue immediately went to work on his face.
"Okay—okay, I get it," Hachiman muttered, turning his head away as much as he could, which wasn't very effective. "You can stop now. I'm not going anywhere."
Hachiman cradled Sable closer to his chest, the little dog's trembling slowly easing as he adjusted his grip. He lifted the pup slightly so they were eye to eye.
Sable hung there, his short body dangling and his tail giving a small, hopeful wag despite everything.
"Listen here, you mutt" Hachiman muttered, "I really want to be mad at you right now. I want to lecture you on the importance of leashes and the sheer stupidity of running off into a literal war zone."
Sable tilted his head, ears perking up just a little. His big, watery eyes fixed on Hachiman with a look that was uncannily expressive.
It was a gaze of pure, silent judgment—one that mirrored Yuigahama's "are you serious?" expression so perfectly it was almost eerie. Like the dog had studied her face in a mirror.
Hachiman stared.
Sable stared back.
The silence stretched for half a second.
Hachiman cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Ahem. Okay, okay, I get it. I'm the same. No need to look at me like your owner does. One Yuigahama is more than enough for my conscience, thanks."
He looked back at the dog, his expression softening despite his grumbling.
He let out a long sigh, the tension in his shoulders dropping. He brought the Sable back down from eye level and cradled him against his chest as he felt him trembling from his lingering terror.
"I really wanted to stay mad," he said, "But if you keep trembling like that, even my rotten heart is going to start feeling something. Give me a break."
Hachiman's gaze softened, his grip shifting from a stern hold to a more protective cradle. He pulled the dog closer, tucking him securely against his chest.
"You were scared, right?" he whispered, his voice barely audible "You probably thought they wouldn't come back for you. That you were just going to be left behind while everyone else moved on to somewhere safe."
He patted the dog's head awkwardly. "Yeah. I can understand that feeling."
As he said that, he looked up at the sky. The sky above Tokyo-3 was no longer empty.
Formations of VTOL heavy fighters and other UN and JSSDF combat aircraft tore across the air, their engines screaming as they cut through the clouds, leaving shimmering trails of heat and distortion in their wake.
In the distance, the ground didn't just shake; it hummed with the mechanical grinding of tank treads and mobile artillery units moving into position.
"Guess it's finally started, huh," he whispered to the empty street.
Hachiman watched them for a moment longer than he meant to.
"...So, it really is that bad, hmm" he murmured.
He shifted Sable to one arm and fished his phone out of his pocket. He tapped the screen, staring at it with an intensity that bordered unease.
Still nothing.
"...Tch." He clicked his tongue irritatingly, "What's going on, dammit?"
His thumb hovered over the dark screen, but he didn't lock it. He didn't put it away. He just stared into the black glass, watching his own faint, distorted reflection stare back at him.
For a few seconds, he just stood there, completely still in the middle of the evacuation zone, his mind detaching from the reality of the situation. Thoughts drifted through his head without fully forming. Loose pieces that never connected. That familiar, empty pause where nothing happened, no matter how long you stared at the screen.
Then—
BOOOM
The blast came from far away. Its sound hit a second later than the impact, a heavy roar rolling through the streets. The ground shuddered under his feet, just enough to snap him out of it and remind him where he was.
In his arms, Sable flinched violently, letting out a terrified squeak and burying his snout into Hachiman's armpit, shivering harder than before.
"...Sorry," Hachiman murmured, He let out a dry, awkward laugh, patting the dog's back firmly. "Heh... guess this isn't the best place to space out, huh."
Sable pressed his face into Hachiman's chest, trembling harder now.
"Yeah," he muttered. "Let's get you back. Yuigahama and her mom are probably losing their minds over you by now."
He turned back toward the shelter entrance, ready to make a run for it.
But his feet stopped before he took a step.
The main blast doors were fully sealed now, a wall of impregnable steel. Even if he could get close, the guards would be on high alert. If he went back that way, he'd have to bang on the airlock, get them to open it, and then explain to a squad of stressed-out security personnel why a high school student was wandering around outside during a combat alert.
"That would be way too troublesome," Hachiman muttered, visualizing the inevitable screaming match. "Those guards will chew my head off. Well, I can't blame them, but still..."
He rubbed his forehead, resigning himself to the alternative.
"I really don't want to deal with all that right now."
With a quiet sigh, Hachiman reached into his pocket and pulled out a single card, holding it between his fingers for a moment as he looked at it.
"Well," he whispered, gripping the card tight. "Guess it's not like I'm out of options. Might as well use the back door."
-----0-----
The underground shelter felt louder than Hachiman expected.
Not because of the explosions. They were still there, sure, but inside the shelter they felt muffled and distant. You could feel them more than hear them, like the ground reminding you that things were starting to get real bad up there.
What really made it loud were the people. Seriously, there were way too many voices all at once.
Someone was talking on the phone even though there was clearly no signal. Someone else kept repeating the same sentence over and over, like if they said it enough times it would turn into reassurance. A few people were crying openly. Others were pretending not to notice. Every couple of seconds, someone raised their voice just a little too much, either out of panic or frustration.
It all blended together into this constant noise, with the tremors still coming from outside, and it made everything really irritating.
'...This is rough,' he thought.
Outside, at least the noise made some kind of sense. Down here, it was just people dumping everything they were feeling into the air with nowhere for it to go.
He almost wished the explosions were louder, more terrifying. If the sound from outside had stayed strong enough, maybe the talking would have died down on its own.
"...Man, that's a pretty fucked-up thing to think," he realized. "Get a grip, Hachiman."
He sighed. He had never been good with crowds, and it had been a while since he had been stuck in one this thick. Probably since the school festival mess, even then it was never this crowded and cramped.
He shifted slightly, careful not to draw attention to himself and decided to activate one of his 108 loner skills: Stealth Hikki.
It's a simple but effective technique. You don't make eye contact, you keep your shoulders slightly hunched, and you move at a pace that is neither too fast nor too slow. You basically stop projecting any kind of presence until you're as invisible as the air.
In a crowd of people this distracted by their own panic, it was like having a literal cloaking device.
Cradling Sable securely against his chest the little guy had thankfully decided that being quiet was his best chance at survival he scanned the room. He waited for a small gap in the flow of people, then slipped into it without drawing attention.
A line had formed near one side of the shelter. Volunteers were handing out supplies from behind folding tables, bags passing from hand to hand. Hachiman slipped into the back of it without anyone noticing.
When he finally reached the front, a volunteer held out a bag without really looking at him. The bag contained the standard-issue bundle.
One bottle of water. Vacuum-sealed dry food. A small deck of cards. A bag of chips. An emergency information pamphlet nobody was reading.
He stuffed it all into the provided bag without comment. For half a second, his eyes lingered on the folding table, on the empty thermos sitting off to the side behind the volunteers.
'Coffee would've been nice', he thought. 'Or at least something warm.'
No such luck.
He patted his pockets, blindly hoping the universe would manifest a yellow can out of thin air.
Obviously, it didn't. Instead, his fingers brushed against a small, rectangular box.
He froze.
"...No," he muttered under his breath. "Not here."
He slipped his hand out of his pocket like the thing might bite him if he hesitated too long. A shelter packed wall to wall with people, alarms still echoing through concrete, volunteers everywhere yeah, this was probably the worst possible place.
He glanced around once. No one was paying attention. Everyone was busy being afraid.
His hand went back into his pocket anyway.
"Just a quickie and I'm out," he reasoned. "Less than thirty seconds. It'll be barely anything If anyone asks, I'll tell them I was looking for a bathroom or something and got lost."
That line of thinking felt familiar, in a way that was probably dangerous.
He looked down at Sable. The dog was staring up at him with those big, judging eyes again.
"Look, little guy," Hachiman whispered. "You didn't see anything just now, alright? This part stays between us."
Sable let out a tiny, muffled wuff, not loud enough to alert anyone. Hachiman sighed, pulled out some dried fruit from his supplies, feeding it to him.
"Here. Let's call this... our mutual understanding."
Sable wolfed it down, instantly, the judging look in his eyes disappearing as he focused on the snack.
"That should be plenty," Hachiman said, watching the dog chew. "Technically, you already owe me for saving your ass back there, so don't get greedy. This doesn't count as something you remember, and we're even."
Sable gave one more satisfied lick to Hachiman's thumb, then rested his chin on his forearm, eyes half-closed like he'd already forgotten the whole thing.
Before he could overthink it any further, he shifted direction and headed toward the section marked HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS – BLOCK C. When he spotted the familiar peach-colored hair of Yuigahama near a large concrete pillar, he stopped behind a row of equipment lockers.
He stayed in the shadows for a moment, watching them. They didn't look relaxed. Yuigahama was leaning against the pillar, her eyes darting around the room, while her mother and Yukinoshita were sitting on a metal bench next to her, back straight and eyes closed, though she didn't look like she was actually sleeping.
He crouched slightly, set Sable down on the floor, and pointed toward the main group where Yuigahama, Yukinoshita, and her mom were waiting.
"Go," he said quietly. "They're over there. Don't wander off again."
He gave the dog a tiny nudge. Sable didn't need a second invitation. He hit the floor with a soft click of claws and bolted across the open floor toward the group.
Hachiman watched for a few seconds to make sure the dog reached them, then he immediately turned around and walked the other way. Towards some out-of-the-way corner of the shelter.
-----0-----
"They're taking a long time, aren't they?" Yuigahama whispered.
Yukinoshita's jaw tightened. "We have to trust that he knows what he's doing. He always does, in his own... stubborn way."
"I know Yukinon... he said he saw Sable, but... what if something happened? What if he didn't make it inside before—"
Bark! Bark!
A light brown blur with short legs came barking straight toward them, claws clicking frantically against the floor.
"S-Sable?!" Yui's eyes widened.
The little dog didn't slow down. He jumped straight at her, and she barely managed to catch him before he crashed into her chest.
"Sable! Oh my god, Sable—you're okay! You're really okay!"
Mrs. Yuigahama's hands flew to her mouth, "My baby...! Come here, come here!" She leaned in and hugged both her daughter and the squirming dog, pressing kisses to the top of Sable's head. "We were so worried about you... I thought I'd never see you again..."
Sable's tail wagged so hard his whole back end wiggled. He licked Yui's cheek frantically, then twisted to lick her mother's chin, letting out happy little whines the entire time.
Yukinoshita watched the reunion with a small, relieved smile, though her eyes quickly scanned the direction Sable had come from.
"...I'm glad he's safe," she said softly. "But... where is Hikigaya-kun? He should be here too."
"Yeah... where's Hikki? Is he alright? Sable, is Hikki coming right behind you?"
As if answering her, Sable suddenly wriggled out of Yui's arms and dropped to the floor. He let out a loud bark, glanced back at them, then ran a few meters away before stopping and looking over his shoulder expectantly.
"Sable, wait! Come back!" Yuigahama called.
"Wait, Yui," Mrs. Yuigahama said, placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "I think... I think he wants us to follow him."
The three of them exchanged a glance and quickly followed. They navigated around a group of families sitting on blankets and in Less than a minute later turned the corner near a large ventilation duct.
And there he was.
Hachiman was standing facing the wall, his forehead resting against the concrete like he was in the middle of a timeout.
"Hikki! There you are! Thank goodness!"
Hachiman jumped.
Whatever he had been doing, he clearly hadn't expected to be found that fast. He spun around, a flicker of discomfort crossing his face.
At the exact same moment, Sable decided to complete his mission with maximum enthusiasm. The dog launched himself at Hachiman's legs, crashing into his shins.
"Wha—hey!"
The unlit cigarette box he had been holding slipped from his fingers and hit the floor. He tried to step back and crouch down at the same time, but his foot accidentally kicked the box instead. It slid across the smooth concrete and came to a stop right at Yukinoshita's feet.
"..."
Yukinoshita looked down. She stared at the box.
She bent down gracefully and picked it up. She turned it over in her hand, reading the label. Then, she looked up at Hachiman.
"Hikigaya-kun," she said, while giving him a weird look. "Is this... yours?"
Hachiman felt the blood drain from his face as he looked down at Sable.
The dog was sitting there, looking up at him with big, innocent, watery eyes, his tongue lolling out in a happy pant. He looked like the picture of loyalty.
'Et tu, Sable?' Hachiman thought, a look of ultimate betrayal flashing in his eyes.
'You...you little traitor, I gave you dried fruit! We had a deal! A mutual understanding between men! And you sold me out the second you saw your owner? You snitch! You Judas in fur! I should have left you to the tanks!'
It was a betrayal of the highest order. The dog had taken the bribe, eaten the bribe, and then immediately led the cops to the stash.
"Don't tell me, Hikki..." Yuigahama started, her eyes widening. "You were...?"
"No," Hachiman said quickly waving his hands. "Wait. It's not actually, it's like—"
'Crap,' he muttered in his mind regretting it. 'Crap, crap.'
There was no way to talk his way out of this. He was holding the smoking gun, literally. He opened his mouth to conjure up some desperate lie about holding it for a friend— 'Wait, wait. Holding it for a friend? Yeah, no. That would just raise more questions.'
"Ah, there it is. Thank you for holding onto that for me, Hikigaya."
A hand appeared from nowhere and gently took the box from Yukinoshita's fingers.
Hachiman blinked.
Hiratsuka-sensei was standing there. She looked little tired, her white lab coat slightly rumpled, but she offered him a small, knowing nod.
"I left it behind in the guidance room when the emergency announcement started," Hiratsuka-sensei said smoothly, pocketing the pack. "I later asked Hikigaya on a call to hold onto it and give it back to me. Needed something to let off a bit of steam. Good work."
She looked Hachiman dead in the eye.
Hachiman didn't hesitate for a microsecond. The bro-code was universal, even when the bro was a thirty-something female teacher.
"Yeah," he said without hesitation. "No problem. Glad I could help."
Yukinoshita looked at the teacher, then at Hachiman. She narrowed her eyes slightly, sensing there was more to it than what they were showing, but she sighed and let her shoulders drop.
"I see," she said, deciding not to press it. "If it belongs to Sensei, then fine."
"Oh!" Yuigahama let out a huge breath of relief. "Oh... so it's hers! Phew, that was silly—I totally thought it was yours for a second there, Hikki!"
"Right? Crazy,"
"Anyway," Hiratsuka-sensei cut in, clapping her hands together to change the subject. "The emergency landlines have been activated in Sector B. If you want to check in on your families or let them know you're safe, you should head over there now. The lines are going to get long."
She pointed down the hall. "Also, after that, make sure you register at the student section. We need a headcount."
"Thank you, Sensei and you too Hikki," Mrs. Yuigahama said, bowing slightly. "We'll go right away."
The group started to move. Yuigahama and her mother walked ahead, with Sable walking happily between them, the traitorous mutt looking completely pleased with himself. Yukinoshita followed a step behind them.
Hachiman fell into step at the back, walking next to Hiratsuka-sensei.
He braced himself. He expected a lecture, or at least to be told how stupid he was for pulling something like that in a shelter.
Instead, he felt a heavy hand land on his shoulder.
Hiratsuka-sensei wasn't looking at him with her usual annoyance. Her expression was firm, but her eyes were kind.
"When all of this is over," she said quietly, so the others wouldn't hear, "let's talk, okay?"
It wasn't a threat. It sounded more like... concern.
Hachiman looked at her, surprised "...Yeah. Okay. Thanks."
"Good. Now go call check with you family."
They caught up with the others, joining the back of the line for the emergency phones.
The line for the landlines stretched along the far wall of the shelter, made up of a mix of families and individuals waiting for their chance. Hiratsuka-sensei had wandered off to check on something with the staff, leaving the group to wait in uneasy silence.
Yukinoshita stood beside Yui, her posture straight as always, but her eyes kept drifting back to Hachiman, who was lingering a few steps behind with his hands in his pockets, doing his best impression of someone who had absolutely nothing to hide.
"Hikigaya-kun," she said calmly. "How did you enter this underground shelter?"
There it was.
Hachiman scratched the back of his head, avoiding her gaze. "...Huh? I was wondering where you guys went, guess I must've passed you without noticing. It's pretty crowded, after all."
Yuigahama blinked and turned toward him. "Eh? But we were right there—"
"Yeah, well. You know me. Easily overlooked."
She didn't push it any further. How could she, really? Not when Sable was snuggled warm and safe in her arms, occasionally licking her chin as if the whole scary ordeal had never happened. The relief of having him back had already washed away most of her doubts.
Yuigahama's mother hesitated for a moment, then let out a soft exhale and nodded, her worry easing into a tired but grateful smile. "Well... we are all just glad you're safe now, Hikki."
Hachiman felt his shoulders loosen just a little at Mrs. Yuigahama's words.
Then—
"Unlikely, Hikigaya-kun"
"The entrance was already congested," she continued in an even tone. "We were positioned near the front of the line when the doors closed. If you had passed us, we would have definitely noticed."
Hachiman met her eyes for just a second, scratching his cheek in mild annoyance. "Crowds are chaotic like that. Easy to slip past without anyone spotting you."
Yukinoshita's eyes narrowed, not out of anger, but more like she was piecing together a puzzle and finding one stubborn part that didn't quite fit. It was that calculating look of hers, the one that said she wasn't letting this go easily.
"...I see,"
"Hikigaya-kun," she said again, her tone a bit softer this time, almost like she was testing the waters. "You entered after the main doors sealed, right?"
He rolled his shoulder casually, trying to shrug it off. "I didn't say that."
"..."
Yuigahama shifted uncomfortably between them, sensing the chill in the air starting to build. "Y-Yukinon, it's fine, right? He's here now, safe and everything..."
But Yukinoshita's eyes never left him.
"Shelter protocol is strict," she went on, "The guards were checking IDs carefully. Accounting for every single person—"
"Hey," Hachiman interrupted, keeping his voice even without raising it. "Before we do the whole cross-examination thing..."
He looked past her, his eyes focusing on something in the distance. "I think someone's in trouble."
That finally made her glance away, following his line of sight.
Hachiman had directed her attention deliberately, scanning the shelter until he spotted what he'd already noticed a few seconds earlier. Near the far wall, half-hidden behind a clutter of emergency lockers, folded cots, and glowing fluorescent evacuation signs.
"...That's Yumiko." Yuigahama whispered, noticing too.
It was her usual group, and right at the center of it stood Miura Yumiko.
"And... it looks like she's having a panic attack," Yukinoshita commented as she focused her attention there.
A teacher nearby was hesitating, clearly unsure whether to step in or not. One of Miura's friends was murmuring something useless—it's okay, calm down—the kind of words people said when they didn't know what else to do.
Yukinoshita's gaze shifted for a moment toward the row of landline phones along the wall. One of the booths had just freed up; the previous person was walking away.
She turned back to the group.
"You two go ahead," she said quietly, nodding toward Miura. "It looks like one of the landlines is free now. I'll use it to check on my family."
"Yuigahama-san, you'll probably be able to help her better than either of us."
Hachiman met Yukinoshita's glance for half a second. He didn't argue. He just gave a small nod of his own and started moving.
"Well, Yuigahama. Let's go, then"
-----0-----
People started to notice.
It didn't happen all at once. Just a few heads turned here and there. Someone would glance over, see Miura sitting on the floor with her knees pulled up, hands pressed tight to her chest as she tried to catch her breath.
Her friends were clustered around her, hovering awkwardly, murmuring the usual things— "It's okay," "Just breathe," "You're fine"—but none of it seemed to help.
After a second or two, those same people would look away again, turning back to their own little groups or staring at the floor. No one wanted to stare too long. No one wanted to make it feel bigger than it already was.
Hachiman gave Yuigahama a small nudge with his elbow. "Go on," he said under his breath. "You're better at this kind of thing."
Yui nodded quickly and hurried over, dropping to her knees beside Miura. "Yumiko? Hey, what's going on? Are you okay?"
One of Miura's close friends, Ebina, looked up with obvious relief. "Yui... she was trying to call her family on the landline. Couldn't get through to anyone. Not her mom, not her dad, not even her cousins. And the internet's completely gone too. She just... freaked out."
Hachiman stayed back a couple of steps, listening while he reached into the shelter bag slung over his shoulder. His fingers moved past the water bottle, the little deck of cards, the folded pamphlet nobody cared about, until he found the bag of chips. He pulled it out, ripped the top open with a quick tug the crinkle and tear sounded way louder than it should have in the low hum of the shelter. A few chips spilled out as he dumped the rest straight into a nearby trash bin.
A couple of heads turned his way, but he didn't look up. He just shook the empty bag once, then walked over.
He stopped near the edge of the group. "So that's what happened," Then he glanced around the group, noting the absence of a certain perfect prince. "Where's Hayama? He could probably calm her down better than anyone."
Yuigahama shook her head, still kneeling beside Miura. "He's not here. I think he ended up in a different section or something."
Hachiman didn't push it. He just held out the empty chip bag toward her. "Here. Give her this."
She took it, while looking confused. "The chips?"
"The bag, Yuigahama. Tell her to breathe into it. It'll help her stop hyperventilating."
Yui nodded quickly and pressed the bag into Miura's shaking hands. "Yumiko, try this, okay? Just breathe into the bag. Nice and slow, like Hikki said."
Miura's hands shook as she took the bag from Yui. She pressed it to her mouth and breathed into it short, frantic gasps at first that made the plastic rustle. After a few tries, though, her breathing started to slow. It wasn't calm yet, still uneven and shaky, but it was steadier with each breath.
Hachiman leaned against a nearby pillar, staying back just far enough to not be intrusive. The group around her seemed to relax a little as her shoulders stopped heaving so violently.
"This is the first time the shelter system's been used on this scale. Lines getting overloaded is normal. Signals don't behave well underground, and with the city redirecting more than half of its power to the GeoFront, stuff like phones are the first thing to suffer."
Yuigahama glanced back at Hachiman. "So... you think they're, okay?"
He shrugged lightly. "Yeah. In situations like this, phone lines get overwhelmed almost immediately. That doesn't mean something happened to them. It just means too many people are trying to call at once."
Miura lowered the bag a little, still holding it close like she might need it again. Her voice came out hoarse. "...So, it's not just me?"
"Yes, it's not just you." Hachiman said. "It's happening to many of us."
He paused for a moment before continuing, his voice lower now.
"A lot of people aren't able to connect with the things that matter to them, things they've been preparing themselves for... So, I think it's best not to make any final conclusions until this whole situation is over."
Ebina let out a breath she'd clearly been holding. "That... actually makes sense."
Miura wiped at her face with the back of her sleeve, embarrassed more than anything now. "I just everything went quiet all at once. No calls, no messages. It felt like... like I'd been cut off from the world."
Yuigahama nodded, careful not to push. "Yeah. That would freak anyone out."
Ebina stared at him, "Wow. Hikigaya-kun, that was... kind of nice?"
"Nice? Sure. If the bar for basic human decency is set depressingly low, then I guess that might make me a saint here."
Yuigahama pouted, crossing her arms as she gave him a look of genuine disapproval. "That wasn't a very nice thing to say, Hikki! You're totally ruining the moment on purpose."
Miura, still sitting on the floor with the crumpled bag in her lap, let out a small, shaky breath that might have been a laugh. She wiped her face again with her sleeve and muttered. "Seriously, for a second there, I actually thought you were being nice. But you're still just as annoying as ever, Hikio."
"Well, you're complaining again, so it seems like you're alright then," he muttered.
Miura shot him a look but didn't argue. That alone told him enough. With that settled, Hachiman figured there wasn't much reason for him to hang around anymore. He quietly excused himself from the group and drifted toward one of the thick support pillars near the landline booths.
Around him, the shelter was a mess of people either sobbing into phone receivers or clicking the hook over and over, desperate for a dial tone.
Near the booths, Hiratsuka-sensei moved from one station to another, checking lists, guiding people along, and calmly answering questions. She looked quite composed the entire time, unshaken by the chaos around her. The way she was handling everything made it clear this wasn't her first time dealing with a situation like this.
Hachiman watched her for a second, then looked away.
Near the middle, a younger kid—middle school maybe—was shaking hard. Tears ran down his face. He stared at his phone like it had tricked him.
"It won't connect!" he shouted, voice breaking. "What if my grandad—!"
A smaller boy with glasses grabbed his shoulders. "Hey, Toji! Calm down man! Breathe! Just breathe, okay?!"
Toji.
The name stuck in Hachiman's head for no reason.
Movement to his left drew his attention. Yukinoshita was walking toward him, having finished at the landline. She looked composed, but there was a tightness around her eyes.
Hachiman glanced at her. "Any problem connecting? Did it get through?"
"The lag is significant," she said, "But yes. I was able to reach them. Both my mother and Sister."
"Well, that's good then."
He didn't add anything else. This wasn't a situation improved by commentary.
"Have you used the phone yet?"
The question landed heavier than it should have. "...No."
"Then You should," she said. "The lines may worsen. Interference is starting to stack up."
"Yeah. I know."
She didn't push him or ask who he was waiting to call. She just stood there beside him, looking out at the crowded room with a weary sort of distance.
"Ignorance," Yukinoshita said quietly, "can be convenient. Knowing too much just gives fear a clearer outline, isn't it, Hikigaya-kun."
He didn't argue. That would require believing he had a better answer.
Just when he wanted to say more—
BOOM.
The sound didn't just echo through the shelter, it punched through it.
For a split second, the world lost its sense of up and down. The concrete floor lurched violently, like something massive had slammed its full weight directly onto the ceiling above them. People screamed as they were lightly thrown off balance.
The overhead lights flickered sharply—once, twice—then stabilized, humming a little louder than before.
"What was that—?"
"Did you feel that?!"
"Was that—was that right above us?"
Another shockwave rolled through the concrete, weaker than the first but still enough to make everyone feel it in their bones.
"Wh...whoa—!"
"Hold on to something!"
Hachiman slammed his shoulder against the support pillar to stay upright. Beside him, Yukinoshita stumbled as the ground tilted. He reached out and grabbed her arm, steadying her before she could probably fall down.
She didn't pull away. When she looked up at him, the calm, composed mask she always wore was gone. For the first time, he saw her eyes wide with a panic that she couldn't hide anymore.
The weight of it all—the missing people, the trembling kid, the grinding earth—finally snapped something in him. He couldn't just keep pretending that none of this involved him.
"I'm going to use the phone," he said, voice rougher than he intended. "All of this is getting out of hand, dammit."
He didn't wait for her reply and moved toward the nearest open booth.
-----0-----
Yukinoshita Yukino watched him walk away, her hand still lingering in the air where he had gripped her arm just moments before.
It was another one of those strange, inconsistent behaviors she had been witnessing from Hikigaya-kun lately. He had always been strange. That much wasn't new. But lately, even calling it "strange" didn't quite fit anymore. How should she say it? The worse the situation around them was becoming the more behavior seemed to shift with it, like...like there might be something he could see that the rest of them couldn't.
'What is going on with you, Hikigaya-kun? '
She could only hope that whatever came next would be the turning point. That things would stop getting worse and start getting better.
Because if they didn't...
Her gaze drifted back to him.
He had reached the landline booth and lifted the receiver. Even from a distance, she could tell he was gripping it too tightly, his shoulders stiff, his posture rigid in a way that didn't match his usual careless slouch.
It almost looked like he was bracing himself for something rather than making a call.
She couldn't hear what he was saying. The shelter was still too loud for that. But she could see the tension in his jaw, the way his free hand hovered near his side, fingers curling and uncurling in a subtle, restless motion.
The longer she watched, the more uneasy she felt.
Another explosion thundered in the distance.
This one was farther away than the last. The shock didn't slam through the shelter, but it was strong enough to ripple through the concrete, a low vibration that crawled up through the floor and into her legs.
Then, all at once, the landlines probably went dead. Across the row of booths, voices rose in frustration.
"What—? It cut off again!"
"Come on, seriously? Right when I got through to my wife—"
"Interference is getting worse..."
Receivers were slammed down. Some people stared at the phones in disbelief, others groaned openly, already resigned.
Yukinoshita's gaze snapped back to Hikigaya. Unlike the others, he hadn't hung up.
He was still holding the receiver to his ear, saying something into the dead line, his voice clearly carrying more urgency now. When he finally lowered the phone, his jaw was tight, teeth clenched hard enough that she could see the tension from where she stood.
She moved toward him without really thinking about it.
"Hikigaya-kun," she said quietly once she was close enough. "Are you alright? Were you not able to connect to your family?"
He didn't answer right away.
His hand tightened at his side, fingers closing into a fist so hard that his knuckles whitened. For just a moment, she thought she saw the edge of something between his fingers flat & rectangular but before she could focus on it, his hand dropped back out of sight.
"...No," he said at last. "I heard what I needed to hear."
She frowned. "What do you mean by—"
"I'm going to the restroom," he interrupted suddenly, cutting her off mid-sentence.
"Oh... okay, then" she said after a moment, taken momentarily aback by his intensity.
She watched him go as he turned and slipped past a group of students. A moment later he disappeared down one of the narrower corridors at the back of the shelter.
She remained where she was, waiting for him to return. Nearly ten minutes had passed, and he still hadn't come back.
That was when Hiratsuka-sensei and Yuigahama appeared at her side, weaving through the thinning crowd near the landlines.
"Yukinoshita," Hiratsuka-sensei said first, as she approached her "Are you guys alright? I wanted to check on you kids And Hikigaya—"
She paused as she looked around.
"—wasn't he with you Yukinoshita?"
"He was," she said evenly. "He used one of the landline booths. After the call ended, he said he was going to the restroom."
Yuigahama let out a small, relieved breath, "Oh... that's good, then. I was worried when I didn't see Hikki with you."
But the relief didn't last long. Her expression faltered almost immediately, eyes darting toward the corridor Yukinoshita had been staring at.
"...But, Sensei," she added reluctantly, "he hasn't come back yet. It's been... more than ten minutes now."
Hiratsuka-sensei's expression changed, not sharply but enough for Yukinoshita to notice. She murmured something under her breath. "After he made a call, huh..."
Her gaze went towards the phones and then back to Yukinoshita. "He called someone? Did he say who?"
"No. But he looked... different when he hung up. More distressed than I've ever seen him."
"Which way did he go, Yukinoshita?" Sensei's voice had lost its casual edge.
Yukinoshita pointed toward the narrow, poorly lit hallway at the far back of the block. "He went down that corridor."
Hiratsuka-sensei froze. For a second, the air between them seemed to go cold.
"There is no restroom down that way," Sensei said, her voice barely a whisper. "That leads to the maintenance sub-levels and the service access points."
Before either girl could process the words, Hiratsuka-sensei was already moving toward the corridor. Yuigahama and Yukinoshita exchanged an uneasy glance and followed after her. The farther they went, the quieter it became, the silence slowly deepening the eerie atmosphere around them.
They reached the end of the hall, coming to a halt before a massive steel door.
The back service gate.
It wasn't fully sealed not yet. The massive mechanism was grinding shut, but a gap of a few inches remained, just enough space for someone with a slim build to have slipped through.
Yukinoshita stared at the sliver of darkness beyond the door. Beside her, Hiratsuka-sensei's face went pale. She leaned one hand against the cold metal, looking at the gap in disbelief.
"Oh, shit," Sensei hissed as understanding finally caught up to her. "Not this. Not now. Hikigaya, you absolute idiot... dammit!"
At that exact moment, the world roared. Suddenly, a blinding white light flashed through the gap in the door. It was so bright it filled the entire hallway, forcing them to squint. A second later, they saw a massive explosion in the distance. A giant ball of fire and smoke rose into the sky, turning the air a dark, dusty orange.
As the light faded, Yukinoshita looked at the half-open door, her voice shaking.
"Don't tell me... did he really go out there? In the middle of all this?"
Yuigahama stepped forward, her voice barely steady now as she stared at the gap. "But why, Yukinon? Why would he leave?"
Yukinoshita didn't look at her. She couldn't take her eyes off the door. "You ask that every time he leaves like this, Yuigahama-san,"
Yuigahama looked down at the floor, her voice very small. "...Yeah."
"And just like every other time," Yukinoshita continued, "I don't know."
With a heavy, mechanical groan, the steel plates finally shifted. The gap vanished as the gate slammed shut and locked with a loud click.
And Hikigaya Hachiman was already gone.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Author's Note
Hey everyone, Chapter 2 is finally done by us. We hope you enjoyed it, or at least found it intriguing so far. A lot happened in this chapter, and we're now heading toward the climax of the dread that's been steadily building, which will come into focus in the next chapter. We hope you're looking forward to that.
We're still aiming to keep the overall tone close to Neon Genesis Evangelion, especially when it comes to atmosphere and emotional weight, and that's going to stay consistent going forward.
That's all for now. Thanks a lot for reading and sticking with the story so far. We'll keep working on the next chapters and try to get them out as soon as we can.
As always, feel free to leave your thoughts below. We're looking forward to hearing from you.
Stay tuned for more.
— CacciaFulmini & Raijinmaru_K2