Behind them, the desert still howled with sand and distant thunder, but the cliffside offered just enough shelter to move without being torn apart. The group picked their way along the rock formation in some silence – only broken by either Yasuko or Sho – boots scraping against stone worn smooth by time and wind.
Kanesaki led this time, not because he wanted to, but because Ryuu hung back, watching the rocks around them, still on guard.
They traveled some few hours until they reached it.
Ahead, the cliffs curved inward, forming a natural basin where the storm broke into weaker gusts. At its centre, carved directly into the rock, stood a structure, half building, half bunker, as if someone had forced civilisation to grow out of stone and refused to let it die.
Warm light leaked from narrow openings in the rock face, metal reinforcements lining the entrance like ribs, while old markings, faded insignias, supply codes, warning symbols, layered over each other in years of accumulated use.
A safe point, or the closest thing they had left.
The garage door stood open. Inside, the space stretched far deeper than it first appeared, carved into the mountain, the ceiling supported by thick steel beams anchored into stone, the entire chamber humming with the low vibration of engines and generators.
At its centre sat a massive cargo ship. It wasn't elegant, but functional in the way only something that had survived too many wars and too many owners could be, reinforced plating, mismatched panels, weld lines running like scars across its hull, cargo containers stacked along its sides, some sealed, others partially opened for inspection or repair.
It rested like a sleeping beast waiting for permission to wake.
From within the ship's open maintenance hatch, a familiar head popped out.
Mitsuko.
Her bright orange cap sat slightly crooked, and her face lit up the moment she saw them.
'Oh! You're back!' she called, her voice echoing through the garage.
The relief in her tone was immediate, unfiltered, like she had been holding her breath since they left.
Sho stepped forward first, stopping just short of the ship's shadow.
'We didn't bring anything back,' he said flatly.
Mitsuko blinked. 'What?'
'I mean anything useful,' Sho clarified, already sounding irritated with himself, 'there was a lot of equipment, high-grade, could've salvaged something, but–'
'Sho,' Yasuko interrupted, grabbing his arm and pulling him back slightly, 'stop talking.'
'I'm just explaining–'
'You're doing the thing,' she said.
'I'm not doing anything–'
'You're doing it.'
She sighed, then turned back to Mitsuko with an apologetic smile. 'Sorry, he's being weird again.'
Mitsuko laughed lightly, waving a hand as she leaned against the hatch. 'It's fine,' she said, 'honestly, I'm just glad you're all back in one piece.'
Sho opened his mouth again, clearly ready to continue, but Yasuko tugged him further away before he could.
Kanesaki ignored them both, stepping further into the garage until he spotted Katsumi sitting on a crate near the far wall.
He had one leg crossed over the other, a magazine held loosely in one hand, a cigarette burning between his fingers like he had all the time in the world. He didn't look up at first.
Only when Kanesaki approached did he finally glance over.
Katsumi exhaled a thin stream of smoke.
'You lot look half-dead,' he said casually.
Kanesaki stopped in front of him. 'We're fine.'
Katsumi raised an eyebrow. 'That's what people say right before they collapse.'
Kanesaki didn't answer immediately, his gaze drifting over Katsumi's posture, the magazine, the cigarette, the complete lack of urgency compared to everything they had just survived.
Then he sighed faintly. 'Good to see you're still useless.'
Katsumi grinned. 'And good to see you're still alive,' he replied, 'I was starting to think you might've died and left me with Sho permanently.'
From across the garage, Sho's voice carried faintly. 'Hey! I heard that!'
Katsumi immediately shouted back, 'Good!'
Mitsuko laughed again from inside the cargo ship, watching it all unfold with an easy warmth that made the space feel, briefly, less like a hideout and more like somewhere people actually belonged.
Outside, the storm continued to rage against the mountains.
The elevator ride up was quieter than it should have been.
Not silent – the sanctuary was never truly silent – but subdued in a way that only came after survival had finally stopped demanding immediate attention. The metal platform hummed softly as it lifted them through the rock, the reinforced cables hidden somewhere above pulling them steadily toward the living levels carved deeper into the mountain's interior.
Sho leaned against the wall, arms folded, eyes half-lidded..Yasuko stood beside him, still brushing dust from her sleeves, though it was mostly a habit now rather than necessity. Kanesaki remained slightly apart, as usual, his gaze fixed on nothing in particular. Ryuu didn't speak at all.
When the doors finally slid open, warm light spilled over them like a welcome they didn't quite deserve.
The living area of the sanctuary was carved less like a bunker and more like a lived-in refuge. Stone walls had been softened over time with added furniture, hanging lights, rugs, and makeshift decorations that made the place feel almost normal if you didn't think too hard about how far underground they were.
A faint glow came from a large screen set into one wall.
Asami was already there.
She sat curled on a worn couch, one leg tucked beneath her, watching television with the casual focus of someone who had given up pretending the world outside the room mattered for the moment. The flickering blue light from the screen painted her face in soft tones as she glanced over her shoulder when they entered.
'You're back,' she said simply with a sound of relief.
Sho stepped in first, already peeling off his gear with the efficiency of someone who had decided the day was over the moment he crossed the threshold.
Asami gestured lazily toward the kitchen.
'There's food,' she added. 'Left behind by the cargo ship owner. Apparently part of the payment deal with Mitsuko. She said it was "too much to waste," so she brought it back.'
Yasuko's expression changed instantly.
'Food?' she repeated, as if confirming she had heard correctly.
'Actual food,' Asami confirmed.
That was all the encouragement Yasuko needed. She was already moving before anyone else could react.
'I'm taking it before Sho tries to "analyse" it into not being edible.'
Sho didn't even look up. 'I heard that.'
'Good,' she called back, already disappearing toward the kitchen area.
Sho exhaled through his nose and, without further comment, turned toward the hallway.
'I'm gonna head to the shower,' he said simply.
And then he was gone.
The moment his footsteps faded, the room settled again.
Ryuu remained standing near the centre, still fully dressed, still carrying the weight of everything that had not gone according to plan. His gaze briefly flicked to Asami, who raised an eyebrow at him without moving from the couch.
'Bad news?' she questione, almost rhetorically.
Ryuu exhaled once.
'We didn't complete the objective.'
That alone was enough to shift the tone.
Asami's posture changed slightly – not alarmed, but attentive in a sharper way. Her eyes narrowed just a fraction as she sat up a little straighter.
'Explain,' she said.
Ryuu didn't waste time.
'The target was already dead when we arrived.' A pause. 'We were ambushed immediately after – Sugimoto.'
Asami's expression darkened slightly at the name.
Ryuu continued. 'And he knows we were there now. Even if it wasn't intentional, the Prince will be informed.'
That made the room feel smaller.
Asami leaned back slightly, thinking.
'So we're on the radar,' she said.
Ryuu nodded once.
'Potentially.'
A beat passed.
Then Asami spoke again, more carefully this time. 'Can you handle it?'
Ryuu didn't hesitate.
'Yes.'
It wasn't bravado, just certainty.
That seemed to satisfy her – for now. She studied him for a moment longer, then gave a small, reluctant nod.
'Fine,' she said. 'But don't bring that kind of attention here if you can avoid it.'
Ryuu's eyes flicked toward the hallway where Sho had gone, then toward the kitchen where Yasuko was already rummaging through food like the world had ended and she was making up for lost time.
'I'll deal with it,' he said again, quieter this time.
Asami held his gaze for a second longer, then finally looked back at the television as if accepting the conversation was over.
'Try not to get us killed,' she muttered.
Ryuu turned away without reply.
Kanesaki, who had been standing quietly through all of it, finally shifted.
'I'll be in my room,' he said simply.
No one stopped him.
He walked down the hallway alone.
The sanctuary corridors were dimmer here, quieter, lined with warm, low lights that made the stone feel less like a prison and more like something closer to home. The air smelled faintly of metal, cooking food, and dust that never fully left no matter how much you cleaned.
His door was the same as it had been for months, but the room beyond it was not. When he stepped inside, it took him a moment to register the change.
It was still small, still simple, but it was his now in a way it hadn't been before.
A proper bed sat against one wall, the sheets slightly messy but lived-in. A small table had been pushed near the window slit carved into the rock, now covered in scattered items that hadn't been there before – books, small tools, loose equipment pieces he vaguely remembered leaving elsewhere and never retrieving.
A few personal things had been added too. Nothing extravagant, just to add presence, signs that he had existed here long enough for the place to start reflecting it back.
He stood still in the doorway for a moment longer than necessary, then he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
Chapter 75 – end