Chapter 28
"I learned more about you when we began working on the... the Cultural Festival," Minami said, her eyes drifting into memories.
I sat and listened as Minami recounted the events from the Cultural Festival. She talked about how she was chosen as chairman and how she delegated her tasks to others, primarily Yukino. She detailed the festival itself and how she had run away during the closing ceremonies. Rumi and Shigeo listened closely, similarly eager to learn about me as well.
Finally, she described how I found and confronted her on the school rooftop. At that moment, she looked as if she were about to cry, recalling how she had given her speech in tears.
At that point, Rumi and Shigeo turned to me with disappointment.
Don't look at me like that! That was past Hachiman!
Despite the way her story painted me in a negative light—something I certainly deserved—I didn't think she was exaggerating or lying. I had a feeling that everything she said was the truth. Maybe deep inside my mind, I could still vaguely remember my past. It just appeared that my mind was fragmented.
Minami could have easily taken advantage of the situation and portrayed herself as a bigger victim, but instead, she openly admitted to her shortcomings and mistakes. That was something I could respect. Even though she often came across as shallow and avoided responsibility, at least that's the impression I got from her story.
"Hmm… maybe I was an asshole?" I said, feeling uncomfortable under Rumi's and Shigeo's intense stares. "I'm starting to see a pattern in how I used to handle situations."
"Yes… It seems that what happened at the camp wasn't a one-off," Rumi muttered, stroking Kamakura's back. "My cousin is indeed a terrible person."
"Oi. Don't agree with me."
"I see. So that's what really happened at that time," Shigeo said. "Still… what happened to you was your fault, Neesan. If you had handled your responsibilities from the start, Hikigaya-san wouldn't have had to go to such extremes."
"I know that! I… know that, dammit," Minami replied, sniffing. She rubbed her eyes and shot me a small glare. "Ever since you humiliated me, I couldn't stop thinking about why you did it. It wasn't until one night that I finally realized why. You were trying to help me save face. If I had gone back to give that speech, everyone would have just looked at me like I was a disappointment. And why wouldn't they? I didn't do anything to help with the festival. It was all Yukinoshita—the perfect Yukinoshita. She was the real chairman. Not me."
"Neesan," Shigeo muttered softly.
"I didn't want to admit it. I didn't want to accept it. But if I had gone down there as if nothing was wrong, everyone would have looked at me like I was scum. 'How dare she show up after having done nothing?' they would have said. But you… You made yourself the bad guy. You were the one who made the Cultural Festival Committee Chair cry and ruined her speech," Minami said, hugging her knees. "And what did I do after that? I started badmouthing you and spreading rumors with my friends."
Silence fell over us as she continued to cry silently.
I could see that Minami had been deeply affected by what happened at the cultural festival. Traumatized even.
It seemed that my past methods of handling things only hurt everyone involved.
Just like with Rumi.
From what I had heard so far, it seemed that I hadn't always made the best choices. I had looked for the fastest and most logical solution to the problem at hand. No matter the fallout to myself or those involved.
How many more times had I done something like this?
How many people had I hurt by handling things that way?
I took a deep breath and stood up. Minami tried to back away as I approached her, but stopped when her back met the wall. Kneeling down, I held out a hand to her, causing her to flinch.
"Sagami… What happened back then is in the past now. But even so, I'm sorry for what I did to you. It may not mean much, considering I don't really remember anything from that day, but I am truly sorry for hurting you. We both did things we regret to each other, but none of that matters now. From here on out, we have to focus on how we're going to get out of this alive. While you may not trust me now, believe me when I say that I'll help you and your brother get through this."
"Get through this? How? There's nothing left. There's just us and those monsters out there!" Minami exclaimed. "There's nothing we can do. We're all going to die! Just like… just like my parents."
Beside me, Shigeo began to cry. His eyes looked haunted. Much like Rumi's on the night I saved her. I wouldn't be surprised if the Sagami siblings watched their parents be killed. This apocalypse continues to take away and destroy the lives of the living.
"You can't give up. You have to keep fighting!" I said, grabbing her shoulders. She gasped at the sudden contact and looked up at me. "Listen, your parents may be gone, but your brother is still here. You're still alive. So you have to keep going. No matter what, you can't give up! We may have just met today, but I promise you both, I'll help you get through this."
I let her go and held out my hand again. She didn't flinch this time. "Join us. I'll keep you all safe. You've seen it. I have the power to do that."
But is this the right choice?
The logical thing to do was to leave them behind. Let them fend for themselves. They'd proven they could survive this long without my help; surely, they'd be alright.
Yet, an unsettling voice nagged at me, whispering that I should help them. I had the strength to do so, right? But I also knew that adding them to my group would complicate everything—survival would become harder, progress would slow.
That voice echoed with unrelenting clarity: these two lacked real skills or abilities to contribute. They were nothing but dead weight, dragging me down. Rationally, it made sense to cut them loose.
But as I looked at their weary faces, a fierce turmoil rose within me. Ignoring them now would make me a monster, one who valued cold logic over humanity.
I battled with the weight of my conscience. From what I've been told about my past so far, it wouldn't be wrong of me to leave them behind. It was the clearest and most optimal choice.
But could I really turn my back on those in need?
If I did, what would that say about me?
So I waged war against that voice in my head. I wouldn't allow myself to become a slave to ruthless pragmatism.
I refused to be a monster of logic.
I might not know who I truly am just yet, but I decided then and there that I would be a different Hachiman Hikigaya.
I may have used underhanded and cruel methods in the past, but now, I would do things differently.
The time for apologies was over.
I had to be better.
I might not be human anymore, but I would use whatever powers and abilities I had to help everyone around me. To help them survive this apocalypse.
I had to.
Otherwise, I'd be just another monster like the rest of the infected.
…right?
Minami looked over at her brother, then back at me. Her eyes lowered to my hand, but she remained quiet. I began to worry that she would reject my offer and that she wouldn't be able to look beyond our past. But if she chose that path, I would have no choice but to accept her decision.
But deep inside, I wanted to help her. I wanted her to take my hand.
"…Okay," Minami said, finally grabbing my hand.
I offered her a smile and nodded. I then turned to Shigeo for his answer.
"We'll join you, Hikigaya-San. Please take care of us!" He said and bowed his head.
"Good, welcome to the team," I said and drew my hand back. I stood up and walked over to the edge of the rooftop to look out into the city. With three people now under my care, I couldn't keep traveling the way I had. I needed to consider how we would all move from here on out without putting them all in danger.
I looked down at an intersection and saw a perfectly untouched microvan. Looking back at my group, I saw Shigeo chatting with Rumi while Minami petted Kamakura with a forlorn expression. Walking over to them, I had a grin on my face that set them all on edge. Even Kamakura's ears pulled back with suspicion.
"How do you all feel about roller coasters?"
x x x
Perched on an antenna atop a distant building, a black crow with gnarled vines twisting around its warped body surveyed the scene below. Its single, large yellow eye, surrounded by fiery orange rings, fixated intently on the young man clad in a sleek leather jacket, while ignoring the three humans and a small feline engaged in animated conversation on the rooftop. The crow's sharp beak opened slightly as it chirped, the sound carrying a strange mixture of recognition and zeal as it watched Hachiman.
{Found you.}
Across thousands of miles of turbulent ocean, in a city shrouded in shadows of bloodshed and devastation, there stood a young woman whose vibrant orange hair cascaded down her back, intricately styled into a loose braid that swayed gently in the wind. She donned a sleek, form-fitting black bodysuit that clung to her curves, emphasizing the strength and agility of her physique. Her yellow eyes held the same orange rings as the crow across the world.
The young woman looked down at the streets of New York with a soft smile as she watched large mutated monsters roam the blood-soaked roads. Brawlers with sharp claws and teeth growled as they ran past lumbering Juggernauts, and Hydras hissed throughout Manhattan. In the skies, large mutated birds screeched as they tore across the horizon. The buildings themselves bore flesh-like growths that pulsed, and the streets shared the same grim fate.
"I've found him," the young woman said, her voice soft and angelic. Despite being so far from the ground and the monsters below, they all stopped and looked up at her with reverence. "I've found my King."
Elizabeth Greene looked up at the blood-red sky and stepped forward, allowing gravity to take hold as she fell from the Empire State Building.
From below, the largest of the mutated vultures caught its mother on its back. The vulture screeched as it flapped its mighty wings, a trail of glowing red-orange energy flowing behind it as it glided over New York.
"Destroy it all," Elizabeth said with a smile.
With nothing more to say, the vulture below her screeched and flapped its mighty wings, taking flight toward the east.
A deafening chorus of monstrous howls erupted from below, sending a chill through the heart of the city as if the very ground were warning its inhabitants of impending doom. The earth trembled violently beneath their feet as a legion of grotesque creatures, obedient to their mother's ferocious command, unleashed their devastating power upon everything in their vicinity. Towering skyscrapers swayed uneasily, their steel frameworks groaning in protest before crumbling like sandcastles under the onslaught. Vehicles were swept off the streets, tossed aside like mere toys, while the unfortunate infected humans had no chance of escape, swept away in the surging tide of chaos.
Amidst this pandemonium, colossal Goliath-class monstrosities loomed above, their immense shield-like arms swinging with reckless abandon. They swept through structures with an ease that belied their size, smashing through concrete and glass as if they were made of paper, saturating the air with clouds of dust and debris. The once vibrant city of New York became a haunting silhouette, an echo of life now lost, as the ground beneath them quaked under the sheer magnitude of the destruction.
Up in the sky, Elizabeth sat on the back of her child and continued to observe her other half through the crow's eye.
"Wait for me, my King... I'm coming."
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AN: For my visual readers, my Elizabeth Greene looks like Makima from CSM while dressed in Greene's black bodysuit. No chopped haircuts will be found here.