At the sound of Haruno's voice, the three of them rushed up from the second-floor cabin to the third-floor helm. There, Haruno lowered her binoculars with a heavy expression and gestured for them to look toward the coastline.

"That's a cargo dock… looks like it used to be a temporary shelter."

Yukino stood at the railing, raising a pair of binoculars she had found aboard the yacht. Following the direction of Haruno's finger, she saw a large area enclosed by makeshift barbed wire fencing. Dozens of black-and-white tents had been set up inside though most had collapsed, leaving barely a dozen still barely upright, slanting at awkward angles. Faintly visible across the canvas were large painted words: Quarantine Zone.

The temporary shelter was now deserted. Not even zombies wandered nearby.

Utaha took the binoculars from Haruno and looked over, her tone tinged with regret. "Who the hell thought it was a good idea to build a shelter in a place like this? The sightlines are terrible, and the whole area is backed by rows and rows of high-rise apartments. If anyone inside turned, a stampede of infected would pour out like a nightmare. Just look at the blood on those tents it's obvious the whole camp was overrun."

Haruno crossed her arms. "Well, it was a temporary shelter. I doubt they expected things to escalate this badly."

Sosuke approached, katana in hand, sighing. "That's why I insisted on leaving Tokyo instead of heading to a 'safe zone.' The bigger the shelter, the harder it is to manage. Especially in the early stages of the outbreak, when no one really grasped the danger. People clung to hope and couldn't wrap their heads around what was happening. Not only did they have to defend against the infected outside, but they were one bite away from a crisis erupting inside too."

"Sosuke, look at the sandbag wall near the entrance. I think I see two mounted machine guns though the barrels are bent," Yukino said, adjusting her binoculars to max zoom and focusing on the shelter's perimeter.

"Even if the barrels weren't ruined, I doubt there's much ammo left," Sosuke replied. "I forgot to mention, I picked up those two grenades at that very dock. Found them on a JSDF soldier who'd already turned. He still had a pistol on his belt, but there was only one round left. I figure that last bullet was meant for himself, but… he couldn't go through with it. There were other guns scattered around the ground too, all emptied. There must've been an intense fight between the cargo dock and the yacht harbor."

He glanced toward the shoreline, sighing again.

"If we're really desperate for weapons, maybe once we reach Chiba, we can make a detour to Narita Airport. During the early outbreak, that place was probably heavily guarded by the JSDF. We might find some functional gear there."

"Let's talk about that later. For now, it's just one step at a time." Utaha handed the binoculars back to Sosuke and waved cheerfully. "I'm gonna go rinse off. The sun's already setting. You two should take turns showering and get dinner started. There's tons of food in the fridge, we're gonna feast tonight."

"Utaha, call me when you're done. I'll help with dinner!" Yukino shouted after her. Sosuke heard Utaha call back, "Got it!" before disappearing down the stairs.

He turned to look at Yukino beside him. The sea breeze tousled her long, raven-black hair like a waterfall, but it couldn't hide the stunning features peeking through the strands. He hesitated, trying to come up with an excuse to follow Utaha downstairs.

"Whoa! Look, it's Mai-san!"

Yukino suddenly lowered her binoculars and pointed excitedly toward a nearby office building. A massive billboard covered most of its exterior.

On it was a young girl barefoot on a beach, wearing a T-shirt and shorts. She held a pair of white sandals in one hand and a peach-colored drink in the other. Her bright smile lit up the whole advertisement.

Sosuke looked up, curious. Sakurajima Mai's face was as pure and beautiful as ever on the billboard. Then he turned slightly toward Yukino. Her windblown hair was tangled across her cheeks, her soft lips brushing against the strands. Despite the fatigue on her face, she was every bit as lovely as the actress on that ad.

Sosuke got so distracted staring that he lost his balance. His elbow slipped from the railing, and he stumbled forward. Yukino reacted instantly, grabbing his arm and steadying him.

She giggled, covering her mouth with one hand. Light danced in her clear eyes.

Sosuke laughed awkwardly, cursing himself internally. We've only been safe for a few minutes and I'm already daydreaming. Must be puberty messing with my head this is all instinct, not me. Totally not me.

Trying to save face, he asked, "Didn't expect you to be a fan of celebrities."

Still smiling, Yukino replied, "Honestly? I haven't had much sleep these past few days. My body's just exhausted."

"It's not really about being a fan," she said after a pause. "Back in elementary and high school, I went through a really tough time. Life was miserable. But after I met Mai-san and learned the truth behind why she took time off school, I started seeing my own hardships differently."

"Oh, and when I say 'met,' I mean in person. I even have her LINE contact saved in my phone."

Yukino brushed her bangs from her face, but the wind blew them right back. She sighed and reached behind her head to hold her hair down, then stood beside Sosuke and whispered, "The situation in Kanagawa is bad too… I wonder if Mai-san is still alive."

Sosuke didn't know how to answer that. In truth, even with his body nearing Second Tier, he couldn't guarantee he'd make it out alive either.

Instead, he asked gently, "Aren't your hands cold?"

"Do you have any string or something I could use to tie up my hair?" Yukino asked. They were already approaching October, and she was still wearing her school uniform from Soubu High. Though the sun was still hanging low in the sky, the sea breeze chilled her exposed hands to the bone.

"I got this," Sosuke said.

He stepped behind her and gathered her long hair into a bundle, carefully tucking it into the collar of her uniform to stop the wind from messing it up again. Then he leaned closer.

"How's that?" he asked softly.

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