Bio Defense ~A City Built in a World That Has Ended~

Chapter 2-3

After Kanata and his friends finished talking with Matsushiba, they were guided by Tachibana to the back of the building, where they were told to wait in the warehouse until the preparations were complete. As they went deeper into the building, the construction became simpler, and they could see men in work clothes moving around busily.

At the end of the corridor, there was a metal door, and the workers were going in and out of it, so it was probably the entrance to the warehouse.

When they opened the heavy door, they found themselves in a large space with piles of cardboard boxes stacked in several places.

On the left side, there was a shutter that seemed to be the loading dock they had seen from the outside. Several trucks were lined up, and it seemed they were in the middle of loading.

On the right side, there were also many cardboard boxes stacked, but next to them, about a dozen people who didn’t look like workers were gathered together, looking anxious.

These people were probably the evacuees, and they were silently watching Kanata and his friends, who had been brought in by Tachibana.

At that moment, a person who had been sitting dejectedly a little away from them, upon seeing Kanata and his friends, showed a look of surprise and stumbled as they stood up.

“Kanata!”

As they shouted, they ran towards Kanata.

“Haruka?!”

The unexpected reunion in this place made Kanata think of various things, such as why she was here and how glad he was that she was safe. As Haruka came closer, Kanata was shocked to see her appearance. Her clothes were covered in mud and blood, and she looked like she had suffered a serious injury. From the way she ran, it seemed that the blood was not her own, but Kanata trusted that Haruka was not the kind of person to use force indiscriminately. Whether her opponent was a human or an infected person, Kanata couldn’t help but feel his heart tighten as he imagined what she had been through.

Kanata, who was speechless and in a daze, was suddenly embraced by Haruka, who ran into his chest with all her might.

Kanata, who hadn’t expected Haruka’s actions, couldn’t react in time, and the two of them fell backward together.

“Whoa, what’s going on, Haruka?”

“I’m sorry, Kanata.”

Haruka, who was crying, clung to Kanata’s chest and kept repeating the words “I’m sorry.”

Kanata had never seen Haruka, who was usually calm and strong-willed, expose her emotions so openly in front of others since she was a child. Haruka, whom Kanata had always thought of as a steadfast and strong woman, now felt very fragile.

Kanata gently put his hand on Haruka’s back and stroked it gently, trying to calm her down.

“It’s okay, Haruka. What happened? You can tell me later, when you’re ready.”

As Kanata said this, he thought of various “worst-case scenarios,” which he was afraid to hear, but he knew he had to.

After a few minutes, Haruka’s voice began to fade, and eventually, she sniffled a few times and gently moved away from Kanata, standing up.

“I’m sorry… I never expected to meet you here…”

“It’s okay. So, what happened, Haruka? Your clothes…”

Haruka, who was blushing slightly as she apologized, Kanata asked her gently. Haruka was rubbing her hands together in front of her body or her arms, looking uncomfortable.

Still, Kanata waited silently, and eventually, Haruka began to speak, her voice strained.

“You see… Hinata-chan went out to look for you… I followed her, but I couldn’t find her… and then those things attacked me… I ran for my life, and these people saved me.”

As Kanata listened to Haruka’s story, his head began to spin, but he managed to calm down. It was not only that Hinata had gone out to look for Kanata, but also that Haruka had followed her and encountered the infected, leading to a battle.

Hinata could have been in the same situation. Kanata glanced at where Haruka had been sitting, and there were two wooden swords (bokken) placed there. One of them was Haruka’s favorite, which she used for practice. Kanata recognized it, and it was half-stained with a dark red color…

According to Haruka, after learning about the situation at the dojo, she had accidentally mentioned that Kanata might be there, which caused Hinata to rush out, and Haruka felt responsible for that. Kanata didn’t think it was Haruka’s fault, and especially after seeing Haruka’s current state, he couldn’t bring himself to blame her. If Haruka had been bitten… Kanata tried to push that thought out of his mind and put his hand on Haruka’s shoulder as he spoke.

“Of course, I’m worried about Hinata, but it’s not your fault. It’s Hinata’s responsibility for going off on her own. Besides, you had your grandfather with you, right? If you had consulted with him, things might have turned out differently.

I’m not in a position to say this, as I’m the one who caused the worry in the first place. So, the responsibility ultimately lies with me! So, even if… something happened to Hinata, it’s not your fault. Understand? You’re not to blame, Haruka. Thank you for going to such lengths for Hinata… I’ll find her, I promise.”

As Kanata said this, Haruka looked down and nodded slightly, and it seemed like she was a little more at ease, as she began to cry softly again.

Subaru and Daigo also offered words of comfort, albeit quietly.

Looking at Haruka again, Kanata noticed that she was covered in the blood of the infected, which concerned him. Although it seemed to be mostly dry… he still worried about the possibility of infection.

Tachibana, who seemed to understand Kanata’s concern, explained as she placed a thin blanket on Haruka’s shoulders.

“There’s no need to worry. It has been determined that infection only occurs when one is directly injured. It seems that the infection loses its power when it comes into contact with the air. We’ve given everyone a simple test, and of course, no one here, including Haruka-san, has been infected. I did explain this, but…”

Tachibana said this, glancing around and lowering her eyes. Haruka, who had been sitting apart from the other evacuees when they entered, must have been anxious despite the explanation.

Kanata couldn’t bring himself to blame her, but he felt a sense of helplessness.

“If there’s no problem, that’s good… By the way, do you know about the safe zone and all that, Haruka?”

When Kanata asked this, Tachibana shook her head with her eyes closed and said, “No, I haven’t told her. Haruka-san is just an evacuee here. If you don’t mind, please tell her yourself. So that she can make a careful judgment, including the choice she will make later.”

“I understand.”

Kanata nodded at Tachibana’s answer, and she returned to the back, probably to continue with the preparations.

After that, they all moved to the side of the room and sat on the floor, telling Haruka what they had heard earlier. She was surprised, but in the end, she decided to go with them and talk to her family about it.

In the meantime, several groups of evacuees boarded the trucks and left.

Eventually, it was Kanata and his friends’ turn.

They decided on the route they would take, based on the direction of their homes and the places they wanted to visit, and the two trucks carrying Kanata, Haruka, Digo, and Subaru, along with a van carrying Hinotori employees, set off together.

—

“Oh, turn right there.”

Kanata was sitting in the passenger seat of a large truck owned by the Hinotori Foundation. The truck was heading towards the Kenzaki household, following Kanata’s instructions. Later, they would also go to Haruka’s house and the Nishina Dojo.

As the surroundings began to look familiar, Kanata felt a sense of reality, realizing that he was approaching his home. They had gone as far as their respective workplaces and the game center that Kanata had planned to visit, but it was difficult to get close. There were many infected people wandering around, but there were very few cars parked in the parking lot of the company where Kanata’s parents worked, and they couldn’t find Hinata. Kanata could only hope that his family had managed to escape early on.

Eventually, the truck arrived in front of Kanata’s house, and the driver pulled up to the side of the house. Kanata, trying to control his impatience, opened the door carefully so as not to wake Haruka, who was sleeping next to him, and ran towards the entrance. At the same time, several men who had been accompanying them got out of the car, holding weapons like iron pipes, and began to guard the area.

“Dad, Mom, Hinata!”

Kanata called out loudly as he opened the door, not even taking off his shoes, and entered the house in his shoes.

“Please be safe…” Kanata prayed as he called out repeatedly, going through every room, but contrary to his hopes, there was no response, and he couldn’t find his family…

“No…”

Kanata, who had somehow expected them to be there, felt his strength draining from him, but Tachibana, who had come over at some point, spoke to him.

“There’s a good chance they’ve managed to evacuate somewhere. Please leave your contact information and pack your bags as planned. We can’t wait too long, but reports say that the infected are sensitive to sound and will stubbornly follow you. They’re also in this area, though not as many.”

Tachibana said this and began to stick the paper she had prepared, which had the location of the Hinotori evacuation site written on it, in a visible place. It also included the contact information and a message written by Kanata himself, stating that if his family could make contact with Hinotori, they would be brought to Kanata’s location.

Kanata was overwhelmed by the kindness shown to him and quickly packed his belongings into the bag that had been handed to him, planning to visit Haruka’s house and the Nishina Dojo later, before returning to the truck.