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

Chapter 2-5

“Hey, Kanata. Are you awake?”

Haruka spoke in a hushed voice.

“Yeah… I can’t seem to sleep. I usually fall asleep anywhere, but…”

As Kanata replied, he heard a soft laugh. Seeing Haruka’s calm demeanor, Kanata felt a little relieved. Since their reunion at Hinotori, Haruka had been rather withdrawn.

“This place is a bit cramped, isn’t it? How about over there?”

“Well, it’s certainly tight, but I guess we can’t complain.”

After all, their main purpose was to transport supplies, and they were just along for the ride. They couldn’t ask for luxury.

Kanata said this, but there was no response from Haruka. Just as he began to think she had fallen asleep, she replied.

“Hey, let’s get rid of the cardboard in between. That way, we’ll have a little more space, and we can sleep in a more comfortable position.”

“W-wait, then we’ll be in the same room!”

Kanata quickly protested, but Haruka showed no signs of panic as she continued.

“We can just put up a curtain as a divider. Come on, let’s take the cardboard from your side and place it on the corridor side.”

Before Kanata could finish speaking, he heard the sound of Haruka moving the cardboard from the other side. The thought of having a curtain as a divider between them made Kanata feel a bit awkward. As he hesitated, Haruka’s side of the cardboard was moved, and one box from Kanata’s side was quickly pulled back. Haruka’s mischievous smile appeared.

“What are you doing? You’re so slow. As a man, aren’t you embarrassed to make the girls do all the heavy lifting?”

“Hah! I gave you a handicap. Watch me, I’ll move the rest all by myself!”

Seeing Haruka’s smile, which he hadn’t seen in a long time, Kanata felt a sense of joy. Pretending to be provoked, he started moving the cardboard. Eventually, the newly created room had a width of two cardboard boxes each, which was surprisingly spacious.

“See, it’s much roomier now. If we put the curtain like this in the middle… yeah, it looks good, doesn’t it?”

Haruka quickly rearranged the curtain’s fasteners, and the single space was once again divided into two slightly larger spaces.

“Well, goodnight.”

Haruka poked her head out from behind the curtain and said cheerfully, then she seemed to lie down.

Kanata also lay down, trying to hide his unease. Indeed, the current space allowed him to stretch his legs comfortably, and it was quite… no, very comfortable.

“This is really nice. I think I can sleep now.”

He said this without expecting a reply. Was she already asleep, or did she not hear him? Well, he might as well try to sleep. As he closed his eyes, he could hear Haruka’s breathing and movements through the curtain.

(No way I can sleep!)

Even though they were childhood friends, things were different now. There was no way he could sleep soundly with a girl sleeping next to him, separated only by a thin curtain!

As he complained in his head, he couldn’t help but feel resentful towards Haruka for falling asleep so quickly.

Damn it, while you were able to quickly go to sleep, what about me…? That was where I felt an odd sensation.

When I concentrated and listened closely, it wasn’t the sound of breathing. Sometimes, it turned into a trembling breath, and with each time, I could faintly hear the sound of fabric rubbing as ifher arm was gently moving.

If you were to ask people who know Haruka from school or elsewhere about their impression of her, they would probably say something like ‘resolute,’ ‘calm,’ or ‘strong’ would come to mind. She has a sharp expression, so she gives off an impression of being resolute, and there’s also an image of her responding calmly. She definitely has the strength to not take even one step back when facing a guy. Haruka herself is trying to maintain that image, so Kanata too has completely been viewing her like that… but…

To someone like me, who has known her for a long time… There was a day like that. There’s no need to force herself to act. When Kanata thought about it, he felt a little frustrated.

“Hey, Haruka, you’re awake, right?”

There was a slight movement as he spoke, and after a moment, Haruka replied.

“What is it? Can’t sleep? Once we arrive, we’ll be busy, so make sure to get some rest. I know you’re nervous because there’s a beautiful woman sleeping next to you, but just so you know, trespassing is punishable by death, no questions asked.”

Haruka’s reply was intentionally bright and boastful. Ignoring her, Kanata continued.

“You know, back when we were in elementary school, there was an overnight stay at the dojo, and Amane-senpai brought this super gory zombie movie that we all watched secretly. Remember?”

“What are you talking about? Yeah, that happened. Some of the younger kids started crying, and… come to think of it, you were scared too, weren’t you?”

Haruka’s voice carried a hint of laughter as she recalled the memory.

“That’s right. I remember thinking that zombies were scary even then. Today, I was trying my best to hold it together.”

“It didn’t look like it.”

“I was trying hard! Back then, I couldn’t sleep because I was scared, but I was too embarrassed to tell anyone… I was about to cry when you held my hand without saying a word. It made me feel so much better, and I was able to sleep.”

“………….”

“Actually, since that time, I’ve somehow developed a fear of zombies. Today was especially intense. And, well, I wasn’t really able to sleep earlier. It’s just… well, our territory is free, I guess? So, uh… haha…”

As he spoke, Kanata became more and more incoherent, eventually laughing it off.

“…………mhm.”

A soft hand gently reached through the curtain. Kanata held it warmly with both hands, squeezing it slightly tighter, then loosening his grip with one hand. Haruka squeezed his hand back.

“Sorry, Haruka. And please keep this a secret… I’d appreciate it.”

“……….yeah.”

“Thank you, Haruka. Goodnight.”

“……….mhm.”

Haruka thought to herself, feeling the warmth in her right hand. (You said that, but I know from Hinata-chan that you’ve been watching zombie movies all the time since then.)

She replied in her head, calling out Kanata’s lie. However, the larger hand that enveloped her right hand gave her the same sense of security as it did back then. In fact, she was just as scared and unable to sleep then as she was now. The fear of the infected, who kept advancing despite being hit with all their might with a wooden sword, was the same terror that Hinata might be experiencing now. Those thoughts kept coming to her mind, and she couldn’t stop shaking. But now… she felt like she could sleep.

“Goodnight, Kanata. Thank you.”

Haruka pretended to be asleep, listening intently for a while. She heard Kanata’s peaceful breathing, and she felt relieved.

However, Kanata’s blood pressure and body temperature was rising. While he thought he could finally sleep soundly, he became aware of the warmth in his left hand, and it took a little longer for him to fall asleep.