The underground tunnel trembled violently as the Apex Mutation roared somewhere behind them again. Dust fell from the ceiling while rusted pipes shook endlessly above the narrow maintenance corridor. Red emergency lights flickered weakly across the wet concrete floor as Arata and Akari continued moving deeper into the darkness beneath the university.

Neither of them spoke for several minutes.

Only their footsteps echoed through the tunnel, And somehow—The silence between them no longer felt uncomfortable.

Akari walked beside him quietly while gripping the metal bat against her shoulder again. Her injuries still slowed her movements slightly, but she stubbornly refused to complain about the pain.

Arata already noticed she hated appearing weak, Even exhausted, she forced herself to stand straight.

To keep moving, To survive, The distant roar echoed again, Closer.

Akari frowned slightly. "...That thing seriously doesn’t give up."

"Yeah." he replied.

"You always answer with one word?" Akari said .

"Usually." Arata said m

"...You’d be terrible at normal conversations."

Arata glanced toward her briefly. "You talk enough for both of us."

Akari looked offended instantly. "...I barely talk."

"That’s concerning if this is your quiet version."

For one brief second—A tiny laugh escaped her, Soft, Small, Almost unnoticeable, But Arata heard it, Akari immediately looked away afterward like she regretted it instantly.

"...Forget that happened." she said

"Too late." Arata replied.

"...Annoying."

The atmosphere became strangely lighter afterward, Not safe, Not peaceful, But lighter.

The tunnel ahead eventually widened into an older underground railway maintenance station abandoned long before the apocalypse. Rusted train tracks stretched endlessly into darkness while broken vending machines and maintenance equipment remained scattered across the platform area.

Rainwater dripped steadily through cracks in the ceiling far above.

The station looked dead, But compared to the collapsing parking structure behind them—

It felt safer For now.

Arata carefully scanned the area before lowering his weapon slightly.

"We’ll stop here for a little while." he said.

Akari looked around cautiously. "...You think the mutation lost us?"

"No." he replied calmly.

"...That’s comforting."

"But this place gives us space to fight if necessary."

Akari nodded quietly afterward.Both slowly moved deeper into the abandoned station before finally stopping near an old waiting area filled with broken benches and shattered advertisements.

One old family advertisement still hung crookedly against the wall nearby.

A smiling mother, A laughing child, A happy family, Arata’s eyes paused there silently.

And for the first time since meeting him—

Akari noticed something strange, Pain, Not physical pain, Something deeper.

His expression changed only slightly, Most people wouldn’t notice it.

But Akari did, Because she spent years studying expressions, Human emotions.

Trauma, And the moment Arata looked at that old advertisement—His eyes became distant.

Lost, Akari sat quietly nearby while pretending not to notice immediately.

But eventually—

"...You had a family before all this?"

Arata remained silent, The dripping water echoed softly through the abandoned station.

Then finally—

"...Yeah." Short answer, But his voice sounded different now.

Lower, Heavier. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Akari leaned slightly against the broken wall beside her while watching him quietly.

"...You don’t talk about them much."

Silence again. Then Arata slowly sat on one of the broken benches nearby while staring toward the dark railway tracks ahead.

"...There’s not much to talk about."

Akari immediately knew that was a lie, Not because he wanted to hide information.

Because the memories hurt too much to touch, She understood that feeling.

The station remained quiet except for distant thunder echoing faintly through the underground.

Then unexpectedly—Arata spoke again.

"...When I was little..." Akari looked toward him silently.

"...I used to smile a lot."

Her eyes widened slightly, For some reason—

That sentence felt impossible to imagine, The current Arata felt too calm, Too emotionally distant, Too controlled.

Yet somehow—Hearing those words made something ache strangely inside her chest.

Arata lowered his eyes quietly afterward while memories slowly resurfaced inside his mind.

"...My mother used to complain that I talked too much."

The corner of his mouth almost moved slightly.

"She said I asked questions every five seconds."

Akari stayed silent while listening carefully.

And slowly—For the first time—The real Arata began appearing beneath the cold survivor everyone knew.

"I used to run everywhere instead of walking." His voice remained quiet. "My father got tired of chasing me constantly."

The underground station faded around him as old memories slowly resurfaced.

Warm sunlight, Laughter, Normal life.

A small boy running through crowded streets while holding his mother’s hand tightly.

A father laughing nearby, Simple memories.

The kind people never appreciate until they disappear forever.

Arata stared silently toward the dark train tracks ahead.

"...We weren’t rich." His voice sounded calmer now.

"But my mother always made our apartment feel warm."

Akari quietly listened without interrupting.

"She cooked too much food every night." A faint tired smile almost appeared briefly. "Even when we couldn’t afford it."

Another memory surfaced. A small apartment kitchen filled with warm light.His mother scolding him gently for stealing food before dinner.

His father laughing in the background while reading newspapers after work.Simple happiness, Real happiness.Something Arata barely remembered anymore.

"...My father worked constantly." Arata lowered his eyes slightly. "But he still came home smiling every day."

Akari noticed his hands tightening slightly now.Like he was struggling just to continue talking.

Then finally— "...One night everything changed."

The warmth disappeared from his voice instantly, Cold silence filled the station again.

Akari already understood what came next.

But she stayed quiet, Because some pain needed space.Rain echoed softly somewhere above the underground tunnels. Arata stared toward nothing.

"...There was an accident." His voice barely changed.But somehow that made it worse.

"A truck driver lost control during heavy rain."

Akari’s chest tightened slightly.

"...My parents died before I reached the hospital."

Silence, Heavy silence, The underground station suddenly felt colder, Much colder.

Arata’s expression remained calm while speaking, Too calm, Like someone repeating memories they buried too deeply years ago.

"I remember sitting alone in the hospital hallway afterward." His eyes looked distant now. "Everyone kept talking around me."

Doctors, Police, Relatives, Voices everywhere, But none of it felt real.

Because one small boy sat alone in a hospital corridor still waiting for his parents to walk back through the door somehow.

"but , They never did."

Akari quietly lowered her eyes, Arata continued staring ahead silently.

"...After that..."

He stopped briefly, Like the next words hurt even more.

"...Everything became difficult."

The memories kept returning now, One after another, Cold apartments, Bills stacking endlessly, Relatives arguing about responsibility, Whispers, Pity, Annoyance.

Nobody wanted to raise another child permanently, Not really.

"I moved between relatives for years." Arata’s voice remained hollow now. "Different homes."

Different rules, Different faces, But nowhere ever felt like home again.

"I stopped talking much after that."

Akari listened quietly while thunder echoed faintly overhead.

"At first everyone thought I was just grieving."

Arata laughed softly, But there was no happiness inside it.

"Then eventually..."His eyes darkened slightly.

"...They stopped asking if I was okay."

That sentence hit Akari harder than expected.

Because she understood it completely, People cared at first.

Then slowly—They moved on, While the pain stayed behind, Arata leaned slightly forward while resting his arms across his knees quietly.

"I worked part-time jobs while studying." His voice sounded tired now. "Convenience stores. Deliveries. Construction."

No complaints, No anger, Just exhaustion.

"I stopped depending on people."

Because depending on people meant losing them eventually, Akari understood now.

That’s why Arata carried responsibility alone.

Why he protected everyone without expecting help.Why he looked emotionally distant even while saving others constantly.Because somewhere along the way—The cheerful boy he once was disappeared.

"...At some point," Arata whispered softly, "...I forgot how to smile naturally."

Silence consumed the underground station afterward.Even the distant thunder outside seemed quieter now.

Akari stared toward him silently, And for the first time—She truly understood him.

Not the fighter, Not the leader, Not the survivor.

Just a lonely boy who lost too much too early.

A boy forced to grow up before understanding what childhood even meant.

The realization hurt strangely inside her chest.

Because despite everything—He still protected others, Still carried people, Still risked himself constantly.

Even after the world took everything from him.

Akari slowly looked away afterward while gripping the bat beside her quietly.

"...That’s unfair."

Arata glanced toward her slightly. "What is?"

"You."

"...Me?"

"You went through all that." Her eyes lowered slightly. "But you still save people."

Arata stayed silent, Akari’s voice became quieter afterward.

"Most people become cruel after suffering."

Another long silence followed.Then Arata answered softly.

"...I almost did."

The honesty inside those words felt painfully real.

Akari looked toward him again.And suddenly—For the first time since meeting him—

She realized something terrifying.

Arata wasn’t emotionally empty, He was emotionally exhausted.There was a difference, A huge difference.The coldness around him wasn’t natural.

It was built slowly over years of loss.Like armor,Necessary armor, Because smiling hurt too much eventually.

Akari lowered her eyes quietly afterward.

"...I think your mother would hate seeing you like this."

Arata froze slightly.The sentence struck him harder than expected.

Because deep down—He knew she was right.

His mother loved his smile more than anything.She constantly told him:

"You look happiest when you laugh."

But now—He couldn’t even remember the last genuine smile he had.

The station became silent again afterward.

Then unexpectedly—Akari slowly stood before walking toward one of the broken vending machines nearby.

After several seconds of struggling—

CLANG.

A dusty canned coffee dropped from the damaged machine somehow.

Akari stared at it triumphantly for one second.

"...I still have skills."

Arata blinked slowly.

"...Did you seriously rob a vending machine during emotional trauma?"

"Yes."

"...Impressive."

She walked back afterward before sitting beside him quietly and handing him the canned coffee.

Arata stared at it briefly.

"...Why?"

Akari looked away awkwardly.

"...You looked like you needed one."

For several seconds—Arata simply stared toward the old coffee can silently.Then something strange happened.

The smallest smile appeared briefly on his face.Tiny, Weak, But real, Akari froze instantly after seeing it.Because suddenly—She could imagine him as that cheerful little boy from long ago.And somehow—That made her chest ache painfully.

"...There," she whispered softly. "You can still smile."

The moment immediately became awkward afterward.Arata looked away instantly.

"That didn’t count."

"It definitely counted."

"No."

"You literally smiled."

"You imagined it."

"...You’re terrible at accepting emotional moments."

Arata opened the canned coffee quietly afterward.

"...Probably."

For some reason—Akari smiled faintly hearing that answer.

Then suddenly—ROOOOOOOAR!!

The Apex Mutation’s roar exploded through the underground station violently, Both stood instantly, The creature finally found them again.

Heavy footsteps echoed across the distant railway tunnel approaching rapidly now. Closer.

Akari tightened her grip around the metal bat immediately.

"...I was starting to enjoy the emotional backstory too."

Arata stood beside her while drawing his weapon calmly.

"...Yeah."

The distant darkness ahead slowly began shaking.The monster was coming, And this time—There was nowhere left to run.