November has come, and with the skies turning ever more grey and the nights turning ever darker, the streets of Mitakihara have become silent. Gone are the traffic congestions, the busy pedestrians and the patrolling soldiers, replaced by the occasional cyclist nervously looking over his shoulder as he pushes forward his bike, loaded with rations from one of the supply points erected around town. As the empty streets are illuminated by the rising sun, a girl and a boy are wandering towards Amajikari Park, not even bothering to look up when the peace is disturbed by the sound of an explosion in the background. Holding onto a large pile of papers and dressed in a thick coat, scarf and a surprisingly fashionable hat — courtesy of her sister — the girl checks her phone for the time, while the boy trains behind her and sighs.

Yosuke: You do know the internet’s still perfectly functional, right? I mean, you guys have Internet at home, right? Cause… I can go online whenever I want. They haven’t, like, cut the lines or anything.

Koharu: Ten percent of the population is over the age of seventy. Don’t know how to use a smartphone. Let alone a computer. Deserve to know what is going on as much as anyone else does. (she waves the pile of paper she’s holding into Yosuke’s face) Printouts.

Yosuke: You’re a surprisingly shrewd businesswoman, senpai…

Koharu: Journalism for profit isn’t journalism.

Yosuke: Wait, we’re delivering these things all over town for free? (he groans) There’s a limit to the number of errands you can drag me into, you know! You think I don’t have better things to do?

Koharu: You insisted on coming along.

Yosuke: … Point taken. Just saying, we could make a pretty penny off of these things, you know. You might think it’s scummy, but desperate times, desperate measures and all that. Your efforts are worth a little compensation, I’d say.

Koharu: Even if we asked to get paid. What would we spend the money on? Look around you.

Yosuke: … Things aren’t going to be like this forever.

Koharu: (she turns to face Yosuke, staring at him for what feels like a good few seconds)  Easy for you to say.

Yosuke: Look, I’m worried about you, senpai. The way things are right now… It’s not exactly a walk in the park. Especially for — I mean, you’re always keeping a level head. It’s like people’ve come to expect that from you.

Koharu: … Your point?

Yosuke: My point is… It’s not fair you have to, like, everyone’s rock here—

Koharu: Rock?

Yosuke: It’s a metaphor. It means you—

Koharu: I know what it means. It doesn’t apply to me.

Yosuke: I think it does. I mean, you’re doing this, using your talents to help turn this shitshow into something resembling a society again. I don’t see a lot of people our age doing that.

Koharu: Half the school is helping out at some soup kitchen or another—

Yosuke: Yeah, but I mean like, you seem to be so unaffected. Like … like, you have to be the strong one. For everyone. And I just don’t think that’s fair. Hayama-senpai has a girlfriend to rely on — a-and that’s totally fine, I mean, that’s normal for a teenager — w-well, maybe not that normal, what with— like, I mean, you don’t see two girls being together that often, or at least not as much as you ought to — n-not that I’m some kind of voyeur or anything—

Koharu: Get to the point.

Yosuke: Well, there’s a reason you didn’t ask Sasaki-senpai, right?

Koharu: Hanako is out of town.

Yosuke: Eh, I dunno if you’ve seen the blockades, but, err, no one’s getting out of—

Koharu: She left before the city was quarantined.

Yosuke: You sure about that? I mean, sure, but I saw her mom at a Citizen’s Council meeting, like, yesterday.

Koharu: Why were you at a Citizen’s Council meeting?

Yosuke: … I’m a citizen?

Koharu: Hanako left town alone. She told me.

Yosuke: … And you believe that? I mean, I don’t blame her for wanting to hole up in her room, it’s just… Kinda messed up she’d lie about being out of town because she doesn’t want to have to— How do I put this… I guess she just kind of doesn’t want to deal with all of this, but she’s scared you might be a bit… insistent? Which like, you should be, right? I mean… sounds to me she’s trying to kinda… you know, push you away? After all you did for her?

Koharu: (she frowns, responding bluntly) What do you have against Hanako?

Yosuke: Me? Err, nothing. I think she’s pretty cute—err, neat. I think she’s pretty neat. I just acknowledge she has… *that side* of her. I mean, so do you, right? We’re not deluding ourselves.

Koharu: Hanako would not lie to me. Ever.

Yosuke: That’s… good to hear. I’m glad you’ve got someone you can trust like that. Can’t say I’m not jealous, though…

Koharu: …

Yosuke: It’s… pretty cool to have a… friend like that.

Koharu turns to face her companion again, her nose red from the cold and her mouth buried in the scarf, glaring at him like an angry heap of laundry. Yosuke can’t help but chuckle.

Koharu: What.

Yosuke: You look kinda funny in that scarf.

Koharu: It’s cold.

Yosuke: It’s not that cold.

For a second, his disarming gaze catches her, before she scoffs, turning back around and stomping around the corner, towards the entrance of the park. Amajikari Park is the closest thing the city has left that in any way resembled a social spot. Several stalls have been set up around the large playground in the middle of the park, some of them handing out tea, coffee or food supplies brought in from outside the city in some of the increasingly more infrequent deliveries still allowed to pass through the blockade the JSDF have set out on Mitakihara border. Other stalls offer haircuts, first aid or second-hand clothing and toys — all of it free, or traded for other goods and services. The Citizens’ Council sees to it no opportunists swooped in to profit off of the city’s misery.

As soon as she enters the marketplace, Koharu scuttles towards the first stall she sees and promptly gives a good dozen or so of her newsletters a prominent spot on its makeshift counter.

Koharu: Give every customer one of these. Newsletter.

Yosuke: If they don’t have one already, of course. Paper’s expensive.

Ueno turns around, bent over a crate full of bread and other baked goods in the back of the stall she attends. She straightens up, pressing on her lower back to stretch.

Ueno: Oh, Shirahara-san… uh, sure. Paper being expensive… geeze, it’s like the dang Asuka period when we could barely make it. 

Koharu: Ignore him.

Yosuke: You know this girl, senpai?

Koharu: Friend of Hanako’s. Long story.

Ueno: Uh, y-yeah. I might be coming to your school before long! Well… at least, I would be normally. Not with the city like this…

Yosuke: What school did you go to before this?

Ueno: Inekari, across town… but some stuff has changed with my family and I’d like to be with my friends. Well, when I can again. 

Yosuke: Well, we’ll be happy to have you. Bet you’re looking forward to joining Sasaki-senpai at the Newspaper Cl—

Koharu: (she shoots him a vicious glare) Go take photos. Don’t need help distributing these. (she shoos Yosuke away, before turning to Ueno) … Any place here where I can borrow a… (she squints at something that has been scribbled on her hand) … blood pressure monitor? Mom needs one.

Ueno: Well, uh… those are probably pretty expensive and rare, so I dunno if they’d let you walk off with one… but I know there are some doctors running a service over in the fountain plaza. If anyone has one, it’d be them! 

Koharu: I know they’re expensive. ‘S just how stuff works now.

Koharu’s gaze shifts aside when she hears shouting a few stalls away. In front of a stall handing out what appears to be packets of dry noodles, a large man stands towering over one of the volunteers, backed up by a good dozen of his comrades.

Frightening man: — there ain’t no fuckin’ rules no more, lady! And we’re hungry, so we’re takin’ what we need!

People in the crowd gasp and step back as the frightening man slams his fist onto the counter.

Frightening man: What’re y’all lookin’ at, huh? This’s how it’s fuckin’ done now!

Yosuke: (he steps forward) Hold on a second, it doesn’t have to be this way. You’ll get your fair share, but w-what gives you the right to take food that belongs to the community all for yourself, huh?

Frightening man: An’ who ever said that this food belongs to the “community”, huh, four-eyes? Look around ya. There ain’t no goddamn community.

Yosuke: As long as we m—(he is interrupted by Koharu kicking his leg) Ow!

Koharu: (she hisses) Don’t do this.

Frightening man: (he turns to Koharu) That bread’s lookin’ way too big for ya, girl. Ya gonna eat that all by yerself? I think you oughta do what yer boyfriend says and share it with the community.

Yosuke: (he gets up in the man’s face) Go start your dumbass trouble somewhere else, man. How old are you, twelve? Leave her alone, or I swear to God I will—

The next thing Yosuke feels is the man’s fist in his stomach, then a kick from one of his companions. People in the crowd start screaming and run away, as the rest of the troublemaker’s entourage begin stuffing whatever they can get their hands on into their bags and pockets. Before the man can deliver another kick to Yosuke’s stomach, Koharu manages to throw her pile of newsletters into his face.

Frightening man: Argh! Goddamnit!

A hand comes down on the man’s shoulder from behind. Kohaku stands behind him, a fake smile on her face. She is flanked by three burly men, JSDF officers in plain clothes. 

Kohaku: Hey, friend. We can’t have that kind of conduct here. This park is for the benefit of everyone, not any one person. 

The man turns around, looking up at Kohaku with a raised eyebrow and backing away a few steps, confused as to what is going on.

Frightening man: Says who? You some kinda cop or anything? This city don’t recognize your authority no more.

One of the other troublemakers speaks up, his voice hoarse and squeaky and his hands balled up into fists, somewhere between cheering on his friend and getting ready to throw down.

Troublemaker: Yeah, what are ya gonna do, huh?

As the unruly gang gets rowdier and rowdier, firing each other on with taunts targeting Kohaku and her colleagues, Koharu trots up to Yosuke, still squirming on the ground as he clutches his stomach.

Koharu: Trouble brewing. Can you stand?

Yosuke: … Could use a hand. (he holds out his arm for Koharu to pull him back to his feet)

Koharu: Unlikely.

Yosuke: One day, maybe. (he gets up on his own, a the troublemakers are distracted surrounding Kohaku and her men)

Kohaku: I’m here as a peacekeeper, but… if you lot want to decide this by strength, I can do that for you. 

Frightening man: You don’t wanna get into a fight with us, lady.

Kohaku: No. But I’ll do what I have to do for my duty. 

The squeaky-voiced hothead steps forwards, compensating for his diminutive stature with wide gestures

Troublemaker: Huh? What duty? To whom? You do know yer bosses skipped town days ago, right? Ain’t no one gonna pay you for doin’ this. Ain’t no one gonna punish ya for lookin’ the other way. Who’re you doin’ this for? You some kinda monk or somethin’? Lookin’ out for nirvana?

Frightening man: No one in this town wants yer kind around no more, lady. Do us all a favor an’ scram, or we will do our duty.

Kohaku: (she chuckles at the smaller man’s remark about monks) You all say funny things. You’d do better to take up a comedy act. That’d really improve the morale around here.

Frightening man: We ain’t got time for this shit. We’re takin’ this food.

As if on command, the frightening man’s cronies snatch the food off the table, sweeping it all into the bags they are carrying. A gunshot rings out, fired into the ground. The soldiers behind Kohaku rush forward, along with several more who were mixed into the crowd until now, blocking the men from stealing the food.

Kohaku: You’re going over your food-per-customer, and you know it. And causing trouble while you’re at it. I can’t let you do that.

Troublemaker: T-They have guns!

Frightening man: Not for long they will! How many times do we gotta tell you there ain’t no laws like that no more, eh?

As he says this, the man rushes forward to try and take Kohaku’s gun from her, though his imposing posture easily telegraphes what he is trying to do.

Kohaku: (She crouches down, grabbing the man’s outstretched arm as he approaches and pitching him over her shoulder in a judo throw)

Frightening man: Aah! (the man screams in pain and surprise as he is thrown to the ground, causing some of his companions to dart forwards in equally desperate attempts to fight off Kohaku’s squad)

Yosuke: (an altercation breaks out and Yosuke grabs Koharu’s wrist) We’re getting out of here. No buts—

Koharu: (she tries to wrest herself loose from Yosuke’s grip, but to little avail) Let go of me— But—

Yosuke: No buts!