Mahiro watched in horror as the last soldier collapsed, his body shriveling as though all the moisture had been sucked out of him. The Phantom Lurker let out another eerie wail before disappearing into the shadows, leaving nothing but the lifeless bodies of the Combine soldiers behind.
Mahiro knew he couldn't stay in the forest much longer. The Race X creatures were growing bolder, and the Combine presence only made things worse. He had to find the Resistance base, and fast.
Mahiro finally reached an old, crumbling building at the edge of the forest. It was covered in vines and overgrown with alien growths, but it was clearly an old Resistance outpost. The structure, once sturdy and vital, now looked like a forgotten relic, the outside plastered with patches of moss and strange, pulsating alien tendrils.
As he approached, the door creaked open with a rusty groan, and standing there in the doorway, grinning like a child who had just pulled a prank, was Asahi. She leaned against the doorframe, a carefree smirk plastered across her face as her rifle hung loosely over her shoulder.
"Mahiron! You look like you just crawled out of a zombie movie!" Asahi giggled, waving him inside with a wide, cheeky grin.
Mahiro blinked, still catching his breath, disbelief washing over him. "Asahi? What are you doing here?!" His voice rose in incredulity, half expecting this to be some strange dream.
Asahi puffed out her chest proudly, tapping her rifle like it was some toy she had brought to show off. "Saving your butt, obviously! I've been picking off those alien thingies while you were busy getting lost." She paused, giving him an exaggerated, teasing look. "You should've seen your face when that Crag Stalker lunged at you! It was like you'd seen a ghost!"
Mahiro groaned, running a hand down his face. Even in the middle of an alien-infected wasteland, Asahi was just so... Asahi. "This is serious, Asahi! We need to regroup with Kaede and Momiji. Where are they?"
Asahi cocked her head, tapping her chin with a finger as if she was pretending to be deep in thought. "Hmm... Oh! Right! They're in the secret lab or whatever. I've been hanging around, waiting for you, big bro. Figured you'd need a hand, considering how bad you are at survival stuff." She beamed at him, clearly entertained by her own teasing.
Mahiro sighed, rubbing his temples. "This isn't a game, Asahi. We could die out here." His words came out sharper than intended, but the weight of the situation pressed down on him like a lead blanket. He was exhausted, mentally and physically.
Asahi just laughed, completely unfazed. "Don't worry, Mahiron! I'll make sure you don't get squished by any big, bad aliens." She patted his shoulder in an exaggerated, mock-reassuring way, as if she was the older, more experienced one. "Besides," she added with a wink, "you'd be lost without me. Admit it!"
Mahiro shook his head, feeling his frustration boil over. "You really don't get it, do you? This is life and death! One wrong move and—" He gestured toward the forest behind them. "You saw those things! Do you have any idea how close I came to—"
But Asahi interrupted with a bright, playful smile. "Relax! You worry way too much, Mahiron. That's why I'm here to help. You know, keep you out of trouble like always." She gave him a little nudge, her usual high-energy attitude on full display.
Mahiro stared at her, dumbfounded. "Me? Getting into trouble? You're the one who—" He stopped himself, realizing it was pointless. Asahi was always going to be Asahi, no matter the situation. Whether they were battling aliens or just surviving another school day, her carefree nature never wavered. He couldn't help but feel a small smile tug at the corner of his lips.
