#h...listne

It’s...strangely beautiful.  The city.  

He feels awful for thinking it, even briefly - every building, every street has been ravaged by death and fire and fear.  The structures that haven’t fallen into rubble yet stand on their last legs, some coming down to the structural integrity of a single nail or beam.

But the neon still glows out of its broken glass.  And from the cliff, looking out over it like an observation deck - he can’t make out the ash and blood coating the sidewalk.  

He can see people.  People on his team, led by packs of dogs that sniff out survivors beneath the wreckage.  People building makeshift shelters.  People setting up triage in an old intersection, cooking an incredible amount of food for anyone who might need it.

It’s not an example of how far the world has fallen.  It is a statement of humankind’s tenacity.

Mondo’s legs dangle over the side of the cliff face, and he kicks them out playfully. 

“...Hah.  If you were anyone else, I’d be like...you mean that?  But I know.  I know.” 

“Hope you know the same for me, Kyoudai. I wouldn’t be half the man I am now if I never met you.  Never would’ve thought I could be anything other than destructive.  I was so convinced I’d never amount to anything.  Y’know?”