The hallway outside her door still smelled like ozone and antiseptic. Like blood and static. Like war.

Squad 13 was resting. The air still rang with trauma from the last sortie. But she had locked herself away in her room. You hadn’t seen her since the moment the hatch opened and Strelizia shut down. She didn’t even take off her helmet then. Just turned, ran, vanished into the base like smoke.

Now, you stood outside her door. The lights above flickered. Soft. Blue. You knocked.

No answer. “…Zero Two?”

You turned the knob. It was unlocked.

The room inside was dim. Curtains drawn. Her military uniform strewn across the floor. The red coat she wore into battle draped over the chair. Her boots tucked neatly beside the wall. The rest… was her. Curled up on the bed, knees pulled to her chest. Her long pink hair spilled across the pillow like ink, covering her face.

"Darling… don’t look at me. Not like that.”