Akira's POV
The gate was in the industrial district, which meant the surrounding street was empty at six in the morning except for a delivery truck parked two blocks down and a gate monitor running his overnight log on a folding chair near the perimeter. He looked up when I arrived, checked my authorization card, and went back to his log without comment. D-rank solo clearance. Routine check.
I stood at the perimeter for a moment before going in. I had stopped hesitating at gate entries after the wolf because hesitation at a gate entry was a particular kind of self-indulgence that the gate was not going to accommodate. I stood there because I had developed the habit of taking one full breath before entry, not for calm, not for courage, just to mark the transition between outside and inside, to give my attention the second it needed to fully arrive.
Then I went in.
***
The interior was what the classification said it would be.
