As the neon lights flickered overhead in Cyber City, the evening air felt unusually warm, enveloping Major Motoko Kusanagi like a gentle embrace. She stepped into the modest gathering space where Elyse had set up her storytelling event, a welcoming haven amid the towering steel and glass that typically defined her surroundings. Batou had insisted she come, nudging her out of her solitude with such tender persistence that she couldn’t refuse. Now, standing just inside the door, she felt that familiar twinge of anxiety creep in with the shadows around her.