Daily Life

Despite being wrapped in warm comfort, my body felt like it was sinking to the depths where no light should reach. As a glimmer of hope, a single ray pierced through the darkness.

—

A single touch was all it took to remove the weight to open my eyes.

——

Lying under musty blankets, white strands of hair stuck to my face. I groaned, befitting my child-like appearance.

"Hm...?"

Beyond the moldy window, I heard the rustling of leaves and the afternoon sky. But my attention was drawn to Iyako's dull blue eyes.

"... Iyako?"

She furrowed brows with a blazing stare penetrating my skin, I don't know what I've done to upset her but her glare made me fully wake up.

"I-Iyako... What's up...?" I asked, but she didn't answer. Her white, bushy tail swished from left to right in frustration.

Thinking about it for a while, there were some things that popped up in my mind as it was a common occurrence for Iyako to get annoyed at my habits. Though it was reasonable, I'm just tired and only did things I whatever I wanted to relieve stress. We were the only ones here, so there was no harm in exploiting my profound freedom. But before I could draw my conclusion.

—Rumble*

Although she said nothing, I could already tell by her stomach's rumbling indicating that she hadn't had breakfast yet... or lunch... or maybe both...?

But despite this, I went back to sleep as she could've eaten something herself. So...

"Do it yourself..." I muttered.

"💢❕"

She then popped some veins and dragged me two floors down, forcing me to cook something for her.

- - - - -

—Sizzles*

Hearing the last drop of oil from one of the bottles we stashed, I saw Iyako staring intently at the can of corned beef I was pouring onto the pan.

"You're really looking forward to this, aren't you..."

—Growl*

This time it was my stomach making that noise. And upon hearing it, I could tell from her face that she was saying, "See! Aren't you hungry too!"

"... Shut it..."

It didn't take long to fry the corned beef. This was the quickest method I knew to cook something, Oil it then Fry it. Although Iyako made a puddle of drool on the table, at least she helped prepare the plates.

"Okay... Bring me your—"

Before I could finish I saw her floppy ears twitch and immediately moved so fast as she teleported in front of me.

"✨^✨"

[This girl... I knew we have the same tastes but to this extent...] was my thought seeing her arms stretched forward while the tail behind her wagged intensely.

Plop*

Immediately after getting her share, she returned to her seat, though I just gave her more than half of it. This at least I can do for her...

After getting my portion, I took a seat next to her, I took a glance just to check mood but...

"🌼~🌼——🌼~"

Seeing her smile like this, I guess it didn't feel bad thinking about eating more than once a day from now on.

"... At least slow down a little..." I said under my breath before taking a bite.

...

After we were done eating, we were still inside the same old kitchen. I was washing the dishes while standing on top of a stool while Iyako is sorting out food supplies and choosing what to eat next.

[Until now we've been eating Cornbeef for seven days straight... Though I don't care much about myself... Is she going to be fine?]

Looking at her breakdown knowing we only have one can of Cornbeef left from our stash. Yeah, she's the type of eats your favorite food first rather than saving it for last.

[I guess we're having sardines from now on...] Feeling dejected, as I don't really like fish very much.

Once I finished washing the dishes, I stepped down from the stool and went toward Iyako, who was waiting for me to finish.

"Iyako, I'm going to the library so you can take a bath first."

Her ears drooped in disappointment. From the look on her face, I could tell she wanted to bathe with me.

"You seriously haven't given up on that yet."

"🌧️〰️"

Although we were both girls now, it still felt wrong to see her naked body. Though the same goes for me. Even though I used to be small, the little presence I was used to had become nonexistent.

[Now that's just sad...]

Noticing my mood dropped down, Iyako looked at me quizzically.

" ❔"

"No... It's nothing..." With excuses that a kid like her shouldn't know those things.

- - - - -

Walking through the hallway, where walls of broken glass on one side revealed a caged ruined city and on the other side were corroded blood-stained walls.

"🌼~"

Seeing Iyako skipping whilst accompanying me to the upper floor, made this usual scenario surreal. Though we did our best to clean this place, we only explored the Rooftop down to the Cafeteria. It may sound like we explored a lot but in fact, we only occupied four floors in total.

[I really don't want to recklessly dive down either... We still have no idea what's waiting for us down there.]

While climbing up the stairs, we felt the occasional rumbling of the ground. The last time I asked Iyako what it was, she also had no idea.

...

Upon arriving at the floor just before the rooftop, We then split up as Iyako went to the bathroom while I went back to reading books that were left behind.

——ii—!

Sliding the metallic door causing a momentary shriek, I found myself a place to read after dusting off the documents I picked up from the pile that I can read. Looking at the cover, I then read the title.

'Implementation of ASI to Synthe——'

And it got cut off by the stains barely readable at this point.

"... Let's just hope there's something useful in here..."

As I've read some of the documents that were translated into my home language, many others are written in Western and Northern characters.

[... I should've done more in my Language studies...]

Though it was also thanks to that, that I knew I'm still inside the world I'm familiar with, albeit a little different from what I remembered.

"Anyways... What do we have here..."

Immersing myself as there was nothing else I could do, In this building with limited access to electricity, no internet, and not much entertainment. I was bored out of my mind when I first came here, so much so I'd get sick of being in a daze with no purpose in mind.

But as time went on I noticed that the sun had already set.

"... Already?..."

Thinking Iyako where might have gone knowing how she also gets easily bored, it didn't take long for me to spot her nearby as she was drawing on the scratches of paper she picked up on the floor.

"... Iyako!" Calling out her name, she was surprised that she dropped her pen.

"❕❔"

"S-sorry... Anyways... What's that?"

Taking a peek, it seems like she doing a picture diary for today. There weren't any notable events but at least she's having fun.

"❕"

Seeing as I finished reading some papers I could barely understand, she then grabbed a new sheet for us to play.

"... So it's hangman..."

"✨"

Seeing her tail wag with anticipation of wanting to play with me, there was another thought in mind.

[That morbid game again...]

Those memories I had still felt real to me, but the feeling of boredom and not wanting to disappoint her too much. I just gave in and played.

"... I'm not holding back anymore."

"➖〰️➖🌟"

With a smug look on her face, I still can't believe I haven't won against her up until now.

...

As the breeze pass through the broken windows, the sound of scratching paper with our pens helped us enjoy playing hangman, tic tac toe, then SOS, until we then continued to the point where we got tired of it.

"... Iyako it's already nighttime... What do you want to eat?"

Grabbing a piece of paper, and within expectations, she drew the can of Cornbeef.

"... That's fine by me but that's our last can you okay with that?"

"..."

Hearing what I said she hesitated, but still nodded after seeing her seriously debating it inside her head.

...

Back down to the cafeteria, I prepared myself and ready to enjoy my last favorite meal, and looking at Iyako she was still holding back her tears as this is probably the last time we'd taste Cornbeef for a long time.

If someone saw us I guess they'd judge us for being Cornbeef fanatics but I don't care. Anyways upon opening the can—

"❔"

"..."

Looking at it closer, the greenish hue on top of the pink meat that should've been ground seems smooth and solid. As I used my fork to see what it actually is. It wasn't Cornbeef... It was a moldy meatloaf with the Cornbeef Brand wrapping the can.

My hands were shaking, never have I been so disappointed in this life until now.

"... LIES! ! !"

Shouting my frustration Iyako also arrived at the same conclusion as I did.

"❔❕❔❕"

The feeling of betrayal in hopes to savor our favorite dish had left us feeling empty and regretful that we haven't savored it during lunch. In the end, our dinner this night was sardines packed with bones.

- - - - -

...

Walking out of the Cafeteria late at night, there few flickering lights in the hallway. It was quiet like usual.

"🌧️🌧️🌧️"

Iyako was there beside me with her ears and tail drooping down. She was depressed that you could even say that there were rain clouds forming on top of her head.

"... There's nothing we can do about it Iyako... Maybe I should've switched our portions that time." Though I muttered the last part, she still heard me and ended up hitting me with her tiny hands.

"💢❕"

"You should've had at least left some leftovers!"

Though we argued about it for quite some time while going up, it ended shortly as we both agreed to not cry over spilled milk.

[... Right...]

After we passed by the indoor garden, I told Iyako to go ahead as I realized I'd been holding it for too long. And noticing my legs squirming a little, luckily I stopped her before following me to the bathroom.

...

With the flushing of the toilet resounds on this quiet night, I took a glance over the bathtub as the uncomfortable sticky feeling of sweat and dirt rubbing became more apparent.

"Yeah... Let's take a quick dip while we're at it. I'm sure Iyako will understand."

Locking the doors as I don't want to make the same mistake twice, I was glad that the heater is still working despite the building's condition.

"... Ah~"

With my body submerged, I relaxed a little as the water felt great. Though I can't really avoid it, there's not much I can do when I'm washing myself.

"... I still can't get over this feeling..." As having hair as long as reaching my knees, it's a bit troublesome to wash but still a rare experience.

Ambient sounds such as water droplets ripple the floating white strands surrounding my scarred body. It always helps me clear my mind whenever I'm in a similar situation like this.

—* ——* —*

"I-Iyako? Ah— Can you wait for a bit!"

Disturbing my peace, it didn't affect me much as I was already finishing up.

—splash*

As I got out of the tub, the soft tapping on the metal doors kept going while I rummaged inside the cabinet for a change of clothes.

[She really can't wait can't she...]

Leaving my laundry behind the floor as if it was just a single piece of cloth covering my body, I used a towel as it is enough to be my clothes at this point. After tying up the corners like a cape wrapped around my neck, I then slid open the door.

——ie——! ——*

"OI! Can't you... Huh?"

Beyond the door, there was no one there. I looked around if she was playing tricks on me but all I could see were empty desks and fallen chairs along the dusty floor.

"..."

It was eerily silent besides that cold chill circulating around this floor. Not liking the situation I immediately run towards the staircase rushing to find Iyako.

[Shit... Shit shit shit SHIT!]

Reaching halfway through the flight of stairs barely out of breath, I was about to turn around and see a white figure at the corner of my eye.

"❔❕"

"WAAHHHH!!!"

Falling down surprised by her appearance, after confirming the identity of the white figure, I start to calm down for a bit.

"... IYAKO! DON'T DO THAT!"

"💦❔"

Giving me a hand, I sigh as I helped myself up. Though I asked her if she checked up on me, she nodded after hearing my answer though she left immediately after the third knock, well based on the number her fingers she showed me after the knocking gesture she showed.

"Anyways... Let's get to sleep... I'm feeling tired right now."

Feeling relieved that I was probably terrified for nothing, the drowsiness after a warm bath came rushing to me, though I don't know whether it's my new body or the sudden relief of stress but I probably need to go to bed before I sleep on the floor on the way.

"🌼"

With Iyako holding my hand leading the way, it didn't take long for us to reach our room and went to sleep.

- - - - -

In a dark hallway, a small creature crawled inside one of the vents. Only a shadow of the five supposed legs was last seen before it disappeared into the lower floors.