Worn out, the boy stood in front of the convenience store, one hand curled around his sleeping baby sister, and the other hand palms up with a handful of change. He counted them with a sigh, feeling the fatigue settling in his bones.
"450 yen left," he murmured. Maybe just enough for a couple of onigiri and some drinks? No, forget about the drinks - maybe 4 onigiris, so that it'll last til tomorrow when he can hunt down a job and they'll be able to eat some breakfast. Yes, that'll do, he still had some water in a bottle at home.
All the rest of his money had been spent on the deposit for their tiny, 4 and a half tatami room - he hadn't expected it to be that expensive, but a roof over their heads was better than nothing. And then there was the public daycare- No, he'll worry about the food first.
He bought the riceballs and grabbed some of the free packets of ketchup and soy sauce on the counter. Orihime had opened her eyes and watched the bag of food being paid for with concentration. Her stomach grumbled, but she didn't cry. The old bruises hidden under her shirt had instilled her to keep as quiet as possible, but Sora had become adept at knowing when she needed anything.
He didn't crack open the first riceball until the two of them were back in their room, comfortably sitting on the floor with their treasure between them. "Hora," he offered it to her, and her tiny hands grasped the sides of his fist while she took a bite. It belatedly occurred to Sora that, this might be the first time she's tasting spicy sardine flakes and mayonnaise. Uh-oh.
She gave a start of alarm and her eyes went wide at the spicy heat. For a moment, Sora panicked - was she going to cry? The walls of the room were thin and he didn't want to get their new neighbors angry. "Is it bad?" He asked.
She stuck her tongue out and, with eyes crossing and cursory inspection concluding that her tongue was still intact, she gave him an inquiring look. Sora tore open a packet of soy sauce and dripped them onto the riceball. Orihime took another taste and made a disgruntled face.
"Ok, ok, let me think of something." He rummaged in his worn-out pack and came up with a can of anpan sauce that he had stolen from their mother's cupboard before they had snuck out. Then he wiped a sliver of the sweet stuff onto the rice ball. Orihime sniffed, and took another bite.
"That ok?" He asked. She paused, then nodded and burst into a messy smile. Sora's felt his spirits recover and realized, maybe they could make it after all. He patted her on the head with his free hand.
"Yep, it's gonna be better. You and me against the world, kiddo," he said with a smile, "Just you and me."