Great... still ten days until the end of the month and I'm short on money again... and I don't have much food left, either... when was the next sale again... um... in five days, I think.

A certain blonde was on her way through the streets of a certain town, her head lowered and closing in on her home as she went. However, her thoughts were with a far more important matter: what should be her next meal? Of course she could ask Chiya, her childhood friend... but seeing that the other girl would not let her forget about this for a long, long time, Syaro figured that she would rather not. Still, the few leftovers she had in the fridge would not be enough for five more days under any circumstance... except...

Tomorrow is a Saturday and my homework... hm... if I get drunk of coffee in the afternoon from now on...

It would not be pleasant, but she could at least carry on long enough. This was an option... although it was surprising that her tendency of getting drunk on caffeine became useful for a change... the young woman never expected that. So far, this particular thing only prevented her from visiting cafes without tea on the menu with her friends.

Actually, it was strange that a human could get drunk on something as weak as caffeine to begin with... okay, she saw the same happening to Chino from less than half a dozen chocolate candies, but still. This did at least make it less expensive if she really... wait.

Waiit... did even my body adapt to being poor? Did it really come this far?

The blonde had some trouble to keep those thoughts away from her expression. She did succeed, but remained unhappy with the overall situation. For it being necessary to knock herself out to get over the last few days... okay, at least she did not have work this weekend and could actually go through with the plan. If necessary.

Syaro continued to wander, all the while musing whether she should not just get over her pride and beg Chiya for food. Not that her friend and neighbour was particularly mean in that regard, but it just felt wrong. She managed to get by alone for almost three years now, so the girl did not want to give in at this point. Besides... it would feel like exploiting their friendship to get food. This was definitely not the right thing to do.

.

.

.

When her feet finally carried her back to her little house, the blond girl stopped for a moment... and her face contorted over the shock brought from what she got to see. There he sat; Wild Geese, the delinquent rabbit... surrounded by fresh vegetables! Wherever he got them from, they were there... a lettuce, a cucumber, several tomatoes and apples...

Even the rabbit has more food than I do!

This... this was just not fair anymore. Even that animal she lived with... even that could eat more than Syaro. Yes, they agreed on each of them finding their own food; however, this was just plain unfair.

The girl threw herself to the ground right in front of the little house of she made out of plastic a few months ago. Her forehead was almost touching the ground and the blond hair not much further away from it. "I beg you... please share with me!"

After a few seconds, Syaro looked up hopefully... only to find the rabbit turn his back to her. The answer was clear.

Then however, he tapped one of the apples with his hind paw, so that it rolled in her direction; the red fruit came to rest right in front of her hand, which took it gingerly and held it up. Deep blue eyes measured what she held and a wave of joy raced through Syaro's whole body. She could do it with that!

Then however, the girl realised just what she did right now. After a moment of consideration though, her expression changed from shocked to relieved.

Oh well... it's food. I mean it's not like someone saw...

As this thought was still going, she was engulfed by a flash of white light for a moment; this had the smile freeze on her face. Syaro turned around slowly and paused more than once -mostly out of disbelief- until another highschooler came into view. A brunette clad in a beige top and a skirt with a mostly red diamond pattern... so she had been on her way home as well. Ujimatsu Chiya, the very last person she had wanted to see in this very moment. Especially because she was holding her cellphone in one hand and had the other placed on her cheek, showing a sweet smile.

"Chiyaaa!"