April 13, 2026
Day 14.
I hate this life. Pretty much, long story short, a storm knocked the power out and I can't get the generator running with all the rain pouring outside. Now I'm writing in the dark with a lamp like I'm in the freaking 1920s. You is, god knows where. I heard her occasionally in the halls but she must've bumped into a wall or something because she's pretty silent now. Maybe she finally burned herself out? Ever since last week when Kanan and Mari broke in she hasn't really rested, or at least not like before. She's just always on alert now. Well, at least if she did finally go to sleep I can get around to changing her bandages again. I haven't done that in a while. I know such malpractice like that can lead to an infection but I'm trying to keep it close enough to not risk anything while also rationing our supplies. First time changing her bandages was not easy, let me tell you that, journal. I only managed to do it because luckily You doesn't have very good reaching ability within her costume so sitting on her back practically immobilized her. Just imagine trying to give a cat a shower but the cat is 20 times stronger and that would summarize our encounter. That just reminded me of that time You and I thought about getting a pet! Well, you see,
PLOP
Riko's pen stopped its process as she heard something echo within the aquarium. It was little, almost hardly noticeable, but it sounded all too similar to something falling. While it could've been the rain, or even You, Riko wasn't entirely sure.
Cautiously, Riko slowly put her pen back to the paper.
Well, you see, You had been begging me for a dog for the longest time. She said she would walk it and care for it but honestly I was not prepared for her to come home with the biggest and fluffiest thing she could find. While it would match her, that didn't sit well with me. So, I suggested a cat but-
Another noise echoed in the aquarium, startling the young girl out of her journal entree once more. By now Riko knew it definitely was not an accident from gravity. Getting up, Riko put her pen on the table as she began to investigate. She took ahold of her lamp before walking towards the room's main door frame,
"You? Is that you?"
A squeak of shoes came bouncing towards Riko, yet the direction was opposite from where the falling objects resided. As You came to a stop before Riko, she stared at her, curious of why she was called. Grabbing at her hand, Riko guided her in the room, bringing them towards her desk as she whispered close to her,
"You, I think someone got inside again."
"Gaaao?"
You let out her growl in an attempt to respond. Riko quickly turned, grabbing at the gun by her journal to tuck into her pants, as she shushed You. Ever since their encounter with Kanan and Mari, Riko couldn't help but think of what would have happened if they hadn't been merciful with her. Kanan could've easily taken her out, leaving You practically defenseless with how safety proof her suit was. And while she liked to look at the brighter side of things, it was too high of a risk for Riko to want to face again.
Leading them down the halls, Riko listened out for the noises once more, hearing it grow more towards the rear of the aquarium. While she did lock the doors, there were always little holes all around the building, considering the sanctuary let their animals see the real world from time to time.
With a sudden fall of equipment behind one of the numerous doors within the walls, Riko put her hand on You's chest to stop her as they both stared at the door in front of them. There were voices talking with one another, but due to such a heavy rainfall outside Riko could barely decipher what they were saying. All she knew was that there were more intruders, most likely searching the random rooms to take whatever they could find.
Taking the gun out from the back of her pants, Riko took a deep breath. She had to look more serious if she wanted whoever was behind the door to fear her. Her gun could only do so much of the talking.
Wiping the initial terror from her face the best she could, Riko took a step forward. Raising her weapon, with her utmost false confidence, the young girl was determined to make a different first impression than with Kanan and Mari.
That was the plan, at least.
A large lightning strike burst through the ears of everyone within the miles radius, setting off a chain reaction and though it was within a two second frame, everything happened at once.
Riko screamed aloud, closing her eyes as she fired a bullet through the door. A group of screams could be heard as more objects began to topple within the room as well. With everyone in such a panic, even You ran off as Riko could hear her squeaking steps fading into the distance of the hall. While she was tempted to call her back, Riko could hear almost child-like voices behind the door grabbing her attention.
"Yoshiko, are you okay? Hanamaru, help me get her up!"
"Agh, it's Yohane! And does it look like I'm okay, Ruby?!"
"Don't yell at Ruby because you're upset, zura. That is only going to make this situation worse."
The group of girls all attempted to talk over one another, as if they had completely forgotten someone with a weapon was waiting for them on the other side. Reaching at the handle, Riko cracked the door open as she brought her lamp up close to see what was going on.
Inside the room were three girls, none of them looking older than 16. One laid on the floor while the other two were crouched down beside her, ready to pick her up. As they all stared at Riko, she got a good look at each of them.
Though they were all drenched from the rain while also dressed as if they weren't prepared for anything, each of them had a different aspect about them. On the left was a small red-haired girl. Dirty with small scratches scattered all across her face and arms as she clearly was not ready for the dangers of the forest in a sleeveless shirt and pants. On the right was the smallest brown-haired girl. She looked fairly clean from everything in the outside world, even her eyes showed so much purity behind them as she wore a more adventurer styled outfit. Lastly, on the floor in the middle of the two, laid a dark blue-haired girl with a bun at the side of her head and a black shirt with black ripped jeans. She held onto her right arm in almost a fetal-like position, seeming the most frightened from the trio as she spotted Riko's gun first from all of them.
The room fell silent as each girl glanced between one another, curious of what was going to happen next.
Quick to have the upper hand, Riko raised her gun towards the teenagers in front of her as she shouted out in her most authoritative voice,
"What are you doing here?"
As soon as the girls saw the gun being pointed, they all let out a scream, closing their eyes as they huddled against one another in fear. Both standing girls fell to their knees as they held onto their bleeding friend, who just curled into a ball more. Lightly raising her head, the smallest one shakily let out,
"W-We're just looking for a place to stay, ma'am. We didn't know anyone lived here, zura."
Riko raised her eyebrow, not entirely certain she could trust their innocent look to them. Yet, the kids in front of her were soaking wet while the one in the middle was bleeding on her floor. The scene before her didn't look threatening at all. Huffing out, Riko decided to pry a bit more.
"What are your names?"
The red-haired girl raised her hand, shaking in every way as she introduced the three of them.
"M-My name is Ruby. These are my best friends, Yoshiko and Hanamaru."
Riko looked at the two other girls as they were introduced. They all seemed frightened of their situation but she couldn't let them stay, not when she still needed to find You and especially not after her fiasco with Kanan and Mari.
"Look, you three are going to have to find another place to go to. I can't-"
Before Riko could continue her explanation though, Yoshiko was now the first one to speak out,
"You're kicking us out while it's raining? And after you shot me in the arm!"
Riko widened her eyes as she took a light step back. She was not used to kids talking back to her,
"I-I didn't shoot you in the arm. With how much blood you're losing it looks like I barely skimmed you."
Hanamaru cut into the situation next as Ruby was already on the verge of tears from their yells,
"Ma'am, please, have mercy. Ruby just lost her parents and we only need one night here, zura. We'll be out of your hair by the morning to attend the funeral."
Riko felt bad for a moment as she listened to Hanamaru's plea. Riko didn't even get to spend time with her own parents before the outbreak took them away from her. To have them with her only to lose them during such a hard time would've been heartbreaking, especially at a young age. Riko could feel herself getting choked up, that was before a realization hit her. Those kids were trying to guilt trip her into letting them stay,
"I'm sorry about that but who hasn't lost their parents during this pandemic? It's more common than you would think."
Yoshiko sat up, still holding at her arm,
"Wow, rude, but like have a heart please?"
By now Ruby had brought her hands to her face as her sobs silently racked through her body. She accepted Riko was not going to let them stay but Hanamaru and Yoshiko were not letting it go. Ruby needed this, after every bad thing that kept happening to her, she deserved one good day. Hanamaru and Yoshiko made eye contact for a moment before silently agreeing to continue the argument. Hanamaru, being great with words, tried her reasoning next,
"Put yourself in our shoes, zura! You wouldn't want to stay in the rain the entire night, would you?"
The words hit Riko harder than she would've liked. She wanted Kanan and Mari to give her sympathy more than anything but instead she had to take control of the situation herself to get what she wanted. Who was she to treat the teenagers in front of her the exact same as to how she was.
"Yeah, think about your own kids!"
Yoshiko yelled out next. That sentence was quick to snap Riko out of her thoughts,
"Wait, I don't have kids. What are you implying?"
The room fell silent as Yoshiko nervously glanced towards the floor while Riko put her hand on her hip, waiting for an answer. Giving Yoshiko a light punch, Hanamaru whispered,
"Why would you say that?"
"I thought she would feel bad for us! Plus she gave off a "mom" feel, so I just figured."
Hanamaru rolled her eyes, it would be Yoshiko to put them back to point A. Luckily though, Riko did hang onto those words from Hanamaru. Riko took a step back, straightening her pose to seem taller before the teens,
"I'll let you stay one night. Just, you have to stay in one area so I can keep an eye on you three."
All three girls brightened as they heard those words. They shared smiles with one another as if it were Christmas Day. That was before Yoshiko's arm suddenly made it's pain known once more.
Rolling back on the floor, Yoshiko held herself tighter. Both Hanamaru and Ruby gasped at the young girl as she simply looked back up at Riko,
"Y-You wouldn't happen to have any medical supplies, would you?"
Before she could answer though, Hanamaru butted in,
"Wait, I thought you were supposed to bring the medical supplies?"
Yoshiko, who was still in pain, looked towards the ground,
"W-We were already too far along before I realized I forgot."
Hanamaru gasped in shock,
"Wait! That's why you had enough space to fill your bag with nightshade! What if something had happened to us out there? What would we have done then?"
Yoshiko closed her eyes, trying to think of a way to counter Hanamaru's onslaught but she was correct, she had definitely screwed up her one job she was supposed to do,
"I'm sorry, okay! Besides, it's not like you're any better, Zuramaru! You've only been eating our food supplies rather than rationing it!"
With another loud gasp to fill the room, Yoshiko and Hanamaru began bickering with one another again, the scene looking very familiar to Riko. However, Ruby stayed silent as her friends tossed words back and forth. She was drained from their journey, not at all having the energy to interfere with their battle.
Rather than listening to a couple of teenagers argue in front of her, Riko raised her voice to cut them off,
"Stop! Look, I have some spare supplies. I can ration out what's there for you three, so don't fight please."
Both Hanamaru and Yoshiko side eyed one another before whispering out their gratitudes.
"Except, you'll have to show me what's in your bags first. So I know you're clean."
Now, with all three girls looking at one another, they slipped off their backpacks one by one. First showing her backpack was Yoshiko. Filled to the brim with a combination of multiple different herbs ranging from nightshade to mandrake's. Despite her pailing face at her slow blood loss, Yoshiko was sure to raise her hands in a peace sign over her right eye before deepening her voice,
"As a fallen angel I must ensure I have the proper ingredients to create my rituals."
"Okay? What about you?"
Riko looked towards Hanamaru next as she jumped in fright. Bringing her bag forward, Hanamaru showed hers, nearly empty with mikans and other assortments of fruit scattered in-between.
Such a view filled Riko's mouth with saliva. She hadn't seen any fruits in so long, only meats and the occasional berries that You would find on her outings when she was still around, which had been a while. It was tempting not only to her, but the idea of giving it to You. She was still having trouble with anything besides eating meat, and mikans were her favorite. It would surely be a great temptation into bringing her a balanced diet.
Striking a bargain, Riko lowered herself to eye level with the group of girls,
"How about this, I'll patch up your injured friend here myself, since I am a doctor, if you give me the rest of your mikans?"
Hanamaru looked into her bag, eyeing her three mikans she had left. She too had such a liking for the fruit,
"B-But mikans aren't anywhere near our village, zura. This is the first time we've seen any in ages. Can't I give you the strawberries?"
Riko debated her choices, while strawberries were okay, You loved mikans with her entire heart. It was sure to jog something in her memory or at least be a nice snack. Shaking her head, Riko opened her mouth to counteract but Yoshiko spoke up first,
"Zuramaru, you literally ate ten when we were at the garden and five on our way here. I think you can spare the final three for me!"
Ruby, finally added to the conversation as well with a sad smile,
"It's okay, Hanamaru. I'm sure my sister will let us go out more if she sees we all got back in one piece."
Hanamaru looked between her bag as well as her friends, eyebrows furrowed in concentration.
"I can't believe she has to actually think about this,"
Riko announced. Yoshiko and Ruby panned out,
"We can."
Finally, Hanamaru made up her mind. With a thrust of her bag forward, Hanamaru closed her eyes and displayed her final three mikans to Riko,
"Just take them! And please, save Yoshiko's life, zura!"
"It's Yohane!"
Riko smiled as she dug her hands into the bag, grabbing at the fruits. You was going to be excited to see those again, or at least she could hope. Riko was already beginning the plan on saving the seeds, keeping the fruits around the aquarium for when things were back to normal. With the fruits in her hands, Riko finally turned to Ruby,
"So, what about you? If they had medical and food, were you the one that was supposed to carry the weapons?"
Ruby shook her head. Riko hadn't known her for very long yet she could tell there was something missing behind the girl's eyes as she followed the motions of unzipping her bag. Ruby showed Riko her backpack, only containing an assortment of sunflowers as well as their seeds and roots, all freshly picked.
"They're for my parents' grave. I took as much as I could so a lot of flowers would grow around where they're going to be laid down tomorrow. It was always their favorite flower to have around the house."
Riko tried to look Ruby in the eyes, to see if she was telling the truth, but the way her head fell with her words, Riko didn't need to pry any further. Instead, she finally sat up, placing her gun in the back of her pants before grabbing at her lamp,
"Follow me, I'll take you three where you'll be staying the night."
All three girls got up, putting their backpacks on as they followed Riko's light through the halls. While the heavy rain had stopped falling, lightning would still occasionally strike, frightening the trio. The strikes only kept Riko's mind at just where You was as at though. Each turn down the halls were filled with nothing but emptiness.
Reaching their destination, Riko had decided the only way to keep an eye on them was to place the girls right across the hall from You, into the second half of the walrus exhibit. Considering the aquarium wanted a hall entirely for the walruses, they decided to build two separate rooms on both sides. Luckily they had glass openings above them, keeping the rain out yet the moonlight in to light the rooms just enough to see. Of course there were exits for the animals to go outside to suntan, but Riko and You long closed off those holes.
Riko guided the girls towards the door, almost getting to unlocking it before the squeaks of shoes could be heard running towards the group. Before she could even turn, Riko heard the teenagers scream out loud, all grabbing onto her back and pushing her forward, before the shoes stopped right behind her.
Turning to the action with a bit of struggle from the girls' grips, Riko was met with a strange sight as You only stood staring at the new guests with her head tilted, not becoming aggressive in any way as she was with Kanan or Mari. The trio all huddled against one another though, nearly stuck to the wall with fear.
Riko walked towards You, putting a hand on her shoulder,
"You, these are good guests this time. They're staying in this room for the night, okay?"
Riko pointed towards the opposite sanctuary to hers as You hummed in approval, already walking over towards the door to open it for the teenagers. The girls kept quiet as they saw You struggle to open the door at first with her padded palms losing their grip on the lock.
Holding the door, You grunted towards them to get in. All three girls looked at one another before Riko, who motioned them to go inside. They all stuck to the farthest side of the door as they stepped their way in, making sure to keep an eye on You as they passed her.
Once inside, all three girls set down their things, huddling together in front of one of the larger rocks the walruses used for relaxing. Riko stood at the door, giving instructions to You,
"Okay, go grab the medical supplies that we usually leave in your room and I'll go put the mikans away. I'll be back with some blankets and food for the kids. Keep an eye on them, okay?"
Riko brought her finger up to You as a way of confirming with her, and while it took a moment to understand, You shook her head before walking over towards the other room.
As Riko went to her office, all three girls spoke lowly, slightly squinting their eyes at one another as Riko took their brightest light source,
"Dia is not going to be happy if we don't come back by tomorrow night."
Yoshiko was the first to speak up, Hanamaru nodded her head as she agreed with her,
"She's right, zura. Maybe we should take a shortcut through the forest to get home faster before she notices how long we've been gone, zura."
Ruby flinched at the idea,
"I-I don't know Hanamaru. Cutting through the forest is what got us into this mess."
There was no denying that fact. While all of the girls wondered how the outside world truly was after everything had shut down, none of them had ever really adventured so far. No one had even known the girls snuck out either.
Though the idea was frightening, Ruby really needed her parents to have those sunflowers at their resting ground, she couldn't have it any other way. With such an idea brought to her friends though, they were quick to help in her last minute journey.
"Maybe we should get Dia a gift, like, an apology type of thing?"
Yoshiko spoke up with her idea.
"That would be great! We could say we just adventured a little past the perimeter for a gift because we wanted her to not be stressed out, zura!"
Ruby thought about it, her sister would still be upset she left without guards, especially now that she was even closer to being the next one in line to guide the village, but it could work if the gift was good enough. But the question was, what gift could be worthy in the eyes of Dia?
"Technically it could work but the problem is, what could we get her?"
The girls fell silent. Hanamaru nor Yoshiko really knew anything about Dia besides her harsh exterior and Ruby just felt like everything she did upset her older sister in every way. All in a slump, the girls fell silent, instead looking around at just what they had gotten themselves into.
Riko soon made her way into the room though, hands filled with blankets, two lamps, as well as a plate she had of spare rabbit meat. You joined in right behind her with the medical supplies and of course her upbeat squeaking of shoes.
Nodding her head, motioning for Yoshiko to come forward, Riko put her contents onto the floor while grabbing at You's supplies from her hands. She made a mental checklist of everything while organizing it by what was needed first.
"Okay, I don't have any numbing cream, so you're going to have to hold it in. I do have some antibiotics for you to take afterwards to lessen the chance of an infection though."
Yoshiko gulped at that sentence as she tried to scoot away from Riko only for Hanamaru to be right behind her, inching her closer, with Ruby on the other side to corner her in.
Riko grabbed Yoshiko's injured arm, taking note of its condition. Though the blood had long poured it's way down her arm, the missing skin wasn't very much. It could easily be stitched back together and she would be fine to leave by tomorrow if all went well.
Pulling out the needle and string, along with alcohol to clean the wound, Riko spoke up in an attempt to get the teenagers to stop staring so intensely at Yoshiko's arm and it's impending doom,
"So, how much longer do you three need to travel to get back home? I can't imagine this one will be able to go far if she's the one taking all the bullets."
Yoshiko whimpered, turning her face away, as Riko lightly dabbed at the blood drying around her arm with alcohol.
"We're not sure. Our village is by the seaside but the garden we headed to was more towards the center of town so we kind of got lost."
Ruby answered Riko's question as the older girl hummed. She knew the destination they were going towards, as that shop was the pinnacle of greenery in all of Numazu. There was a time when she visited it, in hopes to pick up gardening, but she became too overwhelmed by such a large selection that she ultimately gave up before she could begin.
"Well, you're in luck, the beach is only about a mile out from here. Can you three get home from there?"
Hanamaru nodded her head,
"Yes, ma'am. Luckily you can see the school from all sides of the beach on this island, zura. If we follow that, we can get back home!"
Pausing, Riko suddenly remembered that same phrase before.
"School? As in the Uranohoshi school? Does that mean you know-"
"Arm! My arm!"
Riko noticed she had her rag paused directory onto Yoshiko's wound. Quickly taking it off, Riko apologized as her brain had gone elsewhere,
"Ah, sorry."
"Do we know who?"
Ruby questioned Riko but before she could answer, she stopped her sentence. Riko wasn't sure if Kanan and Mari were supposed to be out or even caught, there was a chance they could be looked down upon or taken down a notch in the hierarchy of the village they rested at if someone found out. Clearing her throat, Riko switched conversations,
"No one. I think I'm getting my schools mixed up. Also, Yoshiko, don't scream."
"Why would I- KYAAA!"
Riko pierced the needle into Yoshiko's skin, beginning her stitching process as fast as she could to not keep the pain going on any longer than it needed to. Biting at her knuckle, Yoshiko let her head fall to the side onto Hanamaru's chest. Hanamaru patted Yoshiko's head as the young girl tried her best to mask her whimpers.
"So, umm, who is that?"
Ruby asked as she looked towards You. You was sitting right behind Riko, leaning her back on the red-haired girl as her feet wiggled back and forth, clearly entranced by her rounded feet. Riko continued her stitchings though, not looking up, as she already knew who Ruby was referring to,
"That's You, my girlfriend. She was bitten, but it's okay, she hasn't gotten a taste for blood yet nor is she aggressive towards anyone non-hostile. I'm in the process of curing her."
Ruby awed at such determination. Yoshiko, despite being in pain, spoke up,
"W-Why is she in that costume?"
"Oh, because in the first week she was very snappy. She's different now though,"
"Then why keep her in it, zura? She looks, well, weird."
Hanamaru questioned Riko and while she finished her last stitching, she couldn't help but feel ridiculed under the teenager's glances,
"What are you talking about? She looks cute in it! When we were in school she actually worked part time at this very aquarium and I remember seeing her in it all the time. It brings back good memories."
All of the girls avoided eye contact after that explanation and though they wouldn't say it, Riko realized it did make her seem kind of weird.
"L-Look, just don't tell anyone about this, okay? Let's just keep the reason being I am safety proofing her for others."
All the girls nodded their heads as they had no room to judge so long as Riko kept a roof over their head for the night. Riko began putting back all of her medical supplies, cleaning her area for the night.
As everything was wrapped up, she handed Yoshiko a nearly empty bottle of pills.
"These are as much as I can spare but it should keep you going if you keep your infection clean. Don't dirty the wound, change the bandages at least three times a day while it's still healing, and try not to pick at it when it becomes itchy."
Yoshiko took the bottle of pills, tears still streaming down her face as her pain radiated all through her arm.
Riko stood up and You was quick to follow as well. With such a fast motion, all the girls flinched backwards as if the grey-haired girl had suddenly changed her mind in being friendly towards them.
"It's okay, she won't do anything to you all. Look, You, this is Yoshiko."
Riko motioned her hand to Yoshiko, who froze at being put on the spot. You looked between Riko's hand as well as Yoshiko's head.
Stepping forward, You reached out her hand just as Riko had. As Yoshiko closed her eyes with the gap between them closing, she let out a tiny scream when she felt a touch. With a hand patting the bun on her head, Yoshiko peeked an eye open as she saw an entranced You. You let out a series of noises, almost as if she were trying to say something, anything. Riko, who was behind them all, stared at You, putting her hand up towards the girls to get them all to hold still for a moment.
"K-Ko."
The room ran silent with You's word. Quickly pulling You by her shoulders while turning her to be face to face, Riko held onto the suit,
"Y-You, did you just- no, wait. S-Say that again?"
Riko tried to calm her wavering voice as she held onto You.
"Ko."
With a smile to break on her face, Riko pulled You into a hug as she lightly jumped up and down. All the younger girls watched and though they were confused, it seemed that it was best to keep quiet and let them have their moment.
Grabbing ahold of You's hand, Riko immediately got into talking,
"This is amazing! I-I have to document this, no, I have to trace the strand that did this and build upon that! If your speech is already being repaired, that means your body should slowly be at it too!"
Before she could begin going on a tangent though, Riko let out a squeal of happiness, as she didn't realize how much closer to the end she was getting. That was until she remembered just where she was at. Riko coughed into her hand before composing herself in front of the three girls,
"Ah, sorry about that. It's just been a while since I've heard her speak actual words, or at least something that sounds like it could be one."
Ruby waved her hands in front of herself to reassure Riko,
"Oh, no, it's fine. We won't judge, right guys?"
Hanamaru and Yoshiko both shook their heads, more happy that You was further away from them in Riko's hands. With a smile on her face, Riko looked back at You. She had that glimmer in her eyes again, small but ever so present.
Tugging her along by her hand, Riko began talking to You,
"Well, come on. Let's get your bandages changed now,"
Turning back to the girls, Riko leaned down to grab the spare lamp,
"You three can stay here for as long as you want. I'm going to take You to the room across so just tap on the glass or something if you need me. The rabbit meat is cold since I can't get a fire started indoors but it was freshly cooked this morning so it's fine to eat."
With all of them nodding their heads, Riko made her way towards the other room, not stopping her conversation with You for even a moment.
The three teenagers all got themselves situated with the food and blankets Riko had brought them. Considering the place was still foreign to them, they all decided to huddle against one another for comfort. The lamp left in the room lit up just enough for them to see each other, as well as Riko and You in the other.
They watched as Riko sat You down, slowly zipping off the back of her costume so as to not catch her hair in the process. Riko could be seen speaking as she gently ran her hands across You's bandaged shoulder to check the damage. Each jump in pain from You was followed by an apology from Riko quickly after for hurting her.
With the top of You's costume was off, as well as the white shirt she had beneath it, it left her in only a makeshift binder around her chest. Riko slowly took off the bandages on her shoulder, eyeing the wound closely to check for any issues.
With You's back towards them, the trio could see Riko talking, even smiling at some things, as she continued her job almost as if the situation were normal.
"She's kind of weird, don't you think?"
Yoshiko was the first to speak, eyeing the couple as she laid her hands behind her head. Hanamaru scooted closer as she agreed,
"I can't lie, it's a bit odd."
Ruby glanced between the girls before at You and Riko. Sure, their situation was off putting, but it was somehow sweet at the same time.
"I don't know, I think it's nice that she cares so much. It's hard to find that kind of love and dedication anywhere. You is pretty lucky to have Riko if you ask me."
With all the girls looking back once more at the laughs Riko shared with You as she spoke with her, as well as the tilted head glances You would give back, they could see that love was definitely all Riko had in her heart for You.
"Yeah, I guess you're right, Ruby."
Riko waved towards all of the girls as she stood on the road with You by her side at the gates of the aquarium. You followed Riko's hand motion, giving the impression that the couple was happily waving the children off to school and not on a dangerous life-threatening journey.
Before the trio's departure though, Riko was sure to give the group all one canned food of their choosing to take on the journey with them. Of course, certain ones were restricted, especially the good ones, but Riko was sure to give the kids some protein packed beans as an extra parting gift.
"Have a safe trip!"
Riko yelled out as all three girls hurriedly walked towards the beach pointed-direction Riko set them in while waving back. Turning around, Riko guided You back into the gates before closing them.
Standing at the closed entrance, You looked back at Riko and the fence before attempting to jumble out a word once more,
"K-Ko?"
Riko, who had already taken a couple steps away, looked back at the sad You,
"Yeah, Yoshiko and the others are leaving. They have to get back to their village if they want to make that funeral by tonight."
Letting out a sigh, You followed Riko as they walked side by side back to their place. Of course the dejected behavior of You didn't go unnoticed by Riko but she couldn't force the kids to stay with her. The only thing Riko could think to do was lightly bump their shoulders together as they continued on inside.
Walking through the doors, Riko shut them behind them. She had fixed their generator the moment the crack of dawn hit, leaving her the rest of the day to stuff herself in her office.
Riko wanted a day off, in fact she just wanted to sleep for a week to catch up on the lost hours of her nights. But reality was hitting her fast. She was at 14 days. Meaning You only had 16 left before her chances were over.
Yes, You was making amazing progress, but when Riko changed her bandages that night, her blood still ran far darker than the average maroon red. Her skin barely stopped peeling within the last week, but no shade of color had returned. If anything, Riko had put her at a standstill. It was either all or nothing with the final couple of days.
As Riko walked her way into the office she resided in, she felt a quick breakfast could get her mind off of the stress of the final days. Grabbing at the mikans previously placed on her desk, Riko made her way towards her canned foods to see if there were any spam she could eat as the rabbit she had given the teenagers that night was all she had in protein.
Opening the cabinets, Riko's eyes scanned the cans. Though she was missing three, Riko couldn't help but feel another presence gone. Riko went down the mental list she had.
Spam, pinto beans, green peas, and even corn but one thing stood out. Something she kept hidden at the back of her cabinet behind a board that not even You had discovered yet: her fruit cocktail. The board was poorly put back into place, letting the victim of the crime see into the now empty hole there was. Clenching her fist, Riko huffed out,
"Those kids stole from me."
Turning to face You, Riko said it even louder,
"You, those freaking kids stole my fruit!"
You backed up as Riko got more into her space. Riko was furious, she had given those kids everything they needed only for them to take one of the best things she ever had.
Before she could get worked up though, Riko brought her fingers to her temple as she tried to calm herself down,
"It's okay, Riko. They're just kids. Calm yourself. We're all just trying to make it day-to-day."
Riko repeated the words back to herself as she took deep breaths. She should've expected something like that would happen when she took their fruits but that didn't mean it still wasn't upsetting.
Not bothering with the cans anymore, Riko just grabbed the three mikans they had as she sat back by the bed in her office. Motioning for You to follow, You squeaked her way right beside Riko as she watched her peel away at the fruit.
With her hands busy, it brought a sudden thought to Riko,
"Maybe you do look weird in that suit, You."
Leaning forward, Riko got a better look at You. While the costume was adorable and reminded her of a better time, it had to be torturing with how hot it was.
Riko's fingers moved from her slightly peeled mikans towards the zipper at the back of You's neck. As she touched the metal though, she hesitated. Riko looked at You, and for once You was looking directly into her eyes, as of she were waiting for Riko to finally trust her.
Pulling at the zipper, Riko finally let You go.
The process of getting You out of the suit was far easier than getting her in and her cone came off in a snap. It was strange to Riko to have to help You undress, but yet in a way it was relieving to see her so comfortable again.
You now sat beside Riko in her dirtied white shirt along with loose sleeping shorts. While Riko didn't want You in a white shirt, as it was easy to stain, it was just about one of the few pieces of clothing she had left since Riko had torn her other shirt when the sailor was bitten.
Now as they relaxed on the bed, Riko split the mikan in her hand between the both of them. Eating one slice while giving You the other, their routine began.
With just one taste, You was desperately trying to eat another piece. The sight of You attempting to get more into Riko's space made her realize: maybe getting her fruit stolen wasn't the worst thing to ever happen.
As Riko popped another piece of fruit into You's mouth, she watched as she closed her eyes, savoring the taste. It was a nice change from her usual confused, or even blank, look. Facial expressions were a good sign in Riko's book.
Figuring they had time, Riko asked the question that had been on her mind since You's dejected behavior with the teenagers leaving arose,
"You, do you remember when we said we wanted kids someday? Is that why you're sad they left?"
Riko didn't bother waiting for an answer but for once You didn't tilt her head in question but rather waited for a response.
You knew when Riko brought her voice in a soft tone with an uplifting end that she was going to get into something really passionate. At the first listen, it was nothing but mumbles into You's ears but with each passing day, You could understand the meaning behind Riko's words. Like a light shining from above, it was tempting You to get closer.
Giving You another mikan to eat, Riko sadly smiled.
"Well, not that it could ever happen now, but I remember when we were ready for that next step…"
"Riko, on a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you love me?"
You walked towards the shared couch her and Riko had placed in the center of their living room as the question left her lips. It was cold that December morning and in You's hands she carried them both cups of hot coffee. Riko was already warming up the covers on the couch while reading to pass the time, now she was just waiting for You to help her warm them up faster.
Without glancing up from her novel, Riko held out her hand for the cup while answering back,
"Right now you're at a nine since you keep leaving your clothes on the bathroom floor. Why do you ask?"
You whispered out a quick, "Careful", as she passed the drink over. Getting herself situated under their covers slowly, You's freezing feet attempted to find Riko's warmth as the red-haired girl shivered with the incoming coldness.
"I, uh, I was just thinking about stuff. Doesn't matter though. What do you wanna watch?"
Searching the blankets, You went to grab at the remote but not before Riko quickly dived for it, cutting her off from changing the subject,
"Hold on, You. You never ask stuff unless something is bothering you."
Lightly laughing, You scratched at the back of her neck. She wasn't ever good at hiding things around Riko.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. I-I don't think right now is a good time to talk about it though, you know, with me still being set to take the seas soon."
As You went to grab the remote, Riko raised it higher,
"Now is always a good time to talk about stuff. I won't judge, I promise."
Setting herself back down, You sighed. Riko was not going to let it go, meaning she could do nothing but give in and tell what was on her mind.
"Well, how long have we known each other?"
Tilting her head, Riko questionably answered,
"Umm, about 7 years now? Why?"
You played with her fingers and while Riko just wanted to grab her by her shoulders and make her speak, she was patient as she waited for You to continue on,
"And we've been dating for 5 of those years."
Riko slowly nodded her head, still not processing what You was trying to get at,
"Yes, that we have."
"And we've also been living here for almost two years. I guess what I'm trying to get at is, wouldn't it be nice to maybe have something else to grow with us within a couple years or so?"
Riko still couldn't understand what You was getting at, they had talked about animals in their first month of living in their apartment, but that conversation didn't go far after they both realized their apartment didn't accept pets.
"You, we can't get an animal. Unless you're implying we get a fish? I don't think I would mind one, I've always wanted an orange one, you know, to livin up the place-"
"I want a kid."
Riko, who had already had the perfect fish in mind to sit on the kitchen counter, soon stopped talking. With a baffled look, the young girl repeated the words,
"A kid?"
"Yes."
"A living, breathing, human that we are responsible for until we die?"
"Yup."
Riko looked at You for a while. There had to be some type of follow up after her words, yet You never broke eye contact as she waited for Riko's response,
"I, uh, I think I need to think about that."
The room felt very constricting at that moment. You could see it written across Riko's face, the question was a bit too big for a lazy sunday. Feeling like she had put Riko on the spot, You realized her mistake. Waving her hands, You tried to reel back her statement,
"Wait! I-It's not like we have to get a kid tomorrow or something! I just wanted to start thinking about it with you, so that we're on the same page. It takes a long time to do the process anyways-"
"You looked it up?"
You stopped moving about as she noticed Riko's face brighten up,
"Well, yeah,"
Settling down, You felt like now she was the one being cornered,
"I've always wanted someone to come home to, and now I have you. But I can't help but feel like you get tired of being alone too. I mean, I'm gone for weeks at a time while you come to an empty home everyday."
Taking a deep breath, Riko knew the conversation had to be done. While she would rather have had more prep, there had to be an answer.
Grabbing at You's hands, both girls were wrecks with the temperature of the room doubling tenfold, but they had to get their thoughts off their chest,
"I'm not saying 'no' to the idea of a kid, because honestly I've always wanted a family with you too, I just think we need a little more time to grow into our lives here. But, like you said, maybe within another year or two I wouldn't mind us looking into the process a bit more."
You held onto Riko's hands just a little tighter as she heard every word,
"So, you're not shutting down the idea of a child?"
Riko smiled,
"No, You, I would love to start a family with you."
With that, You's smile burst onto her face. As she lightly jumped up to hug Riko, the young girl quickly put out her hands,
"Wait! Coffee!"
Realizing the near mistake she almost made, You quickly got up, grabbing both her own and Riko's coffee to put onto the floor. As soon as it was out of the way, You jumped into Riko's already outstretched arms.
Giggles filled the room as the idea of another life running around their home excited You to no end. She could imagine it now, taking the shorter destination routes all to be able to watch their child grow, even considering taking the local jobs just to not be away for such a long time like her father always was. She still was in contact with the boss of the local aquarium afterall.
And though the idea was a bit scary to Riko, she couldn't imagine anyone else in her lifetime she'd want to take that next step with. Even if her knowledge on children was about slim to none, if You was with her, they could figure it out together.
Little was it known that the impending virus would soon put an axe through those plans within the year, never to be brought up again until the vulnerable nights of when everything was changing too fast for them to grasp.
But for a moment, they were happy and it was all they could truly ask for.