The Engineer

Yuigahama Yui POV

Ahhhhhh…. It's so cold. Well, I guess this what happens you land face-first into snow during a blizzard. But I was so tired and didn't have any strength to move further. Now that I think about it, running after that guy might have been a big problem.

It was an impulsive action, a choice made between staying at the store or following him. To be honest, while following might have not been decision, I didn't want to stay with the big bug either. Thinking back, I wonder if I had just picked the third option - running away in a direction that wasn't towards the guy or the creature.

I could faintly register the sounds of feet stepping on snow, getting louder and louder, nearing me until they stopped right next to my body. If I had the strength, I would have gotten up or at least looked up to see what was above me. I was naturally curious, courtesy of the education my parents and I taught me and myself.

I moaned, feeling my body literally freezing over. Ok, maybe not literally, but that's what it felt like. I couldn't hear anything, so did that mean he, or whoever it was, left? If so, that would mean that I'm alone, out here in the raging cold. AHHHH! Someone help me! I don't want to die!

And so, because I was too tired and exhausted, I didn't feel myself being lifted up.

Errr…. Where am I?

I opened my eyes to darkness, seeing only the colour black in front of me. I panicked and reached my hand out, feeling nothing except empty air. Was I hallucinating or was this a dream? But it felt too real to me. I could still see the faint outline of my hand, carefully tracing the lines of each finger. Although it was dark, the things I saw seeing and the things that I felt were too vivid for me to imagine. After much consideration, I finally concluded that I wasn't dead and that this wasn't inside my head either.

So where was I?

I sat up

I sat up, propping up my arms to support me. my back aching and still slightly shivering. It didn't feel as cold as before, so that meant that I was probably indoors. I didn't have the strength to move inside, so somebody must have carried me here. Was it that guy from earlier? But why would he do that? Unless…

W-well, he must have some kind of decency, right? I m-mean, n-not all m-men are like t-that… But what if h-he kidnapped me to ra- stop that, Yui! You're a genius, you can get out of this!

The curtains were closed, so I couldn't see outside. There were no watches or clocks here, no device or way to tell me how late it was. The lights were also off, assuming they could even be turned on, which meant I couldn't see well. I tried to move my legs, but they remained stiff on the bed.

Just then, the door opened and a guy's head poked around the door. "Hey, ho-?"

"GAAHHH!" I fell backwards and out of the bed landing on the floor. The impact hurt my backside, but I was too panicked to worry over the small matter.

The guy came over, surprise and concern evidently showing on his face. He opened his mouth, but before he could utter anything, a torrent of words started to barrage him.

"Please don't hurt me I'll do anything I want to go home just don't hurt me ahhhhhh!" My unending line of words continued to spout out of my mouth, saying whatever came to my mind as an attempt to stop him.

Shortly afterwards, I was out of breath and looking up at the guy, panting heavily. I was scared and really considering if following him was a smart plan. For all I know, we were the only two people in this place, which meant I could shout and scream all I wanted and no one would be able to come to my aid.

Good job, Yui. In spite of brain, sometimes, you're really dumb.

Please don't reprimand me at a time like this right now.

Meanwhile, the strange guy was standing there the whole time, looking at me weirdly. He was most likely contemplating what horrible action to do to me. Quick, I have to ge-.

A hand outstretched itself in front of my face. For a moment, I was confused. What was he doing? I looked up at his face, which flicked towards his hand. "Take it.", he said, as though he was bored, "It won't bite."

I stared into his eyes, then reached out my own hand as well. Maybe he wasn't as bad as I thou-.

"Go, Onii-chan, go!" Simultaneously, our heads swivelled around to the door. There, a girl was standing there, hands raised in the air. Upon seeing us looking at her, she waved her hand and slowly backed away. "Onii-chan go!"

So we were left, two teenagers standing next to a bed, frozen in bewilderment and having completely forgotten the other.

"Ehh, so you aren't Onii-chan's girlfriend?", the girl said.

I nodded. "Yep."

The girl, turned her head to look at her older brother, who was leaning against the wall. "Onii-chan, you lied to me!", she accused, pointing a finger at him.

"You were the one who came up with the conclusion that I was dating her!", he defended himself, "I only met her hours ago!"

"Onii-chan, you suck."

The time was now 3:00pm, and I was sitting on a couch, a blanket wrapped around me. Right now, I was spectating my saviour and his little sister, who were locked in a conversation, having forgotten me.

"Just because I came in with a girl doesn't mean we're dating. I mean, what part of it even indicates that?", the guy said.

The girl pouted. "True, but I finally thought I could be proud of Onii-chan having finally moved on from a loner phase."

"Hey hey, don't discriminate. Being in such a stage is truly a joyous and wonderful experience."

"Only you would say that, Onii-chan."

Watching the two siblings bickering with each other made me feel as though I was intruding on their space. "Umm…", I timidly said, raising up my hand like a kid in school. "I'm still here."

The girl blinked. "Oh, sorry about that.", she sheepishly said, rubbing the back of her head, "I haven't introduced myself. I'm Hikigaya Komachi and that's my Onii-chan, Hikigaya Hachiman. You can call me Komachi!"

"What she said."

After their introductions, they stared at me as if they were waiting for something. I wondered what it was as well, until I realised I haven't given them my name either. "Oh, uh, uh, Yu-Yui.", I stuttered, "Y-Yuigahama Yui. T-that's my n-name."

"Who else could it be?", the guy, Hikigaya Hachiman, muttered. Unfortunately, his sister heard him and threw a pillow at his face.

It hit squarely on his nose and, surprised, fell down on the floor. "Oww.", he complained, glaring at his sister, "What was that for?"

"You're being rude to our guest, Onii-chan. Learn some manners."

"So cruel…"

Once again, the two siblings had forgotten about me, lost in their own world and conversation. This time, though, I didn't mind. It was refreshing, watching two people talk normally despite the demise of the world and population.

"What do I call you?"

The guy turned his head in my direction, pondering what to say. After some time, he came up with an answer. "Hikigaya."

"But that's too long."

"Then what do you want?"

I thought about it for a moment. "...Hikki."

"Nope. Instantly rejected. Denied.", he said, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "Besides, we barely know each other."

"But your name's so loooong!"

"Your name's even longer. Mine's 8 letters, yours is 9."

"Still..."

"So it's okay?"

"Yep!"

"Hey, who said you could speak for me?"

Komachi then clapped her hands together. "All right!", she declared, "Let's eat dinner!"

"Stop changing the subject!"

I became curious. "You made dinner?"

"Yeah, while you guys were talking." How did she do that? I mean, shouldn't it be physically impossible?

"That it isn't possible." Both heads turned towards me "First off, the distance between you and the kitchen is too large for you to travel there, make food and return back here. Secondly, the…."

Since I was too busy explaining the how it was physically impossible for her to do that, the siblings just stared at me throughout my whole explanation, not making a single sound.

"...and thus, she couldn't have possi-, wait, where is everyone?", I realised, turning my head left and right. I was the only one left in the living room.

Panicked, I went to find them, only to see them both eating dinner without me. When I went to find them, I asked why they never told me. Their response?

"What was up with the whole scientific explanation?"

Halfway through dinner, I asked a question.

"What are you guys still doing here?"

So far, we were silent throughout our meal, except at the start when we softly clasped our hands together and whispered 'itadakimasu'. The only sounds that could be heard were the sounds of mouths chewing food and chopsticks hitting each other. Unable to bear the silence any longer, I had to say something, and I didn't realise how stupid it sounded until it came right out of my mouth.

"Ahh..", I waved my hands, "You don't need to tell me. I mean, I gue-."

"Left behind.", Hikki stated. Silently, he continued to chew his food. After some time, I did as well.

This continued on for another minute, until Komachi asked me a question as well. "Yui-san", she started, "How did you survive as well? Like, did you have any friends or something?"

"Well… no.", I said. "It was just me out there."

"Eh? Just you?"

"Y-yeah…", I trailed off, remembering the past one and a half years I went through, scourging Japan for materials and supplies, all the while avoiding the monsters that have colonized it.

"Well, it's in the past so-", I started to say, but stopped. I realised that I was missing something important, a familiar object missing. My trusty knife, which was always strapped on to me, was gone. The brown sheath was empty, hanging and attached to my belt.

I racked my brain for information on where it may have been, but the only conclusion was that I had dropped it. "Sorry", I apologised, standing up, "I have to go get something."

"Mmhmm!", Komachi said, giving me a thumbs up. Hikki was silent, glancing at me. Ignoring the weird feeling in my chest, I went back to the living room, in hopes of finding my knife.

No luck. Then, the only other possible place would be upstairs. I climbed the stairs up to the bedroom where I was put. I opened the decaying door, the room greeting me with a slightly messed up bed and darkness.

I went to the bed, making sure the knife wasn't there. "Where did I put it…?", I thought in my head, not realising I had said the same words out loud as well. "I swear I had it, maybe I put it somewhere? But I don't remember doing that…"

Engrossed in my thoughts, I didn't hear the door silently close behind me.

Engrossed in my thoughts, I didn't hear the sound of footsteps slowly walk to me.

And only when I spun around after noticing the room getting darker was my mouth covered and I was forced down on the bed. Because I had turned around, my back was on the bed sheets, giving me a clear view of the perpetrator.

Above me, Hikki was standing with one hand covering my mouth, the other holding my missing knife.