"Silly, girl. I have watched you grow up since you were little. I would never leave you alone during such a time. Come, let's go in and eat before it gets cold. I took the day off today." Ayame went to the kitchen to heat up the food while Yuki dragged the still half-dead Suzu to the kitchen table to eat.
"Suzu, wake up! Why are you looking like a zombie? I swear, even in your own house it is like fighting a war to get you ready." Ayame gave an exasperated sigh. Yuki wanted to say that if you give her a kiss she will wake up. But for some reason, she felt too embarrassed to say anything and also felt that the whole subject was weird. But Yuki did think Suzu looked a little too pale and it was really starting to make her nervous.
"Yuki what do you plan to do from here on out?" Ayame asked.
"I was thinking of dropping out and getting a few part-time jobs. Mom had worked so hard to keep this house that I do not want to lose it." Yuki's eyes began to well up with tears when she thought about her mother but she did her best to push them back. But at the age of sixteen, there were not many places that would hire Yuki. So her plan may come with roadblocks.
"It would be best if you stayed in school. I talked with Shohei last night after he was released and we both came to the same conclusion. We would like you to come stay with us. You and Suzu are basically sisters so there is no issue with the two of you sharing a room and from what Nanami had told us, you two prefer to share the same bed which would work out well since our place is small. It would be a good way to finish high school and you could even sell the house to go to college. You do not have to answer now but just think about it. " Ayame said as she stood up and stretched: "Alright you girls behave. Yuki, think about what I just said. Think about what Nanami would want you to do and your own future."
After Ayame left, Yuki fell into deep thought. She finished her breakfast and went to the living room and turned on the T.V. Suzu plopped herself down next to her and laid her head down in Yuki's lap, found a comfortable position, and closed her eyes. Normally Yuki would try to keep her awake but with how pale Suzu looked, Yuki decided to just let her sleep.
Yuki flipped through the channels and stopped when she saw a certain news broadcast.
[A new emergency alert has been issued due to mysterious disappearances. In just one night millions of people around the world have vanished in what some say to be in a fantasy-like manner. If you see someone with signs of being pale, lack of energy, nonresponsive, and signs of unusual behavior, please take them to see a doctor or call the emergency line to get help quickly.]
Yuki watched the news in shock, everything reported on systems was exactly how her mother was before she disappeared. Yuki quickly looked over at Suzu who was now peacefully sound asleep and felt even more worried about Suzu's unusual paleness. But she did not want to overreact in case it was nothing. But Yuki couldn't help still being concerned. So she decided to watch over Suzu and see if anything changes.
As the day went on, Suzu woke up feeling very refreshed and took up her spot behind Yuki as normal. Nothing strange changed in her behavior. While Yuki was concerned about Suzu, she was also trying to figure out what to do from here on out. Ayame's words really dug in. She knew the offer Ayame gave was ideal. Her mother would never want her to drop out of school. Nanami always wanted Yuki to finish high school at the bare minimum. But the idea of selling the house that her mother worked so hard to keep was something that did not sit well with her.
As the days went on, Yuki began acting normally once again. Mainly due to Suzu always acting her normal self, seeking out Yuki to spoiler her. But because of this Yuki was able to come to grasp with things quickly. She did not hold herself up in her room like some would after losing a loved one. This did not mean she was not sad. At night she would still cry and she would also have nightmares about what had happened. But thanks to Suzu being at her side every night she found a source of comfort.
The news continued to report the incidents of missing people. Yuki had now become more interested in watching the news to find out anything new about the signs of how someone would disappear. So far Suzu showed no signs of disappearing except for being extra pale. But it was on the fourth day that things turned even more strange. As normal after waking up and sneaking out of bed while Suzu slept, Yuki went down stairs and sat on the couch to watch the news.
[This just in… There have been new reports that not only are humans disappearing but also other objects. Things like plants, cars, houses, buildings, and other objects have begun disappearing. As a result of this, the people who were in cars, houses, or buildings have been reported as seriously injured or dead. A state of emergency has now been instated on all of Japan. People are allowed to leave their homes, but should not drive. You should also not stay on any floors higher than the first floor. If you have a basement, it is ideal for you to move what you can to the basement in order to not fall to your death during the night, in case your house disappears while you are sleeping. I must tell everyone this is not a hoax, this is real. To prove this we have been allowed to show a video coming from America where a twenty-floor building was caught on camera disappearing. Warning this is very graphic.]
Yuki's eyes opened wide as she watched the video. The outside of the building suddenly became semi-transparent before instantly turning into balls of light. The floors still stood just fine but more glowing objects could be seen in the video that looked to be the building's main support beams. As the light dimmed, Yuki watched in horror as the floors suddenly came crashing down, smashing into the floors below it until reaching the ground. The people inside all crushed to death or fell to their death.
As she thought of Suzu sleeping on the second floor, Yuki shot up from the couch and ran upstairs. She burst into the room and picked Suzu up in a princess carry and rushed back downstairs with her in her arms. The bouncing movement was enough to cause Suzu to wake up, feeling a bit surprised as to what was happening. "Yuki!?"
"Good Suzu, you're awake. From now on we sleep on the first floor..." Yuki catching her breath began telling Suzu what she had just watched causing Suzu's eyes to open wide in shock. Any tiredness she had was completely gone.
The two sat on the couch and watched the news which replayed the video causing Suzu to become scared. "Yuki what do we do?"
"I'm not sure… For now we should have breakfast… Ummm… Did your mother go to work today? Wait no they said on the news that we are in a state of emergency… Suzu, we are going to your house, come on!" Yuki shouted. She pulled Suzu along who was in nothing but a long white shirt and tossed a jacket on her to cover her up more before stuffing her shoes on and then putting her own shoes on. Yuki had a bad feeling.
The two girls raced next door to find both of Suzu's parents' cars there. They walked into the house to find the news on, and Kenjiro and Ayame both sitting on the couch watching the news. "Mom, dad?" Suzu asked nervously since the two were not moving. Luckily at the sound of Suzu's voice, Ayame turned around which made both girls let out a sigh of relief.
"Girls! I'm sorry, I got caught up in watching the news… Did you two see it?" Ayame asked which in turn the two girls nodded in answer. She smiled, and got up from the couch, and walked over to Yuki and Suzu pulling them into a hug. "I will make you two something to eat."
"You girls should stay here from now on. To be honest we should not even be staying in the house. What the hell did they mean by, we should stay on the lower floors!? The fucking building crushed everyone on the floors below it!" Kenjiro said, not looking away from the tv.
"Maybe we should camp outside?" Yuki suggested. They had a small backyard but it was big enough for a tent at the very least.
Kenjiro thought for a moment and nodded his head. "We will camp out then. It would be safer. Although the nights are chilly..."
This was true, the nights had become very chilly since they were heading into fall. So this made things a bit more difficult for them to be staying outside. "Suzu and I can dress warmly. It will be fine." Yuki was not too worried about the cold. Especially since Suzu would more than likely cling to her anyways making for a good heat source.
"Alright, we will try it out for a night. The yards only big enough for a single tent, so we will need to use both backyards. I will break the fence down between the yards so if anything happens I can quickly get to you guys. After breakfast you girls go next door and get changed. And begin bringing down everything you will need to the first floor, Yuki. Suzu make sure you help her out, okay?" Kenjiro gave Suzu a stern look as if to say you're not allowed to be lazy.
But what Kenjiro did not know was that when it came to helping Yuki she was never lazy. "I will!" Suzu answered without any hesitation.
After the girls ate and went next door, Kenjiro let out a long sigh. "We will need to prepare them for the worst. I will be teaching them everything I know about survival every day from here on out. There is no telling when either you and I will disappear. We can not let these girls be unprepared."
"Kenji, just do what you see is fit. They are both smart girls and Yuki is very levelheaded. I think if we were to disappear they would be fine as long as they knew what they should and should not do."Ayame walked over to her husband and hugged him. Just talking about disappearing scared Ayame. But she knew they needed to be prepared and that their daughter and Yuki needed to be prepared for the worst.
"I will be giving them each a handgun from my collection, just in case. Whatever is happening does not seem to be slowing down. This world will soon turn to shit. When it does, I hope those two will be safe..."