"Yuki, be careful!" Suzu was scared that something may happen to Yuki since she said to shoot if she did not call out to her.
"I will. Just sit tight and wait for me to come back okay?" Yuki said, forcing a smile. She had to keep herself together, so she would not make Suzu more sad and worried than she already was. She knew Suzu was bottling up her emotions inside. It was something Suzu always did. There was no way she was not still sad about losing her parents.
Yuki was right as soon as she walked away, Suzu curled up into a ball and tears began to roll down her face. Suzu did not wish to worry Yuki anymore than she was. In order to not cause that extra worry, Suzu waited until she knew Yuki was gone before letting her tears fall once again. "Mom… Dad..."
Yuki walked over to what was now nothing more than a dirt pit of items that had fallen from the floors above after the house disappeared. She sighed looking down at the pile of what used to be her belongings. "First things first, I need to secure food and water."
Yuki remembered Kenjiro's teachings and the first thing he said was to always secure food and water first before anything else even before finding cover. He said that cover would mean nothing if there was no water supply close by and if there is water then that meant food was also close by. Whether it be small game or just some edible plants at least it would be something to fill your stomach. Of course, this was assuming you had the knowledge to even trap game or identify the edible plants.
Yuki carefully climbed down into her basement and made her way over to where the smashed cupboards of her kitchen were and the refrigerator that was now slightly ajar. Luckily for her along with the pistols, she was also given a holster so she wouldn't need to put her gun down. She had the holster slung over her shoulder and the gun safely tucked under her armpit. As she worked, she made a pile of food and water they could still drink.
She had only been in the basement for thirty minutes when she heard a voice coming from above her. "Hey, girl, why not share some of that with me?"
Yuki froze and looked in the direction where the voice was coming from. It was a man who looked to be in his late twenties, his baggy pants, the Hawaiian shirt he was wearing, and slicked-back hair really made him look like a two-bit thug you would see in the movies. Yuki quickly went on guard. "And if I say no?"
"Look you do not have a choice. If you do not give me the food you have gathered, I do not mind teaching you what it means to be a woman." The man said with a loud laugh as he rotated his hips around. Yuki was utterly disgusted and from what she could see the man had no weapon on him.
Yuki was trying to figure out how she would handle this but she knew one thing, if she gave up her food and water there was no telling if this man would still let her off. She could see the lecherous look in the man's eyes. She remembered the words that Kenjiro had said during her gun training. "If you feel the situation is dangerous do not hesitate to pull the gun out. Turn the safety off and give a warning shot."
Yuki did her best to calm her pounding heart as she reached for her gun. Seeing Yuki reach for something, the man's eyes turned cold and he reached behind him pulling out a knife. "Whatever you got there do not even think about it or I will slice you up, little lady."
"Sorry for you but I think my weapon is faster." Yuki said coldly as she pulled the nine millimeter out of its holster, turned off the safety and pulled the trigger.
*Bang!*
"Ouch! Shit!" The young man yelled out as he held his shoulder, dropping the knife in his hand as he fell to this butt. Yuki actually did not mean to hit him and wanted to only give a warning shot to scare him away but Yuki who was already scared closed her eyes as she pulled the trigger. "Fuck this isn't my day!" The man yelled as she quickly ran away not daring to look back at Yuki. The man had never expected a young girl to have a gun on her, never mind being able to actually fire one.
Yuki's legs gave out and her hands trembled. She had never expected to have to shoot someone in her entire life. Then again she never expected the things around her to start disappearing either. As she sat there trying to regain her composure, Yuki heard Suzu's voice coming from behind her. "Yuki! Are you okay!?"
Yuki turned back to see Suzu whose eyes were swollen from crying looking down at her from above with a gun in her hand. Yuki mustered up all her strength and forced a smile as she stood up. She looked up at Suzu and said: "Yeah, just a minor issue. Since you're here I will pass up what I found."
Suzu did not believe a minor issue would result in her firing her weapon. But since Yuki did not seem keen on saying anything Suzu knew not to ask anymore. The two girls worked together and brought back the food and water they found to their tents. The mood was very heavy for both of them. Mainly because their day to day life they once had was now gone. The area around them looked like the aftermath of some kind of disaster or war. It was no longer the busy neighborhood they grew up in. It looked more like a wasteland.
After securing enough supplies for the next few days, Yuki and Suzu built a spot that could be used as a makeshift bathroom out of wood. It was by no means pretty that was for sure, but it would at least block people from looking at them while they went. It was nothing more than a hole in the ground and for both Yuki and Suzu, they really did not wish to have to use such a thing. By the time the sun was beginning to set. Yuki could see many fires off in the distance. She could not tell if these things were campfires or what but she knew it would not be good for her to start one when it was just her and Suzu.
Although cold the two girls huddled together in their tent and ate a bowl of dried cereal. "Yuki, I feel weird..."
These words were just the beginning of Yuki's nightmare. The tent began to fill up with a golden light even though they had no light source on. "Suzu!?"
"Yuki what is happening!?" Suzu panicked as she looked at her legs and hands that where beginning to turn transparent. Balls of light started to slowly emit from her body. They floated up and passed right through the top of the tent.
"Suzu no!" Yuki began to panic tears rolled down her cheeks. She couldn't believe this was happening. "Why Suzu!? Why must you take away everything I love!?" Yuki yelled out at the top of her lungs. She hugged Suzu tightly who seemed to be losing her ability to even move anymore.
Suzu mustered up what strength she had left and reached up with her transparent hand and cupped Yuki's cheek. A smile formed on her face as she gazed at Yuki. "Yuki… Ever since our first kiss, I fell in love with you. Promise me one thing… Live on… for yourself and for me..."
"Suzu no! I love you too. I will do whatever you want as long as you don't leave me! You're my only family left!" Tears rained down from Yuki's eyes onto Suzu's cheeks.
Suzu smiled bitterly. "Yuki, baka. How dense can you be?"
As Suzu said these words her whole body turned bright causing Yuki to close her eyes. But when Yuki opened them there was no longer a warm sensation in her arms. Just balls of light that floated up through the ceiling of the tent. Yuki was now at a loss. Her closest and only friend. Someone she saw as her own flesh and blood sister even though they were not blood-related was now gone. She was not dumb, she had known Suzu's feelings for her but she was afraid to allow herself to accept a side of her that she was not even sure about herself. But now that Suzu was no longer here, smiling at her, calling her name. Yuki's heart ached as she began to cry out all her heartfelt tears. "Suzu!"
One never realizes what it means to miss someone so much until they are gone. It was the same as when her mother disappeared. She loved her mother more than anything and then when she disappeared a void appeared in her heart and now she had another void. Suzu was no longer here. That night Yuki curled up into a ball and cried herself to sleep.
As the next morning light shined down on the desolate land, Yuki's eyes slowly opened. She felt very alone now. But Suzu's words rang through her mind. She felt like crying but pushed back her tears. "Suzu asked me to live on for the both of us… Until the day I disappear, I will do what I need to survive... My mother also told me to live well..."
It was now day ten. In a matter of just ten days, Yuki had lost everything she cared about. Her mother, Ayame, Kenjiro, and now her first love Suzu. If Suzu did not say what she said before she disappeared. Yuki would never have come to accept the feelings she had for Suzu. Why else would she not mind being kissed by and kissing Suzu? Yuki now had two huge voids in her heart. She did not know if those voids would ever disappear. But if she was able to survive all of this, she would make sure she lived her life for all those who she loved that were no longer here. After getting changed and eating some dried ramen, Yuki crawled out of her tent and took a deep breath. Strapped to her body were two nine millimeters. Her pockets filled with extra clips. She had already filled a backpack full of food and water. She had remembered there was a battery-powered radio in the basement when she was down there getting food. She wanted to see if anything news stations were still reporting or not.
"I will start with that then fully pack up camp… It would be best to move on… If I stay here the memories will make me feel depressed..." Yuki adjusted her backpack and walked over to the edge of where the basement of her now missing house used to be and her eyes grew wide in surprise to see ninety percent of everything now gone. She spotted a few of her clothes and a few other things that she wanted to take with her but she had no idea how much longer they would last. "The clothes on my back won't disappear while I'm out in the open will they!?"