Chapter 4 - Iyako

In a time when people still inhabit this city, crowded streets, happy smiles, and peaceful lives. It was also the time when technological advancements of humanity is at their peak.

Amongst the crowded people was a father-daughter pair walking down the streets. The little girl wearing a thick blue jacket held her father's hand as she ran through the snowy streets. Dragging her father who carrying shopping bags to their so-called home, she hears her father's deep playful voice.

"Hey slow down —ako."

With a smile on his face, the girl gave a cheeky one in return before continuing on without any words said.

"🌼~"

- - - - -

Going on with their walk, they eventually came inside a tall light-colored building with the logo of "CRys Corp.", it looks like 5 purple petals inside a pentagon with the letters of a custom font written below the logo. CRys Corp. is a company that deals with medical research, neural development, and protection of the Gifted. Despite that, this certain facility was still the home to these pair as the man slides his ID near the entrance.

Upon entering, the doors opened letting the two enter before closing again.

"—ako, You can remove your hat now." The man said to his daughter while the security guard checks their luggage or in this case their shopping bags.

Hearing his words the little girl removed her custom-made beret cap, it revealed her short white her with pink strands underneath. After giving the cap to her father, what stood out was her droopy and fluffy fox ears that twitched as she raised up her arms.

"Here, let me help you little munchkin~" The man said as he removed her jacket which then hid her bushy tail freely moving after being stuck to her back for quite some time.

"🤍"

"Must've been uncomfortable." Said the man apologetically, which the girl smile in understanding.

"You're good now." The security guard notifies the man after being done in checking the luggage.

"Thanks. —ako go on without me, Papa still needs to give a report so tell Mama I'm here." After hearing his words, the girl immediately left without batting an eye. To her father's disbelief, he suddenly felt a hand touching his shoulder.

"Don't get it to you man..." The security guard consoled him like he was an old friend.

"It's understandable, It's been a week since we left so I'm sure she misses her mother." He said so as he calmed down after knowing his daughter's actions.

"So... Anything new?" Passing some time, those two men decided to catch up a little by having a short conversation about their daily lives. This sort of peaceful times were rare so they decided to make use of it.

- - - - -

Trotting inside the halls of a certain research facility, the employees see a young girl that seemed like normal girl at first glance that is until they notice her unique features.

"🌼~"

She freely roamed without any care as there was no one to judge her. Upon passing by the people working and greeting their familiar mascot. It was strange for a research facility to have a mascot due to their line of work, over time her presence was enough for them to feel relaxed and healed from stressful hours that demanded great results.

"Hello there —ako~ Are you heading towards Ms. Frolic's Office?" A woman with a ponytail inquired.

She looked at the young girl with curious eyes as she crouched down to her eye level, not wanting to intimidate her. The girl looked at her in silence. But that doesn't mean she disliked the woman wearing a lab coat. Looking closer, she was smiling happily with her tail wagging in excitement.

Seeing this, the woman couldn't help but hug her tightly with her cheeks rubbing against hers. As they went on their world filled with flowers in the background, the other employees looked at the woman with a hint of envy.

Slowly footsteps could be hear drawing near them as a quick blur of paper white stuck the ponytail's head.

"Okay, that's enough!"

"Ouch!"

Another woman in a lab coat stood still with her foot tapping against the tiled floors. Groaning as if a little annoyed by someone disturbing her peace time with their cute mascot, she looked over the perpetrator and flinched upon knowing their identity.

"R-Rin-senpai!?"

"I apologize —ako for this tactless idiot for her actions. Anyways we still have a meeting coming up in a few minutes so don't run away." The woman pat the little girl's head before dragging the ponytailed idiot with an exasperated expression.

Waving her hands goodbye to the working pair, she continued on to her mother's office.

- - - - -

Standing still by the door entrance, a camera attached to the door frame examined the young girl. Noticing this the girl gave a smile while waving her hands along with her tail behind her back.

—ding*

Hearing the sound, her ears perked as she saw the door slowly opening. Getting in before the door fully opened, a platinum blonde woman with braids flowing down her shoulders then turned her head towards her little guest.

"—ako~ Did you miss me already?" She said as she puts down her glasses revealing some bags under her eyes that was the result of pulling all-nighters. Despite that, she still gave her a warm smile with arms open wide while wearing casual clothes.

"✨❕"

Seeing the woman's gesture, the girl ran and hopped towards the woman's arms as she felt it gently wrapping around her. The girl then snuggled onto her chest, earning a giggle from the woman as she began ruffling her white hair.

"So~ Did you have fun with Papa?"

"💕🤍❕" She then replied by nodding her head with glee as her tail brushed against the woman's stomach.

"Glad to hear that sweetie~" They weren't related by blood, but their bond was like a mother and child. Despite being a daily occurrence, the woman didn't mind having her workflow disturbed by this white fluffy smiling cinnamon roll on sitting her lap.

After all, she was happy deep down in her heart being able to raise such sweet girl in for the past few years.

"By the way... Did you leave your father at the entrance again?" With a smidge of seriousness in her voice, the little girl flinched as the woman's guess was right on the mark.

"..."

"Fufufu~" However, it didn't last long as the teasing smile crept up from her face. Feeling happy that her daughter liked her more than her father. However, she still needs to scold her a little as she then heard the door opening again revealing her father coming in with some baggage.

"I guess she missed you, huh?" A man with a lab coat entered leaving the shopping bags from their trip outside looking dejected.

"Can't be helped since I'm the one who spent the most time with her~" She teased her partner with him reacting like a sour loser.

"It's not my fault I'm drowning in paperwork."

"Poor choice of words honey~" She said in retort, having the man see her workload on her desk causing him to nervously moves his eyes away from her, the man then changed the topic into something else.

It was still a fluffy atmosphere filled with happiness. The little girl was being teased relentlessly by her mother as her father hugged her filled with fake tears feeling sad about how she rushed to her mother without second thoughts.

"💕~" The girl silently laughed, and smiled, never taking her happiness for granted.

As the warm family went on with their time, night came and the girl had a pleasant dream. A dream was deep in her heart that these kinds of memories will never end.

... But...

Without knowing what happened, one day she found herself waking up alone inside her mother's office. She sat on the puddle of water across the floor along with her mother's drenched documents.

"...?"

Glass shards across the floor, she looked around and opened her mouth but no words came out. She wanted to call her mother, her father, or any of the friendly adults she knew. Or who she knew.

"...!"

A sudden headache came rushing as she tried to remember what happened. But that only resulted in her face turning pale.

"..."

Sweat dripped from her worried face as all her memories were hazy. She could barely remember her own name or her parent's faces, but she still knows where she was and who to look for.

"...? "

She looked around and notice that behind her were three capsules and only one of them was broken. With the collateral on the floor and an open rusty door. She looked outside the window but knew something felt off.

Deciding to peek through the halls, her tail motionless as it always touched the wet floor.

... *

... *

...... *

Peeping her head out causing her to flinch. Those tiny hands gripping the doorframe quivered as she got a good look at what was outside.

...

The busy halls she remembers where the people working in this place were now a quite empty hallway.

...

The white paint on the wall and the windows connecting the other room looked were either scratched and broken.

...

As she finally stepped foot outside the room, the shiny floors that squeaked against her shoes were now covered in dirt and stains touching against her bare feet.

"..."

She looked at this view again, this was not the place she remembered.

- - - - -

"Haa.... Ha.... hic* ...Haah..."

Underneath a stained thin yellowish blanket, sweat began to drenched the musty cloth that was wrapped around my body. After that encounter, I had decided to lock myself inside one of the rooms that had a hint of comfort.

-—sniff*

Snot dripped from my nose and I could barely open my eyes. Fatigue already had caught up to me as I can barely move my body. With eyes locked on this room's door, I tried to focus feeling paranoid something might come in.

...

Time slowly pass, as it felt like it was ticking forever. My body began swaying as I tried to maintaining my sitting position, but it time went on, my eyes were gradually feeling heavy.

...

Fighting back the drowsiness, I body trembling knowing I'll have a nightmare once I closed my eyes...

Yet...

When I did...

It was strangely peaceful...

As my body felt like it was drifting away in the white glow of nostalgic happy memories I'd long forgotten. It makes all of my sufferings like a bad dream that didn't actually happen. While looking up towards the white space, I felt comfortable as a warm feeling was placed on my head. I felt happy, like an lonely child finally enjoying someone's gentle touch.

---———-- ---—-- - ——---- —- -

Before I knew it, tears had fallen from my eyes, I had no words for it but it was comfortable.

Up until now, I have been alone, with no one truly staying by my side. But then, I experienced this warm feeling, as if someone wouldn't abandon or forget about me, no matter what. As they gradually began to drift away, I desperately clung to that feeling, not wanting to let it go.

-——- - — --——-- - — - --——--

I ended up slowly opening my eyes, feeling a little refreshed as if some of my burden had decreased. My eyes were dragged down seeing the old fabric of the soft and old bedsheets, however, as I was about to go back to sleep again and wanting to return to that peaceful place, I noticed rustling sounds nearby.

"Hm...?"

When I turned towards the source and about to look down below my bed, a figure suddenly popped up causing me to pull my body back in surprise.

"UWAHH?!... Huh?"

I was about to scream and had the pillow I instinctively grabbed about to be thrown at the perpetrator that scared the living shit out of me.

"🌼~"

Upon taking a good look at them or rather her. She looked like a kid, but what threw me off was those fluffy ears I thought were decorations. It twitched as her bushy tail wagged from left to right so I couldn't help but be curious.

"Uhhh... What...?"

I asked what any normal person would say in this situation and what I got was her tilting her head probably not understanding what I said.

"Okay..."

As I was still sitting on the baffled by her sudden appearance, she helped herself climb up the bed sitting across with an interested look on her face. Doing so, made me realize how we're both looking at each other on matching eye level.

"Wait..." I muttered as a sudden revelation came.

Am I... In a body of a child right now... I know it's a bit too late to realize it right now but is that really the case? I thought I'm just a really short girl but I'm beginning to have doubts on what I initially thought to what this body's age.

... Anyways...

"H-hey... Umm... " I said feeling a little awkward having a little girl staring at me with those empty blue eyes.

...

...

...

We only stared at each other for a few minutes or so without any words said. I was about to speak up because it was getting a bit too awkward for me but it didn't long for her to break the atmosphere by hopping out of the bed and began attempting to look behind me.

"❔"

"Is there something behind me?" I asked curiously as to why she was acting strange.

Continuing trying to peek around me, she looks a little frustrated before deciding to pull out the blanket that was covering my naked body.

"✨-——-❕❔"

"Wha- What the hell?!" My eyes widen in surprise she was also shocked upon seeing my burnt body.

After escaping from the monster, those tentacles covered with burning hot liquid left a mark all over my body, it wasn't that bad and I think it'll heal itself if given more time. However, when I quickly took back the blanket because this is the only thing covering my naked body, I stared back at her feeling a little annoyed.

"❔❔❔"

Realizing the blanket was taken from her snaps back and saw my glaring expression as I tightly held the cloth wrapping around my body.

"... Mmh..."

"💦❕"

I looked directly into her dull blue eyes waiting for her to apologize but I didn't get a single word coming out from her mouth. Instead I got myself confused as to why she was starting to do some weird gestures with her hand. Then it dawned on me...

"Are you by chance..." She then looked at me probably knowing what I'm about to say.

"... Haah... Never mind it's quite obvious now that I think about it... Anyways..." Seeing her look of understanding she then continued making hand gestures as if telling me something.

"... Uh... Sorry, I don't know hand signs... But I can tell that you feel a little sorry for what you've done right?"

Upon hearing the first part her face went to despair but listening to the later half she then looked up at me before nodding profusely. I then sighed as I'm troubled about how I should act towards her. I wanted to ask her first what she know but after knowing she's mute and don't know much about sign language, I gave up on the idea.

"Anyways... Why did you pull the blanket?"

Well, saying it's my clothes would be a stretch but this is the one I have right now.

"💦❕—-—-——--—"

She then began using hand gestures before I squint trying to understand what she was trying to convey. She then of course realized this before panicking and tried her best to think of alternatives on how to communicate with me.

" 💡❕"

With a light bulb shining on top of her head, she touched her fluffy ears telling me something about it then went towards me close enough for her to touch something on the side of my head.

"—Hm?!"

However, upon doing so, I felt a strange new sensation that I haven't felt before. And when I touched it myself... I saw galaxies zooming out from my head.

While my brain malfunctioned due to the new information. I didn't notice her hugging her tail confused by my reaction she was supposed to tell me why she is confused about my lack of said tail attached to my lower back.

So in the end, we both got confused by confusing each other on our confusion.

- - - - -

"Ehem... Anyways..."

"❔"

After breaking out of that cycle of growing question marks on our heads. I reached out my hand to her forming a handshake.

"... What's your name? By the way, mine is Masako" I introduced myself as I gave her the nickname my best friend gave me.

"And uh... You can mouth it or try tracing it on the bed if you can." I added.

Hearing this question, she thought deeply and hard about it before tilting her head while smiling awkwardly scratching her cheeks.

"🌼..."

"... Then... Do you want me to give you one?" Hearing my suggestion, she nods in agreement.

As I was thinking about her name, I took note of her appearance. Short white hair and I could see some strand of pink underneath though barely noticeable, fluffy fox ears and a soft bushy tail. Going through these features I felt a sort of familiarity when looking at her...

[White hair with pink strands...] I looked at the bedsheets as those same colored strands as hers grew from me...

[Fluffy ears...] I had one of my hands feel the soft texture of those attached to my head.

[Same height...] Gazing into her dull blue eyes at the same level as mine.

[The only difference is the tail and I'm unsure if we have the same eye color...] But comparing my appearance to hers, I'm starting to connect the dots that we might've been related.

"✨〰️✨"

Sitting in front of me, eagerly anticipating her new name, she thumped her tail softly against the bedsheets. I murmured the last part of my full name.

"...Iyako..."

I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Masaiya Ako was supposed to be a name that represented 'happiness', but it didn't quite fit me perfectly.

"🤍❕"

When she received her new name, she beamed with joy to the point of overreacting. I couldn't help but smile in response.

"Hey, what's up with you? It's just a name." I said that in a playful tone. But it didn't stop her from being thankful for receiving one.

"🌼✨"

"Anyways... Nice to meet you—" I was about to say her name but she raised her arms with a smile mouthing her 'I-ya-ko' silently before putting down both hands happily resting on her knees.

"Right... Iyako, Nice to meet you." I said with a smile.