'Ah, life sure is cruel,' Sami thought as she made her way down to the worker's floor, sending patrons awkward smiles every once in a while. She hoped Miku was as well, and that she'd gotten hired instead of murdered or turned into something awful. That was the fate of all her other friends, after all. Doomed to live as not themselves.
Sometimes Sami wondered why Onuka left her, but then she figured it was just because it was just as torturous to be all alone in this bathhouse, left with only memories of her friends. It was even worse then when Yubaba was running the place. Yaoyorozu had fled long ago, along with Hagakure and Jiro. Kirishima had been cursed to never return, Todoroki had stopped showing up for his weekly cleanings. Most of her other friends had been turned into decorations. Occasionally she ran into Mineta, or Iida, but they both had their memories erased, so it didn't really matter. Deku had been completely wiped of his past and personality and went out of his way to avoid her. And Katsuki...
The only one who was left was Aoyama, but she'd never really been able to communicate with the French glittering spirit, plus he could only come about once a year due to his main residence being in France. And finally, she thought Miku was back, but she didn't remember her either. So, Sami thought that out of everyone she knew, she was allowed to say that life was cruel.
She pulled to a stop at a large crowd of workers, leaning against a doorway. She was luckily taller than most of the other frogs and women, so she was able to clearly see that the commotion was caused by Deku introducing Miku (Iko, now) to the workers. His eyes scanned the crowd before landing on her. "Sami. You're the most human out of everyone here." Sami winced. That was true, she'd been 100% human before she died. "Take Iko under your wing." The other workers jeered and laughed at her, and she feigned a groan.
"Cursed humanity." She mumbled, pretending to be frustrated by having to take Miku in. Miku was pushed through the crowd towards her. Sami jerked her head, gesturing she should follow her into the empty hallway. As soon as they were alone, Sami stopped her and exclaimed, "I'm so happy you're not dead!"
Miku looked taken aback. "You're not mad that you're stuck with me?"
Sami shook her head. "Don't be silly. Now, follow me. It's almost bedtime." Once again, she led Miku through towards an elevator, although this time it was to the private staff one.
"Do you know Deku?" Miku asked her quietly.
Sami glanced at her, watching her brush some white hair out of her face and over her shoulder. "Yeah." She admitted. "What about him?"
"Is he always so... Distant?"
Sami wanted to cry. How was she supposed to answer that? No, but then Onuka stole his name and his identity along with it, so now he's just a shell? She just said, "Well, lately, yes."
"Lately?" Miku repeated, voice brimming with curiosity.
Sami sighed. "Look, Deku is completely under Onuka's control, as far as I'm aware. You should try to not think about him." She advised. Miku seemed to accept that as an answer. Sami pulled her into her room. "Anyway, this is our room. Let me get you a uniform and something to tie your hair back. She examined Miku. She was a lot thinner than Sami was, and a little shorter, so the uniform would probably be the small. Luckily, Sami still had an extra pair from the last time Miku was here. Sami paused for a moment, fingers brushing over a yellow silk ribbon, similar to the green one she used to tie her hair into a braid. She instead settled on a hairband, thinking it would be more practical for Miku to use. "Here you go." She said, handing her the items. "If you need anything, just let me know."
