In the lost cities of Japan, it wasn't all that abandoned, it wasn't silent either. There were lots of citizens who once lived there, trying to find home again in their hometown.
There were constructions going on, people cooking on the street for everyone, as if the whole city was a big family. Three girls from the Japanese city walked through the natural habitat, mixed with the new life. Their clothes were old, dirty and a little bit broken, but they didn't mind it, the sun was warm and bright and it was still morning.
"Come on you lame duck, we're almost at our destination", shouted a joyful girl behind the other two, one of them was already tired since it's still morning. They had to climb up the path-like stairs to reach a certain place they wanted to see and check for themselves. After being out of breath from all the old stairs that were covered with moss, they gazed at the old, yet really big house. The house was abandoned too and no citizen wanted to move in, so the three girls without a place to live in, wanted for sure to take the house for themselves. Since civilization was dead, everything was free for now.
"I can't believe you made us climb all those stairs so we could live in a cottage like that ?", said the tired girl, even sounding as sleepy as she was when she woke up.
"But can't you see Subaru, everything is free, this is our house from now on, this fairytale-like home is only for us with this garden and the forest too", the brown-haired girl pointed excitedly at everything, Subaru can only remember her with a side-ponytail, but the bow broke during the massive and sudden destruction and vandalism.
"So to go out in the city, we need to go all the down from the stairs, and then up again ? Awww man I won't have grilled meat and veggies anymore Matsuri", the tomboyish girl whined, just looking at the stairs made her feel like she would live her daily life in a nightmare, but on the other hand she would probably get used to it and built up some leg muscles.
"But.....I feel very odd about this place...", said the third girl this time, everyone knew her as a bright and cheerful girl, but after everything that happened, she too, changed. She was simply staring at the house in front of them, she felt a cold presence near her. She felt it, something was in there.
"There's nothing odd about this place, it's only because it's old, it gives you chills down your spine right ?", Matsuri laughed it off, giving the girl a soft bump on her shoulder with her fist. Even after the small bump, the girl went silent, so did Masturi and Subaru.
"Anyway, let's go in and check it out then", the girl suggested, both girls even jumped from how the sudden voice that had scared them. The girl already moved towards the house, opening the old door, nothing in sight. Her blue orbs analyzed the long corridor, nothing...yet the cold presence didn't leave, something was in here. It made her stay cautious at this place, it made her walk silently through the old wooden floor.
"Hey, do you think something is wrong with her ?", whispered Subaru over to Matsuri, they were sill meters away from her, unsure what the blonde girl meant with her statement.
"Well, Haato sure acts strange after the incident happened...well...I mean, I'm sad for us too, but live has to keep going for sure", Matsuri whispered back in a sad tone, Subaru felt with her. It sure was a historical moment to see with their own eyes how humanity destroyed everything years ago, and now everything was turning into a great balance of nature and human evolution.
The buildings stayed covered with moss and plants and humans started living in houses again. Some citizens even mentioned how they didn't want to remove the plants from their houses, since they believed it was a miracle by god. God's work made people believe that indeed, there was hope for humanity and civilization.
Arriving inside the house, it was quiet, nobody was living in here probably, or was a person there ? They didn't know so they had to check the whole place, from living-room to the kitchen, to the bedrooms, to the garage. They checked together the whole place, until only one place inside the whole house was left, which was all down, so the basement. Even if they would go together downstairs, they were too scared to go, it was too dark, even with the sunshine sticking out to the clear sky, it was still dark. The cold presence was in there, Haato felt it....something was in there.
However, Haato ignored it and they begun with tidying and cleaning up the house, even writing a sign with their names on it in front of the house, so that everyone could see, the house belonged to them from now on. Apart from all the house chores, just like the other citizen, they didn't want to remove the plants just yet. The reason was to put it in their garden and so they had to make some space in it for the plants to fit in. When they finished up everything, they took a bath together. It wasn't cramped at all, the bathtub was big enough it could fit at least four people in.
"Haaaa...this is what I really needed, a warm bath", Subaru said out loud while being naked, she was the first one to enter the bathtub. Both Matsuri and Haato had to shower first before they would enter, but of course it took much longer since the electricity and technology was gone now. So they had to heat up the hot water first with a small campfire they managed to create with their knowledge.
"Geez Subaru, you sound like an old geezer", commented Matsuri at Subaru's utterance, overturning the bucket filled with lukewarm water.
"Heyyy, I'm stating facts here", griped the short-haired girl. In the end, they were all inside the bathtub and their muscles relaxed. The bath was so nice that the three girls stayed in there for a good long time, they surely had now room to relax and a place to think about what happened all these years.
"Those were pretty wild years girls...I just hope everyone who isn't with us here anymore peace and happiness in heaven", Matsuri broke the silence, it was a prayer for the dead people from the whole humanity-collapsing misery. Even Subaru and Haato prayed too and stayed silent for a minute, they lost way too much beloved ones from the destruction worldwide.
From bathing in the afternoon, they started cooking dinner in the evening with the still few kitchen utensils and food they had. It wasn't much, but at least something to eat and cook food in it. Today it was cooked cow meat with bread and extra berries they found in the forest as dinner food. All three of the girls were starving, just looking at the three pieces of meat getting cooked in a pan over the campfire made their mouths water. Matsuri couldn't wait and did bite on her bread already, Subaru and Haato could still wait for the whole food being ready.
When the meat was finally well-cooked, they ate the meat from the pan, they didn't have plates and at least they had forks they found and knives too. They took the pan out of the campfire and put it on a stone with a flat surface on it, so the pan wouldn't fall.
Finally they could eat the meal they had and filling their tummies with food. It wasn't the best meal they could have, but at least something to survive those days of survival. The meat was still letting out smoke, which meant it was really hot, but the girls took patience and also paid attention to making the piece cold by blowing on it.
"Oh how tasty even without spices, really yummy, it's been so long", Matsuri commented happily after finally being able to taste meat again after years. She chewed it so firmly, so slow, to taste and enjoy every bit of it. Haato agreed with the brown-haired girl with the taste of the hot meat, it was really enjoyable and they could feel how their bodies got fit and healthier again.
After the meal, they went to bed together, well, more like they slept in their futons on the floor together, so to keep each other's warmth during the cold temperatures at night. Even if the windows were closed shut, a cold breeze of the wind was still able to go through the window.
"Wow girls, today was just great, we finally have a safe space", spoke Subaru, remembering the activities from today. They archived a lot from the goals they set as a group.
"Yeah, I think so too actually", added Haato too to the conversation, today went just smoothly and also, a lot of hard work had to be put of to clean up the house as three girls.
"I'm glad you enjoy it Haato, but say, Subaru and I have been wondering today, you didn't seem very happy today, normally you would talk and be the adorable cute girl we know, did something happen ?", asked Matsuri concerned to the blonde, now the brown-haired girl got the full attention of them two at the same time.
"No, it's just, I still have a bad feeling about this place you see...I can still feel it...", answered Haato seriously, yet her face expressed fear, pure fear and the feeling of being in danger. The room went silent, Subaru and Matsuri looked at Haato, no words were spoken until Haato continued speaking.
"The cold presence from the morning...I still feel it, I don't know why, but....I feel it girls...", Haato took a deep breath before she continued, her voice now shaky and quiet, as if she was whispering...
"S-something is in here, it's in the house....it's in the basement...", both Subaru and Matsuri looked at each other, should they believe Haato ? Was this just still her feeling and trauma that made her react that way of insecurity and in danger...or...was there really something ? The wind rose and the cold temperature of the deep dark night too.
"Sooo, should we just sleep ? Tomorrow is still another day right ?", suggested Subaru, Matsuri and Haato simply agreed to it, maybe that would calm the blonde down and make her feel more at ease with them sharing the three futons together. So they laid themselves and it only took minutes for them to fall asleep due to the strong fatigue they had.
After the long night, morning rose, the light shone bright again and it was already warm. However, today was the day, no voices were heard again in the city, the plants were dyed in red color and no more breathing sounds was ever heard by the citizen in the near city....
Subaru, Matsuri and Haato wondered what happened to the now abandoned Japanese city...something was there after all...