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« 001 ⇢ OVERFLOW.EXE »

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Continued from here!

And now it's Ankh's turn to go wide-eyed in shock. "How do you-?" He cuts himself off because he realises halfway through the question. Something Eiji saw. They had exchanged so many memories when those stupid animals were running around...

His eyes narrow, and he changes it to a different question. "What do you know?"

For a minute, Eiji doesn't know what to say, and he just starts with his reflex.

"I'm sorry, I..."

No. He has to stop apologizing for things he has no control over. He takes a breath and tries again.

"When we had the foxes, I saw something. A little girl, and you were making a Yummy. But she wasn't scared. She seemed...almost happy."

His thoughts are racing now. The only reason someone would be happy about a Yummy would be if they really wanted something and were promised it.

"What...what did she want?"

The apology at least doesn't bother him so much this time, though it isn't Eiji he needs an apology from for this. Suddenly he can't help hoping that a couple of broken cybuddy foxes are getting even more broken in the mess that is their apartment today.

It takes him a moment to answer, fighting back feelings he didn't expect and doesn't know how to cope with. He didn't want to share this. But there's Eiji, asking.

"She was blind."

Ankh doesn't need to say any more. Eiji can put the rest of the pieces together. Just yesterday, he'd gotten mad because a Yummy started stealing cigarettes from people because its parent wanted a smoke. He can guess what it would do if the parent wanted to see.

"It's..."

He wants to say it's not Ankh's fault, but the thing is, he knows it is. Ankh knows it is. Saying it isn't doesn't change things.

He's... glad, in a way, that Eiji can figure it out from there. Probably not exactly, but well enough. It means he doesn't need to come up with words to explain. Those are words he doesn't have. He turns away. It's easier not to look at him.

He was okay. He was fine, keeping that a secret forever. Why does it hurt so much now?

"Ankh, I..."

Again, trying to apologize and again fighting it. Saying he's sorry won't make the problem any better.

So he finally does the one thing he can--he reaches out and hugs Ankh, holding onto him for a little bit.

Maybe it's something they both need, honestly.

The motion takes him by surprise and for a moment he just stands there wide-eyed, not even sure what to think.

"What are you doing?"

It might carry the usual overtone that Eiji is being ridiculous somehow, but there's no bite to it, and he doesn't try to move. For right now, he can't bring himself to argue.

It's the first time Eiji's ever done this, but it feels right, somehow. Maybe it's just the circumstances.

Finally, when he does have words, he says, "I don't blame you."

It's not the first time Ankh's been hugged, but the only other time was when a certain girl mistook him for her brother, and that hardly counts. It's... strange. But maybe he can understand why humans seem to find things like this comforting. He doesn't have anything to say to the words, just a soft "heh." And maybe he relaxes into that embrace, just a little bit.

It takes a while before Eiji's able to let go, and to be perfectly honest, he doesn't really want to. But they're still on the run, and the last thing they need is to get caught for public displays of affection.

"I know I can't make it any better. But at least...at least we both know."

He can trust that it'll be okay for now, at least.

Let the police bots catch up and yell at them for that, as far as he's concerned. He'd happily fry them. Some part of him is still itching to hurt something after having that thrown at him. Just not Eiji.

He takes a step back when Eiji lets go, only replying to the words with a vague sort of nod. He's still not sure that's better, but... well, he can't really regret it, at least. That's something.

It's a combination of being exhausted after all that and trying to come up with something else to think about that makes him realise neither of them have eaten anything since they were rudely woken up that morning.

"...Is there anywhere to get food?" It's a little concerning thinking there might actually not be with the way everything's gone crazy today. But right now, he'll take thinking about that over... everything else.

It's good that Ankh thought of that first, since even with him trying to focus on self-care, Eiji was going to forget about eating. He's too used to food scarcity in crises and panics.

"I don't know. Everything seems to run on CERES tech. If it's only the robots and our apartment that are acting up, maybe we can try the stores and buy some stuff that can last for a little while. Otherwise..."

He cringes. He really doesn't want to have to resort to looting, but it might come to it.

He nods. With any luck, at least something will be up and running. If the stores are as bad as their apartment then even stealing things might get difficult. Not to mention the likelihood of everything being melted or frozen that shouldn't be.

"We should go there next, then." Whatever shape the stores are in, they probably aren't the only ones having that thought.

Practical, but Eiji's still got some misgivings.

"I'm not fighting other people for food, though. If it's happening to others, they're going to be scared too."

Not that he won't fight back if he's the one attacked, but he's not willing to start something--and he definitely doesn't want Ankh getting in the middle of anything either.

"Fine." He's about halfway to rolling his eyes, but it's not like he would expect anything else coming from Eiji. "Just don't decide to starve." Because really, he's not in the mood to yell at him for that kind of thinking all over again.

That said, he starts walking toward where some places he knows they should be able to get groceries. They should see where things stand, regardless. If the stores are working normally or there's plenty of food around, then it won't be a problem anyway.

At least some things are still normal between them. As soon as Ankh makes that quip, Eiji mutters, "I'm not going to starve!" and follows right behind him.

There doesn't seem to be much luck in terms of things working at the stores. Lights keep flickering and payment is completely down. One shopkeeper started trying to shoo them away, but Eiji decided to try reasoning with him.

"It's just a couple things. Is there anything we can trade for them?"

Not that he has much on him anyway.

Ankh says nothing to that aside from just looking at him like he's a moron. He'll let Eiji try to talk his way into something here if he wants, but it's not like either of them are carrying much of anything to begin with, much less anything anyone would want as a trade.

It's going about as well as you can imagine, and the few things Eiji has on him are rejected outright.

"Then is there anything we can do? I mean, you've got things that are going to spoil if things don't get back to normal soon."

Yeah, he's volunteering you for this too, Ankh.

He notices that look being directed at him. Like he has any idea what to do with that. Last he checked, fire and fireproof feathers aren't things a shopkeeper would have much interest in, either.

"What are you looking at me for?"

Eiji pulls Ankh aside. Fire is totally useful here.

"They've got fresh meat that's going to spoil soon if they don't do something. It wouldn't be hard to slice it thin and dry it out. That way, it'll be safe to eat."

They have a chance for better access to food, just as long as they do something in return. And it means they don't have to rely completely on canned and packaged foods.

Well, that sounds like an annoying amount of work. But probably also the only way to get them food in a way that Eiji won't complain about.

"Tch. Fine." He'll let Eiji handle negotiating that, though expect him to step in if this sounds like it's working out too much in the shopkeeper's favor.

Probably better that Ankh handles that part anyway. Even without his issues, Eiji's never been that good at business. But he's good at recognizing when things work out in their own interests, and at least this will give them access to food while they camp out.

"Okay then. Let's get started, okay?"

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