Partners in Adversity / Living Together?

To be fair, Ishiu's face really was quite deceptive. He looked far too young for anyone to easily feel hostile toward him.

"Huh? So you're just a kid." The girl sized Ishiu up a few times. Seemingly realizing she had misunderstood him, she lowered her guard.

Ishiu's mouth twitched. Resisting the urge to hit someone, he said through gritted teeth, "I just look young. I'm not a child!"

"Oh, and why should I care?"

"..."

"Fine, since you weren't trying to take advantage of me, hurry up and leave. This place belongs to me now," the girl said bluntly.

"Why should I leave? This is a public park, not your private property. Besides, there's more than one bench here, so why do I have to go?" Ishiu raised an eyebrow, getting a little annoyed.

He had always been the type who responded to kindness but not force. If not for that mess earlier tonight, he should have been sleeping comfortably in a warm bed by now. Instead, he had been forced to run away, and he was already holding back some anger.

And now this girl was telling him to leave too. If he still didn't get angry, he might as well become a saint.

"Do you understand first come, first served? You don't look that old either, so why aren't you going home to sleep? Did you run away from home?" The girl puffed out her cheeks like a pufferfish, clearly displeased as well.

She had been sleeping perfectly soundly before Ishiu suddenly woke her up, so naturally, she wasn't in the best mood.

"I'm an orphan. I don't have a home," Ishiu said flatly.

"..." The girl was immediately speechless. After a long while, she lowered her head and quietly said, "S-sorry... I didn't know you..."

Seeing the guilt on her face, Ishiu sighed. Just like that, his anger vanished.

He shook his head. "Forget it. You can have this place. I'm leaving."

As he spoke, he turned to leave, but the girl called out, "Hey, hey! Don't go! If you leave like that, won't it make me look like I'm bullying a child?"

Ishiu turned back with his face full of dark lines. "Let me say this again: I'm not a child!"

"Alright, alright, I get it." The girl waved dismissively, then casually pointed her thumb at herself. "My name is Kiana Kaslana. What's yours?"

"My name is Ishiu."

"Very good, Ishiu, right? You can stay. After all, I'm just that kind-hearted. It's so late, and if you wandered around outside and got hurt, wouldn't that be my fault?" Kiana said righteously.

"So you're planning to let me stay?"

"Yeah. I'm only staying here for one night anyway." Swinging her two thick braids, Kiana returned to the bench. "Find somewhere to sleep yourself, but let me warn you: don't get any strange ideas about me. You've already seen how alert I am."

Watching Kiana lie back down on the bench, Ishiu didn't know what to say for a moment. He had a stomach full of complaints, yet somehow couldn't voice a single one.

He scratched his head and could only sit down on another bench nearby, parallel to Kiana's.

"Hey, don't you have anywhere to live?"

Not long after Ishiu sat down, Kiana spoke again.

"Yeah, at least not for now." Ishiu replied casually, "I used to stay at an orphanage, but I left for certain reasons. So I guess I don't have anywhere to live now."

"Is that so? Looks like you're pitiful too..." Kiana's voice lowered. Ishiu didn't know if she had thought of something, but he felt that her tone carried a heavy sense of... well, the kind of feeling that came with a story.

"I'm alright." Ishiu thought about it. Since he couldn't sleep anyway, he might as well talk with this girl. "What about you? It's late at night, and instead of being at home, you came out here to sleep. You're a girl too. Aren't you afraid something might happen?"

"Just like you, I don't have a home either," Kiana said leisurely. "But I'm used to it. And don't let my beauty fool you—I'm very strong. Ordinary punks wouldn't even dream of taking advantage of me."

"I see..." Ishiu pursed his lips, unsure of what to say.

He had no experience striking up conversations with strange girls, much less finding topics to chat about. Just then, however, a string of strange sounds suddenly rang out in the silent night.

'Grrr—grrr—'

Ishiu immediately turned toward the source of the sound—Kiana—with an odd expression.

Damn, her stomach's rumbling way too loudly. Has she not eaten in three days or something?

"Ugh..." Kiana covered her stomach, her face feeling as if it were on fire.

She had come to this city less than three days ago. She had originally wanted to see if there was any news about that lousy father of hers, but her wallet had been lost in an accident.

As a result, she had not had any money to eat all day, nor had she had anywhere to sleep at night. She could only come to the park, fill her stomach with tap water, and try to fall asleep quickly so she could look for work the next morning.

But she had not expected Ishiu to wake her up shortly after she fell asleep, and now her stomach was rebelling.

"Are you... hungry?" Ishiu asked hesitantly.

"Mm..." Kiana answered through her nose.

"Then... my treat?"

"Really?!"

Kiana instantly sprang up from the bench like a flopping salted fish, her bright blue eyes shining in the darkness.

Like she had spotted a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered.

A Pair of Hard-Luck Companions

Ishiu suddenly had a very bad feeling, but the words had already left his mouth. There was no way to take them back now.

Besides, Kiana would not give him the chance to regret it.

Ishiu admitted that he had gone a little soft-hearted.

After all, it was already miserable enough for a girl to sleep in a park late at night. Not having eaten made it even worse.

On top of that, Kiana had a pleasant voice and a pretty face, so Ishiu figured there was nothing wrong with doing a good deed.

Alright, he was just an ordinary guy who cared about looks.

If she had been ugly, he really might not have treated her to a meal.

"What are you waiting for? Let's go!" Kiana was not polite at all. She rushed over, grabbed Ishiu's hand, and dragged him outside.

Ishiu: "..."

I know you're hungry, but could you at least show a little restraint as a girl?

Ishiu felt like he was beginning to understand this white-haired girl's personality.

It was already late at night, and there were very few restaurants still open. After wandering around for quite a while, the two of them finally entered a McDonald's.

At least fast-food restaurants were usually open twenty-four hours a day.

"Order whatever you want." Ishiu rubbed his stomach. He was hungry too. After all, he had only eaten a piece of bread for dinner, which was not quite enough for a man.

"Hehe, you said it." Kiana happily ran to the counter and ordered ten burgers, ten drumsticks, and a bottle of cola in one go.

"Hey! Seriously? You ordered that much? Can you even finish it?" Ishiu was dumbfounded. What the hell, is she even human?

He had kindly offered to treat her, but that did not mean he was willing to be taken for a fool!

"Of course I can finish it. This isn't even enough." Kiana rubbed her flat stomach. "This will probably only get me about half full."

"???"

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Kiana felt underestimated. She puffed out her chest and declared proudly, "Back when I was in the mountains, I once ate an entire wild boar!"

"You're seriously amazing." Ishiu's mouth twitched. What else could he say? Anyway, if she failed to finish everything today, he would definitely make her regret it!

Luckily, McDonald's was running a promotion. Otherwise, Ishiu's money probably would not have been enough to pay the bill. Even so, after shakily settling the bill, Ishiu sadly discovered that he only had a few dozen yen left.

Well, looks like I'll have to find a job tomorrow too. Convenience store shifts were scheduled in rotation, and I had plenty of time during the day. Wouldn't it be a waste not to use it to make money?

"Phew, that was delicious. Thanks, Ishiu."

Ten minutes later, Ishiu stared silently at the burgers and drumsticks that had already been completely devoured.

What the hell? Is there an alternate dimension in her stomach?

He had heard that girls had two stomachs—one for meals and one for desserts.

But someone like Kiana probably had five stomachs!

And the most terrifying thing was that she actually said she was still not full...

Ishiu felt that he had truly suffered a huge loss this time. Who could have guessed that such an ordinary-looking girl would have such a terrifying appetite? It was simply horrifying!

After eating, the two returned to the park. They chatted for a while longer before Kiana fell into a deep sleep.

After cultivating Mana for another two hours, Ishiu fell asleep as well.

Nothing happened during the night. By the time Ishiu woke up the next morning, Kiana had already disappeared.

Ishiu was not surprised. From their conversation last night, he had learned that Kiana had come to Changkong City to find her irresponsible father. She was probably searching all over the city for him now.

As for him, he should start considering where to find work later.

Just as he sat on the bench thinking, a white-haired little ball walked into the park from outside.

Who else could it be but Kiana?

She was carrying a bag in her hand, though Ishiu had no idea what was inside.

"Yo, you're awake. Morning. Here, this is your breakfast." As she spoke, she naturally handed the bag to Ishiu.

Ishiu accepted it instinctively. Looking at the buns inside, he could not help asking, "Where did you get the money to buy buns? Didn't you say you lost your wallet?"

"Hmph, don't underestimate me. It was just a lost wallet. Getting more money is child's play for me~" Kiana put her hands on her hips, her face clearly saying, Hurry up and praise me.

"You didn't steal it, did you?" Ishiu asked skeptically.

"How could I?!" Kiana immediately jumped like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Then, without hesitation, she grabbed Ishiu's cheeks and kneaded them hard to vent her frustration. "Damn it! Is that the kind of person you think I am?"

"Alright, alright, I said the wrong thing, okay?" Ishiu broke free from Kiana's claws and quickly raised his hands in surrender.

"That's more like it."

"So where did you get the money?"

"Mm... there's not much to say. I was taking a walk just now when I happened to run into a bag snatcher. So I stopped him, helped the owner recover the bag, and that person thanked me profusely and gave me ten thousand yen as a reward." Although Kiana claimed there was not much to say, her expression was full of pride and smugness.

"No way, officer, that actually works?" Ishiu found it hard to accept. I worked my ass off for three hours and earned less than five thousand yen, then spent it all in one night.

Meanwhile, she took one walk and basically picked up ten thousand yen for free? Comparing people really is enough to piss you off!

Kiana had already eaten breakfast, so after Ishiu finished his, she asked, "Ishiu, what are you planning to do next?"

"Work. I don't have a single penny on me right now, so I can only work," Ishiu said.

"Perfect, I need to work too. Why don't we do it together?" Kiana said excitedly. "You're the only person I can really talk to in this city. We can look after each other and keep each other company. What do you think?"

"Mm... alright." Ishiu thought about it, then agreed.

Just as Kiana said, their situations were similar. Two people were better than one, and from what Ishiu could tell, Kiana was the carefree type who did not sweat the small stuff. Being around someone like that would be comfortable.

So the two began wandering through the streets, visiting several shops before finally finding work as cashiers at McDonald's.

Living Together?

McDonald's jobs worked on a shift system, and the wages were paid daily, which was very convenient.

The only bad thing was that they required identification.

If Ishiu had been alone, he naturally would not have been able to produce any identification and could only have left obediently.

But things were different now that Kiana was with him. Although she had lost her wallet, she had always kept important documents like identification close to her body, so there was no worry about being sent to the police station.

So the two went to apply at McDonald's together. In the end, Kiana fully unleashed her shameless personality. No matter what the manager asked, she stubbornly insisted that Ishiu was her younger brother and that the two had come out to work together.

Although they did not look alike at all, the manager did not make things difficult for them. He was probably short-handed, so he let both of them pass the interview.

"Phew, good thing I'm smart." After receiving the uniforms they would wear to work, Kiana proudly patted her ample chest and said with a grin, "If it weren't for me, you probably would've been kicked out."

Ishiu's face darkened. "I never said I wanted to pretend to be your little brother. And what was going through your head? How could you come up with such an absurd excuse? Couldn't you have said we were classmates?"

"Have you ever gone to school?"

"No."

"See?" Kiana spread her hands. "You haven't gone to school, and neither have I. If that manager asked us something, neither of us would know how to answer. Wouldn't we be done for?"

"...That actually makes a little sense. Fine, I won't say anything this time, but don't say that again next time." Ishiu said helplessly. The words had already been said. He could hardly go back to the manager now and say that he was not actually Kiana's younger brother—Ishiu Kaslana, right?

"What do you mean by that? Is being my little brother that humiliating for you? You are younger than me," Kiana said unhappily at his attitude.

Ishiu rolled his eyes and said nothing. He could not exactly tell her that his mental age was already over twenty.