“Hey, Itsuki! What else do we need besides bolts, metal fragments, and fuel regulators?”

“Hmm - did you check your list if we missed anything?" Itsuki asked. He seemed to be scouring for parts through a warn-torn battlefield left with derelict tanks, vehicles, and weapons. "This sector is supposed to be filled with parts from old-era machines. I still wonder why they kept using these ancient things instead of electric engines?”

“Sensei told me that it had to do with something called 'EMP bombs', rendering the electricity useless in war. With just one hit of those bombs, they could disable the electronics pretty efficiently. So I guess the predecessors relied on old machine technology and fuel to carry out attacks and defenses. Anyway, did Daishi-sensei say what he needs the parts for?

“He told me he is restoring some old-era vehicles to use for outer sector scouting and the next batch of travelers. He also told me he is fixing one for us to use - I think he said it's called a Kettenkrad. Said it would suit us for when we go on our supplies run.”

“Yeah, that’s a great idea. My back is so sore after all these supplies run going by foot, so a vehicle will finally do us good." The other man answered. "Sensei fears that some of those nut cases might still have EMP weapons out there. Those old vehicles are much more reliable out here than the modern ones, considering that we still find fuel. Did you get to see the vehicle yet?”

“Nah, he told me it’s a surprise. He only said it looked like if a motorcycle and a tank had a baby.” Itsuki answered as he kept scouring through the metallic garbage. Itsuki was in his early twenties and wearing a green military outfit with a helmet on his head. On his back, he wore a large backpack and an Arisaka Type 38 rifle around his arm that he used for protection. Their squad was sent on a mission to scour the layer for machine parts and resources to help fix some of the machines back at their home.

“Haha, how would that work? The tank would instantly obliterate the motorcycle.” The other man who went by the name of Yasuo also helped look around for the parts, he was about the same age as Itsuki, but then in this world, one wouldn’t know their real age or birthday. Usually, in their village, most of the orphans were given a rough estimate of age by how they appeared.

Yasuo and Itsuki are both orphans from the outer layer that the survivors of the village found many years ago. They were taken under the care of a mechanic by the name of Daishi who was a long-standing resident of the village. They both had no recollection of their real families, however, they felt a close bond with each other as if they were brothers by blood.

“Well, thanks for putting that image in my mind now Yasuo. A tank and a Motorrad...” Itsuki let out a chuckle as he continued scouring through the garbage, carefully passing it with his old-age Geiger scanner to not pick up any dangerous-radioactive material by mistake.

“Oh... Here! I found something!" Yasuo held a piece of metallic material that looked like an old engine piston. "Looks broken thought!"

“Be careful to scan the piles first Yasuo, you know those iodine pills don’t always help unless you want to spend a week in the infirmary on a dialysis machine again. I am sure sensei can find some use for it.”

“Ughhh… but my backpack is getting so heavy Itsuki.” struggling and complaining, Yasuo jammed the part in his large backpack, weighing him down with all the heavy parts he collected earlier.

“As the old folks say, finders keepers!” Itsuki replied and smiled as he continued scouring for parts. Feeling a bit peckish he felt it was time for a break as he sat down on the garbage pile and took out a green bar from his pocket.

“Anyway, do you want some rations? I brought some extra ‘Soylent Green’ with me.”

“Why do you insist on calling it ‘Soylent Green’ Itsuki? Are you still that obsessed with that 20th-century book?” Yasuo questioned him.

“Well, it’s ridiculous how similar is the process to make these bars as in the book. Except it's not actual human beings, but disgusting recycled waste from plants." he took a bite of the green bar and pointed it at Yasuo. "You tell everybody! Listen to me, Yasuo! You’ve gotta tell them! 'Gramineae Bar' is shitty plant! We’ve gotta stop them for the sake of our taste buds!” Itsuki let out a chuckle after he recited his favorite part from the book. “See Yasuo? 'Soylent Green' has a better ‘knack’ to it.”

For Yasuo and Itsuki, books were the only entertainment they had in the village. Every chance he had, Itsuki would fill up his backpack with books he could find in almost every supply and bring them to his home. Even though most of their friends and neighbors didn't know how to read, he and Yasuo managed to learn from their guardian and spent their free time browsing through his collection. Books were one of the few types of old-world entertainment that were left in this world and he was overjoyed when he could find books of every kind. Itsuki felt that reading connected him to the old-world and how life used to be back then. He would even trade weeks' worth of ration just so he could get a new book to read.

“How about you jump inside the ration machine yourself and see what comes out?" Yasuo jokingly suggested. "Maybe an 'Itsuki Bar' will be tastier?"

“What do you think sensei would do if he finds out I got turned into food, Yasuo?”

Taking a bite of the green bar, Yasuo cleared his voice and started speaking in a deep voice. “Mmm…. such a tasty bar! But wait! I’VE BEEN EATING ITSUKI ALL THIS TIME!” he continued biting into the green bar imitating their guardian “I better wash this taste of Itsuki with beer before I get on fixing that damn antediluvian machine!”

“Oh - man! Your impersonation of sensei is spot on!!!” Itsuki started laughing holding to his sides “But yeah, those old stories are fantastic, maybe we should try to write a book sometime?"

“With my bad handwriting?" Yasuo asked. "I doubt anyone would be able to decipher it for years to come!"

"Oh yeah, it's so bad!" Itsuki said and laughed again. "Oh - But, don't you sometimes find it odd how some of those books accurately portrayed our world?" Itsuki asked him. "It’s like our ancestors knew what would eventually happen to this world. In those books, the world that our ancestors lived in seemed so beautiful, but now it looks so different from the pictures."

"I guess they somehow foresaw their own future?" Yasuo pondered. "If those stories about the place in the sky are true, maybe it's the same as the old world? Hey Itsuki, have you ever wondered what happened to those people with the passes?”

"I don't know Yasuo," Itsuki replied. "I'd like to think they made it up there and will one day remember to come back for us. If the stories about that place in the sky are true, I'd love to go visit that place one day. I think we have a long time before we are granted passes to leave too. I am sure in a few years we can go with the next convoy. We have to keep working hard to make our dreams come true after all." Itsuki looked up, above them was another layer of the city that went on endlessly in each direction. Every chance he had, he kept pondering what was up there. Was it the same wasteland as here? But he knew nothing of the world outside except for things he read in books, but in this day and age, it was difficult to discern what is history and what is fiction.

"Maybe one day we will finally be able to see the real sky and the stars that we read so much about."

“I hope so too Itsuki, there's a whole world to explore out there," Yasuo replied as he finished up his green ration. He stood up and brushed his clothes off from dirt. "Anyway, Let’s finish up here and meet up with the others. We have to carry all this stuff back for sensei.”

• • •

As soon as both of them stood up from the ground, close by they heard someone sliding through piles of rubble and loud footsteps heading away from them.

"Huh?! Did you hear that?" Itsuki worriedly asked. "Ready your rifle!"

Both of them took out their rifles from the back, aiming toward the strange sound in the rubble.

“Shit! Could it be those assholes again?” Yasuo whispered after he took cover behind a large tank.

"I don't know," Itsuki followed him. "But just in case be prepared to shoot. We barely got out alive last time when they shot Motoyasu!"

“Let’s go check it out. At the first sign of trouble, I’ll fire the flare to signal the others!” Yasuo replied as they carefully walked toward the source of the commotion. Scouting the horizon they couldn’t see anyone in their sight, but from the pile of displaced rubble, it was obvious that someone was there stalking them all this time.

"...Shit.... shit..." Yasuo kept on panicking, ready to fire at anything that moves. They were still young and hadn't been in many firefights in their lives, so being scared was a natural reaction. Suddenly from the corner of his eye, he could see the shape of a person getting up from cover and running away from them.

“STOP!” he yelled. “ITSUKI! HE IS RUNNING AWAY!”

Both of them started running after the strange person careful not to trip on the mounds of metallic garbage underneath them.

“I SAID STOP!” Yasuo shouted again before he stopped dead in his tracks and aimed his rifle at the person. He fired a round but missed by just a few inches as the bullet hit the metallic trash, ricocheting in the distance. The loud echo of the shot could be heard throughout the whole sector, breaking the still silence of the dead city. Startled, the person dropped to the ground, as Itsuki and Yasuo got closer still aiming their rifles.

Itsuki’s eyes abruptly opened wide before he lowered his rifle. The person they chased through the rubble was a blonde malnourished girl with derelict clothes, as she covered herself with her hands sobbing from fear. She seemed to be about 2 or 3 years younger than them.

“WHO ARE YOU?” Yasuo yelled at the girl, pointing his rifle dead center at her eyes. "WHY DID YOU SPY ON US?" He was ready to fire at the first indication of motion.

“What the hell are you doing Yasuo?" Itsuki yelled at him. "Can’t you see the girl is terrified and unarmed?”

“I don’t give a shit! She was spying on us and ran to alert her friends to come kill us and steal our stuff!” Yasuo kept his gaze on the terrified girl, still pointing his rifle at her. "They killed Motoyasu for what? Disgusting green bars?"

“Does she look like those assholes to you?" Itsuki asked him. "Lower your rifle right now or I swear I’ll kick your ass!”

“Please! Don’t kill me!” the girl barely spoke from fear, she wept loudly begging for her life “...I am hungry… we are all hungry and sick… please…”

“Pff fine - if she kills you it’s on you…" Yasuo lowered his rifle glancing down at the girl with caution in his eyes. "...stupid fucking idiot..."

Sitting down beside the girl, Itsuki took the rest out of his green ration bars and handed them over to her. “It’s ok we won't hurt you - please tell us who you are?”

Petrified, the girl slowly took the ration bar and started biting into the green bar. Shaking from fear she barely managed to place the other ration bars in her pocket.

“My ... my name is Yuriko … we’ve been on the run … from the raiders … they attacked our village and ... and kidnapped some of the kids … they wanted to use us as slaves - to work in their recycling factories, and they wanted to shoot the weak ... so our group ran away from home… I went to look for food, but I saw you two and I thought you were raiders… and then I fell… and you ran after me… Please, I am scared I have to look after my friends… they are hungry and sick…” the girl kept sobbing, barely eating the ration bar “Please… I am so scared … please … please don’t kill me…”

Sitting next to her, Itsuki carefully placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "Don't worry - where is your group hiding Yuriko? We can help - "

“Wait wait wait! Itsuki!" Yasuo abruptly pulled him away. "You do remember the policy of exposing our home and taking in refugees don’t you?” Yasuo said fixing his gaze on Itsuki who started turning red from frustration. “They will punish you if you break that rule - “

“Are you serious Yasuo? She is just a girl. LOOK AT HER! She can barely move… We are living in comfort while there are children and families still out there being murdered and raped by those scum. Get it in your dull heads all of you … We still have empty houses, we have to let people in! We need more people to survive … What if the circumstances were different and we were in her place instead?”

“Hey don’t snap at me Itsuki… I don’t make the rules! You keep reading in those books how those 'societies' always fall. It's always due to overpopulation and lack of food" Yasuo replied shouting back at Itsuki in an equally fiery tone. "Besides we will lose our passes!"

“Yasuo… those books are only fiction! With all those people getting passes and departing for the place in the sky, there will be none of us living in the village." Itsuki spoke and attempted to calm down. "I am sorry for snapping at you but seriously, fuck the rules! I'll gladly accept any punishment I receive if it means I won't have a guilty conscious for leaving her to die!"

Turning to the girl again, Itsuki lowered his voice to not frighten her any further. "Please Yuriko, tell us where your group is hiding, we promise we are not raiders - we have a home, and we will try to help you all out."

“...umm… you have to follow me, we are hiding over there…” the girl pointed to an old ruined factory in the far distance “They are waiting for me - some of the kids are armed so please be careful. Please just have mercy, we would rather die than go back to that life…”

“Lead the way, Yuriko. I will follow you.” Itsuki got up taking his rifle in his hand, helping the girl stand up by her arms. “Are you coming with us Yasuo, or you are going to just stand there like a fool with your rifle?”

“Well, I’ll come with you so we don’t get separated again, but I am keeping my rifle ready…" Yasuo replied as he raised his rifle again at the ready, following behind the girl and Itsuki. "I don’t trust outsiders anymore Itsuki. Motoyasu was our friend if you already forgot! He was so full of life and happiness and they … they just shot him, for a green bar!”

Walking through the ruins, Itsuki, Yasuo, and the girl quickly approached the entrance to a large abandoned factory. The factory ceased production a long time ago from the absence of humans. Even if the machines and robots were self-sufficient, they still occasionally relied on the help of humans. In a way, their AI was programmed so that if their purpose was fulfilled or nonexistent they would shut down. However, through adaptive learning, the AI learned to look for new purposes to fulfill across the city, as if the city was still alive and thriving. Itsuki and Yasuo tend to avoid these robots as they served no purpose or threat to them. These robots seemed to blankly wander around the world and do menial tasks that served no purpose.

Itsuki, Yasuo, and the girl threaded carefully through the dark corridors before they reached the large room lit by lanterns and a campfire. Walking inside the room, their eyes opened even wider as they lowered their guns to the ground.

The factory housed families of malnourished and sick adults, teens, and children, there must have been hundreds of poor souls who made their journey looking for a better life within the ruins of the city. Some of the adults stood guard with rifles in their hands while children lay down on the cold floor sleeping, dreaming of a better reality huddled next to their brothers and sisters. Couples of all ages, trying to ration a little bit of food that they could save from their trip, sat huddled around the campfires.

Nearby, a family sat in mourning after they lost their relative who succumbed to exhaustion and hunger. She was a woman in her 60s, who couldn’t survive this grueling journey any longer. Even in this world, she managed to have some kind of happiness and life back in her village, running away she lost her life on the cold floor in this abandoned factory. With closed eyes, she lay peacefully on the ground in an eternal dream surrounded by her family.

In shock, Itsuki and Yasuo both took off their helmet as they looked around the large room. This was the first time they have seen such a large group of outsiders trying to survive out here in this harsh devastated city.

At their village, everyone followed a rule that you were only allowed to take in small groups of orphans, children, and teens along with their guardians and family, but ONLY at a time when it was applicable and food was plenty and they weren't a threat. Anyone that broke the number of rules inside the village, they were treated as an offender who could be exiled or even lose their pass privilege for the place in the sky. Finding out the secret location of their village could mean frequent raids from the raiders and the aggressive outsiders who were consistently on the lookout for food and supplies. These rules were enforced due to decades of trouble they faced as a society, and they had to keep the place in the sky a secret. Present a human with a luxury of a home and even a way to work for their food, they would still cause all kinds of problems and chaos they would imagine.

Brushing his tears off, Itsuki turned to the girl “Oh my goodness! You’ve all been living down here all this time?”

The girl looking back at him replied “...No... we just recently arrived… we were hoping to go south of here to the ocean and see if we can find a way off from this dreadful city. Maybe there is food out there in the rest of the world or someone alive that can help us but … most of us could barely make the journey…” the girl said with tears in her eyes. “These are all who have managed to run away from the village. We had enough to survive for years, and we learned to be self-sufficient with the help of AI and our hydroponic machines and farms. But the raiders, always demanded we give them a large share of our food. Then they came and took every able-bodied adult for work in the garbage dumps and factories... then they took the children… one day they came, stole our machines, and started killing all of us who were deemed unfit for work. They killed half of the residents in our village. Kids, mothers, fathers, grandmothers… anyone that crossed their path… they slaughtered us even for fun… The rest of us who managed to escape were hunted down for days, then they left us alone to die from starvation.” raising her hands to her face she started weeping loudly… “My mom… she died in my arms…. from a bullet wound. I tried to help her… I couldn’t do anything…” crying loudly the girl fell to the ground.

“Yasuo, we have to help them…" With a broken heart, Itsuki turned to look at Yasuo who was standing next to him looking in disbelief. "I don’t care if they hang me or take away my pass. I can’t find it in my heart to leave them out here. We can’t be selfish anymore, I know we can share our resources. I will take full responsibility and accept my punishment… even if they exile me...”

“Itsuki - I don’t know what to say… We came here to collect resources but… we found all these people... You are right, we can’t leave them. And no, you are my only brother and friend in the world. I won’t let you go down for this, and if we do I’ll gladly share your punishment whatever it is.” Yasuo replied as he took out the rest of his rations and flask, and walked around the campfires handing them out to the hungry and thirsty.

“Yuriko…” Itsuki faced the girl as he leaned down helping her get up “I promise we will help you, we have a home, and - it’s probably the same as your place. We have machines that help us, and a hydroponic bay too. I am so sorry about what happened to your mother and your home. We’ve had problems with raiders and outsiders for many years before and we don’t trust anyone that comes from the outside. Some of them killed our best friend just a while ago. His name was Motoyasu and his beautiful daughter was just born 2 weeks ago. Yuriko… please tell everyone to gather their belongings... I am taking you all to your new home... “

Brushing her tears off the girl leaned and hugged Itsuki tightly. "Thank you..." she smiled through the tears. "I will never forget this. .. there are still good people in this world ..."

All Itsuki could do was embrace her back, wanting to assure her that she is safe and everything will be alright.

• • •

Some time passed before the refugees took down their camp. Itsuki holding the girl by her hand, led the large crowd of exhausted and malnourished people out of the factory, Yasuo walking just close by holding two orphans by the hands. Emerging from the factory, it took about an hour of hike to get to the meeting spot to regroup with their squad.

The rest of their squad impatiently waited for Itsuki and Yasuo to come back from their supplies run. They were just about to call it quits and leave them for death before they glanced in the distance and saw the large crowd of people walking towards them.

"Wait, don't shoot." One of the scouts said. "I see Yasuo and Itsuki. What on earth are they up to now?"

In disbelief, the squad waited for them to arrive. They have also never seen such a large group of outsiders before. A young boy from his squad started talking to Itsuki. "... Itsuki... who the hell are they? I thought the plan was that we only get machine parts and supplies?"

“Well.. plans do tend to change don’t they?” Itsuki smiled while he held Yuriko's hand.

“...Umm… care to explain yourself?” the young boy asked him again, still perplexed by the large number of people that followed them to the meeting point.

“Well… I’ll explain everything later. Just help them with food and water, they’ve been through a lot… we have to get them back to the village... and yes, before you ask again, I am taking full responsibility.”

“Itsuki... You know they will burn you for this?” The boy told him “We filled the outsider's quota - what the hell is this?" frantically he turned to Yasuo. "Why the hell did you let your brother do this?”

"When he is up to something he just goes and does it," Yasuo replied and grinned. "And I hope they will make a great bonfire of us then, I’ll be happy when these children dance around the fire in the safety of their new home. Oh and here…” taking off his heavy backpack Yasuo slammed it into the boy’s hands. “Take this, I’ve been carrying this shit all day.”

• • •

“Sensei, I hope you took care of my Kettenkrad before you leave?” Itsuki spoke as he helped his guardian ready the supplies for his long journey to the place in the sky. Standing close to him were, Itsuki and Yasuo gathered with a large crowd of people waiting to send the lucky travelers away on their journey.

“It’s like new, Itsuki, I changed the oil, and the lamps and tightened the tracks. It should last you for ages if you both take good care of it. I bet you still remember all those engineering lessons you took with me.” With a smile, Daishi glanced back at Itsuki. “Well it’s in your hands now, I also put in an extra toolbox in case you lose your other one, like the last time - Oh, and don’t lose your rifle again or I'll come back down and kick your ass!”

“Hey don’t worry, your lessons are all fresh here in my mind,” Itsuki replied as he placed his hand on Yasuo’s shoulder. “I’ll also have Yasuo take care of the stuff I lose and the hydroponic machines instead of lazing around all day.”

“Well as clumsy as you are, you were still the best student in sensei's class Itsuki, I’ll leave the mechanics to you. You know my specialty was always hydroculture and being a good shot with the girls!” Yasuo smiled as he also helped their sensei place supplies, weapons, and clothes in his vehicle for their long journey.

Daishi was their guardian ever since he found Itsuki and Yasuo as orphans outside the village. Today was finally his turn to make the long journey to the mysterious place in the sky that everyone spoke about. In his old age, he accumulated enough points to earn a pass but he stayed back for Itsuki and Yasuo. Their punishment for taking in all those refugees all those years ago was losing their privileges to earn points for a pass for a limited amount of time.

However, today was the day the visitors from the 'sky' once again came down to bring people with passes for they only knew the working elevators and roads to wherever they were taking them. The 'sky people' traded commodities for people with passes, they needed the workforce and humans from the outside with the promise of a better life. However, the elders of the village would not just let anyone make the journey. The residents of the village needed to work hard and do their best to be able to earn points for a pass and to make enough rations for the long trip ahead. To some it took years, to some only months - however, children and women were an exception. This time Daishi had a good reason to leave the village behind as he had someone precious to Itsuki to protect and take on this long and dangerous journey.

With sadness in his eyes, Daishi approached them and spoke. "Itsuki, Yasuo... you know I tried everything I could to make them change their minds. You know I fought for years and years to give you my points and for them to give me your punishment instead. They were all determined to take away your privileges ... even after all these years - these stupid archaic rules - "

"It's alright sensei." Itsuki smiled back at him. "I don't regret a single thing I've done to help all those people outside. Not everyone is bad as we thought. I will be happy knowing that you and my family got a chance to be safe up there wherever it is. I'll work my hardest so we can come to meet you soon!"

“Itsuki, Yasuo… I am so sorry… I wish I could have stayed behind and taken care of you ...”

“No sensei, you have to go and take care of Itsuki's family," Yasuo spoke with tears in his eyes. "We are old enough to take care of ourselves and I know that as long as I am alive I will take care of my brother. Itsuki helped me be a better person and I'll always stay behind for him."

“Sensei, that day was when our destiny changed. That day was also when I met the love of my life.” Itsuki spoke. “I knew one day eventually we would try to help the unfortunate people out there. I hope the village comes to its senses and lets more people make the journey to the place in the sky.” Itsuki smiled as he leaned to hug him. “Sensei - you were like a father to me, thank you for everything.”

“Same here sensei…” with tears in his eyes Yasuo went in for a group hug with both of them. “I will miss you - I promise I will take care of this delinquent for Yuriko and Reo.”

After they broke off from the hug, Itsuki turned around to see Yuriko and his son Reo walking towards them from the distance. They were packed up and all ready for the difficult journey ahead, but they had to leave. There was no happiness or life for them down here. With tears in his eyes, he quickly approached Yuriko who started sobbing, and hugged her tightly.

“My precious... Yuriko…” Itsuki said hugging her even tighter “...Please… don’t cry and please don’t ever come back here... It’s dangerous here and I know you are scared of the outside. You and Reo will be much happier up there. I promise I will come to you and Reo when I get my pass.”

“Itsuki… I am so sorry… I never should have met you back then, it’s my fault that you didn't get a pass…” Yuriko sobbed loudly in her husband’s arms. “...If it wasn’t for me you would still have your chance!”

“Hey...hey...hey that’s not true. My love… it’s not your fault, my beautiful flower.” he leaned and kissed her softly on the lips gently caressing her cheek. “You know that I love you and Reo more than anything in this world. I will always love you both. But I had to help you and those other families. It was either that or get a pass and live with a guilty conscious that I abandoned you all those years ago."

Weeping she broke from the hug and took out a picture from her pocket of the three of them in front of their house and handed it to Itsuki. "Please ... don't forget us ... Itsuki ... I will wait for you, my dear..."

As Daishi was technically their adoptive father, he could take family members on his journey with the points he accumulated. While he couldn't take Itsuki and Yasuo on this journey, instead he had the option to take Itsuki's son Reo and his wife Yuriko on this journey so he could give them a chance at a better life. Itsuki felt this was a better decision than for them to stay here and eventually starve if the machines one day stopped working. He knew the grim reality of what would happen to his village one day, so he felt they had a better chance out there.

Next to Yuriko was his son Reo waiting for his turn to say goodbye to his father.

"Dad… please come with us … please…” he was trying to stay brave for his father but couldn’t help it as he started weeping loudly “...Dad… don’t leave us behind … please….”

Leaning down, Itsuki hugged him tightly and started crying “Stay strong for me and your mom please, Reo-chan… I know you will grow into a beautiful strong boy one day and you will be really smart. I will be with you all as soon as I can and I will have so many stories to tell you, I will bring you a lot of gifts from the outside and I will send you both letters each time the 'sky people' come. Reo-chan… please forgive me… I didn’t have a choice. You know how much you like mama’s curry with rice?” Reo nodded with tears in his eyes. “She will make it to you almost every day up there... You will see the sky, and the sun and have a better life than what is here. You will try so many different foods that we don't even know exist and you will also help your mom prepare them. Promise me?”

"I - I promise dad..." Reo spoke, not wanting to leave his dad's embrace. "I - I will miss you - dad ... "

Breaking off from the hug, Itsuki gently looked at him with a smile on his face and brushed the tears off the little boy’s face. “I will soon be there for you and mom, one day. Just wait for me and we will make her world-famous curry. I promise you, we will laugh and smile all day. Just know… I love you so much... my sweet flower...”

Getting up from his knees he hugged them both again before saying his final goodbye, he couldn’t stop himself from crying as they boarded one of the many vehicles filled up with people that had passes for a better life.

Signaling the horn, the leader of the pack was an old-era transportation vehicle armed to the teeth. It was time for the lucky travelers to leave for the home in the 'sky'. The voice of over 400 people echoed throughout the village sending them out with good wishes on their long and difficult journey. With tears in his eyes, Itsuki smiled and waved goodbye for the last time to Daishi, Reo, and Yuriko before the main gates of the village closed.

• • •

“Are you going to carry all those books to the house Itsuki? You know we came here to find rations for the village. The hydroponic bay is barely working these days and books aren't that edible the last time I tried."

“What do you think? I’ve read every book in my library and I was hoping to finally fix that radio we found outside the other day. What else am I gonna do from boredom besides hanging myself? And I am glad I finally found some glasses so I can read, my eyesight is getting so bad.”

Leaving their Kettenkrad outside, Itsuki and Yasuo were scouring through an old library full of old papers and books that somehow survived centuries of war, enclosed in a machine that managed to preserve them from time.

Suddenly as Itsuki scoured through the books he yelled “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

Yasuo next to him jumped taking out his rifle from the back
“WHAT? WHAT HAPPENED?”

“It’s her!” Itsuki was holding an old book with a picture of a woman from the old era, the words on the book were unclear to Yasuo as he never managed to learn the old western alphabet and language like Itsuki. “That one writer that Yuriko loves a lot!”

“What who?” Yasuo still stood at ready holding his rifle in his hands, his heart pounding.

“She was an old writer from way back in the old era…” Itsuki with a wide smile held the book tightly examining each corner carefully. "Her name is Emily Bronte."

“Itsuki, you scared the shit out of me you idiot!" Yasuo replied with an annoyed expression before placing his rifle on his back.

“Yuriko used to read the one book from Emily in my library all the time, and this is a different one! There was so much more she wanted to read from her but I could never find anything else out there." Itsuki smiled hugging the book tight, with tears streaming down his face. "It reminds me so much of her when she sat in our living room scouring through those old decrepit books. I will send this to her the next time the 'sky people' come. And I wrote so many more letters already!"

Placing his hand on Itsuki's shoulder, Yasuo spoke “Hey... we are so close to getting our passes. Look on the bright side of what we have done these past years. We helped so many kids and families down here and even fix more of those useful machines with recycled parts. I am sure even all those families and children we have sent up there with our letters survived and Daishi-sensei, Yuriko and Reo-chan know we are still alive down here.”

“Reo-chan would be around his 30s when I come home, he will be an adult and probably will have children of his own. I’ll be a ‘grandfather’.” Itsuki replied as he brushed the tears from his eyes storing the book carefully down in his bag.

“Don’t worry Itsuki. They will be so happy when they see their ‘grandpa’ finally!” Yasuo spoke as he suddenly changed his tone to a serious one. "So hey... I know why Haruhi was sick in the morning these past few days. I wanted to tell you all day, but this is a good time just like any." He let out a sigh. "We found out she is pregnant!”

Itsuki’s eyes widened and jumped embracing him screaming again “AAAHHH YASUOOO… You better marry her soon or I swear I’ll kick your ass!”

“Sure sure… soon soon!” Yasuo smiled “We even came up with names for the baby. If it’s a boy we will call him Itsuki after his uncle, and if it’s a girl - Chito’. When our child is older, we will all go together up to the sky place.”

“Chito-chan… That’s such a beautiful name! I am so happy for you both! I am sure it will be the cutest baby ever, Yasuo!” pulling out a cigarette from his pocket he lit it and handed it over to Yasuo “Hey, I didn’t bring any hydroponic beer with me, but we should light a cigarette to celebrate.”

“Nah…” turning down the cigarette Yasuo spoke “Those cigarettes will be the death of you Itsuki. I can celebrate with my coffee though.” he smiled taking out his flask.

“Yeah, I’m sure my lungs will just give up one day. But until then, here is to a new life down in this shit-hole!” They both cheered, Itsuki smoking his cigarette and Yasuo drinking from the flask.

After the visit to the old library system, Itsuki kept struggling to drive the Kettenkrad in a straight line as it was overcapacity with books and supplies they managed to find the ruins on the outskirts of the old city. With an annoyed expression, Yasuo struggled to comfortably sit on the pile of old books.

“Why don’t you just throw some of the books away Itsuki?” Yasuo asked him.

“Why don’t I just throw you away instead?” Itsuki replied annoyed in defense of the books, still trying to drive the Kettenkrad. “C'mon you piece of junk!”

“Well, I probably weigh less than all this stuff you decided to take with you. I’d probably walk to the village faster than you!” Yasuo responded as he kept scouting the far distance. The sun slowly was setting down while the street lights illuminated the way of the ruined city behind them.

“We are close, stop complaining Yasuo… I’d rather throw away the food than the books.”

“Pff… you are such a bookworm!” Yasuo sighted sitting in the back, irritated that he couldn’t get into a comfortable position. "I'll force-feed you these books one day if we run out of food."

“So hey Itsuki, do you think Motoyasu's girl is already up there?”

“I hope she is. It was her family's turn to go so I hope they made it up there. I am seriously considering just taking the kettenkrad and going up there by ourselves Yasuo... but it seems like only those 'sky people' know the way up there. I'm sure we will just get lost and seems like a long and difficult journey. I overheard one of them talking about something called the 'Ninth Sector' and that the place was the tallest spot in the city... Maybe that's where my family is?" Itsuki replied as he kept struggling to drive the Kettenkrad forward. They both wondered for ages what kind of place was in the sky and where the location was. So far they had only heard rumors, but nothing more. Besides the people they famously called 'sky people' that dealt with the elders, no one else returned from there. They never received letters or any information if their families or friends were still alive. Maybe they had their own rules that they also enforced just like the elders of their village.

“So, do you think that Kanazawa kid we met at the other village might be of use yet to help us figure out the place?” Yasuo asked.

“Well he’s still young and kinda useless, but I hope he can give us fresh maps soon to coordinate supplies. Unless he gets lost again with his wife... Imagine a clumsy cartographer that gets lost!” Itsuki chuckled still focusing on the road “But at least his services are cheap. He works for a bag of rice and tuna cans. I hope one day he gets to be the best cartographer around, we can use his skills if we figure out how to get to that place up there. But I don't wanna tell him about the pass program or the 'place in the sky' yet, I don't want the others to see us as traitors or we will get shot.”

“Hey, takes a clumsy person to know a clumsy person.” Yasuo chuckled as he teased Itsuki from the back

“I am not that clumsy!”

“Well… you even managed to lose the spare toolbox that sensei left you!” Yasuo teased him and laughed again before Itsuki raised his hand with only his middle finger pointing up.

“Hey, I’ll give you homework to find out what this hand sign meant in the old world Yasuo.” Itsuki replied and chuckled.

The engine of the Kettenkrad rumbled on as Itsuki focused on the road ahead. Passing blocks of old ruined houses, the street light illuminated more of the dark derelict city. What once used to be a bustling city filled with people, now was an old ruin abandoned by humans a long time ago. However, it seemed like the city was not fully abandoned. Even if the engine was noisy, Yasuo suddenly could hear something else. Something faint that was different from the engine's sound. "Wait ... stop the engine Itsuki!" he exclaimed.

“Huh?”

“Just stop it!”

Itsuki hit the brakes as the kettenkrad came to a full stop and turned off the engine. They could indeed hear something in one of the ruined houses. It appeared to be the faint cries of a baby.

“Take your rifle Yasuo, let’s go check it out!”

Walking carefully towards the ruined house with their rifles pointed, the faint cries were getting louder and louder. Walking into one of the rooms they found an old ruined baby crib, someone inside it was crying. Laying down was a baby wrapped in a negligent cloth, malnourished, and its face red as it has been crying for hours and hours.

“Oh my goodness!” Itsuki exclaimed as he reached down and picked it up carefully in his arms. "It's a baby!"

At the same moment, Yasuo ran outside the house and started shouting at the top of his lungs. "ANYONE OUT THERE! YOU IDIOTS FORGOT YOUR CHILD HERE!!! HEEEY!" he continued shouting to no reply, just the constant dead silence of the abandoned city.

"HEEEYYYYY!" he shouted again. "YOU LEFT YOUR CHILD TO DIE, YOU FUCKING IDIOTS!"

Walking out of the house, Itsuki held the baby tight in his arms, as it continued crying “Quick Yasuo, go grab that powdered milk ration we found earlier, the poor thing is starving… you do remember how to prepare milk for a baby?”

“Of course, I’ve done this countless times carrying for Motoyasu's girl … What kind of a father would I be if I didn’t know how to do that.” Taking out the gas stove from the Kettenkrad, he lit it on fire as he placed water and powdered milk in the pot.

“It’s a beautiful baby girl, Yasuo… How could they just leave her out here to die?” Itsuki said gently swaying the baby to calm her down.

Taking out the warm milk from the stove, Yasuo checked the temperature before pouring it into a feeding bottle they had for emergencies when they were out with the orphans. Sadly the orphans were a common sight in the ruins, as people were abandoning these children if they lacked the rations to feed them. Traveling for them seemed to be much easier without the extra mouth to feed. Sadly babies never survived long on the outside, but this girl’s luck abruptly changed.

Gently, Itsuki put the teat of the bottle into the baby’s mouth as it started suckling on the lukewarm milk inside. “There there… you are safe now sweetheart...” Itsuki said swaying it softly around, as the baby drank the whole content of the bottle before falling asleep safely in his arms.

“Itsuki! We managed to save another life!” Yasuo said looking up at Itsuki with relief, who held the baby carefully in his arms

“Oh… I came up with a perfect name for her." Itsuki spoke with a smile. "In honor of my wife, I will call her - - - Yuuri.”

• • •

It was earlier in the morning when a loud knock on the door woke Itsuki up. He was sleeping in his bedroom together with Yuuri who fell asleep cuddled next to him the night before.

“Mm… grandpa?” Yuuri spoke after she woke up curiously looking at Itsuki getting up from the bed.

“It’s ok sweetie, go back to sleep. I’ll go see who is at the door.”

Opening his eyes and yawning, Itsuki hurried to the door “Mm… who could it be at this hour?” he asked before he opened the door. On the other side was the bewildered look of one of his friends from the village.

“Itsuki-sensei… I am sorry for waking you up but… Yasuo and Haruhi… after two months they found them… I am so sorry!”

Itsuki with a sudden fright in his eyes asked “Wait wait… what happened? Are they safe?” Itsuki hasn’t heard anything from Yasuo, his wife, and their daughter for about 2 months. Both of them went to the neighboring village to work on the hydroponic machines.

“Itsuki-sensei… Their village was raided. I am so sorry but, they shot everyone... Yasuo and Haruhi were executed right there on the spot… Chito was laying on top of them… she wasn’t even crying when we found her. She is alive…” the villager replied trying to compose himself, a little girl with dark hair was standing just behind him. She was dirty and slightly covered in blood that probably belonged to her parents.

“No… No….FUCKING HELL! NO!” Itsuki cursed and started trembling, holding his hands to his face with difficulty kept trying not to cry. "What about the others?"

“The raiders … they all took them and only left Chito-chan to die from hunger because she was way too young for them…” the girl behind the villager looked up at Itsuki with curiosity in her eyes, unable to understand the whole situation or why her parents weren't there. “She is all alone now Itsuki-sensei, you are the only one she has in the entire world!”

“I WILL MURDER THEM - ALL OF THEM!” Itsuki grabbed his rifle just above the bookcase and stormed towards the door. However, the villager managed to stop him from running out.

“No Itsuki… you must stay here… the girl lost her parents, you must stay strong for the little girls… they have to count on you... you can’t just go out there and get killed by them... you know they are on to you and will kill you if you step outside the village!”

Sobbing even louder he leaned on the villager’s arms and cried his eyes out. Yuuri was standing in the back of the room in her pajamas looking at Itsuki, unable to understand what was going on. Her eyes fixed on the gaze of the little girl behind the villager, as she stood there transfixed.

Composing himself for a moment, Itsuki leaned down to look at Chito. “Hey Chito… Do you remember me? Your mom and dad told me that you will stay with us for some time until they feel better...” he leaned down and hugged her tightly with tears in his eyes. “ - You will be safe here, little girl.”

Yuuri approached closer to the door hiding just behind Itsuki, looking shyly at the little girl that Itsuki embraced.

Taking Chito by her hand he stood up and looked at his friend “Thank you so much to all of you for rescuing her… you know that she is so precious to me.” with tears in his eyes they said their goodbyes and Itsuki closed the door. Inside, he turned to Yuuri who was shyly looking at both of them, and said “Hey Yuuri… this is Chito. Her parents aren’t feeling so well and she will live with us for some time now. Is that ok?”

Yuuri with a wide smile on her face said “Yay… a new friend!” as she happily raised her small arms above her head.

“Please show her around. I have to go get the bath ready for Chito, she is a bit dirty.” Itsuki spoke as he walked inside the bathroom. He kept trying to turn the faucet on the bath before he collapsed down on the bathroom floor unable to keep himself from sobbing.

Just as this bad news arrived, the month before he learned that one of the roads that the 'sky people' used collapsed, and were unable to reach their village. This meant that they had to take different routes and couldn't be bothered to take the chance for just a few humans that were left here to die. The small number of people that were left here had to endlessly fight for food or what little supplies and working machines were left. Without Yasuo by his side, he will never be able to make the journey up there and he had to do everything he could to protect Chito and Yuuri from the harsh reality outside. Seemed like the place in the sky was no longer a reality that he could reach.

With a smile on her face, Yuuri looked at her new friend from across the room and approached her "Her... your name is Chito?"

Chito shyly looked at her and quietly replied “...mhm…”

“My name is Yuuri… I know! I will call you Chii-chaaaan!” Yuuri gently grabbed her hand “Chii-chan come I want to show you my toys…” smiling she led Chito to her room chanting her name playfully

“Chii-chan… Chii-chan… Chii-chan…”

Chito with a smile on her face joined her repeating her name playfully along with Yuuri.

“Chii-chan! Chii-chan! Chii-chan...”

• • •

“One adult and two teenagers.”

“Hey, Shithead! Did you get more than enough food?”

“I... I have two girls at home they have to eat as well.” Itsuki held tight to his bag before someone started grabbing the bag wanting to take it away.

“HEY! I DON’T CARE YOU CAN’T GET MORE THAN THE REST OF US!”

Itsuki swiftly pushed the person away and started running away before the angry mob attacked him. The commotion in the village was getting more heated. The hydroponic bay and the ration factory stopped working months ago and a group arrived in military vehicles to ask for their portions. The group in his village and the outsiders kept killing each other for years until they came to a settlement shortly after, however, no one was left who was able to fix the machines at the factory. He knew it was time to go and in the case of an uprising, he knew he had to send the girls away from this dreadful place.

Itsuki planned on this journey a long time ago but he was afraid to leave the village. He had just recently read a book about his condition but was unsure what it was about as he kept forgetting words, memories, and even people. One word that continuously sprung to mind was early-onset Alzheimer's. He tried to fight it daily and remember those that matter to him in the present, and that was Chito and Yuuri. He had to stay strong for them as they were so young, innocent, and precious. They didn't deserve this harsh reality and deserved much better than what this world had to offer.

But with time, his deteriorating condition, and his age, his plans to go up to that mysterious place in the sky slowly diminished, in time he forgot about this place and only had a rough map someone made for him, just in case this day came.

Opening the door to his home, he placed the bags on a table nearby and ran to check on Chito. Only Chito was at home sleeping on top of a book at her desk. He knew he had to be calm and pack up their backpacks for the long trip to the city in the sky.

“...Chito.”

“Chito!”

Waking up from her desk she looked at Itsuki who was staring out the window. “Yes?” she replied still opening her eyes.

“Please go and get Yuuri!” he replied still trying to keep calm to not worry her.

“But where is she?”

“She went outside to help me get rations but she got lost. Please go find her, and stay away from anyone else.”

Chito put on her jacket and ran away from the house as Itsuki still tried to keep calm and focused. “Right! I need to get their bags!” he scoured through their belongings packing up their clothes, along with all the food supplies in the house they had left and all kinds of survival supplies he stocked on before he ran to the bookcase and took out two pieces of paper neatly hidden inside one of the books. It was a rough sketch of a map and instructions about the place in the sky that he hid from others. He knew that he wasn’t able to come on this journey with them, but the letter might help them find their way to the city in the sky.

“Right, I hope this somehow helps them...” he placed the two letters inside his pocket and went to pack up the rest of their belongings.

“Grandpa! I found Yuu... what’s going on outside?” Chito just ran inside the house holding Yuuri closer by her hand. Itsuki was inside holding their backpacks in his hands with the rest of the supplies.

“Girls… It’s time to go. It’s not safe here anymore. Something is going on outside…”

“Why? What’s happening, grandpa?” Chito asked him as she looked up at him. He tried to stay calm but there was visible panic in his eyes.

“There are no more rations. The villagers are angry. Please get ready it’s not safe here anymore. You know our drill when things go bad right?”

Taking his trusted Arisaka Type 38 rifle from the wall, he and the girls started walking swiftly down to the garage, and just before the entrance he turned to Yuuri and gave her his rifle. “Yuuri, you remember how to use this right? We practiced so many times!.”

“I know grandpa!” Yuuri replied holding the rifle tight in her arms, she was still confused as to what was happening and why did they have to go away.

“Tell me! Now!”

“Ummm… open the breech, insert the clip with the bullets, reload, lock the rifle in your shoulder, aim and shoot...”

“That’s about right Yuuri… don’t hesitate to shoot at anyone that might want to hurt you both. And never point it at Chito, Got it?” he exclaimed as he took the rest of the backpacks that he carried inside the garage.

“These are old uniforms, but I’ve adjusted them to fit you,” Itsuki said as he pulled out two helmets and two winter uniforms that he and Yasuo used to wear a long time ago when they were younger, and handed them to Yuuri and Chito. “It’s really cold on the outskirts as well so please wear them. If there’s anything else you want to take with you, go and get it now.”

“Grandpa?” Chito looked at him as he placed the supplies, rations, and backpacks on the back of the vehicle. Then Itsuki took out his key from his pocket and handed it over to Chito.

“You remember how to drive Chito?” with a confused look on her face she took the keys before Yuuri asked him.

“What about you? You are not coming with us?”

“Yuuri, I can’t. The provisions will last longer for just the two of you. If you escape towards the west there’s a tower beyond the slope. Go up there, towards the top of the layers, the top of the world, you’ll be safe there... There is bound to be food up there! I’ll stay here and keep them off from you. Chito, remember those stories I told you about the sky? Don’t forget the ninth...”

Absurdly a gunshot was fired close next to their house and just like a firecracker, the whole village seemed to go up in flames.

“Grandpa?”

“Hurry up and go!”

Already far in the distance, Chito and Yuuri at full throttle drove away from the village, they both looked back at Itsuki who was waving at them. The commotion between the villagers and the outsiders was heating up as the guns started firing. He kept waving to the girls but in all the confusion he completely forgot about the letters inside his pocket. He never gave the letters to the girls as they contained vital information on how to get up to the mysterious place in the sky. With his condition, he felt he was always forgetful at the worst possible time. Itsuki planned to on his last trip together with the girls, but circumstances over the years delayed their trip, and today they changed for the worst. However, the girls were already far in the distance. They never even managed to say proper goodbyes, they never knew this was the last time they would see their grandfather in their lives.

“No... no... no… I forgot the letters” suddenly he started running after them and shouted at the top of his lungs “CHITO… YUURI…WAIT! I FORGOT TO GIVE YOU SOMETHING!”

Unsure if he heard them Itsuki stopped running and started pulling on his hair... “How! How could I be so stupid? How could I be such an idiot and forget the letters!” running back to the village he frantically was trying to look for a vehicle to go after them “All I have to do is reach them somehow!”

Running amidst the firefight, he saw one of the men from his old squad frantically trying to get a motorbike to start. “...I have to use your bike it’s really important! Please!” Itsuki said as he got closer to him.

“No… get your own bike… back off!” the man shouted back at Itsuki, pushing him off as he tried to start the bike.

“Please… it’s really important… I need to borrow it!” Itsuki reached for the handles of the bike before the man with all his might pushed him off again.

“I said.. back off…” the man took out his gun, but accidentally fired it. Looking at Itsuki, the man recognized his mistake. “No… Itsuki-sensei! I… I… I am… so sorry!” the man dropped his gun on the ground before he drove off with the motorbike in the distance, leaving him standing there.

Up to this point, Itsuki fired his rifle so many times to defend his life, but this was the first time he was at the endpoint of a receiving bullet. Holding his hand close to his body he noticed that blood was sprouting out of him. The bullet hit his lung and was lodged deep inside him. “Oh… so this is how it feels...” he thought to himself squirming from pain. Grabbing the gun that his friend dropped on the ground, he started walking towards his home, careful not to fall. At this point he didn’t care about the firefight outside, all he wanted was to go home and rest. Walking through the village as bullets passed him, riddled with bodies, weapons, and shells, he somehow managed to reach his house and sit down in his chair, holding the gun closer to the wound.

Next to him was the radio that he never managed to fix, and just nearby was the book he planned to gift to his wife the day he returned back to them. He must have reread it so many times already, with his forgetful condition it felt like he could reread it many times more. Sitting still on the chair he took out a cigarette from his pocket “Killed by cigarettes… you stupid idiot! I’ll kick your ass - for leaving... Chito...” he said to himself. Scouring through his other pocket looking for a lighter, he took out the worn picture of his family from his pocket looking at his son and wife.

“I - I don't remember their names but - I remember they are up there - waiting for me?“

After a short time, the firefight finally stopped. Sitting in his favorite chair with an unlit cigarette, the lifeless body of Itsuki held tightly onto the photograph and forgotten memories he cherished all those years.

(Continued in Chapter 6)
(LATEST REVISION: 4th December 2022)