The pair were sitting 10 feet across from each other. Soryu insisted for Arika to get back in his bed and rest, but he had little success in convincing her despite her wounds. They were both drinking the wine that Soryu had set aside for special occasions—or just a rainy day in general.
They sat in silence, taking occasional sips, until Arika spoke up.
"What happened to me?" she said before taking another sip.
Soryu took a moment to process that she had asked a question, not saying anything for a few moments before responding.
"I found you unconscious on the ground because I think you tripped on my line with your crampons. You were bleeding heavily, and you had a crack in your mask. Hence why your face feels like it's burning—or at least I'm assuming it is, right?"
Arika moved her hand up to touch her forehead. Her brow furrowed, and she flinched in pain after making contact with it.
"You would be correct in making that assumption."
"Want me to get you something for it? I reckon it's not exactly the most pleasant feeling in the world, but some aloe cou—"
She smiled, raised her hand, and motioned for him to stop.
"I would prefer not. You seem like you would need it more."
"How come? You're the one who has a burned face."
"That may be true, but you're as red as a tomato right now," Arika said, pointing at his face before giggling and taking another sip of her wine. In Soryu's nervous attempt to try and help Arika with her pain, he failed to notice just how warm and red his face was.
"Oh, well I'm so sorry that I'm a little anxious. You're the first person I have had a conversation with in three years, so I'm not experiencing any pressure at all."
"Likewise, but you don't see me getting all nervous about it."
Silence. They sat in even more awkward silence before Soryu said:
"How have you managed to survive?"
Arika looked to the ground, avoiding eye contact with Soryu, before lifting her head and looking directly at him.
"Promise not to make fun of me if I do tell you?"
Soryu raised his eyebrow, confused as to why it would be a problem to tell him how she had managed to survive so long.
"I suppose. What is there to make fun of about surviving?"
"The fact that I live in the sewers."
Soryu stared at her, stunned. The sewers were safe to breathe in?
"Wait, the sewers are safe to breathe in?"
Arika put her hands together and held them tightly before looking to her broken gas mask.
"No. Some parts of it aren't, but most of the tunnels are fine to breathe in—though they smell like absolute shit. I mainly keep everything I need on me. I don't stay in one place. I always keep moving."
Soryu was surprised. He never thought of using them. The sewers would be a perfect means to navigate his way through the city because, unlike the metro tunnels, they weren't as long and there were more exits. And now he knew there were even copious air pockets to breathe in from time to time, thanks to this new friend of his.
Well, more like potential friend—he had no idea if they would even get along. But time would tell.
Soryu sighed and looked up at the concrete ceiling of the metro, before turning his gaze to the lantern he had set up nearby.
"As soon as I fix up that gas mask of yours, what do you plan to do?"
"What do you mean, what will I plan to do? Obviously I'm not leaving anytime soon if that's what you think. Despite my stubbornness not to rest, I'm still injured. If I go out in this state, I'm going to be dead before I reach a single manhole cover that can lead me back to the sewers."
Arika paused for a moment before realizing she was missing something.
"Wait a minute, where's my bag?"
"You had a bag on you? I didn't see any when I was carrying you here."
Arika began to show visible panic and put her head into her hands before taking short, anxiety-filled breaths.
"It had all my freaking spare filters in it—and all my cleaning supplies to refurbish my filters. The filter I had on me last needed to be replaced soon. I can't use it anymore without cleaning it or replacing the filter!"
Soryu felt bad for Arika. Her lifeline was useless, and she had no means of wandering on the surface when she healed. But then he had an idea.
"I could rig up another SCBA system and send you on your merry way—assuming you want to part ways, that is."
Arika's gaze bolted to Soryu's own eyes, her eyes wide in shock at hearing something so stupid. He hesitated to speak, blushing in frustration, before blurting out the words.
"Why would I want to do that? You're the first person I have met in forever, plus don't waste your resources on me, id rather not take away from what you already have."
Soryu, seeing her in such a state, felt his face heat up. He turned away and stood up before walking towards his storage shelves.
Arika looked at him, dumbfounded as to what he was trying to accomplish.
"What are you doing?"
Soryu stopped dead in his tracks and turned around.
"You're not in any condition to find your bag, right?"
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Hey people who have read this far, I may remove this note in the future but I am going to be busy Friday so to make up for that fact i have decided to write both chapter 4 and 5 today, sure it was exhausting, but I promised myself I would make 1 chapter a day, stay tuned for chapter 6, it will most likely be out by Saturday, though I may get it done earlier if I have time.