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Mikan woke with a start, jolting straight up in the girls’ bed. Her beloved was there, sleeping peacefully, and Akane was...
Nowhere to be found.
Great. Akane was probably holed up in a random corner of the school, eating up all their rations. In the slim chance she wasn’t, though, it would suggest that something was wrong. But, as long as Junko was safe, it was fine.
...Probably.
She put her head down and tried to go back to sleep, but the nagging anxiety in the back of her head kept her up. So, as carefully as possible so as not to wake Junko, she climbed out of bed and began to search the academy, silently praying she wasn’t going to have to fight anyone this late at night. After some roaming, she stumbled into the kitchen and happened upon Akane, mouth full of...something.
“A-Akane! Um, why are you awake?” Mikan glanced at the clock hung on the wall. “It’s nearly three in the morning...”
“I could ask ya the same thing, ‘Miki.” Her chewing muffled the reply. “As for me, I got hungry. Want a bite?”
“...What are you eating?”
“A whole rotisserie chicken.”
Mikan smiled faintly. She decided not to question where the hell Akane found a whole rotisserie chicken. “I’m, um, n-not actually hungry.”
“Your loss,” Akane replied, taking another bite. “So, why’re you up?”
“Oh, I just...happened to wake up, and I noticed you were out of bed. I f-figured that I should check on you, make sure everything’s alright... It’s important that we keep this place secure, especially given h-how weak Junko is right now.”
“Good call,” Akane said. “You normally such a light sleeper?”
“Oh, yes... I’ve been that way since I was a child.”
Akane grinned. “Same here. Growin’ up on the streets, you gotta stay alert, ya know?”
“I think it’s amazing how you’re able to survive like that,” Mikan murmured. “I-I mean, I didn’t have the greatest upbringing either, but... I’m not strong-willed like you are.”
“Sure ya are,” Akane retorted. “Takes a real tough nut to take care of the boss lady all these years without losin’ it, don’tcha think?”
“It wasn’t hard work. Once I got into a routine, it was...mundane, actually.”
“That’s my point. I think I’d have gone nuts after being stuck with her for, like, a month. Five years, that’s like... seriously, how’re you doing so well?”
“...Can I be honest?”
Akane tore another bite out of her chicken. “Shoot.”
“I’m...not doing too well, actually. It was isolating, all those years without everyone. Junko was there, yes, but she w-wasn’t really...there, you know?”
Akane chuckled. “How’d ya stay sane?”
“I read a lot. And, if we had electricity, I’d listen to music and watch the TV...that sort of thing. Whatever I could do to pass the time.”
“’S rough,” Akane muttered. “Takin’ care of people, especially when they’re so, ah...”
“U-Ungrateful.”
Akane snorted. “Yeah, somethin’ like that.”
“...You know what it’s like?”
“Spent my whole life taking care of my siblings. They could be real freakin' brats, you know.”
Mikan’s eyes softened. “Did... did anyone ever take care of you?”
“Didn’t need to. I was lookin’ out for myself, after all. They couldn’t.”
“It’s still nice to be taken care of...” she murmured.
“When’s the last time you had that, huh?”
Mikan bit her tongue.
Akane blinked. “What, never?”
“N-Not never, exactly. When Junko and I first started dating, she was...kinder. In her own...Junko-ish way.”
“Still, that’s... what, more than half a decade without anyone lookin’ out for you?”
Mikan hummed. “...I guess so.”
Akane glanced at her plate, then back at Mikan. Wordlessly, she tore off a piece of chicken and handed it to Mikan. “Even if you’re not hungry,” she mumbled. “Protein’s good for you.”
Mikan took the offering hesitantly and bit down.
“’S good, right?”
“...It is,” Mikan said. “T-Thank you."