Maybe This is Our Punishment...

The next day— Munakata shrine.

After waking up, we continue our pilgrimage toward Shibuya without any signs of stopping. That is, until Alice spotted a shrine gate in the distance, its paint chipped, moss growing from the sides, and rust developing. Separating the shrine from us is a river that once had a bridge, judging by the broken concrete hovering above it.

The water itself has turned a muddy brown color. In the distance, there’s even a certain corner that’s filled with dead fish, making it look like a fish wasteland.

“Yuikoo!” Alice pointed towards the gate with a giddy expression, “Let’s explore this place!”

“Do you have some business in there?” I placed my hands on my hips, analyzing my surroundings, “And even if we do, we can’t even cross the bridge…”

“The bridge is mostly intact, so all we have to do is be more careful…” Yuiko gets closer to the bridge, leaning forward to analyze its structural integrity.

“You didn’t answer my first question…” I muttered.

“Come on now! We’re on a journey, so let’s have some fun!” Alice shouts out.

“What fun is there to do?” I gave a side glance.

In the first place, there’s nothing in shrines that we can really do.

We can only pray to god, look at the nice scenery, buy some drinks if we get thirsty, and just leave without really achieving anything. Even as a kid, I never really understood the sentiment behind these kinds of visits, so I tend to avoid them whenever my parents ask me out.

“There’s a good chance that there’d be some kind of item we can use to make our journey easier, you know?” Alice leaned forward as she said so.

“What item that can—”

“Okaaay! Just shut up and follow me!” Alice grabbed my jacket hood and dragged me towards the shrine.

“NOOO! NOT THE BROKEN BRIDGE!”

…

….

…..

---

Having crossed the broken bridge, we found ourselves in a vast open space filled with fallen trees, giving the impression of an abandoned forest. However, scattered throughout this area were numerous structures and buildings, some bearing the scars of decay with missing exterior sections, while others stood surprisingly intact.

Even though Fukuoka was only hit by its blast radius, its impact still beats the highest recorded typhoon in the world by 382km/hour, and that’s only in Japan’s side of things. That wind speed was so strong that not a lot of people in Fukuoka were able to survive that blast, and even if they were to survive, there’s a likely chance that they passed away not long after due to the change in air quality.

Of course, there’s probably some lucky survivors like us out there…

“I’m still surprised a lot of this place is still intact…” I muttered.

“I don’t sense anyone either, so it’s even more surprising that this place still looks good despite not being maintained…” Alice muttered.

“…What do you mean by sense? You’re making it sound like you have some kind of detection abilities or something…” I retort.

“Well… I do have better eyes than usual, and I can more or less tell if a place is inhabited or not by its surroundings…” Alice said as she scouts the area.

“But most of it is in ruins, and I doubt people are interested in cleaning things up anyway…” I reply as we walk along.

“All you really have to do is pay attention to the stuff lying on the floor. If you notice trash that is still fresh, then there’s a likely chance that someone was here. There are other factors that can be considered, but I can essentially notice these tiny details to figure that out…” Alice explained as she took in her surroundings.

“That straight up sounds like superpowers…” I give Alice a side glance while walking next to her.

“Guess you could say that…” After she said that, Alice’s shoulder jerked, and she jogged to the right side of the area.

On it stands a Shinto shrine that towers over other buildings.

Upon standing before it, its exterior is barely plagued with any signs of aging. If anything, it’s still standing upright despite the horrible disaster that it went through, making it look as if this place was protected by some kind of exterior force…

“…”

“Heh…” Alice faced downwards, her hands trembling, “What a sick joke…”

“…Alice?”

“No… Maybe this is our punishment…” Alice solemnly walks forward, placing her hand on top of the wooden pillars, tracing their texture.

“…”

“Yuiko… do you think humanity is a mistake?” Alice looks towards me, her eyes looking droopy, “I can’t help but think that those gods are protecting the only thing that we’re doing right…”

“…”

“…Sorry for asking that question!” Alice laughs it off, scratching the back of her head, “This place is making me feel depressed, so let’s get out and continue on—”

“I don’t know if humanity is a mistake or not…” I replied, cutting Alice off.

“…”

“But if there’s one thing I’m sure of,” I raise my head, meeting Alice’s gaze head-on.

“…”

“Throughout twenty-three years of my being alive, I’ve never once lost my virginity, and I want to keep living so I can lose it…” I clench my fist while staring into her.

“…”

“Even I know that it’s a shallow reason, but if it can keep me going, then I’ll stick with it till the end.” I take a step forward.

“…Then…” Alice murmured, her voice softening. She leans towards me, her gaze intensifying as she peers into me.

“…Eh?”

"If I were to take your virginity right here, right now," she whispered, her eyes locking onto mine, "What would you do?"

“…”

Alice’s eyes deepened, becoming a giant swirling pool that’s slowly, but surely pulling me towards its current.

From this distance, her breath brushes against my cheek, with each huff she exhales sending her warmth towards me.

“…”

She will do it.

She may have said she’s not interested in girls.

But right now…

She can do it…

“Our demise is already set in stone, so it’s not like feeling good for ourselves would be bad, right?” Alice’s face went past me, putting her lips onto my ear, “No one would see us do it, so you don’t need to worry about it, right?”

“…”

I can lose my virginity…

This is my chance…

It’s not like I particularly care who I do it with, so this is a great opportunity…

…Right?

Alice has been my companion for a while, and while she’s annoying, I never once hated being around her…

If anything, she looks really pretty, can be pretty cute, and while she has a short temper, she can be really kind.

So, it’s fine if I do it with her…

…Right?

“…Alice…” I whispered, prompting Alice to pull her head back, looking straight at me.

“Yuiko…” Alice closes her eyes, her lips curling as it slowly approaches me.

“…”

There’s something wrong…

It’s not that Alice is in the wrong, or that I’m against it.

It’s just that…

Something isn’t right…

Is this really the way I want to lose my virginity?[JA1]

“…Sorry, Alice…” I take a single step back, yet keep my gaze firmly placed on her, “I don’t think this is right…”

Alice’s pupils dilated for a moment, but it quickly reverted to her sharp gaze, this time unusually sharp that it feels like she’s stabbing needles into me.

“…Does being right matter with the world we’re in?” She emotionlessly asks.

“It’s just… I don’t like losing my virginity like this…” I replied, rubbing my right arm.

“Are you saying you don’t like doing it with girls?” Alice asks, her gaze unfocused.

“No… I don’t care that much about who I do it with…” I replied.

“Then—”

“But I also want to do it with someone I want…” I resolutely replied.

“…Are you saying that you don’t want me?” Alice takes a step back.

“That’s not what I meant!” I instinctively take a step forward, keeping my gaze locked, “It’s just… for now, I don’t see you that way…”

“…”

“Plus, didn’t you say you’re not into girls when we first met?”

“…”

I placed my hand on top of her head, combing her silky, smooth hair through my fingertips.

“…You still want to meet your dad, right?” I ask, softening my cheeks.

“…Yeah…” Alice murmured as she gave a small nod, keeping her gaze downward.

“God may consider us a mistake, but who cares what some vague figure thinks?” I lower my tone of voice, patting the back of Alice’s head, “Let’s keep moving, okay?”

“…Okay…” She firmly nods, her voice strengthened alongside it.

“Though it’s getting dark, so we probably need to sleep here for tonight…” I let out a dry laugh.

“It’s not like I’m in a rush or anything, so let’s just take our time…” Alice replied, a weak smile plastered on her face.

“Yeah…”

Looking at her face, I instinctively head-patted her again, making Alice pout.

“I’m not a child, you know…” She grumpily says, her gaze looking elsewhere.

“Yes, yes, you’re not…” I replied.

…

…..

……

---

The next morning.

After a night’s rest, we woke up as early as possible to continue on our journey. Alice has made a definite rule of having to depart early so we can traverse as much as possible in broad daylight, making it annoying that I have to practically rearrange my broken sleep schedule. Though to be fair, her statement does make sense, so I can’t really argue much about it…

“Yuiko…” Alice suddenly calls out, stopping us midway through.

“Yeah?” I asked.

Alice looks back towards me, her face slightly red.

“…I-I know that I’m technically younger than you, but that doesn’t mean you should be getting a big head, okay?!” Alice exploded as she pointed at me.

“…Huh?”

“I’m only two years younger than you, so we’re practically the same, okay?!” Alice aggressively points at me, “Yesterday was just a one-time thing, alright?!”

“O-Okay…?” I blurted out.

“A-And, uhh…” Alice fidgets on the spot, playing around with her index fingers.

“…?”

“I… I’m sorry… for yesterday…” Alice lowers her head as she says so.

“…”

“So?!” Alice steps forward, her face flushed as she walks towards me, “Do you forgive me or not?!”

“Y-Yeah… I forgive you… water under the bridge…” I slightly back away from her.

“…N-Now that that’s over with, let’s keep going!” Alice looks away from me as she stiffly walks ahead of me.

“…”

What a tsundere…

…

….

……