Chapter 26: Isn’t this what couples do on a date?

Saturday, 10 May, 20XX

The drive to Aomori was difficult. Usually driving from Gunma prefecture to Aomori would’ve taken a full day, but the expressways were full with cars. Even when we got off the expressway, the highways were choke full as well. No matter which route we tried, there was always too much traffic for us to make reasonable progress.

We even thought about ditching the car and taking the Shinkansen instead, but all seats were sold out. It was like Golden Week, but with no end in sight.

We made a stop in Akita to refuel and resupply. We sat in the car, eating takeaway bentos.

“I’m surprised that so many people are suddenly taking it seriously,” Yui commented.

“A six hour power outage around the entire world is serious.”

After we left the Murakami brothers and the Kobayashi sisters, we had time to go on the Internet to see how other areas in Japan and the rest of the world reacted to the power outage.

Looting has become a serious problem in America. Crime had taken over the streets of major cities like New York and Chicago. Martial law had been declared. Some gangs managed to carve out certain parts of New York and declared themselves an independent city state. The US government was weighing its options.

Protests had swept across most of Europe. Most people were on strike, refusing to go back to work until their government released more information regarding the blackout.

It was difficult to get reliable information from China and Korea. But according to Chinese and Korean netizens who posted in Japanese, a few cities were in full lock down, with most people still going to work and a handful trying to flee.

Singapore seemed to be an exception in the world. Apparently, the Singaporean government had handed out candles and emergency batteries to the entire population before the power outage and sent out the military to patrol the streets, resulting in almost no incidents during the six hour blackout, other than a few teenagers running around and being scolded by the police.

Within Japan, there were some gangs who took advantage of the blackout during the night, but since then, there had been no reports of increased crimes. However, some online websites reported that there was a sudden labor shortage in jobs like sales attendant, as those with non-permanent contracts decided to quit when the end of the world seemed certain. Those with permanent contracts dismissed the emails and the power outage and continued to go to work. There were many people online mocking those who had left their jobs, arguing that there was no way the world would end and that they would end up financially destitute next year.

In the last couple of days, Yui and I got to know some of the people who left their jobs while we made stops at convenience stores connected to a national highway.

Most of the people who were escaping to the countryside were either university students or remote workers who could do their jobs as long as they had an Internet connection.

University students could take a semester off if they wanted to (as long as money wasn’t a problem). Regular office workers couldn’t leave because their permanent contract tied them to their job and companies refused to let them leave even if the end of the world was guaranteed. Even if they used all of their PTO at once, it would only allow them to leave for about a month if they combined it with major public holidays.

Of course, they could simply resign from their job. But in this economy, permanent contracts were highly coveted. Quitting a permanent position was tantamount to the end of the world for them.

There were a lot of freelancers among the remote workers. Japanese companies preferred to hire freelancers these days because they could fire them at will since they didn’t have the rights of permanent employees.

Predictably, there weren’t any other high school students on the road. Just like office workers, high school students were tied to the function in society that they served. They couldn’t just stop going to school because the world was going to end soon.

“It might be better if we hide the fact that we’re high school students,” Yui suggested while we were eating. “Everyone gives us strange looks when we say that we’re high schoolers.”

“Should we say that we’re university students?”

“Mh…”

“But can we pass for university students?”

Yui looked at me and then at herself in the mirror. “I think we can pass for first year university students?”

“We look too young.”

“Yuki and Fumi look more mature than I do…but it will be easier if we can pretend to be university students.”

“Nothing we can do about it.”

"Ah –“ She clapped her hands together as if she just realized something. “We’re not that much younger than them, right? So it’s just a matter of presentation!”

“Huh?”

“Haruto, let’s go shopping!”

Yui picked out the nearest AEON mall on the map.

“Come on, we still have more than enough time to get to Aomori. Let’s go shopping so we can look like university students.”

I didn’t exactly feel like going shopping, but her enthusiasm overpowered me.

We drove to the mall and went upstairs where there were tons of fashion stores.

“Whaaaa!” Yui’s eyes sparkled like the night sky. “It’s huge! Look, Haruto! They’ve got so many pretty clothes!”

Compared to the malls in Tokyo, this was nothing more than an ordinary, countryside AEON mall with the most basic products.

Around one-third of the stores were closed. The shutters had been pulled down, with a sign outside saying that they were closed due to a staff shortage.

“You’ve never been to a mall before?” I asked.

Yui’s cheeks reddened.

“D-Don’t say it like that! It’s just that my parents never gave me money for shopping, and I didn’t want to spend the money I saved. You’re making me sound like a country bumpkin. I’ve lived in Tokyo, you know?”

“I know…we’re classmates, remember?”

“R-Right…” Her face grew even redder. “A-Anyway! Let’s go shopping!”

She marched forward, her ears red from embarrassment.

We went into a store. Yui picked out a couple of outfits and asked me to wait for her outside the changing room.

I leaned against the wall, feeling out of place.

Isn’t this what couples do on a date?

Yui finished changing and opened the curtain.

“Haruto, what do you think?”

“It’s fine.”

She blew up her cheeks, as if she was angry with me.

“Don’t you have anything else to say?”

“It’s cute…I guess.”

“I see.”

Yui then changed into ten other outfits, including everything from summer dresses, to shorts that exposed her thighs, oversized jeans with baggy T-Shirts, sweaters, miniskirts.

All I could say was, “It looks fine.”

Yui would pout, complain about my feedback and go back into the changing room.

“Haruto, you need to be more detailed with your feedback!” she said from behind the curtain.

“But I don’t know anything about fashion.”

I could hear the rustling sounds of her changing behind the curtain.

“Do you think I look cute in my school uniform?”

“Yeah, you look good in that.”

“Hmm~ I see, so that’s what you’re into.”

“Hey! You’re making it sound weird.”

She giggled from behind the curtain.

“Excuse me.” The attendant approached me. “If you don’t mind, these might suit your girlfriend.”

She handed me an outfit.

“T-Thank you. I’ll pass it on to her.”

The store attendant smiled and left us.

At this point, it was better to just go along with her assumption that we were a couple. It would be more troublesome to deny it.

“Haruto, let’s go to the food court after this.”

“Okay…”

Two hours later, we left the mall with a new outfit for me and several new outfits for Yui, as well as new pairs of shoes for both of us. Yui was humming. I was ready to collapse.

Why is shopping so exhausting?

Thursday, 15 May, 20XX - Part 1

After several days, we finally arrived in Aomori.

The weather was colder up here in the north. We got out our new jackets, which still had the tags on them.

The salty scent of the ocean filled every breath I took. At the harbor, we could see ferries parked at the dock, ready to take cars and passengers to Hakodate.

So this is where we would meet the person in charge of the end of the world.

One more day until May 16.