[CH.9] Little exploration (Part 2)
We cleverly turned the debris under the window frame into a makeshift platform and descended into the ruins. It might be more accurate to call it an abandoned garage.
"Be careful because there's broken glass on the ground," I said to Nao and Fumika while scanning the surroundings. The dim garage was filled with cold, dusty air, and there was a slightly musty smell in the air.
(In this condition, it wouldn't be surprising if there were rats or small animal corpses rolling around.)
Didn't the plague spread through rats or something like that? I should have brought a mask or something, I thought as I covered my mouth with a handkerchief.
"Suu-chan, are you feeling grossed out? Are you okay?" Nao asked, looking worriedly at me. I shook my head slightly and assured him that I was fine. Meanwhile, two boys were frolicking nearby, and I couldn't help but feel a little jealous of how carefree they seemed.
As you grow up, your knowledge increases, and more and more things become sources of fear. In childhood, you could touch insects without a problem, but as you got older, you stopped doing that, and you avoided places that seemed unsanitary.
In that sense, no matter how much my body rejuvenated, I would never be able to return to being a pure child again. It's a bit sad, but at the same time, it's also somewhat of a relief. After all, I don't want to touch insects or get close to them anymore. When I think about it, being a girl in this world is fortunate.
With the two boys leading the way, the three of us followed behind. Along the way, we came across discarded briefs stained with you-know-what and tattered erotic magazines, confirming our suspicions that people had been here before.
The boys are glancing at the cover, which shows an older woman with her breasts exposed, but it's just the mercy of a samurai. Don't prick me, but in my previous life, when I was in elementary school, my friends and I used to get our libido pumped up by reading erotic books that had fallen by the river. I know how painful it feels. However, since we were in the upper grades of elementary school, I feel like our sexual awakening in second grade was a little too early, but let's put that aside for now.
"Oh, Yu-kun and Icchan are looking at naughty books!"
"Stupid! We're not looking at that stuff!"
As Nao teased him, Yuuji's face turned red as he retorted, "S-Stupid! We're not looking at that stuff!" For some reason, he looked over at me and Fumika and reiterated, "We're really not looking!"
So, Fumika and I just nodded along for now. I wonder if Yuuji likes Fumika? I can understand the feelings of a boy who doesn't want to be misunderstood as a pervert by someone he likes.
However, now that I've become a woman, looking at same-sex explicit images doesn't really do anything for me. On the other hand, I don't feel anything when I look at the naked body of the guy standing next to me either, so I guess I'm in a very ambiguous sexual position right now. I'm about 80% scared and 20% curious about what will happen when I hit puberty.
Watching Yuuji and Nao playing around, we sneakily made our way to the back, and Ippei (Icchan), who had followed us here, clung to my arm along with Fumika. We continued slowly, being careful not to disturb the stack of about five discarded tires. If one of those 10-ton truck tires were to come crashing down, we'd be completely flattened. While they didn't have wheels, they still weighed around 60 kg each.
The light from the small window was fading, so I took a flashlight from my backpack and turned it on. With the increased brightness, I could now see torn clothes, empty juice and alcohol bottles, and empty cans strewn about more clearly than before. The desire to leave as soon as possible grew stronger.
"Hey, there's not much trash over there! Maybe we're the first ones here," Yuuji said as he took the lead, and an excited Icchan and Nao followed closely behind. They must really be in the mood for cave exploration. Clearly, it's a reinforced concrete building, so there's no way we're the first ones to step inside. But everyone has experienced imaginative pretend play in childhood, so I won't interject with any sarcastic comments. It feels like I'm being shown my former self, and it's embarrassing, but I have to endure this embarrassment somehow.
We followed along, being cautious of our footing. It was true that as we approached the back wall, the amount of trash visibly decreased. Dust had settled on the ground, and it seemed like no one had entered here in a while.
As we reached the back, there was a hidden passage just wide enough for a single adult to pass through. At the end, we could see a simple door, the kind often found in businesses and offices. It was just a guess, but there might have been an office or something behind it in the past. Of course, now it's just an empty lot, so a little sunlight was seeping in through the slightly dirty glass.
However, in front of the door, there were several wooden crates and miscellaneous items piled up, making it difficult to get closer to the door. I was thinking we could finally go back when the troublemaker came up with an outrageous idea.
"This is too boring with just this. Since we're here, let's take something interesting with us!"
"Eh, but there's only trash here," Nao immediately replied with a displeased voice. Nice one, Nao. To make sure we don't miss this opportunity to dissuade them, I continued with my words.
"First of all, if we take something from here, we'll become thieves. Don't you hate that? We'll end up in jail," I explained straightforwardly, but it didn't seem to click with them, not just Yuuji but the other three as well. Hmm, what can I say to make it clear?
"For example, Fumika, your house was built by your mom and dad, right?"
"Yeah..."
"If Fumika's family moves out, the house still belongs to Fumika's family, right? What would happen if someone else just walked in, took things from inside, and claimed it as their own because nobody was living there?"
"That would be stealing if it's Fumika's stuff, right?" Naoto said angrily, even though we were just discussing a hypothetical situation. After thinking for a while, he suddenly realized something and said, "Wait, we'd be thieves too!"
They all looked around anxiously, just like Nao. The two boys also had embarrassed expressions as they looked at us. Fumika looked a bit worried and leaned closer to me.
"By the way, breaking in here without permission is also considered trespassing, which is a crime. So, how about we leave before someone sees us?"
The word "crime" seemed to scare them, as the two boys quickly tried to walk away. Despite feeling a bit annoyed that they were leaving before me when I had said I'd protect them, I urged Nao and Fumika to follow them.
We didn't use anything other than the flashlight and gloves we brought, but the fact that nobody got hurt was something to be happy about. It might have been an uneventful exploration for the two boys, but they did learn the valuable lesson that you can't just enter abandoned places without permission. So, in that sense, it was a successful outing.
We still had time until the curfew I had promised my mother, so we spent the rest of our time playing tag and hide-and-seek like kids. We even invited some classmates we happened to run into at the housing complex park, making it an enjoyable after-school adventure.
---
However, there is a continuation to this story. I don't know if they were curious about erotic books or for some other reason, but the group of seven boys, including Yuuji and Ippei (Icchan), decided to trespass into that abandoned garage again. This time, though, it seems that the nearby adults spotted them, and the seven boys were caught. They received a stern lecture from their parents and teachers.
At that time, they managed to keep our names hidden, which I think was clever, but it seems that my words from that day didn't really resonate with them. It's somewhat frustrating, and it makes me realize that I need to think of a better way to communicate my point so that it can be better understood by others.
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