DUSTY COFFINS ;; bnha

IV : The Apartment

Holding a highschool girl, who had yet identified herself and kept sobbing and rubbing her snot on [name]'s shirt, and unlocking all 13 locks on your front door was a lot harder than one could ever imagine. Finally, though, [name] got the door open and limped inside, her neck starting to feel loose from all the wear she had put on it today.

"I'm putting you down, now. Okay, honey?" [name] whispered to the girl, who only clutched onto her savior tighter. [name] sighed and sat down with the girl in her lap. She began whispering soothing nothings to her and rubbed her back lightly. Finally, the girl began to settle down, whimpering less and sniffing more.

"I-I'm sorry I got s-so much snot on your shirt..." She whispered an apology, rubbing at one of the stains in a sore attempt to get it out.

"It's ok, honey. I'm just glad you aren't too hurt." [name] smiled as sweetly as she could. It probably looked a bit off-putting given her corpse-like looks. "Let me go brew some tea and we can talk about things, hmm?" The girl nodded in agreement and began looking around the run-down apartment in boredom.

[name] entered the kitchen, only to realize she had broken one of her most important rules: never let a stranger in the house. [name] sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose only to assume the girl was harmless: she looked like a frightened teen who just went through a traumatic experience, how hard could it be to babysit for an hour or two?

The tea kettle began screaming and [name] took it off the burner, pouring two cups before setting them on nice, porcelain tea plates and re-entering the living room. The girl was still in the same position as before, just... a bored look on her face as she studied the blood on her hands. [name] cleared her throat, quickly grabbing the girls attention.

"So, first things first." [name] began, setting down the tea down on the table in front of the couch and sitting beside the girl. "What's your name?"

"My name is Toga Himiko. Thank you for taking care of me." She slightly bowed of out respect and picked up a random teacup, blowing some of the steam off of it.

"Alright, Toga-san, how old are you? Judging from your uniform, quite young."

"Uhh... I'm 16..." She hesitantly responded. "Although I'm no longer in school."

"So, why the uniform?" [name] inquired.

Toga simply shrugged, refusing to answer the question as she sipped her tea. "Mmm, this is good! What is it?"

"Cinnamon-butterscotch tea. Made from my close friend, Toriel." [name] replied. "It's quite late. You can spend the night here, alright?"

The duo got up from the couch and Toga followed [name] down a small stretch of hallway, which directly led to the guest bedroom, as well as the main bathroom. Opening the linen closet, [name] removed a towel and washcloth from it, handing it to Toga who gratefully accepted it. Entering her room - Toga stood in the doorway out of respect - [name] removed an old shirt and pair of sweatpants from her drawer, giving them to Toga as well. "Set your dirty clothes on the counter. When you get in the shower, I'll retrieve them and throw them in the wash." She instructed.

Toga simply nodded and stood there shyly, waiting for [name] to leave so she could get undressed. The older woman lingered, hesitant to ask the question that limply sat on her tongue.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" [name] finally asked, looking Toga in the eye. The girl slumped in relief, presumably glad [name] hadn't asked something else.

"No, ma'am." The blonde girl politely responded. [name] simply nodded in response, leaving the small bathroom and shutting the door on her way out.

[name] shuffled to her room and got dressed in her own pajamas: a limited edition 2012 Slipknot shirt — one of her favorite old American bands — and a worn out pair of gray sweatpants. Both articles of clothing were dotted with holes, a sign of all the love they've been through. [name] had a varying music taste, but tended to stay on the metal side of all genres, hence the Slipknot t-shirt. [name] heard the shower turn on, the old rusty pipes that ran throughout the walls began creaking under the pressure of the sudden surge of water.

The female sighed and checked the time: 12:03 A.M. She decided to make a good ol' midnight snack.

Actually, no.

Making something at midnight was too laborious given how tired she was.

Chocolate Animal Crackers will just have to do, for now.

Taking the family sized blue bag, [name] limped over to the living room cough and flopped down, relishing in the familiar sting of one of the springs digging into her back. Pain was good. Pain meant she had lived another day. She perked up upon realizing the time: around midnight, the friendly neighborhood stray cat, affectionately nicknamed Kitty, appeared. She often sat and meowed outside the fire escape window, begging to be let in and fed. [name] groaned, knees popping when she got up from the couch. Making a slight detour to the kitchen, she grabbed a can of wet cat food and lurked over to the fire escape window, where Kitty was impatiently sitting. She loudly meowed upon seeing [name] and pawed at the window, begging to be let in. [name] simply chuckled and cracked the door, letting Kitty in. The cat lovingly twirled in-between [name]'s legs, curling around her ankles as she meowed.

The water suddenly stopped coursing through the pipes as [name] listened to the water from the shower stop. 'Toga must be getting out,' [name] thought. She hoped the young girl liked cats.

[name] popped open the food can lid and placed it on the ground, Kitty happily stretch-walking over to it. She began purring as she lapped at the food. [name] slowly lowered herself down, sitting on the ground with her knees bent, as she began to pet the stray. The bathroom door creaked open and Toga exited, snuggly clothed in [name]'s old clothes. She had her arms self consciously wrapped around herself as she glanced around, fulling taking in her surroundings.

"Is... that a cat?" The young girl whispered, stalking towards Kitty as to not scare her. [name] merely nodded.

Toga crouched down and began petting the stray cat, who only purred louder in response. This spurred Toga to scratch behind the feline's ears, who was still eating her food. The can was about halfway done, and she tended to leave after she ate.

[name] got up, slowly, as to not dislocate any joints. Once fully standing, she offered a hand to Toga, who gently grasped it and lifted herself up. [name] could only thank the Gods her hand didn't snap off from the pressure. Once Toga stood up, the two simply made awkward eye contact. [name] cleared her throat to break the pregnant silence. "I'll show you to my room; you can take the bed. I'll take the couch." [name] said. Toga remained quiet, only nodding in response. [name] limped down the hallway, dragging her bum leg behind her, until she reached her rooms doorway. "Go ahead and make yourself comfy. I'll be up watching TV if you need anything." Toga nodded once more and walked into the room. [name] took the courtesy of closing the door behind her.

[name] walked to the linen closet and got out a spare blanket and pillow, which she kept around for some reason. Not like she had visitors... ever. Setting the soft linens on the couch, she settled down for the long night ahead of her. She could only pray things could go smoothly with a complete stranger in her house.