GATE: thus the dominion and the JSDF fought their

Part 25

After parting ways with Komakado, itami take the lead of everything, and decide take everyone to what he claim to be a safe place to spend the night in. After few detours and couple of hours they reach a house in the outskirt of Tokyo

"Well... Whose house is this?" The Captain of the terrain Recon Team asked, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Just inside, guys." Itami smiled wryly.

They only shrugged, following the JSDF. Surprisingly, it barely fit them. Though, after a scan, there are no cameras or prying gadgets.

"At least we have our privacy here," Maiya said to her team.

" Yeah!, it better then sleeping outside!" said kuribayashi

one by one they entered the small house, just to found it empty, cold and dark, they start to wonder if someone did actually live here.

Meanwhile:

Because the bills had not been paid, the cell phone line had been cut. So was the gas.

Phone calls kept coming in, demanding payment of the water bill. Things were getting worse. 

Pension and health insurance payments? Yep, they were due.

However, without the computer everything would be over, so the power bill had to be paid, along with the Internet fiber charges. In exchange, there was no money to buy food.

Cereal and soya bean milk from the 99 yen store cost 208 yen for 2 meals (1 meal = 104 yen). After that, the 99 yen store again once more yielded a bounty of vegetables and rice. This was dinner, which cost 208 yen.

Thank you, 99 yen store, our Japan is such a prosperous country.

Since yesterday, all three meals had been cereal and soya milk, a diet without any variation. However, this meant that the day's meals would only cost 312 yen, so no matter what, this discomfort had to be endured.

"I need to hang on until the winter doujin markets. Hang in there!" murmured the thin looking young woman.

The pen moved over the tablet. Ten more pages and it would be complete. But more money would be needed to hold on until X-day. Debts had to be paid, bills had to be cleared, and the new year had to be celebrated. A warm meal would be nice.

"Although I can't do anything but endure this, for now, this'll kill me if this goes on. I only see cornflakes in my dreams now. 100 yen today is more useful than 10000 yen tomorrow. Why did I only realize this truth now~" murmured the brunette desperately.

The empty fridge had been unplugged for fear of running up the electricity bill further. All lights except the bare minimum had been switched off. Heating? What was that, could you eat it? Thicker clothes would have to do, coupled with the warmth from the computer's fan.

The LCD display of the computer's monitor was the only source of light in the house.

"Can someone lend me money~" She'd sent out the email, but all her friends from doujin circles were hardly better off than her. Everyone was rushing like mad to get their work done before the printer's deadline, and they were racking their brains on how to get money. As a result, all the replies she had received were cold rejections.

Her relationship with her parents was in a shambles, so turning to them for money was not an option. If this kept up, would she need to dumpster dive or sell her body?

As she thought about that, she looked at the reflection of herself in the window glass.

Her skin was rough and uncared for, while her hair was unkempt and dirty. Her glasses were as dirty as a milk bottle bottom and she had panda eyes. Lit by the monitor, she looked like a walking corpse against the background of the dark room. Nobody would be interested in paying for her skinny limbs, her stringy muscles and her flabby belly, even if she wanted to sell herself.