Money Issues  

Shirona was made aware of something she had failed to grasp. After calling out to the workers at the back, the construction site supervisor calmly repeated himself.

"I said, it'll be over in just a little bit more. As for me, I'm being transferred to a different work site."

"So in other words..."

"It was a short-term thing from the start, right? I clearly stated it in the recruitment information. You part-timers, your contracts are all terminated. You're fired."

As if he had just told a hilarious joke, he let out a boisterous laugh. Shirona knitted her brows in contemplation at his words. In short, she would be unemployed again very soon.

"What should we do?"

She asked the person in the same position who was still remaining, after Muroya had swiftly left.

"Whaddya mean?"

Kyo had also nearly finished packing up. But for some reason, he was still standing in front of his motorcycle even after Shirona had changed clothes.

"Let's think it over for a bit. About our next jobs."

"Don't bother."

Leaning against the seat, he smirked. "It's only a problem for you. I don't need to make money or anything. I've got savings."

"Is that so. Are you using it for something?"

Kyo started to speak proudly, but partway through, an odd expression came over his face. As if possessed by something, he then contorted his face with a bitter look.

"That's not really any of your business either."

"Do you know of any places that will hire without proof of identity?"

"Nah. What kind of job is it?"

"Hmm..."

As Shirona let out that hum, Kyo silently watched her for a while. At first she didn't mind his gaze as she was lost in thought, but gradually it started to feel a bit uncomfortable. The conversation should have ended, yet he showed no signs of leaving which struck her as strange.

"What is it?"

"Wanna look for one?"

"Huh?"

Kyo had his arms crossed as he spoke with a wry smile. "I'm feeling uneasy about not working part-time either. No matter how much savings I have, it's not enough when thinking long-term."

"You've given it a lot of thought."

"Cut that out."

When Shirona blinked, he cleared his throat before continuing.

"That condescending attitude you put on when talking to kids around 10 years old or so, it's unpleasant, you know."

"I'm sorry."

There were times when even Shirona realized her mistakes after being called out. Perhaps because she had looked after him somewhat, she may have unconsciously started treating him like one of her Pokemon without realizing it. She also became aware that she had been mimicking a parental attitude. She thought again that she wasn't really old enough for that yet.

"I do see you as my equal, you know."

"That's fine then. So..."

"It's probably not good for me to rely on you. I need to properly take care of my own matters myself. Thanks for listening, it was a help."

After sincerely bowing her head, she turned to leave. Some voices called out to her that sounded important, but they didn't reach the contemplative Shirona.

***

Whoosh!

Lucario barely dodged her punch. In return, she tried a spinning kick, but her opponent had read her perfectly.

Shirona tried to react by jumping away, but was magnificently tripped up. Even enhanced by the suit, she couldn't withstand the destruction of her opponent's center of gravity. After falling, Lucario's paw gently tapped her on the nose.

Raising both hands in surrender, she then reviewed the current flow of things. There were still some sloppy points, it seemed. Trainers who specialized in the Fighting-type tended to personally train themselves as well. In the past, Shirona had mimicked that and joined her Pokemon in their training regimen. While keeping that lesson in mind to properly draw the line up until now, she felt that she may not be able to maintain that boundary in the battles to come.

Even wearing the suit, she was simply no match for the likes of Lucario or Garchomp. She sensed there was an unbridgeable divide between humans and Pokemon in that regard. But she at least wanted to reach the point of being able to keep up without being deadweight on the same battlefield. She considered it her duty.

After wiping away her sweat, she left the park at night. Returning to her apartment, she dealt with the problem that had arisen. She proposed having a counseling session with Anzu. While Shirona's intent was simply to ask if she could rely on her during the period until she found a new job, it seemed the other side took it more seriously.

"Why don't you help out with our work?"

"But I might not be able to. I'd just be a nuisance, I'm really bad at it. Lucario is better than me at it."

Witnessing the exchange, Lucario pricked up its ears slightly when its name was mentioned. Seeing that, Anzu crossed her arms.

"Well, I was thinking you could provide support in another area besides drawing."

"You mean?"

"I had an idea, you see. You're smart, Big Sis. You'd be able to come up with good stories too, right?"

"Hmm..."

She was skilled at reading academic papers. And she had read through some prose works as well. But she lacked confidence in constructing stories from scratch all on her own.

"To be honest, I'm satisfied with how things are now. It's fun, and I'm grateful I can earn money drawing ero stuff. But, you know, I can't keep drawing tits and whatnot forever."

"I, I see..."

Shirona could understand Anzu's feelings. While on one hand she had proposed the idea, she didn't really mean it seriously either. Depicting Gantz-related content could potentially lead to them being eliminated, which they both understood.

"I've tried submitting entries to some literary awards before, but they were total trash."

"Well, for example...what if you used your own experiences as source material?"

Shirona made a suggestion.

"Things like Gantz, for instance. In a sense, it's an experience more valuable than any fiction. If you fictionalized it skillfully..."

"But you know..."

Anzu's sentiments were understandable. Shirona hadn't meant what she said with complete seriousness either.

"I'm kinda scared. If I depict too much of it, it might lead to us getting erased."

"You have a point. I did think the premise sounded interesting though."

"Hmm..."

A period of contemplation followed. Shirona wasn't being overly optimistic either. Her finding this part-time job had been a miracle in itself. There probably weren't many other places willing to hire her under the same kind of conditions. If she didn't care about the nature of the work, then there was the option of working at one of those kinds of establishments. But she considered that an absolute last resort only to be used if she was truly desperate.

Gazing at Milotic, who was barely fitting into the vinyl makeshift pool set up on the balcony, Anzu suddenly clapped her hands together.

"This is it!"

Taken aback by her sudden change in energy, Shirona's hand was grabbed as Anzu's eyes shone with a brilliance unlike usual.

"It turned into a huge commotion, didn't it? In that regard, it might have been a good thing. Gufufu... We can't cause a disturbance right in front of the station though, we'll need a bigger open plaza instead. If it goes well, we might even make it on TV... And you're pretty too Big Sis, you'd be a total crowd pleaser..."

While Shirona felt it was definitely a bad idea, Anzu's proposal was surprisingly acceptable. Or rather, it aligned with Shirona's own vague notions about her future. It might not be bad to give it an earnest try.