I took a deep breath through the mask and yanked the door open. Heat streamed out of the opening as I reached inside, trying to avoiding touching the walls as I stretched my arm out. Come on, just a little further-

Something large and heavy crashed outside and my hand jolted, skin brushing against the steel as I winced. Shit-My fingers gripped the thin metal edge and I pulled the last tray out before slamming the door shut, running for the sink and and holding the burn under a stream of cold water.

For a few minutes I just stood there as muffled cursing sounded outside, lifting my arm out of the water every so often to see if it was swelling. I swear to god, if he-

“KIIIIIIIIID? A little help out here would be nice!”

I shook my arm dry and took off my face mask, flicking the dial on the oven off and shoving  the cakes further onto the bench. Motherfucker. Juko was standing in the loading area, in front of the open doors of his lorry with a hand on his hip. “Listen, I know you’re supposed to be the kitchen helper-”

“When I’m reaching into the back of the oven where Jakari puts the cake pans, I don’t need any surprises.”

He had the conscious to look guilty at least, but not much past that. “Oh……sorry. But uh, I can’t lift the crates by myself. Unless you want these to get wet when it rains later, you better give me a hand here.”

I crossed my arms. “Can’t you enlist someone else? Jakari wants the cakes done by 5:30 and I literally just got the pans out of the oven.”

“Well our supervisor wants unloading done at 5:10, so my work takes priority. Get the left side.”

With a sigh I bent down and helped lift the first box, walking backwards towards the storage room. Juko isn’t cut out for this. They should have given the job to that guy from Kansai, he could carry these boxes. On the count of three we set the box down, and he flashed me a smile. “One down, five to go!”

As I bent down to get the next box he yawned, adjusting his grip. “You know, you’re a lot stronger than you look. I know men my age who can lift less than you can.”

I rolled my eyes. “If I can lift as much as you can, that speaks less to my abilities and more to yours.”

He gave me a scowl. “Ha-ha, very funny. I can lift more than you you know.”

“And yet you’re the one who needs my help.”

He shot me a small glare, then stood up and stretched with a smug grin. “Well, you agreed and now you need to stick with it. Let’s go, time’s a-wastin!”

A high heel clicked against the ground. “You don’t say.”

The grin melted off Juko’s face as Lara crossed her arms, making eye contact with me. “Iitsu, what are you doing here?”

I stood up, gesturing to the boxes stacked next to the wall. “Juko said he needed help with a tight deadline.”

She scoffed. “Interesting. Did he also mention that that would be because he fell asleep in the truck and forgot the trolley at the supplier’s loading dock?”

I flicked my gaze to him and raised an eyebrow. Juko avoided eye contact, turning to face her with a nervous smile. “Lara! Look, I messed up, I know, but I-”

“The Head Chef won’t take kindly to you stealing his assistant. Speaking of which, I heard you have a deadline for the tiramisus; you can get going Iitsu, I’ll handle this.”

I flashed Juko a pitying look, then turned back to Lara. “Yes ma’am.”

I returned to the kitchen and washed my hands before getting to work mixing the mascarpone cream, brewing some espresso so it had time to cool before assembly. It didn’t take long for the fingers to cool off, and after a brief dip into the blast chiller I was ready to assemble. The most difficult part about Tiramisu is really just making the cake fingers. Everything else is pretty simple.

All I had to do was soak the cake fingers in the cooled coffee and lay them in a single layer, topping with the cream mixture and another layer of soaked fingers. One last spread of cream and all that was left was an even coating of finely milled coffee, slowly sifted onto the surface. Not the hardest part, but a close second. I tried going slow over the two dishes, gently tapping the side of the sifter, but despite my best efforts I still ended up with a thicker layer on the right side. Well, at least the first one turned out okay.

“Not bad.”

I put the sifter down and sighed. “The one on the right is a little uneven, but I don’t think it will be noticeable if we use it for individual slices.”

Jakari put them into the oversized fridge to set for the morning, taking a notepad from the pocket of his apron and crossing out a line. “Good work. You finished cutting the other cakes for the display yet?”

I nodded. “All done.”

“Alright, you can go home then; we don't have any orders to fill untill Monday.”

I nodded, bowing slightly. “Okay, thanks. Bye!”

I went into the bathroom and changed out of my work clothes, folding them in my bag and putting on a set of casual clothes. As I headed out the front doors I waved at the cashier, who smiled and waved back. Then a hand with long acrylic fingernails snapped around my elbow and yanked me back. Wha–? 

Lara narrowed her eyes at the burn on my forearm. “Iitsu, what’s this?

…shit. I pulled myself from her grip and put my hand over the burn. “I’m fine, that idiot out back dropped something when I was reaching into the oven; I’m a bit jumpy. But it’s fine, it’ll be healed by Monday.”

She put her hands on her hips. “You need to tell me or Jakari if something like this happens, Iitsu.”

I edged towards the door. “It’s fine, I heal fast anyways. It’s not like a little burn is gonna-”

“'Burn'?”

Dammit- I winced inwardly as Jakari came out of the kitchen, his gaze going right to the where I was covering my arm. He walked over and held his hand out wordlessly, and I sighed. “It’s not that bad, shit happens. Besides, we work in a kitchen; getting burned is hardly a surprise-”

He unwound my fingers from the burn, the edges of his lips twitching downwards at the patch of angry red skin. “Come.”

I tried to inch towards the door. “I have a first aid kit at home, you really don’t have to-”

Without a word he picked me up by the torso, carried me back in and put me on one of the high stools in the kitchen. I resigned myself to his care as he started gently cleaning the burn. I tensed a few times as the wound was agitated, but I kept my mouth shut while he spread burn cream onto the small blister in the center. “That man is lucky there are ghouls looking for employment around here; this is his third screwup in the last two months, if it weren’t for the new Goat employment policies I’d have found somebody to take his place by now.”

I shrugged. “Well, at least a ghoul can carry boxes without needing my help.”

He made a noncommittal grunt, wrapping the area with gauze. “Make sure to change the dressing daily. You got lucky; it’s a small blister, but you still don’t want it to get infected.”

I nodded. “Thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I finally got out of the bakery, sighing as I got onto the street. Just because I live alone doesn’t mean I need to be babied. As Spring waned and Summer began the trees lost their flowers, and as I walked through the bustling streets a bunch of seasonal dishes were on display. Just looking at them is so tempting. A particularly crunchy looking taiyaki caught my attention, and for a few moments I debated if it was worth the trouble and the cash. I haven’t eaten for a while. I should probably grab something on the way home…..

A flash caught my attention from the corner of my eye and I turned on reflex. The couple was looking at the small photo from their insta-print camera, seemingly oblivious to the dirty looks people were throwing at them for using such a strong flash. They looked like your average tourists, wearing regular clothes and accessorising with random items, but something felt….strange.

The way they giggled and laughed wasn’t quite stunted, but it didn’t exactly feel natural either. ….whatever; I need to get home. As I neared the border of the ward they disappeared with the rest of the crowds, the streets getting dustier and graffiti appearing on the walls. I spotted some homeless people but paid them no mind, and they ignored me in turn. I’m pretty sure one or two of those guys are ghouls, but as long as they don’t bother me I’ll leave them be.

The official border of the abandoned zone was still a block or so away, but the houses along the edge had emptied a long time ago and nobody wanted to move back in. A few guards patrolled the fence, but I’d already memorised their shifts; all I had to do was wait a few minutes for them to pass by and move out of earshot before climbing over and disappearing into the ‘uninhabitable’ region around the oviduct. The orphans in this ward seem to hate sunlight; they only go out at night, and the feds don't bother entering buildings while out hunting. Two blocks past the fence I entered a small apartment building, unlocking the basement door and stepping over the tripwire.

There wasn’t much to see; a sleeping bag, a small cooler, and a large plastic tub in the corner. They haven’t been moved. No signs of entry either. I breathed a sigh of relief and closed the basement door, heading to another empty room and walking towards the corner.

Some of the floorboards had holes and gaps in them, and I knelt down next to one slightly smaller than the rest. Producing a key from my pocket, I slipped it into the hole and turned the lock hidden inside. A click sounded, and I slid a section of floor into the wall to reveal a crudely dug passage.

Once I was inside I slid the panel back into place, locking it from the inside. Then I continued down the narrow passageway propped up with scrap iron and a few wooden poles, being careful not to touch the sides. About a hundred meters down the tunnel I unlocked a similar setup as before, climbing out into an empty basement.

The apartment building’s entrance was entirely blocked off with rubble, windows and openings overgrown with saplings and vines. With no openings big enough for a person to fit through it looked completely abandoned from the outside with no way to see inside, so I didn’t have to be careful going up except for avoiding my own tripwires. When I got to my apartment the only light I turned on was a battery-powered lamp, carrying it with me as I went to my room to lied down.

A few moments later the section of mattress near my feet sagged slightly, and something began to walk up along the left side of my body. Then four paws stepped onto my chest and Sumi started sniffing at my face. I scratched her under the chin and she started purring, curling up into a black lump on top of my chest. “And what have you been doing all day?” She yawned, exposing her canines and laying her head down. I smiled and closed my eyes, turning off the lamp. I guess I could take a nap now. I’ll be out late to get dinner anyways.