Jobless Man’s Zombie Survival Life - Chapter 59: The Matter of Shelter Days Once More

Chapter 59: The Matter of Shelter Days Once More

“Ojisan, good morning!”

“…Morning, Miku-chan.”

The first thing I see when I wake up is Miku-chan’s beaming smile.

Yup, this is Yurei High.

Like before, I crashed in the nurse’s office last night.

“Come on! No sleeping in! Time to brush your teeth!”

“Look, Miku-chan, my right hand’s fine, so I can—”

“Brush!!”

“Okay, okay!”

A thirty-something getting his teeth brushed by an elementary schooler…

Don’t think about it! Don’t think too hard!!

Clear your mind!! Be zen!!!

Miku-chan’s super grateful that I brought her mom, Misa-neesan, back, so she’s been taking care of me since yesterday.

“Ojisan got hurt saving Mama, so Miku’s gonna take care of him!!!”

Or so she says.

What a good kid…

But honestly, I don’t mind too much.

Misa-neesan’s an old friend, after all.

I didn’t get hurt because I saved her.

Plus, it’s just my left arm, so it’s not a huge deal.

Still, maybe it’s Mondo-occhan’s stubborn blood, but once Miku-chan sets her mind on something, she won’t budge.

She’s not being unreasonable or selfish, so it’s hard to argue.

But getting pampered by an elementary schooler in my thirties…?

It’s, uh, doing something to my faint, barely-there pride…?

※

“Any itchy spots?”

“Maybe the tip of my nose.”

“Here you go!”

“Ahh, that’s the spot. Thanks.”

“Ehe!”

Who needs pride? I tossed that out with the non-burnable trash ages ago—no blind spots here!

So, right now, Miku-chan’s washing my hair at the edge of the schoolyard.

Water’s from the school’s well, shampoo’s borrowed from a convenience store.

I’m lying on a bench, getting the barbershop treatment.

This armor-like brace comes off tomorrow, so I at least want my hair clean.

I sweated buckets during yesterday’s chaos.

Wearing a helmet makes it all stuffy and gross…

If my hair turns samurai-style, it’d be a disaster…!

A real disaster!!

“Hey, Ojisan.”

“Hm?”

“Um, well…”

It’s rare for Miku-chan to hesitate like this.

What’s up?

“Miku… Miku might be a bad kid…”

“If you’re a bad kid, Miku-chan, the whole world’s full of bad kids. …What’s wrong?”

After a few moments of hesitation, she starts talking.

“I want you to find Papa too…”

As she says it, Miku-chan suddenly hugs my head tight.

Whoa, she’s gonna get all wet…

“But… Ojisan got hurt saving Mama, didn’t he?”

Her voice trembles slightly.

“What if… next time, you get hurt even worse…?”

I feel warm liquid on my forehead.

Miku-chan’s tears.

“But… Miku really, really wants to see Papa… even though I don’t want Ojisan to get hurt…”

“Miku… Miku’s a bad kid…”

Her small body shakes with sadness as she cries.

My chest tightens.

Damn it, what a good kid!

You’re a child—you’re allowed to be selfish!!

You don’t have to cry over something like that!!

“…Miku-chan, move over.”

“…!”

When I call out, she flinches and steps back.

Probably thinks I’m gonna refuse…

I get up from the bench, crouch in front of her, and look her in the eyes.

“Look at Ojisan… real close!!”

I sprint toward the school building’s wall, jump, and run a few steps up it.

Kicking off, I flip backward in midair.

Landing, I roll, using my body’s momentum for another backflip.

I dash to Miku-chan, who’s watching wide-eyed, and scoop her up with my right arm.

“How’s that! Ojisan’s pretty awesome, right!!”

“…Yeah.”

“A little injury like this? No big deal!! Ojisan’s tough!!”

“…Y-Yeah.”

“So!!”

I take a deep breath and roar to the sky.

“Miku-chan’s Papa? Ojisan’s gonna find him!! No matter what!!”

My shout’s so loud, Miku-chan’s eyes go wide.

I gently press my forehead to hers.

“Miku-chan, leave it all to Ojisan.”

“…Ugh…”

“Got it?”

“Y… Yeah, yeah!!”

She hugs my head tight, bursting into loud sobs.

Cry, cry, let it all out.

You don’t need to wear a good-girl mask in front of me.

That’s what being a kid’s all about.

Ojisan’s a sloppy, carefree, lazy guy who’s killed people.

But Miku-chan’s request? That’s light as a feather.

Next destination’s set.

※

“Jeez, who’s the kid here?”

“Sorry…”

“Any itchy spots, Tanakano-san?”

“Uh, behind my ear…”

“Here.”

Miku-chan cried for a while, then fell asleep in my arms.

She must’ve been agonizing over whether to ask since morning.

No wonder she was acting weird.

Of course she’d crash after letting it out.

All good so far, but Misa-neesan, hearing the commotion, came running.

My freshly washed hair’s now covered in dirt, and Miku-chan’s drenched in shampoo.

I got yanked away, and somehow Kanzaki-san, who appeared out of nowhere, is washing my hair again.

Miku-chan’s sleeping, so Misa-neesan’s wiping her head and body, holding her.

This is insanely embarrassing.

I said I could wash it myself, but they wouldn’t listen.

More like they pretended not to hear.

…Why!?

“…Ichirouta, you really gonna look for Atsu-kun?”

“What, Misa-neesan, he’s your beloved husband, right?”

“Yeah, but…”

For once, Misa-neesan’s hesitant.

“Of course I wanna see Atsu-kun… and Miku does too… but…”

She fidgets, looking uneasy.

It’s honestly kinda jarring.

“If you get hurt bad like yesterday, or if Atsu-kun’s already…”

“Misa-neesan!!”

“!”

I cut her off with a louder voice.

“You and Miki-neesan… Mondo-occhan and Sachiko-obasan, you all took such good care of me, right?”

By the way, Miki-neesan’s Mondo-occhan’s second daughter, working out of the prefecture.

Hope she’s safe.

“I don’t have a big sister, so I think of you like my real one, Misa-neesan.”

“Y-Yeah…”

“So that means!”

I pause for a breath.

“Miku-chan’s like my niece, right!? How can Ojisan not answer his adorable niece’s request!?”

“All done, Tanakano-san.”

“Pwah!? Th-Thanks…”

Right as I finish my cool speech, water gets dumped on my head.

Talk about a mood killer…

“…Hahahaha! Ojisan, huh… got it!”

“Nmyu…? Mama…?”

Misa-neesan bursts out laughing.

Scary.

And now Miku-chan’s awake!

“…Alright, Ojisan. Please… find Atsu-kun.”

“Leave it to me!”

“Of course, I’ll come along, right?”

Kanzaki-san leans in close.

Too close, too close!!

…But, fine.

I’ll rely on her again.

This mission can’t fail.

“…I’m counting on you, partner!!”

“…Yes!!”

“What? What’s up…? Ahh! Rin-oneesan, that’s not fair! I was doing it!”

“Sorry, Miku-chan. How about you handle the drying?”

“Okay!”

Uh… I can totally do that myself…

Oh, fine, go ahead…

※

My hair’s fresh, but the washing left me mortified.

Since I can’t do much today, I’ll wander the shelter with Miku-chan, my caretaker.

“Want a shoulder ride?”

“No way! Not till your injury’s healed!!”

“Right.”

She’s so responsible.

Oh, almost forgot.

Something Mayumi-obasan entrusted to me.

“Miku-chan, can you open Ojisan’s backpack?”

We head back to the nurse’s office, hand in hand, and she opens my bag.

“Okay… wow, cute! What’s this bear?”

“It’s from Yukiko-chan’s mom, for you. Take good care of it.”

“Yeah! …Ehe, so fluffy…”

“Make sure to thank Yukiko-chan for her mom, okay?”

“Yeah! …Oh, Ojisan, what’s its name?”

Name…?

“Uh… it doesn’t have one yet. Wanna name it, Miku-chan?”

“Really? Hmm… um…”

Miku-chan crosses her arms, thinking.

Come on, give it a cute name!

“I’ll call it ‘Ichita’!!”

“Pfft!? Why!?”

“‘Cause Ojisan brought it!!”

“Uh… maybe something cuter, like Kuma-san or Paddington…”

“No! Ichita’s cute!!”

The adorable bear with round eyes is now Ichita…

Damn it, it’s because Misa-neesan keeps calling me Ichirouta…!

After that, I watch a cat-and-mouse movie with a delighted Miku-chan, clutching Ichita.

…It’s amazing how fun it is even for adults…

※

Next destination’s set.

Shiiya Central Station.

It’s probably crawling with zombies, so I’ll heal up, prep thoroughly, and tackle it.

Gotta find Miku-chan’s dad.