4Girls' Last Tour (Japanese: 少女終末旅行, Hepburn: Shōjo Shūmatsu Ryokō) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tsukumizu. The slice of life story is about two girls, Yuuri and Chito, as they travel through the ruins of civilization after an unknown apocalypse.
If you haven't read it or seen the anime, I highly recommend it.
After reading the manga and watching the anime, I felt it needed one last chapter.
Chito thought if this was death, it was rather nice and warm. The young girl could barely remember what that word meant. Since fleeing from their grandfather's home, she and her best friend Yuuri traveled as high and as far as possible. As they made their way through the ruined metropolis, it had grown colder and colder.
On the top of the world, the momentum that drove them forward faded, and Chito wanted nothing more than curl up in that white death and go to sleep.
Her best friend had other ideas. She prodded and pulled and complained that she wouldn't sleep in the snow when there were perfectly good houses below.
"Yuuri?" Chito sat up confused and looked around for the blonde-haired girl.
When the two went to bed in the abandoned house the night before, they had curled up together in their sleeping bags. Instead, she awoke in a warm bed, dressed in bright red pajamas and surrounded by the fluffiest comforter.
Slipping on a pink robe and bunny slippers, an outfit she once owned back when they lived with her grandfather, Chito approached the window.
The weather outside was brutal.
The storm that had threatened the two of them had rolled in during the night. This abandoned house should have been their frozen tomb.
Pulling her hand back quickly, feeling the deadly cold, she whispered, "This has to be a dream."
At that moment, her nose was assaulted by the wonderful aroma of a forgotten memory. Immediately, she followed the familiar smell of breakfast into the other room.
Inside she found Yuuri seated at a table, dressed in bright green pajamas, and surrounded by a pile of delicious food.
Her best friend noticed her arrival, and before she could say anything, Chito instinctively said, "Don't talk with your mouth full, Yuuri."
A rich laugh from the front of the room caught her off guard, where she found a tall man leaning against a wall with a cup of steaming liquid in his hand. Dressed in black, with a thin face, black hair, and the most interesting green eyes, he silently pointed to the table with his drink.
"Come eat Chi before it gets cold," Yuuri insisted, pulling out a chair.
She couldn't remember the last time they had a real meal, so hunger overcame caution. Looking down at the assortments of food, Chito found all the familiar dishes of her childhood.
"This has to be a dream," she whispered, then yelled when her cheek was pinched.
"See, this is not a dream," Yuuri said, then stuffed an entire muffin into her mouth.
Although starved, Chito had been drilled by her grandfather in good table manners. Grabbing the cutlery, she slowly filled her plate with delicious-looking food. Groaning with delight at the first bite, the two friends worked their way through the dishes.
Taking a break, Chito turned towards the stranger, the man who obviously supplied their breakfast.
" I don't mean to seem rude, but who are you?"
"His name is Harii," Yuuri replied, reaching for what looked like a stack of chocolate pancakes. "Remember that small Nuko? That wiggly worm that kept eating all the ammunition? Well, his family works for him."
"Slow down," Chito admonished her friend. "You're going to make yourself sick. And what do you mean work for him."
The man called Harii finally spoke, "It's as your friend said; the Nuko and others like them work for me. I would also like to thank you for treating him well. The little guy had become lost, so its parents were happy for his safe return."
"I don't understand. The creatures explained that their purpose was to consume and stabilize unstable energy."
"Well, no sense leaving things around that will hurt others in the future," the man in black explained.
Chito nodded. It sounded like a good thing, not that it mattered to the two of them. They had no future.
"So, the food, the warmth, our clothing, how is this possible? I remembered going to sleep last night, thinking it was for the last time…."
"Harii did it!" Yuuri exclaimed. "I told you, Chi, that it would be fine."
The man laughed at the blonde girl's grin. "You have good instincts which have taken you both to the top of the world."
Taking a sip from his cup, he continued, "The Nuto came to me with a story about two girls who had persevered through these trouble times. They had made their way to the upper levels, never giving up hope. With the storm outside rolling in, I figure I would come by and say hello."
Chito nodded, "Are we dead?"
The man chuckled. "No, but I do find myself with quite the conundrum."
"Conundrum?"
"A confusing and difficult problem," Chito explained to her friend.
"Indeed, see, my job is like a store's night manager. My crew cleans up and makes sure things are put away properly. Then once that's done, I turn off the lights and lock up the place. To my surprise, I find two young women still in the store."
"Are we in trouble?" Yuuri asked, concerned.
"Not at all, but I am not sure what to do with the two of you. Obviously, you can't remain here as I am about to turn off the lights."
Chito felt a chill, and it wasn't from the air outside.
"Hey, I know we can come work for you," Yuuri said, then asked, "Would that be OK?"
"See if that's what your friend wants," the man in black said warmly.
"Chi, come on, sounds like fun, doesn't it?"
"Will the two of us still be working together?" Chito asked hopefully.
"I don't see why not; you two make a great team," Harii replied.
Then suddenly, everything shifted.
The warm atmosphere was gone, replaced with the stark reality of a world coming to an end. Although the room was still comfortable, the two girls now dressed in their old clothes could feel the storm like some wild animal trying to claw its way in.
Yuuri was the first to come out of her shock and ran to collect her things.
"You won't need your weapon," Harii said when the pair returned.
The blonde nodded, pulled the rifle off her shoulder, and gave it a long look. Then walked over to a wall and gently set it on the ground.
The pair almost cried out when a shining blue arch appeared.
"Well, it's time to go."
Unable to move, Chito stared at the glowing door and whispered, "I'm afraid."
She then felt a warm hand slip into hers.
Yuuri then cackled and began to drag her friend forward. "Let's go!"
As the two plunged through the portal with a scream, Harry Potter, Master of Death, laughed. Giving one last look around, he turned off the lights and shut the door.