Nico woke up slowly, blinking the sleep from her eyes. As she sat up she listened for the sound of raindrops, turning her head in confusion when she couldn't hear any.

Strange, it was pouring yesterday.

Getting out of bed, Nico made her way over to the window and pulled the curtains back. The sight of a wet but not rainy landscape greeted her eyes. It had rained for the past week, so a change of scenery was welcome in her mind.

After getting changed, Nico hurriedly ate breakfast. After finishing, she quickly washed her dishes. Nico crept to her door and opened it, peaking her head outside. Everywhere was still soaked from the past week, with the smell of wet concrete infiltrating her nose. If she wanted to get any shopping done, she would have to do so quickly before any looters came out. With this in mind, she got changed quickly and left, locking the door behind her.

"Let's see, vegetables, rice, bread, noodles, maybe some chocolate if I can find any…"

Nico stopped, trying to remember if she needed anything else.

Ah yes, I needed a new frying pan, my last one broke, she thought, proud of herself for remembering.

Mentally noting everything once again, she set off for the local supermarket. Surprisingly, people had missed this place, leaving plenty of food for Nico to take. She some idea why people missed it, but she wasn't worried and so took full advantage of the lack of competition.

After a few blocks, concern slowly flickered through Nico's mind. She hadn't encountered anything yet, which was very abnormal. While she was distracted with these thoughts, she almost missed a loud bang from nearby. Freezing in place, Nico slowly turned around, trying to convince herself it was her mind playing tricks on her. This illusion was shattered once the sound of another gunshot rang through the air.

Oh no, Nico panicked.

Looking around, she spotted an open door to one of the nearby houses and made a run for it. Slamming the door behind her, she fumbled with the lock, heaving a sigh of relief once it was secured. She quietly crept away from the front door and found her way to the window. She closed the blinds and crouched, peeking through the blinds to watch the street.

After what felt like an eternity to her, she saw two figures carefully making their way through the street. There was a blonde girl in front holding a pistol, casting wary glances around her. The blue girl seemed to be a dragging cricket bat behind her, moving slightly slower than the blonde. Upon further inspection, Nico noticed some blood oozing out from behind the hand pressed against the girl's ribcage.

As long as they don't see me I should be fine, Nico reassured herself.

Nico started to wonder why these two girls would be on this street, considering it was a residential area. The houses occasionally contained canned goods and other useful items, but most were looted dry by now. As far as Nico was concerned, it was far easier to go to a store to get what you needed, especially because people didn't always leave their stuff in the best condition.

The sound of footsteps behind her brought Nico's thoughts to a halt. Slowly turning around, Nico was greeted by a severely decayed corpse. The sagging skin and visible ribcage, as well as the unhinged jaw was a frightening sight to take in. Taking deep breathes, Nico tried to calm herself down, aware screaming would draw attention to her. The corpse suddenly cocked its head to the side and started sniffing the air. Letting out a mix between a scream and a howl, it shot towards the door. Realising what was going on, Nico dashed towards the back of the house. Scrambling over a fallen chair, she yanked the backdoor open and ran. After climbing the fence, she ran through an old park, putting as much distance between her and the house as possible.

Nico ran for several minutes before collapsing behind a house. Gasping for air, she took note of her surroundings. Old houses were to one side, with a small forest on the other. Sneaking past the houses, Nico found herself on a small street with two long dead people wandering around aimlessly. Deciding to ignore them, Nico walked along the street, looking for any street signs or indications of where she was. After a minute, she came across what she was looking for.

I see, Nico thought. I didn't go too far then, the supermarket should be about twenty or so minutes away from here I think.

Satisfied with her current situation, Nico gave herself a pat on the back for avoiding an unwanted encounter with armed looters and set off for the market. To Nico's joy, the journey was uneventful, unlike earlier.

Upon reaching the store, Nico entered and passed by the cash register, surprisingly manned by another rotting corpse.

Either he's actually working or he's just standing there because he has nothing better to do with his time, Nico thought to herself, giggling at the thought of the armless thing trying to scan her items.

Adjusting the bag on her shoulder, Nico set off to pick up what she needed. She would have to get the pan somewhere else, but that could wait. Nico stopped in front of the dairy section and eyed the ice-cream on display.

The freezer probably isn't working anymore, but it can't hurt to check, can it? Nico asked herself. Nico did have a sweet tooth that had been neglected for far too long. She was keenly aware that she would have to carry everything with her for the trip home. That was one reason she never tried stocking up on ice-cream, too much room and weight for her bag.

Deciding it wouldn't hurt just to check, Nico opened the door and was met with a blast of cold air.

Could it be?

Nico took out a small container and opened the lid, eyeing the frozen contents inside. Sniffing it didn't result in her reeling back in disgust, which was a good sign. Forcing a finger in, she scooped out a small bit and stuck it in her mouth. Her tongue was immediately assaulted by a cold and delicious taste, reminding Nico of just how long it had been since she had some.

"I suppose one container wouldn't hurt…" Nico said to herself.

As Nico left the store she realised just how terrible of a mistake she had made in agreeing to spoil herself with the ice-cream. What had supposed to have been a small treat had turned into a large bucket and several smaller containers worth of ice-cream, forcing her to borrow a basket from the store.

Nico groaned to herself, realising how much of a walk she had ahead of herself, especially if she wanted to make it to the mall for some clothes shopping and to pick up the frying pan. The ice-cream meant she had to go home first to put the frozen treats away, then to the mall to shop and inevitably get distracted, and then back home. All in all, hours of her day she wasn't going to get back, all because she wanted ice-cream.

Walking back home, Nico couldn't help but admire how fast nature was to reclaim its territory again. Without people to maintain things, the roads had cracked and yards had overgrown, with several animals scurrying around what used to be ruled by people. In humanity's place walking corpses wandered around instead, bringing the smell of death with them. The horrible smell was one reason Nico stocked up on perfume and air freshener early on, as she could only put up with the stench for so long before needing to be rid of it.

Once Nico was home she unlocked the door and stepped inside, yelling that she was back, something that was unnecessary but habitual. Quickly putting her groceries away, and safely storing her ice-cream, she closed the door behind her and left for the mall.

Unlike her previous venture outside the house, she did not come across any more scares, only the occasional corpse wandering around. The number of them sharply increased as she got closer to the mall, peaking at what she estimated to be two hundred inside the building. It surprised Nico just how many seemed to hang around malls, although she supposed it might be a habit from their old lives. However, she had yet to meet one that could hold an actual conversation, being with groans whenever she tried to interact with them.

Nico made a quick detour to the kitchen store and walked out with a brand new non-stick pan, much nicer than the one she originally had. With her chores done, she wandered around the mall, looking through shops and opening the occasional box, something that she knew wasn't allowed before the end of civilisation.

Walking past a fabric store, she saw an ashen haired girl comparing fabrics. One sniff was enough to convince Nico she was as dead, or undead, like everyone else in the mall.

Would it kill these people to cover up the smell? Seriously, it's like they don't even care, Nico thought to herself, huffing in annoyance.

Nico passed by some zombies huddled in a corner staring at something in the shop window. Sneaking a look past them, she saw an overturned mannequin wearing a dress.

Cute dress, I should try it on. Immodest mannequin though, Nico thought while giggling, knowing full well the mannequin had no choice in the matter.

Nico pushed walked past the zombies into the store and set about moving the mannequin to a more respectable pose, promting what sounded like disappointed groans from the group of zombies.

"No looking up a girl's skirt, that's indecent," Nico scolded the zombies, earning another round of groans. Rolling her eyes, Nico started to explore the store, taking note of all the outfits they had.

After half an hour of looking at different outfits, she brought a small pile with her to the changing rooms. She wasn't particularly fond of changing in front of the zombies, especially after the small group seemed to ogle the mannequin instead of thinking about brains and other normal zombie thoughts. Once the door was locked, she tried on each outfitting, giving herself a quick look in the mirror and squealing each time.

Once she was satisfied that all the clothes fit perfectly, she brought them over to the cash register and dumped them on the counter, climbing over it afterwards. She proceeded to scan each item and remove the plastic clothes-hangars and the security features, unwilling to put up with the rush if she tried to leave with them still on and the alarm went off. Once she finished with the last outfit, she climbed back over the counter and stuffed them all into her bag. Satisfied that they wouldn't fall out, she set off to pick up some shoes to go with them all.

Luckily for Nico, people didn't loot all the cute clothes and shoes, instead preferring practical stuff like cargo pants, jeans, and jackets, none of which she was interested in. This left her with plenty of choices when it came to shoes and clothes, something she took full advantage of.

After picking up some shoes, she started to leave before passing by a jewelry store.

Well, it's not like the prices matter at this point. What are they going to do, call the police on me? Nico thought while silently laughing at the absurdity of zombie police trying to arrest her for taking a necklace or five.

Nico quickly went over each accessory, taking what she thought she might wear and leaving things she either wouldn't wear or she didn't have an outfit that would go with them yet. Once she was happy with her purchase that would easily have been worth several hundred thousand yen, she started heading towards the mall exit.

As Nico walked through the mall, she thought she heard crying. Perking her ears, she slowly made her way towards the sound, ending up in front of a door. Nico jiggled the doorknob a bit, quickly realising it was locked.

"Hello? Is anyone in there?"

She heard the beginning of a scream before it was muffled. Pressing her ear to the door, Nico could make out murmurs from the other side.

"Nico Nico Nii! Don't worry, Nico's here to help!" Nico said, frowning when she heard the sobbing start again.

Nico felt her chest tighten as she listened, being harshly reminded of reality. The people behind the door were just normal people trying to survive, as futile as it was. There was no way they would let someone like her get anywhere near them to help. Deep down she already knew this, but her voice causing more sobbing was a harsh reminder.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Nico reluctantly continued on her way, leaving the people to their fate. There wasn't anything she could do to help if they wouldn't let her, upsetting her greatly as she would never hurt innocent people.

"So much for bringing smiles to everyone's faces," Nico chuckled to herself, feeling her eyes dampen.

Nico shook her head before forcing a smile on her face, determined to not ruin her mood. She just had to make it home and then she could have all the ice-cream she wanted.

With this in mind, Nico picked up her pace and started to imagine all the different combinations she could try. She had vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice-cream available.

Maybe some strawberry and vanilla will cheer me up? Nico thought. I could also slice up some bananas, make a little sundae. She patted her cheeks, attempting to bring her mind back to the present. You have lots of time when you get back home, just focus on getting there first, Nico scolded herself.

Her mind back to positive thoughts, Nico set off for home, deciding to take the shortest route back to spare her arms from carrying the weight longer than necessary.

After about twenty minutes of walking Nico found herself walking into one of the parks near her house. Looking around to confirm it was empty, she trotted over to one of the tables and put her bags down on the bench before climbing onto the table. Nico took one last look to confirm the park was empty, and once satisfied, took a big breath of air and started singing.

As time passed, she sang louder and started to dance. With each passing moment, Nico imagined more and more people coming to cheer her on, their smiles growing larger and larger. She felt her hair whip around her face as she twirled around, eyes closed.

After dancing for what felt like hours, Nico opened her eyes and was greeted by several decayed zombies gathered around her table.

"Hello everyone, glad you could come to Nico's performance! Nico loves you all!" she shouted while striking her Nico-Ni pose. Several grunts let her know the zombies acknowledged her, and with a curtsey she hopped off the table and collected her bags.

"I hope to see you all again at my next performance," Nico said while giving them a wave before turning around and heading home. Even if they didn't' show it, Nico knew they enjoyed her performance.

Several minutes later Nico made it back home. The setting sun made everything glow a warm orange colour, making it look like a scene out of a movie.

Nico grabbed the door handle and let out a yawn before pushing the door open and stepping in. She dropped her bags and started taking her shoes off.

Hold on a minute, Nico thought suddenly. She turned to the door and stared. How did I get in without unlocking the door?

A sudden moan from inside her house caught Nico's attention. She crept through the house, praying she was mistaken. When Nico turned the corner, she saw a red-haired girl sitting on one of her couches, seemingly unaware of her presence.

"Who are you?"

The girl's body whipped around to face Nico, purple eyes wide with surprise, her hand gripping a spoon sticking out of her mouth at an odd angle. Nico's eyes travelled down the girl's body and landed on the strawberry ice-cream tub on her lap.

The ice-cream meant for Nico.

Author's Note: I'm not dead, as evident by finally posting a new story. Thank-you to Feathers for inspiring me to start writing again, and to Super Idol Nico Yazawa and FringeWeaver for editing and catching all my silly mistakes. Also, thank you Icecore for coming up with a much better title than the orginal one. I'd also like to thank the Nico discord server for providing so much inspiration and encouragement. I hope you all enjoy it!