The first rays of dawn slipped in with the rising sun. After traveling all that way from the horizon, the pale light crept through the atmosphere and quietly into Shoko and Huaxiu's bedroom. Under that soft glow, Huaxiu—still half-asleep—was stirred awake by the commotion beside her.
Drowsily, she heard Shoko letting out low, pained sounds. Somewhere nearby came Shoko's soft voice, but Huaxiu could not understand it, because Shoko was speaking Chinese.
"Mmph… it hurts… lighter… use that one, this one's too hot… okay, that works… let's go to the living room, don't wake Huaxiu…"
…Was that Shoko?
What was wrong with her?
Huaxiu wanted badly to get up and check, but last night's "activities" had exhausted her body and mind so thoroughly that she drifted right back into deep sleep.
She had no idea how many more turns the second hand made before she suddenly jolted awake again, as if something had touched a sensitive spot. She threw off the blanket with her arms and legs all at once and sat bolt upright.
"Morning, Shoko… ahhh…"
Still not fully awake, Huaxiu greeted her out of habit while rubbing her sleepy eyes, but no answer came. She reached over to where Shoko should have been and patted around under the covers.
Instead of warm flesh, she found only empty bedding.
Her eyes locked onto the vacant space beside her.
Where had her Shoko gone?
Had she imagined those sounds earlier?
Panic prickled through her. Maybe Shoko had gotten up early to make breakfast, or maybe she was taking care of something else—but then Huaxiu remembered those strange, unsettling noises from before.
A chill ran down her spine.
She yanked on her coat in a rush, not even zipping it all the way up, shoved her feet into her slippers, and was about to run outside to look for Shoko when she heard a familiar voice from the bedroom door.
Only, it was weak. Fragile. Like the speaker was sick.
"Huaxiu… I'm here."
Shoko slowly pushed open the bedroom door from outside.
Huaxiu looked up—and what she saw made her freeze.
Shoko stood there, her clothes in disarray, bent over, head hanging low. Her black hair fell like a veil, hiding her face. Huaxiu couldn't see what expression lay behind it.
Then her eyes dropped lower.
Shoko wasn't even wearing pants.
Only the upper part of a robe hung down far enough to cover her thighs, but below that her long, fair legs were bare—and trembling.
Had something really happened?
"Shoko… what's wrong with you?" Huaxiu asked.
"I…"
Shoko sounded reluctant, and what little she said came out so softly it was almost impossible to hear. Only then did Huaxiu notice that Shoko's arm was draped over someone else's shoulder.
There was someone beside her.
It was the huge pink-haired fox-girl.
From Huaxiu's perspective, Shoko looked as if all the strength had drained out of her body. She was leaning heavily against Ye Ling, who had bent down so Shoko could brace herself on her broad shoulders. Ye Ling's other arm was wrapped around Shoko's waist, and her fluffy pink tail was draped across Shoko's lower belly.
The whole scene looked like something straight out of an erotic game CG.
That image hit Huaxiu like lightning.
Shoko… with Ye Ling?
Like this?
Her mind, still fuzzy from just waking up, immediately spun off in the worst possible direction. All kinds of ridiculous scenes flashed through her head in an instant.
Was this what she thought it was?
Had something happened while she was asleep?
Her limbs went weak. Her hand clenched the bedsheet beside her so tightly that deep wrinkles formed in the cloth. It felt damp under her fingers—but Huaxiu didn't have the attention to spare for whether it was blood, something white and sticky, or anything else.
All she could think about was the sight of Shoko and Ye Ling together.
For the span of a few breaths, countless scenarios burst through her head.
If that really was what had happened…
…then she'd endure it.
Even if Shoko really had something going on with that pink-haired fox, then… then she would just have to accept it.
After all, what was Huaxiu, really? Just someone clinging to Shoko's strong shoulders in the apocalypse. A dependent. And besides, hadn't they already agreed on things in the beginning?
A sour, burning feeling welled up in her chest, as if someone had dunked her whole heart into lemon juice.
As long as Shoko didn't throw her away, it would be enough.
Ever since hearing that Tokyo had fallen, Huaxiu had already half-convinced herself that she would probably never see her parents again. If she lost Shoko too—Shoko, the one person she could still rely on in this broken world—then what was she supposed to do?
Huaxiu was only sixteen, after all. No matter how mature she tried to act, she could not possibly stay calm in the face of something like this. The bitterness rose up like floodwater.
Ye Ling, seeing the look on Huaxiu's face, realized there had been some kind of misunderstanding. But she did not speak Japanese and had no way to explain herself. Shoko, weak and bent over, could not properly see Huaxiu's expression either, and even speaking was difficult for her.
So the misunderstanding only deepened.
"Huaxiu… help me a little. Take me to the sofa by the fireplace."
At last, Shoko lifted her head and spoke. She told Ye Ling to let go and looked at Huaxiu with open helplessness.
Ye Ling glanced at Shoko in concern, and only after Shoko nodded did she step away, leaving the room.
Now only Shoko and Huaxiu remained.
Still dazed, Huaxiu rushed forward and took Shoko from her. As she drew close, she caught the strong scent of iron.
It was familiar.
Then it hit her.
Everything she had been imagining was completely wrong.
Her face burned.
"Shoko… you…"
"My period started. Don't ask. And… can you wash the sheets later? I… I leaked blood on them."
Shoko's face was flushed red with embarrassment. Saying it out loud seemed to cost her a great deal. She, the unquestioned backbone of the group, had never imagined her period would hit her this hard. In all eighteen years of being a girl, this had never happened before. Her past cycles had never tortured her like this.
"Huh?!"
The misunderstanding shattered instantly.
Huaxiu wanted to bury herself alive.
What nonsense had she been thinking?!
She had spun an entire melodrama in her head.
"Shoko, do you need pads? Brown sugar ginger tea? I still have some."
"Mm. Make the ginger tea. I don't need the pads. And… go get Miranda too. I probably won't be able to go out today."
Wrapped in a blanket and slumped into the armchair by the fireplace, Shoko looked utterly defeated. This was too humiliating.
Before dawn she had woken feeling nauseous and on the verge of vomiting. Her lower abdomen was wracked with waves of cramping pain, as if she were being torn apart from the inside. Even someone like Shoko, who usually seemed almost superhuman, had been reduced to a miserable wreck.
She had been afraid of waking Huaxiu, so she had gone alone to the bathroom outside the room. There, sick to her stomach, she had thrown up everything she had eaten. Then, with her legs gone weak, she had slipped on the smooth floor.
The noise had awakened Ye Ling, whose hearing was sharp enough to catch it. That was how all of this had started.
And yes—Ye Ling's tail really had been very warm.
Not long after, Miranda arrived carrying the breakfast the others had prepared.
"Just set it down there for now," Shoko said. "Huaxiu, can you get me some chocolate too?"
"I'll go right away."
The fireplace was fed with useless books, newspapers, and leftover wood scraps from yesterday's tree cutting. Sitting on the sofa near the flames, bundled in blankets, Shoko discussed the day's work with Miranda.
"With you in this condition, you should just rest," Miranda said softly from the opposite sofa, looking at Shoko with unconcealed concern.
"Mm. I'm leaving the work to all of you today. Don't… worry."
Even finishing that sentence seemed to drain her. The emotional swings that came with her period were being held in check only by force of will, but the frustration was impossible to hide. She hated feeling like dead weight.
The defensive perimeter still was not complete. If something happened, what then? Until their safety measures were fully in place, Shoko could not bring herself to feel secure here. It might be remote and well-hidden, but if infected creatures showed up now, it would still be a disaster.
"Can Ye Ling really handle helping with all this?" Huaxiu asked when she returned. She had brought the chocolate and now hovered nearby, worry still evident on her face. "She doesn't understand Japanese or Italian. If you want her to follow our instructions, is that really going to work?"
That was true.
At the moment, only Shoko and Ye Ling could speak Chinese, and Ye Ling only knew Chinese. Perhaps Shoko really ought to use this time, while she was stuck indoors, to teach her some Japanese.
Otherwise the team would turn into some sort of Austro-Hungarian disaster—one multilingual unit where the commander gets killed by friendly fire because nobody understands anybody else.
"Fine. That's the plan for today." Shoko handed Huaxiu a note. "When Ye Ling gets back from chopping wood, give this to her."
Because of blood loss, Shoko's iron levels had dropped, which meant less oxygen delivery, which meant fatigue, drowsiness, and trouble focusing. For the moment, the mighty Shoko had become a weak, soft little Shoko.
This was the first time Miranda had ever seen her like this. On her way out, she could not help glancing back for one more look.
Shoko curled up on the sofa, making small, miserable sounds, her face flushed, hair disheveled, body trembling now and then, looking half-asleep and utterly defenseless—
She looked nothing like the ferocious battle machine Miranda was used to.
It was almost cute.
To Miranda, Shoko—who was normally about the same height as her—now seemed as small as a middle schooler standing next to a high schooler.
Once everyone had left, Shoko finally let out a long breath. Her body seemed to melt into the sofa. Sweat gathered thickly on her forehead and slid down her face.
Her chest ached too, full and hypersensitive. The hormonal swelling made that part of her feel sore and heavy, and that would not go away for several days. She was going to have to endure this embarrassing misery for almost a week.
And just when she was suffering most, the system decided to show up.
Yesterday's total:
Kill points: 32
Exploration points: 603
Mission points: 0
Recycle points: 135
Automatic service fee: -250
Map fee: -1000/day
Current total remaining: 21,906
Then, in a deeply irritating tone, the system said:
"You know, you could probably smear some of that blood on your face and trigger your Bloodlust trait. Fight fire with fire. Hahaha."
The mockery was so cheap Shoko almost missed the old days—back when the system had still seemed kind of cute.
As if it had heard her thoughts, it immediately switched to a more normal tone.
"I've given you this much support and I'm not allowed to tease you a little? Do you think I get the shop inventory and daily stock for free? I've practically been your father and mother both! Where were you when I got split in half back then, huh? Answer me!"
…Well, that was also true.
Fine.
She would let it go.
"There's no medicine for this in the current stock," the system added. "At least, not for your specific constitution."
"Then is there anything good in the random shop today?"
"A satellite. A mech suit. All starting at over a million points."
"Can't afford it."
That ended that.
Shoko no longer had the energy to argue. Clutching a hot water bottle to her stomach, she curled up beside the fire and drifted off to sleep.
A little later, the bedroom door quietly opened.
A pair of pink fox ears peeked in from outside.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 142)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter181)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter103)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter192)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 173
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 166
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 110
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 190
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 165
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 156
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 81
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 102
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 120
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 80
Uma Musume: I Want All 95
I Can Copy Unique Skills 84
Summoning an Evil God, but the 66
Supernatural Multiverse 83
My Harem Is Indescribable 75
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 81
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 67
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 75
Still playing traditional Honk 55
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 60
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 57
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 45
Transmigrated as Sukuna 55
Checking In in Demon Slayer 60
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 65
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 35
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 35
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 39
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 58
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