2.20: Tailspining and a WipeoutAn expression of arm crossed Natalia-sama’s face.

  Rui rushed to me and dropped to her knees so fast her shoes skidded on the way down, wrapping her arms around my shoulders and pulling me in tight.

  “I’m sorry! I pushed you too far, Susu,” she blurted, her breathing trembling against my ear. “You fought that bull-and-spider hybrid yōkai. He hit you like a truck… I was surprised that you were okay after that fight. And when it came to it, my sister was almost tougher to fight in her own way. She was more agile and a better fighter than ever, as useless as she is. If it wasn’t for her spiritual block, I’d probably just step aside.”

  Her words tumbled out like she was trying to erase the st fifteen minutes by sheer force of apology.

  Natalia-sama stroked Rui’s head once, firm and reassuring.

  “The kind of block that Aika has isn’t one she’ll ever shake off in her life,” she said gently. “She may manage as a Spiritual Detective thanks to that stubborn spiritual denial of hers… but she’ll never truly understand yōkai. We’ll beat her and show her that Sumire is the best successor possible for your legacy.”

  Rui nodded, her shoulders loosening just a little as she exhaled, though her brows knit with guilt.“But this is kind of a tangent, isn’t it? I’m sorry about that too. More importantly, tell us what’s wrong, Susu.”

  I groaned and shook my head, one hand pressing tighter into the aching pit of my stomach.“It’s okay… The pain I’m going through isn’t all that important. It just makes me feel even weaker. Maybe I’m not cut out for any of this.”

  “Let’s call an ambunce like Sumire asked for. We shouldn’t dey too long getting her medical treatment,” Natalia-sama said softly. She reached into her purse and produced her phone with all the elegance of a noblewoman.

  She lifted the phone to call.

  Ume’s voice chimed lightly, “Pft… Drop the phone, Natalia, trust me.”

  Everyone froze and stared at her… including me.Even Akuchi’s civet tail puffed again in confusion in my p.

  The room went utterly silent. I could practically hear ambunce sirens approaching in the distance, until Ume bizarrely called it off.

  Ume flicked a finger in the air. “Don’t worry. She’s probably completely fine.”

  “Well…” I muttered weakly. “She’s probably right. I'm probably just crying for no good reason as always…”

  Ume shook her head softly and sympathetically, but with a mischievous spark.“I didn’t say you’re not hurting, or that you’re hurting for a stupid or fake reason. You’re hurting for a good reason.”

  Everyone blinked.

  Rui’s expression twisted into offended confusion.“What are you talking about? Have you gone crazy? Susu is hurt! Don’t be such a baka out of the blue. You’re one of the most dependable people I know!”

  “It’s not good to ugh at a friend’s pain.” Natalia-sama chided Ume gently, her lips pinched into a polite but stern line.

  Akuchi stood up on her hind legs… adorably. She waved her paws like she was furiously waving pom-poms.“Don’t mock Mistress’ pain!”She looked genuinely ready to throw paws at Ume.

  Despite myself… a tiny giggle leaked out.Akuchi was too cute standing like that.I couldn’t resist petting her.

  Akuchi froze and managed to blush as a fuzzy little civet.

  “I think the pain is fading…” I said weakly.

  “It’s not going anywhere anytime soon.” Ume tilted her head knowingly, her fangs glinting.

  Natalia-sama’s ears perked sharply. “Is she damaged on the inside? Do you smell blood even inside a human’s body?”

  “Yes. She is bleeding.” Ume giggled.

  Natalia-sama’s eyes shot open, armed. “Oh no! Are you—?!”

  Everyone stared at Ume.

  Bnk.Empty.Utterly lost.

  Even Akuchi’s tail defted in slow confusion and her blush faded.

  “You should understand what she’s going through, don’t you, Rui-chan?” Ume said sweetly. “I stopped experiencing this some time after I became a vampire. Most yōkai never experience it at all. So none of you would recognize the signs.”

  Rui blinked.Then blinked again… slower.Suspicion built like storm clouds behind her eyes.

  Natalia-sama’s eyes widened… slowly… then she covered her mouth and began to ugh.Elegant.Surprised.And definitely amused.

  “I did not see this coming.”

  “TELL ME!” Rui barked, throwing her hands in the air. “What’s wrong with her?!”

  Ume leaned in, cupped a hand around Rui’s ear, and whispered something in a pyful murmur.

  Rui’s face detonated. She gasped and stumbled backward, bumping into her ruined kotatsu.

  Akuchi scowled, scampering off my p.“Why am I the st to know? I’m worried about Mistress!”

  She transformed back into her human form in a puff of smoke.

  POOF

  She pnted a hand on her hip, gring at the group. “What’s going on?!”

  Ume giggled and wagged a teasing finger.“It’s not anything you would understand. I’d be surprised if Susu even knows what’s happening to her yet. The poor dear.”

  “TELL ME!” Akuchi shrieked.

  “Nope.” Ume chimed cheerfully. “Bear with it, Susu. It’ll be okay. Like I said, you’re probably completely fine.”

  I stared at her, her betrayal stabbing through me, hurting more than Aika’s fists ever had.

  “If you won’t tell her, I will.” Natalia-sama interjected softly, smoothing her dress as she stepped forward. “I know about it at least on an academic level.”

  Ume raised a brow. “How do you know? Yōkai don’t usually need to know about this.”

  Natalia-sama cleared her throat delicately.“I repair clothing occasionally for clients. Sometimes there are curious… stains. I asked about them once. It was… educational.”She nodded gravely. “I understand perfectly what’s happening here. You're suffering for very normal reasons, Sumire-chan.”

  She turned to Ume.“But as you are our expert in blood, perhaps you should stop teasing her and expin why she is in pain.”Natalia-sama frowned at her with gentle but unmistakable scolding authority.

  “I think that it would be best for Rui-Rui to handle it. She has actual experience with it. She should have what Susu needs here in the office.” Ume showed her fangy grin, far too amused.

  Rui turned slowly… very slowly… and fixed Ume with a withering gre that could have curdled fresh milk.

  “Good luck!” Ume waved cheerfully and…

  POOF

  She transformed into her tiny bat form and shot upward like a startled moth, fluttering to the ceiling and anchoring herself comically upside-down in the corner beams. Her wings wrapped around her like a smug little bnket.

  “Hey you!!!” Rui screamed after her, her fist shaking. “Don’t leave me alone like this!”

  Ume squeaked innocently, pretending she absolutely couldn’t hear Rui from three meters away.

  Rui then pivoted toward Natalia-sama with a pleading expression, her eyes growing comically round and shimmering… her strongest and most weaponized kitten eyes.“Please tell her for me!”

  Natalia-sama very nearly buckled on the spot.

  Her ears twitched and her cheeks reddened. All nine of her tails fanned out, showing her startlement as if Rui’s cuteness had physically struck her.“I think Ume-chan is right after all. This is something that you must handle. I believe in you, RuiRui,” Natalia-sama said.

  POOF

  In a shimmer of foxfire, Natalia-sama became a smaller and sleek golden fox, her fur immacute. She trotted off with dignified haste, her nine tails floating behind her like drifting silk scarves. She did not look back as she darted into the hidden room that hid behind Rui’s bookshelf.

  Akuchi stared between me and Rui with wide, clueless eyes.

  “Expin it to me… quietly… and I’ll do it!” Akuchi decred with the earnest confidence of someone who absolutely did not understand what she was volunteering for.

  Rui shook her head so violently her bangs whipped. “BAKA! I WON’T GO THROUGH IT TWICE! JUST GO AWAY!”

  Akuchi blinked once… twice… then…

  POOF

  She was a civet again, still blinking in confusion, before scurrying off toward the wreckage of her kitchenette as though scavenging for something to eat.

  Then it was just the two of us.

  Well… us and three animalistic yōkai pretending not to stare while very clearly staring at us. Ume’s glowing bat-eyes gleamed from above. Natalia-sama’s fox head peeked around the secret room’s doorframe. Akuchi’s striped civet tail was sticking straight out from under a toppled bin.

  I clutched at my stomach again, sniffling. The sharp ache rippled downward, twisting like something alive crawling in me. Rui stared at me like I’d been infected with a supernatural parasite.

  For a long, uncomfortable moment, she just… looked at me.As though waiting for me to sprout fangs, wings, or an extra head.

  Finally she snarled… a sound halfway between frustration, panic, and the noise a chibi oni would make when cornered by responsibility.

  She grabbed my arm… firmly.

  “Just come with me, BAKA!”

  She yanked me upward with surprising strength. Pain nced across my lower abdomen, making my knees wobble. Rui didn’t slow down. She dragged me like a lifeless doll toward her bathroom.

  I remembered the st time I’d seen her use it. It was after Halloween, when I’d cried on her until my tears created a sticky saline crust on her skin. She’d stormed off to the shower compining about getting a rash from me.

  She pulled me through the doorway, flicked the light on, and…

  CLICK

  …shut the door behind us with a noise so sharp and final it felt like a guillotine bde dropping.

  And her bathroom…It looked nothing like what my imagination had prepared me for.

  The space was compact but immacute. Cool white tile lined the floor and walls, broken by a teal bath rug shaped like a cartoon whale. The whale was smiling cheerfully, completely at odds with the situation.

  The tub and shower combo was typical for an old Tokyo office-apartment conversion… a deep Japanese-style soaking tub with a detachable shower wand, metal fixtures polished until they gleamed. Three half-empty product bottles sat on the tub ledge, a no-nonsense mint shampoo, a sporty citrus-scented body wash, and an industrial-strength conditioner she almost certainly never used.

  A wire rack held essentials. A deodorant stick, a razor still in its pack, probably because she didn’t ever have to use it, but hoped that day might someday come. And a single bottle of face wash. No makeup, no perfume, no lotions… just the bare necessities. Rui’s idea of self-care was probably punching her problems until they died like Reiko, especially in matters of hygiene.

  A modest mechanical bidet toilet sat in the corner, its lid up, the control panel slightly cracked from an obvious past argument she’d had with it. A undry basket was filled with athletic socks and sports bras that leaned against the wall. Above it hung a small framed poster of a baseball stadium… the only hint of decoration anywhere.

  It smelled faintly of citrus cleaner, cheap hair products and… athleticism.

  Rui took one long look at me, pale, sweaty, hunched over, shaking. She made a face like she was trying to solve a math problem written in blood.

  “…Okay,” she muttered under her breath. “Let’s… just… I don’t know… figure this out.”

  I clutched my stomach harder.

  The ache pulsed again, sharper, hotter.

  “Well… Let’s start with the obvious part. You’re a girl now. Do you um… did your mom tell you anything about what that’s like…?” She looked at me hopefully.

  I looked at her with a pained and bnk expression.

  Rui’s face went dead.

  “Okay… Susu. You’re a girl. Yeah.” She blushed, her ears reddening. “Um, you see… how can I say this… Do you… um… do you feel…”

  Her entire spine straightened.

  Her shoulders rose.

  Her fists clenched.

  She inhaled sharply through her nose like someone preparing to punch a kami.

  “—NO. You know what? Forget it. I can’t say this like a normal person.”

  She grabbed my shoulders.

  Not gently.

  Not delicately.

  Rui grabbed me like she grabbed her Excalibur before trying to beat her sister senseless.

  “Susu, LISTEN,” she barked. “Your stomach hurts, right?”

  I nodded weakly.

  “IT’S NOT BECAUSE YOU’RE WEAK,” she snapped. “It’s because—because—UGH—THIS—THIS STUPID THING… IS A THING THAT HAPPENS TO ALL GIRLS.”

  Her whole body trembled.

  She visibly forced the words out.

  “It’s—IT’S—your PERIOD, OKAY? YOU’RE BLEEDING DOWN THERE, YOU IDIOT!”

  She shrieked it like she was confessing to having committed a war crime.

  The echo bounced off the bathroom tiles.

  Rui then spped both of her hands over her mouth, horrified by her own volume.

  “Oh my god,” she wheezed through her fingers. “Oh my god I SCREAMED IT OUT—”

  I distantly heard the chattering of a bat and civet arguing outside.

  She sank halfway into a crouch, her eyes wide, almost like she thought she was being hunted. She looked like she wanted to crawl behind the toilet and never come out.

  “Why am I the one having to do this?! Am I your MOM or something?!” she hissed at the ceiling. “Why did they leave me alone with you?! I HATE THIS! I DON’T KNOW HOW TO DO THIS!”

  She paced in a frantic circle, pulling at the ends of her hair, muttering under her breath about traitorous yōkai , useless sisters, and the personal betrayal of feminine biology.

  After three full rotations around the bath rug whale, she whipped back toward me, her hands on her hips.

  Her face was on fire.

  “Look!” she said, voice cracking. “Girls bleed! Every month! They hurt! A lot. It’s normal! It’s horrible! It sucks! It’s the worst thing in the world and I hate it and you’re going through it and damn it… you know… I hate that too!”

  My eyes widened. I was just stunned.

  “And your stomach hurts,” she continued, jabbing a finger toward my abdomen like she wanted to exorcise the pain itself. “And your back’s gonna hurt, and your mood’s gonna explode, and your body’s gonna do weird things, and IT’S FINE.”

  She drew a shaky breath.

  Then another.

  Then, in a voice much quieter…

  “Well… it’s… totally natural.”

  She stared at the floor tiles.

  “Stupid. Awful… Natural.”

  She stomped a foot, unable to tolerate sincerity for more than three seconds.

  “AND YOU NEED SOME SUPPLIES. DON’T JUST STAND THERE BLEEDING. SIT DOWN!”

  I blinked.

  She pointed sharply at the toilet lid.

  “THERE. SIT. NOW.”

  I obeyed instantly.

  Rui whirled around and flung open the under-sink cabinet, rummaging furiously and withdrew a fistful of period products. She clearly never thought she’d have to expin these things to anyone.

  “They’re pads!” she barked. “Pads! PADS, OKAY? YOU PUT THEM—YOU KNOW WHAT?! I’LL JUST SHOW YOU! JUST—JUST DON’T LOOK AT ME WHILE I’M DOING THIS OR I’LL DIE.”

  She turned around, grabbed one, ripped the wrapper so aggressively it flew into the bathtub, and spped the pad dramatically onto a pair of fresh panties she yanked from a hamper.

  She thrust them toward me like she was handing off a live explosive.

  “You probably need them. Might be a little tight. Just take them,” she commanded, blushing.

  I took them carefully.

  Rui’s voice softened just a fraction.

  “And, um… it’ll be okay,” she muttered, staring anywhere but at me.

  But then, like a switch flipping, she snapped back to oni-mode…“BUT IF YOU GET BLOOD ON MY WHALE BATHROOM RUG, I SWEAR TO ALL EXISTING KAMI—”

  “I’m sorry, oni,” I muttered.

  She nodded her little head and turned, taking a deep breath.

  “Don’t just put it on, anyway,” Rui said, her face scarlet.

  “Isn’t it like a bandage… meaning I should put it where I’m, um…?” I asked, floundering with the panties. What worried me most about them was that they were her panties, meaning this was like an indirect kiss… but then again, we had actually kissed a few times.

  I flushed, shaking my head to dispel the thoughts.

  “Yes, but…” Rui muttered, then sighed, rummaging through a drawer for a clean washcloth. She fiddled at the sink and ran the water, compining to herself under her breath. “You’re probably a little messy down there, Susu.”

  I leaned forward, running my fingers curiously along my thighs, suppressing a wince as cramps seized, and found something slick and damp.

  I swallowed hard as I peeked at my bloodstained fingers.

  It was one thing to be told that I was bleeding down there, and another to discover the truth with my own hands.

  I whimpered pathetically.

  Rui gnced in my direction and wrung out the washcloth, leaving it under the running water a bit longer than she really had to. “Clean yourself thoroughly and pull those on.”

  I nodded, taking the washcloth from her fingers, and carefully wiped at myself, my ears turning pink. It was probably because Rui was right here, peeking at me from the corners of her eyes, that I was blushing so much. I’d barely gotten used to what I had between my legs since washing with Natalia-sama. That hadn’t been easy to get through either, but Natalia’s gentle, warm presence had made it a little easier.

  Rui was, on the other hand, someone I had deep feelings for, and that… complicated things.

  “Um… I… um…” I mumbled, my heart racing way harder than I felt it should have.

  DOKI-DOKI

  “What? Is something wrong?” Rui asked, turning away.

  “Um… um… I think that… Um…” I stammered.

  I wanted to ask her to leave so I could clean myself in peace and wrestle with the strange sensations on my own, but part of me wanted her to stay, so I couldn’t get anything coherent out.

  “Spit it out, baka,” Rui said, her tone strangely gentle.

  “I… um… you… um… I…” I mumbled, squeaking, then took a deep breath.

  “You’re such a baby.” She turned toward me and seized the washcloth from me.

  My fingers twitched and I gasped as she knelt in front of me. With her usual oni energy she pushed my legs apart and started cleaning me. My eyes widened.“I don’t see why I have to do anything like this… Why are you making this so…”

  “But… but I… but…” I shivered.

  Her touches were way softer and gentler than I expected as she wiped my thighs for me.

  “I’m not your mommy. Hell, you look a little more like mine, baka,” Rui pouted, cursing under her breath.

  My legs twitched. I wanted to scream at her and tell her she’d misunderstood, but part of me was enjoying this way too much.

  She rested the washcloth on my thigh for a moment. She took a breath, tangled her fingers in my panties, and even though I was sitting, she jerked me up enough to tug them off. The bloodstains on the crotch were rger and darker than I expected.

  Rui’s face was deeply flushed. “The bleeding isn’t so heavy that they were soaked… but…” Her eyes flicked up toward mine. I averted my eyes, feeling strangely shy. It was one thing to have my chest fondled. It was a completely different matter to be touched down there by someone else, especially her. I felt the sensitive flesh between my legs twitch with each pass of the cloth. Each pass filled me with tingles.

  “Anyway…” she said, taking a deep breath. “I think that should probably do it. There’s no time for this kind of nonsense.” She took the panties from my trembling fingers, lifted each of my legs, and tugged her too-tight panties up to my thighs. “Lift your butt this time, okay?” Rui said.

  “Y-yeah…” I’d given up trying to stop her from doing whatever she wanted to me, and rose unsteadily, feeling cleaner while being strangely turned on.

  With a little too much force, she yanked her panties up until the pad pressed firmly against my crotch like a shield. The fabric bit in immediately.

  “Alright. Done.” Rui rose and gred at me. “You know what… you’re going to pay for making me do all that, do you understand?”

  I stared at her, shocked. “I’m sorry… What did I do?”

  Rui pushed me back down onto the toilet and abruptly sat in my p like Ume had aboard the Akuchi VTOL, but facing forward, her legs wrapped around me, her skirt bunched against my torso.

  She felt hot against me, and even though her thighs cmped around my torso through my shirt under my green jacket, she felt unbelievably soft.

  “R… Rui?” I gasped.

  “It’s your fault, baka! Just shut up! You’ll pay for making me feel like this.” She grabbed my head, her fingers running through my hair, and leaned forward.

  DOKI-DOKI

  “So you owe me a kiss for my gracious support.”

  My body went hot head to toe as she seized my lower lip between her teeth, her cheeks flushed, her eyes locked on mine. Her tongue swept over it once, almost teasingly. Then she turned her face and pressed her mouth to mine, kissing me more deeply than she had in the Yamanote Line tunnels, her tongue sliding against mine.

  As she kissed me, I couldn’t help noticing a faint sweet scent under the fragrance of her hair, most likely the products she’d used at Natalia-sama’s after we got back from fighting. The scent took me back to when Natalia had offered to clean me up right where I’d let Rui, and I’d rejected that offer. That spot between my legs ached as she kissed me, pressing her small chest against mine.

  I faintly tasted miso, seaweed, egg, and something faintly fishy, but there was something else under all that, notes of lightly salted apple, things I hadn’t noticed the other times she’d kissed me.

  DOKI-DOKI

  I blushed, closing my eyes, my body shivering. My hands twitched to her hips as I found myself kissing her back, despite the pain in my guts. Maybe kissing her soothed me even while it tore me apart.

  Even with how firm her hips were, they still had enough give to feel springy under my palms.

  I never noticed that she tasted so much like citrus… so nice.

  Relwing