Legs, arms, head, jaw… Ugh, everything in my body hurts. I didn't want to get out of my bed— It felt like my blankets were weights pressing on me.
I'll have to get up anyways… I threw my blankets to the side and slid to the edge of my bed. Great aching again?
So it turned out my jaw was cracked… James did a thorough examination on it. Hell… The bottom of my chin is bruised. It's pretty obvious if seen, whenever I look in the mirror.
That lady really did a number on me… I could see bags under my eyes, even if it was just a couple days of training. I'm so tired… I wanted to go back to sleep- my bed was calling me. But… I had to get up for the day.
Maybe another surprise training day from James. I really wanted to tear into him for making me go through this hell… Well and myself, he gave me the choice if I wanted to continue.
Don't plan on leaving home… Slowly I got dressed in shorts and a plain shirt. It took every muscle fiber in my body to not sleep.
When I walked into the hallway, something ate my stomach. Why didn't Steph and Zephy wake me up?
Those two usually wake me up with yelling and arguing between them. And it's usually just as the sun shone through my bedroom's window…
Did everyone leave? My nose didn't pick up on any food being made— the manor was spotless like they did their usual cleaning. Additionally I heard no one from the dining room.
"Did they all leave?" I thought to myself out loud. "If they did…"
Why did they leave every light on? The little candles down the halls were on— at the front door there was a switch to turn them off. "They all left…"
Normally I'd feel excited, but this is a first in over a year… so I'm feeling like my heart's ready to burst. I mean what other teenager wouldn't be excited… Haa…
I opened the dining room door to be met with an empty room. The only different thing was a piece of paper on the table.
James. I recognized the handwriting to be his. Too messy to be Melinda's, too informal to be Allisa's. Thank god it's readable.
"Left to see your grandparents, be back soon… Yukina, can you grab a few things from the store? We need eggs and sugar. Your grandparents wanted to see us as soon as possible and we didn't want to wake you up after a rough day."
"That's suspicious…" I muttered as I left the paper alone. "Why couldn't they wake me up?"
I brought my hand to my chin whilst glaring at the paper. Last time I went by myself… Ugh…James is this really a good idea…?
Heart pounding, I turned my head to our closed curtains. Isn't this a bad bad idea?
Judging from the laughter outside and the cheerful talking, it was noon. Great… Great… great. I'm going to be the center of attention now. People'll talk and gawk at me, my body, hair, everything about me.
But… I went back to my room to put pants on. That'd hide more of my skin. I'll have to admit…
This body does look really good in most things. Just a slight issue, I hope my hips and bust are done growing. My back already feels tight at the end of the day. And I don't want to spend so much on clothes. Really, clothes cost so much the bigger you are. I mean big anywhere!
Let's get going. Eggs and sugar. Before I got onto the sidewalk I locked the front door. What a gorgeous sight…
Once I set foot onto the ground, I let my head focus on the ground. The destination was the shopping district.
I ignored the massive amount of footsteps behind, and followed the lines in the ground.
My feet fell on the ground for so many times, to the thanks of my heart no one was talking about me.
What's all that yelling for? In the distance I could see a foxkin yelling at a stand… Her voice was really shrill. That's fantastic.
That foxkin was causing a crowd to be around her— and in my way… She wasn't really notable aside from the white hair.
Probably had some bad service, huh-?
"These are not worth the copper! Look at how poor quality this egg is!" She yelled while holding an egg. Really… "It smells rotten! No one should be buying this!"
I felt my blood go cold. That's where I need to go- Need to scooch by… I tried ignoring the sheer loudness of this foxkin. I got past her when I felt her slam right into me.
"S-Sorry-" I managed to stutter out. That hurt a lot more than I thought… It felt like my skin was ready to bruise on my arm
The white haired foxkin glared at me before yelling. "Watch where you're going! This incompetent fool needs to be taught a lesson!"
"S-Sorry…"
"Hmph…"
"I'll be be- on my way…"
Ugh… That hurts- Are my ears bleeding-?
"Hmph, good you idiot. Watch where you're going." The foxkin sneered at me. "By the way, your hair is matted, you should brush it."
"T-thanks…"
I felt a groan try to leave my throat as I continued onwards. Great… Great, now I have to find another place. This place is already crowded enough.
Sugar, eggs… I walked through a few shops and found only sugar. But when I went to purchase it, one thing popped into my mind…
"Um… I'm sorry, I'll have to get my coin purse." I apologized whilst feeling my face turn warm. The shopkeeper, a handsome young man, blinked then frowned. "If you give me twenty minutes I'll be back…"
"Alri- Oh no…"
"Wha-?"
"How much are you charging this young lady?" That lady from earlier called out from behind me. This time her voice was… softer but all the hair on me stood up. "Doesn't matter, here, idiot, this is for running into you earlier. Keep the change."
She stormed off before I could thank her. The coin she set down was… gold…? Is- The young man without a word shoved the sugar to me then pushed me away.
… What even happened…? I wondered when looking at the road ahead of me. Why are people so quick…? Why did that lady…
I held the sack of sugar in one hand and the golden coin in the other. What's wrong with that lady? This golden coin was pristine and smooth… The logo was a small fox that had a smile. Was it to symbolize her? That's some way to show your authority..
… I need to get back home… I slid the coin into my pocket and started back home; What really was her whole goal?
I let my gaze shift to the man running the stand she tore into. His head was limp and his face was one of anguish. What really was the whole point?
When I passed by, people were gawking just like I did. Their eyes were focused on him. Just walk away… none of my business… I silently started walking home, which was a short trip as I didn't need to walk that long.
"Hm?" In our home I heard people talking in hushed voices. In addition, someone was looking outside our window. "Wait, was that Shen?"
The eyeball that appeared was Shen's— It was a glowing ruby eye that retracted when our eyes met.
Why is she here? Is she visiting? I upped my walking pace to get to the front door. All the whispering inside immediately went silent. They're definitely doing something!
The door knob struggled to turn for a moment, footsteps quickly ran back. When I swung it open, the front entrance hallway was empty… But the dining room door was cracked. Are they hiding from me…?
A weird sensation ran in my mind as I cracked the door further and stuck my head inside. Ribbons, black, purple and blue were strewn at the roof. Shen was standing next to a rather large cake.
No suit…? She was wearing a crimson hoodie, a choker… and shorts which showed these weird dark rings around her legs. She looked relax, and had a weird smile on her face.
"Welcome back, and happy birthday, Yukina!" She exclaimed in a tone that's different than anything else I heard from her.