Nathan's brain short-circuited.
There was no better way to describe it.
Because Natsu — no, this absolute menace — was still kissing him.
Relentlessly.
With enthusiasm.
"Mm—?!" Nathan made a strangled noise, his entire body going rigid as his thoughts dissolved into static.
And then—
It got worse.
Natsu licked his lips.
Like an overly affectionate dog that had just discovered its favorite human.
…I'm going to die.
Nathan's hands shot up immediately, trying to push Natsu away.
Keyword: trying.
Because despite looking like a lightweight, emotionally fragile fox-boy—
Natsu was strong.
Like, unfairly strong.
Nathan struggled, twisting his body, attempting to pry himself free, but Natsu held on like his life depended on it.
Which, to be fair—
emotionally speaking, it probably did.
"—Mmf!—hey—stop—!" Nathan tried to protest, but it came out as a muffled mess.
For a solid thirty seconds, the two of them wrestled.
One trying to escape.
The other unknowingly committing assault via gratitude.
…Is this how I die? Not by zombies, but by aggressive appreciation?!
And then—
Just as suddenly as it began—
Natsu pulled away.
"Thank you very much!" he said cheerfully, as if he hadn't just detonated Nathan's entire existence. "I'll be forever indebted to you!"
Nathan just stood there. Shoulders heaving, brain rebooting.
…What just happened?
His lips tingled.
His heart was pounding.
His face was on fire.
And worst of all—
He couldn't even lie to himself that—
That wasn't entirely unpleasant.
Nooo…! Nathan groaned inwardly, clutching his head.
My mom would be absolutely devastated if she knew I got a little exited for this.
His mother had always been very… vocal.
Very, very vocal.
"There are only two genders," echoed faintly in his memory like a judgmental ghost.
I am not against someone with 'that' kind of preference, but I'm not prepared for this level of character development!
Nathan slowly lowered his hands, then finally—
He looked at Natsu.
And reality came crashing back.
"Wh-w-w-what the fuck, dude?!" Nathan exploded, pointing at him like he was accusing him in court. "I'm not into this kind of thing! I'm completely straight! You can't convince me otherwise! You absolutely cannot!"
Each word came out louder than the last.
Natsu, who had just realized what he'd done, frozen in place.
Then—
His face turned bright red.
Like, alarmingly red.
His ears drooped.
His gaze dropped instantly to the ground, as if it had suddenly become the most fascinating thing in existence.
"I— I'm sorry…" he stammered, fidgeting. "I was just so happy that you removed the source of my long-lasting agony, I didn't know how to express it, and — in the heat of the moment — I just—"
He made a vague gesture. "…You know."
Nathan stared at him in disbelief.
"Why is kissing another dude the first thing that comes to your mind?!" he demanded. "Thanks to that, I'm genuinely questioning my own 'preferences' right now!"
He grabbed his head dramatically.
"Maybe if you were a cute girl — not a cute dude — I'd be super happy! But no! My first kiss had to be with another guy! I can't believe this! Just kill me already — I can't take this!"
Nathan.exe has encountered a critical error.
Meanwhile—
Natsu shifted awkwardly, still avoiding eye contact.
"…Oh," he said slowly. "So you're just worried about me being a guy?"
Nathan pointed at him again. "'Just,' he says! That is exactly the problem!"
Natsu hesitated.
Then—
"I… I can't really blame you for that," he admitted. "This form was… made for that purpose."
Nathan blinked. "…What do you mean?"
Natsu scratched his cheek. "Um… it's easier if I just show you."
And then suddenly—
His body… warped.
Nathan's eyes widened.
Natsu's snowy-white hair elongated, flowing down past his shoulders, reaching his waist.
His frame shifted — subtly at first, then became more profound.
His chest — no, her chest — rose.
Waist narrowed.
Features softened.
Within seconds—
The fox-boy was gone.
In his place stood a fox-girl.
Same ears, same tail, same face—
Just… undeniably feminine now.
"...This is my real form," she said quietly. "And yes… I'm not a man."
Nathan stared.
His brain processed this information.
Filed it, sorted it, encoded it.
Then—
"…Ah. I see."
A pause. An eerie calm settled over him.
And then—
"THAT STILL DOESN'T SOLVE THE PROBLEM!"
He exploded again, pointing at her vigorously.
"My first kiss still got stolen without consent! The timeline is still cursed!"
The universe, probably: working as intended.
The argument that followed was… something.
Back-and-forth.
Confusion.
Mild existential crisis.
Several questionable statements from Nathan.
A lot of apologizing from Natsu.
Eventually, after a few minutes of emotional chaos—
Nathan finally deflated.
"…I see…" he muttered, rubbing his temples. "So you changed your appearance to look more like a guy… to avoid… certain treatment?"
"Yes." Natsu nodded quietly. "Luckily, I was able to change my appearance just before my human kidnappers could rob me of my ability to use my shape-shifting magic."
She hesitated.
"I think… even you know how men treat female slaves. Especially… the more attractive ones."
Nathan winced. "Yeah… Sorry for asking."
"No, it's fine." Natsu shook her head, then fidgeted slightly. "And… I'm also sorry for suddenly… kissing you."
Nathan waved it off, deliberately trying to sound casual.
"Nah. I told you, don't worry about it."
Then, after a pause, he added honestly—
"…Actually, now that I know you're a girl, I'm just glad I don't have to question my orientation."
I'll take that as a win.
Natsu yawned again — long, slow, and completely unrestrained this time.
She looked like she was running purely on stubbornness at this point.
"You're about to pass out," Nathan said, gesturing toward the crude structure he had thrown together earlier as a makeshift sleeping spot. "Go take a nap."
"I'm fine…" Natsu murmured weakly.
She didn't move toward the structure.
Instead, she just sat down where she was, then leaning her back against the shaded wall. "I'll just sleep here…"
The moment her body relaxed, her eyes closed, and just like that—
She was out.
Nathan blinked. "…Seriously?"
He stared at her for a moment, half-expecting her to wake up and deny it.
She didn't.
Her breathing evened out almost instantly — slow and steady. Completely defenseless.
Nathan exhaled quietly.
…Guess she trusts me now.
Or maybe she was just too exhausted to care anymore.
Either way—
It was… something.
He leaned against the wall himself, folding his arms as his gaze lingered on her for a moment longer.
And then—
The memory of that moment came back.
Nathan stiffened. "…I told her not to worry about it…"
A pause.
"…But I'm the one who can't stop thinking about it."
His hand slowly rose to his face, covering it.
Then—
*Thunk.*
His forehead lightly tapped against the wall.
Again.
*Thunk.*
"…That was my first kiss…"
*Thunk.*
"…From a stunningly beautiful girl with such innocence…"
*Thunk.*
"Of course I'm going to think about it…"
*Thunk.*
"And why is my heart still beating this fast? Goddammit…"
*Thunk.*
He dragged a hand down his face, groaning under his breath.
"…I'm such a virgin."
A long, suffering exhale escaped him as he forced himself to calm down.
Focus on anything else. Literally anything else.
He straightened slightly.
"Alright…"
He looked up at the sky quietly.
"Time to check all the new stuff."
Nathan opened his System interface, pulling up the Daily Quest tab first.
—————————————
Daily Quest:
Complete all objectives to receive: 1 SP (System Point)
• Kill Zombies: 10 / 10 ✓
• Gather Resources: 50 m³ / 50 m³ ✓
• Survive the Night with HP above 80% ✓
—————————————
[All objectives completed!]
[SP +1]
Nathan's lips curled into a small grin.
"Yeah. Another SP."
Progress was progress.
Then—
A new notification popped up immediately after.
—————————————
Daily Quest:
• Kill Walkers: 0 / 50
• Craft Items: 0 / 30
• Survive the Night with HP above 80%
—————————————
Nathan tilted his head slightly.
"Hmm… The objectives changed…" he muttered "Looks like it rotates daily. That's actually pretty nice, keeps things from getting boring."
Then — Another notification appeared.
[First time completing Daily Quest — Repair Function unlocked]
"...Repair?" Nathan squinted.
A new description window expanded in front of him.
—————————————
Repair
Restores the condition of damaged items and structures.
• Stored Items: Automatically repaired using required materials from Storage inventory.
• Deployed Objects: Repaired using materials from Storage inventory and appropriate mana cost from the host.
Note: Required materials depend on item type and damage severity.
—————————————
Nathan read through it once, then nodded slowly.
"So basically… I can fix stuff now."
A pause.
"…This system really does have everything." His eyes drifted to the empty wrapper in his hand. "…Except for good food."
He closed the tab with a flick, then opened another newly unlocked feature.
[Crafting]
The interface was mostly empty, there's only one option sat there.
[Ammo Fabrication]
Nathan stared at it.
Slowly — a grin spread across his face.
"…Oh."
There it was.
That feeling again.
That dangerous, slightly unhinged kind of excitement.
"I already like the sound of this."