As the moon slowly rose, the two of them returned to the apartment. The moment they entered the room, Tatsumaki pushed Sol onto the bed.
"Just stay still. I will be gentle," she said, sitting directly on him while pulling open his clothes.
Sol lifted both hands in surrender. "Miss Tatsumaki, with you pressing down on me like this, how exactly am I supposed to cooperate with the examination?"
"Stop talking nonsense and lie still. I need to check the condition of the monster cells inside your body." The tips of her ears were slightly red, but her movements did not slow at all. Green psychokinesis flowed into Sol's body like silk.
"Strange," she muttered, frowning. "Aside from that mass of energy lingering in his abdomen, everything else looks completely normal."
Her expression tightened, her small face serious and focused.
Sol lay quietly while feeling her power move through his body. Her control over psychokinesis really was incredible. If he had not deliberately suppressed the activity of his cells, she would have noticed long ago.
Looking at her concentrated expression, he spoke softly. "Maybe you are overthinking this?"
"How could I be overthinking it? Your body was never this strong before. Hey, rookie." Tatsumaki suddenly leaned closer, her green hair falling beside his face. "Are you really not feeling anything strange?"
Sol could smell the faint scent of shampoo in her hair, mixed with a soft feminine fragrance. He stayed calm and shook his head. "Aside from the wound still hurting a little, everything else feels normal."
Her nose was almost touching his now. Her emerald eyes stared directly into his as if she wanted to find the smallest flaw.
"You…" Her voice suddenly softened. "Are you really not feeling anything unusual?"
He could feel her warm breath brushing his cheek. For a second, he forgot how to breathe.
"Other than the wound, everything is normal," Sol replied, pretending to stay calm even though his heartbeat had already sped up.
Tatsumaki blinked slightly, her hair brushing against his face. Only then did she realize how close they were. The tips of her ears and her cheeks turned red almost immediately.
"Hmph!" She straightened up at once, her hair swaying sharply. "Consider yourself lucky. No abnormalities detected for now."
She floated toward the bedside with her back facing him, adjusting her slightly messy collar. Her voice carried a hint of panic she was trying to hide. "But that does not mean you are fine. I will keep monitoring you."
Sol sat up and looked at her small back. Moonlight slipped through the gap in the curtains, outlining her in silver.
"Tatsumaki, if… I mean if I really turn into a monster and go against the Association, what would you do?"
Her body stiffened immediately.
She turned around slowly, and a complicated emotion flashed in her eyes, something Sol had never seen from her before. In the past, she would have answered without hesitation. She would have dealt with him without a second thought.
But now she hesitated.
After a short silence, she spoke quietly.
"I will personally take care of you. But I will also do everything I can to stop you from becoming a monster."
Her voice was so soft it almost disappeared.
The room fell silent.
Sol suddenly smiled. "Then I will count on you to do your best to stop me."
"Idiot!" Her hair flared slightly again. "What is so funny about that?"
She floated closer and lightly punched his chest with her small fists. "Take this seriously. If you really turn into a monster, I will… I will not forgive you."
Her voice grew softer until it was almost a whisper. She turned her face away, her ears still red.
Seeing her like that, Sol reached out on impulse and gently ruffled her hair. "Relax. I will not make things difficult for you."
"Who allowed you to touch me!" Tatsumaki jumped back immediately as if she had been shocked. Her hair fluttered wildly. "If you touch me again, I will cut off your hand!"
She floated to the corner of the room with her back facing him, hurriedly fixing her hair while her heart raced out of control.
"You are sleeping on the sofa tonight," she ordered without turning around. "If you come anywhere near my bed, I will throw you out the window."
Sol looked at the tiny single sofa, then at his own tall frame, and sighed. "I cannot even fit on that thing."
"I do not care!" She turned around sharply, a dangerous look in her eyes. "Either sleep on the sofa or sleep on the floor. Choose one."
Sol raised both hands again. "Alright, alright. I will sleep on the floor."
He stood up to grab extra bedding, but Tatsumaki immediately used psychokinesis to pull all the blankets away.
"These are mine!" She stacked them on her bed like a protective kitten. "Figure it out yourself."
Sol glanced at the empty wardrobe, then at the pile of blankets on her bed, and laughed softly. "Are you building a nest?"
"Mind your own business!" She buried herself under the covers, leaving only her emerald eyes visible. "Turn off the light and go to sleep. No talking."
Sol shook his head, turned off the light, and lay down on the floor. Moonlight streamed in through the curtains, drawing a silver line across the room that separated the two of them.
Silence filled the room, broken only by their quiet breathing.
After a long time, Tatsumaki's voice came from the bed.
"Hey, rookie."
She clearly could not stand the idea of him sleeping on the hard floor all night.
"Hm?"
"Is the floor hard?"
Sol turned his head and saw her lying at the edge of the bed, her green hair hanging down and glowing faintly in the moonlight.
"It is fine. Not that hard," he answered honestly.
"Hmph." She pulled herself back under the blanket. "Serves you right."
A few minutes passed.
Then a blanket suddenly dropped on top of him.
"Do not misunderstand," her muffled voice came from under the covers. "I just do not want you catching a cold and infecting me."
Sol pulled the blanket over himself and smiled without realizing it. "Thanks. It smells nice."
The moment she heard that, Tatsumaki shot upright as if she had been electrocuted. Her hair instantly flared out.
"You… what are you sniffing, you pervert!"
She rushed over, grabbed the blanket back with psychokinesis, rolled it into a ball, and threw it into the corner.
"Do not sniff it! Pervert! Idiot!"
Sol spread his hands innocently. "I was just telling the truth. I was trying to compliment you."
"Shut up! I do not need your compliments!" Her ears were completely red now. "Go to sleep. If you talk again, I really will throw you out the window."
The room finally fell quiet again, with only their soft breathing left in the darkness.
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