Chapter VII: A Strange Cold – Shogo Lose to Alexandra (?)

8 of Amberclaw, 999 A.N.S.

Alexandra B.B. Wolf is a 15 year old teenage girl that accidentally stumbled upon a doll named Shogo when it  was having an 'intimate' moment with itself. Fearing that the latter might try to stab her in her sleep, Alexandra decided to stay awake all night long while preparing to fend off any attack directed at her. As the sun finally appeared, the girl could savor her victory – she survived the night in one piece and without any extra hole on her body!

However, she had few problems now.

Shogo did warn her about how cold the nights were, but she didn't listen and now, she was tired, and afflicted with what she thought must be a cold. All her body was hot and trembling. She had difficulties staying focused and her breathing was heavier than usual. 

For hours now, rain had been falling and the corridor in which she was sitting had become extremely cold, almost freezing. This was not unexpected, considering it was autumn in a year of the Scale, the coldest of the 'Four Years' cycle. At times, Alexandra would feel unwell during this period, but it wasn't convenient for her to fall sick now. She couldn't afford to be confined to bed, and she was uncertain whether her 'master' would approve of her taking a day off, especially on her debut day – or any other day for that matter. 

In short, this was concerning.

A door in front of her opened. Clad in her nun outfit and – this time – wearing her black boots, Shogo turned her head toward her. As usual her expression was… well, was not. 

"Greeting, peeping tom. You didn't sleep, it seems."

Alexandra smirked. "Greetings, pervert. Could YOU sleep? You seemed to think about your master a bit too intensely in my opinion."

Shogo seemed to slightly furrow her brows at that answer, but Alexandra could tell for sure in the dim light of the corridor.

"If you are sick, just ask master. She will heal you."

As those words left her mouth, Alexandra watched as Shogo descended the stairs. The strand of hair on her head stood up – How foolish could she be? After all, her master WAS a healer! And here she was fretting over a mere cold! She could simply explain the situation to her, and she would be cured!

Alexandra cautiously made her way towards the foreboding door at the end of the corridor. Every so often, she glanced behind her, on the lookout for any signs of Shogo trying to catch her off guard. However, it appeared that she was preoccupied downstairs. Upon arriving at the door, Alexandra attempted to knock, but before she could make contact, she was suddenly embraced from behind by an unknown individual.

She froze. She knew this sensation, this head leaning on her shoulder, those bandaged arms holding her waist – it was Shogo.

"When? When did you get this close?" Alexandra asked, in cold sweat. 

The puppet remained silent and instead pulled Alexandra into a tighter embrace. She was now able to sense the doll's supple body and feel its chest pressing against her back.

"You should never turn your back to me, peeping tom." Shogo whispered to Alexandra's ear, making her shiver.

However, the girl breathed deeply and kept her cool. 

"You can teleport too? Must be useful when you are a pervert." Alexandra remarked, arrogantly. 

"We are not yesterday anymore, you remember?"

Alexandra squinted her eyes. That was clearly a threat.

"Hmph! And so what? Just so you know, I am not afraid of you right now. You might not know, but you already fell into my tra—"

Before she could continue, Shogo pressed her lips against Alexandra's, kissing her deeply and passionately. For a few moments, Alexandra didn't quite understand what was going on – the strand on her head took a question mark form as she tried to figure out, no, to deny somehow what was happening to her. 

Why was that doll suddenly kissing her?!

When they finally separated, Alexandra was left feeling dizzy and disoriented, unsure of what had just happened. She knew she wanted to say something, but she somehow forgot how to talk. 

It was Shogo who broke the silence.

"You actually shut up when I do that, huh? Interesting." She then put a hand on her mouth as if to think before looking at Alexandra again. "If you tell master about what you saw, I'll say we kissed. I'll tell everyone. The whole district will know. It might even reach the upper rings. Think about how your friend will react. You don't want that, do you?"

Alexandra's mind jolted back to reality as if she had been snapped out of a trance. The weight of Shogo's threat hit her like a bulldozer, leaving her feeling shaken and vulnerable. Indeed, how would she justify kissing a doll? And for her first kiss with that? No matter her excuse, it was inexcusable in her position. 

Besides…

While this should have felt disgusting and revolting, Alexandra actually felt something quite different. She couldn't stop thinking about the doll's tender lips, its soft body and its cold and smooth skin. For some reason, she wanted to kiss Shogo again.

But she was a doll, that was not something she was supposed to feel toward it. Besides, Shogo killed her twice the day before and annoyed her to no end. Yet, she yearned to be connected to her, to touch her, to lick all over her body, to bite her, to eat her up.

BUT SHE WAS A DOLL!!!

She couldn't! She couldn't feel that way! But, she couldn't hold herself anymore either! What to do?! What to do?!

The strand of hair on her head stood straight up.

"Shogo…" she said, walking toward the doll.

"Yes?"

"Do you know you are cute?" she said with a very lascivious smile. 

Shogo took a step back. What kind of face was this girl doing? For no apparent reason, a shiver ran down the doll's spine. She produced a knife out her left sleeve and put herself in guard. 

"Don't come any closer," she said, taking another step back. 

"What is wrong, Shogo? Ah! You aren't one to give your body so easily, are you?" Alexandra held her grimoire before her with her right hand. "Don't worry about a thing. Once I put you down, I will be very gentle with you. Very gentle."

Without warning, Alexandra let down her grimoire and lunged forward with a punch. Shogo swiftly dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the blow. They circled each other warily, watching for any opening.

Alexandra darted forward again, this time with a roundhouse kick. Shogo deftly ducked under the attack, then countered with a quick jab to Alexandra's stomach which made the girl open the mouth as she was sent backward. Alexandra put a knee down, while breathing heavily. 

"This should calm you," Shogo said, jumping back. "Next time, why don't you think before acting, marshmallow girl?"

Suddenly Alexandra started to laugh in a really weird way. She got up again, holding her body while blushing. "Aaah! I never knew pain could feel this good! Or is that because of you? Is that because it's you? Aaah!!!"

"(It started earlier than usual this time...)" Shogo thought to herself. 

Alexandra started breathing heavily before suddenly running toward Shogo and launching a series of fast punches that the doll expertly dodged.

The two girls continued to exchange blows, each one dodging and weaving with impressive skill. Shogo's knife flashed in the dim light of the corridor as she made quick, precise strikes, while Alexandra's bare feet pounded against the stone floor as she moved with lightning-fast agility.

Despite Shogo's experience and proficiency with a knife, Alexandra's sheer ferocity and hand-to-hand combat skills were beginning to wear her down. She was dodging literally every slash or stab.

She couldn't read her opponent's moves so easily anymore. It was as if she was acting purely on instinct and nothing else.

As the fight wore on, Shogo's movements became slower and more labored. Alexandra seemed to sense this, and pressed her advantage with renewed intensity. Shogo's knife flashed dangerously as she fought to stay on her feet, but Alexandra's onslaught was too much for her.

In a final, desperate move, Shogo lunged at Alexandra with her knife. Alexandra deftly dodged the attack and landed a devastating punch to Shogo's gut, sending her crashing to the ground.

As Shogo writhed in pain, Alexandra stood over her, breathing heavily. The wild look in her eyes hasn't subsided at all, in fact, it was worse. She tried to crawl away from her, Alexandra pinned her down forcefully. Shogo tried to stab her in the head, but her hand refused to move any further. 

"It is pointless, you already fell into my trap, Shogo! Ah, but you can try! Defend yourself more!" said Alexandra, in a trancelike state. 

Shogo then tried to push Alexandra away, but her body refused to obey. She was trapped, helpless beneath the weight of the girl's body. Every muscle in her body seemed to have turned to stone, leaving her unable to move.

As Alexandra breathed heavily above her, Shogo felt something gripping her heart. It was a sensation she was unfamiliar with, yet she remembered feeling it once in the past. She didn't know what to call that, but she didn't want to feel it anymore. She tried to struggle again, but her body seemed to have surrendered without warning her first.

Shogo nervously closed her eye and turned her face to the side.

"Oh? Is that fear I see in your eye, Shogo? Ah! It makes you look so cute! Who cares about if you're a doll or not? Aah! Shogo, I don't think I can hold back anymore!!! Give me your everything, Shogo!!!"

"What is this in the morning?" a tired voice asked. "Girl, don't tell me the reason you were exiled because of…"

As Shogo opened her eye, she saw Nya  lift Alexandra as if she were a lightweight child.

"Aaah, Master!" Alexandra said, weirdly excited. "Happy to see you again! Did you come to punish me? I was a bad girl, wasn't I? Now, teach me—"

Nya placed a paper with the word "Sleep" written on it onto Alexandra, and muttered the word. Immediately, Alexandra closed her eyes and became still. Nya sighed yet again. 

"With this you should keep quiet," she mumbled after distractedly observing the girl for a moment. However, she abruptly opened her mouth again. "Ah… This is bad."

Shogo stood up, appearing composed and calm as ever despite whatever had just happened.

"Is there a problem, Master?" she asked. 

Nya nodded. "I made a mistake. Looks like I will have to examine this girl's body for a little while. Parasite, could you—"

"At your command." Shogo replied, bowing deeply.

Nya sighed. "So useful…"

Nya thus dragued Alexandra's body to her room and closed the door behind her.