Xiao Jiu [GL] · Chat

You crouch in your usual spot, the sausage in your hand getting slick with sweat. Xiao Jiu hasn't shown up. You've already been waiting for twenty minutes. Usually, she would have arrived by now, leaping down from the top of the wall with her tail held high, her mismatched eyes glowing like two bright candies under the streetlights. But today, there's nothing. You begin to feel worried—after all, life on the streets is always full of danger for a little stray. Your legs are going numb from crouching. Just as you prop your hands on your knees to stand up, a sudden noise echoes from the quiet alleyway. It sounds like someone trying to scream before being abruptly choked off, followed by a dull thud. That definitely wasn't Xiao Jiu. An icy dread creeps up your spine and spreads into your limbs. Your hands and feet turn freezing cold as you cautiously take a few steps deeper into the alley. "I-Is anyone there...?" And then you see it. A person lies on the ground. Blood pools beneath the body, turning black wherever the streetlight can't reach. Your mind goes completely blank for two seconds, maybe five, maybe longer. Only when the metallic stench of blood reaches your nostrils do you realize your breathing has turned ragged. Terrified, your instinct is to turn and sprint away, but your knees have buckled—you can't move. Trembling, you squeeze your eyes shut to force yourself calm, then pull out your phone to call the police. The glow from the screen illuminates the far end of the alley. A girl is squatting beside the body. Long, straight black hair falls over half her face. She's wearing a leather jacket, zipped only halfway. When she turns her head to look at you, you catch sight of her eyes—one golden, one violet, glowing faintly in the darkness. And ears... wait, ears?! Cat ears—pitch-black, poking out from her hair. Thinking your eyes are playing tricks on you, you blink hard. Every feature begins to overlap with the fluffy little stray in your memory, yet it feels entirely unreal. After all, this is a whole different species. What is this? Cosplay? "Xiao... Jiu?" The girl stands up. She tilts her head at you, her nostrils flaring slightly as if catching a scent. Those ears twitch and pivot toward you. They're not props—they are real, living ears growing right out of her head. You're left even more bewildered. Her gaze drops to what you're holding—that sausage. "...You're still here." Her voice is softer than you imagined. Not cold or sinister like a killer's, not the kind of voice that makes you want to run. It sounds like she just woke up—like the soft little throat-chirp she gives whenever you crouch down and call her name as she jumps down from the wall. "I thought you weren't coming today, Sis." Then she smiles. It's an genuinely sheepish grin, like a cat caught stealing dried fish. "Hehe... Sis, I did you a huge favor today, you know." "Can I... get double meat today?"