"Honestly, Cain-chan, the two of you are far too reckless. You'd barely returned to your room before someone started bleeding everywhere."
Ivankov stood with his hands on his hips, looking between Uta lying on the bed and Cain, who was attempting to pierce her own skin to donate blood.
"Fortunately, Uta Boy has XF-type blood, so your F-type blood is compatible."
He paused, then raised an eyebrow.
"But are you sure you want to do this?"
"Obviously! Can't you see me spraying blood everywhere? Hurry up!"
One of Cain's hands had transformed into a dragon claw and was coated in Haki.
She had used it to forcefully pierce the defenses around her wrist, causing blood to gush from the wound.
Ivankov's eye twitched.
"You're supposed to draw blood from a vein. You can't perform a transfusion from an artery."
"Damn it! You should've said that sooner! I've been stabbing at this for ages!"
Cain hurriedly pulled out her claw, and the wound quickly closed.
Cursing under her breath, she pierced another blood vessel.
Ivankov watched from the side, his mouth twitching again.
"That's the wrong one too."
"Then you do it!"
…
After a frantic struggle, they finally managed to begin the transfusion.
Watching the color gradually return to Uta's face, Cain released a long breath, and the tension finally left her shoulders.
Once Ivankov explained how long the transfusion needed to continue, he left them alone and went to look after Sanji.
Time passed slowly.
When the required period had elapsed, Cain carefully removed the needles from her wrist and Uta's.
Remembering how many intimate moments they had already shared, Cain instinctively shifted closer.
She hesitantly stretched out an arm, wrapped it around Uta's shoulders, and pulled him into her embrace.
Then she looked down.
All right, this was a bit excessive.
Uta's entire head had disappeared into her chest.
His warm breath seeped through the fabric, leaving Cain unbearably ticklish.
She hurriedly adjusted her position and pressed her chest downward, finally solving the awkward problem.
Unfortunately, Uta's arms and legs refused to behave while he slept.
Still half-conscious, he suddenly bit down on—
And wrapped an entire leg tightly around Cain's waist.
"Don't…!"
Cain went completely rigid, barely daring to breathe.
…
The following morning, Uta woke first.
More accurately, he woke because he could no longer breathe.
Slowly opening his eyes, he found his face buried in an enormous mass of softness covered in numerous red marks.
He hurriedly pulled away, only to realize that it belonged to Cain.
Uta immediately relaxed.
But…
What exactly had happened last night?
Only then did he notice the medical tape on his arm.
His gaze shifted toward the transfusion tubing nearby, then to the identical piece of tape on Cain's arm as she slept beside him.
Uta immediately understood everything and went still.
"Cain… you…"
His voice trembled, and tears gathered in his eyes.
Cain rubbed her forehead and woke from her sleep.
Remembering how restless Uta had been the previous night, she looked at him calmly.
"Yeah, Uta. It's exactly what you think. I gave you my—"
Before Cain could finish, Uta's face turned scarlet.
He yanked the blanket around himself and glared at her in equal embarrassment and outrage.
"Y-you put your blood inside my body while I was asleep!"
"You didn't put anything else in there too, did you?!"
Cain nearly choked on her own saliva, her entire face twisting.
"Pfft—what the hell are you talking about, Uta?! What 'anything else'?"
"I'm a woman right now! Even if I wanted to do something, I couldn't!"
Inside her mind, Cain roared,
'Big Sis Shakky, just how much nonsense have you been teaching Uta?!'
Seeing Cain's reaction, Uta burst out laughing and threw off the blanket.
"Hahaha! Cain, I was joking."
"I'm genuinely grateful that you gave me your blood."
He folded both hands over his chest and quietly felt the warmth inside him. His voice became as gentle as flowing water.
"Every drop of your blood lets me feel every beat of your heart."
"Truly… thank you."
Those tender words, combined with Uta's slightly androgynous voice, pierced straight through Cain's heart.
'So handsome… my maiden heart can't take it.'
Cain stared at him blankly before suddenly catching herself.
'Wait! Why the hell do I even have a maiden heart?!'
What Cain did not know was that this was a side effect of receiving the transformation hormones through the shower rather than through an injection.
The feminization had progressed further than expected.
As a result, merely looking at Uta in his current form nearly made Cain lose herself.
"Still…"
Uta suddenly leaned closer and examined the red marks across Cain's chest.
"What happened last night? Where did all those marks come from?"
Cain's mouth twitched, and an unnatural expression crossed her face.
They were not merely red marks.
They were the remaining traces of swelling.
'You were sucking on me all night! Those marks are only there because the swelling finally went down!'
Because of Cain's current sex, that part of her body had become especially soft.
Her human-form defenses were not physical scales, but skin.
Although the skin remained extremely durable, it could still sense touch and changes in temperature.
Uta's relentless attention had overcome strength with softness and left Cain far more stimulated than she wanted to admit.
Remembering what happened during the night, Cain opened her mouth, then looked away.
"…It's nothing."
She clearly had no intention of explaining.
Fortunately, someone—or more accurately, some cloud—arrived to rescue her from the conversation.
Bella floated in through the window.
Sanji's treatment had required her freezing abilities the previous night, so she had not stayed with Cain and Uta.
That was probably for the best.
Had she witnessed everything that happened, it might have left permanent scars on her young mind.
Bella drifted into the room and announced,
"Sanjiko-chan is awake."
…
"A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN!"
"Go to hell."
Bang!
The moment Cain opened the door, Sanji's eyes transformed into enormous hearts and he lunged toward her.
Without hesitation, Cain punched him directly on the head and drove him into the floor.
"See? He looks perfectly normal to me. Why did everyone say he had completely become a woman?"
Still wearing her white shirt and jeans, Cain ground one foot against Sanji's head while staring down at his lecherous expression with disgust.
"That may only be because you're an incredibly beautiful woman," Ivankov suggested.
He clapped his hands.
"Here. Watch this."
The room instantly filled with okama.
Sanji's expression transformed at once, and he slipped effortlessly back into Sanjiko mode.
"Sisters! It's so wonderful to see you again!"
Cain and Uta exchanged a glance.
They understood perfectly.
This bastard could now switch between both personalities at will.
He was not merely seriously ill.
He was beyond saving.
Treatment was clearly the most important thing now.
While the okama kept Sanji occupied, Cain hurriedly brought out a Den Den Mushi and attempted to contact Pudding.
Whether she called Pudding directly or tried transferring through Katakuri's frequency, however, the Den Den Mushi continued ringing without an answer.
…
Meanwhile, in Totto Land…
"Brothers! Sisters! Stop chasing me!"
Pudding was sprinting frantically through Chocolat Town.
"Pudding! I know your ability lets you extract memories!"
Brûlée shouted while pursuing her, followed by a huge crowd of Charlotte siblings.
"So hand over the images of our little sister Cain!"
"Even you, Brûlée?!"
"Katakuri-nii-san has a recording too, but Mama is watching him, so we can't openly demand it from him!"
Another sister joined in, her eyes shining with excitement.
"But we can take yours! Hurry up and hand it over!"
Pudding ran until she was gasping for breath, looking close to tears.
"B-but I promised Big Sis Cain that I'd keep it secret!"
"How did all of you even find out?!"