Hey guys, been a little bit, eh?

So, yeah, I am back. In case you haven't been around for the mess that happened last year, I thought I'd clear up some things. Back then I completely dropped writing thanks to a handful of really shitty people who stalked my socials, harassed me and tried to get my stories taken down on various sites. It killed my desire to write for quite a while. I thought that it wasn't worth the hassle if it led to more ridicule and unnecessary frustration.

However over the last few months, several of you kept in touch with me and showed a lot of support to me and my work. I actually thought most people would just move on but the encouragement really is much more appreciated than you can imagine.

So I came to the conclusion that I shouldn't let a few bad actors keep me from doing what I love. So thank you, to all of you reading and especially those who messaged and encouraged me. You're the reason I decided to continue the work on this series. You guys are awesome, thanks.

Anyways, here you are. The long awaited (slightly overdue) Ren Xiongmao chapter you voted for a hot minute ago. Enjoy!

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As tensions rose around the globe, with a full blown war between the Order and the succubi to the west and the slow social interspecial progress in Zipangu, the Mist Continent found itself somewhere in the middle of things. Some peoples and communes have come to fully accept mamono at this point but the resistance has been somewhat worrying. Rebels and raiders continue to harass and plunder from all kinds of monsters who are just trying to live within our society, but the damage that that has caused, is not only felt by them.

Tan Gendo. A town on the rural edges of the Mist Continent's Land of the Four Gods. My home.

For the longest time, ever since my family lived here I had helped cultivate the small bamboo farm my family had built up over decades of blood, sweat and tears. Everyone knew the Shen Family, my father Dan, my mother Xhu and now me, Mago Shen. The little bamboo sprout and only child.

I was by now old enough to inherit the family business after working with them for all 25 years of my life and them eventually passing away. I could handle myself pretty well. The farm was flourishing with high quality bamboo stalks and since so many people knew and respected my family, I got a lot of help from neighbors and friends of mine to build and maintain business.

Things went pretty well but there's a saying about good things. They don't last forever.

Metal clattered across the floor as my house was turned upside down. Shelves were torn from the wall and tables flipped by a band of masked bandits searching for valuables.

And in one corner of the room there I was, looking on as they destroyed my property and a curved blade was held to my neck.

"Spit it out, where is the fucking register!?" The piercing eyes of the man gazed at me through the slit in the yellow cloth wrapped around his head.

I held my hands up in defense. "Look, I need this money to survive! It's all I got!"

He picked me up by the collar of my linen shirt and pressed me to the wall leaving me little in the way of fighting back as I struggled to no avail. "You need your head to survive as well. You don't want to lose that either, do you?" He would have spit with his words if his mouth hadn't been covered.

One of his associates turned to us, holding up a piece of wood and wrapping one of my shirts around the end of it. He produced a small flask and poured its contents over it, soaking the cloth in the clear liquid. "That, or we could make sure your business will not do well for a loooong time."

"Heh, doesn't sound too bad either. Wanna lose your income entirely, little man?" That bastard holding me up laughed in response, causing the other two to laugh along with him.

I ground my teeth, kicking my feet in the air but not getting anywhere. I succumbed to panic as the situation seemed more and more hopeless. "You wouldn't dare! This place has been around for five generations! It'd be despicable to destroy its history like this! You can't do that!"

My anxiety peaked when the other bandit struck a flint, sparking a flame on his handmade torch. "You want to try me?"

Tears welled up in my eyes as I watched the fire lick the bamboo wall and a few fibers curled, charred black. My gaze turned to the woven portrait of my parents and I. Looking at their faces, I sobbed and pointed at the tapestry.

The man with the torch nodded to the third member and then towards the portrait. Judging from their stature, the last member was seemingly a woman. She obliged and went for the painting, shoving it aside and revealing the hidden compartment behind it. She took the lockbox from it and smashed the lock with the handle of her sword. She looked down at 3 years worth of savings. I hadn't touched it since my parents' death.

I couldn't see his smile but I could tell from his eyes, that their leader was happy with the mound of coins that peeked out of the box. He then focused back on me, the smile quickly wiped away. "See? Was that so hard?" He lowered me a little bit, still holding me with one hand while pointing his sword toward the door they had broken open when they arrived here. "Put it on the carriage with the rest. I'll be out shortly."

The other two nodded and went outside, one carrying the box, the other dousing his torch in a bucket of water.

"Now..." The bandit leader continued as he addressed me again. "...we'll be back in 2 weeks time. We've heard you got a pretty good little gig going here, right? Shouldn't be too hard to get some more money ready in that time."

Defeated, I sunk my head. "Yes. Yes I'll have more for you then."

He chuckled. "Well, that's great to hear" Grabbing my collar yet again, he tossed me down the hallway and onto the floor. "Good thing bamboo grows so fast, am I right?"

I rubbed my neck, now free of his grip as I hissed under my breath. "I hope you choke on it, you bastard."

In response, he just laughed as he saluted me goodbye. "Well I'm off. Thank you for your contribution toward the fight against the monster threat. Look at it this way: We're doing this for the sake of humanity." With those parting words, he left me there on the floor and headed out onto their hitched carriage, taking off down the mountain. Tan Gendo finally knew peace again, temporary as it may be.

I sighed, looking around the mess the bandits left behind. I wordlessly and listlessly started picking up my clothes and turning the furniture back upright when I stopped, dropped everything and slumped against the wall as the tears streamed down my face. I choked, wiping them away as best I could but they kept coming. For as long as I can remember, my family never had to endure anything as vile as this. My family home was mostly destroyed and I was left destitute.

I took another look over to my family's portrait. It leaned against the wall, upside down, my parents' smiles turned to frowns. The imagery was almost laughably poignant. With a sigh I walked over, picked it up and hung it back on the wall, no longer hiding anything.

I ran my hand over the fabric. "I'm sorry I couldn't defend our home better. I... I'm so sorry. Heh, I bet you would've kicked their asses, dad, huh?" I smiled through the tears as I gazed up at my father's face. "And you would've made sure they could never show their faces anywhere around here again, mom, right?" I continued as I turned to my mother. The tapestry however, didn't respond.

I rested my forehead against the frame, resolute in my words. "This won't be the end of it, I swear. The Shen name will not end with me. We've lived through worse and we'll overcome this as well." I swore to them as I swallowed down the last bits of sadness. "Man, do I wish you were still here though." I kissed the tips of my pointer and middle finger and pressed them to the canvas.

Ruffling around in the mess the thieves left behind, I picked out my old machete, whetstone and a basket. Bent out of shape, but not broken, I also picked up my wide straw hat, evened it out and put it on my head.

The day was still early, and no matter the circumstances, there was work to be done. Maybe some manual labor would help me come up with a solution to this shitty situation. What else was I to do anyways.

I took a deep breath of the fresh mountain air and started the hike up the long slopes. The Mist Continent certainly lived up to its name today. The fog crawled through the rolling hills of the rugged highlands down below covering the dense forests and jagged rocks. A cool wind blew up to me from the valley and blew about my hair. A land this beautiful should not be home to such violence.

I decided to take in the moment while I walked and allowed myself to smile for the moment. One thing to tackle at a time. For now, there were stalks to harvest. After about a mile uphill, I arrived at the edge of the forest. A dense, impenetrable forest of bamboo. It truly was a versatile plant to cultivate. It simply refuses to be useless at any part of its life cycle. You can eat it when it's young, you can build things from it when it's older. It was a true miracle plant to me.

One more time I filled my lungs, pulled out the machete and went to work. I shuffled through the stalks, looking for the foot-long sprouts on the ground. One after the other, I started chopping. Filling and filling a second compartment in my basket with every bud I found.

It was hard work, but with the chill winds whistling through the forest, it was almost refreshing. At least it would have been were there not these thoughts in the back of my head nagging at me.

In 2 weeks time they'd be back they said. 2 weeks. That's not a lot of time to gather the money they clearly want, let alone make a plan to defend my home against them. The people of Tan Gendo are mostly old and spread too far. They have their own homes to protect, so a militia is unlikely. I could send a message for aid to the Emperor, but would that even make it there or will they respond in time if at all? And as for defending myself? I'm not a fighter either. And even if, would I be ready to take a life?

As the thoughts started racing, I hardly noticed that I was hacking my machete into a nearby stalk with growing aggression.

"FUCK!"

With a final chop, I had cleaved the massive plant, causing it to tilt and fall like timber. The forest creaked and shook as the stalk tore down several others on its way down. "Well, it should be fine, there usually aren't any people around here any..."

"Huh? AAAAAAAAAHHHHH! *bonk*" Suddenly, there was an ear piercing scream from further down the path, close to where the top half of the bamboo landed. I could have sworn the was a hollow thud sound when it did.

I rushed over in a panic, dropping my machete and basket. "Oh god, oh god, oh god! Nonononono!"

I brushed past bushels of young stalks, several of them whipping me in the face as I made my way to the source of the scream. And when I did, my worst fear was confirmed. There was a woman lying under the bamboo stalk I felled. It had hit her square in the forehead and was pinning her to the ground, seemingly unmoving.

Hesitantly I called out to her. "Um... ma'am? Can you hear me? Are you alright?" Her eyes twitched underneath her eyelids and I could hear a small grunt from her, but no outright confirmation. At the very least, she wasn't dead. I went over to her and knelt down, lifting up the stalk with my entire back and shoving it aside.

With leaf and lumber put aside, I could finally get a better look at her. She was an odd one, that was for sure. First off, I didn't recognize her. Which was strange enough since I knew everyone from the village, meaning she was an outsider. But secondly and more importantly... she had fur. Fur... like an animal. A bear to be more precise.

Her head an torso were certainly human but her limbs... her arms and legs were covered with black pelt, white tufts here and there ending in intimidatingly large bear paws. On the backs of said paws, there were clearly unnatural white markings. Almost like white, tribal paint.

What remained of her human form was scantily clad. She wore a traditional Mist Continent dress but seemingly with as many provocative openings as possible. It was a black-trimmed icy blue with a white floral pattern and had puffy shoulders with petal like protrusions extending out from them. But to describe it as authentically traditional would do the provocativeness of the clothing an injustice. A piece of cloth barely covered her crotch area with flaps at the front and back and indecent slits to show off the side of her legs and hips. Her pearlescent breasts were almost entirely exposed by a cutout boob window with barely enough fabric to cover her unmentionables.

The dress was clearly meant to show off the woman's assets who herself was a beauty to behold. Her hair was a deeper white than even her dress and barely touched her shoulders in a messed up but at the same time elegant, princess like cut with two locks of hair framing her dainty, pristine face. Poking out from that hair however were also a pair of ears, not human ones though. Bear like, fluffy, black furred ones.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. A mamono? Here of all places?

Nevermind, she was hurt. Because of me no less. It didn't matter what she was at that point. I dragged her out of the shrubbery and into a clearing nearby. Leaning her against a rock, I gently shook her shoulder to see if I could get any response.

In response I got a low groan and a little bit of her shifting her body around. Alright, so far so good. She is reacting.

For a moment she seemed to regain consciousness and even turned her head a little. I was hopeful when her eyes seemed to slowly creak open a little bit but right when she almost managed to wake up... "Bleh."

Bleh.

She let out an audible bleh as her head flopped to the side and her tongue lolled out of her mouth. I was stunned into silence for a moment.

I shook my head in confusion. Okay, weird. I saw more movement underneath her eyelids, telling me she was at least slightly awake. "Hey, if you can hear me, I'm uh... really sorry for the knock to your head you took. If there's anything I can get you to make up for..."

"Leaves."

"..."

Did she just...

"Leaves?"

"Bamboo. Bamboo leaves." She repeated, her voice tinged with... what I think was feigned pain and desperation. It was almost like a bad actor in a play.

Her eyes slowly opened up, seemingly, or at least pretending to be glazed over and without focus. "I need bamboo leaves. It is the only thing... that can help me right now." She wheezed out, her chest heaving for air.

"I... I don't think... okay, if you say so, I'll get you some. Just... hold on for a moment." I went back down the path a bit and grabbed my machete, pulling down some of the younger stalks and chopping off a good few bushels of leaves. When I had enough to make a bouquet out of them, I returned to the strange bear woman and knelt down next to her.

"Okay, I think that should be enough. So what do you want me to do? Steep it into tea? Grind it down into medicine or..."

"~gurgle~"

"..."

Silence settled over the forest after a loud rumbling emanated from her stomach. Her face contorted into an embarrassed frown and filled with red, glowing shame.

I let out a befuddled stammering but before I could make another suggestion, the girl just straight up grabbed the wad of bamboo leaves... and buried her face in it. Only the sounds of enthusiastic munching coming from her from that point on. Staring in belligerence was pretty much all I could do.

Once she was done, she let out a deep sigh and stretched out her limbs spread eagle while patting her tummy. "Paaaaahh... that hit the spot." A wide, dumb smile spread across her lips as a droplet of drool still rolled down from them.

As soon as she regained her senses again however and her gaze met mine, the redness shot back into her head and she quickly reassembled herself from her slovenly slump. She coughed into her paw, more feigning than actually maintaining an air of propriety. "Thank you, stranger. You almost certainly saved me from horrific death there. I am forever in your debt." She said hastily, getting on her knees and giving me a polite bow.

I was still mostly speechless and stumbled over my words. "Uh... sure thing ma'am. It was my fault you got hit to begin with. I was the one who chopped the bamboo down without checking first."

She cocked her head. "Well... did you mean to do that?"

"No?"

Her smile quickly returned. "Well, no hard feelings then. I think people call that being even. Name's Baozhai by the by." The way she chipperly said that, almost made it sound like a catchphrase as she extended her hand... paw to me.

I shook it, chuckling awkwardly as I did. "Hah, yeah well... I am Mago. Mago Shen. May I ask, what are you doing out here. There's not much reason to come here, especially for... outsiders like yourself." I asked, looking up and down her peculiar getup and form.

She averted her eyes and seemed to be sweating a bit from the question. "Oh I just... just sightseeing, really. Took a stroll and got lost in here. There are worse places to get lost in though, am I right?" She twiddled her claws, clearly avoiding eye contact when another stomach rumble prompted her to fall in on herself. "Um... actually. I am really, really, reeeeeaaalllyyyy hungry. I've been on the road for quite some time." She practically whispered apologetically.

I smirked a little at her failed attempt at an excuse. It was almost endearing. "You know, this forest actually belongs to my family so that's actually our bamboo you're eating there."

Her ears folded in as she looked at me through her upturned amber colored eyes. "Oh no, are you mad?"

I gulped and waved my arms in denial. "No, nonono, by all means. It's just the leaves. It would at most have been fertilizer for the rest of the crop to be honest."

Her eyes lit up as they darted between me and the rest of the leaf bushel. "Really? Are you sure? No take backs if you change your mind later!" She rambled off in a rush.

I was a bit taken aback as she leaned forward, pointing her claw at my face and staring straight into my eyes with full seriousness. "Y...yeah, sure I'm sure. Go right ahead."

"Yesss!" She squealed, squeezing the bundle of leaves between her paws and chewing on the foliage once more.

Watching her eat so gleefully was admittedly kind of cute although this encounter was still quite surreal to me.

I sat down in a cross legged position across from her in the soft, slightly moist grass. "Say umm... Baozhai?"

"You can call me Bao. It's easier." She interjected in between bites.

"Right, Bao then. You mentioned before that you've been on the road for a long time. On the road from where?"

I think I struck a bit of a nerve with my question. She struggled to swallow her last mouthful. "It's... a little settlement called Yume Neka. I doubt you've ever heard of it. It's a settlement of Ren Xiongmao. My people."

"What happened to it? Why'd you leave it?"

Her mood soured, reluctant to take another bite. "Long story. To tell it short, well, there were less and less of us running the settlement each year until finally we all decided to strike out on our own. Find a place to settle among humans or survive in the wild. It's... mostly been the latter for me for the last few weeks."

"Weeks? How did you survive? It's nothing but mountains and rock deserts up north from here."

She scratched her neck as if it was something to be embarrassed about. "Yeah, I know. I probably didn't pick the best place to scavenge. But hey, I got by and now I've found this!" She gestured her leave bundle toward the bamboo forest around us.

"I mean, yeah but you can't just live out here. It still gets crazy cold at night, it's damp and it rains like all the time."

She brushed it off reluctantly, doubting her own words as she said them. "I... I've got thick skin, thick fur even. I'll probably be fine. Make a nice grass bed, a bamboo tent maybe. I'll live. You can visit me from time to time if you want? I'd like that!"

The ridiculousness of what she was saying was baffling. "There is no way I'm gonna let you do that." I stated firmly as I got up.

"Wha... what do you..." She fell silent as I reached out my hand to her.

"I've got a small house down the mountain. It's not much but it's certainly a much better place to sleep than out here. You're welcome to spend the night there. Several, should you need it."

She looked at my hand in confusion. "You're... sure about this? I'm not a bother to you?"

"I've got plenty of space for two. I mean unless you really don't want t..."

"Yes! Yes of course I want to! I'd love to, in fact!" I was almost knocked back in surprise when she shot up from the ground and went right up in my face. Her paws sandwiched my hand as her eyes practically sparkled. "I haven't slept under a roof in so long, let alone with someone who actually knew I was there."

My heart almost melted, looking at her. As bad as the day may have started, I now felt that all wash away with my mood lifting from its slump.

We picked up all the things I had dropped and made our way downhill. It was starting to get kind of late anyways and work could wait until tomorrow I suppose. All the way, I caught side-eyed glimpses of Bao's smile. It made the spring in my step even more enthusiastic.

Her smile faded however as we came in view of my hut. She saw the door knocked off its hinges, the mess inside and the singed piece of the bamboo wall.

This time I was the one acting bashful. "I'm sorry you have to see it in this state. I was hoping if I ever had someone over it would be a bit more presentable." I laughed, coyly picking up some of the tossed clothes and shattered wood as if it made a difference.

But Bao's expression remained unchanged. Solemn and distraught. "Someone broke into your house! Did... did they take anything? More importantly, are you okay?"

I stuttered a subdued answer. "It's nothing. Nothing that can't be replaced and I'm fine. This is fine. It's all... fine." I sighed, taking a glance at my parents' portrait. I couldn't stand them having to look at me like this.

Bao followed my gaze but remained silent about it. Instead she put on a supportive smile. "H...hey, it's okay. It doesn't even look that bad. I think it might be even better than I'd hoped."

I weakly returned her smile, putting down the clutter in a corner of the room, haphazardly arranging it in a somewhat organized fashion. "Well, my house is your house. You can pick anywhere you want to sleep, I've got my futon over there and there are a couple of guest rooms in the..."

As I should have come to expect by now, Bao did the most unexpected things in the most unexpected of times and let herself fall onto the pile of clothes on the floor. Kicking and shimmying until it was comfortable. She then had herself a big stretch and sighed in relief. "Haaaaahhh, yup, right here."

I was once again left stunned. "I meant in a bed... in the other rooms."

"Do you sleep in those too?"

"Well... no? I sleep here... in the living room."

"Then I'm good." She said without a shroud of shame or hesitation, unaware of how flustered her comment left me.

"If you're fine with that, I guess." Indeed it was me who was not fine. I was becoming more acutely aware that I had a woman spend the night in my house, in the same room as me no less. I've rarely seen any other women in Tan Genda and the few I knew were old or married. Most of them friends of my parents.

As I laid down, I risked a glance across the room at Bao. She was once again spread eagle and lying there as if the pile of my clothes was the most comfortable thing she had ever rested on. Her chest rose and fell with soft breaths, her breasts flattening against her chest. Her hair splayed on the ground as a blissful smile never left her lips.

Unexpectedly, her eyes opened and she immediately caught me staring, responding to it with a soft giggle and turning onto her side to talk to me more comfortably. "Thank you. Again."

I chuckled. "For what? Letting you sleep here? Come on, it's nothing."

"Well, sure doesn't feel like nothing to me. I like having someone to talk to again. I like humans when they aren't being stupid."

"Heh, well, I am plenty stupid sometimes too. You just caught me on a good day."

She giggled. "Nah, I don't think so. I think you're one of the good ones."

"What makes you say that?"

She shrugged. "Just a hunch. I've seen some of the stupid ones before, you're nothing like those."

I shuffled onto my side, trying to face her the same way she did me. "Well what do the stupid ones usually do?" My question fell on deaf ears. As soon as I did lie on my side and could properly look at her, her eyes had closed shut and I heard her lightly snore.

I smiled cheek to cheek and let the matter go. Maybe we could pick this up tomorrow. "Good night, Bao. Sweet dreams." I whispered, rolling onto my back again.

I pulled up the blanket and took a deep breath, closing my eyes and welcoming the onset of sleep.

I wished that the darkness had lasted longer.

The black curtain lifted as my mind decided to conjure up a dream for me.

I was lying in the grass, deep in the bamboo forest. It was a calm, warm afternoon and I felt like I'd been resting there for hours, drifting in and out of a long nap.

Suddenly, I smelled smoke and a dark cloud slowly drifted into view in the sky. Something nearby was burning. I shot up and bolted off in a panic. I ran and ran, almost stumbling and falling many times.

The forest seemed like an endless labyrinth with no end in sight as if trapping me and keeping me from finding the exit. I pushed through, running even into dense thickets of stalks, cutting and bruising myself as I slowly saw the end of the arbor get closer and closer until I broke through.

Out in the open again, I saw the source of the embers and ash. A wafting smokestack rose from the glowing, burning remains of my family home. Humanoid shadows spewed fire onto it, tearing it apart inside and out.

In front of the ashen ruins, in a field of charred grass I saw my parents. My mother knelt on the ground, my father next to her and holding her close for comfort. I wanted so desperately to run to them and help douse the flames, but couldn't.

Two more shadows emerged from behind me without me noticing and held me back, restraining me and forcing me to my knees as well. I screamed out to my parents but no voice came out.

The last thing I saw, was my mother, slowly turning around. Our eyes met, a pang of guilt tightening my chest. Then a third shadow stepped in front of me, put a black blade to my throat... and cut it.

I woke up in a sweat. Tears filled my eyes and ran down the side of my face. I was gasping for air, touching my throat, feeling no blood. My vision was blurry, my eyeballs burned. I wiped at them as I softly sniffed, trying not to be too loud.

While rubbing my eyes, I suddenly felt something. Something was touching the top of my head. Something soft. It was gently stroking my hair, careful and tenderly.

As my vision cleared, I saw that Bao was leaning over me, petting my head. Sorrow was clearly written all over her face.

I rubbed the bridge of my nose trying to shake off the grogginess of just having woken up. "You should be sleeping." I muttered.

She lowered her head, refusing to stop combing her paw through my hair. "You were crying. Bad dream?"

I hesitated for a second but then nodded. "It's nothing. I just saw my parents is all." I replied weakly, leaning on my elbows as I halfway got up as she retracted her paw.

Bao seemed somewhat shaken by my response, her lips trembling. "Di... did they get yours too?"

"What do you mean t..." My heart sunk as the realization struck me. I raised my gaze in disbelief, watching as Bao started softly crying. "I... no, not like that... oh my god I'm... I'm so sorry."

"I miss them. I miss them a lot. And I know you do too. So I though I could help you. My mom always made the bad dreams go away by brushing my hair like this. I'm sorry it didn't work."

I sat up, taking her paw in my hands. Our eyes met in the dark, sharing in this somber moment. I still felt the pain in my chest, but since I saw her, it felt a whole lot lighter. "No, I think it did. I'm not in a nightmare anymore."

Bao smiled back, her eyes glistening in the moonlight shining through the doorway. Our gaze didn't break for several moments until we realized how long we'd been holding hands. We laughed awkwardly as we drew our arms back.

She looked around sorrowfully, hesitant to move. "I... I guess I should go back to sleep, huh? You're doing better now after all, right?"

Almost reflexively I reached out and grabbed her arm. "Wait..." She looked back, both of us frozen in the moment. I didn't even know what I was doing or why I was doing it. I only knew that I had to say something, so I did. "We... don't need to go through this alone. I'm probably not the only one who could use some company. If you don't mind... do you want to stay together, at least for the night, so the bad dreams go away for both of us?"

She let out a joyful gasp, smiling through tears as she couldn't have nodded more enthusiastically. I guided her by the paw to crawl closer until I invited her under the blanket. We were face to face, almost close enough to feel each other's breath, eyes glued to one another.

Bao smirked, wrapping her soft, furry arms around my back. "You know, I've been told I'm a good cuddler."

I chuckled "By who?"

"My ego."

We both laughed as we squeezed the other's body. Her hair tickled my nose.

I lifted my hand to her head, combing through it and stroking her head. "See, now we can both do it. Better, right?"

Bao nuzzled her face in my chest, smiling to herself. "Much better." She took a deep whiff, giggling to herself. "You smell like bamboo. Hehe, my favorite."

It wasn't fair. Goddammit she was cute. It was completely disarming.

Soon though, the only thing I heard from her was slow, long breaths. Before I knew it, my own eyelids grew heavy as well and sleep caught up to me yet again. This time for good as for the rest of the night, there were no more nightmares. Maybe Bao's mother really was onto something.

Unsurprisingly, Bao did not in fact leave after one day, not even two or three. A week went by in a flash. Bao had volunteered to help with the bamboo harvest, for a modest fee of leaves of course.

It became a routine to wake each other up in the morning, heading out into the forest, coming back in the evening and falling asleep in each other's arms. It made me mostly forget about the looming deadline hanging over my head.

Traders from more distant towns visited us often, buying all kinds of bamboo products. Profits were good and since they came from more progressive areas of the region, they were not put off by a mamono living with me. My hope was that the next time the bandits would come along, maybe they would just take the money and leave. The last thing I wanted was for Bao to get involved, let alone get hurt. She didn't need any more suffering in her life.

Through the passing days, I appreciated her company more and more. I almost forgot how good it feels to have someone around to rely on.

We spent pretty much every waking hour, and every non-waking hour for that matter, together. And by the end of the week, that fondness culminated in one unforgettable day.

It was late again, the full moon illuminating the room through the windows instead of the by now fixed door. I had gotten used to the feeling of Bao's weight pressing against me but something this night was different. The feeling was on a whole other level.

I had the smell of her ginseng shampoo wafting into my nostrils. Her breasts were flattening against my chest and rubbing around with every sleight movement of hers. One odd thing she also hadn't done before that night was that she had her left leg wrapped around mine and although only slightly, I could feel her grinding her crotch against my thigh. I could hear her breathing like I did every night, but this was also unusual. Her breathing was more labored, more like gasps and whines than slow, calm in and exhaling.

It had become such a habit of mine to pet her head that I did it unwittingly even after falling asleep, so it was no surprise that she was tipped off to my awareness when I suddenly stopped. She let out a little yelp before letting out a relaxed sigh. Her breath was so hot I could even feel the warmth through my shirt. "You're... you're awake." She mumbled, still not halting her grinding on my leg. I could swear there was a damp heat radiating from her crotch.

"Well, I was wondering what you were up to there. You've been... pretty busy for it being so late." I was mocking her, but I was one to talk. As soon as I had become aware of what was going on, my heart rate had soared and my breath gotten heavier.

Bao hardly had the nerve to look me in the eyes, instead huffing my scent over and over. "I was... I... was... I don't know what I was doing. I just wanted to hug you and then some more and then some more again. Until I started doing this. It felt good, so I didn't stop. But I'm still... still so lonely. Is this a nightmare again?" She whined huskily, her claws scratching against the back of my shirt.

I hissed in the slight bit of pain it caused, pulling her closer. "No, not this time. You're not alone at all."

She moaned a little bit, gasping for air. "Then why? Why is it still not close enough?" She gazed up at me, her eyes moist and trembling. Not from fear or sadness this time, but pleasure and desperately wanting to elevate it.

When I looked into her eyes and thought about the past few days with her, I knew there were words we yet had to exchange. Things I know I needed to say and I know she wanted to hear. "Maybe this will help." I cupped her cheek in my hand and gently caressed it. "I love you, Bao, and you'll never be alone again."

"Mmmh!" She winced for a brief moment, her body tensing up as I pulled her face to mine and kissed her deeply. The moment of shock quickly turned into one of passion as she feverishly returned my kiss. Her curvy frame melted into mine as our bodies and tongues mingled.

In the heat of the moment we shed our clothes, layer by layer, longing to feel more of each other's skin. The sex appeal of her body that her provocative clothes promised did not underdeliver in the slightest. She had an hourglass figure, a shapely, perfectly palm sized butt and perky, full breasts, white as the moonlight. I counted my blessings for whatever deity allowed me to lie with a woman like this.

We tangled for a while more, exchanging heated kisses as her hard nipples ground against my chest. Bao giggled, biting her lower lip. "You like 'em?" She asked, making it perfectly clear what she meant by sliding her tits up and down my body.

"Perfect doesn't even begin to describe them. By all the gods, you are gorgeous."

She blushed a little, trying to hide it behind forced confidence. "G...good, that's exactly what I wanted to hear. There is one way that I always wanted to use them, but only with a very special man."

I chuckled. "Well, man do I feel special." I kissed her once more, just a peck this time before Bao slid down my body until she arrived between my legs. By this moment, I was more than hard and raring to go.

My member towered over her face as she gazed upon it and pressed her nose against it. With one sniff, she seemed entranced, peppering the underside of my member with kisses. "That is one tall bamboo shoot. I wonder if it tastes like one too." She talked in breathy moans as those small, peckish kisses turned into long, slow licks from the base of my cock to the very tip that her tongue flicked off of.

Having arrived at the top and looking down at the top of my erection, Bao licked her lips and hungrily stared at it. "Definitely found my new favorite breed." I was entirely entranced by her, watching on lustfully as dropped her dripping tongue out of her mouth and lowered her lips onto my dick.

The world of heat and sticky saliva Bao showed me was a marvel. I felt my cock getting squeezed from every side, lovingly licked and caressed by her slippery muscle. She coated my member in a glistening sheen, bobbing her head up and down as I took in the sensation of her every move.

She repeatedly took glances at me as her mouth went to work, and again and again she was pleased with my expression of slovenly rapture. She dragged her tightly closed lips up my shaft as she pulled away, ending in a satisfying popping sound and a trail of spit stretching from my tip to her mouth. The image alone was almost enough to make me bust.

But this was not the end. Bao, seemingly wanting to make good on her promise, had one more ace up her sleeve. With a smirk, she lifted her breasts with her paws, tantalizingly squeezing them together in the process. That imagery alone would have been enough to make any man immensely happy, but it was just the first step.

She pushed her upper half forward, resting her torso on top of my crotch, letting her boobs flop down onto my cock until it sprung up, finding itself sandwiched between her two soft, springy mounds.

I laughed to myself in disbelief, reaching out to her face, caressing her cheek. "Goddamn, I must be the luckiest damn man alive."

She flashed a shy, giggly grin leaning into my palm. "We can both count our lucky stars... later." Bao huskily responded, kissing my palm before I pulled my hand away and let her work.

Keeping her tits in place, Bao used her paws as barriers so my cock wouldn't slip out of the embrace of a lifetime. Her flesh shifted and rippled around my meat, grinding and sliding over almost every inch of it, sans tip. A fact that didn't escape my lover's notice.

Once again, letting her tongue loll out of her mouth, she let a healthy amount of saliva drool down into the crevice, making the nooks and crannies in between her and me slippery and wet. In tandem with a long in and exhale, Bao raised and then lowered her tits. The movement was smooth and the sensation immaculate. My cock slipped and slid into the meaty slit, dragging strings of saliva behind it.

Fucking her boobs like this was a sensation that masturbation could never, ever compare to. As her upper body crashed into me, I felt myself edging closer and closer to climax. Enough for my cock to begin twitching rhythmically.

Bao seemingly having noticed this, took an opening when her tits were at their lowest point, one where the tip of my member poked out of their deep, precum covered valley. She dove down with her head and reclaimed her mouths dominion over my cock. She began gyrating her breasts instead of heaving them up and down, instead redoubling her efforts of flexing her tongue muscles. She licked my cock's every inch she could reach provoking my climax further by leaving her mouth open for most of it, letting me witness her slutty, sloppy expressions.

"Nope, I can't! This is too much, Bao! I'm cumming, I'm cumming right in your mouth! GhaaahhHAA!" I flinched, grinding my teeth as I, in the stupor of climax, reached out to the back of her head once more, pushed her face into her own tits and thus onto my cock.

I bucked my hips, unloading ropes and ropes of cum into her mouth. Bao squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to take all of it, audibly gulping with every spurt. Eventually it proved too much though. I realized her struggle for air and let go of her head, leaving her gasping for air and the rest of my cum flying out in a small arc and glazing the top of her tits.

I calmed down from my high, progressively regaining my senses as I watched the aftermath of my orgasm. White streaks decorated the girl I loved from her hair all the way down her collar, tits and nipples. It was a sight to behold.

Guilt slowly started creeping in as I called out to her. She seemed out of it, her gaze unfocused and her breath labored. "Bao, I'm... fuck... I'm so..."

As if snapping out of it though, Bao reached out to me instead and covered my mouth with her paw. She looked like a hungry predator as she cradled my head an pulled me into a kiss. Her lips tasted salty and were intensely sticky, but at that moment, I didn't care. This girl wanted to kiss me and I am never going to refuse her that.

Parting from our kiss, our eyes met and Bao licked her lips gluttonously. "If you have enough breath for excuses, you also have enough to give me my turn, right?" She gazed into my eyes, hopeful and impatient.

I put my hands on her hips, admiring her form as I trailed my fingers along her contours. I was transfixed on her curves before my eyes once again sought out hers. "Not only do am I going to give you your turn..." I took a hold of her sides and flipped her onto her back, pinning her to the mattress. I leered at her lower half, getting a first glimpse at her beautiful pussy. It was soaking wet, her skin around it glistening and the small white patch of fur above her clit, sticky with precum.

Her eyes widened in shock as her breath quickened. I leaned down to whisper huskily into her twitching, fluffy ears. "...I'm going to fuck your brains out, Bao."

Her excitement skyrocketed as her arms and legs locked around me. "It's a promise then." Were the last words she could squeeze out as she pushed her chin into my shoulder. Given the position we were in, my cock was already perfectly aligned with the entrance to her slit. It only took one... little... push.

Her claws dug into my back as I drilled down into her more than welcoming love tunnel. I got further and further in my cock disappearing into the wet opening. Her insides squirmed around my cock, welcoming the foreign visitor with thousands of little kisses. I pressed further, gluing my hips to hers until I finally knocked against a barrier deep inside. Her womb was all to greedy to receive me, sucking at the tip of my dick to coax me to pound it.

Up top, Bao and I breathed heavily into the others ear. I put my arms around her, firmly digging my hands into her shapely ass, pulling it into my thrusting hips. After a long whine, Bao squeaked her last words. "I love you, Mago!"

It was enough fuel for me to start pounding her hips into the floor. Over and over I slammed down, fucking her tight little hole that squeezed me when I entered and pulled on me when I tried to leave. It was an ever continuing cycle of wet slapping sounds and rippling flesh.

Her moans filled my ears, the wind knocked out of her lungs whenever my body crashed into hers. Our skin rubbed together from top to bottom and any conceivable angle, the mixture of saliva and cum on her chest still serving as a fantastic lubricant. The floorboards creaked under the onslaught of two bodies colliding over and over.

Warm fluids drenched our lower halves and stained a large portion of the mattress underneath. Our screams of pleasure filled the room and echoed off the walls. Her claws scratched my back, possibly drawing blood, but I couldn't tell for sure. It was almost bestial.

My pace picked up. I raised her hips, granting myself easier and more direct access. Sweat emanated from every pore of my body from the effort all of this took.

Shortly after, I felt another sting, this time from my shoulder. Taking a quick glance, I noticed that it was Bao biting my shoulder with her sharp canine teeth, wheezing mostly through the gaps in her teeth and her nose. It not only showed me the level of pleasure she was experiencing but it elevated mine as well.

Her leg lock tightened, forcing me to grind her deeper inside, almost balls deep in her pussy. I spread around her juices, prodding, teasing and knocking against her womb whenever I could reach it.

At this point, the thrusts became smaller but came in short succession. Her nasal wheezes became full on moans again as she tore her fangs from my shoulder, leaving behind little bite marks. "Nnhhhh! Nghhhh! Nggghhhaaaaaaa! Mago! Fuck me! Like that! Deeper! Harder! I'm so close! SO CLOSE!"

I obliged, burying my fingers in her ass cheeks, pulling her into me. I spanked her a few times as my excitement spiked, putting all of my energy into crushing her beneath me. The spanks loudly rang out, leaving red spots in their place. She yelped with every slap but it was tinged with pleasure each time.

"Yes! Yeeeesss! Spank me! Break me! I love you, Mago! I l... lo... LOVE YOUUUU!" Her pussy clamped down like a vice. A trap holding me in place alongside her legs, forcing me to dump all of my cum into her deepest depths. My balls tightened, eager and willing to oblige her, blowing load after load over the inside of her womb and walls. I felt her pussy fill to the brim with every drop I had to give until the gaps between her and me overflowed and globs of cum sputtered onto the futon.

Her legs twitched but still held on til Bao was was sure that I had finished all the way. She then went limp, flopping onto the mattress and I was not far behind. I barely steadied myself on my elbows, hovering over her body.

Riding on the high of our climax, our blurry vision and dazed senses took a while to clear. Many pictures focused into one again granting me the most beautiful sight I could have hoped for. My eyes met Bao's as we smiled, simply happy to see each other. Her hair stuck to her forehead, mine probably didn't look much better. The futon was fully ruined and uncomfortable to lay on. With heavy breaths, interrupted by chuckling in disbelief, I was the first to break the silence. "Guess we will have to use the guest rooms after all."

Bao put the back of her paw to her forehead, laughing in exhaustion. "Are we still taking the same room?"

I took her paw into my hand, revealing her eyes underneath it. "Come on, you already know the answer. And I know you well enough by now to know that even if we didn't, you'd just sneak into my bed anyways."

She pouted. "Who else is gonna make the bad dreams go away?" But quickly broke into a sweet smile, laughing as she wrapped her furry arms around me and nuzzled my chest, inhaling deeply. "It may not be bamboo, but I could get used to this smell too."

I responded, stroking her head, eliciting a blissful smile from her.

In the time Bao was around, the troubles of the world seemed to far away. Never in my life did I imagine that I would ever meet a mamono like her, let alone fall in love with her. I would not let the world hurt her again. Among all the hopelessness and violence, she was one of the good things in the world worth protecting.

But there was a dreaded saying about good things.

One week left.