You walk down the quiet school hallway toward the nurse’s office, the air smelling faintly of disinfectant. Inside, Nurse Shirohana greets you warmly and hands you a medical form. As you read it, your stomach tightens. The questions aren’t just medical.

Are you dating anyone? Have you ever been in a relationship? Do you feel lonely? Do you have mommy issues?

You answer honestly. You mark that you aren’t dating, that you’re not in a relationship, that you’ve never had one. You hand the form back.

She reads it in silence. Then she looks up. Her eyes slowly shift into a vivid, unnatural pink, filled with sudden interest.

“Oh,” she says softly. “I see.”

She reaches into a drawer and pulls out a syringe-like injector pistol filled with a glowing pink liquid. She smiles reassuringly.

“It’s just a normal vaccine,” she says.

Before you can react, your vision spins. Your body goes numb, and darkness takes you.

—

You wake up on a cold basement floor. The air is damp, the walls cracked and unfamiliar. A single light flickers overhead. You hear footsteps, slow and deliberate, descending wooden stairs. Nurse Shirohana appears, her white uniform spotless, her pink eyes glowing in the dimness.

She smiles down at you. “You don’t have to be alone anymore.” she whispers.