The sun had begun to bleed through the cracks in the shutters, casting long, skeletal shadows across the floorboards.
Haruka's eyes were bloodshot, the rhythmic ticking of a wall clock sounding like a hammer against her skull.
Sleep deprivation was setting in, bringing with it the jagged edge of cognitive decline, yet her mind refused to disengage.
All night, she didn't get a wink of sleep, spending every moment to understand her own self and come up with logical reason why the spirits have refused her.
She leaned her head back against the sofa, her breaths shallow.
"Is it survival?" she asked herself, stripping the question down to its barest components.
From a purely evolutionary standpoint, her attachment to Seijirou was the ultimate survival strategy.
He provided resources, protection, and a position of power. In nature, a subordinate female aligns herself with the strongest member of the pack to ensure her own longevity.
