"Whoosh, whoosh..."
The hairdryer blew warm air, and Broly could feel the heat as his hair gradually dried and became fluffy.
"It's a bit frizzy. Guess I shouldn't dry it too much," Fujimura Taiga said, wrapping a towel around herself. She picked up a bottle of hair conditioner and sprayed it on Broly's hair.
The pleasant scent made Broly lift his head and sniff toward the bottle.
"That's not food either," Fujimura Taiga quickly put the conditioner away and picked up a comb. She made Broly sit straight and began combing his long, fluffy hair.
"Your hair is really nice!"
After washing, Broly's hair felt smooth and silky, something Fujimura Taiga couldn't help but envy.
"Let me give you a hairstyle."
Soon, a boy with twin tails appeared in the mirror.
"Haha, you look so cute with this hairstyle. You look like a little girl."
Broly frowned. After Fujimura Taiga's earlier explanation, he now knew the difference between boys and girls.
"I'm not a little girl. I have a little brother," he argued, puffing out his chest as if to show proof.
"Stop swinging that around, you little rascal! Aren't you embarrassed?"
Fujimura Taiga blushed, noticing that the boy's development was... impressive for his age.
"Embarrassed?"
Broly looked confused, but before he could start asking more questions, Fujimura Taiga quickly undid his twin tails.
"Alright, alright, I'll give you a different hairstyle."
She was starting to get overwhelmed by his endless questions.
"How about a ponytail? It's neat and practical."
Broly wasn't sure about hairstyles, but seeing Fujimura Taiga's approving expression, he nodded. "Okay."
"Give me your tail. I'll dry it too. Otherwise, it'll get your clothes wet."
Broly obediently handed his tail to her. The hairdryer buzzed again, and the warm air made his tail fluffy. Fujimura Taiga couldn't resist giving it a few strokes.
As Broly shivered, she quickly let go. "Sorry, I couldn't help it."
"It's fine."
Broly didn't mind. The strange sensation of having his tail stroked just triggered a natural reaction.
"Do you want to stroke it too?" Broly asked, noticing young Sakura staring at his tail.
"Can I?"
Stroking his tail wouldn't hurt, so Broly didn't object. He moved closer and let Sakura take his tail.
Young Sakura held the tail carefully, afraid to use too much force, which made Broly's tail itch. It wriggled in her hands.
"Did I hurt you?"
Young Sakura quickly stopped.
"No, but you can use a bit more force. Too light, and it's ticklish."
Encouraged by Broly, young Sakura tried a firmer grip.
"Is this okay?"
"Still a bit ticklish."
"How about this?"
"Now it's a bit tingly."
After a few tries, Broly's tail gradually got used to young Sakura's hands, no longer feeling strange. It was like a wary cat finally letting someone scratch its chin.
"Hey, stop playing with the tail and come get dressed. You'll catch a cold."
Fujimura Taiga, already dressed, called out. She was a bit jealous of the girl who got to stroke the tail.
"Do you need me to cut a hole in your pants for your tail?"
"No need. I wrap my tail around my waist. My father said it reduces the chance of it getting hurt."
Most Saiyan warriors kept their tails wrapped like this. Only a few cut theirs off, as the tail was key to their Great Ape transformation—though few Saiyans enjoyed turning into mindless giants.
As Broly explained his father's teachings, Fujimura Taiga interpreted it differently.
She imagined a boy with a furry tail, constantly bullied and discriminated against. His father, to protect him, taught him to hide his unique tail. Though the father was no longer around, his love for his child shone through in these small details.
*What incredible fatherly love!*
"Don't worry, big sister will protect you from now on."
Fujimura Taiga's maternal instincts kicked in, and she hugged Broly tightly. Though she hadn't yet reached the level of having a "broad embrace," her chest was soft and ample enough to envelop Broly's face completely, leaving him bewildered and unsure of what was happening.
However, smelling the pleasant scent of soap on her, Broly didn't resist and allowed Fujimura Taiga to hold him, his nose sniffing the fragrant aroma.
Fortunately, Broly didn't have a habit of biting people, so he didn't try to take a bite out of the soft flesh hidden beneath the fabric.
That night, Fujimura Taiga arranged for Broly and young Sakura to sleep in a guest room. Originally, she had wanted the two children to sleep in her room, but her grandfather, Fujimura Raiga, vetoed the idea.
"The host must maintain a sense of propriety. Being too familiar with guests will blur the lines of hierarchy, making it difficult to lead in the future."
"Grandpa, I told you, I'm not training future subordinates!"
No matter how much Fujimura Taiga explained, it was useless. The household was still under Fujimura Raiga's control.
Even as his granddaughter, she had to bow to his authority.
"Alright, you two should get some rest."
With that, Fujimura Taiga left, leaving Broly and young Sakura alone in the room.
"What should we do now?" young Sakura asked nervously. After all, she had only just met Broly that day.
"Didn't she say we should sleep?" Broly replied, confused. He walked over to the corner, leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes.
"You're going to sleep like that?"
"How else should I sleep?"
"Don't you want to lay out the futon and sleep under the covers?"
Young Sakura pointed to the bedding Fujimura Taiga had provided for them.
Seeing the confusion on Broly's face, she quickly realized he might not have slept on a futon before.
"This is how you use it."
Although young Sakura had never slept on a futon herself, she had seen it done before. She quickly unrolled the futon, spread it out on the tatami mat, and crawled inside, peeking out at Broly.
"So, this is how you all sleep? My father and I used to sleep leaning against rocks."
"Huh? Why?"
"Because Vampa is dangerous. Some dangers come from monsters, and others from the planet's natural environment. Sleeping against a rock makes it easier to stay alert. That's what my father taught me."
The main reason was that Broly had a tendency to lash out when woken up. Paragus had once been attacked by his own son after disturbing his sleep, so he taught Broly to sleep lightly.
"Vampa?"
Young Sakura didn't fully understand Broly's explanation, but one thing was clear: he had lived in a very dangerous place, much like her time in the Matou household.
"It's okay. This place should be safe. You don't have to sleep against a rock here."
Broly thought about it. From what he had seen in this world, most creatures were weak. So, he walked over and crawled into young Sakura's futon.
"Huh?"
Young Sakura looked at the other futon that hadn't been unrolled, then at Broly lying in her futon, unsure of what to say.
"Aren't you going to sleep?"
Broly, lying comfortably in the futon his "wife" had prepared, asked young Sakura.
"I'll sleep. Here's a pillow. You can rest your head on it."
Young Sakura didn't say anything more, just pushed the pillow over and let Broly sleep like a normal person.
The lights were turned off, and young Sakura crawled into the same futon.
The room was quiet, but soon, the sound of sobbing could be heard.
"What's wrong?"
Broly turned to look at the girl who was crying.
"I miss home," young Sakura whispered.
[Home? What's that?]
[Home is a place with family, like the cave you lived in with your father.]
The Harem System provided an explanation, and Broly understood.
"If you miss home, then go back."
He said it simply.
"But I don't have a home anymore. My parents don't want me."
The dark, quiet environment brought out the vulnerability in her heart.
Before, young Sakura hadn't cried, but lying in an unfamiliar futon, in an unfamiliar room, her emotions overwhelmed her, breaking through her defenses.
[Host, please note: Sakura Matou's emotional state is declining. Happiness levels are dropping.]
Broly: "..."
He didn't know what to say to the girl beside him.
[Please note: Low happiness levels will affect the conversion rate of happiness points when the target is successfully invited to join the Harem System.
Note: Happiness points can be exchanged for items the host has experienced, including but not limited to daily necessities and food.]
Broly scratched his head. This didn't seem to affect him much. He had already learned how to survive in this unfamiliar world by working for food.
[Reminder: The host is not permanently in this world. You will return to your own world in five days. Countdown: 5 days, 6 hours, 38 minutes, 33 seconds... Now 32, 31...]
Broly: "?!"
[I have to go back to Vampa, to my 'home'?]
[Of course. When the temporal energy runs out, you must return.]
Although he had only been in this world for less than half a day, Broly had already fallen in love with it—especially the delicious, non-bitter food.
However, just as he was starting to enjoy himself, the Harem System informed him that he would have to return home soon.
Thinking about the bitter spider eggs on Vampa, Broly's mood plummeted.
[How can I stay here?]
Unlike young Sakura, Broly didn't want to go back to Vampa at all.
[Please provide more temporal energy.]
The Harem System gave its answer.
[What's temporal energy, and how can I provide it?]
Broly asked.
[Temporal energy is the energy of time and space. After returning to your world, you can accumulate temporal energy through the passage of time. Alternatively, you can increase the speed at which you move through space to collect temporal energy faster.]
[So, I can't stay in this world?]
[To stay in another world, you must provide more temporal energy.]
To collect temporal energy, he had to return to his own world. To stay in this world, he needed more temporal energy. It was a vicious cycle.
Listening to young Sakura's sobs, Broly, in a moment of uncharacteristic empathy, started crying too.
"Waaah..."
Hearing the noise behind her, young Sakura was stunned.
She turned around and saw the boy in the same futon also crying.
"Wait, why are you crying?"
"I'm crying because I have to go home in a few days."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"But I don't want to go back. Back home, I can't eat the delicious food here. All we have are Vampa spiders and their eggs.
They're so bitter and disgusting compared to the cake, pudding, fruit, soda, and pork cutlet rice you gave me."
Broly listed off the foods he had enjoyed and concluded, "They're completely incomparable. I don't want to go back. I want to stay here, but I can't. Waaah..."
Young Sakura: "..."
She couldn't go home, while Broly didn't want to go home. The stark contrast made her feel even worse.
Young Sakura wanted to cry along with Broly, but after a few sobs, she noticed Broly was crying even more pitifully, as if he had lost his parents, so she stopped.
"Please stop crying," young Sakura tried to comfort him.
"Cake, pudding..."
But Broly cried even harder, thinking about how he would lose all those delicious foods in a few days.
"Look, you're just losing some good food. At least you still have a home to go back to!"
Young Sakura said.
"If I had never seen the light, I could have endured the darkness. But now that I've seen the light, how can I go back to the darkness?"
Broly quoted a line that surfaced in his mind, turning it into a question for the girl.
Young Sakura: "..."
She deeply understood. In her original home, the Tohsaka household, she had been carefree and happy. But after being sent to the Matou family and thrown into the bug pit, her life had become dark and unbearable.
[Reminder: Sakura Matou's emotional state continues to decline. Happiness levels are dropping further. Low happiness levels will affect the conversion rate of happiness points when the target is successfully invited to join the Harem System.
Note: Happiness points can be exchanged for items the host has experienced, including but not limited to daily necessities and food.]
[Huh?!]
[Can I exchange for this world's food after returning to Vampa?]
[Yes.]
Broly stopped crying.
"Waaah..."
Young Sakura was about to continue crying.
"Stop crying."
Broly interrupted her.
Young Sakura: "???"