A Tiger Rolled Into My Life, Bringing Chaos With It - Chapter 2

Um, what should I do? Should I check?

She approached the alley with slow, ant-like steps. At this moment, she suddenly remembered what she had heard at the supermarket.

‘Shifters living in District 1 have no sense of danger. Peace zone, my foot. It’s only peaceful because the carnivorous shifters leave us alone. If they change their minds and invade, we’re done for. And it’s not just shifters living there—wild beasts live there too. I saw it myself! Twelve years ago, a beast invaded the herbivore district. I still tremble just thinking about it.’

That night, those words kept circling in her mind, making Tinya’s heart pound so hard she could barely sleep. It was especially frightening after being ignored by her coworkers.

‘No way. Why would a carnivorous animal be here? It must be an herbivore sound.’

In the nearly two years she’d lived here, she had never seen a carnivorous animal in the herbivore district. And she had been assured multiple times by trustworthy shifters that this place was safe. It’s fine. It’s probably nothing. Though she kept telling herself this, the tension didn’t leave her face. When Tinya reached the corner, she carefully peeked around it. Her eyes fell on a wet cardboard box.

Her frightened eyes suddenly widened. Inside the rain-soaked, discolored box was a small creature curled up. Tinya rushed over thinking it might be an abandoned baby animal, but she stopped abruptly.

“Oh!”

She gasped involuntarily. The box was tall so she couldn’t see well, but as she got closer, she realized the creature was a tiger cub. Having tiger customers at work, she recognized it immediately. The snow-white fur with black stripes like spilled ink was unmistakably characteristic of a tiger.

Once she recognized it, the faint scent of a carnivorous animal tickled her nose. If it hadn’t been raining, she would have noticed it earlier.

‘That’s… really a carnivorous animal? Why, why is it here!’

Some stranger had sneered about their lack of safety awareness, but Tinya had vaguely felt that carnivorous shifters actually followed the agreement quite strictly. The Grooming Shop was proof of that. There were carnivorous shifters who came out of curiosity because word had spread that an herbivore shifter worked there, but none showed interest in venturing beyond into the herbivore district. Leona, a lion shifter who was a regular customer, even waved her front paws saying she absolutely couldn’t go there.

Now, that carefully built trust was cracking. Tinya stepped back. Even if it was a cub, a carnivorous animal was still a carnivorous animal. She was instinctively creating a safe distance.

“What should I do?”

Tinya stamped her feet anxiously. She had no idea what to do when a carnivorous animal appeared in the herbivore district. She looked around for a shifter who might help, but there was nothing but heavy rain all around.

“Should I report it? Where? Should I take it to the tiger district? But how would I… Maybe I should take it to the peace zone first?”

But could she even carry that tiger? She was scared even at this distance—how could she get close enough to pick it up? It seemed impossible.

“I should report it after all…”

Miiiaow.

As she was fretting, the tiger let out a weak cry. The exhausted sound was so pitiful and sorrowful.

Tinya’s eyes trembled slightly.

Suddenly, memories from her past surfaced. Scenes of people responding with mockery or turning away when she cried for help. Though the situation was different, she saw herself in the lonely crying tiger cub.

Tinya carefully stretched her neck to look inside the box. Perhaps because of the heavy rain, the tiger couldn’t open its eyes properly. Its wet fur clung to its frail body, which was trembling. Her hand holding the umbrella fidgeted.

‘What should I do.’

She wanted to help, but she was scared. She worried about getting bitten. Yet simply reporting it and leaving didn’t feel right either. She didn’t think this tiger was in the same situation as her. It might have just gotten lost and taken shelter from the rain in the box.

Still, still… if no one reached out a helping hand when left alone like that, the memory would remain a deep wound.

‘Just for one day, just one day I’ll keep it.’

She would keep thinking about it if she went home now. Besides, her workplace was in the peace zone, which would make it easier to assess the situation. Having made her decision, Tinya gathered her courage and moved forward slowly. She muffled her footsteps to avoid startling the tiger.

Gulp.

‘…Blood?’

Looking closely, she saw blood on the tiger’s body. Her resolve wavered like a reed again, but Tinya shook her head firmly and steeled herself.

‘It’s not around its mouth.’

At least that meant it hadn’t torn something apart. Maybe it had been hurt by someone and fled here. She desperately hoped that was the case.

Perhaps sensing Tinya’s presence, the tiger opened its eyes. Bright yellow eyes stared directly at her. Though it was just looking at her, her knees felt weak.

“Um… little tiger. I’m not trying to hurt you. See? I’m a weak herbivore shifter. I really have no strength at all. You could knock me down with just one swipe of your paw.”

Tinya elaborately described her own weakness. She remembered hearing that well-trained carnivorous animals could understand human speech. She hoped this tiger was one of those.

Perhaps her wish was granted. The tiger expanded its body with a deep inhale, then released the breath slowly. Then it closed its eyes again.

Permission granted! Tinya exhaled in relief and tried to lift the box.

“Ah, the umbrella!”

She tried to tuck the umbrella under her arm to lift the box, but the box was larger than expected and the rain was heavier than she thought. The umbrella slipped from her arm and fell to the ground with a thud.

“Ugh!”

Despite her attempts to be careful, she made a loud noise. The tiger opened its eyes again and looked at Tinya. Somehow its gaze seemed subtly different, but Tinya, focused on the box, had no time to interpret that look.

“This won’t work.”

Realizing she couldn’t lift the box while holding the umbrella, Tinya reluctantly folded it and hung it on her arm. Heavy rain poured mercilessly on her head. Hating getting wet, she hugged the box and started running with all her might.

‘It’s heavy!’

Her body, unaccustomed to exercise, strained with effort. Her jaw clenched tight as she gritted her teeth. Naturally, there was no stability. The tiger’s body rocked back and forth. Despite the terrible ride, the tiger didn’t bare its teeth once and remained quiet.

Had her home been far, she might have given up midway, but fortunately, it was just around the corner. Tinya, who had stubbornly made it inside, put down the box and breathed heavily.

“I’m dying. Huff, huff.”

Her arm braced against the wall trembled. Anyone watching would have thought she’d been sprinting for a long time. The tiger peeked its head out of the box. With her back turned to close the door, Tinya didn’t notice the tiger surveying the interior of the house with curious eyes.

Click.

When she closed the door, the sound of rain was muffled. She picked up the box again and headed for the bathroom. Water dripping from the soaked box and her clothes left trails wherever she went. In the bathroom, Tinya put down the box as gently as possible and took out a basin. After gulping once, she cautiously reached toward the tiger.

“I’m not going to hurt you, I’m not going to hurt you.”

Her fingertips trembled for fear of being bitten. Repeating like a mantra that she wasn’t trying to harm it, she moved the tiger to the basin. Fortunately, the tiger was either docile or intelligent enough to stay still. But she couldn’t completely relax. The body that touched her fingertips was too cold.

Tinya hurriedly grabbed the shower head and turned on the hot water. As warm water gradually filled the basin, the tiger immediately submerged itself. She had worried it might dislike bathing, but thankfully it showed no such signs.

“Warm, isn’t it?”

Her voice became a little more comfortable, perhaps because the sight of the tiger enjoying the warm water was so cute. Suddenly, the tiger rubbed its face against Tinya’s arm. Tinya flinched in surprise, but soon relaxed at the soft touch of fur and the purring sound.

“So you like baths too.”

As if answering, the tiger rubbed its head again. It was so adorable that it melted away all her remaining tension. Even truly fearsome tigers are this cute when they’re cubs. A smile naturally formed on her lips.

Tinya checked the water temperature as she filled the basin to the top. The small basin, already full with the tiger, was soon filled with water as well.

With her free hand, Tinya switched the water flow. As the thin stream from the shower head stopped, water began to pour from the faucet. Looking at the tiger soaking in the warm water made her want to soak herself. Financial concerns crossed her mind, but she rationalized that the hot water was already running anyway.