"Young miss, Young miss?"

Ishmael was slow to move as her entire body felt weight down by an unseen force.  Moving her right hand; the only body part that would respond, she felt something soft underneath her and something heavy and furry next to her as the hand moved out from her side.  All of that disappeared when the stabbing pain in her skull consumed her attention. She tried to sit up but a tender hand pushed her back down, followed by what she thought was a paw. Opening her eyes, her gaze was met with big brown eyes held in a furry face and stinky dog breath.

"...sumo?..."

"Ahh! You're awake my dear! You had us so worried!"

Moving some more, Ishmael saw Mrs. Tomo's smiling face looking down at her. Sitting up on her elbows, Ishmael felt something warm gush between her legs.

"I need your bathroom!!"  Ishmael went to toss the covers off her but was stopped yet again.

The lady smiled at her softly. "Relax dear, I'm an old nurse and mother to two daughters. You're taken care of."

Ishmael looked down to see that she was no longer wearing her clothes but a yukata. The confused look on Ishmael's face told the woman that she had no idea what had happened.

"Oh my sweet dear. You are bleeding very heavily. My guess is you are anemic. You passed out by our house; luckily the dogs alerted us to you. By the time the men were able to get downstairs and out to where you were, you had bled through your garments. You also bumped your head when you fell."

"Thank you so much for helping me, I thought I could make it home, my period isn't supposed to even happen. Sorry for the trouble."

"Eh! It's no trouble dear! We are just glad you are alright. Sumo and Akira have refused to leave your side!" The light-hearted laugh was welcoming as Ishmael reached out both of her hands to pet her furry caregivers.  Both of the large dogs were laying down by her legs.  "Don't worry, the men took their bikes and went to town to get your husband."

"He's not my husband, just my boyfriend."

"Well, he'll be your husband soon enough! By the way your Japanese is very good!"

"Thank you."

"Were you visiting when the blackout happened?"

"No, I live here now. My brother got me a job at the company he works for. The men with me earlier are my coworkers and friends."

"I see. You are all very smart for getting out of the city so soon. What are you doing in town?"

"Scavenging the drop sites and bartering for supplies."

"Ha ha ha haa! How resourceful you young people are! Well my dear, lay down and rest. When your husband gets here, I will give him a bottle of iron pills for you. Take one a day with lots of water and after you have eaten. They will last you for a few months."

"Thank you..." Ishmael's voice trailed off again as her exhaustion was too much for her. The large dogs, Sumo and Akira, relaxed on the bed next to her as she fell asleep again.

The Tomo brothers both raced towards town on their bikes to find the young man and his friends. Abe's wife, who used to be a nurse, would take good care of the dark skinned young woman.

Coasting into town, they saw the Okaiwa's sitting on their front steps munching on strawberries.

"Shinichi? Have you seen a group of young men on bikes?"

"Yes, they are down at the second drop site, rooting through it like wild boars!"

The two brothers hurried towards them. Once they were in sight, Abe began yelling for Seo.

"Young man! Young Man!!"

Seo dropped what he was doing and hurried towards the two men on bikes.

"Mr. Tomo? Sir? Is something wro-..."

"You must come quickly, it's your wife. We found her unconscious on the road by the store."

"Take my bike Joon! We'll meet you there!" Kim made Seo take his bike as it didn't have a cart attached to it.  Hopping on, Seo took off down the road, leaving the older men behind as he rushed to their store. He made it there in 15 minutes; record time.

"Ishmael!?"

Seo saw Mrs. Tomo looking over the balcony. "Yes, come in through the back young man!"

Bike on the ground, Seo rushed around the building and up the back steps, almost running into the woman.

"Ah! Calm down dear, or there will be two of us that are unconscious!"

Seo bowed apologetically to the older woman.

"Your wife is fine. Follow me." She led him to a small room and saw the two dogs laying on top of Ishmael. As he approached, the one named Akira growled at him. "Oh shut up, you furry fatty! Get down both of you!" Mrs. Tomo waved at both of the dogs who went and sat by the window. Seo was now sitting on the small bed next to Ishmael who was still out.

"My boy, your wife is very anemic and bleeding quite heavily. She has been cleaned up and taken care of. Here, take this for her, it's iron pills. She is to take one a day after eating and with plenty of water."  Mrs. Tomo handed Seo a large white plastic bottle of pills.

"Will she be okay? What happened?"

"She's on her period. It's so heavy that she has lost too much blood, probably due to the stress of everything that is going on. She just needs to rest. Here." Mrs. Tomo also gave Seo a plastic bag with clothes, he looked inside. There was indeed an excessive amount of blood.

"She bled this much!?"

"Yes, I've seen it before from my days as a nurse, plus one of my daughters had the same issue. I wouldn't be surprised if she is on a daily dose of birth control because of her heavy periods. I'm surprised she hasn't told you this."

"We've only gotten together just recently."

"I see! Well you seem like husband and wife! Ha ha ha!"

"Hopefully one day we will be."

"I have no doubt about it! Now, you should take her home and let her rest. If she gets worse, come and see me. Abe is a doctor!"

"Thank you so much, how much do I owe you?"

"Owe! Oh hon, your money's no good here! You take excellent care of her, that is what I am charging you!"

Seo stood and bowed in appreciation. Mrs. Tomo shook her head. "You young people are so weird these days. Okay, careful with her going down the stairs. When she wakes she will need to change her padding."

"Thank you. I'll carry her home and return for the bike later."

"That's fine dear."

Seo smiled at Mrs. Tomo again and carried Ishmael down the stairs. Outside, the others had arrived. Seo bowed slightly to the elder men in thanks and walked home with Ishmael in his arms. Seong and Haru took care of the bikes with Seo refusing to let anyone else help carry her.

Making it home, he took her straight to his room, thankful that it had cooled down from the opened windows. He was careful as he laid her down on the mattress and made sure she was comfortable. Giving her a kiss, Seo went downstairs to help the guys unload but they sent him back to stay with Ishmael. He sat next to her on the bed and watched her as she slept. He would inform her parents later.

Sean and Haru were suddenly at the door.

"How is she?"

"Mrs. Tomo said she's fine, she just lost too much blood."

"Lost too much....Ohhhheww." Haru got what he meant half way through his question.

"She gave me some iron pills for her to take."

"Oh good! She'll feel better in a day or two." Sean tried to comfort Seo with a smile, but wasn't sure it was helping.