Being dropped off at the airport made Naomi feel like she was a kid getting left at somebody else's house. Unlike the bulky airbuses off in the distance, their jet looked like a sports car—slim, shiny, and slick. The air felt cold against her skin, with the frills of her blue dress ruffling in the wind. 

When she was Noah, there were certain choices that she made—ones that put her on this path. It wasn’t like they were all just some hunch, but the reality of them adding up over time didn’t register in his mind. Perhaps it was a sunken cost fallacy, but a clenching feeling in her chest told Noami she needed to go through with it. Every time she thought about turning away and running, the promised life flashed before the tiny’s little red eyes. 

Slapping her cheeks for bravery, the mouse girl watched as the “company representative” (really just the good doctor who turned her into…this) spoke with one of the client’s partners. Surprisingly enough, when Galloway decided to do her hair and put on anything other than that old lab coat, she could look rather regal—something needed to seal the illusion. 

For all they knew, this was just another transaction with EikōBio. There was a certain elegance and professionalism that was expected from all the company salesmen, with Galloway doing an alright job with the stoic associate. The woman on the other side of the transaction had a simple black uniform with a simple black haircut, looking like she really didn’t want to be there but was for the sake of her mistress. If anything was wrong, that was the company's fault (or so she thought). 

“So this is the product?” She asked, the paper in her hand already having the answer—the company seal assuring that it was the truth. 

“Yes, this is Tanji. All patched up!” The doctor let out some of her excitement for the genetics in that last squeal, presenting the cat girl as if she were a runway model despite wearing just a simple loose-fitting gray shirt and no makeup. 

The associate sneered. “Mistress made no such requests.” 

“We take the initiative. She’s our most precious client, is she not?” Galloway replied as if this were rehearsed, using the type of voice that conveyed that she was politely calling the other woman an idiot. “I am sure she will be pleased.”

“I am sure.” She echoed, now turning her cold gaze towards Naomi. “And what is this?”

“A little extra.”

“The mistress doesn’t have a living area prepared for another ‘mimi.” 

Letting out a laugh, Galloway reached down into her carrier to pick up Naomi. “A living area? My dear, this little mousey could live inside of a spare sock! Isn’t that right, precious?”

Being expected to play her part as well, Naomi gave a well-timed hesitant nod. “O-o-o-of course, mistress!” Her stutter sounded like she was overdoing it, but this wasn’t exactly prime time to be giving out acting notes. All that mattered was that the associate was pleased. 

It wasn’t difficult tricking people into thinking that you were afraid when your body was only 5 inches tall. In truth, she was afraid—afraid of what might happen when the mission would actually begin. Being so small might have been convenient for making Naomi appear non-threatening, but it wouldn’t help her with trying to rescue the target. Well, “rescue” was a nice way of putting it. It was more of a reverse kidnapping. 

But the cabal was clear. They wanted both Tanji and her sister as leverage. Judging by the fact that her mistress put in minimal effort with tracking the runaway cat down, it was clear that she had favorites. What pet owner doesn't? Naomi had expected the pudgy Neko to react to those family connections, but the woman was hardly thrilled—more annoyed than anything. They didn’t actually have any visuals on her; it seemed to be some kind of earlier purchase, but one that Tanji would surely be able to identify. In her mind, Naomi tried to imagine what this elusive "sister” could even look like, with all her attempts coming up with a palette swap of the Neko she was all too familiar with. 

When they were finally allowed to board, the mouse found herself sitting on a chair that was far too large for her, mesmerized by the interior. The thin scent of lemon hung in the air, with the entire passenger area having a very refined style. This was certainly a lot better than the dog cages she expected ‘mimis to travel in. 

“There you go!” The flight attendant spoke up, handing a pocky stick over to Naomi as Tanji devoured the rest of the pack. In truth, one stick was all she needed, with her finding nibbling down on it to be very convenient. At least they weren’t giving her pieces of cheese—that would be just insulting.

“What did you guys get!” A playful voice called out, with a fellow ‘mimi popping her head over the seat—her long, blonde hair drooping down the other side and onto Tanji's face. The woman’s curious blue eyes scanned the seats, noticing Naomi first. She had the ears of a horse, being only slightly taller than an average human to the point that it was not too jarring, unlike the towering presence of Yulka. Naomi would be about the same size as the fellow passenger were she still human and not a Nezumimi.

Walking over to their seats uninvited, the woman plopped over on the other side, putting her hands on the table. The white sleeves of her long hoodie flapped in the air as she tapped against the surface with excitement—unable to stand still. 

“Some chocolate.” Naomi was about to offer her some just to find that Tanji had already eaten everything. 

“Nice!” She grinned, swaying her body from side to side. “Are you also going to Ms. Tanikawa’s place? Are you?”

There was no point in hiding it. If not there, where else would they go? “Yeah, we are.” 

“My old mistress showed me some images of her house. It’s really big!” She began counting with her fingers. “And there are fields all around it. And she has a gym. And a swimming pool. And a garden. And very nice rooms for all her ‘mimis. And-” The horse girl continued, gesturing for the sake of keeping her hands busy. 

“That’s awesome.” She forced a smile. Unlike Tanji, she was at least trying to pretend to be excited about the trip.

“My name is Mirei, by the way!” Putting on another smile, Naomi reached out to wave her finger just for the horse girl to have her hand swatted away. It was Tanji, glaring at Mirei—her blue eyes meeting hers. It took a moment for the woman to process that the chubby cat was actually trying to be rude to her, awkwardly retracting her hand back below the table. 

“Hey, what’s her problem?” She frowned, trying to reach over to Naomi once again. The same thing happened—her hand slapped away. “I just wanted to hold her a little bit.”

“It’s really okay, Tanji.” Naomi piqued up, unsure what tone she should take here. Upset? Calm? Understanding? Getting held by people was just a part of being a small 'mimi like herself. 

Tanji, however, didn't seem to think so. She picked Naomi up, holding her tightly as if Mirei was going to reach over the table and pry the mouse out of her grasp. Her protectiveness seemed slightly out of place. But then again, it was the type of protectiveness one might give to their last slice of pizza rather than a good friend. Nonetheless, the Neko continued holding onto the tiny, placing the girl’s body against her cheek. It was warm and soft—Naomi’s face partially sinking into it. 

“Hello?” Mirei looked at Tanji while wincing. “As I said, I just wanted to hold the cute mousey for a moment.” She tried to turn her eyes towards Naomi, but it was impossible to look at her face without that of the cat girl forcing itself into the frame. “Why do you have to be such a prune?”

Her opponents being twice her size had never stopped the Neko before, but causing a scene on the plane was something that Tanji wanted to avoid. So with a wide grin, she dropped Naomi down into her chest—the smug look on her making it seem like this was somehow a brilliant idea. 

The tumble may have ended in a soft landing, but the tiny soon found herself in a dark cavity between Tanji's huge breasts. Even when she was human they seemed large. Now, they appeared like two hills pressing down on her body. Trying to get any kind of footing or grasp felt pointless, with her hands coated with a thin layer of sweat as they sunk into the mammaries. After a moment of wiggling around, Naomi was forced to accept her position: trapped, with only her head popping above the warm skin. 

She stopped thrashing, her hands pinned to her waist as the mouse closed her eyes—trying to ignore the unfortunate situation. It was so warm and stuffy down here, with Tanji’s sweet aroma filling Naomi’s nostrils. Were these pheromones? In the past, she remembered reading some articles about how humans may not have pheromones the same way that animals do, but was it different for Kemonomimis? Or was it just her overstimulated brain playing tricks? Tanji’s smell…it was familiar. It was pleasant. It was enticing. 

From the moment Noah first brought the troublesome cat in, she had marked him as hers. Every time she rubbed against him or climbed into his bed, the Neko left a little of her smell on him. Now that he was Naomi, this aroma was gone, but the emotions associated with it remained in the shared mind. This was a reminder that she was still the man who decided to share his room with a stray—and thanks to her new sensitive nose—was finally able to appreciate how nostalgic it was. 

Slowly, her muscles relaxed. There was no more resistance and she allowed herself to sink into Tanji’s breasts as if they were a soft mattress. 

When Naomi awoke, the fact that she had slept through a 10-hour flight between the cat girl’s breasts was the first realization to come to her drowsy mind. It was only later that she noticed the room which she was in—one almost like the type you would find in a hotel. There were neatly folded sheets, neatly folded towels, and a feeling of detachment from reality as if everything here was almost too clean and ideal to be permanent. 

Across from her, the horse girl from before was sliding off her hoodie—travel exhaustion painted on her face. Women just undressing around Naomi as if she was “one of the girls” was an odd truth to accept, but it’s not like it was false. She had checked more than once, and Noah's manhood was definitely taken away—replaced with a strange new opening that begged to be played with despite the lack of experience. 

A little touch couldn’t hurt. Rubbing against the side of her thigh, the woman’s hand immediately jumped back as if she had touched something hot. No. It was far too early for this…or too late? It was hard to tell, with the lights blocked by thick black curtains. Being unable to answer even such a simple question added to this horrible feeling of dissociation as Naomi’s brain slowly began regaining its function like a poorly oiled machine. 

“Hey.” The drowsy voice of Mirei spoke up as the woman placed her head back on the pillow. “We’re here. Can you imagine that? We’re actually here.” She tried sounding excited, but the same force that kept her eyelids half-closed made her voice weak. “Tomorrow, the mistress herself will show us our permanent rooms.” The force won, her eyelids shutting close. “Isn’t that exciting?” 

She couldn’t see her nod as Naomi nuzzled against her own pillow. It seemed like whoever oversaw this project got the information that 3 ‘mimis were coming to guest rooms, and not bothered to check their sizes. This made it so the mouse could comfortably enjoy an entire field-sized bed while Mirei’s size 12s nearly dangled off the side of the bed. 

“I am glad. That we get our own rooms, you know. That annoying cat sure is loud.” She chuckled. Of course, Naomi had long ago learned to accept Tanji’s snoring as white noise, only now becoming aware of her presence across the room. “You’re from the same owner, right?”

“Yeah.” Naomi responded, looking up at the ceiling. “Same owner…”

“I see.” Mirei nodded, clearly growing tired of this pillow talk. “Goodnight, mousey. I hope you will be able to come by my place sometime.” If their new “mistress” didn’t prepare anything, getting put in the same room as the blonde girl wasn’t the worst fate. She was polite enough, if not a little overenthusiastic. But after what happened today, Naomi still felt the desire to be close to the nostalgic scent of Tanji; she had half a mind to just climb over to her bed. 

With her mind and body already rested, Naomi found sleeping to be simply impossible. For a while, she just continued looking up at the ceiling as if there was something interesting written on it. It was so quiet here. No cars. No traffic. No arguments seeping through the thin walls. No random drunk teens in front of the block. 

Suddenly, something shifted in the hallway—the sound of the door clicking. Turning her gaze towards it, the tiny noticed a 2 ft tall figure peeking through the crack, her pale fingers wrapped around its dark oak exterior. The shape quickly retreated back inside, a look of regret on her near-hidden face. At least, it looked like regret. She wasn’t sure. The only thing Naomi could see for certain were those gray eyes.